26-04-2020

sUnday

DhAKA: April 26, 2020;Baishakh 13, 1427 BS; Ramadan 17,1441 hijri www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.17; No.73; 8 Pages~Tk.8.00

international

UK pushes forward

coronavirus

vaccine trial

>Page 3

development

Actual number

of FGM cases are

not recorded

>Page 5

sport

Mashrafe to auction

favourite things

>Page 6

Coronavirus

Bangladesh reports

nine more deaths,

309 new cases

Coronavirus deaths continue to soar in

Bangladesh as it reported nine more

deaths in the last 24 hours until Saturday,

raising the death toll to 140, reports UNB.

"In the last 24 hours 309 people tested

positive for coronavirus in the country.

Now the number of confirmed cases

stands at 4998,"said Additional Director

General of the Directorate General of

Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Nasima

Sultana at the daily health bulletin broadcast

from Mohakhali. .

In the last 24 hours, several coronavirus

testing laboratories across the country,

tested 3337 samples, she added.

Earlier on April 16, Directorate General

of Health Services (DGHS) declared the

entire country as 'vulnerable zone' to virus

infection.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh government

extended the general holidays until May 5

to contain the spread of highly infectious

virus.

The global death toll from coronavirus

reached 197,368 as of Saturday.

There have been 2,833,958 confirmed

cases around the world after the highly

infectious disease was first reported in

China in December last year, according to

worldometer.

Oil theft from rail

depot: Engineer held

in Rajshahi

Police arrested a sub-assistant engineer of

Bangladesh Railway west zone from

Rajshahi Railway station on Friday night

in a case filed in connection with stealing

oil from railway depot. The arrestee is

Abdul Hasan, reports UNB.

Ahsan Habib, inspector of Rajshahi

Railway Nirapotta Bahini (RNB), said

three people were caught red-handed on

Thursday noon from the station while

they were stealing oil.

Later, a case was filed against seven people

in this connection.

Besides, Abdul Hasan was suspended

for his connection.

The three other arrestees are-Amjad

Hossain, depot in-charge of Jamuna Oil

Company, truck helper Elias Hossain and

Mukul Ali, an employee of the company.

Police are trying to arrest three others

accused-Ashfakul Islam, assistant manager

of Jamuna Oil Company, buyer Rabiul

Islam and truck driver Babu Ali Khan.

Coronavirus cases in

Kishoreganj reach

Another person was infected with

coronavirus in the district in the last 24

hours on Friday, raising the total number

of such cases to 175.

Civil Surgeon Dr Mohammad Mujibur

Rahman said, they received results of 94

samples at night which they sent for test

on Tuesday.

Among then, one tested positive, he said

adding that the patient is a resident of

Bhairab upazila.

Zohr

04:34 AM

12:10 PM

04:30 PM

06:19 PM

07:35 PM

5:49 6:16

Put in place proper health

measures before gradual

withdrawal of lockdown: WHO

World Health Organization (WHO)

has said any country needs to make

sure that good and appropriate health

measures are already in place demonstrating

its ability to tackle the situation

confidently before it slowly starts

withdrawing its lockdown, reports

UNB.

"When we start slowly opening the

lockdown, we need to make sure that

this doesn't resurge again. We have to

ensure that," WHO Representative to

Bangladesh Dr Bardan Jung Rana

told UNB in an interview.

He referred to country's ability to

detect, isolate, test and treat people

which should be in place so that anything,

if suddenly comes in, can fully

be responded.

"When we're in a more comfortable

area (of health system) and feel more

secure by what our abilities are then a

country can slowly start thinking

(withdrawal of lockdown)," Dr

Bardan said adding that there are

many other factors that countries are

suffering from at this time of crisis.

The WHO Representative said it

Sri Lanka has reimposed a countrywide

24-hour curfew after a surge in the number

of confirmed coronavirus cases, most of

them navy sailors who were hunting those

evading quarantine.

The 46 new infections on Friday were the

highest in a day. They brought to 420 the

number of COVID-19 patients in the

Indian Ocean island, including seven

deaths.

Sri Lanka partially lifted a monthlong

curfew on Monday during daytime hours

in more than two thirds of the country.

The new curfew remains in effect until

Monday. Police have arrested more than

30,000 violators.

Among the newly infected were 30 navy

sailors from a camp on the outskirts of the

capital, Colombo. A total 60 sailors so far

have been infected and the camp isolated.

The virus is believed to have entered the

camp through sailors who were deployed

to search for a group of drug addicts who

had contact with a COVID-19 patient and

were evading quarantine.

India announced the easing of a stringent

lockdown for 1.3 billion people by

allowing neighborhood and standalone

shops to reopen. India has reported more

than 18,600 cases and 775 deaths. Last

week, the government allowed resumption

of manufacturing and farming activities in

rural areas as millions of daily wage earners

has been very helpful for the countries

that have been practising social

distancing.

He said Bangladesh is a densely

populated country that gives a wonderful

environment for the coronavirus

to transmit easily.

"This is the reason we're very

pleased that the government has

brought in this social distancing

directive," Dr Bardan said mentioning

that this helps the government

reduce the pressure in the health system

giving time to strengthen it to be

able to respond to this outbreak.

Though it helps absolutely, the

WHO Representative said, social distancing

or physical distancing is not

the only way to deal with the situation.

He said there are other areas-early

detection, isolation, testing and treatment-that

need to be strengthened

and have the focus on.

"These are the areas we really need

to strengthen to be able to fight this

virus and be able to win this war,"

said the WHO Representative.

Sri Lanka reimposes curfew;

12 cases in China

were left without work.

For the 10th straight day, China reported

no new deaths from the coronavirus.

Twelve new cases were reported on

Saturday, 11 of them brought from overseas

and one local transmission in the northeastern

province of Heilongjiang bordering

on Russia, according to the National

Health Commission. Just 838 people

remain hospitalized with COVID-19 while

another 1,000 people are undergoing isolation

and monitoring for being either suspected

cases or having tested positive for

the virus while showing no symptoms.

China, widely believed to be the source of

the global pandemic, has reported a total of

4,632 deaths among 82,816 cases.

South Korea has reported 10 fresh cases

of the new coronavirus, the eighth day in a

row its daily jump came below 20. No new

deaths were reported Saturday for the second

straight day. The figures released by

South Korea's Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention brought national totals to

10,718 cases and 240 deaths. While a slowing

caseload has allowed South Korea to

relax its social distancing guidelines over

the past week, Prime Minister Chung Syekyun

raised concern over possible transmissions

by "quiet spreaders" and instructed

officials to conduct antibody tests in

worst-hit Daegu and nearby towns to learn

how widespread the coronavirus is.

In Rangpur, shopping for Iftar items has been started from the first day of the holy Ramadan in compliance with hygiene

and social distance to prevent the risk of corona infection. Photo: PBA

According to government direction, Tarabi's prayer was performed at different mosques.

BLRI starts

coronavirus

testing

Bangladesh Livestock Research

Institute (BLRI) has started collecting

samples from people for

COVID-19 test at its laboratory on

Saturday, reports UNB.

The institute under the Ministry

of Fisheries and Livestock collected

samples of 19 people of

Dhamari upazila and its adjacent

areas who have been suffering

from cough, fever and respiratory

problem, said a press release from

the ministry.

This bio-safety level-2 lab of the

institute is one of the biggest labs

in the country with real-time PCR

technology and the lab has the

capacity of testing 300 samples in

a single day, it said.

BLRI has formed a 14-member

team with scientists and staff to

conduct the activities.

April 20, the ministry received a

request letter from the Health

Directorate to use the laboratory

for coronavirus testing. It also

gave assurance to provide all testing

equipment to start the

process.

Seventeen hospitals are currently

providing free coronavirus testing

services as the country continues

to see a steady rise in COVID-

19 cases.

The government is increasing

the number of polymerase chain

reaction (PCR) test and expanding

the service across the country,

according to the Directorate

General of Health Services.

The deadly coronavirus which has

spread to 60 districts of the country,

out of 64, has infected 324 physicians

both at private and public hospitals as

of Saturday, said Bangladesh Doctors

Foundation (BDF), a forum of physicians,

reports UNB.

"Among the infected doctors, 255 are

in Dhaka division alone," said Nirupam

Das, the chief administrator of the

foundation.

Of the total, 163 are from different

government hospitals, 76 from private

hospitals while 20 were shown in other

category in the BDF data.

The BDF data show that 26 doctors

were infected in Mymensingh division

and all of them are from government

hospitals while 12 doctors -- 11 from

government hospitals and one from a

private hospital-were in Chattogram

Photo : TBT

BDF says 324 doctors fighting

coronavirus in Bangladesh

get infected

Indian Muslims face stigma, blame

for surge in infections

India's government is blaming an

Islamic missionary meeting for a surge

in coronavirus cases, triggering a wave

of violence, business boycotts and hate

speech toward Muslims that experts

warn could worsen the pandemic in the

world's second-most populous country,

reports UNB.

The stigma faced by India's Muslims,

poorer and with less access to health

care than other groups, is making

health workers' battle against the virus

even tougher, according to veterans of

other epidemics. India has about

24,500 confirmed coronavirus cases -

about one in five of which have been

linked to the missionary meeting - and

775 deaths, and the outbreak may not

peak until June.

"Not only is the (Muslim) community

at a higher risk of being infected, but

they will also be at a high risk of spreading

the virus," said Dr. Anant Bhan, a

bioethics and global health expert. "It

becomes a cycle that will continue."

About 8,000 people in the Tablighi

Jamaat congregation met for three days

in March at the group's compound in

the crowded Nizamuddin area of New

Delhi, shortly before the Indian government

banned large gatherings. The

compound stayed open, later giving

shelter to people stranded in a 21-day

lockdown imposed by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi on March 24, according

to the group's spokesman, Mujeeb

ur Rehman.

On the second day of the lockdown, a

government raid on the compound discovered

the largest virus cluster in

India. Police filed a case against some of

division.

Meanwhile, seven doctors in Khulna

division, eight in Barishal, two in Sylhet

and three in Rangpur division have so

far been diagnosed with Covid-19.

Asked about the safety of doctors

while treating Covid-19 patients, Dr

Nirupam said there is no alternative to

personal protective equipment (PPE),

quality gowns, masks, gloves and goggles

for doctors' safety.

Bangladesh has so far confirmed 140

deaths and 4,998 coronavirus cases.

Additional Director General of the

Directorate General of Health Services

(DGHS) Prof Dr Nasima Sultana in the

daily health bulletin on Saturday

informed that coronavirus has spread

to 60 districts in the country except

Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Jhenidah

and Satkhira.

Indian Muslims face stigma,

blame for surge in infections

the group's leaders for violating the ban,

a charge the group denies. Officials said

Tuesday they have arrested 29 people,

including 16 foreigners, who participated

in the missionary meeting.

India's communal fault lines, still

stressed by deadly riots over a new naturalization

law that excludes Muslims,

were split wide open by the allegations

against Jamaat.

Politicians in Modi's ruling Hindunationalist

Bharatiya Janata Party were

quoted on TV and in newspapers

describing the Jamaat incident as

"corona terrorism."

False news targeting Muslims began

to circulate, including video clips purportedly

showing congregation members

spitting on authorities. The clips

were quickly proven to be fake, yet by

April 1, the hashtag "CoronaJihad" was

trending on Twitter in India.

Lav Aggarwal, joint secretary of

India's health ministry, repeatedly

called out the congregation by name in

daily news briefings. On April 5, he said

the number of virus cases was doubling

in just 4.1 days, and would have been a

slower 7.4 days "if the additional ...

cases due to the Tablighi Jamaat meeting

would not have arisen."

That same day, Dilshad Mohammad

took his life.

Panic, blame and stigma were

spreading across India when the 37-

year-old chicken peddler was shunned

by his neighbors in Bangarh, a village in

the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh, for

giving two members of the Jamaat congregation

a ride to their village on his

scooter. Neighbors accused him of

deliberately trying to infect them with

the virus, which causes the COVID-19

NEWS

SuNdAY, APRIl 26, 2020

2

GD- 659/20 (3 x 3)

GD- 656/20 (4 x 3)

GD- 662/20 (5 x 3)

Imam, Muezzin and Khadem receives

food and iftar items in Natore

TOFAzzAL HOSSAIN, NATORE CORRESpONDENT:

Under the direction of the prime Minister, Natore District

Administration has distributed food and Iftar items among

Imams, Muezzins and Khadems of all the mosques in Sadar

Upazila. Sourendra Nath Chakraborty, secretary of the statistics

and information management department, distributed food and

iftar items to more than 200 imams, muezzins and Khadems on

Saturday. During the time, Natore Deputy Commissioner Md.

Shahriaz pAA, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General)

Ashraful Islam, Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Jahangir Alam

and other senior officials of the district administration were also

present on the occasion.

Relief materials distributed

among beggars in Chilmari

GOLAM MAHBUB, CHILMARI CORRESpONDENT:

Grameen Bank, Thanahat Chilmari branch in Chilmari

upazila distributed relief materials among struggling

beggars. On Saturday, Grameen Bank, Thanahat Chilmari

Branch Manager Tapash Chandra Sarkar, 2nd Officer

Nazmul Hasan and Employees Association Area president

zahid Hasan visited the houses of 20 struggling (beggars)

members of the Bank and distributed package relief

materials.

The package relief includes 30 kg of rice, 4 kg of pulses, 2

liters of oil, 4 soaps, 2 kg of salt, 5 kg of onion, 8 kg of potato,

1 kg of chola, 1 kg of sugar and Tk 600 in cash. The relief was

distributed to encourage beggars not to go out begging

outside their homes in the corona affected areas.

Former MP distributes food items among

unemployed families in Palash

TARAK pATHAN, pALASH CORRESpONDENT:

Former parliament Member of Narsingdi-2 constituency

Alhaj Kamrul Ashraf Khan poton has started distributing

food items to 25,000 poor families of palash in Narsingdi

who have lost their jobs due to corona crisis.

palash Upazila Jubo League General Secretary Al-Mujahid

Hossain Tushar and mother of Kamrul Ashraf Khan poton

inaugurated the distribution of food items to 25,000 poor

families in Charsindur Union of the upazila on Saturday.

During the time, Jubo League leader Al-Mujahid Hossain

Tushar said that we have started distribution of various food

items including rice, pulses, oil, potatoes and soap to 25,000

poor families of Narsingdi-2 constituency who have lost their

jobs due to the corona crisis. As long as there is a corona crisis

in the country, the distribution of these food items to poor

families will continue.

Relief materials among

unemployed people

in Kurigram

BADSHAH SAyKOT, KURIGRAM CORRESpONDENT:

Redwanul Haque Dulal, joint convener of the district Jubo

League, has distributed relief items among the unemployed

people in Kurigram on the occasion of Corona situation and

Ramadan.

The relief items were distributed among more than 300

people in the Shaheed Minar area of the district town on

Saturday. The relief items included 5 kg of rice, 1 kg of pulses,

1 kg of oil and 1 kg of salt along with various vegetables.

During the time, Mominul Islam Momin, Bilu Khandaker

and Khandaker Wahedunnabi Sagar among others were also

present at the time. While distributing the relief, Redwanul

Haque Dulal said that he would distribute the relief items

among 1000 families in the city in phases.

Army distributes food items among

helpless people in Gopalganj

S M NAzRUL ISLAM, GOpALGANJ CORRESpONDENT:

Members of the Bangladesh Army distributed food items

among jobless, helpless and poor people due to lockdown

over coronavirus pandemic in Gopalganj on Friday night.

The food items were distributed in different villages of

Gopalganj Sadar and Tungipara upazila from the army's own

food and rations, said patrol Commander and Captain of the

14th Bengal Regiment Shahadat Hossain Sourav.

The army official also said that this trend will continue as

long as the epidemic of coronavirus continues.

18,452 released from quarantine in Khulna division

KHULNA: A total of 18,452 people have, so

far, been released from home or institutional

quarantine, out of the total 24,137, as they

showed no symptoms of novel coronavirus,

in the division, an official said yesterday,

reports BSS.

While talking to BSS, Assistant Director

(Health) in Khulna Dr. Ferdousi Akther said

a total of 18,452 people have been released

from home quarantine, 808 from

institutional quarantine and 135 others from

isolation in the division till 8 am yesterday as

they showed no coronavirus symptoms.

Meanwhile, a total of 274 people were kept

in home or Institutional quarantine afresh

GD- 660/20 (11 x 3)

during the time, she said. Among them, four

were kept in quarantine in Khulna, nine in

Bagerhat, 64 in Jashore, 12 in Jhenaidah, 33

in Magura, 31 in Narail, 78 in Kustia, 29 in

Chuadanga and 14 in Meherpur, she added.

With them, the number of quarantined

people stood at 24,137 in the division and a

total of 771 were released in the last 24 hours

as they showed no symptoms of COVID-19,

Dr. Ferdousi said. Divisional Director

(Health) Dr. Rasheda Sultana said adequate

initiatives have been taken for providing

treatment to the COVID-19 infected patients

in Khulna division and steps have been taken

to further enhance the capacity.

GD- 658/20 (6 x 3)

60,965 Rajshahi

farmers get incentive

for Aush farming

RAJSHAHI: A total of

60,965 small and marginal

farmers get seed and fertilizer

as incentives for the

cultivation of Aus paddy in the

current Kharif-1 season in all

eight districts of the division,

reports BSS.

The beneficiary farmers are

being given five kilograms of

high yielding seed, 20

kilograms of diammonium

phosphate and 10 kilograms

of muriate of potash fertilizers

for aush paddy cultivation on

one bigha of land each free of

cost under the government's

agricultural incentive

programme.

Deb Dulal Dhali, Additional

Director of Department of

Agriculture Extension (DAE),

said that the incentives

distribution was almost

completed successfully

everywhere in the region

comprising Rajshahi, Natore,

Naogaon

and

Chapainawabgonj districts.

GD- 655/20 (5 x 4)

INTERNATIONAL

SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2020

3

People wearing face masks walk in Oxford, Britain.

Photo : Xinhua

UK pushes forward coronavirus vaccine

trial amid increasing pandemic death toll

After implementing social distancing

measures for weeks, Britain has hit "the

peak" of the COVID-19 outbreak,

according to the country's Health Secretary

Matt Hancock. But medical

experts said only a valid vaccine or

highly effective drugs can give people

assurance that the fight against

COVID-19 could be finally won, reports

UNB.

That is why the vaccine trial carried

out by a team at the University of

Oxford is drawing much attention. The

process is moving at a rapid pace-

Oxford researchers have begun vaccine

trials on humans on Thursday.

The vaccine programs respectively at

Oxford and the Imperial College London

are at the forefront of Britain's vaccine

development efforts. The British

government has announced that it will

provide funding for these two programs.

According to a statement from the

University of Oxford, the new vaccine,

called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, is based on

an adenovirus vaccine vector and the

SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and has

been produced in Oxford.

The researchers started screening

healthy volunteers (aged 18-55) in

March, and the study will test the new

vaccine against COVID-19 in these volunteers.

It aims to assess whether healthy

people can be protected from COVID-

19 with this new vaccine while providing

valuable information on safety

aspects of the vaccine and its ability to

generate good immune responses

against the virus, according to the statement.

"The best-case scenario is that by the

autumn of 2020 we have the results

about the effectiveness of the vaccine

from a phase III trial and the ability to

manufacture large amounts of the vaccine,"

professor Sarah Gilbert from the

University of Oxford told Xinhua

through email.

"But these best-case timeframes are

highly ambitious and subject to

change," said professor Gilbert, who is

one of the scientists leading the

COVID-19 vaccine development program

at Oxford.

As of Thursday afternoon, another

684 people who tested positive for

COVID-19 have died in hospitals in

Britain, bringing the total number of

coronavirus-related hospital deaths to

19,506.

Under normal circumstances, most

vaccine development programs take

more than five years. But the Oxford

team said they have used some special

strategies to expedite the process significantly,

including a vaccine delivery

system that has been used before and

can be adapted for a new pathogen,

which can shorten the initial vaccine

development time.

Also, in an emergency situation, large

scale manufacturing could be carried

out concurrently while the clinical trial

is ongoing, which can shorten the overall

timescale for vaccine development,

according to the team.

China, Sri Lanka firmly support

WHO in COVID-19 fight

China stands ready to work with Sri

Lanka to firmly support the World

Health Organization (WHO) in the

global battle against the COVID-19

pandemic, Chinese State Councilor

and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday

in a phone conversation with his

Sri Lankan counterpart Dinesh

Gunawardena, reports UNB.

The Chinese and Sri Lankan people

have maintained friendship from generation

to generation, and enjoyed a

tradition of sincerely helping each other,

Wang said.

Sri Lanka has firmly supported China

in the joint fight against COVID-19,

Wang said, recalling that the Sri

Lankan prime minister prayed with

the Sri Lankan people for China's antiepidemic

efforts.

When China was holding a national

mourning for COVID-19 victims earlier

in April, the Sri Lankan Embassy in

China put its flags at half-mast, Wang

said, adding that the Chinese side will

bear in mind these heartwarming

moves.

China feels keenly for Sri Lanka over

the COVID-19 epidemic, he said. China

will provide anti-epidemic supplies

and share its experience in prevention

and control based on Sri Lanka's

needs, said Wang, expressing his belief

that Sri Lanka will prevail over the epidemic

at an early date.

Wang thanked Sri Lanka for taking

care of Chinese nationals in its country

like families, and said China will guarantee

the safety and health of Sri

Lankan citizens in China as always.

China is willing to join hands with Sri

Lanka to combat the pandemic, promote

an orderly resumption of work

and production for major cooperative

projects, and ensure that the production

chain and supply chain will not be

disrupted, Wang said. He said he

believed that the China-Sri Lanka relationship

will be further deepened and

developed after the pandemic is over.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been

endangering the health and safety of

the whole humanity, and examining

their conscience and morality, Wang

stressed. At the crunch time when solidarity

is needed to combat the pandemic,

some people took advantage of

the disease for political maneuvering

and scapegoating for their inadequate

responses, and even staged blatant

attacks against the WHO.

For countries facing grave threats,

especially for people fighting for their

lives in the COVID-19 battle, such

moves are inhumane, and those who

chose to do so are in fact setting out to

associate with the virus and pitting

themselves against the people, Wang

said, stressing that such moves should

be rejected rightfully by the international

community.

China stands ready to work with Sri

Lanka to firmly support the WHO to

play its due role in the global battle

against COVID-19, Wang said.

Gunawardena appreciated the positive

outcomes China has achieved in its

anti-epidemic fight, highlighting that it

has not only safeguarded the health

and safety of the Chinese people, but

also inspired the global battle against

COVID-19.

Sri Lanka thanks China for the

medical supplies it has provided, he

said, noting that Chinese citizens in Sri

Lanka have also contributed to the

country's anti-epidemic fight.

COVID-19 is the common enemy of

all humanity and requires concerted

response from the international community,

he said.

Sri Lanka thinks highly of China's

firm support for the WHO, which also

provides strong backing to developing

countries including Sri Lanka, he said.

Sri Lanka will firmly stand with

China and expects the WHO to continue

playing a key role in the COVID-19

fight, he said.

FDA warns of

heart risks with

Trump-promoted

malaria drug

The U.S. Food and Drug

Administration on Friday

warned doctors against prescribing

a malaria drug touted

by President Donald

Trump for treating the new

coronavirus except in hospitals

and research studies,

reports UNB.

In an alert, regulators

flagged reports of sometimes

fatal heart side effects

among coronavirus patients

taking hydroxychloroquine

or the related drug chloroquine.

The decades-old

drugs, also prescribed for

lupus and rheumatoid

arthritis, can cause a number

of side effects, including

heart rhythm problems,

severely low blood pressure

and muscle or nerve damage.

The warning comes as

doctors at a New York hospital

published a report that

heart rhythm abnormalities

developed in most of 84

coronavirus patients treated

with hydroxychloroquine

and the antibiotic

azithromycin, a combo

Trump has promoted.

Both drugs are known to

sometimes alter the heartbeat

in dangerous ways, and

their safety or ability to help

people with COVID-19 is

unknown. A National Institutes

of Health experts panel

earlier this week recommended

against taking that

drug combo except in a formal

study because of the

side effects potential.

Last month, the FDA

authorized limited use of the

malaria drugs for hospitalized

patients with COVID-19

who aren't enrolled in ongoing

research. The FDA said

the drugs' risks are manageable

when patients are carefully

screened and monitored

by doctors. A number

of studies are testing

hydroxychloroquine as a

treatment .

Greece reports 2,490 infections,

spreads message of int'l solidarity

Greece reported 27 new cases of COVID-19

infection and five new deaths over the past 24

hours, raising the total confirmed cases to

2,490 and 130 dead, fresh figures showed on

Friday.

According to the Greek Health Ministry's

coronavirus spokesman and infectious diseases

professor Sotirios Tsiodras, among the

new infections were patients and employees at

a private clinic in western Athens, reports

UNB.

A total of 37 people in the private clinic have

tested positive on Thursday and Friday, Tsiodras

said. Of those, three patients have passed

away and 17 have been transferred to other

healthcare facilities.

A public prosecutor has ordered an inquiry for

three private clinics in Athens and Piraeus for

laxness in observing the protocols for preventing

coronavirus' spread, Greek national news

agency AMNA has reported.

In the cases of the two clinics in western and

southern Athens, COVID-19 infections have

been diagnosed in patients and staff. In the

case of the Piraeus port clinic, authorities

investigate an allegation that COVID-19 cases

were not reported.

According to the Greek Criminal Code, "whoever

intentionally violates measures ordered

by the relevant authorities" could face jail sentences

and fines. The law foresees a jail sentence

of up to 10 years if violations led to an

infection of a person or to death of the victim,

and a life sentence if the lax measures led to

the death of several people, AMNA noted.

Greece is in a nationwide lockdown which

started on March 23 and is due to end on May

4, according to the latest announcements by

the government. Most Greeks have complied

with the measures.

Repeatedly, Greek officials have called for unity

and solidarity between countries across the

globe against the common threat.

A total of 18 diplomats accredited to Greece,

among them Chinese ambassador Zhang

Qiyue, are now spreading this message, participating

in an initiative taken by the Greek

Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The project entitled "Staying at Home, Traveling

through Literature: diplomats recite Greek

literature" invites all to re-visit Greek poetry,

make time at home more creative and eventually

overcome the physical barriers through

the power of spirit, according to an emailed

press statement.

Greek Nobel laureate in literature, Odysseus

Elytis, has said "poetry begins where death is

robbed of the last word," it was stressed.

A medical worker takes care of a COVID-19 patient at Evaggelismos

General Hospital in Athens, Greece, on April 24, 2020. Greece reported 27

new cases of COVID-19 infection and five new deaths over the past 24

hours, raising the total confirmed cases to 2,490 and 130 dead, fresh

figures showed on Friday.

Photo : Xinhua

Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has assured Chinese State Councilor and Foreign

Minister Wang Yi that Sri Lanka will firmly stand with China in supporting the World Health

Organization (WHO) to play a bigger role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo : AP

On Anzac

Day, services

in lockdown

replaced by

home vigils

Traditional crowds at dawn

services for the Anzac Day

memorial holiday in Australia

were replaced with

candlelit vigils in driveways

and neighbors gathering to

listen to buglers play "The

Last Post."

Restrictions on crowds

and social distancing due to

the coronavirus meant that

the usual packed dawn services

in cities and towns

across the country were not

held. The holiday, also celebrated

in New Zealand,

marks the anniversary of

New Zealand and Australian

soldiers, known as Anzacs,

landing on the Gallipoli

Peninsula in 1915, reports

UNB.

More than 10,000 soldiers

from the two countries were

killed during that World

War I campaign in what's

now Turkey, although Anzac

Day honors those killed in all

wars.

In the national capital

Canberra, Prime Minister

Scott Morrison spoke at a

crowd-free commemorative

service held inside the Australian

War Memorial. A

didgeridoo sounded the

beginning of the service.

In the Sydney suburb of

Wahroonga, trumpeter

Lewis Ketteridge, 8, and

French horn player Grace

Colville, 16, were among a

dozen brass players playing

"The Last Post" from their

driveways at dawn before 40

residents observed a

minute's silence.

What makes a difference

on COVID-19 death rate?

Lessons beyond math

While governments worldwide are still

racing against the clock to contain the

novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

within their own countries, U.S. President

Donald Trump took comfort in his accusations

over death toll numbers in different

countries.

The U.S. president said in a contentious

White House press briefing on Saturday:

"Does anybody really believe these figures?"

and insinuated that China had

underreported the fatalities it suffered

from the coronavirus outbreak, citing

China's death per 100,000 people at 0.33.

Though China's population is more than

four times that of the United States, the

number of COVID-19 deaths in China was

less than 10 percent of the U.S.

China has reported 4,642 coronavirus

deaths as of April 24, compared with

49,954 deaths in the United States,

according to data from the World Health

Organization (WHO) and Johns Hopkins

University.

According to the mortality analyses by

Johns Hopkins University, the deaths per

100,000 people in the United States was

15.27 on April 24, compared with a mere

0.33 in China.

Fluid due to the increase of mortalities,

the death per 100,000 people measures

the outbreak's severity facing the entire

population of a country.

If two countries have the same death

toll, the death per 100,000 people for the

country with a larger population will be

lower. That is one of the reasons why China's

death rate per 100,000 people is a

mere 0.33 -- the country has a population

of 1.4 billion.

China first bore the brunt of the outbreak,

and further analysis in breakdown

shows the mortality rate per 100,000

people varies in its different regions, too.

Take the hardest-hit city, Wuhan, for

example. After the coronavirus was first

detected in the city, capital of Hubei

Province, in late December 2019, local

hospitals were once overwhelmed by

large numbers of infected patients in the

early stages of the outbreak, a predicament

that was repeated in many Western

countries.

With a population of more than 11 million,

Wuhan saw the coronavirus death

per 100,000 people at around 35.17 as of

April 23, while that for Hubei Province,

with a population of over 59 million,

stood at around 7.6, compared with 0.33

nationwide, as calculated using data from

China's National Health Commission

(NHC).

Thanks to the resolute measures including

a strict 76-day lockdown of Wuhan,

the coronavirus outbreak in China was

largely contained in Hubei. The province

took up 97.4 percent of deaths and 82.3

percent of confirmed cases in the Chinese

mainland.

Another indicator, the case-fatality ratio

or the deaths-to-infections ratio, which

calculates the rate by dividing total deaths

by the number of confirmed cases, is also

widely used to reflect both the severity of

the outbreak and the effectiveness in the

treatment of patients.

Belgium, France, UK, Italy, the Netherlands,

Spain, Iran, the United States, China

and Germany were ranked by Johns

Hopkins University as the top 10 countries

that have the most deaths proportionally

to their COVID-19 cases. The proportion

in the United States was 5.7 percent

and that in China stood at 5.5 percent

on April 24.

Globally, the deaths-to-infections ratio

stood at about 6.9 percent by April 22,

with 175,694 deaths and over 2.54 million

confirmed cases worldwide, according to

WHO data.

That means about 6.9 percent of people

known to be infected with the coronavirus

have died worldwide, underscoring how

deadly the virus could be.

EDITORIAL

SUNDAY, APril 26, 2020

4

A Covid survival guide to isolation

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Adapting to living religiously

with coronavirus

As concern over the spread of coronavirus grows, people

around the world are changing the way they do things.

Some have cut back on travel plans and are avoiding

crowded spaces. Others have dropped greetings like

handshakes and hugs for elbow bumps and foot shakes.

Churches, mosques, temples and synagogues are also changing

rituals in an effort to contain the spread of the virus. So how

easy is it to maintain the sense of spiritual connection when the

way you worship has to change?

While the whole of Italy is effectively on lockdown, one

group of people is being urged to get out and visit others. Pope

Francis has urged priests to have the "courage to go out and

visit the sick" and to "accompany the medical staff and

volunteers in the work they do". They will however need to

take precautions such as keeping at least a metre (about 3ft

4in) away from other people and avoiding physical

contact.The Pope chose to live-stream his traditional Sunday

message in an effort to reduce crowds at the Vatican.Catholic

churches from Ghana to the US and Europe have changed the

way they carry out Mass in an effort to stop infection.

Priests now place the wafer in people's hands rather than on

their tongues, and have stopped giving wine in the communal

chalice. Instead of shaking hands during the sign of peace,

members of the congregation are being asked simply to pray

for the person sitting next to them.But while they may

understand why such steps are necessary, some still have a

sense of loss.Alexander Seale is a French journalist living in

London. "There isn't the same joy as before," he tells me, "not

doing the sign of peace and not taking communion in the

mouth is like removing a part of the Mass basically."It's a

shame but I understand that these measures have to be

taken."

In the US, hundreds of people who attended Christ Church

in Georgetown, Washington DC, have been told to selfquarantine

after the rector of the church was confirmed as the

first known coronavirus patient in the district. The Reverend

Timothy Cole tested positive for the virus on Saturday, and is

under quarantine with his family. It's been reported that

about 550 people are thought to have been at the service he

oversaw on 1 March, and that he administered communion.

It was the refusal to make adjustments to worship that has

been blamed for increasing the spread of the coronavirus in

South Korea.More than half of all cases in the country have

been linked to a fringe Christian group called the Shincheonji

Church of Jesus. It's thought that practices such as sitting very

close together meant the virus spread more quickly among

members, who then travelled around the country and infected

others.

The Grand Mosque in Mecca is usually packed with

thousands of Muslim pilgrims, but there has been a dramatic

fall in visitors to what Islam holiest sites.Although the Grand

Mosque has re-opened after being closed for sterilisation,

there is now a barrier around the sacred Kaaba in the centre

of the mosque to stop people from touching it.A ban on

foreign pilgrims to both Mecca and Medina is still in place.

Devotees from around the world would usually be visiting for

Umrah pilgrimage, which unlike Hajj can be performed at any

time of the year. About eight million Muslims make the trip

annually.

It may not be just Umrah which is affected."Some are

worried that 'OK, what if this extends to Ramadan, what if this

extends to Hajj, what's going to happen?'" she says.The Saudi

authorities say these measures are temporary and have not

indicated that there are plans to disrupt the Hajj.

Some religious practices which could spread the virus have

continued.There was alarm around the world recently when

videos of Iranians licking Shia shrines were shared on social

media.

In one, a man is seen at the Masumeh shrine in Qom saying

"I'm not scared of coronavirus", before licking and kissing the

gates. Some people believe the shrines have divine powers and

can help cure diseases. Many Iranians say the religious sites

should have been closed altogether.

For many Muslims, though, it is the smaller changes in dayto-day

behaviour that they are focused on.For example, as

South Africa grapples with its first confirmed cases of the

virus, religious leaders used Friday prayers as an opportunity

to advise people about taking precautions. BBC Africa's

Mohammed Allie says that worshippers at his mosque were

advised not to shake hands or hug after the service."It's going

to take some time to get used to it," he says."People were still

shaking hands after mosque, not because they have ignored

the message, but because it's a reflex action."

He says some people have started touching feet instead of

shaking hands, and he has started using fist bumps."People

are slowly but surely starting to make adjustments," he says,

adding that he and fellow worshippers have been advised to

bring their own prayer mats to next Friday's prayers.

For Hindus, this is the time of year when Holi - the "festival

of colours" - is celebrated. It commemorates the triumph of

good over evil, as well as spring, love and new life. As part of

the festivities, people throw coloured powder in the air and

paint each other's faces.India's Prime Minister Narendra

Modi said he would not be taking part in public celebrations,

and advised people to avoid large gatherings. But many

people did take part in festivities over the weekend, albeit with

some precautions taken, such as wearing face masks. For

others though, it was a risk they were not prepared to take.

How do you tell people not to hug a grieving widow at a

funeral? That's something that Rabbi Jackie Tabick, from

London's West Central Liberal Synagogue, told me she was

grappling with."It's a really tough one," she explains. "I think

I'm going to say something like: 'I know that everybody wants

to physically express their love for the widow, but really the

best way that you can express your love these days - and I

know she will understand too - is to talk to her, nod to her, but

don't touch, because it's really not the right thing to do at the

moment."She is also putting plans in place to try to do lessons

and services online, which many reform and liberal

synagogues already do. Last week, Israel's chief rabbi David

Lau issued a statement advising that people should not touch

or kiss the mezuzah. These are scrolls with religious verses

which are placed on doorposts of homes, and which people

touch or kiss when entering a building or a room.

In Bangladesh, we are about to observe the Holy Shab-e-

Barat when the highest congregations in mosques occur. Our

government must be proactive to prevent carefree observance

of such congregations against all odds.

They say Leo Tolstoy became so

distraught over the poverty in

Russia that he ran outside and gave

away all the money he had - only to come

to the conclusion that it made no

difference whatsoever.

What Then Must We Do? was a nonfiction

work by the famed Russian writer,

in which he described the social

conditions of Russia in his day.

Perhaps that phrase also seems apt for

our current plight, in this crazy Covid-19

world, which has shut down everything

we love - well, almost everything.

There are those who say, like my friend

Ty, that we should be grateful for what we

do have, and not what we don't or can't

have at the moment. That we need a

reality check. Fair enough, but what do

we do in the meantime, while we feel all

this gratefulness.

Here are some things you can do, aside

from drinking heavily or cooking, to

make your isolation a little more

bearable. Jump on your aging computer

and point your browser to coursera.org.

How would you like to take a free course

on anything under the sun, from the top

universities in the world - that's right,

free. I'm currently taking a course on

Russian history at the University of

California, Santa Clara, and it's not

costing me a dime. Yes, you can buy a

certificate after you pass, and that's totally

up to you, but you can also take the course

gratis, and that is cool!

Desperate times call for desperate

measures, and that means it's time to

revisit the James Bond films with Sean

Connery - the best Bond ever. I

recommend them in proper order - Dr

No, From Russia with Love and

Goldfinger, followed by Thunderball and

You Only Live Twice. On Her Majesty's

Secret Service is pretty cool too, with

George Lazenby, and why not finish up

with Casino Royale, starring Daniel

The barrel of oil - A crude awakening

What strange times we live in.

Unprecedented. Unsure. Where

givens are turned upside down.

Yes, coronavirus is one element. But a

time when commodity traders will pay

you to take oil their oil. A fuel without

energy, a commodity without value, a

baseline index worth less than if every

barrel of oil stayed put in the ground.

There are memes now of drivers who go

to petrol stations to fill up their cars and

are given a tanker truck of fuel in return.

There are tankers laden with the stuff

anchored off most major ports, there are

storage facilities that are bursting at the

seams with it, and there are commodity

deals who would fill every pot and bottle if

they could and hide it away in mines until

such a time as crude rises.

So what has happened this past week?

Why has oil, which five years ago would

cost you $127 a barrel is now worth, in the

case of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) -

$30 a barrel. Commodity dealers will pay

you to take the stuff off their hands.

Of course, nothing is as simple as it

sounds. And no, unless you've got some

form of storing oil in vast quantities, like

tanks, trainloads of tankers cars, or a fleet

of oil tanker vessels - does this price apply.

In a nutshell - oil is cheap, there's lots of

it, and no one is using it.

If you want to sound intelligent during

this lockdown or the next time you're on a

Zoom call and the topic comes up, use can

explain the collapse something like this:

Remember that basic law of supply and

The coronavirus pandemic has

stimulated much discussion

about healthcare systems,

medicines, energy, and the general

state of the global economy. There has

been insufficient focus on food and

how it is produced, distributed and

consumed. This problem needs

addressing urgently at national,

regional and world levels.

The UN World Food Programme

expects the number of people in the

world experiencing hunger to double

to 250 million because of the COVID-

19 pandemic, with the most

vulnerable in Afghanistan, Venezuela,

Syria, South Sudan, Nigeria and

Yemen. WFP director David Beasley

fears that up to 300,000 people could

die of hunger every day for the next

three months, and he has appealed to

members to pay their $1.9 billion

contributions as a matter of urgency.

Food supply has become globalized,

with an intricate supply chain.

Craig? That's right, you can now "virtually

visit" a national park via several websites,

including the National Parks

Conservation Association, which lets you

tour famed sites such as Yellowstone

National Park, or Denali National Park,

or explore the history and culture of the

parks. Google Earth has also launched a

series of virtual tours with an easy-to-use

interactive planet earth that allows you to

click on and visit every national park in

the United States.

I know, it sounds trite, but, a book will

always be there for you, and you can take

it anywhere. A real book, I mean, not a

Kindle or a digital book - something you

can touch, smell and feel. Fantastic deals

can be found on abebooks, including even

rare first editions. Whatever your taste is,

surely there is a book for you. And if

reading is not your thing, how about

buying a book on CD? You can listen at

your leisure, while sipping a glass of wine.

I listened to Keith Richards' A Life that

way. I also recommend The Splendid and

the Vile, by Erik Larson, which

documents the family saga of Winston

Churchill. YouTube is known for its great

music selection. However, I suggest you

point your browser to this website, put on

your wireless headphones and check out

- the greatest speeches of John F Kennedy

demand? The more something is in

demand, the higher the price. Or the more

people demand something, the higher the

price. Now turn that price dynamic on its

head. There's a supply that no one wants -

the price falls. And when no one wants it,

the price falls.

And when you only have a limited room

to turn off the supply, the price falls. And

when you're running out of room to store

it, the price falls. And if your friends want

more detail, you can explain it like this.

That -$30 price is being offered by

sellers right now for oil to be delivered in

May. The May futures price - the price for

delivery then - was set on April 21 and it

was influenced by a one-third decrease in

demand for fuel.

Factories are mostly shut around the

world, planes aren't flying, cars aren't

being driven and - in the northern

hemisphere, homes don't need to be

MiCk o'rEillY

heated. That means there's much less

demand. And prices go down.

In the US, which has become mostly

self-sufficient in oil because of the growth

in fracking over the past decades, storage

facilities are full. But fracking is a costly

way of getting oil - both in terms of the

environment and economics.

As long as it's worth their while, frackers

keep producing but store their excess

product for a time when the prices are

of course, nothing is as simple as it sounds. And no, unless

you've got some form of storing oil in vast quantities, like

tanks, trainloads of tankers cars, or a fleet of oil tanker vessels

- does this price apply. in a nutshell - oil is cheap, there's lots of

it, and no one is using it. if you want to sound intelligent during

this lockdown or the next time you're on a Zoom call and the

topic comes up, use can explain the collapse something like

this: remember that basic law of supply and demand?

CorNEliA MEYEr

higher and when demand requires it. But

storage tanks are full. Full storage tanks

forces the price down in a big way. And

when those tanks are full, the traders need

to find other ways storing the excess. And

the most cost effective way of doing that is

to drive the price lower. For the past two

months, Saudi Arabia and Russia -

behemoths in the oil producing world -

have been engaged in a standoff. Let's go

back to early in 2020 - when the

Pandemic problem on a plate

Affluent countries have supermarkets

in which everything is available at any

time, regardless of where it is

produced or whether it is in season.

Spoiled shoppers put mangos,

strawberries, peaches and avocados in

their trolleys in the middle of

December, having lost connectivity to

where and how food is produced.

It was not always thus. Our

forefathers consumed what was

produced locally. A century ago, most

people in Europe would never have

thought of eating meat every day; it

was an expensive luxury for a

privileged few. Nor did our

forefathers waste food, while these

days the world throws away 1.3 billion

tons of food a year, a third of what we

produce.

While globalization and food

production at scale have also reduced

hunger by making food more

accessible, this has been reversed

somewhat in recent years by conflict

DAvE MAkiChUk

and his writer, Ted Sorensen.

The one you should really hear is JFK's

American University speech titled "A

Strategy of Peace." This is the speech that

basically sealed his fate, as he tried to stop

the military-industrial complex from

destroying the world. Perceived as "soft"

on the commies, he was gunned down in

Dallas just months later. Sorensen would

refuse to work for Lyndon Johnson after

Jack's death. Remember when you used

to build plastic models as a child? Well,

there are many online model shops out

there, and still many models to be made -

the Titanic, the P-51 Mustang fighter, a

German Tiger tank or a Formula One

racing car. Take your pick, the choices are

immense and affordable. HLJ, or Hobby

That's right, you can now "virtually visit" a national park

via several websites, including the National Parks

Conservation Association, which lets you tour famed sites

such as Yellowstone National Park, or Denali National

Park, or explore the history and culture of the parks. Google

Earth has also launched a series of virtual tours with an

easy-to-use interactive planet earth that allows you to click

on and visit every national park in the United States.

Link Japan, claims to be the biggest

hobby, toy and figure store in the world,

and it will ship anywhere. How about

buying some painting supplies, and doing

some painting with artistic guru Bob

Ross? You don't need to be Rembrandt to

come up with a masterpiece. You just

need to feel your artistic side, and go for it

… whether it be watercolors or oils.

Remember, Vincent van Gogh never

made any real money while he was alive,

and was roundly dismissed.

Are you a big fan of murder mysteries, a

closet detective? Well, thanks to the

and climate change. The pandemic

has magnified and accelerated this

reversal, while also exposing the

fragility of globalized food systems;

borders close, transport is disrupted,

and European fruit and vegetable

growers cannot hire the seasonal

workers they need, creating the risk of

produce rotting in the fields. In

developing countries, matters are

even more grave. Many day laborers

in Nigeria, India and Bangladesh exist

hand to mouth. If they live under

lockdown in city slums, they risk

losing access to food altogether.

While globalization and food

production at scale have also reduced

hunger by making food more

accessible, this has been reversed

somewhat in recent years by conflict

and climate change.

Staples such as rice or grain are

often not consumed at the point of

production. The activist British

farmer Patrick Holden, founder of the

website 5 Minute Mystery, you can solve

a mystery a day. The site lets you find the

clues, identify a solution and solve the

case - testing your skills against others

trying to do the same thing. My favourite?

"Murder in the Early Morning." Not that

I'm thinking of anyone in particular or

anything …

Fly a modern jetliner to your favorite

destination. This is now possible, thanks

to a number of flight-sim softwares

available on the Internet. For example,

for just US$59 you can download X-

Plane 11, which boasts high-quality flight

environments and several aircraft to

choose from. The website also allows you

to download and try a free demo (I tried

it, it's rad!). Just be sure to check the

minimum requirements for computer

operation before you buy or download -

the newer the better.

Stand aside, Will Shakespeare! Now

that you have time on your hands, you

can write that fabulous piece of fiction

you've always wanted to pen. Truman

Capote locked himself away in a cabin for

several weeks when he went about

writing his classic In Cold Blood.

Masterclass.com has writing courses

offered by famed writer Joyce Carol

Oates, who has published 58 novels and

thousands of short stories, essays and

articles. Start small, with short stories,

then work your way up.

One way to relax in the evening is to

turn off the television, and dial up a radio

show - there are literally thousands of

online radio stations to listen to from all

over the world. Music, talkshows,

dramas, whatever - you will be surprised

just how good radio has become,

especially if you accompany it with your

favorite bevy.

Source : Arab News

pandemic was just beginning. Oil was

already falling in price because the global

economy had been starting to slow.

Slowing economy means lower oil prices.

And the Saudis wanted to cut production

further to keep prices stable. The Russians

adamantly disagreed - they wanted to

produce more. Opec members and others

were in disagreement on what to do. In

December 2019, oil was at $67 a barrel. In

January, it was $63, and in February it

was at $56. And by early March, it was at

$36. And that's when Saudi Arabia

decided to open its taps, adding another

2.6 million barrels daily to the market.

But why flood the market when prices

are lower? Well, that's when production

costs really come into play. The Saudi's

can bring a barrel of oil to the market with

all costs paid at around $8.98 each,

Russian costs are $19.21, and shale

producers have costs of at least $25 per

barrel. Within days, oil started to tumble,

down to the mid $20s - cheaper for buyers

in Europe, Russia's primary market - to

buy. No one is driving, no one is working,

no one is flying. No one is heating homes

or using much energy - or it comes from

power from renewable sources. No one is

buying much oil. And the price drops.

Even things are stable on the

geopolitical front - no threats to global oil

supplies - because everyone is too busy

staying safe from Covid-19.

Source : Gulf News

Sustainable Food Trust campaign

group, says the guarantor of food

security is for countries to produce a

substantial amount of these staples

domestically where possible, and

argues that this is resilience, not

protectionism.

Supplying the world with food is

both a local and a global issue, so we

must find solutions at both levels,

remaining mindful of the effect our

decisions have; otherwise, hundreds

of millions mainly in the developing

world risk starvation, which in turn

will create more waves of refugees.

Countries tread thin lines between

resilience, self sufficiency and

protectionism. If we err on the side of

protectionism, choices may become

matters of war and peace in some

parts of the world.

Source : Arab News

DEVELOPMENT

ENVIRONMENT

A woman with a placard protesting against FGM in Madrid.

Photo: Marcos del Mazo

Actual number of FGM cases

are not recorded

Liz Ford

The number of women and girls who

have undergone female genital

mutilation (FGM) could be much

higher than previously estimated, as

a new report shows the practice is

carried out in more than 90 countries

around the world.

The UN estimates that 200 million

women and girls have undergone

FGM. But this figure is drawn from

only 31 countries - 27 in Africa -

where national data has been

collected.

After pulling together data from

indirect estimates, smaller surveys,

academic studies and from

anecdotal evidence, researchers

from Equality Now, the End FGM

European Network and the US End

FGM/C Network found that

hundreds of thousands of cases

have been documented across 92

countries in Asia, the Middle East,

Europe, North America and Latin

America.

FGM involves the partial or total

removal of the female external

genitalia for non-medical reasons.In

the report, published on Tuesday, the

three organisations are calling on

governments to commission national

surveys to create a more accurate

picture of global prevalence rates,

which would allow a more cohesive

response to the problem.

Divya Srinivasan, a lawyer and

Equality Now's south Asia

consultant, said the purpose of the

report was to "spotlight that it is

happening all over the

world".Srinivasan said the focus on

stopping FGM has been targeted in

Africa, where there has been some

success. A study published in 2018

showed that prevalence rates had

fallen sharply across Africa since the

mid-1990s. In east Africa the rates

fell from 71.4% in 1995 to just 8% in

2016.

"But we assume it's not happening

in the rest of the world. The

international community and

governments need to scale up efforts

across the world," she said.Limited

data means governments can "turn a

blind eye and pretend it's not

happening".

According to the report, more than

500,000 women and girls in the US

have undergone FGM or are at risk of

doing so. In Australia, more than

50,000 women and girls had been

cut, while an estimated 600,000

have undergone the practice across

the EU. In the UK, 137,000 women

and girls had been cut and more than

67,000 are at risk. About 70,000 had

undergone FGM in Germany. Cases

were also found in regions of India,

Iran, Israel and Russia.

But Srinivasan, who co-authored

the report, said these figures are

likely to be underestimates as they

are largely based on figures related to

diaspora communities from

countries where FGM is known to be

practised.

In the US, for example, the figure

excludes Christian communities.In

an interview for the report, Jenny,

who grew up in a conservative

Christian home in the US midwest,

said she underwent FGM when she

was five. She was taught to believe

that women should be submissive

and that "sex for pleasure was wrong

for women".

It is only recently that she has

begun to talk about her experience,

and started a petition to get the

practice banned in Kentucky, one of

15 US states where FGM is legal. A

bipartisan bill to ban FGM in

Kentucky unanimously passed in

January and is now heading to the

Senate for consideration.

"I think it is important for people

to understand just because so few

Americans have spoken up, it does

not mean it is not happening here,"

said Jenny. "There is such a silence

that surrounds this practice, that

until we are talking about it more,

we are really never going to know

the amount of girls in the US that

have been affected. We have to

remove the shame, make it a

subject safe to talk about."In 2015,

193 governments agreed to

eliminate FGM by 2030 as part of

their commitment to meet the

sustainable development goals.

Climate change could cause abrupt

biodiversity losses this century

Christopher Trisos

The impacts of climate change on

species and ecosystems are already

evident. poleward shifts in the

geographic distributions of species,

catastrophic forest fires and mass

bleaching of coral reefs all bear the

fingerprints of climate change.

But what will the world's

biodiversity look like in the

future?Projections indicate that

unless emissions are rapidly reduced

the climate crisis will get

substantially worse. Up to 50% of

species are forecast to lose most of

their suitable climate conditions by

2100 under the highest greenhouse

gas emissions scenario.

But we still lack answers to some

basic questions. When will species be

exposed to potentially dangerous

climate conditions? Will this occur in

the next decade or only later in the

century? Will the exposure of species

accumulate gradually, one species at

a time? Or should we expect abrupt

jumps as the climate limits of

multiple species are exceeded?

Our understanding of when and

how abruptly climate driven

disruptions of biodiversity will occur

is limited because biodiversity

forecasts typically focus on individual

snapshots of the future. We took a

different route. We used annual

projections of temperature and

precipitation from 1850 to 2100

across more than 30,000 marine and

terrestrial species to estimate the

timing of species exposure to

potentially dangerous climate

conditions.

This new analysis indicates that a

high percentage of species in local

ecosystems could be exposed to

potentially dangerous climate

conditions simultaneously.

Rather than slowly sliding down a

climate change slope, many

ecosystems face a cliff edge.Abrupt

There is a risk of abrupt biodiversity loss early this century.

Photo: Internet

biodiversity loss due to marine

heatwaves that bleach coral reefs is

already under way in tropical oceans.

The risk of climate change causing

sudden collapses of ocean

ecosystems is projected to escalate

further in the 2030s and 2040s.

Under a high greenhouse gas

emissions scenario the risk of abrupt

biodiversity loss is projected to

spread onto land, affecting tropical

forests and more temperate

ecosystems by the 2050s.

Biodiversity exposure to dangerous

climate conditions.These dire

projections use historical

temperature models to find the upper

limit that each species can survive

under, as far as we know. Once

temperatures rise to levels a species

has never experienced, scientists

have very limited evidence of their

ability to survive.

It's possible some species, such as

those with very short generation

times, may be able to adapt. For

species with longer generation

times - such as most birds and

mammals - it may be only a few

generations before unprecedented

temperatures occur. When this

happens the species' ability to

evolve out of this problem may be

limited.

Abrupt losses of biodiversity from

climate change represent a

significant threat to human wellbeing.

In many countries a large

percentage of people rely on their

immediate natural environment for

their food security and income.

Sudden disruption of local

ecosystems would negatively affect

their ability to earn an income and

feed themselves, potentially pushing

them into poverty.

Hundreds of millions of people

across these regions rely on wildcaught

fish as an essential source of

food. Eco-tourism revenues from

coral reefs are also a major source of

income.In Latin America, Asia and

Africa, large parts of the Andes,

Amazon, Indonesian and Congo

forests are projected to be at risk

from 2050 under a high emissions

scenario.

SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2020

5

Locally self-sufficient economies can

be answer in Covid-19 supply crisis

Development Desk

I donned my mask, and bravely set

forth to the local grocery shop and

vegetable and fish market. The

formerly boring chore was now

charged with adventure and risk.

Would the police whack me for being

out on my errands? Would the shops

be open? Would they be stocked?

Most importantly, would the dratted

coronavirus find its way to me, or

come back home with me?

Fortunately, I encountered no

policemen on my short walk of half a

kilometre. Hardly any shops were

open. A couple of grocery and

medicine stores, and a few vegetable

and fish vendors, sold their

increasingly scant wares to a thin

trickle of buyers. Even though this is

Kolkata, there was hardly any fish

available.

I spotted a man squatting on the

ground in the bazaar with a little pile

of small fish in front of him. It was a

type of fish called "bata", and the man

said it had been fished from a nearby

pond. "Hardly any supplies are

coming from afar," he said. "The fish

we are getting is from what the

fishermen can catch nearby." It was

good, fresh catch.

The advantages of sourcing food

from close to where it is meant to be

consumed are many, and obvious.

Firstly, you are likely to get fresh

produce. Industrial food production

is perhaps necessary but it is also

deeply problematic, especially when

it comes to fish and meat. Secondly,

the carbon footprint for

transportation over long distances is

reduced, and the need for cold chains

is eliminated. Thirdly, the money

goes into the local economy, into the

pockets of a small farmer or

fisherman. And finally, food grown

locally for the local market is always

available to those who live nearby,

even in a crisis. People traded with

those who were in their vicinity,

exchanging goods they had with

those they needed. Dependence on

the market for the necessities of daily

life was limited. There were few

permanent shops except in the

largest cities. Indeed, market day

even now in many rural areas is once

a week or once a fortnight. Money

was not nearly as important in such a

world. It was possible to live healthy

lives with a lot less money. If there

was rice in the fields, and vegetables

in the kitchen garden, and fish and

ducks in the pond, and you had your

own chickens, goats, pigs or cows,

and could even brew your own wine

or beer, and weave and sew your own

clothes…well, what exactly did you

need money for in a world without

telephone, electricity and internet

bills?

This is, of course, a very rosy

picture, because life was also hard.

Farming and raising animals were

not easy and depended on the

vagaries of weather, the presence or

absence of crop and animal diseases

and pests, and backbreaking work.

Ruling elites tried to extract heavy

taxes, there were wars and famines,

and of course, there were human

diseases too. Even two generations

back in India, it was commonplace

for families to lose a member or two

to diseases such as malaria, cholera,

typhoid, tuberculosis, pneumonia

and other ailments which are

routinely cured now. The concept of

seasonal fruits and vegetables had

receded; somehow, by a combination

of long-range trade and chemicals,

the seasons were made to matter less.

Supply chains for the unlikeliest of

things had become global. The

shipping container and the business

traveller on the aeroplane were the

symbols of this globalised

world.Those are the symbols now

facing a great crisis.

A WhatsApp joke illustrates the

situation pithily: anyone who thinks

one person cannot change the world

never ate an undercooked bat. What

we realise now is that a single idiot

anywhere in this planet of seven

billion-plus humans can

inadvertently do something that

throws everyone's lives out of gear.

Globalisation means we are all part

of a densely interconnected network.

Such networks have many

advantages, but their disadvantage is

that a problem anywhere can rapidly

spread everywhere. A measure of

resilience and stability is provided in

Sellers are busy to sell their produce in a market in north-east India.

Photo: Collected

such a situation by shorter supply

chains, which enable isolation of

parts of the network in an

emergency. In other words, the safe

option is to have locally self-sufficient

economies, where local means places

within easy reach by road or river, say

within a radius of 150-200 km.

Global outcry to close Southeast

Asia’s wildlife markets

Development Desk

This World Health Day, as the

world grapples with the worst

public health emergency in recent

memory, over 90 percent of

respondents surveyed in Southeast

Asia and Hong Kong support a

government-led closure of illegal

and unregulated wildlife markets,

according to new research for

World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

A surveyconducted in March

among 5,000 participants from

Hong Kong SAR, Japan,

Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam

found that 82 percent of

respondents are extremely or very

worried about the outbreak, with

93 percent of respondents in

Southeast Asia and Hong Kong

supporting action by their

governments to eliminate illegal

and unregulated markets.

Questions remain about the

exact origins of COVID-19, but the

World Health Organization

(WHO) has confirmed it is a

zoonotic disease, meaning it

jumped from wildlife to humans.

The Chinese government

announced a comprehensive ban

on the consumption of wild

animals on 24 February. WWF's

research shows that citizens

support similar action from other

governments across the region.

A WWF public survey in South East Asian countries show that an

overwhelming majority support closure of wildlife markets which

are mostly illegal.

Photo: Collected

This was the first survey of public

opinion about the connection

between COVID-19 and wildlife

trade undertaken across Asia.

"China has taken great steps

prohibiting the hunting, trade,

transport and eating of wild

animals, and Vietnam is working

on similar directives," said Christy

Williams, Regional Director of

WWF's Asia Pacific program.

"Other Asian governments must

follow by closing their high-risk

wildlife markets and ending this

trade once and for all to save lives

and help prevent a repeat of the

social and economic disruption we

are experiencing around the globe

today."

"The public in Asia have spoken -

those living in countries where

wildlife markets are most

prevalent are demanding that

wildlife consumption is curbed

and illegal and unregulated

wildlife trade is eliminated. People

are deeply worried and would

support their governments in

taking action to prevent potential

future global health crises

originating in wildlife markets,"

said Marco Lambertini, Director

General of WWF International. "It

is time to connect the dots between

wildlife trade, environmental

degradation and risks to human

health. Taking action now for

humans as well as the many

wildlife species threatened by

consumption and trade is crucial

for all of our survival."

Other recent epidemics,

including SARS, MERS and Ebola,

have also all been traced back to

viruses that spread from animals

to people.

"COVID-19 is a global crisis and

only a global response can ensure a

pandemic like this never happens

again," said Jan Vertefeuille,

Senior Advisor for Advocacy at

WWF-US. "We're calling on world

leaders to support the closure of

high-risk wildlife markets

wherever they threaten public

health and biodiversity and to take

collective action: aid the countries

that are trying to shut down this

dangerous wildlife trade, invest in

public education and consumer

outreach to reduce demand for

these products and fight wildlife

trafficking around the world."

Populations of vertebrate species

on earth declined by an average 60

percent since 1970, and a 2019

report from the Intergovernmental

Science-Policy Platform on

Biodiversity and Ecosystem

Services (IPBES) concluded that

an average of 25 percent of global

species are currently threatened

with extinction.

SPORTS

SuNDAY, APRIL 26, 2020

6

No champions as Dutch league becomes

first in Europe to end season

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza decided to put some of his favourite cricketing kits that he possessed for 16

years up for auction.

Photo: BCB

Mashrafe to auction favourite things

he possesses for 16 years

SportS DeSk:

the Dutch football federation

(kNVB) called an end to the 2019-20

season on Friday, as the eredivisie

became the first top european league

called off due to the coronavirus

pandemic, reports BSS.

No team will be declared champions

after Ajax and AZ Alkmaar were left

level on points at the top of the table

with nine games still to play.

"Unfortunately, given the measures

(banning large-scale gatherings) taken

by the government, it became

impossible to finish the 2019-2020

season," the kNVB said in a statement.

"public health always comes first. It's

not just a football problem here given

what the coronavirus is doing to

society. Nonetheless, the professional

football committee is aware that today's

decisions are going to cause great

disappointment for some," it added.

Leaders Ajax, above AZ on goal

difference, will qualify for next season's

Champions League, according to the

kNVB, which will await a definitive

verdict from UeFA on May 25.

AZ will likely enter the competition's

preliminary rounds, with Feyenoord,

pSV eindhoven and Willem II set to

compete in the europa League based

on the final standings.

It marks the first time since 1945 the

Dutch season has finished without a

league champion.

"As a player and as a club you

naturally want to become champion,"

Ajax chief executive edwin van der Sar

told the club's website.

"You want to show it on the field and

we have been at the top all year round.

"It is a pity that you are not declared

champion, but in this situation that

may be understandable. there are

more important things at the moment

than football."

the kNVB announced its intention to

scrap the season on tuesday following

the Dutch government's decision to

extend a ban on mass gatherings until

September 1.

Matches behind closed doors were

said not to be an option as they are

considered events which require a

permit and police presence.

the final decision was made

following a meeting with the clubs on

Friday. Next season will begin with the

same 18 teams that started the aborted

eredivisie campaign.

"there will be no relegation, nor

promotion," said the kNVB, which is

expected to face legal action from SC

Cambuur and De Graafschap - the top

two clubs in the second division.

"this feels like the biggest disgrace in

the history of Dutch sports," Cambuur

manager Henk De Jong told Dutch

broadcaster NoS. His side was 11

points clear of the play-off places when

the league was halted.

the Belgian pro League is expected to

take a similar decision to that of their

neighbours next week, with Club

Brugge to be awarded the title.

Football in europe ground to a

standstill in mid-March following the

spread of the virus across the continent.

However, Germany is preparing to

resume the Bundesliga on May 9

behind closed doors, if the government

gives the green light.

players in France could begin to

return to training starting May 11, if

lockdown restrictions are eased, while

La Liga is also planning for clubs to

resume training early next month.

No potential restart dates have yet

been announced for leagues in Italy or

england.

SportS DeSk:

While he has been in forefront to help

the people severely affected by Covid-

19 (Novel Coronavirus) with some

innovative idea and activities, Mashrafe

Bin Mortaza now decided to put some

of his favourite cricketing kits that he

possessed for 16 years up for auction,

reports BSS.

'Auction 4 Action' which auctioned

Shakib Al Hasan's World Cup bat a few

days ago, will also put Mashrafe's

things up for auction to raise fund.

"Mashrafe has told us that he would

put some of his favourite things up for

his action. He has been possessing

those things for the last 16 years but he

didn't confirm which things he would

put up for up auction," Auction for

Action co-founder prito reza told the

reporters.

"He would let us know about those

things later and once we know about it,

we will let you know."

'Auction 4 Action' earlier auctioned

Shakib Al Hasan's bat with which he

scored an avalanche of runs in the

World Cup. the base price of the bat

was tk. 5 lakh and in the auction it was

sold for tk. 20 lakh.

the likes of Mushfiqur rahim and

Mohammad Ashraful also would

auction their favourite bat. Mushfiqur

will put the bat up for auction which he

used to score the country's first double

century in the test cricket.

Ashraful would auction two bats with

which he scored the maiden test

century which made him the youngest

test centurion of the world and the bat

which he used to score a historical

century to beat the then all conquering

Australian team.

other players are also believed to

come forward to put their favourite

cricketing kits up for auction as advised

by Shakib Al Hasan, who first gave the

idea during a live chat session with his

fans.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, an Mp from

the Narail-2 constituency so far took

some innovative ideas to combat with

the Covid-19 in his area. Apart from

aiding the people with essential things

regularly, he also set a disinfection

chamber at the main gate of Narail

Sadar Hospital.

West Indies 'flexible' over

England tour as ECB

weigh overseas offers

SportS DeSk:

Cricket West Indies

have said they are

"flexible" about

rearranging their tour of

england but will not risk

their players' health just

to complete a three-test

series, reports BSS.

the fixtures were all due

to take place in June but

Friday saw the england

and Wales Cricket Board

extend the delay to the

start of its season until

July 1.

english officials remain

hopeful they can

reschedule

all

international fixtures in a

programme that also

includes three more tests

against pakistan and

white-ball matches

against Australia and

Ireland, from July until

September.

CWI chief executive

Johnny Grave insisted

while the West Indies

were open to a change of

dates, player safety

remained the priority.

"Clearly playing in June

is now not possible and

we will continue our

discussions with the eCB

and other international

boards on trying to find

new dates," said Grave in

a statement from the

governing body.

"our respective medical

teams are beginning to

discuss how this

(england) series could be

played

whilst

guaranteeing the health

and safety of our players

and support team.

"We will be as flexible as

we can without

compromising the safety

of our team," Grave,

himself an englishman,

added.

even if the two boards

find mutually acceptable

dates, Britain's lockdown

restrictions would have to

ease for the series to take

place in england and even

rules banning mass

gatherings would likely

still be in force, meaning

matches would have to

take place behind closed

doors.

eCB chief executive

tom Harrison said Friday

the board had received

"multiple offers" from

other countries to help

them complete the

domestic season.

His comments came

after Surrey chairman

richard thompson

earlier said Abu Dhabi

had offered to host

matches for the eCB.

"We've had offers as far

away as Australia and

New Zealand," said

Harrison. "those offers

are on the table.

"I haven't had anything

from Abu Dhabi, but

that's not to say the offer

hasn't been made."

But Harrison, while still

aiming for england to

stage a full home 2020

international season,

warned: "We're probably

getting to the point now

where any further delays

beyond where we've

already started planning

for will involve losing

cricket rather than

rescheduling again."

Cricket West Indies have said they are "flexible" about rearranging their tour of England but will not

risk their players' health just to complete a three-Test series.

Photo: AP

No team will be declared champions after Ajax and AZ Alkmaar were left level on points at the top of

the table with nine games still to play.

Photo: AP

BPL's fate to

be decided

through BFF

EC meeting

SportS DeSk:

the professional Football

League Committee (pFLC) in

an emergency meeting (video

conference) today reached at

conclusion that the

Bangladesh Football

Federation (BFF) executive

committee will take decision

regarding the fate of the

Bangladesh premier League

(BpL) if require, reports BSS.

the BFF senior vice

president and pFLC's

chairman Abdus Salam

Murshedy in a written

statement disclosed it as well

as the outcomes of the

meeting through a video

message.

representatives of the

participating clubs also joined

the video conference where

different issues of the league

were also discussed.

the written statement said

that the club representatives

expressed their opinion that

the fate of the league should

be decided in a BFF executive

committee's meeting in the

last week of next month after

considering the entire

situation of the country

aroused by CoVID-19.

SportS DeSk:

Chelsea opt against

pay cut, tell players

to donate to charity

SportS DeSk:

the english premier League are

eyeing a resumption of the season on

June 8, behind closed doors due to the

coronavirus pandemic, and reaching a

climax on July 27, according to the

times, reports BSS.

the paper claims football chiefs,

along with other sports governing

bodies, have been holding talks with

the British government about when

they can resume and at only "approved

grounds". the premier League has 92

games remaining since it suspended

the season on March 13 with Liverpool

agonisingly close to their first ever epL

title.

the times says premier League

bosses shared their idea 'project

Chelsea have said they won't impose a pay

cut on their first-team squad in response to

the coronavirus outbreak, reports BSS.

But the premier League side added

Saturday they had asked players to continue

donating to charities during the ongoing

pandemic.

It has been reported the west London club

have been in talks with their players about a

salary reduction of around 10 percent in a

bid to reduce costs at a time when football

has been suspended because of the virus.

that figure, however, is significantly lower

than the premier League's suggestion of 30

percent for all clubs.

But that has not stopped the Stamford

Bridge side from taking their own course of

action as they highlighted the

#playerstogether initiative launched by

premier League players earlier this month,

which aims to raise and distribute funds for

charities supporting Britain's National

Health Service (NHS).

"representatives of the Chelsea board

have recently held extensive talks with the

men's first team to discuss how they can

contribute financially to the club during the

coronavirus crisis," said a club statement.

"the objective of these talks has been to

find a meaningful partnership around

restart' with the shareholders last

week. the matches would be played

behind closed doors - a maximum of

400 people would be pemitted to

attend including media though only if

they tested negative for the virus - and

at selected stadia to limit stretching the

limited resources of the medical

services.

extra changing facilities would be

introduced to ensure social distancing

measures were in place whilst players

would be required to turn up for

training individually and already in

their kit. they have also suggested

August 22 as the date for the start of the

2020/21 campaign.

the main sticking point, though,

remains the lack of tests available.

Should the season be unable to

ensuring we preserve jobs for staff,

compensate fans and participate in activities

for good causes.

"We are grateful to the team for having

played their role in assisting the club with

community activities as well as all the

charitable causes they have been supporting

in their respective home countries and

through the players together initiative

supporting the NHS." the statement added:

"At this time, the men's first team will not be

contributing towards the club financially and

instead the board have directed the team to

focus their efforts on further supporting

other charitable causes.

"As this crisis develops the club will

continue to have conversations with the

men's first team regarding financial

contributions to the club's activities."

Meanwhile the Blues said they would not

be taking advantage of the British

government's coronavirus job retention or

furlough scheme, with casual workers and

match day staff being compensated by the

club through to June 30.

Newcastle and Norwich are currently the

only two premier League clubs using the

furlough for some of their non-playing staff,

while Liverpool, tottenham and

Bournemouth were all forced into U-turns

after their plans to use the scheme were met

with widespread criticism.

Premier League come up with concrete proposals to finish season

resume - the Dutch championship was

abandoned without promotion or

relegation on Friday - it would be a

financial nightmare for the clubs.

Measures being taken to alleviate

some of that has seen the epL link up

with DLA piper - a law firm that has

advised on tV rights deals for the

league in the past - on an emergency

loan fund, with a maximum of œ10

million ($12.4 million) per club.

Some clubs have taken measures

agreed with their players to ease the

financial burden.

Southampton, West Ham United,

Sheffield United and Watford have

agreed deferrals with their first-team

squads while the majority of Arsenal's

players have agreed a 12.5 percent wage

reduction.

MISCELLANEOUS

SunDAY, APRiL 26, 2020

7

LafargeHolcim Bangladesh has handed over two vehicles to the

Sunamganj District Police. These vehicles will be used for routine works of

Chhatak and Doarabazar Police Stations.

GD- 664/20 (5 x 3)

LafargeHolcim

stands beside

Sunamganj

Police

Hands over

two vehicles

Dhaka: LafargeHolcim

Bangladesh has handed

over two vehicles to the

Sunamganj District Police.

These vehicles will be used

for routine works of

Chhatak and Doarabazar

Police Stations, says a press

release.

Harpal Singh, Plant

Manager and Montasir

Ahmed, Country Security

Lead recently (23 April

2020) handed over the

vehicles to the respective

Officers In-Charge of the

Police Stations. Md. Billal

Hossain, Assistant

Superintend of Police,

Sunamganj was present

during the handover

ceremony.

Md. Billal Hossain said

"These vehicles will play a

vital role for both the police

stations to serve the local

communities better

particularly in the Corona

crisis. I would like to thank

LafargeHolcim Bangladesh

Authority on behalf of

Sunamganj Police for the

initiative."

" L a f a r g e H o l c i m

Bangladesh is very happy

in extending its support to

the local police stations

which will benefit the local

community at large" said

Montasir Ahmed.

Officials from

LafargeHolcim and

Sunamganj Police were

present during the

ceremony held at Surma

Plant,

Sunamganj.

Chhatak,

RANGPUR: Distribution of 10,333

tonnes of rice and Taka 4.95 crore,,

allocated by the government, among

12.67-lakh jobless and needy people is

nearing completion in Rangpur

division, reports BSS.

"The government is distributing the

rice and money to assist the jobless

people in tackling the situation caused

by the coronavirus (COVID-19)

outbreak," said Additional Divisional

Commissioner (General) Md. Zakir

Hossain.

Meanwhile, distribution of 7,763

tonnes of rice among 8.25-lakh families

and Taka 3.33 crore as special general

relief among 4.42-lakh families in all

eight districts of the division has

already been completed.

GD- 666/20 (4 x 4)

Distribution of 10,333

tonnes rice nearing

completion in Rangpur

The district and upazila

administrations with assistance of local

public representatives are distributing

the rice and money allocated by the

Ministry of Disaster Management and

Relief to assist the needy people strictly

maintaining physical distance.

"Currently, the eight district

administrations have stocks of 2,570

tonnes of rice and Taka 1.62 crore and

the government continues allocating

more rice and money frequently to

stand beside the jobless, distressed,

needy and backward people," Hossain

said. District Relief and Rehabilitation

Officer (DRRO) of Rangpur ATM

Akhteruzzaman said the government

has allocated 2,350 tonnes of rice and

Taka 80 lakh for distribution among

the jobless and needy families of the

district.

"We have already distributed 2,191

tonnes of rice among 1.97-lakh jobless

and needy families and Taka 67.79-

lakh among 16,549 families of all eight

upazilas, Rangpur City Corporation

and three municipalities of the district,"

he said. Kurigram DRRO Dilip Kumar

Saha said the government has already

allocated 1,270 tonnes of rice, Taka 60-

lakh general relief cash and Taka 15

lakh for baby foodstuffs for the district.

GD- 663/20 (5 x 4)

GD- 661/20 (5 x 4)

GD- 657/20 (12 x 4)

SuNDAy, DHAkA, APRIl 26, 2020, BAISHAkH 13, 1427 BS, RAMADAN 2, 1441 HIjRI

New look at the the traditional Iftar market of Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka. The Muslim devotees of the

country are celebrating a different month of Ramadan this year.

Photo : TBT

Nasrul Hamid asks officials to take

up projects considering priority

Ginger, garlic prices see

abnormal hike in city

The price of ginger, an essential kitchen item,

has shot up to Tk 300 from Tk 170 per kg

within a week in the capital due to what

traders said supply crunch, reports UNB.

Business insiders said there is a huge stock

of ginger at ports which could not be unloaded

for lack of labourers and slow port authorities.

Talking to UNB, several retailers said they

were selling each kg of imported ginger at Tk

280-320 against Tk170-180 last week. Local

ginger price also marked a sharp rise to Tk

260-270 per kg which was selling at Tk 140-

160 per kg a week back, they said.

Besides, imported garlic price has increased

to Tk 200 per kg from Tk 160-170 in a week

and that of local ones rose by Tk 20 per kg as

it was sold at Tk 150 per kg on Friday, they

added.

Importers said Bangladesh imports huge

garlic, ginger and onions from different

countries, including China. China is a

major source of garlic and ginger but

COVID-19 that originated in that country

has affected the import.

Consumers alleged some unscrupulous

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral

Resources Nasrul Hamid has asked the energy

division officials to take short-term and

specific measures to implement essential projects

in the energy sector.

He gave the directive while meeting officials

of the energy division and its subordinate bodies

through a videoconference from his home

on Saturday, said a press release of the ministry.

The meeting was convened to discuss the

overall progress of projects under the revised

annual development programme (RADP).

Nasrul Hamid asked the energy division

and Petrobangla to take steps to go for drilling

of old gas wells through directional and nonconventional

way.

He said the projects have to be undertaken

on the basis of the priority.

"Gas production, compressor procurement,

and pipeline construction should be on the top

of the priority list in taking up projects through

prompt move," he told the officials.

It was informed at the meeting that there are

32 projects, of which16 were taken up through

government fund, eight through foreign funding

and eight through gas development fund

(GDF).

Nasrul Hamid advised the official to hold

bilateral, trilateral and multilateral meeting, if

necessary, among the officials to take prompt

measures maintaining health guidelines.

traders have hiked increased the prices of

commodities to make quick buck during

Ramadan. Abdur Rahim, a resident of Old

Dhaka, said traders increase the prices of

essentials on the eve of Ramadan every year.

"As the number of customers in Dhaka is

relatively low now due to general holidays, the

unscrupulous traders couldn't hike the prices

of many other essential items. But they're trying

to increase prices. The traders look for a

chance always for lack of government monitoring,"

he said.

According to Rahim, maximum shopkeepers

do not show price list and sell essentials at

their own will. Almas Hossain, a shopkeeper

of Najirabazar, said they were selling ginger at

Tk 300 per kg while garlic at Tk 170 and onion

at Tk 60.

"We sell all items based on the rate we purchase

from wholesale markets, keeping our

own small margins. We've nothing to do if

wholesalers increase the prices," he also said.

Manik Shaha, a wholesaler at Shayambazar,

told UNB that they sold each kg of local onion at

Tk 45 and imported one at Tk40 on Friday.

This time bumper production maize has been witnessed at different chars of

Gaibandha district. The men and women of the char region are spending the

busiest time in the corn house. But farmers are worried about the price of

maize. The photo was taken from Chhatarkandi Char area of Fulchuri upazila

of Gaibandha district on Saturday.

Photo: PBA

IGP gives protective

gears to DMP

Inspector General of Police

(IGP) Benazir Ahmed has

provided protective gears to

Dhaka Metropolitan Police

(DMP) to ensure the personal

safety of police personnel

while on duty.

The IGP handed over the

equipment to DMP

Commissioner Mohammad

Shafiqul Islam at the police

headquarters (PHQ) on

Saturday afternoon, reports

UNB.

A number of police personnel

have been infected

with coronavirus in recent

days. Police are trying to

ensure social distancing and

keep people indoors to prevent

the spread of coronavirus.

But a large number

policemen work without

wearing proper safety gears.

Necessary protective

gears have been provided to

all police units from the

PHQ. In addition, financial

grants have been provided

to all units for buying safety

equipment, said Assistant

Inspector General (AIG) of

PHQ Md Sohel Rana.

The demand for protective

gear among police personnel

is increasing due to

current coronavirus situation.

To meet this demand,

the DMP has been provided

with security equipment in

continuation of the supply

of security equipment, he

said.

The gears include 50,000

masks, 2,000 bottles of

sanitiser, 2,000 eye protectors,

1,000 face shields and

15,000 reusable PPEs, the

AIG added. Senior police

officials were present at the

time.

Haor farmers

harvested 44pc

paddy: Minister

Agriculture Minister Abdur

Razzaque on Saturday said

farmers in haor areas have

already harvested 44 percent

paddy from the field,

reports UNB.

He said this in a video

message from his residence

and hoped that farmers will

be able to complete harvest

in time if heavy rainfall or

early flood do not occur.

He also thanked political

and social organisations,

voluntary groups, studentsteachers

of schools and colleges,

Chhatra League for

helping farmers in harvesting

paddy.

Razzaque extended

thanks to local administrations,

public representative,

police, health division, and

district, upazila and union

level agriculture departments

in this regard.

Coronavirus

New RAB DG urges all to help

implement PM's 31-point directive

New Director General (DG) of Rapid

Action Battalion (Rab) Chowdhury

Abdullah Al Mamun on Saturday called

upon all to work together for implementing

the Prime Minister's 31-point directive to

prevent the transmission of coronavirus,

reports UNB.

"We've to work together to implement

the 31-point directive announced by the

Prime Minister to prevent coronavirus outbreak.

We want everyone's cooperation in

discharging our assigned duty and responsibility

in this regard," he said.

Abdullah Al Mamun, who took over as

Rab DG on April 15, made the call while

briefing reporters through a videoconference

from his office at the Rab

Headquarters in the afternoon.

Mentioning that the regular activities of

the elite force to ensure social distancing

and people's stay at homes are on, the Rab

DG said 2,240 people have been fined Tk

3.40 crore conducting 358 mobile courts

across the country till April 24 to ensure

social distancing.

Besides, he said, a large number of lowquality

illegal masks, hand sanitizers, hand

gloves and testing kits have been seized by

conducting drives. Nine people of 18 organisations

have been sentenced to various jail

terms and fined them around Tk 62 lakh.

He said the Rab's virtual patrolling has

been continuing to curb spreading rumors

on social media. Around 50 websites have

kept under surveillance of the Rab's cyber

monitoring cell. So far, 11 people have been

brought under the arm of law for spreading

rumors on social media, he added.

"Don't share or like anything seeing on

social media without verifying. Try to know

the fact or take help from Rab cyber verification

centre through the Rab Facebook

Page," he said.

120 labourers sent to

Gazipur maintaining

social distancing

A group of 120 labourers have been sent to

Gazipur from Kurigram maintaining

social-distancing rules for harvesting

paddy amid the labour crisis due to the

coronavirus outbreak.

Hatia union parishad Chairman BM Abul

Hossain said a number of farmers at different

villages had been left without work due

to the shutdown aimed at curbing coronavirus,

reports UNB.

They applied to the Upazila Nirbahi

Officer seeking permission to go outside

the district for work.

Later, the UNO approved their request

and arranged transportation maintaining

social distancing.

Three bus of 'Fahmida Haque Paribahan'

left for Joydevpur of Gazipur from the playground

of Anantapur High School on

Friday evening.

166 more

Bangladeshis

return home

from India

Another batch of 166

Bangladeshis, who got stuck in

India amid a countrywide lockdown,

were brought back

home from Chennai on

Saturday, reports UNB.

A special flight of US-Bangla

Airlines, carrying Bangladeshi

citizens, arrived in Dhaka in

the afternoon, said a press

release from Bangladesh High

Commission in New Delhi.

Earlier, they were brought to

Chennai by bus from

Bengaluru's Narayana

Hospital before flying to

Dhaka, the High Commission

said adding that they were

mostly patients who had gone

there for treatment.

A total of 996 stranded

Bangladeshis returned from

Delhi and Chennai by six special

flights so far, said the press

release.

Earlier on Friday, 332

Bangladesh nationals who got

stuck in India returned home

from New Delhi and Chennai

by two special flights.

Bangladesh missions in

India are keeping in constant

touch with policymakers in

Dhaka to take home all stranded

Bangladeshis within the

shortest possible time.

Bangladeshis stuck in India

have been urged to keep

patience and follow the rules of

the local government without

being panicked.

GD-665/20 (10x4)

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 : 01736786915; Fax: + 880244611604, Email: Editor : editor@thebangladeshtoday.com, Advertisement: ads@thebangladeshtoday.com, News: newsbangla@thebangladeshtoday.com, contact@thebangladeshtoday.com, website: www.thebangladeshtoday.com

26-04-2020

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