27-01-2020

monday

DhaKa: January 27, 2020; Magh 13, 1426 BS;Jamadi-ul awal 30,1441 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.17; No.01; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

international

'Sesame Street'

comforts children

displaced by Syrian war

>Page 7

art & culture

Bigg Boss 13

Weekend Ka Vaar

January 26

>Page 8

sport

Ben Stokes fined,

given demerit point

for swearing at fan

>Page 9

49 days to go

Writ seeks cancellation

of Tabith's nomination

DHAKA : A writ petition was filed with

High Court on Sunday seeking cancellation

of BNP's Dhaka North City

Corporation (DNCC) Tabith Awal's

nomination bringing allegation of concealing

wealth information in election

affidavit, reports UNB.

Retired judge of Appellate division

AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik

filed the petition with the concerned

bench.

The hearing on the writ is likely to be

held in the bench of Justice JBM Hasan

and Justice MD Khairul Alam on

Monday.

The petitioner said that the Election

Commission and other concerned have

been made respondents to the writ.

Earlier, the retired judge met election

commissioner Md Rafiqul Islam on

January 23 afternoon and demanded

cancellation of Tabith's nomination. He

also submitted a written complaint.

The petitioner told reporters on the

day that 'Tabith along two others has

shares in NFM Energy (Singapore) private

company limited. Tabith did not

mention it in his affidavit."

As the EC did not take any action as

per his complaint, he filed the writ with

the HC, said the former judge.

BNP briefs foreign

diplomats about city

election atmosphere

DHAKA : BNP on Sunday briefed foreign

diplomats stationed in Dhaka

about the violation of election code of

conduct reportedly by ruling party

activists, including attacks on its candidates,

and overall atmosphere of the

elections to two Dhaka city corporations

billed for February 1. A group of

BNP leaders, led by its secretary general

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir,

apprised the diplomats of the party's

observations and allegations about the

city polls at a meeting at BNP chairperson's

Gulshan office, reports UNB.

Diplomats from around 20 countries,

including the USA, the UK, Germany,

Australia, Canada, France, China,

India, Turkey and the European Union

(EU) attended the hour-long meeting

that began around 4pm.

Talking to reporters after the meeting,

BNP standing committee member

Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury

said they discussed various issues relating

to the city polls and what are happening

over the elections.

He alleged that the ruling party candidates

are violating the election code of

conduct in various ways, including setting

up election camps on footpaths,

but the Election Commission is not taking

action in this regard.

'There's no level-playing field in the

election. How will people get confidence

in the election when the levelplaying

field is not ensured?" the BNP

leader said.

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Coronavirus in China

Govt considering

temporary travel ban

DHAKA : In the wake of the outbreak of

coronavirus there, the government is

considering a temporary ban on travel

to and from China as a precautionary

measure, Health and Family Welfare

Minister Zahid Maleque said on

Sunday, reports UNB.

"The trade relations between

Bangladesh and China are very deep

and many people travel to China for

business purposes. It might be the reason

of a big loss if the deadly virus

enters the country in any way," he said

while speaking at an emergency meeting

at the ministry.

The minister said an inter-ministerial

meeting will be held on Tuesday (Jan

28) where the issue of imposing a temporary

on the travel to and from China

will be considered with importance.

The emergency meeting discussed

the outbreak of the coronavirus in

China. Zahid Maleque inquired about

the number of affected people and the

countries, and severity of the outbreak.

He also urged people not to be worried

over the spread of coronavirus as

the government has taken steps to prevent

its outbreak in Bangladesh.

The director general of the

Directorate General of Health Services

(DGHS) informed the meeting that

thermal scanning is in place in all the

airports, land ports and river ports of

the country.

Some 56 people have so far died from

the virus in China.

At the end of Saturday in China, there

were 1975 cases and a further 2,684

suspected cases, China's National

Health Commission said.

In the outbreak of coronavirus in

China and globally, Chinese officials

have restricted transport in at least 13

cities apart from the virus epicentre,

Wuhan, locking down close to 56 million

nationals.

The virus itself is a new or "novel"

coronavirus - a family that normally

affects animals.

One human variant causes the common

cold, but another, Sars, killed hundreds

in a major outbreak in 2003.

This new virus causes severe acute

respiratory infection. Symptoms seem

to start with a fever, followed by a dry

cough and then, after a week, lead to

shortness of breath and some patients

needing hospital treatment. There is no

specific cure or vaccine for it.

No level-playing field within

EC : Mahbub Talukdar

DHAKA : Election Commissioner

Mahbub Talukdar on Sunday said there

is no level-playing field within the

Election Commission (EC) itself as the

scope for him to express opinion has

squeezed. He came up with the remarks

while talking to reporters at his

Nirbachan Bhaban office on Sunday.

The Commissioner said his proposals

and recommendations are not accepted

at EC meetings because of the majoritydriven

decision concept. "I think the

merits of my statements should be considered

instead of considering me as the

minority."

"I think the space for making statements

by me at the Commission's meeting has

got narrowed. There's no level-playing

field within the Election Commission. We

want to protect the independence and dignity

of the Election Commission, and it

should be manifested through our activities,"

he added.

Mahbub observed that the Election

Commission cannot perform its duty

properly regarding the elections to two

city corporations, reports UNB.

He said three meetings of the EC were

held since the announcement of the

election schedule, but there was no discussion

about the electoral code of conduct,

irregularities or the complaints of

the candidates in Dhaka's two city corporation

elections at any of the meetings.

"None of these issues was there on

the agenda of the Commission's meetings."

He said another meeting of the

Commission will be held on January 28,

but no issue relating to the city polls has

been included its agenda.

The Commissioner said he gave four

separate unofficial notes on January 9, 13,

16 and 20, but none of them was taken

into consideration. "There's no discussion

or necessary action on the issues. If my

statements are unacceptable, I should

have been informed about it."

Through an unofficial note on

January 16, he said he asked the EC senior

secretary and two returning officers

of Dhaka south and north city corporation

polls to submit a report to him by

January 20 about different complaints

of the candidates and the actions taken

by the EC. "But my order was ignored as

I wasn't provided any information."

Replying to a question, Mahbub said he

does not work for any party as he is guided by

his conscience. "Those who know my past

history won't say I belong to any party."

The supporters of BNP's Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) mayoral candidate Ishraque

Hossain engaged in a clash with Awami League activists during electioneering in the city's Gopibagh

area on Sunday.

Photo : TBT

President Abdul Hamid on Sunday delivering his speech at the International Conference

on Earth and Environmental Sciences and Technology for Sustainable Development

(ICEEST-20) at a city hotel.

Photo : Star Mail

SC clears way for

implementing 9th

Wage Board award

for journos

DHAKA : The Supreme Court on

Sunday upheld its earlier order staying

a High Court order for maintaining a

status quo for two months on implementing

the recommendations of the

9th Wage Board for journalists, clearing

the way for its implementation.

A four-member Appellate Division bench,

led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain,

passed the order disposing of two petitions -

one filed by the Newspaper Owners'

Association of Bangladesh (Noab) and the

other by the state, reports UNB.

It also asked the HC to dispose of a

rule issued on October 15 last over the

issue. With the apex court's order, there

is no legal bar for implementation of the

9th Wage Board for journalists, said

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam.

Advocate AM Amin Uddin, president of

Supreme Court Lawyers' Association, stood for

Noab. The government on January 29 last year

constituted the 13-member 9th Wage Board to

propose enhanced salary and other benefits for

journalists and other employees of newspapers

and news agencies. Noab President

Matiur Rahman filed a writ petition with the

High Court on August 5 claiming that all the

processes before publishing the Wage Board

award were not followed properly. On August

6, the HC bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan

and Justice Mohammad Ali issued the status

quo after hearing the petition.

It also issued a rule asking why the

finalisation of the 9th Wage Board award

without publishing recommendations of

the wage board award committee in

gazette notification for giving opportunity

to stakeholders concerned to raise objections,

if any, according to the Labour

Rules 2015 and submission of the final

recommendations to the government

should not be declared illegal.

Development of climate vulnerable countries

President stresses global efforts

DHAKA : President Abdul Hamid on

Sunday stressed the need for taking concerted

efforts by the global community,

donors and international organizations

to continue the trend of development of

climate vulnerable countries and ensure

sustainable development.

"All the stakeholders, including the

global community,

donors and

international

organizations,

should take joint

initiatives to continue

the trend of

economic development

of climate

vulnerable

countries and

ensure sustainable

development,"

he said.

He said while

delivering his

speech at the

International

Conference on Earth and

Environmental Sciences and

Technology for Sustainable

Development(ICEEST-20)at a city

hotel. The five-day conference began on

Saturday with huge participation of

teachers, students and researchers from

home and abroad.

The Department of Earth and

Environmental Sciences of Dhaka

University (DU) is organising the international

conference on earth and environment

sciences and technology

DHAKA : The supporters of BNP's

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC)

mayoral candidate Ishraque Hossain

engaged in a clash with Awami League

activists during electioneering in the

city's Gopibagh area on Sunday.

The clash that lasted for around 30

minutes left around 15 people, including

a photojournalist of Somoy

Television, injured, reports UNB.

Witnesses said the supporters of

Awami League-backed councilor candidate

Rokonuddin Ahmed and reserved

women councillor candidate Lovely

Chowdhury took position on a road

near the main gate of Central Women's

College while Ishraque along with his

supporters was moving to the area in a

procession around 12:50pm.

Both sides raised slogans against each

other and locked into an altercation.

At one stage, they attacked each other

by throwing brickbats and chairs at

each other.

The two sides fought a pitched battle

until police intervened and brought the

situation under control. The sounds of

several blank shots were heard during

the fight.

Duty officer of Wari Police Station

Shila Akhter said they sent their force

(ICEEST).

Mentioning Bangladesh as one of the

most affected countries by climate

change, Hamid saidthe role of the most

affected countries, including

Bangladesh, in the polluting process is

very negligible.

"The countries responsible for it

should play a responsible role in overcoming

this situation. The problems

caused by climate change are no longer

limited to one country or region," he

said.

Saying climate change a global problem

now, he said the whole world will

have to come forward to resolve this.

He also called upon the global community

to come forward with financial

and technical assistance asonly

pledges and lovely words can't bring

any solution.

AL, BNP men lock into clash during

Ishraque's electioneering

immediately after receiving information

about the clash through a phone

call on 999.

During the melee, Ishraque took shelter

at his Gopibagh's residence.

Talking to reporters, Ishraque later

said ruling party men attacked them as

part of their move to foil the elections.

The BNP candidate said he along

with his supporters was peacefully

returning to his Gopibagh house from

Hatkhola via Tikatuli, but they were

attacked suddenly from an under-construction

building where there is an

election camp of an Awami League

councillor.

Ishraque's follower Mamun said they

sent about 14 injured BNP activists to

different hospitals for treatment.

Besides, Somoy Television's photojournalist

Ashraful Islam was also

injured in the clash.

AL councillor candidate Rokonuddin

Ahmed alleged that Ishraque's supporters

attacked his election camp without

any provocation, leaving his some

activists injured.

He also claimed that BNP activists

also fired eight rounds of bullets

towards them, an allegation turned

down by Ishraque.

NEWS

MonDAY, JAnuArY 27, 2020

2

Teachers and Employee of Joypurhat Government Technical School and College thanked to Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina as 'Establishment of 329 technical school and colleges at upazila level (2nd

phase)' project got approval in ECnEC recently.

Photo : Masrakul Alam

Call to ensure zero leprosy

in Bangladesh

Terming leprosy as health and social

problems in Bangladesh, speakers at a

programme called for taking

necessary steps for its eradication, a

press release said.

In 2019, 3630 leprosy patients were

detected. Every year, 3500 to 4000

new leprosy cases are detected across

the country. About 7-10% of them

turned disabled due to lack of timely

treatment, they observed.

Though treatment of leprosy is

available for free in the country, many

affected people fail to take timely

treatment due to lack of awareness.

Existing prejudice over leprosy force

victims not to seek early treatment,

they said.

Terming leprosy for causing human

sufferings, including social exclusion,

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they stressed on combined efforts

involving the government and NGOs

for tackling the problem.

Underscoring on a strategic plan,

they also called for launching massive

awareness programme, training of

health workers and proper

rehabilitation of the victims.

They remarked while addressing a

discussion titled 'Zero leprosy in

Bangladesh' at conference room of

Leprosy Control Institute and

Hospital at Mohakhali in the capital

on Sunday.

Leprosy and TB Coordinating

Committee (LTCC) and National

Leprosy Programme (NLP) jointly

organized the event, held marking the

World Leprosy Day .

Dr. Rokeya Sultana, health affairs

secretary of Awami League, attended

as the chief guest, while Prof. Dr.

Shamiul Islam, Line Director of TB,

Leprosy and ASP of Health

Directorate, was in the chair.

Dr. Md. Shafiqul Islam, manager of

NLP, Dr. Sheikh Abdul Hadi, Exprogramme

manager, Dr. Rahat Iqbal

Chowdhury, deputy programme

manager, Jiptha Boirage, programme

support coordinator of The Leprosy

Mission International- Bangladesh

(TLMI-B), Thomas Singha of Lepra

Bangladesh spoke at the discussion.

Earlier in the morning, a rally with

the participation of government and

NGO officials was brought out from

Doel Chattar of Dhaka University. It

later ended in front of National Press

Club.

Indian High

Commission in

Dhaka celebrates

republic Day

DHAKA : The Indian High

Commission in Dhaka

celebrated the 71st Republic

Day of India on Sunday at

Chancery premises of the

High Commission, reports

UNB.

High Commissioner Riva

Ganguly Das unfurled the

national flag and read out

the Indian President's

address to the Nation.

The Mahar regimental

band of the Indian Army,

which was specially flown in

for the occasion, played the

Indian National Anthem.

Members of the Indian

community in Dhaka joined

the Republic Day

celebrations in large

numbers and presented a

cultural programme

showcasing India's unity in

diversity.

Cold-related

diseases affect 4,147

people in 24 hrs

DHAKA : Various coldrelated

diseases affected

4147 people across the

country in the last 24 hours,

the government said on

Sunday, reports UNB.

Data from the Directorate

General of Health Services

(DGHS) control room

showed that 659 of the

patients received treatment

for acute respiratory

infection (ARI).

Another 1,615 were treated

for diarrhoea, and 1,873 for

diseases including jaundice,

inflammation in the eye,

skin diseases, and fever.

2 new dengue patient detected

in last 24hrs: DGHS

DHAKA : Two new dengue patient were hospitalised in the

last 24 hours until 8 am on Sunday, the Directorate General

of Health Services (DGHS) said. In its regular update, the

DGHS noted that nine patients are being treated for dengue

in Dhaka. Bangladesh experienced a massive dengue

outbreak last year, reports UNB.

Earlier this month, the government confirmed that dengue

had claimed the lives of 164 people last year. The Institute of

Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR)

confirmed the number after reviewing 263 out of 266 reports

of dengue-related deaths last year. Last year, 101,354 people

were hospitalised with dengue in the country. Of them,

101,037 made full recovery. Since the beginning of this year,

179 dengue cases were reported. Of them, 168 had been

discharged from hospitals.

Two killed in Keraniganj

wall collapse

KERANIGANJ : Two people, including a madrasa student,

were killed and two others injured as a wall collapsed in

Muslimbag area of Keraniganj on Sunday, reports UNB.

The deceased were identified as Abdur Rahim, 7, a student

of Muslimbagi Madrasa and Babu, 23, a resident of the area.

Locals said a portion of a wall of a house, owned by Haji

Bullet, collapsed on four people while they were walking on

the road, leaving them severely injured.

Injured Rahim and Babu succumbed to their wounds at

Mitford Hospital while Harun was sent to National Institute

of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation in Dhaka

as his condition was critical. Officer-in -charge of Keraniganj

Model Police Station Kazi Mainul Hossain said a crack

developed on the wall few days back but its owner did not fix

it. A case was filed in this regard, he said.

31 fishermen murderer

killed in Ctg 'gunfight'

CHATTOGRAM : A suspected pirate who was accused of

killing 31 fishermen was killed in an alleged gunfight with

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Lotmoni Hills area of

Banigram village under Banshkhali upazila of the district

early Sunday, reports BSS.

The deceased was identified as Morshed Alam, 35, hailed

from Chambal village under the upazila. Alam was the lone

suspect in the killing of 31 fishermen in 2012 in the Bay of

Bengal and stood accused in at least 30 cases including

charges of murder, robbery and piracy, said RAB-7 Assistant

Director ASP Tarek Aziz.

On a tip-off, a patrol team of the elite force had reached in

the area but suddenly the robber gang opened fire on the

RAB team, prompting the law enforcers to fire back in selfdefense,

triggering the gunfight, at the said area around 3.30

am, ASP Tarek said. Later, Morshed's body was found and a

foreign-made Pistol, a three quarter gun, two one-shooter

gun, 19 round of bullets and three Ramda were recovered

from the spot, he added.

Int'l Customs Day observed in Ctg

CHATTOGRAM : Chattogram Customs House observed the

International Customs Day yesterday through various

programmes in the city with the theme of 'Customs pestering

sustainability for people, prosperity and the Planet'.

Marking the day, Chittagong Customs House, a major revenue

earning agency of the government, brought out a colourful rally

from city's Customs House area around 8 am which ended at the

same venue after parading different city thoroughfares.

Mexican women protest murders

of activists, target monuments

Several hundred feminist activists warmed

up with chants Saturday next to a

monument to murdered Mexican women

before filling a street in the capital and

dousing female police officers with red

paint, reports UNB.

It was the latest in a series of rowdy allfemale

protests that have flooded central

avenues since August, when thousands of

women took to the streets of Mexico City in

anger over the alleged rape of a teenager by

city police and rampant violence against

women.

Now, the feminists themselves feel like

targets after two of their fellow activists were

murdered this month in different parts of

the country.

"Once again the women are taking to the

streets to shout to society that they are

killing us," said Nelly Ornelas, 24, who

belongs to a collective called Love is Not

Violence, which seeks to stamp out domestic

violence.

On average, 10 women are murdered

every day in Mexico, making it one of the

most dangerous countries in the world for

women. Only one of every 10 reported

crimes in Mexico results in jail time.

Ornelas thinks the shooting death last

week of women's rights activist Isabel

Cabanillas in Ciudad Juarez, a city just south

of El Paso, Texas, was meant as a message to

the women who are fighting for greater

safety.

"Since the authorities are indifferent, lazy,

the men think that they can keep killing

women. So the feminists, we are going to

keep going out until they learn to respect

us," said Ornelas.

Nearby, mothers and sisters of murdered

women took turns at a microphone to

describe how their girls were murdered, and

how, years later, the perpetrators remain

free. Many family members receive death

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threats for their pursuit of justice.

Tears streamed down the face of teenager

Tessa Lagunas as she listened to the tales.

"Sometimes I feel like staying home and

not going anywhere," she said, as her

mother consoled her.

In August, female protesters shocked

Mexico by trashing a bus station, police

precinct and spray-painting messages like

"rape state" onto the base of the Angel of

Independence, a major monument in the

capital topped by a female angel.

Those who complained about the graffiti,

the protesters argued, care more about

statues than real women.

Defacing monuments along the city's

stately Reforma Avenue has since become a

priority for some, who wear masks to

conceal their identities.

On Saturday the masked protesters

poured red paint onto a statue of a man

riding a pegasus, threw a flaming projectile

at a statue of explorer Christopher

Columbus and tied a green bandanna -a

symbol of abortion rights- around the ankle

of a statue of French chemist Louis Pasteur.

"It's a way to get our anger out and also to

give visibility to the movement," said a 19-

year-old with a black mask on her face.

Lines of female police in riot helmets stood

shoulder to shoulder in an effort to protect

the monuments. The protesters shifted

directions at several points, resulting in an

elaborate game of cat and mouse that

blocked traffic on key arteries for several

hours.

The protesters shouted "traitor!" at the

female officers, who pursed their lips and

resisted fighting back - even when one

officer's uniform briefly caught fire from a

Molotov cocktail.

"Really, we are with them," said a veteran

female police officer whose face was

splattered with red paint.

METRO

MonDAY, JAnuArY 27, 2020

3

Prof. Dr. Jen-Ming Chen of national Central university of Taiwan called on Dhaka university Vice-Chancellor

Prof. Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman on Sunday at the latter's office of the university.

Photo : Courtesy

Taiwan Professor meets Du VC

Dr. Jen-Ming Chen, Professor of

National Central University of

Taiwan called on Dhaka University

(DU) Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Md.

Akhtaruzzaman on Sunday at the

latter's office of the university, a

press release said.

During the meeting they

discussed matters of mutual

interest. Prof. Dr. Jen-Ming Chen

apprised DU VC of academic and

research activities of National

Central University of Taiwan. He

said, his university is interested to

undertake joint collaborative

academic and research activities

with Dhaka University. Twenty

students of National Central

University of Taiwan are expected to

visit DU in February this year, Prof.

Dr. Jen-Ming Chen pointed out.

They also discussed the

possibilities of signing a MoU

between Dhaka University and

National Central University of

Taiwan to explore new avenues on

academic and research arena.

DU VC Prof. Dr. Md.

Akhtaruzzaman thanked Prof. Dr.

Jen-Ming Chen for his visit to and

keen interest to undertake joint

collaborative academic and research

programs with DU.

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EDITORIAL

moNdAY, JANUArY 27, 2020

4

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Monday, January 27, 2020

Higher quality

seeds to increase

production

Bangladesh in 2007 found out the hard

way why the local capacities for food

production must be retained, always, on

the high side. In that year, local crops failed on

a large scale when import prices of foodgrains

shot up and food grains became scarce in the

international markets. If nothing else, the

lessons of 2007 must not be ever missed by

the policy planners. It is high time for

Bangladeshto develop short, medium and

long term plans and to implement them in

time for its sustainable and comprehensive

food security.

There are very compelling reasons to explain

why much increasing the production of food

grains ought to be a very high priority for

Bangladesh. The country is able to maintain a

balance of sorts now between its basic food

production and the needs of its present

population. But this balance could strain

severely even in the near future creating or

increasing import dependency again.

Thus, it is high time for Bangladesh to devise

and implement programmes to go on

substantially increasing the production of food

grains. This year's attainment of the target of

boro rice production which was set at a higher

level and achieved, shows that planned

increases of food grain production are

possible. This should now lead to planning for

the long term to attain complete and

sustainable self-sufficiency in food grains

production over the long haul matching with

population rise or growing consumption. The

aim of such long term planning is to go on

gradually increasing food grain production to

ultimately double output.

Every year, the country is seen losing nearly

80 thousand hectares of arable lands due to

river erosion, building of houses and

infrastructures. Thus, one per cent of arable

lands is getting lost annually when the demand

for food is rising at a rate of 1.4 per cent

annually from population growth and other

factors. There is probably a slight mismatch in

the demand and supply of food grains already.

This will only worsen in the years to come if

vigorous steps are not taken from now to go on

increasing food grain production.

The strategy for Bangladesh to that end will

have to be one of increasing production from

limited or shrinking areas of cultivable lands.

But this should not be considered as a serious

negative factor because all the possibilities are

there for higher productivity from the limited

lands. According to experts, Bangladesh can

attain a major increase in its food grain

production immediately by only expanding the

use of the higher yielding varieties of seeds.

Only 20 per cent of the farmlands are now

covered by high yielding seeds. If the rate of

use of such seeds can be extended by 60 per

cent from the present rate, then it would be

possible to produce an additional 30 million

tons of rice.

The challenge would be producing the

increased quantities of the higher yielding

seeds and distributing these efficiently to the

farmers. The total demand for paddy seeds is

0.3 million metric tons. But the Bangladesh

Agricultural Development Corporation

(BADC) supplies 80 thousand metric tons and

the rest are supplied by the private sector.

Thus, both the BADC and the private sector

will have to engage in time-bound hard

activities to increase production of higher

yielding seeds and to ensure their efficient

distribution to farmers. BADC is expected to

take the lead role in this area.

It is also important to gradually increase

capacities for storing food grains. As it is such

storing capacities needs to expand fast to keep

pace with greater production of food grains. A

great deal of foods grains available in the post

harvest periods cannot be warehoused now

simply due to inadequate warehousing

facilities.

discussions on regional issues without involving

region’s think tanks are meaningless

Sometimes in our life we come

across people who live by the old

ways of thinking, believing that

time has stood still at a certain moment,

or that the world around them has never

changed. They think that they can

respond to people, events and

developments in the world with the same

mentality that prevailed in the past. This

is not particularly strange and we see

many examples of it today, especially

with political religious groups that aim to

take our countries and societies back to

the time of the Caliphate and the early

periods of Islam. In doing so, they ignore

historical facts and human civilisational

development. What is really strange,

however, is to find Western think tanks,

that are supposed to be well-established

with solid scientific and research

traditions, adopting the same approach

and addressing the issues of our region

in the 21st century with a 19th century

mindset.

I came to this conclusion while

watching the proceedings of the 15th

edition of the regional security

conference, organised by the

International Institute for Strategic

Studies (IISS) in Bahrain, from

November 22 to 24, 2019.

We should not let these institutions

[foreign think tanks] determine our

interests and policies, as was the case in

the 19th century; rather, this work

should be carried out by our people, who

best understand our region and its

interests.

The method the Institute adopted in

organising the conference gives

specialists in these types of proceedings,

and researchers familiar with the

operating mechanisms of research

institutions, the belief that the Institute

has managed this important event,

which saw significant political

participation, as if it were an all-British

affair. It appeared as though Britain was

still the Great Britain that controlled the

region during the 19th century, imposing

its administration over the region and

making resolutions on its behalf.

All of the conference's public panels,

with no exception, were chaired and run

by the director general and chief

executive of the IISS, alongside a number

of other British IISS employees. No one

else was given the opportunity to chair or

run the conference's panels, not even

experts from the host country itself,

which had spared no effort to provide the

right resources and conditions to make

the conference a success.

The same observation can be made of

the lecturers and participants in the

conference's panels and proceedings,

which were dominated by British figures,

particularly retired generals and IISS

employees from London, who came to

Boris Johnson is finalizing plans

with Donald Trump for a trip

to Washington next month.

While the visit will be designed to

showcase personal warmth between

the two, it comes at a tricky time.

Most immediately, the proposed

UK digital tax is causing diplomatic

waves. UK finance minister Sajid

Javid last weekre-affirmed his intent

to move ahead with the tax; France

and other European countries are

also seeking to ensure technology

firms, most of them American, pay

their fair share of tax in countries

where they operate.

Many such tech companies argue

that taxes should be payable not

where they have their European

headquarters, but where digital

activity takes place. Both Trump and

Treasury Secretary Stephen

Mnuchin have supported this,

andMnuchin has threatened

retaliation against the UK with tariffs

on its cars imported into the US.

Security and defense have long

been at the core of the US-UK

relationship, but there are tensions

there too. Washington has warned

UK officials that it may limit

intelligence sharing if London allows

the Chinese company Huawei to

build part of its 5G high speed mobile

network. Johnson is expected to

award the contract to Huawei in

days, which would be a high-stakes

diplomatic gamble for London given

its desire to form closer post-Brexit

economic ties with both Beijing and

Washington.

Beyond security issues, there are

also US-UK disagreements on wider

foreign policy challenges, such as

JAmAl SANAd Al SUWAIdI

dominate the final panel. Moreover,

most non-British participants were from

countries that had been British colonies,

in addition to a number of other Western

officials, particularly from the US

Congress. One member of the US

Congress who participated in the

conference visited the home of Bahraini

detainee Nabeel Rajab, to the dismay of

many in the host country and a few of the

Gulf officials in attendance.

How is it possible that we are returning

to the 19th century when we were under

the hegemony of colonial powers,

allowing them to regain control of our

affairs in the 21st century, while we

possess all the tools of knowledge and

advancement...?

The conference was described as

'regional', mainly concerning the Middle

East and Arabian Gulf. Scholarly

integrity and objectivity required the

participation of more Gulf and Arab

experts and officials, pursuant to the old

adage of finding local solutions to local

problems, as expressed by the phrase,

"the people of Makkah know best its

narrow streets".

However, the conference was

organised by the IISS, where the

mentality of its staff seems to be

entrenched in the past, with a mindset

that the British understand the region

better than its people, as they did in the

nineteenth century. Participants in the

conference sessions were chosen in a

way that did not give enough room for

people in the region to put forward their

visions and ideas. Instead, it made room

for the British to express their views in a

region that emerged from beneath their

control decades ago, further reinforcing a

mentality that denies this fact, which was

made evident.

This was clearly reflected in the nature

of the topics discussed, which were

tackled in a weak or superficial manner.

They talked about what is already

known, even for novices in security and

political fields, presenting unrealistic

insights and approaches, addressed from

a point of view that does not reflect the

concerns of the Gulf and Arab states and

their national interests. These

discussions were more reflective of the

concerns of the British themselves, and

what they see as a threat or challenge to

their own interests, or those of their

Western allies in the region. I can give an

example - the position expressed by

British lecturers and moderators on the

growing Gulf relations with China and

India.

We could easily discern from their

input some concern about the growing

influence of China and India in the

region, and the probability that this

influence may incorporate a military

dimension in the future to protect the

economic interests of the two countries,

especially China, which is moving

forward in strengthening its relations

with the Arab Gulf states, and is expected

to witness a major boom as it

implements its ambitious Belt and Road

Initiative. This was viewed by the British

institute's researchers, as well as the

British and Western conference

participants, as a challenge to their

interests and influence in the region.

However, China's interest in the region,

We could easily discern from their input some concern about the

growing influence of China and India in the region, and the probability

that this influence may incorporate a military dimension in the future

to protect the economic interests of the two countries, especially

China, which is moving forward in strengthening its relations with the

Arab Gulf states, and is expected to witness a major boom as it

implements its ambitious Belt and road Initiative.

ANdreW HAmmoNd

and growing Sino-Gulf relations,

represents to us in the GCC and Arab

countries, an opportunity to diversify our

foreign relations, as well as to increase

trade and investment opportunities that

benefit our countries.

While following the proceedings of the

conference, another matter became

apparent; a sense of formality prevailed

among the speakers and participants,

most of whom were ministers and

political and security officials. This was

amid a clear absence of intellectuals and

academics who could have enriched the

debate.

Although this can be beneficial in

terms of providing a platform to

exchange political opinions, as well as a

framework for dialogue and interaction

between these officials, there are

negative aspects, such as the inability to

put forward solutions, ideas and

recommendations that would contribute

to settling regional security issues and

addressing the topics in question.

This is because politicians and officials

are often conservative in advancing ideas

and are constrained by the policies and

protocols of their respective countries.

Boris goes to Washington

Iran, andclimate change. This year is

the fifth anniversary of the 2015

Paris climate change agreement, and

the Johnson government is chairing

the annual UN climate meeting in

November amid significant pressure

to make major progress on

implementing Paris commitments.

The two-week UN summit in

Scotland is already being billed as

the most important climate

gathering since 2015, with about 200

world leaders attending. The

meeting, just after the US

presidential election, could therefore

be a crossroads in the battle against

global warming.

Following Trump's cool

relationship with Theresa May, it has

been widely assumed that her more

colorful replacement can rejuvenate

the so-called special relationship.

With Trump in power until at least

2021, one of the key tasks will be

seeking to bring the US president

into, or neutralise his opposition to,

any bold new action on climate

change. This will not be easy,

especially in light of his remarks last

week about environmental "prophets

of doom."It is in this context, with

the UK leaving the EU in days, that

Johnson's visit is being planned for

next month. Following Trump's cool

relationship with Theresa May, it has

been widely assumed that her more

colorful replacement can rejuvenate

the so-called special relationship.

But while Johnson and Trump

appear to get on quite well, the

prospects for the relationship are

uncertain given the US president's

erratic nature, and key differences

between the two sides over their

post-Brexit relationship.

Beyond security issues, there are also US-UK

disagreements on wider foreign policy challenges,

such as Iran, andclimate change. This year is the

fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris climate change

agreement, and the Johnson government is

chairing the annual UN climate meeting in

November amid significant pressure to make major

progress on implementing Paris commitments.

To be sure, it is clear that Trump

and Johnson see a potential, post-

Brexit, US-UK trade deal as the

cornerstone of a renewed "special

relationship," and this could also be

a boon for Trump personally given

that he is criticized as an antiglobalization,

protectionist

president. From the standpoint of

Brexiteers too, including Johnson,

this would also represent a win in

their own battle to show that the

nation can swiftly secure trade deals

with key non-European partners.

There are also key areas ripe for

agreement here, such as lowering or

eliminating tariffs on goods. Equally,

Intellectuals and academics, on the other

hand, especially those who belong to the

region, could have contributed to indepth

analysis of the events and issues in

question, and presented creative and

innovative recommendations and ideas

that offer solutions, initiatives and

strategic visions for addressing existing

crises, free from protocol and political

constraints.

I do not mean to be critical or to detract

from the efforts exerted to successfully

host and organise this important

conference, especially by my brothers in

the Kingdom of Bahrain who spared no

effort to ensure the right conditions to

make the event a success. However, as a

Gulf and Arab researcher and intellectual

I was frustrated when observing the

proceedings of this conference, which

was clearly directed by the Londonbased

IISS. Is it reasonable in the 21st

century, when our Gulf and Arab

countries have reached such a significant

level of cultural and knowledge

advancement, to wait for the British, or

any other Western think tank, to

determine our vital issues and concerns,

as well as the threats and challenges

facing us and how to cope with them?

How is it possible that we are returning

to the 19th century when we were under

the hegemony of colonial powers,

allowing them to regain control of our

affairs in the 21st century, while we

possess all the tools of knowledge and

advancement that allow us to not only

compete with them in the future, but also

surpass them?

In conclusion, I would like to

emphasise that I comment from a purely

scientific and research-based

perspective, given that I am a researcher

specialised in political science and am

aware of the operating mechanisms of

think tanks and strategic studies centres.

This also stems from my eagerness to

serve the national interests of our Gulf

and Arab countries. Discussions of issues

relevant to our region and seeking the

best ways to ensure their security,

stability and progress should be carried

out through national think tanks and

national intellectuals focused on their

homeland's affairs and future.

This is not a call to cease collaboration

in areas of scientific research, exchange

of expertise and knowledge with foreign

and international think tanks. This

indeed is essential and desired, however,

we should not let these institutions

determine our interests and policies, as

was the case in the 19th century; rather,

this work should be carried out by our

people, who best understand our region

and its interests.

Source : Gulf news

however, possible icebergs lie on the

horizon. They include the prospect

that harmonising financial

regulations, with the international

dominance of Wall Street and the

City of London, will not necessarily

be straightforward. Securing

agreement in other sectors, including

agriculture, where there are

divergences of views and strong

interest groups, will also not be easy.

As last month's UK election

campaign showed, there are also UK

political concerns that the nation's

much cherished National Health

Service could be part of the agenda

here for US healthcare firms.

Given the multiple uncertainties

ahead in the Trump presidency,

Johnson is likely to continue to seek

to play the role of a trusted friend in

a bid to get close to the president to

try to make the relationship work as

smoothly as possible. This may

provide some protection in what

could be a rocky period of

international relations in the early

2020s.

While this may be a sensible

strategy, at least initially, it is not

without risk, especially given

Trump's mercurial behavior and

polarized standing in UK opinion.

While seeking the upside in the new

relationship, Johnson would do well

not to overestimate the UK's ability

to shape US power, nor neglect the

likelihood that when push comes to

shove, Trump's "America First"

outlook may care little for core UK

interests, whatever personal affinity

they have for each other.

Source : Arab news

LAW & PEOPLE 5

mONDAY, JANuArY 27, 2020

QuerY :

Dear Sir,

I wrote a number of articles, poems on various

contemporary issues over last couple of years. Now I

want publish a book and want to attain copyright

registration, so that no one can use my write ups. In

order to attain copyright registration what are the

things I need to follow, please inform.

Regards,

Rafiqul Haque

Comilla.

OpiNiON :

In order to attain copyright registration, an application

for copyright should be supported by the following

documents:

1. A completed application form

2. Treasury chalan

3. Copies of the work to be registered

4. Transfer deed of work in stamp paper (if applicable)

5. Legal paper (Okalatnama) (if a lawyer submits the

application form on behalf of the author)

Once the Registrar received any application for

copyright, he shall serve notice of the concerned

application to every person who has any interest in the

subject matter of that application. If the Registrar

receives any objection he may after holding such inquiry

This week Your Legal Adviser is

mahbub ibne Ayub (sagar),

Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh.

He has expertise mainly in banking law, tax law, commercial

law, corporate law, family law, employment and labor law,

land law, constitutional law, criminal law and in conducting

litigations before courts of different hierarchies. He can be

reached at - cell: 01927345204, E-mail:

mahbub.ayub@yahoo.com.

as he deems fit, enter such particulars of work in the

register of copyright, which he considers proper. After

registration, the Registrar shall send copies of the

entries made in the register to the parties concerned.

Copyright may be assigned, transferred or licensed.

The Copyright Office has prescribed form for transfer.

There are three kinds of remedies against infringement

of copyright, namely:

Civil remedies

The owner of the copyright can bring civil action in

which reliefs such as Anton Pillar Order (Search Order)

injunction, accounts and damages can be sought. A suit

or other civil proceedings relating to infringement of

copyright is to be filed in the Court of District Judge,

within whose jurisdiction the plaintiff resides or carries

on business or where the cause of action arose

irrespective of the place of residence or place of business

of the defendant.

Criminal remedies

Criminal remedies provides for the imprisonment of

the accused or imposition of fine or both, seizure of

infringing copies etc. Criminal proceedings are available

in order to punish the persons who have violated the

copyright law.

Administrative remedies

Administrative remedies consist of moving to the

Registrar of copyrights to ban the import of infringing

copies into Bangladesh, when the infringement is by way

of such importation and the delivery of the confiscated

infringing copies to the owner of the copyright.

Why the victims of torture

are not getting justice

in Bangladesh

medical Negligence in Bangladesh: Likely Way Out

mD.mAmONOr rAshiD

It is apparent that all doctors, nurses and hospitals

owe a duty of care to their patients to exercise

levelheaded care in carrying out their professional

handiness. Where a duty of care is breached, liability

for negligence may arise. Medical negligence is part of

a branch of law called tort derived from the Latin verb

'tortere' means to hurt. The idea of hurt is an

important consideration in establishing negligence.

The procedure therefore relies on establishing fault on

the part of the doctors, nurses, hospitals, etc. The

major tortious claims for medical negligence do not

succeed because it is difficult to establish the harm

occurred as a direct result of an act or a failure to act.

The person making the claim (the claimant) must

establish on the balance of probabilities that

negligence has occurred by the hospital or doctor (the

defendant). The principle of 'duty of care' was fully

established by Donoghue v Stevenson in 1932 wherein

Lord Atkin identified that there was a general duty to

take reasonable care to avoid forseeable injury.

According to the World Medical Association

Declaration of Geneva (WMA), a member of medical

profession shall solemnly pledge stating that health of

the patient will be the doctor's first consideration. On

the other hand, medical negligence is a clear violation

of right to health by a professional group who are

actually on duty to protect when emergency strikes

and the health

rights are under

threat.

However, medical

negligence is a

common incident in

Bangladesh. Every

day and even every

minute a lot of

patients are

becoming victims of

medical negligence

which is certainly a

clear violation of the

right to health and

right to life

guaranteed by the

Constitution of

Bangladesh under

Article 18 and 32.

Conversely, what are the reasons behind this? In

Bangladesh, due to the absence of proper and

effective law, the medical professionals are taking the

full advantage of their professional indemnity and

they just don't even feel that they are also a subject to

law. This situation is deteriorating day by day as they

give much time in their personal clinics or chambers

for higher income and have a little time in hand while

treating a patient.

Occurrences of medical negligence can easily be

noticed by the newspaper reports or through different

TV channels almost in every month. Sometimes

allegations are made by the families of the dead

against such negligence that gets much media

attention. But unfortunately nothing happens later.

Categorically, cases of medical negligence often

involve complex issues regarding emergency room care,

surgery, intensive care treatment, delivery, and

medication errors. These cases require extensive

medical research, investigation and analysis as well as

the investigation officer or any other person in this

connection, must have proper medical knowledge.

Nevertheless, in Bangladesh negligence by the

doctors, nurses, hospitals have been dogged by the

lawyers, investigation officers and judges who are

not well trained, experienced and do not possess

ample knowledge in medical science to weigh up

the case, confer bona fide legal guidance, factual

report and comprehensive judgment. In addition,

lacking of evidence from the patient's end is

another loophole for not proving the medical

negligence lawsuits in Bangladesh.

Considering the above perspectives, this write up

now portrays the legal ambit of medical negligence,

review the existing laws on medical negligence of

Bangladesh and focus on the possible solutions to

upgrade this unaddressed legal arena for common

good of the patients, despite the fact that there is no

particular Act on medical negligence in our

country, but under different statutes some

remedies are found. We hardly have the Law of

Tort in Bangladesh as an Act but provisions are

available and enforced under different Acts.

Medical negligence with special reference to the

Consumer Rights Protection Act 2009 has the

sanctity of protection and enforcement of rights of

patients. Now the victims can institute a suit under

this Act because a medical patient is considered as

a consumer and the medical institutions or

professionals are as service provider under section

2, though it is not expressed stated in the Act but

cases have been filed and accepted by the courts.

In addition, the criminal complaints can be filed

against doctors alleging commission of offences

punishable under Sec. 304A or Sections 336 or 337

or 338 of the

Penal Code, 1860

alleging rashness

or negligence on

the part of the

doctors resulting

in loss of life or

injury of varying

degree to the

patient. Sections

80 and 88 of the

Penal Code

contain defenses

for doctors

accused of

criminal liability.

Furthermore,

under Civil law the

doctors, nurses

and hospitals

individually and vicariously may be held liable for

their services and compensation for medical

negligence can be claimed. It means that whenever

there is breach of a contract, the aggrieved parties are

entitled to claim one or more remedies against the

opposite party as per the Contract Act, 1872 where

Suit for damages or suit upon quantum meruit

(means in proportion to the work done) could be

initiated whenever there is breach of a contract

under the Contract Act, 1872. The Victim patient

may also seek temporary and permanent

injunction under the Specific Relief Act, 1877 as

against health professionals violating contractual

and service terms.

Yet, the above stated laws are not conclusive to

determine the claim of medical negligence and

medical malpractices by the doctors, nurses and

hospitals. Therefore, the government must enact a

new law, which can be called, the Patient's Rights

Protection Act along with establishment of

separate Medical Malpractice Tribunal to

prosecute the real offenders.

The Writer is an Associate of Chowdhury

Mokimuddin & Associates (International Corporate

Law Firm) and Sub-editor of BdLawNews.com

IN existing real scenario of Bangladesh, it is so

difficult to lodge a complaint and prove the

allegation on torture, perpetrated by law and

security personnel of the country. Article 35 (5) of

Constitution of the People Republic of

Bangladesh strictly prohibits not only torture but

also all form of cruel behavior, punishment or

treatment. But section 197 of the Criminal

Procedure Code (Cr. P.C) of Bangladesh provides

safeguard to the countries officials who are

restored to violence in their official capacity when

demanded by circumstances.

The obstacle to lodge a complaint against law

and other security personnel begins from the

initial stage of filing case. When the victim tries to

loge a First Information Report (FIR) against the

law and security personnel with the concerned

police station, the duty officer denies straight

away registering the FIR.

Similarly, when the victims of torture try to

lodge a complaint with the concerned court, it is

always denied by the court excusing the

mandatory section 197 of Criminal Procedure

Code, which pre-sanctions the government to

bring allegation against the government servant

with the court.

Most of the magistrates of in criminal court

are bogged down as they are not being up to date

about the high court rule, order or judgment

passed on different problems. They do not have

the knowledge that the high court's ruling

dismissed the old notion on the old usages of the

Cr.P.C section 197.

Most of the practicing lawyers are also not

appropriately trained or have enough knowledge

or confidence to lodge a complaint against the

law and security personnel. They do not know

that they can lodge case against perpetrators (law

and security personnel). Although some of the

lawyer did hear about possibility to lodge

complaint against the doers, they do not have

practical experience.

At the case of Rokeya Begum Vs Shafikur

Rahman , reported on 2 BCR page no. 04 where

the High Court Division of Supreme Court has

issued the following rule: " No sanction under

section 197 of Criminal Procedure Code is

necessary for taking cognizance of the offence

alleged in the case, even if the police officer and

involved police constable committed the offence

while setting or purporting to act in the discharge

of official duty. Protection of section 197 is not

available to accused police officials as available to

other public servants."

Question of compulsory bribing is another

pre condition from police side which leads the

case ending up in a fiasco. Again there has been

witness and complainant intimidation by both

the law and security personnel and influential

political leaders. Some of the filing lawyers

(advocate of the victim) are being influenced by

the perpetrators. Sometime the filing lawyer

develops ill connection with the perpetrators.

The next point of hurdles for providing the

case against perpetrators is the police himself.

With the rule of procedure victim usually lodge

complaints against law and security personnel in

the court of law, the incumbent Magistrate sent

this case to police official for investigation and

asked him to submit the report in the court

within a stipulated time.

It is usually seen that the responsible

investigating officer submits a distorted or

concocted report to the concerned court. That is

one of the most important reasons why victims of

torture are not getting justice in Bangladesh.

People in Bangladesh ordinary see that

police are given bribery by the citizens either

voluntarily or forcefully (except for few) is legal.

Besides that, we can see that the police are also

providing bribery to the complainant. Victims

who want justice through the courts, the accused

perpetrators find a way to cool down the

complainant through bribery.

The perpetrators also try to intimidate the

complainant to withdraw the case by threatening

and also implicating with series of false cases.

Moreover, lengthy, time consuming, complicated,

expensive court proceeding, difficulties in

collecting medical evidence, lack of co-operation

from civil society and elites of the community

with the lawyer is also creating obstacle to get

justice of torture victim.

Recently a new law has been enacted which

mandates suspension of the accused from service

during investigation into the charges, regardless

of whether the suspect is a member of a regular

law-enforcement agency, the armed forces, or

any other government office. For deaths in

custody, the accused can be sentenced to a

maximum life term in jail and be fined. The law

also provides for monetary compensation to be

paid to the victim by the convict. For torture in

custody, the law warrants five years' rigorous

imprisonment and a fine.

The law mandates that investigations into

cases of torture will have to be completed within

90 days of registration of a complaint, and the

trial will have to be completed within 180 days.

The law also allows the Bangladesh courts to take

cognisance of a crime based on the complaint a

person makes to the court, and mandates the

court to direct a medical examination of the

complainant.

But still there is no example to get remedy

applying this new law due to unconscious of

general mass and victim of torture even lawyer

about the act and its proper application.

Writer : Shahanur Saikot

young human rights defender & lawyer,

Justice Makers Fellow, Switzerland

Email: saikotbihr@gmail.com, Blog:

www.shahanur.blogspot.com

NATIONAL

MonDAY, JAnuArY 27 2020 6

DPDC Procurement Project:

‘Discriminatory’ condition to

cost it addl Tk 270cr

A view exchanging meeting between the senior officials of Bangladesh Power Development Board

and newly appointed secretary of power division Dr Sultan Ahmed was held at Bijoy hall of Bidyut

Bhaban yesterday. Chairman of Bangladesh Power Development Engineer Sayeed Ahmed and other

high officials were present at that time.

Photo : Courtesy

'Drug trader'

killed in Cox's

Bazar 'gunfight'

COX'S BAZAR : A

suspected drug trader was

killed in a reported gunfight

with police at Hoaikang

Nayabazar in Teknaf upazila

early Sunday, reports UNB.

The deceased was

identified as Nasir alias

Manna, 30, son of Jalal

Ahmed of East

Satghariapara in the upazila.

Tipped off, a team of police

conducted a drive in the area

around 4 am, said officer-incharge

of Teknaf Police

Station Pradip Kumar Das.

Sensing presence of the

law enforcers, the criminals

opened fire on them , forcing

them to fire back in self

defence, he said.

After the gunfight, police

arrested injured Nasir and

took him to Sadar Hospital

where doctors declared him

dead. Three policemen

including an assistant subinspector

and two police

constables were injured in

the incident.

Police recovered 10,000

Yaba pills, three fireamrs

and 12 rounds of bullets

from the spot.

Two killed in

Mymensingh road

accident

MYMENSINGH : Two people were killed and five others

injured as a truck hit an auto-rickshaw at Natun Bazar in

Muktagacha municipality area on Sunday morning, reports

UNB.

The identity of the deceased could not be known

immediately.

The accident took place when a Tangail-bound truck hit an

auto-rickshaw in the area around 8:45am, leaving two,

including a woman, dead on the spot, said Al Amin,

additional superintendent of Mymensingh police.

On information, police recovered the bodies while the

injured were taken to a local health complex.

Police seized the truck but its driver managed to flee the

scene, the official added.

Export-import

through Hili land

port suspended

DINAJPUR : Export-import activities through the Hili land

port were suspended on Sunday on the occasion of India's

71st Republic Day, reports UNB.

Kamal Hossain Raj, president of C and F Agent Association

of the port, said the traders took the decision as the day is a

public holiday in India.

All types of export-import activities remained suspended

since morning but the movement of people through the port

remained uninterrupted, said immigration check post

Officer-in-Charge Md Rafikuzzaman.

'Pirate' killed

in Chattogram

'gunfight'

CHATTOGRAM : A

suspected pirate was killed

in a reported gunfight with

members of Rapid Action

Battalion (Rab) at Banigram

village in Banshkhali upazila

on Sunday morning, reports

UNB.

The deceased was

identified as Morshed Alam,

35. Rab said he was wanted

in over two dozen cases

including the killing of 31

fishermen in the Bay of

Bengal.

A team of Rab-7

conducted a drive in the area

around 4:30am acting on a

tip-off, said Mahmudul

Hasan Mamun, assistant

director (media) of Rab-7.

Pirates opened fire as soon

as the Rab team reached the

spot, triggering a gunfight.

Morshed was caught in the

line of fire and died on the

spot, Mamun said.

A foreign-made pistol,

three lighter guns (LG) and

14 bullets were recovered

from the spot.

DHAKA : A

'discriminatory'

condition in a

procurement process

will cost Dhaka Power

Distribution Company

(DPDC) an additional

amount of Tk 270 crore

if it picks the lowest

bidder for the job.

As per the condition, if

the lowest bidder is a

foreign firm, DPCC will

pay the customs duty

and VAT while in case of

the local firm, those will

be paid by the company

itself, reports UNB.

According to official

sources at the Power

Division, the issue came

to their notice following

the submission of a

complaint by a

representative of a local

company on January 23.

One Jamal Uddin of

the local company made

the complaint in a letter

submitted to the Power

Division seeking 'justice'

over a DPDC tender for

"Design, Supply,

Construction, Testing

and Commissioning Of

11 KV New Distribution

Line, including

Underground

Distribution System and

Renovation Of Existing

11 KV Distribution Line

On Turnkey Basis".

Through the tender,

the DPDC is supposed to

procure different

materials, including

transformers, cables,

electric poles, hardware,

insulators, fuse cutouts

and lighting arrests, and

carry out civil work.

Electrical equipment

will also be procured for

refurbishing the

underground

distribution system and

the existing 1kV

distribution line along

with a new 1kV

distribution line.

In the letter, it was

complained that DPDC

has allowed a Chinese

company, which was

initially disqualified

technically, to submit its

financial offer at the final

level bid submission.

When its financial offer

is opened, it was found

that the company

became the lowest

bidder with its offer of Tk

924.36 crore while a

local company became

the second lowest bidder

offering Tk 992.18 crore.

"If DPDC now awards

the contract to the

Chinese company,

ultimate total price will

be approximately 1,261

crore, including taxes,

and if they go for the

offer of the Bangladeshi

company, the total cost

will be Tk 992 crore,

including taxes. It means

DPDC can save

approximately Tk 270

crore,"said the

complaint.

If the local company's

offer is accepted, the

customs duty and VAT

will be paid by it as per

the tender condition,

claimed

the

representative of the

local company in his

letter.

It was further

mentioned in the letter

that the main reason

behind the lower price

offered by the Chinese

company is that it would

supply materials from

China instead of

Europe/USA/Australia

as per the tender

requirements.

According to tender

conditions, cable

jointing kits, termination

kits and MCCB, as

mentioned in Technical

Specification Country of

Origin should be of

UK/USA/

Annual sports competition and prize distribution program was held at Jagir High School of

Manikganj Sadar upazila yesterday. More than two hundred students took part in this sports competition.

Photo : Monirul Islam Mihir

on Saturday night, members of Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) station, Teknaf arrested three

yaba traders along with 4,000 pieces of yaba. The arrestees are nurbahar (50), Md Helal

Hossain (28) and Md. Abdur razzak (18). All arrestees are the residents of Teknaf upazila in

Cox's Bazar district.

Photo : Courtesy

Mymensingh Divisional Commissioner Mustafizur rahman, nDC handing over prize to Madarganj

upazila Fisheries officer Tanvir rahman as he secured second position for an aps based piloting work in

divisional level.

Photo : Zulfiker Bablu

13 rail

stations lie

dormant in

Cumilla

CUMILLA : Thirteen

railway stations in Cumilla

have been lying inactive for

the last 12 years for the lack of

manpower, causing sufferings

to the commuters and forcing

people to use alternative - and

often costlier - modes of

transportation, reports UNB.

The stations include -

Doulatganj, Khila, Bipulasar,

Nauti, Ali Shohor, Mainamati,

Razapur, Shahtoli, Moishadi,

Balakhal and Shahrasti.

Railway sources say some

more stations will soon follow

suit.

Stations that have been

closed down are now safe

spots for drug addicts and

destitute, locals said.

Many trains still make

stopover at some of the closed

stations and some passengers

take advantage of the

situation and travel without

tickets.

Trains allowed people to

commute faster and at

cheaper rates.

Shah Mohammad Alamgir

Khan, President of Sujon,

Cumilla, said the closure of

the stations pushed up

expenditure of the people.

"Now it takes more time and

money to travel," he said.

Nasir Uddin, an official of

Chattogram Railways

Divisional Transport, said the

stations have been lying

inoperative due to the lack of

manpower.

"We've requested the

authorities concerned to

recruit more people. The

stations will be opened in the

next two to three months," he

said.

Hearing on Minni's

bail cancellation

plea on Feb 2

BARGUNA : A court here

on Sunday fixed February

2 for further hearing on a

petition seeking

cancellation of Aysha

Siddika Minni's bail in a

case filed over the murder

of her husband Rifat

Sharif.

Barguna district and

special court judge Md

Asaduzzaman fixed the

date after hearing on a

petition filed by state,

reports UNB.

The court also testified

two witnesses.

Minni's lawyer

Mahbubul Bari Aslam said

that the petition for

cancellation of bail was

filed on January 8 and

court also issued a show

cause notice asking them

why Minni's bail would not

be cancelled. Later, they

submitted their written

reply on January 15.

Later, the court fixed

Sunday for hearing.

Rifat Sharif was hacked

to death in broad daylight

in the district town of

Barguna on June 26 last.

He was attacked with

sharp weapons near the

main gate of Barguna

Government College while

his wife Minni appeared to

be trying to protect him

from the attackers.

Twenty-four people were

accused in the murder case

filed by Rifat's father. The

young man's wife, Minni,

initially named as a

witness, was later arrested

on July 16, and made an

accused in the case.

The main accused,

Sabbir Ahmed alias Nayon

Bond, was killed in a

reported gunfight with law

enforcers on July 2.

The High Court on

August 29 granted bail to

Minni on conditions that

she would remain in her

father's custody and refrain

from talking to the media.

Stone quarry worker killed

in clash with police, rab in

Panchagarh

PANCHAGARH : A

stone quarry worker was

killed and 30 others were

injured on Sunday in a

clash with police and Rapid

Action Battalion (Rab)

members in Bhajanpur

area of Tetulia upazila in

the district.

The deceased was

identified as Jumaruddin,

55, of Gonagas village of

Tetulia.

Witnesses said stone

quarry workers blocked

Panchagarh-

Banglabandha highway in

Bhajanpur area around 10

am demanding withdrawal

of ban on the stone

extraction.

When police and Rab

members tried to

obstructthe protesters with

tear shells, the protesting

workers started throwing

brickbats towards them,

triggering a clash that left

30 people, including cops,

injured.

Man to die for

killing college

student in

Barguna

BARGUNA : A tribunal here

on Sunday sentenced a man

to death and another person

to life term imprisonment for

killing a college student and

dismembering her body into

seven pieces in 2017.

The condemned convict is

Alamgir Hossain Palash, 35, a

lecturer of Ghatbaria Ideal

College and son of Latif

Hawladar of Mirzaganj

upazila in Patuakhali district

while the lifer is

BiplobTalukdar, 40, an

advocate and a resident of

Amtoli municipality area,

reports UNB.

The tribunal also sentenced

Riajul Islam Reaz, 27, another

accused in the case, to seven

years imprisonment.

According to the

prosecution, Mala, a class XI

student of Kalapara Mozahar

Uddin Biswas College and

daughter of Abdul Mannan of

Gudighata village in Sadar

upazila, had an affair with

Palash.

On October 22, 2017, Palash

took Mala to his brother-inlaw

Biplob's house where he

killed Mala with the help of

Biplab and Reaz on October

24. Later, they dismembered

her body into seven pieces.

On information, police

recovered the body parts, kept

in a drum, from the house of

Biplab and a case was filed

with Amtoli Police Station on

that same day.

Later, Palash made

confessional statement before

the court.

After examining the records

and 25 witnesses, Barguna

Woman and Child Repression

and Prevention Tribunal

handed down the verdict.

INTERNATIONAL

MONDAY,

JANUARY 27, 2020

7

"Sesame Street" in the past year has tackled everything from foster care to substance abuse. Now its latest

effort is trying to help children suffering as a result of the Syrian civil war.

Photo: ABC news

‘Sesame Street’ comforts children

displaced by Syrian war

"Sesame Street" in the past year has

tackled everything from foster care to

substance abuse. Now its latest effort is

trying to help children suffering as a

result of the Syrian civil war, reports

UNB.

Sesame Workshop - the nonprofit,

educational organization behind

"Sesame Street" - has launched a new,

locally produced Arabic TV program

for the hundreds of thousands of children

dealing with displacement in Syria,

Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.

"The thing that became very apparent

in our work on the ground is how

critical the need was for the children of

this region and children who have

been affected by traumatic events to

have the social and emotional skills

they need," said Sherrie Westin, president

of Social Impact and Philanthropy

at Sesame Workshop.

Called "Ahlan Simsim," which

means "Welcome Sesame" in Arabic,

the show will feature Elmo, Cookie

Monster and Grover, as well as two

brand new Muppets - the boy monster

Jad, who had to leave his home, and

Basma, a purple girl monster who

befriends the young stranger. An

adorable goat named Ma'zooza adds

comic relief.

Each 26-minute show will explore

emotions experienced by all kids but

particularly relevant to those dealing

with trauma and will offer coping skills

for feelings like anger, fear, frustration,

nervousness and loneliness. In one

episode, Basma shares her toys with

Jad, since he left his behind. Some of

the strategies include belly breathing

and expression through art.

A variety show in the second half of

each episode offers creators the chance

to bring in local celebrities and attract

an adult audience to hammer home

the message. "The humor has to be

there always, which is the 'Sesame'

German military

resumes training

troops in

northern Iraq

The German military

resumed training Iraqi

troops in the country's Kurdish

north on Sunday, about

three weeks after it was suspended

following the U.S.

killing of a top Iranian general

in Baghdad, reports

UNB.

The military said the commander

of the international

operation fighting the Islamic

State group lifted the suspension.

Germany resumed training

in Irbil on Sunday morning

together with its partners.

The Bundeswehr has

about 90 soldiers in Irbil.

However, Germany's

training mission in central

Iraq is still suspended and

there was no immediate

word on whether or when it

might resume.

Germany flew 35 soldiers

out of Iraq from bases in Taji

and Baghdad on Jan. 7, most

of them to neighboring Jordan.

That was described as a

temporary measure.

The decision was made

after the Jan. 3 killing by the

United States of Iranian

Revolutionary Guard commander

Qassem Soleimani

drastically raised regional

tensions and escalated a crisis

between Washington and

Tehran.

spirit," said Khaled Haddad, an executive

producer. "Ahlan Simsim" will

premiere Feb. 2 on MBC3, a pan-Arab

satellite network that reaches 20 countries

in North Africa, the Gulf and the

Levant, as well as YouTube and national

broadcasters across the region.

Production is based in the Jordanian

capital Amman, with input from writers

and performers from across the

region. Dialects will be diversified,

from Jordanian to Saudi.

"We know a lot about children and

children's development and what's

needed. But we always want to learn

from people on the ground," said

Westin. "We know that when children

can see themselves, identify with these

characters and when they can relate to

the story lines, we are the most effective."

Targeted for children ages 3-8,

the show will steer clear of the larger

political, social or religious issues. "To

the best of our ability we are not making

political statements," Westin said.

"The spirit behind 'Sesame Street'

has always been it doesn't matter if you

have purple fur or yellow fur," said

Scott Cameron, a two-time Emmy

Award-winning producer who serves

as executive producer of the new show.

"It's a place where children can feel

safe and supported and where real

things are tackled - like fear of the

dark, frustration or loneliness. We try

to always do it with comedy alongside

the heartfelt."

The show is at the center of a wider

push together with the International

Rescue Committee that includes direct

services, including home visits, classrooms

and health clinics, all enhanced

by Sesame materials like storybooks,

puzzles, games and videos. One

episode, for example, will show Jad

terrified of going to the doctor and

then will explore that fear.

"It's more than a TV show. It's a massive

intervention," said Cameron. "It's

a world where children and their families

can feel safe and secure. And it's a

world where the media content is

meant to be a portal into a fuller,

broader set of humanitarian assistance."

The program was initially funded by

a $100 million award by the John D.

and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The LEGO Foundation then

awarded an additional $100 million to

deepen the play-based learning of

"Ahlan Simsim" and gave Sesame

Workshop the chance to expand to

Bangladesh to serve families affected

by the Rohingya crisis.

Since the Syrian conflict broke out in

2011, some 5 million children have

been displaced internally and outside

Syria, according to the U.N.-backed

Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian

Arab Republic. Its report this month

said the youngsters have been "robbed

of their childhood" by violations from

all sides.

"Sesame Street" has had a presence

in the Middle East for decades, starting

when the show "Iftah Ya Simsim" premiered

in 1979 in Kuwait, followed by

local Egyptian, Jordanian, Palestinian

and Israeli versions of "Sesame Street."

This time, to assess which early

childhood interventions work best in

crisis settings, Sesame Workshop is

working with New York University's

Global TIES for Children center to

independently evaluate both the direct

services and mass media components

of the program.

Creators hope the lessons learned in

the Middle East can be translated to

other regions, just as things "Sesame

Street" learned in American inner

cities can help all children. "It will

reach children throughout the Middle

East but the benefits will be to all children,"

said Westin.

Local official gunned down

in W. Afghan province

Unidentified armed men shot dead a religious

and Hajj official in Afghanistan's western

province of Herat on Sunday, the provincial

governor said, reports UNB.

The incident happened in Pashtun

Zarghun district, where Mawlavi Abdul

Rahim Ahmadi, chief of district's Hajj and

Islamic Affairs branch, was shot dead on the

spot when leaving for his office early Sunday

morning, governor Abdul Qayum Rahimi

told Xinhua.

No group has so far claimed responsibility

for the murder, but Afghan officials blame

Taliban militants for involvement in targeted

attacks. An investigation has been undertaken,

Rahimi said.

At least five government officials, including

a judge, have been gunned down by

unknown armed men, most allegedly by the

Taliban fighters, following a series of target

attacks since early January.

The latest incident happened on Jan. 21,

when a police officer and two assailants were

killed following a gunfire exchange between

police and the attackers in the country's

southern Kandahar province.

Unidentified armed men shot dead a religious and Hajj official in Afghanistan's

western province of Herat on Sunday.

Photo: The network times

2 explosions

rock India’s

northeast

Two blasts went off Sunday

morning in India's northeastern

state of Assam,

police said. So far no casualties

were reported in the

twin blasts, reports UNB.

The blasts went off at two

places in Dibrugarh district,

about 424 km northeast of

Dispur, the capital city of

Assam. According to officials,

one blast went off near

a Gurudwara in Dibrugarh,

while as another explosion

took place at a shop at Graham

Bazaar in the district.

"Two explosions have taken

place here but there are

no reports of anyone being

killed or injured in these

blasts," a police official said.

Following the blasts,

police officials rushed to the

spot. A police official said

they have initiated an investigation

into the blasts.

The blasts took place

ahead of the India's Republic

Day function in the state.

Jan. 26 is celebrated as the

Republic Day in India as it

marks adoption of the constitution

in the country.

Netanyahu hopes to

‘make history’ with

White House visit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu said Sunday he hopes to

"make history" during his upcoming trip

to the White House for the expected

unveiling of President Donald Trump's

Mideast peace plan, reports UNB.

Addressing his Cabinet shortly before

departing for Washington, Netanyahu

described the current environment, characterized

by close ties with Trump, as a

once in a lifetime opportunity for Israel

that "we must not miss."

Trump's plan is expected to be extremely

favorable to Israel.

"We are in the midst of very dramatic

political events, but the peak is still

ahead," he said.

"For three years I have discussed with

President Trump and his team our security

and national needs - dozens of discussions

and hundreds of hours. In all of

these talks, I found a receptive ear in the

White House for the essential needs of the

state of Israel," he said. "I am going to

Washington with a great sense of purposes,

great responsibility and great chance,

and I am hopeful we can make history."

The plan's release has been repeatedly

delayed, and it seems to have little chance

of success. The Palestinians, accusing

Trump of being unfairly biased toward

Israel, have already rejected it.

But the plan could give Netanyahu, who

is in the middle of his third re-election

campaign in under a year, a lift as he tries

to remain in office while fighting criminal

charges of fraud, breach of trust and

accepting bribes.

Netanyahu has tried to divert attention

away from his legal troubles and focus his

campaign on his close ties with Trump.

His opponent, Benny Gantz, has focused

his campaign on Netanyahu's criminal

charges and expected trial.

Gantz announced on Saturday that he

would also be going to Washington for a

private meeting with Trump. He turned

down a joint appearance with Netanyahu

at the White House, fearing the prime

minister would use it to upstage him.

Instead, Gantz will quickly return to

Israel to proceed with his plans in parliament

to block a request by Netanyahu to

receive immunity from prosecution.

In this March 25, 2019, file photo, President Donald Trump welcomes visiting Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House in Washington. A blueprint the White House is rolling out to

resolve the decades-long conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is as much about politics as it is

about peace. President Donald Trump said he would likely release his long-awaited Mideast peace plan

a little before he meets Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main political

rival Benny Gantz.

Photo :AP

China temporarily bans wildlife

trade in wake of outbreak

Chinese authorities announced a temporary

ban on the trade of wild animals Sunday following

a viral outbreak in Wuhan, saying

they will "severely investigate and punish"

violators, reports UNB.

Local authorities will "strengthen inspections

and severely investigate and punish

those who are found in violation of the provisions

of this announcement," read the the

ban issued by three government agencies.

No wildlife can be transported or sold in

any markets or online, according to text of

the announcement in state media. Suspected

violators will be sent to security services, and

their will be properties closed and sealed.

Legal breeding centers will be quarantined.

The ban will continue until "the epidemic

situation is lifted nationwide" in order to prevent

the spread of the new coronavirus and

block potential sources of infection and

transmission.

The three agencies also opened a hotline

where people can report violations, and

called on the public to refrain from eating

wild animal meat. The agencies are the State

Administration of Market Regulation, Ministry

of Agricultural and Rural Affairs and the

National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

The wildlife ban comes as the new

virus accelerated its spread in China with 56

deaths, and 1,975 infections. China cut off

trains, planes and other links to Wuhan on

Wednesday, as well as public transportation

within the city, and has steadily expanded a

lockdown to 16 surrounding cities with a

combined population of more than 50 million

- greater than that of New York, London,

Paris and Moscow combined.

Demand for wild animals in Asia, especially

China, is hastening the extinction of many

species, on top of posing a perennial health

threat that authorities have failed to fully

address despite growing risks of a global

pandemic. In an earlier response to the crisis

in Wuhan, China's Agriculture Ministry

issued an order for tightened controls on

trade in wildlife. A group of 19 prominent

researchers from the Chinese Academy of

Sciences, the Wuhan Institute of Virology

and the nation's top universities had called

for the government in China to crack down

on wildlife markets such as the one at the

center of the Wuhan outbreak. Illegal trade

flourishes in "loopholes" of the legal wildlife

trade in China and increases the probability

of an outbreak, the group wrote in an open

letter posted on Weibo. "This is the hidden

danger for the trade and consumption" of

wild animals, the letter read. They advocate

vastly increasing on-site inspections and

government oversight of all wildlife markets.

The New York-based Wildlife Conservation

Society, meanwhile, appealed for an end

to wildlife markets everywhere, not just in

China.

Zoonotic diseases, or those contracted by

humans that originated in other species,

account for a large share of human infectious

illnesses. Not all of them come from the

wildlife trade: rabies is endemic across many

species and one of the biggest causes of death

in the developing world. But mixing species

of wild animals increases the risk of diseases

mutating and growing more virulent as they

spread in unregulated markets, experts say.

The emergence of such diseases is a "numbers

game," said Christian Walzer, executive

director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's

health program.

"If these markets persist, and human consumption

of illegal and unregulated wildlife

persists, then the public will continue to face

heightened risks from emerging new viruses,

potentially more lethal and the source of

future pandemic spread," he said. "These are

perfect laboratories for creating opportunities

for these viruses to emerge."

Researchers have not yet announced a

definitive source for this latest outbreak,

which like many other viruses can infect

multiple species.

One of the first measures taken by Wuhan

authorities was to close down the Huanan

Seafood Wholesale Market, where 41 of the

first cases originated.

"That's the big black box right now," said

Jon Epstein, an epidemiologist with the Ecohealth

Alliance. He was in China following

the 2002-2003 outbreak of SARS, or Severe

Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which was

traced to consumption of wild animals in the

southern city of Guangzhou. Epstein helped

the ongoing global effort over nearly two

decades to find the wild source of that virus,

which sickened more than 8,000 and killed

less than 800. SARS has been linked to various

animals, including bats and the cat-like

masked palm civet.

California patient is

3rd US case of new

virus from China

A patient in Southern California

is the third person in

the U.S. to be diagnosed

with the new pneumonialike

virus from China, health

officials said, reports UNB.

The Centers for Disease

Control confirmed a traveler

from the Chinese city of

Wuhan - the epicenter of the

outbreak - tested positive for

the virus, the Orange County

Health Care Agency

announced just before midnight

Saturday. The patient

is in isolation at a hospital

and in good condition, a

release from the agency said.

The virus can cause fever,

coughing, wheezing and

pneumonia. It is a member

of the coronavirus family

that's a close cousin to the

deadly SARS and MERS

viruses that have caused outbreaks

in the past.

The first known case in

California comes on the

heels of diagnoses in Washington

state, on Jan. 21, and

Chicago, on Jan. 24. Both

patients - in Washington, a

man in his 30s, and in

Chicago, a woman in her 60s

- had also traveled to China.

The death toll from the

virus in China is at 56 so far.

China has issued massive

travel bans in hard-hit sections

of that country to try to

stem spread of the virus, and

the U.S. Consulate in

Wuhan announced Sunday

that it would evacuate its

personnel and some private

citizens aboard a charter

flight.

The CDC expects more

Americans to be diagnosed

with the newly discovered

virus, which is believed to

have an incubation period of

about two weeks, as worldwide

the number of confirmed

cases nears 2,000.

ART & CULTURE

MoNDAY, JANUArY 27, 2020

8

Gretel & Hansel (2020)

It looks like we don't have a Synopsis for this

title yet. Be the first to contribute! Just click the

"Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or

learn more in the Synopsis submission guide.

Gallery of

the day

Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan's this adorable photo reminds us of "Shava

Shava" moment from Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham. Photo: Amitabh Bachchan/blog

Kangana's latest is all heart and charm,

with an emotional wallop at the end

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari directorial is

about how love, marriage and

children need not come in the way

of a sportswoman’s success, but

what sets it refreshingly apart is a

wonderful sense of humour

There is a phrase that had once

been used to describe Frank

Capra classics: “fantasies of

goodwill”. Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s

Panga may well be one of the

closest and most charming

Bollywood equivalents in recent

times.

There is a hell of a great deal of

positivity, kindness and

benevolence flowing in the veins

of the denizens of ordinary,

middle-class Bhopal. Be it Jaya

Nigam (Kangana Ranaut), the

former kabaddi champion, now a

railway clerk and mother of a 7-

year-old, who decides to make a

comeback in the game, or her

ever-smiling, bright-eyed

husband (Jassi Gill) and the

delectably precocious son Adi

(Yagya Bhasin); everyone is

utterly butterly nice. It is

heartening to see men becoming

the wind beneath the woman’s

wings, but it’s not just them alone.

Far from being a wet blanket, all of

the people in Jaya’s life — from

the office colleagues to the

neighbour bhabhi, the stern coach

or the competitive team captain —

are ultimately encouraging when

it comes to helping her take the

decision forward in the right

direction. Only blip, if at all, is the

nasty but inconsequential boss.

No wonder the issues here

appear to get negotiated with a

relative sense of ease and might

seem devoid of any major

complexities. But not once does

the film feel unreal, pretentious or

righteous, and thankfully doesn’t

wallow in its nobility. The

essential feel-goodness doesn’t

come across as specious or

contrived.

Like Mary Kom, Panga is about

how love, marriage and children

need not come in the way of any

sportswoman’s success, but what

sets it refreshingly apart is a

wonderful sense of humour. The

problem might be serious, but the

telling is light-hearted. The overarching

goodness is balanced out

perfectly with a jovial

impertinence. There is a loveable

cheekiness to characters, from the

mother (Neena Gupta) to even the

family doctor and especially when

Panga’: Kangana Ranaut brings in the right amount of vulnerability, lack

of sureness, yet a determination and cussedness to the character

it comes to the son Adi and bestie

Meenu (Richa Chadha). The

persistent, playful sparring in

almost all the relationships is

disarming. The credit should go to

the writing (Nikhil Mehrotra and

Ashwini Iyer Tiwari), especially

the dialogues, which is delightfully

pert and saucy, spilling over with

little, chuckle-along moments.

Source : indianexpress.com

Release Date : 31 January 2020 (USA)

Director : Oz Perkins

Stars : Sophia Lillis, Alice Krige,

Jessica De Gouw

Writers : Rob Hayes

Taglines : A grim fairy tale.

Company : orionpictures.com

Country : USA

Language : English

Filming

Locations : Georgia, USA

Madonna cancels

London gig due

to injuries

The singer was scheduled to perform

the first of 15 shows on Monday at the

London Palladium. In an Instagram post

on Saturday, Madonna said she has been

“plagued” by injuries since the tour

started and has been advised by doctors

to take rest.

“I am deeply sorry that I have to cancel

my concert scheduled for Monday,

January 27th in London. Under doctors

guidance I have been told to rest for a few

days.

“As you all know, I have injuries that have

plagued me since the beginning of the tour

but I must always listen to my body and put

my health first. The last thing I want to do

is disappoint my fans or compromise the

integrity of my show,” she wrote.

The 61-year-old singer added that she

hopes the show on Wednesday, January

29, will go on as planned.

“Please know that it hurts me more than

you can imagine to have to cancel any

shows. Thank you again for your

understanding.”

The cancellation comes just few days

after Madonna called off a concert in

Lisbon, Portugal.

In December, she also cancelled a show

in Miami, citing “indescribable pain” from

an undisclosed injury.


Storyline

A long time ago in a distant fairy tale countryside, a young girl

leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of

food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil."

|Source: IMDb]

Bigg Boss 13 Weekend Ka

Vaar January 26

Bigg Boss 13 Weekend Ka Vaar

January 26 episode: One among the

nominated contestants, Shefali

Jariwala, Rashami Desai, Asim Riaz,

Paras Chhabra, Arti Singh and Mahira

Sharma, will leave the show tonight.

Bigg Boss 13 Weekend Ka Vaar

started off on a very interesting note.

Bigg Boss 13 host Salman Khan gave

warning to Sidharth Shukla and Asim

Riaz that if the two will continue to

behave indecently in the house with

each other and rest of the housemates,

he will have to ask them to leave the

show. He slammed Asim for the way

he behaved throughout the week. He

called him out for purposely locking

horns with Sidharth.

Salman also told the housemates

that no matter what, any topic that is

brought up during Weekend Ka Vaar

cannot be talked upon during the

week.

Later, Salman cleared the meaning

of fixed deposit, a term which was

used for Arti Singh in reference to her

bond with Sidharth Shukla. While

Salman cleared the meaning to

everyone, he also told Asim that he

should watch out his attitude when he

uses such words because the word

fixed deposit also has a different

meaning to it.

Salman praised Arti Singh for being

the only contestant who is playing the

game with honesty.

Shehnaaz Gill received a call from a

fan who blamed her for not standing

in favour of Sidharth Shukla while he

has always saved her back. Shehnaaz

tried to explain her point but failed.

Sidharth, later on, told Shehnaaz to

stay away from him.

In today's episode of Weekend Ka

Vaar, Salman Khan will announce the

name of the contestant who will leave

the show. Paras Chhabra, Mahira

Sharma, Rashami Desai, Asim Riaz,

Arti Singh and Shefali Jariwala are still

under the danger of being evicted.

Bigg Boss 13 airs on Colors from

Monday to Friday at 10.30 pm, and

Weekend Ka Vaar with Salman

Khan airs every Saturday and

Sunday at 9 pm.


Bigg Boss 13 Weekend Ka Vaar January 26 episode LIVE UPDATES: Street

Dancer 3D cast will entertain Salman Khan and housemates.

H o r o S c o p e

ArIeS

(March 21 - April 20) : It's time to put away

the sentimental feelings for the day and

move to something new, Aries. Stop pulling

out old photo albums and crying about past experiences.

You will only succeed in sinking into a puddle of tears that

you can't pull yourself out of. Instead, this is a day to look

to the future and plan for new experiences that you can

enjoy with the people you love.

TAUrUS

(April 21 - May 21) : Let the genius

within you come out and play,

Taurus. You may feel like some sort

of inventor who has wild ideas that could help to

revolutionize the future. Bring these ideas into the

open and see what kind of response you get from

the people around you. Cutting-edge concepts are

likely to appeal to you the most.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21): You may get

frustrated when your list of tasks for the

day just does not seem to get any shorter,

Gemini. More than likely, this is due to unforeseen

circumstances and unexpected interruptions that you

basically have no control over. Don't get upset at

yourself because of things you can't change. Make sure

to leave extra time to do the things you want, because

the interruptions will continue throughout the day.

cANcer

(June 22 - July 23): Because of your

well-mannered attitude and socially

minded outlook, Cancer, you may

normally be reluctant to make a stand with an

outlandish idea or draw attention with an unusual

outfit or hairstyle. Today is a day to be an individual in

all aspects of the word. Prove that you are by doing

something unexpected that shakes up the crowd.

Leo

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Don't be surprised

if you're scolded by people who are

upset about the way you're handling

certain things in your life, Leo. Most likely, the

people who criticize you the most are the ones who

understand you the least. They are probably on a

completely different wavelength than you, and it

isn't your job to try to change them.

VIrGo

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): You may find yourself

flying high for no particular reason, Virgo.

If you aren't, stop and examine the

situation. More than likely, any emotional discomfort

you feel is due to a lack of personal freedom in one way

or another. Perhaps you're feeling too tied down

emotionally or too restrained mentally. Perhaps you need

to get out of your current situation entirely. Use this day

to seek ways to feel more independence in your world.

LIBrA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): This is a good time for

you to subscribe to some sort of magazine

or newsletter that will keep you abreast of

current events and developments in a field or hobby that

interests you, Libra. The operative word of the day is

"new." Keep your mind fresh with news that sparks your

interest and gives you the inspiration you need to keep

striving for the goals you have set for yourself.

ScorpIo

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): You probably have

the desire to take charge, and you

certainly have the capability, so what

are you waiting for, Scorpio? Stop sitting around

waiting for someone else to make a decision. By the

time the others are done arguing and vacillating

about which direction to go, you will already have

traveled miles and miles down the road.

SAGITTArIUS

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): Remember that no

one can make you feel inferior without

your consent, Sagittarius. It might seem

as if others are trying to show you up today with their

knowledge about the world and how it should be run.

Don't let them talk you into believing that your

thoughts and ideas are any less valid than theirs. At

the same time, it's important for you to stay openminded

and accepting of other people's ideas.

cAprIcorN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): If you're still using

the old shovel and rake out in the

fields, now is the time to upgrade,

Capricorn. Get that big piece of machinery that will

plow all the acres in no time. In a nutshell, think

about ways in which you can be more efficient.

Feel free to invest in those things that will help

make your life easier and more comfortable.

AQUArIUS

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19): Drink plenty of water

in order to keep your system properly

hydrated, Aquarius. Water is the most

important part of your diet, and it's likely

that you aren't drinking nearly enough. You are highly

sensitive today so taking care of yourself is the best

thing you can do. Otherwise you might act emotional

and too easily manipulated. Distance yourself from

people who try to suck this life force from you.

pISceS

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20): You're likely to hit

that magic spot with someone today in

which you can almost read each other's

thoughts, Pisces. You may know exactly what that

person is going to say before he or she says it. You

may also find that your mind is working so quickly

that while someone is trying to make one point, you

are already five steps ahead of where that person is

trying to go. Put your gifts to good use.

SPORTS

MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020

9

Chen soars to personal best and

US short program victory

Chandpur Hajigonj Pilot High School beat Cumilla Yusuf High School by 3-0 goals in the tiebreaker in Cumilla

Zone opener of the Bangabandhu National School Hockey Tournament'2020 on Sunday. Photo : Courtesy

BB School Hockey

Hajigonj Pilot HS beat Cumilla

Yousuf HS in tiebreaker

Sports Desk : Chandpur Hajigonj

Pilot High School beat Cumilla Yusuf

High School by 3-0 goals in the

tiebreaker in Cumilla Zone opener of

the Bangabandhu National School

Hockey Tournament'2020 on

Sunday.

The day's crucial match was locked

in a goalless draw at the Shaheed

Dhirendranath Stadium in Cumilla.

Parliament member of Cumilla-6

constituency AKM Bahauddin Bahar

inaugurated the meet as the Chief

Guest where Acting General

Secretary of Bangladesh Hockey

Federation (BHF) Mohammad

Yousuf was present. A total of 80

school teams, split into nine zones-

Shakib over the

moon by PM's

gesture

Sports Desk : Ace allrounder

Shakib Al Hasan

was over the moon after

getting delicious food

cooked by Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina herself.

One of the best allrounders

the World cricket

has ever seen, Shakib

couldn't resist the urge to

share the incident with the

fans

"I am the luckiest person

on earth, I'm truly

speechless by this gesture of

our honourable Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina as I

got to taste her delicious

cooking which she cooked

herself this morning and

sent to my house for my

wife because she mentioned

it was her favourite food

when we visited her

yesterday. Can't thank

enough for this amazing

gesture this will always

remain in my heart for the

rest of my life! We are truly

blessed," Shakib wrote on

his Facebook page today.

Shakib has been currently

serving a two-year ban, with

one year of that suspended

imposed by the

International Cricket

Council (ICC) due to his

failure to report the corrupt

approaches. After being

suspended he kept him

away from cricketing

activities or discussion but

recently revealed that he

missed cricket badly.

The former No.1 allrounder

also posted

pictures of his daughter and

wife spending time with the

Prime Minster yesterday.

Shakib's wife Umme

Ahmed Shishir expressed

his elation as the Prime

Minister managed to cook

for them from her hectic

schedule. "Couldn't be more

blessed, what more ways to

satisfy my cravings when

our honourable Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina

took out the time from her

busy schedule to cook for

me herself. When she asked

me what my favourite food

was when we visited her

yesterday, she said she will

cook it with her own hands

and send it to me! I am truly

over the moon right now,

best lunch ever in my life. I

can't thank our honourable

Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina enough for this

lovely gesture with so much

love and care," she wrote on

her Facebook.

Chattogram, Cumilla, Mymensingh,

Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dinajpur,

Faridpur, Gopalganj and Khulna are

taking part in the first phase of the

competition.

Top two teams from each of the

zone will entitled to play in the final

round scheduled to be held on

February in Dhaka.

All the teams will get participation

money of Tk 10,000 each from the

meet's sponsor First Security Islami

Bank Limited (FSIBL) while the

federation will provide hockey kits

and jerseys to the players.

The champions will get prize

money of Tk 1 (one) lakh, the

runners-up team Tk 50,000, the

third-placed team Tk 25,000 while

the most disciplined team will get Tk

10,000 addition to fair play trophy

team.

Besides, fifteen talented hockey

players from each zone will undergo

a long-term training session under

the supervision of BHF.

Earlier, Chattogram City

Corporation (CCC) Mayor AJM

Nasir Uddin inaugurated the

Chattogram zone competition at the

MA Aziz Stadium in Chattogram on

Saturday.

Chittagong Municipal Model High

School beat Sonapur High School of

Feni by 10-1 goals in the opening

match of Chattogram zone.

Ben Stokes fined,

given demerit point

for swearing at fan

Sports Desk : England vice captain Ben

Stokes was fined and given a demerit point

on Saturday for swearing at a fan as he

walked off the field after getting out during

the final cricket test against South Africa.

The International Cricket Council said

Stokes was charged under its code of

conduct for "use of an audible obscenity

during an international match."

The star allrounder was fined 15 percent

of his match fee. It was his first demerit

point in the last two years. Players who

accumulate four disciplinary points in a

two-year period are banned, reports UNB.

Stokes accepted the charge and there

was no need for a formal hearing, the ICC

said.

The incident happened on the first day's

play at the Wanderers on Friday.

Stokes had been dismissed for just 2 and

was heading off the field and up the

players' tunnel when he was heard on live

TV coverage hurling two expletives in the

direction of a fan.

Stokes, clearly angered at something

that was said to him, shouted back "come

and say it to me outside the ground" before

using the two expletives.

The 28-year-old Stokes apologized for

the incident and said he had been

subjected to "repeated" verbal abused by

the crowd as he walked off but shouldn't

have reacted the way he did.

The England team said members of its

backroom staff had also been verbally

abused by the Johannesburg crowd on the

opening day and asked for extra security

for the remainder of the test.

England leads the four-match series 2-1

and can clinch it with just a draw in the

final test. The tourists are on course for

victory after making an imposing 400 all

out in their first innings.

Stokes had just won back his reputation

by being crowned the 2019 world player of

the year. That was in recognition of his

stellar year, when he was pivotal in helping

England win the Cricket World Cup and

also played one of the most memorable

test innings to make a century and snatch

victory from almost-certain defeat in an

Ashes test against Australia.

But his apparent challenge to the fan to

have a fight outside the stadium dragged

up a checkered disciplinary past.

Stokes faced criminal trial in Britain over

a street brawl outside a nightclub in late

2017. He was acquitted after he said he got

involved to defend a gay couple from

homophobic abuse. He was still fined and

banned by the England and Wales Cricket

Board for bringing the game into

disrepute.

Stokes was also sent home from an

England youth team tour early in his

career for breaches of discipline.

England vice captain Ben Stokes was fined and given a demerit point on

Saturday for swearing at a fan as he walked off the field after getting out during

the final cricket test against South Africa.

Photo : Courtesy

Sports Desk : Coming off illness and

spending much of his days as a fulltime

college student, Nathan Chen

shouldn't have been capable of setting

a personal best Saturday at the U.S.

Figure Skating Championships.

Then again, maybe it's wise to

expect only greatness from the threetime

defending champion and winner

of the last two world championships.

Chen, who hasn't lost an event since

he struggled in the 2018 Olympics

short program, soared far above the

ice - and the competition - to win the

short at nationals. His margin is so

massive, 114.13 points to 100.99 for

second-place Jason Brown, that Chen

probably could power skate through

Sunday's free program and still win.

"It was one of my best," the always

understated Chen said, "really calm

and paced. I felt in control of

everything I was doing in the

program."

That's how it tends to go for Chen,

who is on target to become the first

man to win four consecutive U.S.

titles since Brian Boitano in 1988. Not

even flu-like symptoms that curtailed

his training earlier this month, nor the

heavy class load at Yale, nor being

separated by a continent from his

coach, Rafael Arutunian, slows him.

In pairs, Aleza and Chris Knierim

won their third U.S. crown even

though they finished second in the

free skate to Jessica Calalang and

Brian Johnson. Chen set the U.S.

Bangladesh gear

up for Test series

in Pakistan

Sports Desk : While the

three-match T20 series is

yet to be finished,

Bangladesh Test specialists

started preparing them for

the Test series against

Pakistan under the

guidance of Neil McKenzie.

Bangladesh would play a

Test, scheduled to be held

on February 7 in

Rawalpindi in their second

phase of the tour of

Pakistan.

In the third and last

phase of the tour,

Bangladesh would play an

ODI on April 3 and the

second Test from April 5-9

in Karachi.

The two Test matches,

however, are the part of

World Test Championship

and so the importance is

given more on that.

McKenzie who is the

batting consultant only for

the T20 and ODI cricket,

opted against touring

Pakistan and instead

stayed in Bangladesh to

prepare the players.

Zimbabwe to visit Bangladesh

in February

Sports Desk : Zimbabwe

national cricket team will

visit Bangladesh in

February to play a Test,

three ODIs and two T20

Internationals.

Bangladesh Cricket

Board (BCB) revealed the

schedule on Sunday.

Zimbabwe will arrive

Dhaka on February 15 and

play a two-day practice

match on January 18 and

19. The venue of the

practice match is yet to be

confirmed.

The one-off Test of the

series will take place from

February 22 at Sher-e-

Bangla National Cricket

Stadium.

After that, both teams

will travel to Chattogram to

play the three-match ODI

series. The first ODI will

take place on March 1

while the other two

matches will be played on

March 3 and 6. All the

matches of ODI series will

be played at Zahur Ahmed

Chowdhury Stadium.

After the ODI series, both

teams will return to Dhaka

to play the T20

International series at

Sher-e-Bangla National

Cricket Stadium.

The first T20 will take

place on March 9 and the

second T20 and the last

match of the series will be

played on March 11.

Zimbabwe will depart

Dhaka on March 12.

Bangladesh are currently

busy with the T20 series

against Pakistan. The last

T20 of the series will take

place on January 27.

Tigers will come back

home after T20 series and

scheduled to travel to

Pakistan again for the first

Test of two-match series

starting from February 7 at

Rawalpindi Cricket

Stadium in Rawalpindi.

England on course to clinch series,

SAfrica reeling at 88-6

Sports Desk : England is on course

for another crushing victory over

South Africa just two days into the

fourth and final test at the Wanderers

on Saturday on what is shaping to be

its most successful tour of the country

in more than 100 years.

England made 400 all out batting

first in the series decider, capped by a

big-hitting 82-run last-wicket stand

by Stuart Broad and Mark Wood that

appeared to completely deflate South

Africa.

Wood then went to work with the

ball to take 3-21 and help send the

struggling home team crashing to

88-6 at stumps in its reply, and

staring at another embarrassing loss.

England won the last test by an

innings and 53 runs.

England is 312 runs ahead in the

final match, 2-1 up in the series and

on course to clinch it. England needs

just a draw in Johannesburg but

looks set to win by a large margin.

That would give England its most

convincing triumph in South Africa

since winning a five-test series 4-0 in

1914, six months before the outbreak

of World War I.

England's first innings at the

Wanderers was set up by a 107-run

opening stand between Zak Crawley

(66) and Dom Sibley (44) on the first

day. Captain Joe Root (59) and Ollie

Pope (56) added a 101-run

partnership on Saturday.

Broad and Wood not only

withstood but battered the fragile

and inexperienced South African

bowling attack at the end for good

championships high in last year's

short program at 113.42. His free

skate and overall totals from 2019

clearly are in reach. It sometimes

seems even the ceiling of the arena is

within reach as he takes off on quads

or triple axels.

"It's the way Raf teaches us," Chen

said of being on his own in

Connecticut, with Arutunian in

California. "When we're young he

wants us to be productive and learn to

be self-sufficient as kids. By the time

we're at this level, we still need him

and he is a great guiding force ... but

we know what we've got to get done

that day and how to fix things on your

own."

It didn't look like Chen had much

that needs fixing in his program to "La

Boheme." It was graceful, lyrical,

almost relaxing to watch, but also as

difficult as any men's short routine

gets. He nailed a quad flip, quad toe

loop-triple toe loop combination and

a triple axel.

Brown, the 2015 national champ

who won team bronze at the 2014

Sochi Games, has massively

improved his technical skills since

moving to Canada to train with

renowned coach Brian Orser. Slowed

by a concussion and what he calls

"struggles" over the last year, the

highly entertaining Brown has begun

mastering the more difficult jumps.

"The rockiness I dealt with

definitely made me stronger," Brown

measure. Broad clubbed four sixes in

his 43, his highest test score since

December 2017. Wood was almost as

destructive with three sixes in his 35

not out.

England should have been out for

around 320 but the last pair gave it a

crucial edge to get to 400. No team

has made 400 in the first innings at

the Wanderers and lost.

The 400 was likely to be plenty.

England picked up the six South

African wickets in the space of 59

runs late in the day.

South Africa's struggle was

encapsulated in opener Dean Elgar's

waft outside off stump to give a

regulation catch to Chris Woakes off

the bowling of Ben Stokes. Elgar

stood at the crease, almost

disbelieving that he'd got out in such

a way, before dropping his head and

trudging off.

Wood led the attack with his three

wickets and Sam Curran, Ben Stokes

and Woakes had one each.

Woakes, on his recall to the

England team, removed South Africa

captain Faf du Plessius lbw for 3 with

a ball that jagged back in and struck

him on the pad. Du Plessis figured it

was too high and reviewed the

decision. It showed it was just

clipping the bail. Du Plessis is likely

playing his last test at home before

retiring and has just one more

innings to leave a final mark in South

Africa.

Wood had his second wicket when

Temba Bavuma, called back into the

team to help South Africa's batting

said. He credits training with "the best

skaters in the world" who work with

Orser, including two-time Olympic

gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu of

Japan, as being "uplifting and

inspiring."

The husband-wife Knierims, team

bronze medalists at the 2018

Olympics, also won nationals in 2015

here in Greensboro, and in 2018. But

they struggled mightily last season

and wound up seventh after coaching

changes.

"Redemption always feels good,"

she said. "It was hard last year to

come so low but we worked really

hard. We're just elated to reclaim our

title again and hope this pushes us

forward."

But the stars of the evening were

Calalang and Johnson in just their

second year together. They leaped

from fifth in last year's nationals with

a technically difficult yet gentle

looking program that was clean,

smooth and, at times, majestic. Their

triple twist to start proceedings was

almost stratospheric, and their lifts

were intricate.

Their 146.01 points in the free skate

beat the Knierims by nearly seven

points. But the Knierims entered with

a large enough cushion after winning

the short program, in which Calalang

and Johnson were fourth.

"I don't think either of us have had

that kind of performance," Calalang

said.

crisis, edged behind to Stokes in the

slips for 6. South Africa was in a

desperate position when Wood

collected his third at the end of the

day when nightwatchman Anrich

Nortje edged to gully.

England has been clearly superior

ever since losing the opening test

while half of its team was struck

down by a flu-like virus. Recovered,

the English won the second test in

Cape Town by 189 runs and drove

home their dominance in the third

test in Port Elizabeth by routing

South Africa.

South Africa also had nothing to

cheer at the Wanderers, even after

fast bowler Nortje's first five-wicket

haul earlier in the day.

He took 3-11 in one period, when he

removed Pope, Root and then Curran

first ball to give South Africa a

glimpse of hope.

Root survived being dropped on 53

when opposite number du Plessis

dived to his right and initially held

but then fumbled the catch off Nortje

as he came down to the ground. It

didn't cost South Africa much as

Nortje forced Root out in his next

over.

What did cost South Africa was

some especially lethargic bowling in

the afternoon after Nortje's hard

work had England on 269-7.

England's tailenders pounced to

add 131 runs for the last three

wickets. Jos Buttler (20) and Woakes

(32) made contributions before

Broad and Wood blasted England

almost out of sight of South Africa.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

MOnDAY, JAnUArY 27, 2020

10

A female entrepreneur brings

crowdlending to Saudi Arabia

The prize giving and closing ceremony of Bangladesh Academy of Science-First Security Islami Bank

11th national Science Olympiad-2020 held at Curzon Hall of Dhaka University recently. Professor Dr.

Md. Akhtaruzzaman, Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University was present as chief guest and Syed

Waseque Md. Ali, Managing Director, First Security Islami Bank Ltd. was present as special guest in

the prize giving ceremony. The program was presided over by Emeritus Professor Dr. A. K Azad

Chowdhury. Among others, Professor Mesbahuddin Ahmed, Coordinator, Science Olympiad 2020,

Professor Dr. Hasina Khan, Secretary, Bangladesh Academy of Science, representatives of Media

Partners of the program and other officials were present on the program.

Photo: Courtesy

It is no secret that small

businesses struggle with

obtaining funds to expand,

with one avenue being

particularly tricky in the

region: Trying to rely on a

national bank for help, reports

Arab news.

While things are improving,

they are not doing so quickly

enough. These longstanding

problems have inspired

Nosaibah Alrajhi, a former

investment banker, to launch

Forus, a Shariah-compliant

peer-to-peer lending platform

that she hopes can help bolster

Saudi Arabia's economic

growth and enrich both

business owners and small

investors.

"It's very straightforward:

We bring together investors

and SMEs (small and medium

enterprises). Crowdlending

will provide a steadier and

safer return than say,

investing in stocks or

investment funds," said

Alrajhi, who serves as cofounder

and chief executive.

"If you compare it to real

estate, for example, you need a

lot of cash upfront to invest in

property, but with P2P (peerto-peer)

lending it provides

almost everyone with the

opportunity to invest and get a

return."

Having received a special

license in July 2019, Forus will

launch its platform in early

2020. For investors, it is quick

and easy to register: You just

need to complete a standard

know-your-customer (KYC)

process, and you will then be

able to lend SR500 ($133) to

SR10,000 to whichever

companies you choose.

For would-be borrowers,

Forus will undertake a credit

and risk analysis that usually

takes about 10 days.

"We do all the due diligence,

and once companies meet our

benchmarks, they're listed on

the platform, giving investors -

individual and institutional -

the opportunity to lend them

money," said Alrajhi. "We call

it income investments -

investors get their money

back, plus fees."

Companies listed on the

online platform are rated

according to risk - the bigger

the risk, the larger the return

for lenders. Companies can

borrow up to a maximum of

SR2 million.

"Investors can look at the

companies' financial reports,

their strategy, their team, their

products, as well as specific

financial ratios that will help

them make their decision,"

said Alrajhi.

A company will request to

borrow a certain amount, and

once this is fully pledged by

investors, it will receive the

loan. Forus, in turn, earns a

small commission. Loans are

for six to 48 months.

"Our marketplace is

providing investors with

diversified alternative options

(for) investing, while

businesses are empowered

with an opportunity to grow

and scale," said Alrajhi.

"We achieve this by

minimizing friction,

streamlining the customer

experience and providing a

seamless, secure and

transparent platform."

Alrajhi holds an MBA from

Madrid's IE Business School,

where her research led her to

spot a gap in the market for a

fintech-based, P2P lender in

Saudi Arabia.

"If you look at the market

today, there's only a few banks

who are willing to lend to

SMEs, which banks see as

quite high risk," said Alrajhi.

"In Saudi, there are roughly

16,000 SMEs looking for

loans."

Forus uses a murabaha -

cost plus financing - structure

for its loans, which are not

interest-bearing and so are

Shariah-compliant.

In English, Shariahcompliant

lending will refer to

a profit rate rather than an

interest rate, although in

Arabic there is no such

linguistic distinction.

Nevertheless, Forus's loans

are Islamic. "In Saudi, the

biggest market is for Shariahcompliant

financial services,"

said Alrajhi.

She hopes her platform will

provide a win-win for

investors and SMEs -

investors can earn a bigger

return on their money, while

SMEs can obtain the funds

needed to expand their

operations and increase

profits.

In the longer term, Forus

plans to expand to Egypt and

Pakistan, but for now Alrajhi's

focus is firmly on her native

Saudi Arabia.

"One of the main impacts we

aim to have is transparency,

which will then enable

financial inclusion and help

increase GDP (gross domestic

product)," she said.

Islami Bank Bngladesh Ltd has shifted its Cumilla Chawkbazar Branch to Khandakar Plaza, Chawkbazar,

Cumilla recently. Md. Mahbub ul Alam, Managing Director and CEO of the Bank inaugurated the Branch

at the new location as chief guest. Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Senior Executive Vice President addressed

the program as special guest. Presided over by Md. Mahbub-A Alam, Executive Vice President & Head of

Zone, Md. Shakhawat Hossain, Head of Cumilla Chawkbazar Branch addressed welcome speech. Md.

Khorshed Alam, First Assistant Vice President thanked the guests. Faruk Ahmed, Atik Ulla Khokan,

razeur rahman Mamun, Shaheda Parvin, Md. Sanaul Haque, Mowlana Abdul Matin, Mowlana Abu

Bakkar Siddique & Mufti Mofizul Islam addressed on behalf of clients and well-wishers.

Businesspersons, clients and local elites attended the program.

Photo: Courtesy

UCB Ltd Organizes

Annual Business

Conference 2020

Annual Business

Conference 2020 of

United Commercial

Bank Ltd (UCB) was

held recently at

Radisson Blu, Dhaka.

Minister, Ministry of

Land, People's Republic

of Bangladesh

Saifuzzaman

Chowdhury, MP graced

the event as Chief Guest.

Mohammed Shawkat

Jamil, Managing

Director of UCB

delivered his welcome

speech at the Business

Conference, a press

release said.

Among others Vice-

Chairman Bazal

Ahmed, Chairman of

Executive Committee

Anisuzzaman

Chowdhury, Chairman

of Risk Management

Committee M. A. Sabur,

Directors namely Nurul

Islam Chowdhury,

Roxana Zaman, Bashir

Ahmed, Afroza Zaman,

Professor Dr. Md.

Jonaid Shafiq, Dr.

Aparup Chowdhury and

Touhid Shipar

Rafiquzzaman were

present at the event.

Moreover, Additional

Managing Directors

Arif

Quadri,

Mohammad Mamdudur

Rashid, Syed Faridul

Islam and Deputy

Managing Directors

Md. Sohrab Mustafa,

Nabil Mustafizur

Rahman, Abul Alam

Ferdous, N. Mustafa

Tarek, Md. Abdullah Al

Mamoon and Habibur

Rahman along with

Senior Executives and

managers of the Bank

were present at the

event.

Chief Guest of the

conference called upon

everybody to increase

professional skill along

with best customer

service with the

implementation of state

of art information

technology to keep the

zenith position of bank

in the ever changing

fiscal system.

Earlier, Managing

Director of the Bank also

explained everybody to

create mutual dignified

and business friendly

environment in aligned

with global and local

economy to ensure the

continuing growth of the

Bank.

FAB confirms acquisition talks

with Bank Audi-Egypt

Md. Zahedul Hoque

elected as Vice President of

Khatungonj Trade &

Industries Association,

Chattogram

Vice Chairman of Standard

Bank Ltd, eminent

businessman & social worker

of Chattogram, Md. Zahedul

Hoque has been elected as

Vice President of Khatungonj

Trade & Industries

Association, the top

Commercial Organization of

country's largest wholesale

market

Chaktai-

Khatungonj, Chattogram. He

will serve as the Vice-

President in the Executive

Council of the organization

for the term of 2020-2021, a

press release said.

A promising and well

established businessman

Hoque was born in a

renowned Muslim family of

West Shakpura, Boalkhali,

Chattogram.He passed SSC

in 1985 from Chattogram

Collegiate High School and

HSC in 1987 from

Chattogram Govt.

Commerce College. He did

his Bachelors of Business

Administration in 1992 from

Northeast Lousiana

University, USA.

A renowned businessman

ZahedulHoqueis the Ex

Director of Chattogram

Chamber of Commerce and

Industries. He is the

Proprietor of M/S Zahed

Brothers& Director of M/S

Noor Oil & Food Products

Ltd. and M/S Arafat Limited.

Philanthropist Zahedul is

actively associated with

several educational and

socio-cultural organizations.

He is the Founding Member

of Hazi Mohammed Nurul

Hoque Degree College of

Shakpura, Boalkhali,

Chattogram, life Member of

Army Golf Club, Dhaka,

Chattogram Boat Club,

Chattogram Club Ltd,

Chattogram Seniors' club

Limited, Maa OShishu

Hospital, Chattogram,

Senior Vice Chairman of

Chattogram Collegiate

School Batch '85 and

councilor of Chattogram Jela

Krira Sangstha.

Mercantile Bank Training Institute recently organized a day long workshop titled "BASEL Core

Principles". 52 Officers & Executives from different branches of the bank participated in the workshop.

MD. Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, Managing Director & CEO of the Bank inaugurated the training and

delivered his speech highlighting the importance of Basel Core Principles. He also advised participating

officers to get familiar with the prudential regulations, requirements and functions of BASEL core principles

and strictly adhere with its application. Tapash Chandra Paul, PhD., Chief Financial Officer of the

bank and Javed Tariq, Principal of MBTI, were also present in the program.

Photo: Courtesy

Quazi Osman Ali, Managing Director & CEO of Social Islami Bank Ltd inaugurated D.T. road and

Karnafuly Subbranch in Chattogram as the Chief Guest recently. Abu naser Chowdhury, Deputy

Managing Director & regional Head of Chattogram, Mahmudul Hoque Siddique, Manager of

Dewanhat Branch, Syed Ershad Hossain, Manager of Shantirhat Branch along with other senior officials,

valued clients and local dignitaries were also present.

Photo: Courtesy

FAB confirms acquisition talks

with Bank Audi-Egypt

Annual Business Conference 2020 of United Commercial Bank Ltd (UCB) was held recently at

radisson Blu, Dhaka. Minister, Ministry of Land, People's republic of Bangladesh Saifuzzaman

Chowdhury, MP graced the event as Chief Guest; More-over Vice-Chairman Bazal Ahmed; Chairman

of Executive Committee Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Chairman of risk Management Committee M. A.

Sabur and Managing Director Mohammed Shawkat Jamil along with other members of Board,

Management and Branch Managers were present at the conference.

Photo: Courtesy

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) confirmed

on Thursday that it is in exclusive

discussions with Bank Audi to acquire its

fully-owned subsidiary in Egypt, Bank

Audi-Egypt, reports Arab news.

FAB said that a group has been formed

to assess the potential acquisition, but no

valuations have been announced so far. It

added that "there is no certainty that these

discussions will result in a transaction."

The bank said the talks around the

acquisition are in line with its strategy to

pursue growth opportunities in the UAE

and other targeted markets.

Media reports had earlier cited

anonymous sources who said that FAB is

in talks to potentially acquire the Egyptian

subsidiary of Lebanon's Bank Audi.

A top executive from the bank told

Reuters that Bank Audi was considering

selling the Egyptian unit, while the bank's

chief executive separately said that he was

meeting with FAB to discuss the sale.

The talks between the two sides come at

a time when Lebanon's banks - and its

wider economy - face pressing challenges

amid a dollar shortage in the country and

wide protests. Traditionally, such crises

could attract foreign buyers who may look

to buy assets for cheaper valuations.

Tamer Ghazaleh, Bank Audi's chief

financial officer, said the bank's unit in

Egypt is "very profitable" and has received

interest from lenders, according to

Reuters reports.

For FAB, the bank had earlier said it

would be focusing operations on the UAE

and certain markets in the region that

were lucrative. This included Saudi

Arabia, where FAB set up operations in

2018 and 2019.

FAB's share prices inched up by 0.76 per

cent on Thursday, prior to the disclosure

confirming the acquisition talks. The

bank's share prices gained around 8.6 per

cent in 2019, as per Gulf News

calculations, and especially garnered

attention when FAB hiked its foreign

ownership limit and said it was

considering raising that limit to 100 per

cent.

MISCELLANEOUS

MoNDAY, JANUArY 27, 2020

11

Anti-Drug Committee of Barishal University and Barishal district police organized a seminar at

Jibanananda Das conference hall of the university yesterday. Vice-Chancellor of the University Professor

Dr Md Sadequl Arefin and other guests were present at that time.

Photo : BU Correspondent

WHo calls for concerted efforts

to fight infectious coronavirus

The World Health Organization

(WHO) on Saturday said the

coronavirus outbreak in China is a sign

that every country needs to be ready to

timely detect and manage outbreaks of

any type, reports UNB.

A number of Asian nations and

countries from four continents have

reported the virus. There has been no

confirmed case in Bangladesh, yet.

France officially notified the WHO

Regional Office for Europe of three

confirmed cases on Friday. All of them

had travelled from Wuhan, the

epicentre of the virus.

In a statement, WHO underscored

that timely action is fundamental for

early containment and noted that the

first confirmed cases of coronavirus in

Europe were not unexpected.

It said the global nature of travels

means that no country is exempted

from infectious disease spread. "This

also means that no country can afford

postponing the establishment of all

necessary measures to protect their

people," the UN health agency said.

So far, 1,975 confirmed cases and 56

deaths have been reported, according

to AP.

Small numbers of cases have been

found in Thailand, Japan, South Korea,

the US, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia,

Nepal, France and Australia. Canada

said it discovered its first case.

WHO said it is working together with

Chinese authorities and doing

everything it can to investigate the

outbreak.

At a time of uncertainty about how

the virus originated and behaves, the

health agency said it is even more

critical that everyone acts as one.

"We need to move as one region, as

one world in scaling up our ability to

prepare and respond together," it said.

"The time is now to make ourselves

ready."

UN regrets continued

violations of arms

embargo in Libya

The United Nations

Support Mission in Libya

(UNSMIL) on Saturday

expressed regret over

continued violations of the

arms embargo in Libya, as

the armed conflict between

the eastern-based army

and the UN-backed

government continues,

reports UNB.

"The United Nations

Support Mission in Libya

(UNSMIL) deeply regrets

the continued blatant

violations of the arms

embargo in Libya, even

after the commitments

made in this regard by

concerned countries during

the International

Conference on Libya in

Berlin," UNSMIL said in a

statement.

On Jan. 19, participants

of the Berlin conference

agreed to respect an arms

embargo imposed on Libya

by the UN Security Council.

Numerous cargo and

other flights have been

observed landing at

airports in eastern and

western Libya over the past

few days, providing

advanced weapons,

armored vehicles, advisers

and fighters to relevant

parties to the conflict,

according to the statement.

"The mission condemns

these ongoing violations,

which risk plunging the

country into a renewed and

intensified round of

fighting," it added.

Mongla port gets

new chairman

DHAKA : Rear Admiral SM Abul Kalam

Azad took the charge of the Mongla port as

Chairman on Saturday, reports UNB.

He replaced the previous chairman Rear

Admiral Mohammad Muzammel Hoque,

said a press release on Sunday.

Rear Admiral SM Abul Kalam Azad was

born in on April 30 in 1967 in Kumarkhali of

Kushtia. He is the son of Sheikh Osman Goni

and Khadeza Begum.

He joined Bangladesh Navy on January of

1985 and was commissioned in executive

brunch on July 1, 1987.

He is an alumni of Pabna Cadet College.

He completed his international sub

GD-167/20 (4 x 3)

lieutenant course in Britania Royal Naval

College of UK and finished his initial staff

course from Royal Naval College in London.

He went to Army Language School in

Istanbul of Turkey for Turkish language

course and also did gunnery specialization

course from Naval Training Centre in

Istanbul of Turkey.

Rear Admiral Azad received numerous

commendations for his outstanding

performance and professional excellence in

the Navy. He was awarded with the 'Nou

Gaurab Padak' in recognition of his

professional excellence and distinguished

service in Bangladesh Navy.

Iqvmv- R: Z: 56/2020

GD-164/20 (5 x 4)

GD-165/20 (6 x 4)

GD-173/20 (6 x 4)

GD-170/20 (6 x 4)

MonDAY, DHAkA, JAnuARY 27, 2020, MAGH 13, 1426 BS, JAMADI-ul AWAl 30, 1441 HIJRI

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated movement of a brand new intercity train 'Jamalpur

Express' on Dhaka-Jamalpur-Dhaka via Bangabandhu Bridge East route through video conferencing

from Ganabhaban on Sunday morning.

Photo : M Sultan Alam

Maiden journey Jamalpur Express

M SULTAN ALAM, JAMALPUR:

Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina inaugurated movement

of a brand new intercity

train 'Jamalpur Express'

on Dhaka-Jamalpur-Dhaka

via Bangabandhu Bridge

East route through video

conferencing from

Ganabhaban on Sunday

morning.

An inaugural function

was arranged at Jamalpur

Railway Junction Station

Platform. Through the

video conferencing at 11.15

am the Prime Minister

made the announcement

for launching the intercity

train from Jamalpur

Railway Station where additional

Director General

(operation) of Bangladesh

Railway Md. Mia Zahan,

local lawmaker Mozaffor

Hossain, Deputy

Commissioner of Jamalpur

Mohammad Enamul

Haque, Jamalpur Zila

Parishad Chairman Farooq

Ahmed Chawdhury, district

Awami League president

advocate Baki Billah and the

towns people were present.

with this movement of

the intercity train on

D h a k a - B a n g a b a n d h u

Bridge East-Jamalpur-

Dhaka route, a good number

of Dhaka-bound commuters

from Jamalpur and

Tangail districts will get rid

of journey hazards, said

commuters.

Earlier, four intercity

trains-Teesta Express and

Brahmaputra Express on

Dhaka-Dewanganj and

Jamuna and Agnibina

intercity trains on Dhaka-

Tarakandi routes could not

cope with the huge pressure

of Dhaka-bound passengers

from Jamalpur as the trains

were unable to provide adequate

tickets compared to

the number of commuters.

As a result, a good number

of Dhaka-bound passengers

had to board the

trains with standing tickets

and suffer a lot. To have

relief of the sufferings,

Jamalpur people had been

demanding a another intercity

train to the government,

said MA Quiyum,

president of Jamalpur unit

of Railway Sramik League.

"The newly added

'Jamalpur Express' train

will ease the communication

between Jamalpur to

Dhaka and specially

Jamalpur to Tangail for the

commuters," he said.

Besides, the train will

facilitate the journey for

Northern districts-bound

commuters from the district

as the train will run through

Bangabandhu Bridge East

that connects the route of

northern districts, he

added.

The train has 13 coaches,

two dining cars and a power

car . Of the coaches, two are

air-conditioned (A/C) chair

cars and 11 are Shovon

chairs. There are a total of

630 seats in the coaches.

Each A/C coach has 55

seats, said guard of the train

Manzurul Haque.

The fair for an A/C chair (

Jamalpur to Dhaka/Dhaka

to Jamalpur) is Tk 386

while for a Shovon chair Tk

200. The train will leave

Dhaka for Jamalpur at

The Skull Tower of

Niš, Serbia

INTERESTING NEwS DESK

In the city of Niš, in the heart of the

Balkan Peninsula, stands a macabre monument

to the Serbian resistance against

the Ottoman's 400-year rule. But it was

built not to celebrate or commemorate the

heroic sacrifices of thousands of resistance

fighters who lost their lives, but to strike

fear in their very hearts.

The Serbian Empire fell to the Ottomans

in the late 14th century, but the writing

was on the wall for a long time. The

Empire was crumbling under Stefan Uroš

V, whose indecisiveness and incompetence

had earned him the disgraceful title

of “Uros the weak”. Internal conflicts had

fragmented the empire into a number of

principalities, some of which did not even

nominally acknowledge his rule. At the

same time, the Ottoman sultanate was

gradually spreading across Asia and

Europe. when the powerful Ottomans

attacked, the Serbian provincial lords, too

absorbed with their own enmity, offered

little resistance.

The city of Niš was captured for the first

time by the Ottoman Turks in 1375. The

Serbs managed to get it back in 1443, but it

fell again in 1448. The city changed hands

a few more times between the Turks and

the Austrians during the 17th and 18th

centuries, but for the greater part of the

next 400 years since the city fell, it was

under the famously brutal Ottomans.

During this era, the Serbs suffered untold

misery as chronicled by travelers passing

through the region. A 16th century Silesian

traveler described grisly scenes of mutilated

corpses littered along the route from

Sofia to Niš. when he reached the gates of

Niš, he saw that it was bedecked with

freshly-severed heads of poor Bulgarian

peasants.

10.30 am and reach

Jamalpur at 4.05 pm and it

will leave Jamalpur for

Dhaka at 5.45 pm and reach

Dhaka at 11.30 pm, said

Masuma Aktar, assistant

station master of Jamalpur

Railway Station.

On the other hand, Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina on

Sunday opened a number of

development projects

including two water treatment

plants - Sheikh

Russell water Treatment

Plant in Chattogram and

Bangabandhu water

Treatment Plant in Khulna.

The Prime Minister inaugurated

these development

projects through videoconferencing

from her official

residence Ganobhaban in

the city.

Sheikh Russell water

Treatment Plant is capable

of purifying 100 million

litres of water every day.

Bangabandhu water

Treatment Plant, constructed

at Samantasena in

Rupsha Upazila, is capable

of purifying 110 million

liters a day.

3 pvt universities

fined for enrolling

extra students

DHAKA : The Appellate

Division on Sunday fined

three private universities Tk

10 lakh each for enrolling

over 50 law students ignoring

directives of the

University Grants

Commission and the Bar

Council.

They are - Islamia

University, Southeast

University, and Eastern

University, reports UNB.

A six-member Appellate

bench, headed by Chief

Justice Syed Mahmud

Hossain, passed the order.

The court directed two

universities to give their

fines to National Liver

Foundation of Bangladesh.

The other one was asked to

give the money to Kidney

Foundation.

Additional Attorney

General Murad Reza stood

for Bar Council while

Advocate AM Amin Uddin

and Shah Monjurul Hoque

represented the students.

Several students of the

universities filed separate

writ petitions challenging

the decision of Bar Council

to not allow them take

exams. The High Court

issued a rule and an interim

order allowing the students

to take Bar Council exam.

Bar Council moved the

Appellate Division against

the order but the plea was

initially scrapped, prompting

the council to seek a

review. The top court later

resolved the review petition

and fined the universities.

Air Quality

Index: Dhaka

ranks 5th worst

DHAKA : Bangladesh's

capital Dhaka ranked fifth

worst in the Air Quality Index

(AQI) on Sunday morning.

It had an AQI score of 248

at 08:19am. The air was classified

as 'very unhealthy'.

Mongolia's Ulaanbaatar,

India's Delhi and Pakistan's

Lahore occupied the top three

spots in the list of cities with

worst air quality with AQI

scores of 382, 327, and 273

respectively, reports UNB.

Everyone may experience

more serious health effects

when the AQI score is

between 201 and 300.

The AQI, an index for

reporting daily air quality,

informs people how clean or

polluted the air of a certain

city is, and what associated

health effects might be a concern

for them.

In Bangladesh, the AQI is

based on five criteria pollutants

- Particulate Matter

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

SO2 and Ozone (O3). The

Department of Environment

has also set national ambient

air quality standards for these

pollutants. These standards

aim to protect against adverse

human health impacts.

Dhaka has long been grappling

with air pollution. The

air quality usually improves

during monsoon.

Parliament

passes Electoral

Rolls Bill

SANGSAD BHABAN : A

bill titled Electoral Rolls

(Amendment) Bill 2020

extending the deadline for

updating voter lists till

March 2 instead of January

31 every year was passed in

Parliament.

Law, Justice and

Parliamentary Affairs

Minister Anisul Huq moved

the bill and it was passed by

voice vote, reports UNB.

The amendment is being

brought to the existing

Electoral Rolls Act 2009

aiming to extend the timeframe

till March 1 as it is difficult

to update all the voter

lists within only 29 days

from January 2 to January

31.

According to article 11 of

the existing Electoral Rolls

Act 2009, there is a provision

to update all the voter

lists from January 2 to

January 31 every year.

93,000 Bangladeshi

workers staying abroad

with expired visas: FM

SANGSAD BHABAN : Over 93,000

Bangladeshi migrant workers have been

staying in the United Arab Emirates

(UAE), Kuwait, Egypt, South Korea and

Iran illegally as the validity of their visas

has expired, said Foreign Minister Dr

AK Abdul Momen on Sunday, reports

UNB.

The minister said this in Parliament

while replying to a tabled starred question

from ruling Awami League MP M

Abdul Latif.

Besides these expatriate Bangladeshis,

Dr Abdul Momen said, there are other

Bangladeshi workers in different other

countries who have got their visas

expired.

"But the government couldn't yet identify

their exact number instantly," he

told the House.

Of the total 93,000 Bangladeshi workers

who have got their visas expired,

80,000 workers are in Dubai and the

UAE; 5,000 in Kuwait; 4,000 in Egypt;

2,500 in South Korea, and 1500 in Iran,

the Foreign Minister said.

About Malaysia, he said a total of six

lakh Bangladeshi workers got the opportunity

of applying for becoming legal

workers in between 2016 to 2018

because of the diplomatic wisdom of

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and

Bangladesh High Commission's efforts

in Malaysia.

Of the six lakh Bangladeshi workers,

Dr Momen said, around four lakh workers

got the validity to work in Malaysia.

"There's no process right now in

Malaysia for having the legality."

The Foreign Minister said as many as

52,000 Bangladeshis have returned

home from Malaysia over the last five

months following Malaysian government's

declaration of general amnesty

for the illegal migrant workers.

About Saudi Arabia, the minister said,

the Saudi government in December 22

last year announced a "Special Exit

Programme" paving the way for illegal

workers the validity of whose visas has

expired to return to their respective

countries.

The Bangladesh Consulate office in

Jeddah has started providing service to

eligible Bangladeshi migrants as per the

Saudi government's guidelines under

the programme.

"The migrant workers who will return

to their countries under the Special Exit

Programme will be able to go to Saudi

Arabia after receiving valid visas," Dr

Momen said.

Writ seeks age limit

at 32 for entry into

PSC jobs

DHAKA : A writ petition

was filed with the High

Court on Sunday seeking its

directive to raise the maximum

age limit for entry into

Bangladesh Public Service

Commission (PSC) jobs to

32 years from existing 30,

reports UNB.

Five government jobseekers,

including Bijit

Sarkar, filed the writ.

The HC bench of Justice

M Enayetur Rahim and

Justice Md Mostafizur

Rahman is likely to hear the

petition.

It also challenged rule No.

14 of the Bangladesh Public

Service Commission (BPSC)

regulations-2014.

PSC Chairman, education

and public administration

secretaries, and others concerned

were made respondents

to the rule.

Atiqul declares 38-point manifesto

to build smart city

DHAKA : Awami League

(AL) mayoral candidate for

Dhaka North City

Corporation (DNCC) polls

Atiqul Islam today declared

a 38-point election manifesto

in three categories to

build a smart, healthy and

dynamic city.

He formally declared the

manifesto at a function in a

city hotel this afternoon.

Declaring the threedimensional

manifesto, the

AL mayoral candidate said

if elected, a coordinated

plan will be implemented to

less the traffic jam which is

one of the major problems

to the city dwellers.

His manifesto categorized

in three dimensions

including pledges for building

vibrant Dhaka, healthy

Dhaka and dynamic Dhaka.

The electoral pledges

included introduction of

electric bus service to prevent

air pollution and

implementation of yearlong

mosquito killing campaign

in the Integrated Vector

Dr Yunus gets bail

DHAKA : A

court here on

Sunday granted

bail to Nobel

Laureate and

Chairman of

G r a m e e n

Communications

Dr Muhammad

Yunus and three

others in a case

filed for violating

the labour law.

Dhaka Labour

Court-3 judge Rahibul Islam granted the bail upon a bond of

Tk 5,000 following a petition filed by them after appearing

before the court, reports UNB.

The three other accused are Grameen Communications

Managing Director Naznin Sultana, Director A Hai Khan

and Deputy General Manager Gouri Shankar.

Earlier on January 5, Labour Inspector Tariqul Islam of

the Department of Inspection for Factories and

Establishments filed the case with the court.

Later on January 13, the court summoned them.

According to the case statement, the plaintiff found violations

of several labour rules when he visited the Grameen

Communications office on October 10, 2019.

On April 30, the organisation was asked to fix their faults

and on May 7, Grameen Communications submitted their

written explanations that were not satisfactory.

Management (IVM)

method with the coordination

of DNCC, DSCC,

wASA, health ministry,

adjoining city corporations

and all other concerned

institutions.

Atiqul pledged of ensuring

sustainable waste management

by establishing

Resource Recovery

Facilities (RRF) at

Aminbazar at the outskirts

of the capital with a view to

turning waste into energy

to build a healthy city.

He said drainage system

will be developed and sensor

system will be installed

to track the waterlogged

places to lessen the waterlogging.

Atiqul's manifesto included

introduction of separate

lane for bicycle and building

cycle parking places,

introduction of Digital Push

Button Signal at zebra

crossings for ensuring safe

road crossing for commuters,

building new foot

over-bridges with escalators

at necessary points.

The AL candidate

pledged that smart busstop

and bus truck terminals

will be built in a

planned way to ensure

smooth road communication,

public transport and

establishments will be

ensured for the citizens

with special needs, digital e-

ticketing services will be

provided, app-based time

schedule will be introduced

and well-controlled and

women friendly public

transport will be ensured

for modern transport system.

He promised to enable

the citizens in providing

online holding tax, getting

birth-death registration

and trade license and other

civic servicers through digital

system, operate a Digital

Command Centre round

the clock for ensuring security,

disaster management

and smart neighborhood.

The AL mayoral candidate

pledged of building

cultural and service centers

having help desk, training

facilities, start-up co-working

space, library and other

facilities for the youths at

localities.

Beautiful parks and

modern playgrounds having

different facilities will

be built on area basis for

all, he said.

Dhaka City North unit of

Awami League (AL)

President Sheikh Bazlur

Rahman, General

Secretary SM Mannan

Kachi, Jubo League

General Secretary Mainul

Hossain Khan Nikhil,

Dhaka City North unit of

Jubo League General

Secretary Md Ismail

Hossain, Jubo Mahila

League President Nazma

Akhter, BGMEA former

President and business

leader Shafiullah

Mahiuddin and Nirapad

Sarak Chai Chairman

Actor Ilias Kanchan were

present on the occasion.

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam, Executive Editor : Sheikh Efaz Ahmed, Managing, Editor: Tapash Ray Sarker, News Editor : Saiful Islam, printed at Sonali Printing Press, 2/1/A, Arambagh 167, Inner Circular Road, Eden Complex, Motijheel, Dhaka.

Editorial and News Office: Bangladesh Timber Building (3rd Floor) 270/B, Tejgaon I/A Dhaka-1208. Tel : +8802-8878026, Cell : 01832166882; Fax: + 880244611604, Email: Editor : editor@thebangladeshtoday.com, Advertisement: ads@thebangladeshtoday.com, News: newsbangla@thebangladeshtoday.com, contact@thebangladeshtoday.com, website: www.thebangladeshtoday.com

27-01-2020

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