04-09-2020

frIday

DHaka: September 4, 2020; Bhadra 20, 1427 BS; Muharram 15, 1442 Hijri www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.17; N o.157; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

InternatIonal

New US sanctions

on int'l tribunal

prosecutor, aide

>Page 7

art & CUltUre

Prova's 'The Last

Check' to air on

Channel i today

>Page 8

sports

Head coach

Domingo to arrive

Bangladesh Sept 6

>Page 9

Khaleda's bail period

may get extended

By-polls to Dhaka-5,

Naogaon-6 on Oct 17

DHAKA : By-elections to two parliamentary

constituencies - Dhaka-5 and

Naogaon-6-- will be held on October

17 next, according to a schedule

declared by the Election Commission

on Thursday.

As per the schedules, the deadline for

the submission of nomination papers is

September 17, while the date for the

scrutiny of nomination papers is

September 20 and the last date for

the withdrawal of candidature is

September 27, reports UNB.

EC's senior secretary Md Alamgir

announced the by-polls schedule for

the two constituencies at a press conference

at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city in

the afternoon.

The by-elections will be held from

9:00am to 5:00pm through electronic

voting machines (EVMs) instead of traditional

ballot papers.

The Dhaka regional election officer

and Naogaon district election officer

will act as returning officers for Dhaka-

5 and Noagaon-6 by-polls respectively.

The Dhaka-5 fell vacant following the

death of Awami League MP Habibur

Rahman Mollah on May 6 while that of

Nagaon-6 following the demise of AL

MP Israfil Alam on July 27.

The Commission has the legal obligation

to arrange a parliamentary by-election

within 90 days after the constituency

concerned falls vacant.

JSC and JDC

examinees to be

evaluated by own

institutions

DHAKA : All the country's schools have

been asked to evaluate 8th grade students

by their own examination and

promote them to next class as Junior

School Certificate (JSC) and Junior

Dakhil Certificate (JDC) examinations

will not be held this year due to the pandemic,

reports BSS.

Further instructions to the educational

institutions in this regard will be provided

in due time, said a release issued

by Examination Controller of Dhaka of

Secondary and Higher Secondary

Education Board SM Amirul Islam.

However, they did not make it clear

that in which way the whole evaluation

process will be proceeded.

It is to be mentioned that as per government's

latest decision, all the educational

institutions of the country will

remain closed until October 3.

On March 16, the government closed

all the educational institutions of the

country to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Zuma

04:26 AM

01:30 PM

04:27 PM

06:18 PM

07:40 PM

5:40 6:13

TBT RePORT

On Thursday, the law ministry has recommended

extending the release of

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia for

another six months. However, she will

not be able to go abroad at this time.

For any circumstance, she has to avail

treatment at home from the country.

Under the condition, the release period

may be effective for another six

months from September 25.

Khaleda Zia was released on March

25 by an executive order of the government.

Which will expire on September

24. Earlier, Khaleda Zia's family was

asked to extend her release. The government

is going to take this decision in

this context.

The former prime minister had been

receiving treatment in hospital under

the supervision of the prison authorities.

She had served 25 months out of 17

years of prison sentences in two graft

cases, involving Zia Orphanage Trust

and Zia Charitable Trust.

Khaleda has been suffering from

arthritis, diabetes, eye problems and

DHAKA : UNHCR, the UN Refugee

Agency, predicts that the potential of

millions of young refugees living in

some of the world's most vulnerable

communities will be further threatenedunless

immediate and bold action

is taken by the international community

to beat back the catastrophic

effects of COVID-19 on refugee education,

reports UNB.

The UNHCR made the prediction

ina report released on Thursday, titled

"Coming Together for Refugee

Education." The data in the report is

based on the gross enrolment figures

from the 2019 school cycle.

While children in every country

have struggled with the impact of

COVID-19 on their education, the

report finds that refugee children

have been particularly disadvantaged.

Before the pandemic, a refugee child

was twice as likely to be out of school

as a non-refugee child.

This is set to worsen - many may not

have opportunities to resume their

studies due to school closures, difficulties

affording fees, uniforms or books,

lack of access to technologies or

because they are being required to

work to support their families.

"Half of the world's refugee children

other old-age complications.

Her brother Shamim Eskander filed a

plea with the government seeking an

extension of her suspended prison sentence

on Tuesday ahead of the end of

the term.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan

Kamal said, Begum Zia's younger

brother has applied for her release this

time as he did in the first time. The

application states that due to Covid-19

condition, it was not possible for her to

undergo any examination or treatment

for her physical illness.

The BNP said extending Khaleda's

suspended prison sentence is urgently

necessary because she has not recovered

yet and she is in the same condition

as before.

Her doctors visit her at her Gulshan

residence in Dhaka and they are following

up on the treatment she had

received in the penitentiary, BNP

Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam

Alamgir had said.

Besides Mirza Fakhrul, senior BNP

leaders met her at her home on Eid-ul-

Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha.

Coronavirus a dire threat to

refugee education: UNHCR

were already out of school," said Filippo

Grandi, UN High Commissioner for

Refugees. After everything they have

endured, he said, they cannot rob them

of their futures by denying them an

education on Thursday.

"Despite the enormous challenges

posed by the pandemic, with greater

international support to refugees and

their host communities, we can

expand innovative ways to protect the

critical gains made in refugee education

over the past years."

Without greater support, steady,

hard-won increases in school, university,

and technical and vocational education

enrolment could be reversed -

in some cases permanently - potentially

jeopardizing efforts to achieve

Sustainable Development Goal 4 of

ensuring inclusive and equitable quality

education for all.

In a powerful Final Word to the report,

the Vodafone Foundation and UNHCR

Ambassador for the Instant Network

Schools Programme, Mohamed Salah,

said: "Ensuring quality education today

means less poverty and suffering tomorrow.

Unless everyone plays their part,

generations of children - millions of

them in some of the world's poorest

regions - will face a bleak future.

Kurigram is facing huge losses due to three consecutive floods in this year. The floods have caused extensive damage to houses and

other belongings. The picture was taken from Sardop area of Holokhana union in Kurigram on Thursday.

Photo: PBA

UNO Wahida Khanam of Ghoraghat upazila of Dinajpur, who was injured in the attack, was brought to

Rangpur by helicopter.

Photo : Star Mail

PR banning Rag

Day celebration

misrepresented

DHAKA : Amid huge criticism, Dhaka

University authorities on Thursday

issued another notice saying that

Wednesday's press release banning Rag

Day celebration on the university campus

was misrepresented. "The information

about the ban on Rag-Day has been inadvertently

misrepresented. Sorry for that.

The decision of the Academic Council was

as follows: In the name of observing Rag-

Day, the concerned authorities are asked

to be vigilant to ensure that no inhuman,

disrespectful, undisciplined behavior

takes place on the campus or in residential

halls," said a fresh press release.

"Policies should be formulated for

organizing ceremonies festivals, colorful

rallies etc for completing education, graduation

festivals. A committee has been

formed in this regard," says the release.

Pro vice-chancellor (Admin) has been

made convener of the five member committee.

Deans of Arts, Social Science and

Business Studies faculties and university

proctor are the other members of the

committee.

Describing it as 'unethical and inhuman'

practice, Dhaka University authorities

imposed a ban on Rag Day celebration on

the campus on Wednesday.

The decision was taken at a virtual

meeting of the Academic Council of the

university on Wednesday.

Students celebrate Rag Day with much

festivity, including colourful rallies and

flash mobs, on the campus, marking the

completion of their four-year graduation

course. Some incidents of students getting

carried away however managed to

cast aspersions on the event usually held

during 'Freshers Week'.

Critical health condition puts

UNO's life on death risk

TBT RePORT

In an act of defiance, some miscreants

physically assaulted and injured Wahida

Khanam, the Upazilla Nirbahi Officer

(UNO) of Ghoraghat Upazilla in

Dinajpur. On Wednesday (September

2), at around 2 am, miscreants entered

her house and attacked UNO and her

father with sharp instruments and hammers.

UNO was severely wounded in the

head and her father was injured by being

stabbed with a sharp dagger.

Khanam, 35 years old, was taken to the

Upazilla Health Complex of Ghoraghat.

Later, transferred to intensive care unit

of Rangpur Medical College. There she

was given some primary treatment.

Due to the deteriorating health condition,

she was then flown to Dhaka on

Thursday (September 3) and admitted

into the National Institute of

Neuroscience Hospital.

The State Minister of Public

Administration, Farhad Hossain and

Ahmad Kaikaus from the Principal

Secretary of Prime Minister's Office paid

a visit to observe situation.

Seeing her, State Minister for Public

Administration Farhad Hossain said, "I

Cancelling BNP MP

Harunor Rashid's

JS membership

HC issues rule

DHAKA : The High Court on Thursday

issued a rule asking authorities concerned

to explain why it shall not

declare BNP leader Md Harunor

Rashid's Chapainawabganj-3 parliamentary

constituency, vacant.

The court asked law secretary, cabinet

secretary, authorities of EC, ACC,

C’nawabganj deputy commissioner,

Harunor Rashid, among others to reply

in next four weeks.

The High Court division bench of

Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice

AKM Zahirul Huq passed the order

after holding hearing on a writ filed in

this regard.

A C’nawabganj inhabitant named

Abdul Wadud filed the writ, saying

Rashid, who has been convicted and

sentenced to five-year rigorous imprisonment

in a graft case, cannot retain his

parliament membership as per the rule.

Dhaka 4th Special Judge Court

on October 21, 2019, sentenced

C’nawabganj-3 lawmaker Md Harunor

Rashid to five-year rigorous imprisonment

and fined him Taka 50 lakh in a

case lodged for selling Hummer SUV

brought in the country using tax-free

facility in 2005.

have talked to WahidaKhanam at the

hospital." Now her condition is much

better than before. But her pressure is

fluctuating which is moving between

80/120.

Admitting the critical health condition,

Professor Dr. Kazi Din Mohammad said,

"the skull of Wahid Khanam's head has

been broken and it slightly dipped into

brain areas. As a result, she lost control in

parts of her body. We will perform a surgery

at around 9:00 am today.

It is still unknown who did this on what

purpose. The Officer in Charge of

Ghoraghat upazilla said, "theCCTV

footage of UNO's house is being collected.

The culprits will be identified."

Meanwhile, the administration has

cordoned off the Ghoraghat Upazila

Parishad premises since Thursday

morning in the wake of the attack on

UNO. Shibli Sadiq, the MP from

Dinajpur-6, District Commissioner,

Mahmudul Alam and District

Superintendent of Police Anwar Hossain

were present at the spot. Regarding the

attack, the district commissioner said

that the attack on UNO was carried out

with the intention of killing.

Road accidents

claim 379 lives in

August: Report

DHAKA : Bangladesh witnessed a sharp

rise in the number of road crashes and

casualties in August last as 379 people lost

their lives on the country's perilous roads

in 302 accidents. Road Safety Foundation,

an organisation working to ensure safer

roads, came up with the data in a new

report on Thursday, reports UNB.

Motorcycle accidents turned out to be

the deadliest ones as those are alone

responsible for the death of 121 people,

which is 34.03 percent of the total deaths.

In August, at least 13 accidents took

place on waterways that claimed 47

lives and injured 32 more.

Besides, six people were killed in six

separate accidents on railways, says the

report. The RSF prepared the report on

the basis of news carried by seven

national dailies, five online news portals

and some electronic media.

According to the report, a total of 113

road accidents, what is 37.41 percent of the

total number, took place on different highways

while 98 occurred on the regional

highways across the country. Rural and city

roads saw the rest of the accidents.

The Dhaka division witnessed the highest

number of accidents with 73 crashes

and 84 deaths from those. When it comes

to districts, Mymensingh tops the list with

high rates of accidents and casualties.

FRIDAY, SePTemBeR 4, 2020

2

Vokta Odhiker Rakkha Andalan formed a human chain program protesting illegal gas price hiking.

Photo : TBT

Japan confirms 592 new COVID-19 cases,

cumulative infections approach 70,000

Japan on Wednesday reported 592

new coronavirus cases, dropping from

633 new infections confirmed the

previous day and bringing the nation's

cumulative COVID-19 tally to 69,743,

not including those related to a cruise

ship quarantined in Yokohama near

Tokyo earlier in the year, reports

UNB.

Of the new infections, 141 were

confirmed in Tokyo, bringing the

capital's total caseload to 21,128, the

highest among Japan's 47 prefectures.

Tokyo's latest figure compares with

170 infections confirmed the previous

day and 100 reported on Monday,

according to the Tokyo metropolitan

government. Tokyo's daily tally marks

the ninth straight day that infections

have reached three digits.

The capital reported a record 8,126

new cases of the novel coronavirus in

August alone, far surpassing the 6,466

infections reported in July.

The Tokyo metropolitan

government last week, thus, decided

to extend a request for establishments

serving alcohol, such as clubs, bars,

restaurants and karaoke parlors to

close their doors earlier than normal.

The request will be extended until

Sept. 15, the local government said, in

a bid to curb the further spread of the

virus in the capital, Tokyo governor

Yuriko Koike said.

The earlier 10:00 p.m. business

closure request was set to expire at the

end of August, but the metropolitan

government has opted to extend it for

establishments in Tokyo's 23 wards,

amid rising COVID-19 cases linked to

the kind of establishments in

question.

The metropolitan government said

it may well allocate 150,000 yen

(1,400 U.S. dollars) to relevant

business operators who comply with

the extension request.

The extension comes as the capital

has seen a resurgence in novel

coronavirus cases since July, with a

disproportionately high number of

cases detected at places serving

alcohol, including clubs in downtown

entertainment districts, as well as at

establishments where people gather

to eat and drink in close proximity

with each other.

Tokyo has been hit by a resurgence

of infections since July, with the daily

number of new cases reaching a

record 472 on Aug. 1 and many

infections have occurred at nightlife

establishments or while people have

been dining out, the local government

said.

Bangladeshi

national killed 'by

BSF' along

Kurigram border

KURIGRAM : A

Bangladeshi national was

shot dead reportedly by the

members of Indian Border

Security Force (BSF) along

Pakhiura border in

Nageshwari upazila of

Kurigram district early

Thursday.

The deceased were

identified as Sabil Uddin, 36,

son of Musa Ali of

Narayanpur village.

Mamun-or-Rashid,

officer-in-charge of

Kachakata Police Station,

said the BSF members

opened fire on Sabil while he

went to the bordering area

around 2 am, leaving him

dead.

Commanding officer of

BGB-22 Battalion

Lieutenant Colonel Jamal

Hossain, said a body was

recovered from the

bordering area but it is not

yet clear that the deceased

was killed by BSF firing.

Australia

"lagging behind"

on food policy:

report

Experts have called on

Australia to overhaul its

food system so as to

improve the nation's health.

In a report published on

Thursday, the Australian

National University and the

Commission for the Human

Future made a series of

recommendations on how

to reform Australia's food

policy, reports UNB.

It found that the negative

impacts of the current food

system was costing the

Australian economy 87

billion Australian dollars

(63.7 billion U.S. dollars)

per year, including 62

billion Australian dollars

(45.4 billion U.S. dollars)

from obesity, 21 billion

Australian dollars (15.3

billion U.S. dollars) from

food waste and 4 billion

Australia dollars (2.9 billion

U.S. dollars) from lost

agricultural productivity.

It criticized the federal

government for "lagging

behind Western partners on

food policy" and made

seven

reform

recommendations across

governance, urban food

production, industry policy,

nutrition, research and

education, soil health and

water management.

According to the report,

which was produced by 45

experts, the reforms would

guarantee the security of 1

million jobs and grow the

value of the food chain.

"Food is the most

interconnected policy issue

any government faces. It

touches on just about every

major policy portfolio. But

no one in government owns

it," Paul Barratt, deputy

chairman of the

Commission for the Human

Future, said in a media

release.

Facebook bans India's ruling party

lawmaker over hate speech row

Social media giant Facebook on Thursday

banned India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) local lawmaker T Raja Singh in the

southern state of Telangana for what it said

violating its hate speech policies, reports

UNB.

The step was taken amid growing controversy

in India over how the social media company

regulates its political content.

"We have banned Raja Singh from Facebook

for violating our policy prohibiting those that

promote or engage in violence and hate from

having a presence on our platform. The

process for evaluating potential violators is

extensive and it is what led us to Facebook's

decision to remove his account," local media

quoted a statement of Facebook as having

said.

Last month a report in foreign media, Wall

Street Journal (WSJ), alleged that its content

policies favored BJP in India. The report

alleged that Facebook had ignored posts

containing hate speech by Singh.

Following the report, the opposition Congress

party and BJP have been attacking each other

over Facebook's alleged bias.

On Wednesday a parliamentary panel

summoned Facebook representatives to

discuss the issue of alleged misuse of the

social media platform.

Prior to it, India's federal information

technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

wrote to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg,

accusing the social media platform's

employees of supporting people from a

political predisposition that lost successive

elections, and "abusing" the prime minister

and senior cabinet ministers.

In Breonna Taylor's hometown,

90-day protest becomes family

Amber Brown had climbed into a city bus

before dawn, had driven her eight-hour shift,

and she was tired. But she knew she couldn't

go home, reports UNB.

Instead she headed down to "Injustice

Square" -- a single city block that was until a

few months ago an unremarkable Louisville

park. Now it is the nucleus of the nation's

rage over the police killing of 26-year-old

Breonna Taylor, an emergency medical

technician shot dead when police burst into

her home in the middle of the night.

"This is where I've got to be," said Brown,

part of a group that has kept vigil here every

day for three months. "This is my moment,

this is my space."

They were here in this square before Oprah

erected billboards all over town, before

Taylor graced the cover of Vanity Fair

magazine, before her name was proclaimed

by the most famous celebrities and athletes

and politicians in the world.

They arrived months ago to join the tens of

thousands who took to the streets across the

country to demand justice for Taylor and

George Floyd, whose death under the knee of

a Minneapolis police officer

was captured on video and

shocked the world. They

were strangers to each other

then, faces in a sea of

humanity, unaware that

their devotion to this square

would soon tether them

together.

The crowds dwindled,

until about 50 people were

coming to this park day after

day: bus drivers, pastors,

grocery store workers,

retirees. Together, they have

been tear-gassed and

sprayed with pepper bullets

by police in riot gear. They

witnessed a killing. They've

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received death threats.

Some jolt out of bed with nightmares.

Brown rarely takes the pistol off her hip. Still

they show up each day because they say this

movement has given them a sense of

community and purpose greater than any

they've known before.

Brown set up a table with snacks and hand

sanitizer. She said hello to the man who

showed up one day, started cleaning up trash

and has swept the park every day since. And

to the women tending to the tomato plants

and watermelons they're growing in a circle

around the memorial to Taylor. She chatted

with volunteer security about the right-wing

militia gathering a couple miles away

carrying AR-15s -- an occurrence so common

now that it doesn't draw much alarm.

Brown never expected to become a central

figure in a protest movement; she had

thought she would drive a bus for 30 years,

keep her head down and retire happily, with

a pension. Now some call her the "park

mom," because she tries to solve people's

problems and scolds them when they step

out of line.

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FridAY, September 4, 2020

3

Speakers for long-term

policy to adopt 4ir

DHAKA : Speakers at a webinar on

Thursday observed that long-term

policy, modernization of education

and curriculum system,

infrastructure development,

industry-academia collaboration

and skilling, re-skilling and upskilling

are priority for adopting the

advantages of Fourth Industrial

Revolution (4IR).

They made the observation at the

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and

Industry (DCCI) webinar on

"Fourth Industrial Revolution in the

wake of COVID-19", said a press

release.

Posts and Telecommunications

Minister Mustafa Jabbar joined the

webinar as the chief guest while

Additional Secretary of the

Industries Ministry Begum Parag

joined the webinar as guest of

honour.

DCCI President Shams Mahmud

moderated the webinar.

In his speech, Mustafa Jabbar said

that telecommunication sector is

the ocean for Fourth Industrial

Revolution (4IR).

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"In our country 65 percent people

are under the age limit of 35 years

which is an added advantage for us,"

he added.

He said "We should not fear from

4IR as our adoptability is too high.

In 2008, internet users were only 8

lakh used only 8 GBPS bandwidth

whereas now we are using about

2100 GBPS bandwidth. In that case

capacity of Kuwakata submarine

cable needs to be increased."

In terms of technology adaptation,

he said, it should be inclusive with

the people of Bangladesh.

He informed that by the year

2023, 5G will be available mainly in

major cities of Bangladesh.

Education system and curriculum

need to be adjusted to cope with the

advancement of 4IR, he added.

Begum Parag said the SMEs of

Bangladesh are using technology

now and they are producing various

diversified products.

"4IR will open up new avenues

especially in the recycling

industries. New technology,

automation will create new job

opportunities and skill

development," she added.

She said considering every aspect,

the Ministry is drafting National

Industrial Policy. "Covid-19 led

pandemic taught us how to be

digitized. We have no options but to

adopt the 4IR or we may lose

competitiveness in the international

market," he added.

Shams Mahmud in his welcome

address said that the Fourth

Industrial Revolution is evolving

fast and reshaping and global

industrial, trade and economic

landscape.

"Bangladesh still lags behind in

adopting 4IR technologies in

industrial ecosystem and this

adoption will accelerate our growth

momentum," he added.

He said launching 4IR

technologies will unlock new era of

growth and employment across all

sectors of Bangladesh.

Among others, Chairman of the

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE)

Asif Ibrahimn and DCCI Senior Vice

President also spoke on the

occasion.

regent Group Chairman,

md remanded in money

laundering case

DHAKA : A Dhaka court on

Thursday placed Regent

Group Chairman Md

Shahed alias Shahed Karim

and Managing Director

Masud Pervej on 8-day

remand in a case lodged

under money laundering

prevention act.

Dhaka Metropolitan

Magistrate Ziaur Rahman

passed the order as

investigating agency CID

produced the duo before the

court and pleaded to place

them on 10-day remand in

the case lodged with Uttara

West Police Station.

The court also showed

Shahed arrested in a fraud

case filed with the same

police station.

CID inspector Ibrahim

Hossain filed the case on

August 25 for amassing Taka

11 crore through fraud and

laundering the money

abroad. Shahed was arrested

by RAB from Debhata

upazilla of Shatkhira on the

early hours of July 15 and

was airlifted to the capital in

the morning. On the other

hand, Pervej was arrested

from Gazipur on July 14.

Navy chief

adorned

with admiral

rank badge

DHAKA : Chief of Naval

Staff Vice-Admiral

Mohammad Shaheen Iqbal

was adorned with the rank

badge of Admiral at a

function in the presence of

Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina at Ganobhaban on

Thursday.

"Chief of Army Staff

General Aziz Ahmed and

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief

Marshal Masihuzzaman

Serniabat adorned the naval

chief with the new rank

badge of Admiral," said PM's

Press Secretary Ihsanul

Karim, reports UNB.

Principal Staff Officer

(PSO) of the Armed Forces

Division Lieutenant General

Md Mahfuzur Rahman and

Prime Minister's Office

(PMO) Secretary Md

Tofazzel Hossain Mian were

present on the occasion.

Mohammad Shaheen

Iqbal took over as the Chief

of Naval Staff on July 25 last.

death toll from

Chattogram

container depot

blast climbs to 4

CHATTOGRAM : The death

toll from the explosion at a

container depot in Patenga

area of Chattogram district

on Wednesday has climbed

to four following death of

another injured worker.

Md Rabiul, a worker,

succumbed to his injuries at

a hospital in the capital

around 10pm on

Wednesday, said

Mohammad Zobair Syed,

officer-in-charge of Patenga

Police Station, reports UNB.

Dr Md S Khaled, assistant

professor of Chattagram

Medical College Hospital

burn unit, said Rabiul

received 95 percent burn

injuries and he was referred

to Dhaka.

Earlier, three workers

Jubayer Sabbir, 26, Amir

Hossain, 32 and Rabiul

Alam, 31, died in the blast

incident.

Cattle farming inside Upazila Health

Complex causes pollution

KERANIGANJ : People who went to the

Keraniganj Upazila Health Complex for

taking medical treatments, may stumble for

a while after seeing cattle grazing in the

premises of the hospital.

It would seem the premium on

maintaining a clean and healthy

environment for the provision of healthcare

services has been sacrificed at the altar of the

UHC junior mechanic's farming habit.

Jashim, the said junior mechanic, has raised

a small cattle farm right beside the mosque

located inside the UHC premises.

Patients, nurses, doctors and other staffers

of Keraniganj Health Complex and people

attending the mosque, which is a separate

structure from the main complex that

includes a hospital, are all said to be suffering

a lot due to the pollution caused by the

animal wastes from the dairy farm. Yet they

can't overrule the whim of the junior

mechanic, who is hand-in-glove with a driver

of the complex in maintaining the farm.

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Besides it also poses a health risk to them

as the decomposition of animal wastes in the

dairy can release methane and ammonia.

The negligence of the authorities

concerned is blamed for this appalling state

of affairs.

The staffs of the hospital including Imam

of the mosque Maulana Mufti Mobin

Hossain and Humayun Kabir, an ambulance

driver, alleged that another driver Bayezid

and junior mechanic Jashim have occupied

four rooms of the hospital for personal gain

and established a dairy farm there.

Two low-level employees getting away

with all this can only be the outcome of

entrenched, endemic corruption.

Driver Humayun said they also occupied

the garage of the hospital, forcing him to

keep the ambulance in other places that he

must rent at his own expense. Rushing

emergency patients from there to other

hospitals on referral, is obviously hampered

as a result.

GD- 1123/20 (7 x 4) GD- 1120/20 (8 x 4)

FRIDaY, SePTeMbeR 4, 2020

4

Understanding and respecting intellectual property rights

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Friday, September 4, 2020

Corruption in road

building and

maintenance

Roads are considered vital for the economy's

growth and development. While this factor calls

for maintaining a large networks of roads, only

the largeness will not deliver so well if parts of the roads

are found to be not so usable or difficult for transporting

from insufficient maintenance works .

A big part of the expanded road networks in

Bangladesh unfortunately fall in this category of

improperly maintained roads. There is noted not

enough coordinated activities to keep most of the roads

in good working conditions all the time. A crumbling

road gets repaired after a long wait but the benefit gets

nullified as another turns into pitiable condition

around the same time.

According to one estimate the absence of regular

maintenance activity alone costs the country in the

neighbourhood of $1 million every day in terms of the

depreciated value of the roads from wearing and tearing.

No estimate is available for the compound loss that

occurs from slowed down movement of vehicles, depreciation

of vehicles from moving on pot-holed surfaces,

delays caused to businesses from inability to reach

goods in time, etc. But these estimates, if taken for a

period, say even a day, would very likely show up a huge

figure.

Thus, proper road maintenance needs to be ensured

through proper plans and their implementation for

competitive and cost-efficient operation of the economy.

One proposal is there that the government should

attempt to set up a 'road fund'.

Presently, government allocates an amount of money

for road maintenance which is not enough compared to

the need. Besides, this allocation cannot be also spent in

time with best effects because of the present mode of

spending through coordinated activities of the Ministry

of Communications, Roads and Highways Department

(RHD) and the Ministry of Finance.

The road fund can get around several problems namely

one of the bureaucracies involved in coordinating

activities between three bodies, delays thereof andreslting

inadequacy of funds. The suggestion is there toalso

beef up the recommended road fund by raising greater

resources from road users through direct fees, tolls,

licence fees, etc. Even foreign aid to the sector may be

routed to this fund. The fund should be placed under

the RHD for spending from it directly.

In this way, both funds for maintenance shall rise as

well as the capacity to undertake immediate works on

detection of poor road surfaces or even anticipatory

advanced works on this ground. RHD with an

autonomous status and the road fund under its control,

should go for round the year regular maintenance of

the roads and highways than the present system of as

and when the need arises.

However, without cracking down on corruption, targets

of roads and highways maintenance round the year

will not be metfully. It is deeply regrettable that corruption

leads to colossal waste in the road building and

maintenance activities. The contractors who get contracted

through tender bids to take on building and

maintenance activities , are found driven by nothing

better than super normal profit motive than anything

decent. Thus, the entire processes for such contracts

fromselection of contractors to supervision of works by

government engineers andthe clearance of bills, everything

seem to be guided by corruption.Thed government's

supervising engineers remain helpless whilefacing

such corruption and a few who dare to oppose, may

risk their lives.

Recently, the press highlighted how a government

appointed engineer was hospitalized in Chittagong

after his severe beating by gangs set on him by a disgruntled

contractor who failed to secure a contract for

road building as the engineer would not accept his

bribe to award him the contract. Another recent report

highlighted how an arterial road under construction in

a national highway is already crumbling down in its so

called completed section well before full completion of

the work.

The above are symbolic of the corrupt practices that

pervade road building and maintenance works in the

country. Till such corruptions are thoroughly weeded

out from the sector, there can be no hope for us to have

durable roads and highways on a lasting basis. The

amounts of resources that have been going down the

drain-- year after year-- from allowing such corruptions

to go on unpunished, seem astonishingly shocking

indeed. It is more than high time to stamp out such corruption

with iron hands.

The protection of intellectual

property rights has become even

more important with the

widespread use of technology and social

media platforms.

Technology has made it easier for

people to lift any material or artwork

and use it without permission, depriving

the creators of the work the benefits they

are entitled to and, in some cases, not

getting credit for their creativity.

It is important to understand that

every piece of work has two types of

rights: A material right and a moral

right. The material right is lifelong and

continues to remain in force for 50 years

after the death of the owner for the

benefit of his or her heirs.

The moral right remains forever and,

upon death, it passes automatically to

the heirs of an artist or a creative.

The law does not allow the latter to be

forfeited for the benefit of another party.

However, the material right can be

forfeited if an artist agrees through a

specified contract.

We notice that many advertising or

marketing agencies use the works of

WHEN Imran Khan took over as

prime minister in August 2018,

Pakistan's economy was facing a

twin-deficit crisis: the country was

haemorrhaging foreign reserves while the

fiscal deficit was burgeoning. Placing the

economy into the proverbial intensive care

unit - an IMF programme - was the only

option. Two years on, the prime minister is

celebrating a current account surplus of

$424 million in July 2020, hailing that the

"economy is on the right track".

In these two years, the PTI's narrative has

shifted from its opposition days. Gone is

the mantra that debts are bad for the

economy, which makes sense given that

Rs11.2 trillion has been added to the debt

burden in the last two years. Today, the

focus is on the current account but by doing

so, the ruling party is yet again repeating its

past mistake of using one economic

indicator to bolster its economic narrative.

In simple terms, the current account

represents the difference in exports of

goods and services and imports of goods

and services, with transfers from abroad,

such as foreign aid and remittances, being

included. A negative figure means that the

country owes money to the rest of the world

that needs to be paid back. While these

payments can be made in the future by

borrowing today, eventually, the loans and

interest has to be paid back (except when it

defaults, which is a different story).

Developing countries often run current

account deficits to build their production

capacity and improve productivity. This

DIMaH Talal alSHaRIF

artists without their permission, or even

individuals use drawings without

attributing them to their original owner.

It is necessary to request written

permission from artists, whether they

are an individual or an entity. It is also

important to make sure that the work

cannot be used for a purpose other than

what has been agreed upon with the

artist.

The penalty for using drawings or

other creative works includes a fine of

up to SR250,000 ($66,660), closure of

the violating facility or revoking its

license, imprisonment for a period not

UzaIR M. YoUnUS

exceeding six months, and defamation

through newspapers at the violator's

expense and certainly the removal of the

infringement.

As for the private right of the owner of

an artwork, he or she can demand

financial compensation in proportion to

the size of the infringement and for the

damage suffered as a result of the illegal

use of the piece or artistic work in

general.

It is necessary to clarify that the

penalties imposed for copyright

violations apply to all violations since

the year the law was issued - 1989.

Decline in deficit

often occurs by importing machinery from

abroad, which is what Pakistan did in the

last few years. Faced with a crippling power

crisis, the PML-N engaged China,

operationalised CPEC, and built large

infrastructure projects, including power

plants and highways. The result: Pakistan

ended up with surplus power, new

highways, increased debt, and a yawning

current account deficit. The underlying

issue with the economy remains in place.

During that same period, a flawed policy

of keeping an overvalued exchange rate

meant that imports were cheaper - good if

you are importing machinery - and exports

became relatively more expensive - bad if

you are an exporter. The result was that

while imports continued to mount,

exporters found it hard to compete. To

bridge the gap, Pakistan borrowed money

from international markets. Eventually,

this gap became unsustainable, just as the

PTI came to power in August 2018.

Yet another IMF programme became a

necessity and the economy was put in coma

to save the patient. Interest rates were

raised, the currency devalued, inflation

spiked, the economy went into a recession,

and yes, the current account deficit

narrowed and is now in surplus.

But look a little closer and you will see

that this decline in the deficit is largely

driven by a decline in the imports of two

This shows that the underlying issue with Pakistan's economy, ie the country's

inability to export more goods and services to the rest of the world,

remains in place. With machinery imports declining, capital investments

that can make the economy more productive are being delayed. Given that

Pakistan is an energy-importing country, it continues to be exposed to the

risk of a current account shock should energy prices rebound.

RebeCCa GRanT

key items. From July-June 2018 to July-

June 2020, Pakistan's imports of goods

declined by nearly $13.5bn (24.7 per cent);

$6.6bn (49pc of the total) came from

machinery and petroleum imports. The

former is driven by an end to CPEC-related

projects and the latter by a decline in global

energy prices. During the same period,

exports of goods declined by $1.8bn

(7.4pc); $1.8bn (33pc) was due to a decline

in textile exports.

This shows that the underlying issue with

Pakistan's economy, ie the country's

inability to export more goods and services

to the rest of the world, remains in place.

With machinery imports declining, capital

investments that can make the economy

more productive are being delayed. Given

that Pakistan is an energy-importing

With regard to photographs, a specific

device or mechanism is not required for

the violation to be realized and detected,

as the intellectual rights of these

photographs include even those taken

with a mobile phone. However, we must

distinguish here that the infringement of

others' personal photos is governed by

other laws and with different penalties.

These laws include the Anti-Cyber

Crime Law as well as the Electronic

Publishing Law.

Perhaps one of the most common

illegal practices is sharing video clips

and downloading them again through

other channels without the permission

of the owners, whether through

WhatsApp or YouTube.

Certainly, the culture of respecting

intellectual property rights will take

time to take root. In order to enforce

these laws, the Saudi Authority for

Intellectual Property is taking several

measures. It is also creating awareness

about this issue using different

channels.

Source: arab news

country, it continues to be exposed to the

risk of a current account shock should

energy prices rebound.

Then there are other indicators worth

paying attention to. As I wrote earlier,

persistently high inflation is reducing the

real purchasing power of Pakistani

households. This has a two-fold effect: it

softens demand in the economy as

households struggle to balance their

budgets and it reduces savings. The latter

means that domestic savings fall, eroding

the economy's ability to finance necessary

investments through domestic savings and

thereby increasing the need for foreign

borrowing to fund needed investments.

Private-sector credit uptake also

indicates weak economic fundamentals:

despite a decline in interest rates, privatesector

credit came in at negative Rs110bn in

July this year; in FY2020, banks lent

Rs196bn compared to Rs 693bn in FY2019.

The uptick in remittances has helped

im p rove the situation. But this

uptick may be short-lived as constrained

growth in the GCC, EU, and the US erodes

the diaspora's ability to continuously send

money to their families.

Celebrating the current account surplus

is akin to celebrating a gangrene-ridden

diabetic's successful surgery. The economy

has a long, tortuous path ahead and

without mea ningful reforms, an uptick in

growth and/or energy prices will again

raise the spectre of a mounting current

account deficit.

Source: Dawn

World War II ended exactly 75 years ago - here's what it can teach us about war on coronavirus

As the world continues to wage war

on the coronavirus, Wednesday

marks the end of another far

deadlier global war exactly 75 years ago.

On Sept. 2, 1945, America accepted the

surrender of Japan to end World War II,

following the devastating U.S. attacks on

the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

with atomic bombs.

Unfortunately, the war on the

coronavirus is far from over. We are

living through dark days now, just as an

earlier generation did in the 1940s. And

just as U.S. scientists rushed to develop

atomic weapons to end World War II,

medical researchers are now working to

develop a vaccine and treatments to

defeat the coronavirus.

So far, the coronavirus has claimed

more than 851,000 lives worldwide,

including more than 183,000 in the U.S.

Horrific as that death toll is, it is

dwarfed by the global death toll of

World War II, which has been estimated

at 70 million to 85 million people,

including nearly 292,000 members of

the U.S. military killed in combat.

For America, World War II ended

after 1,364 days, five hours, and 44

minutes. As the agonies of coronavirus

drag on, it's important to remember that

the same American grit and resolve that

ended our war against the Axis power

will prevail against the killer virus. We

don't know when we will defeat our

current invisible enemy, but defeat it we

will.

Winning World War II depended on

resolute efforts from nearly all 132

million Americans. More than 16.1

million Americans served in the U.S.

military, including 73% who went

The law does not allow the latter to be forfeited for the

benefit of another party. However, the material right can

be forfeited if an artist agrees through a specified contract.

We notice that many advertising or marketing

agencies use the works of artists without their permission,

or even individuals use drawings without attributing

them to their original owner.

overseas.

In addition to the 291,557 American

service members who died in battle,

670,846 were wounded.

The war changed America. Women

joined military branches and worked at

factories and tended victory gardens at

home.

Along the way, America became the

arsenal of democracy. Technology

developed for the war -including radar,

computers, missiles and undersea

phone lines - went on to reshape our

world.

But from the start, winning World

War II was more than just a military

victory. The millions of Americans

overseas saw brutality up close. From

the Bataan Death March to the horrors

of Nazi concentration camps like

Auschwitz and Buchenwald, the

"greatest generation" faced evil on an

almost unimaginable scale up close.

They wanted to win and to build a better

world after the war.

This hope and ambition for a better

world kept Americans going and fueled

their resolve. Grit mixed with hope.

Unavoidably, the cost of the war fell

disproportionately on America's young

people.

World War II was won by young men

like Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lloyd

Hughes, age 23, who flew his B-24

bomber through a wall of fire to bomb

the Nazi oil supply at Ploesti on Aug.1,

1943.

And while the war against the Axis

Powers in World II was very different

from the war on the coronavirus, we

must fight on in our current battle as

well until victory is ours

In France, 19-year-old Army 2nd Lt.

Audie Murphy singlehandedly fought

off six German tanks and several

hundred infantrymen with a .50-caliber

machine gun on top a burning U.S. tank

destroyer vehicle on Jan. 26, 1945.

Murphy enlisted in the Army early in the

war when he was underage, but lied

about how old he was. He earned every

military combat award the Army had,

won a battlefield promotion to become

an officer, and went on to star in movies

after the war.

Marine Sgt. Darrell S. Cole, age 24, led

his machine gun section ashore at Iwo

Jima on Feb. 19, 1945. Cole was a bugler

turned machine gunner who'd fought

with the Marines at Guadalcanal,

Kwajalein, Saipan and Tinian. Cole died

that morning, carrying out a one-man

grenade attack against Japanese guns.

Navy Cmdr. Ernest Evans, age 36,

died at the Battle off Samur on Oct. 25,

1944. He was severely wounded when

he went to the fantail of his crippled

destroyer to turn the rudder by hand,

placing the USS Johnston between the

attacking Japanese fleet and U.S.

aircraft carriers, until his ship sank.

All four men were awarded the Medal

of Honor. Only Murphy survived.

Today only about 389,000 American

World War II veterans are still alive, as

the greatest generation passes on. The

war waged before most of us were born

is now such a familiar part of our history

that the Allied victory might seem like a

foregone conclusion. Not so. There was

not a straight path to victory.

The history books give us the names

and places of battles lost and won: Pearl

Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway,

Guadalcanal, Santa Cruz, Kasserine

Pass, Bismarck Sea, Monte Cassino,

Sicily, Ploesti, Salerno, Anzio, Tarawa,

Normandy, Philippine Sea, Hurtgen

Forest, Battle of the Bulge, Luzon, Iwo

Jima, Okinawa and more.

By Sept. 2, 1945, the time had come to

forge something worthwhile out of the

terrible struggle. But the fight for

freedom didn't stop when the Japanese

surrendered on the USS Missouri in

Tokyo Bay,

To Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur,

who accepted the Japanese surrender,

the victory left America with an ongoing

obligation.

"It is my hope," MacArthur said in the

surrender ceremony, "that from this

solemn occasion a better world shall

emerge out of the blood and carnage of

the past, a world founded upon faith and

understanding, a world dedicated to the

dignity of man and the fulfillment of his

most cherished wish for freedom,

tolerance and justice."

American wartime grit and hope led

directly to a willingness to continue to be

the world's leader.

And America is still resolved to fight

for freedom.

And while the war against the Axis

Powers in World II was very different

from the war on the coronavirus, we

must fight on in our current battle as

well until victory is ours. In time, we will

have a vaccine. We will have treatments.

And like World War II, our war against

the coronavirus will become a distant

memory, known to future generations

only from history books.

Source: Fox news

FRIDAY, SEPTEmbER 4, 2020

5

America's renewed influence in Southeast Asia

5

CHArlES dUNST

in a scene unimaginable to Americans 50 and perhaps even

30 years ago, on March 4 the USS Theodore roosevelt aircraft

carrier docked at da Nang, Vietnam - where the first American

troops arrived in 1965 - to commemorate 25 years of U.S.-

Vietnam relations. The roosevelt is the second U.S. aircraft

carrier to dock in Vietnam since the war; the first, the USS Carl

Vinson, did so in 2018.

Vietnam is usually wary of antagonizing China with such

U.S. cooperation, but the Hanoi leadership seemingly decided

it necessary to bring the Americans ashore at this moment,

given China's unrelenting militarization of the South China

Sea.

The rest of Southeast Asia, however, does not echo

Vietnam's relative American affinity. Thanks to U.S. President

donald Trump's antagonism and diplomatic distance,

regional confidence in the United States has declined:

Southeast Asians now believe that China has more regional

power and influence than the United States and will have

considerably more in ten years.

But the region is not lost. The United States can "win back"

Southeast Asia by spearheading collective security and

multilateral economic efforts there, abandoning the Cold Warlike

conception of competition with China, and, above all,

being patient. Ultimately, the United States can secure its

abiding regional interests by stepping up, reforming, and

redefining its Southeast Asia strategy - and engaging the

region parallel to a rotting Chinese regime.

Washington's primary target should be Vietnam. China

occupied the country for almost 1,000 years, until the 10th

century, and has intermittently invaded since, leaving the

Vietnamese with a healthy distrust of their northern neighbor.

Modern China-Vietnam relations thus oscillate between

"cooperation and struggle."

"The Vietnamese can't trust the Chinese," said Vietnamese

historian duong Trung Quoc. "We've had too much practice."

Such lacking trust is evident in their current relations. Months

after the two countries' defense ministers met in 2019 to

demonstrate their military ties, a former senior Vietnamese

foreign ministry official publicly accused China of

"intimidation and coercion," questioning whether Beijing and

Hanoi could ever negotiate claims to the South China Sea in

"good faith." Tensions boiled over this April, when a Chinese

maritime surveillance vessel sank a Vietnamese fishing boat in

the sea.

While the Vietnam War is now history, Vietnam's struggle

against China remains ongoing. "it will never end," said one

Vietnamese millennial. "With the Chinese, how can it ever

end?" in 2017, 80 percent of Vietnamese deemed China's

power and influence a "major threat." in 2020, over 95

percent of Vietnamese business, public sector, and civil society

elite expressed worry about China's "growing regional political

and strategic influence."

On the other hand, 84 percent of the Vietnamese public

The U.S. can still secure its abiding regional interests.

holds favorable opinions of the United States. Of those same

elites, over 76 percent said that they welcomed American

political and strategic influence. Meanwhile, Washington and

Hanoi have become strategic partners in all but name.

But Vietnam, thanks to its long history of Chinese, French,

Japanese, and American occupation, hinges its foreign policy

on the "three nos": no formal military alliances; no hosting

foreign military bases; no explicit alignment with any single

outside actor. And yet, its 2019 defense white paper

proclaimed that Vietnam "will consider developing necessary,

appropriate defense and military relations with other

countries," signaling some surprising if understated

willingness to move more definitively into Washington's orbit.

if the United States plays its cards right, the roosevelt's

docking at da Nang - the Vietnamese city closest to the South

China Sea's disputed waters and islands - could be the first

Photo: Shealah Craighead

step in such "appropriate" U.S.-Vietnam relations.

The United States has already conducted joint military exercises

with Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Thailand,

Malaysia, and indonesia. in September 2019, the United States

even launched the first-ever U.S.-ASEAN joint naval exercises,

which took place in the South China Sea.

Months later, though, China flexed its muscles there, its

coast guard ships escorting dozens of Chinese fishing boats

through indonesian waters. Jakarta carefully deployed

warships and four F-16 jet fighters to drive away China - a

major investor in indonesian infrastructure - without

escalating tensions.

This episode epitomizes Southeast Asia's approach to China.

The underdeveloped region balks at Chinese aggression, debttrapping,

and failure to involve locals in development projects,

but relies on Chinese investment. Geography, China's might

and Southeast Asia's underdevelopment renders necessary

functional relations with the Asian giant.

But Chinese President and Communist Party General

Secretary Xi Jinping is undermining his country's ascendancy,

pushing many Southeast Asian leaders away from Beijing's

proposed "community of common destiny" that "injects a

sense of determinism about the inevitability of the intertwined

destiny between China and ASEAN member states."

Xi has replaced China's collective leadership structure with

strongman rule, creating a qualitatively different regime

whose foreign policy is impulsive, rather than pragmatic. Xi

ended the "Golden Age" of Chinese diplomacy by

transforming the country's soft-spoken envoys into "Wolf

Warriors" who publicly quarrel with foreign governments and

media to satisfy the nationalist audience watching at home.

His foreign policy recklessness is evident in both China's

recent violence in the indian Himalayas and extension of

territorial claims in Bhutan.

Such aggression subverts Chinese efforts to bring Southeast

Asia into the Sino-centric "community of common destiny."

indeed, Beijing's bombast, coupled with its growing

militarization and coercive tendencies, ensures that most of

Southeast Asia will keep open its diplomatic options for fears

of becoming Chinese vassals. Cambodia and laos are

cautionary tales.

The region yearns for ties with both Beijing and

Washington, a position Singaporean Prime Minister lee

Hsien loong has repeatedly made plain. in 2019, he said that

while he welcomed proposals for "indo-Pacific cooperation,"

these plans must not "create rival blocs, deepen fault lines or

force countries to take sides."

Unfortunately, the Trump administration has ignored

Southeast Asia's bicephalous hopes to unwisely imply the

existence of Cold War-like rival blocs and thus a binary choice

between Washington and Beijing, even though the

international landscape is not comparable to the Soviet era,

and even though 21st century China poses a much more

daunting challenge than the 20th century Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, the security environment today is far more benign

than it was then, while middle power countries - like those in

Southeast Asia - have far more agency.

China and the EU: a

tale of two summits

THErESA FAllON

initially planned for March

2020, the 22nd annual EU-

China Summit was held by

video-link on June 22 due

to the COVid-19

pandemic. This was the

second EU-China summit

after the March 2019

publication of the

European Commission's

paper "EU-China - A

strategic outlook," which

labeled China as a

"systemic rival." The paper

recognized that "the

balance of challenges and

opportunities presented by

from all foreign countries,

the mechanism is mainly

directed at China. This is

even more relevant in the

wake of the coronavirus

crisis, when many EU

member states are in need

of cash and tempted to sell

off strategic assets.

decisions on Fdi under the

mechanism are ultimately

left to member states, but

the mechanism

nevertheless represents a

clear step forward in this

area.

When the EU and China

held their annual summit

in July 2019, they managed

events in Hong Kong.

When the pandemic hit

Europe, individual EU

member states initially

refused to share medical

supplies. China promptly

stepped in to furnish them.

However, China's rather

clunky propaganda left a

bad taste, especially since

European leaders were

asked to be discreet about

the aid they sent to Wuhan

at the beginning of the

COVid-19 pandemic. By

contrast, China has

trumpeted its "mask

diplomacy," often

conflating sales with aid

The specter of another Sino-Indian war has raised worries that one of the horrors of that conflict could be repeated.

Photo: Wikimedia

The internment of Chinese Indians

European Council leaders participate in a media conference at the conclusion

of an EU-China summit in 2020.

Photo: Yves Herman

China has shifted" and

pointed out that China

promoted "alternative

models of governance" to

those of the EU. The paper

also listed a number of

other concerns including,

inter alia, trade issues and

cybersecurity.

Shortly after the

publication of the paper, in

April 2019, the EU's

foreign direct investment

(Fdi) screening

mechanism (proposed in

2017) entered into force to

investigate foreign

takeovers of strategic

assets including key

infrastructure and high

technology. Although

applicable to investment

after much negotiation to

agree on a joint statement

including Chinese

commitments on

investment rules and

market reciprocity, which

China did not deliver upon

as the EU had expected.

Since the 2019 joint

statement was agreed to

there has also been

backsliding on human

rights in China, including

the arbitrary detention of

foreigners and deeply

concerning reports on the

treatment of ethnic

minorities.

The 2020 summit was

colored by those

developments, as well as

the consequences of the

COVid-19 pandemic and

and suggesting that the EU

was not there to help.

Beijing's propaganda drew

concern in Brussels, as

seen in a blog post by EU

High representative Josep

Borrell on a "battle of

narratives" between the EU

and China. China's

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

and state-controlled media

even created fake news

suggesting the virus did not

originate in Wuhan.

But the paradox of

propaganda, as exposed by

Pew research polling, is

that the more Europeans

were exposed to China the

less they liked it. European

public opinion thus turned

against China.

AAdil BrAr

Many still don't know that the indian

government interned indians of

Chinese heritage at a camp in the state

of rajasthan during the 1962 war with

China. The members of the Chinese

community that were interned at the

deoli camp have only begun sharing

their stories in the last few years.

Now, with tensions spiking at the

border again, there are worries that

shameful history could repeat itself.

The history of ethnic Chinese people

in india can be traced back to the Tibet

trade during the 18th and 19th

century. during the boom years of tea

plantations, the British tea plantation

owners brought Chinese workers from

southern China, Hong Kong, and

around Southeast Asia to india's

Assam and darjeeling.

According to Ellen Oxfeld, the

Chinese community in the city of

Kolkata, where many of the internees

were from, is made up of Hakka

Chinese that entered the leather

manufacturing industry in World War

i, Cantonese from Guangdong in the

carpentry and craft industries, and a

small community of Hubeinese that

primarily practice dentistry.

The large majority of Chinese in

india can trace their heritage to the

Hakka (??) culture, a term often used

for the Chinese diaspora in Hong

Kong, Macau, Southeast Asia, and

other parts of Asia. The deep cultural

legacy of the Chinese community in

india can be gleaned from the

popularity of Hakka Chinese or indian

Chinese food in india.

Following its military defeat during

the 1962 war with China, the

community was caught in the

crossfire. india detained and interned

approximately 3,000 Chinese indians

at the deoli camp.

Following the end of the 1962 war,

india amended and passed a series of

laws that allowed the detention and

incarceration of individuals

considered to be "committing external

aggression against india or of any

other country assisting the country at

war with or committing such

aggression against india."

The government of india amended

the Foreigners Act, 1946 and passed

the defense of india Ordinance,

Foreigners law (Application and

Amendment) Act and the Foreigners

(restricted Areas) Order, which

together allowed the detention of

Chinese indians and others in the

months following the end of 1962 war.

The series of laws developed a legal

framework that the Nehru

government used to incarcerate

Chinese indians and other people. in

January of 1963, india passed the

Foreigners (restricted Areas) Order,

which restricted "foreigners" from

entering or staying in the "restricted

areas," which included Assam,

Meghalaya, and the then five districts

of West Bengal. The Foreigners

(restricted Areas) Order explicitly

excluded "person(s) of Chinese origin"

- someone "who, or either of whose

parents, or any of whose grandparents,

was, at any time, a Chinese national."

The reference to "person" in the

Foreigners Act, meanwhile referred to

"any person who, or either of whose

parents, or any of whose grandparents

was at any time a citizen or subject of

any country at war with, or

committing external aggression

against, india."

dilip d'Souza and Joy Ma are the

authors of a recent book

"deoliwallahs: The True Story of the

1962 Chinese-indian internment."

Ma's own parents were interned at the

deoli camp for four and a half years.

Joy was born at the deoli camp.

"My mom and my dad came from

the area near Siliguri (West Bengal)

and my mom had lived in Kalimpong

before that. The camp grouped people

depending on where they came from"

Ma told The diplomat.

"The people who were sent to the

camp were mostly from Kolkata and

the Northeast, Kolkata, Tinsukia,

Makum, Shillong and all those cities.

There were a few people from

Bangalore and Mumbai but not too

many" d'souza told The diplomat.

The selection of people for

internment seemed haphazard at best.

"Sometimes they just picked up all the

members of a Chinese family, and

sometimes they picked up men only,"

Ma said.

"They randomly picked up people

and they had informers who would say

this person was a 'spy.' Some of the

informers themselves ended up in the

camp as well. in some cases, they took

the father but didn't take the rest of the

family, and sometimes they took one

part of the family and left the other half

behind" d'Souza added.

Experts have speculated that

Chinese indians who were interned

were detained because they had either

traveled to China for business or

someone informed that a particular

family had "alleged" ties to China.

There was no clear pattern to who was

detained, the only common thread

being that they were perceived to be

Chinese.

Along with Chinese indians,

Tibetans were also incarcerated at the

deoli camp. According to a former

internee of the camp, there were 200

Tibetans, kept in Wing 1 at the camp,

along with Chinese indians. The

Tibetans that were interned at the

camp blamed the Chinese indians for

their fate.

"The Tibetans hated us. They said

that it was because of us they were in

the camp. We kept telling them ? No,

we are not from China, we are from

Shillong or darjeeling or Makum, just

like you," internee Chris liu recounted

in an interview.

"No one really knows how the GOi

[government of india] in 1962 decided

who was to be rounded up for the

internment camp, and how it decided

who should be released and when.

There was no method to the madness"

Yin Marsh told The diplomat,

although she noted that "The majority

of the internees lived in the border

regions." Marsh and her family were

detained at the camp; she wrote a book

about her experience titled "doing

Time with Nehru: The Story of an

indian-Chinese Family."

in 1962, the property and businesses

of the Chinese indians were

confiscated. Some like the Tang family

from Shillong received a small

compensation for their business,

which was confiscated after they were

released.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 6

Relief distributed among fishermen

released from Indian jail

Vice Chancellor of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) Prof Dr. Mohammad

Rafiqul Alam held a view exchange meeting with the teachers, officials and employees of the CUET

University on Thursday.

Photo: Courtesy

Golam mahbub, Chilmari Correspondent:

relief materials and hygiene kits were

distributed among 26 inmates of

Chilmari upazila in Kurigram, who were

released from indian jail after four

months. sate minister for the ministry

of primary and mass education md.

Zakir hossain mp was present as the

chief guest at the relief distribution

function at the upazila parishad

meeting room on thursday.

upazila nirbahi officer (retd) nur-e-

Jannat rumi chaired the occasion while

upazila parishad Chairman shawkat ali

sarkar bir bikrom, upazila Vice

Chairman abdul Kuddus sarkar and

Women Vice Chairman achma begum

were present as special guests at the

occasion. among others, , Chilmari

police station officer-in-Charge md.

aminul islam, upazila awami league

Vice-president Joynal abedin and Joint

General secretary and district Council

member rezaul Karim lichu were also

present at the occasion.

sate minister for the ministry of

primary and mass education md. Zakir

hossain mp is his speech said that in

order to ensure that the fishermen of

Chilmari do not have to go to india or

any other place to earn a living, work has

been done to create various jobs

including fish farming. besides, the

process of setting up a marine training

Center and a technical school in

Chilmari is underway.

'Want to make CUET a more

prestigious university': CUET VC

Vice Chancellor of Chittagong

university of engineering and

technology (Cuet) prof dr.

mohammad rafiqul alam said that

Cuet has moved forward with the

sincere cooperation and concentration

of work of all including the teachers,

officers, staff and students of the

university. everyone must work

together to continue that progress in

the future. i would like to take Cuet

forward with your overall cooperation

within next four years as well, a press

release said.

he added that, 'i want to make Cuet

a more prestigious university through

academic discipline, academic

excellence as well as research and

innovation. Want to give emphasis on

new organogram for the next four

years, emphasis on research and

innovation, procurement of world class

laboratories and state-of-the-art

equipment, management of the

country's first ever sheikh Kamal it

business incubator project, creation of

new dpps, formation of branding cells

for universities and strict academic

discipline.

Cuet said this while exchanging

views with the teachers, officials and

employees of the Cuet university as

he was appointed as the Vice

Chancellor for the second term at the

tsC auditorium of Cuet on thursday.

the meeting exchanges took place in

three separate sessions at 10.00 am

with the esteemed teachers of the

university, at 11.00 am with the officials

and at 12.00 pm with the staff.

distinguished teachers, officials and

employees of the university

participated in it.

associate professor of mechanical

engineering dr. md. sanaul rabbi and

assistant registrar (Coordination)

mohammad Fazlur rahman

moderated the occasion.

Sate Minister for the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education Md. Zakir Hossain MP as the

chief guest distributed relief materials and hygiene kits among 26 inmates of Chilmari upazila

who were released from Indian jails after four months on Thursday. Photo: Golam Mahbub

Farmers engaged in cultivation

of Ropa Aman in Madhukhali

shahJahan helal, madhuKhali

Correspondent:

Farmers are busy

collecting ropa aman

saplings at different

markets in madhukhali this

year. the department of

agriculture extension

expects 11 unions, including

one municipality of the

upazila, to exceed the target

of planting ropa aman this

year as compared to last

season.

Farmers thronged to

collect saplings at

madhukhali sadar and

Kamarkhali hat, the two

largest hats in the upazila.

Farmers are buying the

saplings at tk 400 to tk

500 per 100 bags at

madhukhali hat on

monday. the price of

saplings is lower this year

than last year. the import of

saplings is also widespread

in the two markets.

upazila agriculture

officer agriculturist pratap

mandal said ropa aman is

usually planted from July to

mid-september. but this

time, the farmers have

already planted ropa aman

saplings in 8,600 hectares

of land by various means,

including floating seedlings

in advance. ropa aman

saplings can be planted in

the first half of september

(bhadra month). Farmers

will be able to plant ropa

aman saplings in more than

five hundred hectares of

land.

this year, the target of

planting ropa aman in one

municipality and eleven

unions in the upazila has

been set at 8,900 hectares

of land. last season, ropa

aman was planted at total

of 8,382 hectares of land in

the upazila.

In observance of the first anniversary of Trishal Helpline, a discussion meeting was held in

the upazila on Wednesday.

Photo: Mominul Islam Momin

Trishal Helpline celebrates

first anniversary

mominul islam momin, trishal Correspondent:

trishal helpline, a social welfare

organization celebrated its first

anniversary in a colorful way.

marking the occasion a discussion

meeting was held in the room of

trishal municipal Council hall on

Wednesday with the slogan "let's

work together, build a prosperous

trishal".

trishal helpline president

hamidur rahman sumon presided

over the occasion while

Commissioner (land) tariqul islam

tushar inaugurated the event. mayor

of trishal municipality abm

anisuzzaman was the keynote

speaker at the occasion. among

others, member of upazila awami

league iqbal hossain, upazila

secondary education officer anm

Zillur rahman and others were the

special guests.

1,080-km irrigation pipelines

raJshahi: around 1,080 kilometres

underground irrigation pipelines were

constructed aimed at reducing the loss of

irrigation water by around 40 percent in

the barind area, reports bss.

barind multipurpose development

authority (bmda) under its

'enhancement of irrigation efficiency

through Construction of sub-surface

irrigation Channel' project constructed

the pipelines.

taka 136.16 crore project has been

implemented in 25 upazilas of rajshahi,

naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts

till June last.

"We have installed 1096.2 kilometres

upvc pipelines and 216 kilometres flexible

pipes through saving agricultural lands

under the four-year project," said

engineer shahidur rahman, director of

the project, while talking to bss here

constructed in Barind area

yesterday.

more than 3,000 farmers were

imparted intensive training on various

need-based issues like irrigation water

management, crop diversification,

fertilizer usages and mechanized

cultivation.

they were also given ideas on proper

handling and maintenance of the

constructed infrastructures so that they

can derive total benefits of the project.

engineer rahman said the installed

pipelines have expanded irrigation area

to around 32,400 hectares of land

contributing a lot towards cropping yield

around 1.62 lakh tonnes on an average

per year. the system has also contributed

to the diversification process in the

project covering areas.

in the long run, the project will

contribute a lot towards reducing the loss

of irrigation water besides saving

agricultural land and expanding

irrigation areas through crop

diversification.

highlighting the salient feature of the

project, engineer rahman said efficiency

in irrigation has become a necessity for

reducing the misuse of water alongside

decreasing agriculture production cost.

he opined that the conventional

irrigation method has the problem of

misusing water triggering pressure on

both ground and surface water posing a

threat to ecology.

so, some major parameters like water

distribution system, irrigation scheme

management system, water marketing

system, sources of water, source of

energy, alternate Wetting drying (aWd)

and types of pumps should be brought

under consideration.

Farmers are busy collecting Ropa Aman saplings at different markets in Madhukhali this

year.

Photo: Shahjahan Helal

110 flood-hit farmers get cattle

feed in Gaibandha

Gaibandha: as many as 110 flood

affected farmers of sreepur union

under sundarganj upazila in the

district got cattle feed for their domestic

animals on Wednesday, reports bss.

a distribution function was held on

the premises of boali Govt primary

school of the union with the financial

support of the ministry of the disaster

management and relief and Food and

agriculture organization of the united

nations.

deputy Commissioner (dC) abdul

matin formally inaugurated the

function as the chief guest.

district livestock officer (dlo) dr

abdus samad, upazila nirbahi officer

(uno) md lutful hassan, upazila

livestock officer md Fazlul hoque, up

Chairman shahidul hoque and invited

persons, local elite including journalists

were present on the occasion.

a total of 308 tonnes of cattle feed

were distributed to 7,200 affected

farmers of the district till september 2,

said district livestock officer dr abdus

samad.

FrIdAY, SEPTEMBEr 4, 2020

7

A prominent British human rights lawyer is convening an independent tribunal in London to

investigate whether the Chinese government's alleged rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in

the far western Xinjiang region constitute genocide or crimes against humanity. Photo : AP

UK public tribunal to probe

Uighur 'genocide' claims

A prominent British human rights

lawyer is convening an independent tribunal

in London to investigate whether

the Chinese government's alleged

rights abuses against Uighur Muslims

in the far western Xinjiang region constitute

genocide or crimes against

humanity.

The tribunal is expected to reveal new

evidence and testimony over several

days' hearings next year. While the tribunal

does not have government backing,

it is the latest attempt to hold China

accountable for its treatment of the

Uighurs and ethnic Turkic minorities,

who have been subject to an unprecedented

crackdown since 2017, reports

UNB.

Barrister Geoffrey Nice, who previously

led the prosecution of ex-Serbian

President Slobodan Milosevic over the

Balkans war and worked with the International

Criminal Court, was asked by

the World Uighur Congress to investigate

"ongoing atrocities and possible

genocide" against the Uighur people.

Allegations against China about

Iraqi, French Presidents

meet over bilateral ties,

anti-terrorism

Iraqi President Barham Salih on

Wednesday met with his French

counterpart Emmanuel Macron

in Baghdad to discuss bilateral

ties and the war against the

Islamic State (IS) group, reports

UNB.

In a joint press conference

after their meeting in the presidential

palace, Salih said eliminating

terrorism "requires the

support of friends and the international

community, and we still

have a lot to do in this regard."

"Iraq is looking forward to

playing an important role in the

region," he added.

For his part, Macron said

France "supports the government

of Iraq and its people who

are facing several challenges as

the result of the war against terrorism."

"We will continue to work on

this issue within the framework

of Iraqi sovereignty," he added.

The French president said

Iraq is also facing the challenge

of "foreign interventions."

Earlier in the day, Macron

arrived in Baghdad to hold talks

with top Iraqi leaders over bilateral

relations.

Macron is also scheduled to

meet with Iraqi Prime Minister

Mustafa al-Kadhimi as well as

Nichervan Barzani, head of the

Kurdistan Regional Government

(KRG) during his one-day

visit.

This is Macron's first official

trip to Iraq. He is also the first

presidential-level official to visit

Iraq since al-Kadhimi took office

in May.

France is part of a U.S.-led

international coalition tasked

with helping the Iraqi security

forces fight against the IS militants

by carrying out airstrikes

against their positions in Iraq

and Syria as well as providing

military equipment and training

to Iraqi forces.

potential genocide are "questions that

should be asked and answered" but

such claims have never been legally

scrutinized in public, Nice told The

Associated Press on Wednesday.

Organizers are in the initial stages of

gathering evidence, and expect to

receive a substantial number of submissions

from Uighurs exiled abroad

over the next few months. New evidence

that may emerge includes testimony

from several former security

guards who were involved in the Xinjiang

detention camps.

"At the moment, the strongest evidence

would appear to be evidence of

incarceration and possibly evidence of

enforced sterilization," Nice said.

A recent investigation by the AP

found that the Chinese government is

systematically forcing birth control on

Uighurs and other Muslims in an

apparent effort to reduce their population.

The report found that authorities

regularly subject minority women to

pregnancy checks and force intrauterine

devices, sterilization and abortion

on hundreds of thousands. While

scores have been thrown in detention

camps for alleged "religious extremism,"

many others were sent to the

camps simply for having too many children.

Such enforced sterilization practices

could be found to breach the Genocide

Convention, Nice said.

The Chinese Embassy in London did

not respond to an emailed request for

comment. Chinese officials have

repeatedly derided allegations of rights

abuses in Xinjiang as fabricated, and

insist that all ethnicities are treated

equally.

China has long suspected the

Uighurs, who are mostly Muslim, of

harboring separatist tendencies

because of their distinct culture, language

and religion. In a lengthy press

conference in August, the Chinese

ambassador to the U.K. played graphic

videos of terrorist attacks in Xinjiang to

show that the Chinese government's

measures there are "necessary and

important."

Colombia arrests 3 Venezuelans

tied to anti-Maduro plot

Police in Colombia have arrested three Venezuelans

who were part of a failed plot organized by

a former US Green Beret to sneak across the

border and oust President Nicolas Maduro, The

Associated Press has learned .

The three were arrested in simultaneous

raids by heavily-armed security forces early

Wednesday in the capital of Bogota, a person

in contact with the men at the time of their

arrest told AP. The person, who insisted on

anonymity to discuss the continuing investigation,

said the three were picked up on charges

of providing military training for illicit and "terrorist"

activities, which carries a prison penalty

of 20 to 30 years, reports UNB.

Two of the men, Maj. Juvenal Sequea and

Capt. Juven Sequea, are the older brothers of

the confessed commander of the failed May 3

incursion, Capt. Antonio Sequea, who is jailed

in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. The third,

Rayder Ruso, is a civilian who has long sought

Maduro's armed overthrow.

All three lived for months in rustic camps

along Colombia's Caribbean coast where Jordan

Goudreau, an American war veteran, was

helping organize a volunteer army for a rapid

cross-border strike against Maduro.

But the men deserted the ragtag effort,

known as Operation Gideon, prior to the beach

assault - one of them month before - viewing it

as a suicide mission that lacked the necessary

support from the U.S.

What was dubbed the "Bay of Piglets" - after

the failed 1961 invasion of Cuba by anti-communist

exiles - ended in a propaganda victory for

Maduro with the capture of dozens of would-be

combatants, including two of Goudreau's former

special forces buddies, Luke Denman and

Airan Berry, who quickly pleaded guilty and

were sentenced to 20 years in prison.

"Donald Trump OK'd my murder, I am not

exaggerating, and they are trying to send a

group of snipers or hire snipers in Venezuela to

kill me," Maduro said Tuesday, recalling the

bizarre attack.

The U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition

leader Juan Guaido was also linked to the plot

when it was revealed that two of his aides in

Miami signed last fall a 42-page contract with

Goudreau's Florida company, Silvercorp USA,

to carry out regime change. The aides said they

backed out of the deal before Christmas due to

a mix of differences with Goudreau and a

change in strategy. They said no money

changed hands except $50,000 to cover

Goudreau's initial expenses.

Police in Colombia have arrested three Venezuelans who were part of a failed plot

organized by a former U.S. Green Beret to sneak across the border and oust

President Nicolas Maduro.

Photo : AP

Man sentenced

to life for Sydney

violence

targeting judges

A former firefighter was sentenced

to life in prison

Thursday for a series of murders

and bombings in Sydney

during the 1980s that

terrorized Australia's legal

fraternity, reports UNB.

The targets included

judges who handled proceedings

between Leonard

Warwick and his former wife

and a church connected to

her. Although Warwick was

considered a suspect early in

the investigation, he wasn't

arrested until 2015, two

years after a blood sample

from a crime scene was

matched to his DNA.

New South Wales state

Supreme Court Justice Peter

Garling sentenced Warwick

to a life sentence without

possibility of parole for each

of three murders.

"The conduct of the offender

was calculated, violent and

hateful," Garling said.

"A sustained period of violence

aimed at an Australian

court and its judges solely in

retribution for those judges

properly executing their obligations

and functions in

peacefully adjudicating disputes

in accordance with the

law cannot be viewed as anything

other than an attack on

the very foundations of Australian

democracy," he

added.

The judge had convicted

Warwick in July of the shooting

murder of a judge, two

bombing murders, including

one that killed a judge's wife,

and other offenses. Warwick

was found not guilty in the

shooting death of his brother-in-law,

Stephen Blanchard.

Czech Senate

president meets

Taiwan leader;

Beijing protests

The Czech Senate president

met with Taiwanese leader

Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday

morning during a rare trip by

a foreign dignitary to the selfruled

democratic island that

rival China called an "open

provocation."

Tsai presented a medal for

Jaroslav Kubera, the recently

deceased predecessor of

Czech Senate President

Milos Vystrcil, reports UNB.

Kubera died in January

before making the trip and

Vystrcil said China's pressure,

including a warning

from the Chinese Embassy

against congratulating Tsai

on her reelection, contributed

to his decision to

travel to the island.

Tsai called Kubera a "great

friend" and gave a nod to

Vystrcil's speech Tuesday,

saying his words "I'm a Taiwanese"

had touched many

hearts.

New US sanctions on int’l

tribunal prosecutor, aide

The Trump administration

on Wednesday imposed

sanctions on the chief prosecutor

of the International

Criminal Court and one of her

top aides for continuing to

investigate war crimes allegations

against Americans. The

sanctions were immediately

denounced by the court, the

United Nations and human

rights advocates, reports

UNB.

Secretary of State Mike

Pompeo announced the

moves as part of the administration's

pushback against the

tribunal, based in The Hague,

for investigations into the

United States and its allies.

The sanctions include a freeze

on assets held in the U.S. or

subject to U.S. law and target

prosecutor Fatou Bensouda

and the court's head of jurisdiction,

Phakiso Mochochoko.

He said the court, to which

the United States has never

been a party, was "a thoroughly

broken and corrupt

institution."

"We will not tolerate its illegitimate

attempts to subject

Americans to its jurisdiction,"

Pompeo told reporters at a

State Department news conference.

In addition to the

sanctions imposed on Bensouda

and Mochochoko,

Pompeo said people who provide

them with "material support"

in investigating Americans

could also face U.S.

penalties.

Pompeo had previously

imposed a travel ban on Bensouda

and other tribunal

employees over investigations

into allegations of torture

and other crimes by

Americans in Afghanistan.

The Hague-based court

and the head of its governing

board decried the step as an

assault on the rule of law and

the international system set

up by the Treaty of Rome that

created the tribunal in 2002.

The sanctions "are another

attempt to interfere with the

court's judicial and prosecutorial

independence and crucial

work to address grave

crimes of concern to the international

community," the

ICC said in a statement.

"These coercive acts, directed

at an international judicial

institution and its civil servants,

are unprecedented and

constitute serious attacks."

O-Gon Kwon, the president

of the court's Assembly of

States Parties, called the

move "unprecedented and

unacceptable" and an affront

to efforts to combat impunity

for war crimes. "They only

serve to weaken our common

endeavor to fight impunity

for mass atrocities," he said,

adding that the assembly

The Trump administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on

the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and one

of her top aides for continuing to investigate war crimes allegations

against Americans.

Photo : AP

planned to convene shortly to

reaffirm the members'

"unstinting support for the

court" and its employees.

U.N. Secretary-General

Antonio Guterres noted

Pompeo's statement "with

concern," according to

spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

He stressed that the U.N.

expects the United States to

abide by its agreement with

the United Nations, which

allows the prosecutor to come

to U.N. headquarters on ICC

business.

Students in Inner Mongolia protest

Chinese language policy

Ethnic Mongolians, including students and

parents, in China's Inner Mongolia region are

demonstrating their anger in rare public

protests against a new bilingual education policy

that they say is endangering the Mongolian

language, reports UNB.

A high school student in the city of Hulunbuir

said students rushed out of their school on

Tuesday and destroyed a fence before paramilitary

police swarmed in and tried to return

them to class.

"We senior students were talking and we

thought we had to do something," said the student,

Narsu, who like most Mongolians has

only one name. "Although this doesn't directly

affect us now, this will have a huge impact on

us in the future."

The policy, announced on Monday ahead of

the start of the new school year, requires

schools to use new national textbooks in Chinese,

replacing Mongolian-language textbooks.

Protesters say they were aware of

demonstrations and classroom walkouts in

Hohhot, the provincial capital, as well as in the

cities of Chifeng and Tongliao and Xilin Gol

prefecture.

Nuomin, the mother of a kindergarten student

in Hulunbuir, said she saw police in

places she normally wouldn't and a metal barrier

in front of one school. She has kept her

child home since Monday.

"Many of us parents will continue to keep our

kids at home, until they bring Mongolian back

in those classes," she said.

In 2017, the ruling Communist Party created

a committee to overhaul textbooks for the

entire country. Revised textbooks have been

pushed out over the last few years.

The new policy for Inner Mongolia, a northern

province that borders the country of Mongolia,

affects schools where Mongolian has

been the principal language of instruction.

Literature classes for elementary and middle

school students at the Mongolian-language

schools will switch to a national textbook and

be taught in Mandarin Chinese.

Next year, the politics and morality course

will also switch to Mandarin, as will history

classes starting in 2022. The remaining classes,

such as math, will not change their language of

instruction.

Students will also start learning Mandarin in

first grade. Previously, they started in second

grade.

Portland protests set up clash

between journalists, police

The beam of a police officer's flashlight

swept across a group of 15 people standing

on the sidewalk in downtown Portland,

Oregon, recording and taking photos

of the nightly protests that have roiled

the city for three months, reports UNB.

Most in the recent group wore helmets,

reflective vests or shirts emblazoned

with the word "PRESS" and had

media badges dangling from their necks.

But some were demonstrators, taking

cover behind reporters despite orders to

go home or face arrest.

"Hey," an officer yelled at his colleagues

as they cleared streets and

arrested people who weren't leaving.

"Half this group is not press. ... Purple

mask isn't press. Bicyclist not press. ... If

they are not press, take them into custody."

For nearly 100 days, reporters have

been covering protests that often turn

violent in Oregon's largest city, and in the

chaos, some journalists have been

injured or arrested despite press freedoms

laid out in the First Amendment.

The clash also led to a lawsuit against

federal authorities sent in to help local

police in July.

Reporters - whether they're from

major media outlets, freelancers or selfproclaimed

"citizen journalists" - say

they are doing their job and law enforcement

is hindering that work. Police say

protesters have masqueraded as journalists

and then set fires or thrown fireworks,

making it a struggle to figure out

who is a real reporter during the pandemonium.

Suzette Smith, a freelance journalist

who has covered the protests, recorded

the Aug. 29 encounter between police

and reporters. "Blue mask," an officer

could be heard saying in the video Smith

tweeted. Her mask was blue, and she

held up her press badge. At least five people

around her were detained, including

someone else in a blue mask.

Smith, who was arts editor of the Portland

Mercury alternative newspaper but

was laid off during COVID-19 pandemic,

said it was the first time she has seen officers

approach a crowd of journalists and

arrest people around her. But protesters

will stay behind reporters to try to blend

in, she said.

"Certainly that's annoying as a press

person when there is somebody behind

you yelling," Smith said. "I have definitely

asked them not to yell in my ear or to

stand so close."

Sergio Olmos, a reporter for Oregon

Public Broadcasting, has been covering

the Portland protests for months and has

reported from other demonstrations in

the city and civil unrest around the

world. He said reporters have been treated

differently during protests over the

police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Olmos said police went from viewing

reporters as professionals and neutral

observers to demonstrators. While covering

Portland's protests, he says he has

been pushed to the ground by police, hit

in the lip with a baton and tear gassed.

"(Journalists) who stay out there have

made a mental commitment of 'I might

get beat or I might get arrested, and

that's just the cost of doing this job I

guess,' " Olmos said.

FRIDAy, SepTeMBeR 4, 2020

8

Singer Akbar to be taken to

Apollo Hospital in Chennai

TBT RepoRT

prova’s ‘The Last Check’ to

air on Channel I today

TBT RepoRT

Featured model-actress Sadia

Jahan Prova has acted opposite

to popular actor Sajal in this

telefilm titled 'The Last Check'.

Besides, Kazi Ujjwal, Nahida

Sultana, Anurnisha Ashmi,

Subaita Tasnim and others have

acted in different roles.

Rashed Shamim Sam has

Former wrestling superstar and

Hollywood actor Dwayne 'The

Rock' Johnson on Thursday took

to Instagram to share that he and

his family tested positive for

coronavirus a few weeks ago. In a

video, the actor requested his fans

and loved ones to take all the

necessary precautions to fight the

deadly virus. The Rock also

assured that he, his wife Lauren

and two children Tia and Jazzy are

feeling much better now. In the

video, Dwayne Johnson said,

"This was one of the most

challenging and difficult things we

have ever had to endure as a

family, and personally too. This is

so much different than getting

made the telefilm based on real

events.

Because of Corona, tensions

started in middle class families.

Some left the city and went to the

village. The story is based on

these issues. The telefilm will air

on Channel I on Friday at 3:05

p.m., according to producer

sources.

She (Prova) has taken a

nasty injuries or being broke,

which I have been multiple times

in my life. My number one priority

is to protect my family. I wish it

was only me, but it wasn't so it is a

real kick in the gut. But I am

happy to tell you that we as a

family are good, on the other side

of it, and we are no longer

contagious. We have gotten

through Covid-19 stronger and

healthier." "I am counting my

blessings because we are well

aware that this isn't always the

case. I have had my best friends

lose their parents, their loved ones

to this virus. It is relentless. Babies

can have little to no symptoms at

all, so for our babies, Jazzy and

strong place in the hearts of the

audience due to her acting

qualities. She is working in the

media regularly without

listening to the words of the

critics.

Prova was quarantined for a

long time due to Corona. She has

returned to her world after

getting permission to shoot

recently.

Dwayne Johnson and family

tested positive for coronavirus

Tia, they had a little sore throat,

but that was it. But it was different

for Lauren and I. We had a rough

go, but we got through," he added.

Explaining that he and his

family got the virus from close

family friends, The Rock said, "We

picked up Covid-19 from very

close family friends who we love

and trust. They were devastated.

So having your friends, family

over, loved ones over…now apply

even greater discipline over who

you are going to call over. Take an

aggressive measure, get them

tested because you never know.

There should also be a greater

commitment to health and

wellness and we should be doing

everything we can to boost our

immunity system. We gotta

control the controllables. When

your immune system is not

compromised, you have a shot at

not getting Covid-19."

The Hollywood star also advised

his fans to wear a mask at all times.

"Wearing a mask is not a political

thing to do, it is a fact," the actor

said as he concluded the video.

On the work front, Dwayne

Johnson is looking forward to the

release of Disney movie Jungle

Cruise, where he will be seen

sharing screen space with Emily

Blunt for the first time. He also

has DC flick Black Adam and

Netflix feature Red Notice in the

pipeline.

Source: indianexpress.com

Singer Akbar is suffering from various diseases including diabetes

and kidney. After the last Eid-ul-Azha, his physical condition

deteriorated. From the waist down to the bottom becomes numb.

He was admitted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Medical College Hospital on August 17 due to deteriorating

condition. There, after more than two weeks of treatment, his

condition improved. He was taken home on Wednesday

(September 2).

Akbar will being taken to Chennai, India for advanced treatment

of kidney disease. Last morning, Akbar's wife Kaniz Fatema told to

the media that his physical condition is a bit better now,can walk a

little. I have planned to take him to Chennai, India as per the advice

of the doctors. I have applied for a medical visa. Visa processing will

take about a week. Akbar will be treated for kidney disease at the

Apollo Hospital in Chennai. But there was an economic crisis in

Akbar's family. Popular presenter Hanif Sanket has extended a

helping hand in this situation. In this context, Kaniz Fatema said

that Hanif Sanket is personally cooperating financially.

When he fell seriously ill last year, Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina gave Akbar a grant of Tk 20 lakh (savings certificate) for

his treatment. Kaniz Fatema was continuing her husband's

treatment with that grant money. Akbar was born in Paikgachha,

Khulna. However, he grew up in Jessore. He used to drive a

rickshaw there. Akbar's full voice, which came up through

magazine program Ityadi, even though he was not good at

singing as a child, captivates the listeners.

Dilip Kumar’s brother

dies of Covid-related

complications

Annie Khan returns to acting again

TBT RepoRT

Ehsan Khan, younger brother of veteran Bollywood

actor Dilip Kumar, passed away on Wednesday evening

in Mumbai due to coronavirus-related complications.

He was 92.

Lilavati Hospital's Dr Jalil Parkar said, "He passed away

around half an hour back. He was covid positive. He had

heart disease, hypertension and Alzheimer's disease."

On August 21, Dilip Kumar's brother Aslam khan had

succumbed to Covid-19 in Lilavati hospital. The brothers were

admitted to the hospital after they complained of breathlessness

and their oxygen saturation level dipped. They later tested

positive for coronavirus.

In April, Dilip Kumar had confirmed that he was self-isolating

Model and actress Annie Khan is suddenly

returning back to acting again with Hassan

Jahangir directional series 'Chapabaji'.

Annie Khan has announced to quit acting.

She has completed her long 23-year media

career. She plans to spend the rest of her life

as an ordinary religious person. The actress

herself has recently confirmed to the media.

Director Hasan Jahangir said that Annie

Khan has started shooting again to finish the

unfinished work of the drama. In fact, she

has not yet decided to return to the show.

However, the director added, Annie will be a

regular in the glamor world again after the

end of the Covid epidemic. But no statement

of the actress was found in this regard.

Earlier on June 20, Annie Khan appeared

on Facebook Live and said, "I have been

planning to leave the media since last year. I

last shot on March 19. Then everything is off

in Corona. I am praying five times, I am

praying naafil prayers, I am reciting Qur'an

and Hadith. I was learning many things.

And the media is not calling me, so I decided

to remove myself from this job. '

Annie Khan added, 'The way I hear the

news of death every day, I have never heard

so much news of death before. In the

meantime I have lost my father, many more

close people are leaving. I am a Muslim. As a

Muslim, the more I try to know about

religious issues, the more my knowledge

about religion grows.

By doing this, restrictions are coming in

many things. I don't know if I'll be alive in

two minutes. What did I save for eternity

after death? With all this in mind, I don't

want to go back to media work. That's why

someone can call me a hypocrite, call me

bad. It doesn't matter to me. '

at his home and was being looked after by his wife Saira Banu. He

had retweeted a tweet that read, "Dilip Sahab - @TheDilipKumar

- is fine. He's resting at home, locked down, under self-isolation,

being looked after by his loving and devoted wife #SairaBanu

Thank you everybody for the prayers and wishes."

Source: India Today

H o R o S C o p e

ARIeS

(March 21 - April 20) : There may be

some tension today as you try to

stabilize your emotions, Aries. There

could be a force at work out there

that's rather impersonal and detached. More

than likely, this force doesn't relate as much to

how you feel as it does to how well you've done

the job. Stick to your tasks in a practical,

grounded manner.

TAURUS

(April 21 - May 21): The tricky things to

balance today are your emotions

and sense of duty, Taurus. Try not to

let the stress of having to complete a

task leak into your state of mind. The problem is

that your emotions may be running away more

quickly than you can handle. Meanwhile, there's

a bit of a slowdown when it comes to your sense

of duty and responsibility.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21): There's a practical

grounding today that may cramp your

style, Gemini. More than likely you'll be

aware of the time restrictions that point

up your own limits. Maybe you aren't being realistic

about certain areas of your life. These things will

become clear today as things progress. Push through

this blockage. You'll be a much stronger person once

you've moved past this point.

CANCeR

(June 22 - July 23): Your mood should

be good today, Cancer, although you

should be careful not to rub it in others'

faces. If people don't feel like being

cheerful, don't force it on them. An important sense

of duty is prominent and should be obeyed at all

costs. Give your adventurous nature some sort of

practical grounding that you can use to be more

effective regarding whatever it is you do.

Leo

(July 24 - Aug. 23): It isn't a good idea

to talk behind other people's backs

today, Leo. If you have an issue with

someone in particular, bring it up to

that person directly. This isn't a good time to gossip.

Maintaining trust is extremely important right now.

This attitude will open many doors for you. Believe

that the more you love others, the more love will be

returned to you.

VIRGo

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): Put some of your

fantastic ideas to good use today, Virgo.

It's one thing to be a genius with plenty of

masterpieces floating around in your

head. It's quite another to actually put things into

motion. You may be full of talk, but today it's important

to be full of action. Restriction and limitation are

creeping in, so do what you can to get things in place

before it's too late.

LIBRA

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

to follow through on projects, Libra.

Leaving many unfinished matters in

your life only creates clutter that keeps

other things from entering the picture. Either

dismiss the project entirely or finish it and move on

to something else. Don't leave things hanging,

including people. Tell others what's going on and

you'll be more successful in the long run.

SCoRpIo

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): There could be some

restrictions on your emotions today,

Scorpio. You'll find that a practical,

grounded force is working against your

intuitive understanding of whatever issue concerns

you. Do your best to anchor yourself in the truth

before you scatter seeds of erratic emotions all

over the place. It's important for you to maintain

stability at all times.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): Feel free to take

care of any restructuring in your life

that needs to be done now,

Sagittarius. Change may be a bit

scary at first, but realize that it's a necessary

variable in order to make progress. You may not

have to change your focus or destination too

much, but it's possible that you'll need to adjust

your course to get there.

CApRICoRN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): Your mood may be a

bit detached and scattered today,

Capricorn. This attitude could get you

into trouble if you aren't careful. Make

sure you keep at least one foot on the ground. It's

important to stay strongly connected with reality or

you could find yourself up a creek without a paddle.

Feel free to get more deeply involved in a project that

you might otherwise leave to others.

AQUARIUS

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19): Seek the counsel of

someone older and wiser today,

Aquarius. Whether you want to or

not, you may encounter someone

with authority who's likely to tell you what he or

she thinks. Heed the advice that comes from

others. There is a whole other perspective out

there that you need to consider in order to bring

things back to equilibrium.

pISCeS

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20): Flamboyant shows

of emotions may not be as welcome as

usual today, Pisces. Realize that you

may need to put a damper on things in

order to earn the respect of the people around you.

Tone it down and understand the importance of

grounding and stability. Strong forces could bring

you down to this level whether you want them to or

not, so why bother trying to resist?

FriDAY, SEPTEMBEr 4, 2020

9

'Difficult' for Messi to stay

at Barca, Jorge Messi says

Bangladesh will leave the country for a three-match Test series in Sri Lanka on September 23 and

before that they will have a short practice camp in Dhaka.

Photo: BCB

Head coach Domingo to

arrive Bangladesh Sept 6

SportS DeSk:

Jorge Messi, father and agent of

Lionel Messi, said on Wednesday he

thinks it will be "difficult" for his son to

stay at Barcelona, reports BSS.

Messi senior landed in Barcelona on

Wednesday ahead of talks with the

club's president Josep Maria Bartomeu

about the striker's intention to leave

this summer.

Messi senior flew in from the

Argentine city of rosario, landing at the

private terminal in Barcelona's el prat

airport on Wednesday morning.

Asked by reporters about the

possibility of Messi staying, Jorge

Messi said: "Difficult". He was then

asked how he sees his son's future at

Barca, to which he replied: "Difficult,

difficult".

When the prospect of joining

Manchester City was put to him, he

said: "there's nothing yet." It was

suggested he had spoken already to

City coach pep Guardiola. "I didn't talk

to pep," Jorge Messi said. "Not to

anyone."

Jorge Messi will be hoping to unblock

the stand-off between Barca and his

son, which threatens to descend into an

expensive and bitter legal battle if a

resolution cannot be found.

However, media reports late

Wednesday said talks had ended with

no agreement.

"the first meeting between Bartomeu

and Jorge Messi ends without

agreement," said Catalan sports

newspaper Mundo Deportivo in its

online edition.

Marca added: "Barca does not

negotiate the exit of 'Leo'."

other Spanish sports media claimed

the discussions will continue and

another meeting could take place.

the 33-year-old Messi boycotted

Barcelona's first pre-season training

session on Monday, as he tries to force

his way out of the club he joined as a 13-

year-old.

Messi also failed to attend a

coronavirus test at Barcelona's training

ground on Sunday.

Yet Barcelona insist their captain will

only depart if his 700-million-euro

($833 million) release clause is

activated, a stance that has been backed

up by La Liga, who say that release

clause still applies.

But Messi and his lawyers argue he is

allowed to go for free this summer

according to another clause in his

contract, which they claim was

triggered on August 25 when a burofax

stating Messi's intention to leave

arrived at Camp Nou.

If Messi joins another club but loses

in court, he could be liable to pay the

700 million euros Barcelona are owed.

Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City

are the firm favourites to sign Messi,

not least because of his previous

success with City coach pep Guardiola.

Inter Milan, Juventus and paris Saint-

Germain are also interested.

SportS DeSk:

National cricket team headcoach

russell Domingo is all set to arrive in

Bangladesh on September 6 after his

flight was delayed for two days, reports

BSS.

Fielding coach ryan kook and

trainer Nick Lee will also reach

Bangladesh alongside Domingo.

Bowling coach ottis Gibson is

scheduled to be in the country tonight

while physio Julian Calfato has already

reached Dhaka.

Spin bowling Coach Daniel Vettori

and newly appointed batting

consultant Craig McMillan will join the

Bangladesh team in Sri Lanka.

"Domingo was scheduled to be in

Dhaka on September 2 but due to the

delay of flight, he will reach the country

on September 6," said Bangladesh

Cricket Board (BCB) Cricket

operations Chairman Akram khan.

"they had done a corona test when

they were scheduled to fly on

September 2. Now since the flight has

been delayed, they would have to

undergo a corona test again."

"Vettori and McMillan will join the

side in Sri Lanka," Akram said, adding

that former batting coach Neil

Mckenzie had talked to McMillan and

gave him ideas about the Bangladesh

batsmen.

"Mckenzie shared his experience

about Bangladeshi batsmen with

McMillan. Hopefully, McMillan now

will find it easier to deal with the

batsmen."

Bangladesh will leave the country for

a three-match test series in Sri Lanka

on September 23 and before that they

will have a short practice camp in

Dhaka. they will start their main

practice camp in Sri Lanka, Akram

England face Australia in three Twenty20s in Southampton starting on Friday.

informed.

He also said that the itinerary of the

series is yet to be finalized but there is

possibility that the first two test

matches will be held in kandy while

the third and final test will be hosted

by Sri Lanka's capital city Colombo.

"they (Sri Lanka) have given a

tentative itinerary but it is not final.

According to that schedule, the third

test will be held in Colombo while the

first two test matches will be hosted by

kandy," he remarked.

Akram said a total of 38 players now

have been training to keep them

prepared for the Sri Lanka tour.

"A total of 38 players have been

training at different places at this

moment. In the first phase, the squad

will be trimmed to 28 and later 22.

there is a possibility that we will

announce a 22-member squad for the

Sri Lanka tour," he added.

England renew Australia rivalry

in Covid-hit season finale

SportS DeSk:

one of england's most extraordinary

seasons will end with them facing archrivals

Australia as both sides try to strike

a balance between playing their strongest

limited-overs teams and keeping an eye

on the future, reports BSS.

the coronavirus pandemic threatened

to wipe out england's entire home

season yet they are now set to complete

all 18 scheduled men's internationals,

albeit the fixtures have been played

behind closed doors.

they face Australia in three twenty20s

in Southampton starting on Friday

before taking on their oldest foes in a

further three one-day internationals in

Manchester later this month.

the twenty20s should have served as

preparation for october's t20 World

Cup in Australia but the Covid-19

outbreak means the next edition of the

global showpiece will take place in India

in 2021.

that does give both teams time to finetune

their line-ups but equally they may

want to give their strongest XIs as much

as time as they can in their middle.

Australia are currently the world's topranked

t20 side, with much of thir

success built on a top order featuring

captain Aaron Finch, David Warner and

Steve Smith.

So even though the likes of Marcus

Stoinis and Marnus Labuschagne have

been in the runs during Australia's

warm-up matches in england, they are

unlikely to displace the three premier

batsmen.

"We've had a pretty settled t20 side

over the last 12 months or so and all we

can ask for is that guys bang so hard they

are putting pressure on the guys in

there," said Australia coach Justin

Langer, who can also call upon Glenn

Maxwell in the middle-order after he

took a break to deal with mental health

issues.

england beat Australia in the semifinals

on the way to winning last year's

50-over World Cup and white-ball

captain eoin Morgan believes

consistency of selection is important if

they are to replicate that triumph in the

t20 equivalent.

"I don't think we can have a scenario

where we can play the majority of our

games with a half-strength team and

then expect to go into a World Cup as

contenders when guys don't know their

roles or haven't been familiarised with

them," he said. - 'Dangerous' -

Photo: AP

The 33-year-old Messi boycotted Barcelona's first pre-season training session on Monday, as he tries to

force his way out of the club he joined as a 13-year-old.

Photo: AP

Warriors qualify

for semis after

Hetmyer heroics

SportS DeSk:

Shimron Hetmyer's

quickfire knock stood out on

yet another sluggish pitch in

trinidad, the innings helping

Guyana Amazon Warriors

beat St Lucia Zouks by seven

wickets and qualify for the

semifinals at the Caribbean

premier League 2020, reports

Ap.

Warriors were 58/2 after

nine overs chasing a modest

110, having just lost a well-set

Chandrapaul Hemraj (26 off

25) to Mohammad Nabi,

when Hetmyer laid into

Chemar Holder's first over

and picked 24 runs off it. He

hit two sixes and three fours,

attacking the short balls

earlier in the over and full

deliveries later on.

that over from paul turned

the run-chase around, and it

was an easy sailing for the

Warriors in the end. they won

with 37 balls to spare.

Hetmyer was there right until

the end, guiding his team

home with 56 not out off 36

balls. It helped that the

Warriors had gotten off to a

decent start at 38/1 in the

powerplay overs, losing only

an out of sorts Brandon king

in the third over.

earlier, on a surface Danny

Morrison described as "the

best surface we have played

on this CpL," Zouks got put in

to bat and didn't have the best

of starts in the powerplay,

losing three wickets while

enduring back-to-back

maidens from Naveen-ul-Haq

and Imran tahir.

A small 31-run stand

flourished for the fourth

wicket between kavem Hodge

and Najibullah, but both got

out in the space of four balls.

tahir broke through with the

wicket of Najibullah and

finished with figures of 4-1-

10-1 as early as the 14th over

of the innings.

Neymar one of three

PSG stars to test

positive for Covid-19

SportS DeSk:

Neymar was one of three

paris Saint-Germain stars

to have contracted the

coronavirus, a well-placed

source told AFp on

Wednesday, after the

Champions League

runners-up announced

several positive tests,

reports BSS.

"three paris Saint-

Germain players have

confirmed positive Sars

CoV2 tests and are subject

to the appropriate health

protocol," pSG said in a

statement.

"All of the players and

coaching staff will

continue to undergo tests

in the coming days."

When contacted by AFp,

the club declined to

confirm the identity of the

players in question.

But the source replied

"Yes" when asked if

Neymar was one of those

to test positive, along with

teammates Angel Di Maria

and Leandro paredes, as

had earlier been reported

by French sports daily

L'equipe.

the cases would appear

to be linked to a holiday

trip to the Spanish

Mediterranean island of

Ibiza that several pSG

players took following the

Champions League final

defeat by Bayern Munich.

the news is a setback to

the French champions'

preparations for the

scheduled start of their

Ligue 1 campaign next

week, with a game away at

Lens set for September 10

but possibly now at risk of

being postponed.

pSG had already said on

Monday that two

unnamed players had

reported back with

coronavirus symptoms

following a holiday.

L'equipe reported the

players in question at the

time were Argentinian duo

Di Maria and paredes.

those two, and Neymar,

were among several

players who travelled to

Ibiza following the

Champions League final,

mixing with friends and

family after spending the

previous weeks isolated in

a secure sanitary "bubble"

with teammates in

portugal.

Neymar later posted a

picture on Instagram

showing him and his son

grinning, with the caption:

"thank you for your

messages. We're all fine!"

Brazilian media reports

said the striker's nineyear-old

son and 55-yearold

father, who were along

for the trip to Ibiza, had

also tested positive for the

virus.

that trip was after the

controversial decision was

taken to postpone the

game at newly-promoted

Lens, initially scheduled

for last Saturday, in order

to give the pSG squad a

break following their

Champions League "Final

eight" exertions.

pSG, France's richest

club, have played five

competitive games in the

last six months.

Mauro Icardi, Ander

Herrera, keylor Navas and

Marquinhos were also in

Ibiza, and the latter's wife

revealed on Instagram

that the Brazilian defender

had been placed in

isolation while awaiting

the results of his own test

for Covid-19.

After playing Lens on

September 10, pSG are

then due to entertain bitter

rivals Marseille three days

later.

In the meantime, various

members of coach thomas

tuchel's squad are set to

play for their countries in

the UeFA Nations League,

with kylian Mbappe and

presnel kimpembe in

France's squad for a game

against Croatia just 48

hours before their club's

scheduled return to action.

But their South

American stars including

Neymar are not involved

in international action.

Strict French league

rules stipulate that

collective team training

sessions must be cancelled

if a club has at least four

positive tests over an

eight-day period, with

match postponements

possible.

the cases raise questions

about why the French

league decided to

postpone pSG's match in

Lens, only for so many of

their players to travel

abroad on holiday during a

pandemic.

the last French season

was ended early, with 10

rounds of matches left

unplayed, because of the

health crisis, and the start

of the new French season

has already been

impacted.

FRIDAY, SePTeMBeR 4, 2020

10

'Stack Learner' has published a programming learning framework called "SL3 Framework".

Photo: Courtesy

Bangladeshi young entrepreneurs to make

revolutionary change in programing

TBT DESK:

A group of young entrepreneurs of

'Stack Learner' is working tirelessly to

make the dream of Bangabandhu's

daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy to create

a digital Bangladesh one step further.

They have been working for a long time

to make computer programming

accessible and understandable to

people. In this continuation they

distributed knowledge of various

computer programming languages and

web development among the people

through Online, YouTube and their own

websites.

When contacted with the 'Stack

Learners' founder HM Nayem and cofounders

Shegufa Taranjum and

Shayaike Salvy said that "Prime

Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina

has taken many groundbreaking steps

so far to build digital Bangladesh. One of

her notable steps is to add information

and communication technology in the

textbooks. Today, school and college

students are getting acquainted with

programming because of her farreaching

thinking in this sector. Because

of her knowledge to make Bangladesh

digital, it is our to attract the new

generation in the field of programming

and technology".

'Stack Learner' have more than thirty

thousand students in both online and

offline platform. After working directly

with thousands of students, they

suddenly decided that they would work

on the most fundamental topics of

Bangladesh and is going to make a

revolutionary change in programing

through its young entrepreneurs

through computer programming.

'Stack Learner' will make the scribbled

code of computer programming

understandable to people. In

continuation of this, they have

published a programming learning

framework called "SL3 Framework".

The sole aim and purpose of the

framework is to ensure maximum use of

computer in solving real-life problems

by developing programming thinking in

the students.

The organization claimed that they

have added another dimension to

computer programming by combining it

with real-life so that even school and

college kids can easily understand the

basics of computer programming. They

also suggest a few specific steps to solve

the problem of programming very

easily. They claim that following the

steps taken to solve the problem, it will

be possible to solve any programming

problem quickly and at the same time

develop the brain in computer

programming.

At present, they only work on the

fundamental topics of programming but

in the near future, their plan is to work

on all the major aspects of computer

engineering. Talking to them so far, we

came to know that they are now working

on simplifying even more complex

subjects like mathematics so that those

who want to learn programming outside

of computer engineering do not stray

from programming into complex

subjects like mathematics.

The freelancing profession is

spreading all over our country, involving

millions of people from different

sectors. The Stack Learner team claims

that these millions of people are being

forced to stop after crossing just because

they don't have enough skills in the four

main areas of computer engineering.

Stack Learner's young entrepreneurs

have created "SL3 Framework" to make

the basics of programming, practical

mathematics, data structures and

algorithms,

object-oriented

programming and competitive

programming easily understandable to

the general public, not just computer

engineering students. They are creating

different websites and applications to

deliver programming education to

people for free.

Not only this, but they have also

started a consultancy-system named

"Stack Consultancy" for the students so

that their dream can't be shattered by

the bare-faced traders. During the

Covid-19 period, the whole country was

under house arrest. That time these

small entrepreneurs made their all

online courses full-free for one month so

that the students can make the best use

of their lazy time. In that one month,

they gave free courses to more than five

thousand people, with a total value of

more than one crore taka.

As always, they are moving forward

with some different plans. They claimed

that it will not be easy to digitalize the

country in this specific sector if not

provided with education beyond the

traditional way. To this end, they have

decided to take some groundbreaking

steps which have created a stir among

the students.

The website address of 'Stack

Learners' is; https://sl3.app.

10 Bangladeshi students to receive

training from Huawei Headquarters

Huawei, the world's leading ICT

solutions provider has announced 10

outstanding ICT talents from five

renowned universities of Bangladesh.

The champions have been announced in

a virtually organized gala event for

'Seeds for the Future 2020'recently, a

press release said.

The event was started with the

welcome speech of Chen Mingjie (Jay),

Vice President, Huawei Asia Pacific

Region with the presence of the Chief

Guest Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury,

MP, Deputy Minister, Ministry of

Education, and the special guest,

Beatrice Kaldun, Head of Office and

UNESCO Representative to

Bangladesh. Zhang Zhengjun, CEO of

Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh)

Ltd., and other officials of Huawei along

with the champions also joined the

event.

A total of 500 students partook in the

selection phases, and from there, 10

champions have been selected based on

their CGPA (Cumulative Grade Points

Average), spot examination and their

presentation on new technology and

innovative companies.

Huawei has been organizing this

event in Bangladesh for the last five

years. Traditionally, the chosen students

would go to China for a study trip for

two-week; however, due to COVID-19,

the training has been shifted to an

online program.

The 5-day online program will consist

of compulsory courses, live-streamed

sessions with Huawei experts and guest

speakers, elective courses, and selflearning

about Chinese culture. The core

curriculum will cover 5G, Cloud

Computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI),

and many more. On the other hand, the

elective courses might vary from the

digital economy, industry trends to

leadership skills.

On this gala event today, Mohibul

Hassan Chowdhoury said, "Today, it is

becoming increasingly important for

developing economies like Bangladesh

to adopt the rapidly changing skills

landscapes. To become more

competitive and follow the fast pace of

technological innovation globally,

developing economies need to enhance

the knowledge and skills of the youth

who, later in the future, will become the

next change-makers and leaders. ICT

will empower the youth and lead them

to make a good contribution to society.

This is much appreciable when the

localized global ICT leader Huawei is

taking the responsibility of grooming

ICT talents of Bangladesh."

Beatrice Kaldun commented, "More

than ever before, ICT talent and

innovative ICT solutions are needed to

respond to the myriad challenges

caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Huawei, through the Seeds for the

Future Programme, is supporting

talented Bangladeshi youth to acquire

the skills and cutting-edge knowledge in

areas of ICT that will enable them to

thrive in their professional careers and

make a contribution to the sustainable

development of Bangladesh"

Chen Mingjie said, "We have a huge

amazing resource and that is the large

portion of youth and talents in

Bangladesh. Huawei believes youth is

the main engine of development as well

as digital advancement. We value them

and praise their competency. And we

feel our responsibility to guide them so

that they can select the right path;

realize their value and contribute to the

developments of society. With that

inspiration, Huawei has come up with

the topic for its social benefit programs

in the country; 'Seeds for the Future', an

ICT talent hunt education program that

is devoted to easing ICT talent shortage.

With this project, we want to plant that

visionary seed in their mind so that in

the coming years they can come up with

new ideas to make this society fully

connected and intelligent."

The Seeds for the Future 2020

champions are Afsara Benazir and

Khandaker Mushfiqur Rahman from

Bangladesh University of Engineering

and Technology (CSE Department),

Tasnia Sultana and Abdullah Al Miraj

from Chittagong University of

Engineering and Technology (EEE

Department), Rabeya Tus Sadia and

Amit Karmakar from Rajshahi

University of Engineering and

Technology (CSE Department), Adiba

Tabassum Chowdhury and Arifur

Rahman from Dhaka University (EEE

Department), and Faria Rahman and

Foyez-ul Islam from Khulna University

of Engineering and Technology (EEE

Department).

Walton sells 7 lakh fridge in May-July’20

A sharp growth in online sales following coronavirus pandemic

The country's electronics

giant 'Walton' sold out seven

lakh units of refrigerator in

the domestic market during

the period between May and

July 2020 in which two

major festivals of Muslims

Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha

were celebrated, says a press

release.

During this period, the

online sales of Walton fridge

were also drastically

increased following the

coronavirus pandemic across

the country.

According to local fridge

traders, about 10 lakh units of

fridge were sold during the

period between Eid-ul-Fitr

and Eid-ul-Azha. Of which, 7

lakh units were of Walton

brand fridge.

Walton officials said that

there were some major

factors behind the

outstanding sales of fridge

amid coronavirus pandemic.

These factors were: release of

huge energy efficient,

environment-friendly and

innovative designed inverter

and glass door refrigerators

with wide voltage design,

reasonable prices, high

quality, available of 1 year

replacement guaranty as well

as 12 years guaranty on

compressor, easy installment

facility up to 36 months,

assurance of swift after sales

service through 74 service

centers, scope of getting Tk

10 lakh, Tk 1 lakh or sure cash

vouchers on the purchase

Walton fridge under the

Digital Campaign Season 7.

Md. Tanvir Rahman,

executive director and head

of Walton Online Sales

Department, said that

Walton emphasized on

strengthening its online sales

platform 'E-plaza' during the

countrywide lockdown to

stop widespread of

coronavirus transmission.

Online customers were also

offered attractive discounts

on the purchase of Walton

products from E-plaza, he

said adding that Walton

registered a record growth of

2000 percent in the online

sales of Walton brand fridge,

television, home and kitchen

appliances.

Anisur Rahman Mallik,

chief executive officer of

Walton Refrigerator

Department, said that they

have strongly focused on two

important factors that are

manufacturing fridge

considering the customers'

demand as well as improving

the people's living standard

through delivering them

world's latest technologies

product with lucrative design.

At the production stage of

Walton fridge various

modern tools including Five

S, Six Sigma and Kaizen are

being used, he said and

added that cutting-edge

technologies

and

machineries are being used in

every stages of QC (Quality

Control) process, including

QA, IQC, PQC and OQC stage

for which customers are

getting the best fridges of the

market.

With the constant

improvement of production

including cooling, structural,

electrical and electronics

design, world's advanced

technologies and features

such as turbo cooling, quick

freezing and recovery, low

energy consumption, precise

temperature distribution, IoT

smart voltage stabilizing, low

thermal conductive foaming

etc. are added to Walton

fridges, Mallik noted. Beside,

multi-head foaming, lock

ring, automated brazing,

helium leak detection are also

used in Walton fridge

production.

Every fridge of Walton is

released in the market after

being assured of its quality

from international standard

NASDUT-UTS Lab. Walton

refrigerators have received

several standard certifications

at national and international

level, including BSTI's 'Five

Star' energy rating, ISO,

OHSAS, EMC, CB, ROHS,

SASO, ESMA, ECHA, G-

Mark, E-Mark etc. Walton

made refrigerators are being

exported to different

countries of the world as well.

Walton Refrigerator's

Product Manager

Shahiduzzaman Rana said,

Walton is displaying and

selling over 100 models of

frost, non-frost refrigerators,

freezers and beverage coolers

in the local market. Frost

refrigerators include

attractively designed glass

doors and BSTI's 'Five Star'

energy rated refrigerators

with extensive energy saving

inverter technology.

Refrigerators run smoothly

without stabilizers. Prices

range from Tk 10,990 to Tk

80,900.

Huawei, the world's leading ICT solutions provider has announced 10 outstanding ICT talents from five

renowned universities of Bangladesh. The champions have been announced in a virtually organized gala event

for 'Seeds for the Future 2020'recently.

Photo: Courtesy

DCCI webinar on 4th Industrial Revolution

in the wake of Covid-19 held

Long-term policy,

modernization of education &

curriculum system,

infrastructure development,

industry-academia

collaboration and skilling, reskilling

and up-skilling are

priority for adopting the

advantages of 4th industrial

revolution, said speakers in a

DCCI webinar on "4th

Industrial Revolution in the

wake of COVID-19" held

recently, a press release said.

Minister for Posts,

Telecommunications and

Information Technology

Mustafa Jabbar joined the

webinar as the chief guest.

Ms. Parag, Additional

Secretary, Ministry of

Industries joined as guest of

honour. DCCI President

Shams Mahmud moderated

the webinar.

DCCI President Shams

Mahmud in his welcome

address said that the fourth

Industrial Revolution is

evolving fast and reshaping

and global industrial, trade

and economic landscape.

Bangladesh still lags behind

in adopting 4IR technologies

in industrial ecosystem and

Long-term policy, modernization of education & curriculum system, infrastructure

development, industry-academia collaboration and skilling, reskilling

and up-skilling are priority for adopting the advantages of 4th industrial

revolution, said speakers in a DCCI webinar on "4th Industrial Revolution

in the wake of COVID-19" held recently:

Photo: Courtesy

this adoption will accelerate

our growth momentum.

Despite challenges of lowskilled

job loss in the shortterm,

launching 4IR

technologies will unlock new

era of growth and

employment across all sectors

of Bangladesh, he added. To

seize the opportunities of 4IR,

government may form a highlevel

national committee

engaging relevant agencies

and experts from public and

private sectors. He

recommended to consider

4IR perspective in the

upcoming national Industrial

Policy. Upon assessment, a

robust National 4IR

technology policy needs to be

framed to support application

of Big data, Block chain,

Artificial Intelligence,

Robotics and IoT for adding

value to our industrial and

economic competitiveness

and connecting digitallyenabled

global value chain.

He also urged for sector-wise

re-skilling, up-skilling and

development of human

resources in line with the 4IR

demand. Creating enabling

regulatory ecosystem

including enforcement of

Intellectual property rights

will facilitate the pathway of

4IR. He also recommended to

initiate 5G technology to

underpin low-cost Big Data

and diverse IoT services.

Friday, Dhaka, September 4, 2020, Bhadra 20, 1427 BS, Muharram 15, 1442 hijri

China committed to peace, friendship,

cooperation : Envoy

DHAKA : Chinese Ambassador to

BangladeshLi Jiming has saidChina is

willing to join hands with countries

around the world, including

Bangladesh, through bilateral, multilateral

and international engagement to

build a world that is more stable, prosperous

and harmonious, reports UNB.

"Going forward, China is committed

to peace, stability, friendship and cooperation,"

he said.

The Chinese Ambassador mentioned

it in an article titled, "World Anti-

Fascist War: A Historic StruggleFor

New International Order And Long

Lasting Peace".

Today is China's Victory Day, a day

that will forever be etched in the memory

of the Chinese people and the world

people as well, he said.

For peace, Ambassador Jiming said,

they need to foster a strong sense of

community of shared future for

Motiar rahMan, Satkhira CorrESponDEnt

About 10 lakh people in Satkhira district

are suffering this season due to climate

change caused by global warming,

reduced navigability of the river, useless

sluice gates and corruption in the name

of excavation. Disappearance threatens

429 canals of the district. These canals

have now increased the grief of the people

of the district.

Most of the 216 sluice gates built on

these canals are useless. Thirteen sediments

of 27 rivers have been filled. As a

result, more than four hundred canals

flowing from these rivers are in verge of

losing its existence.

Most of the canals are occupied by influential

people. Fish farming is being done

by raising salt water through dams in

these canals. Only a few canals are under

the control of the WDB and the District

Council. The Water Development Board

says 14 rivers in the district are surviving

somehow.

There are 429 canals flowing in the tributaries

of these rivers. Most of the canals

have now ceased to exist due to the impact

of environmental disasters. In many

places, people have started settling on the

banks of rivers and canals. The 216 sluice

gates built on these canals are almost out

of date. According to sources, Satkhira

Water Development Board has 2186sluice

gates in two divisions. Of these, there are

123 sluice gates under Satkhira Water

Development Board-1. Of which 80 are

functional and the remaining 34 are

completely useless. Besides, 28 out of 93

sluice gates under Satkhira Water

Development Board-1 are completely

useless. According to BWDB-1, out of

123 sluice gates, 35 were built between

1961 and 1965, 5 were built between



1963 and 1976and 5 were built between

mankind. "Prejudice, discrimination,

hatred and war can only cause disaster

and suffering, while mutual respect,

equality, peaceful development and

common prosperity represent the right

path to follow," he said.

The Chinese envoy said all countries

should jointly uphold the international

order and system underpinned by the

purposes and principles of the UN

Charter, build a new type of international

relations featuring win-win cooperation

and advance the noble cause of

global peace and development.

For peace, he said, China will remain

committed to peaceful development.

"The Chinese people love peace. No

matter how much stronger it may

become, China will never seek hegemony

or expansion. It will never inflict its

past sufferings on any other nation. The

Chinese people are determined to pursue

friendly relations with all other

Disappearance threatens 429

canals in Satkhira

1989 and 1993. Most of which have

expired sluice gates. Under the climate

project, the expenditure incurred for

digging 25 km of river from Murarikati

in Kalaroar to Sadar Suparighata in 2013

through seven packages at a cost of Taka

24.95 crore was of no use.

In 2011, a project worth Tk 262 crore for

a period of 4 years was undertaken for the

excavation of Kopotakkho river. Most of

the money for that project has been looted.

According to the design of the

Kopotakkho river excavation, the width of

the bottom was to be 103 feet to 130 feet.

The space was supposed to be 148 feet

to 203 feet wide and the depth would be

10 feet to 14 feet. But many complained

that the bottom is only 33 feet wide, the

head is only 49 feet wide and the depth is

6 and a half feet excavated. At present

there is a limited amount of water in the

river if there is no tidal flow.

The excavation was supposed to be 10

to 18 feet along the middle of the Betna

river. But in reality no work was done.

Only two to three feet deep has been dug

near the Binerpota bridge. The government

undertook a project worth Tk 25

crore to dredge and embank the Betna

river in Satkhira for the development of

the coastal region.

A senior official of the Ministry of

Water Resources said that there are allegations

against the contractors for raising

money by doing nominal work on

the project worth Tk 25 crore.

According to the Water Development

Board, a project has been approved by

the ECNEC at a cost of Tk 531.07 crore to

remove the waterlogging of the

Kopotakkho river (second phase). Work

on the project will began in 2020 and

will end in 2024.

Satkhira-1 (Tala-Kalaroa) constituency

MP Adv Mostafa Lutfullah said if the

project is implemented properly.

countries," said the Ambassador.

Ambassador Jiming said for peace,

they need to foster a strong sense of a

community of shared future for

mankind.

The Chinese envoy said all countries

should jointly uphold the international

order and system underpinned

by the purposes and principles

of the UN Charter, build a new

type of international relations featuring

win-win cooperation and

advance the noble cause of global

peace and development.

As President Xi Jinping pointed out,

the Ambassador said, the experience of

war makes people value peace all the

more.

"The purpose of commemorating the

Victory Day is to bear history in mind,

honor all those who laid down their

lives, cherish peace and open up the

future," he said.

Nayeemul Abrar's death

anisul hoque,

4 others get bail

DHAKA : A Dhaka court on

Thursday granted bail to five people,

including Anisul Hoque, associate

editor of Prothom Alo, in a

case filed over the death of

Nayeemul Abrar Rahat, a student

of Dhaka Residential Model

College, from electrocution,

reports UNB.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate

Mohammad Jashim passed the

order after hearing a bail petition

filed by their lawyer.

Earlier, the five accused surrendered

before the court on

Thursday, said their lawyer

Ehsanul Haque Somaji.

The four other accused are Kabir

Bakul, head of event and activation

of Prothom ALo, Mahitul

Alam Pavel, senior sub-editor of

Kishore Alo and two executives

Shah Paran Tushar and

Shuvashish Pramanik.

The court on Wednesday

ordered the authorities concerned

to confiscate the property of the

five people.

Nayeemul Abrar, a ninth grader,

died after being electrocuted

behind the stage at an event

organised by Kishor Alo, a publication

of Prothom Alo, at Dhaka

Residential Model College on

November 1 last.

Victim's father, Mujibur

Rahman, filed the case against 10

people, including Prothom Alo

editor Matiur Rahman, with the

Dhakacourton November 6 last.

On January 16, thecourtissued a

warrant for the arrest of Prothom

Alo editor Matiur Rahman, Anisul

Hoque and seven other people in

connection with the case. Matiur

Rahman and four others secured

bail in the case.

Disappearance threatens 429 canals of Satkhira due to useless sluice gates and corruption in the name

of excavation.

photo: Motiar rahman

Extortion, kidnapping and supremacy establishment are rampant in two rohingya camps in Cox's

Bazar's Ukhia upazila. in the last few days, there have been several incidents of clashes and shootings

involving various crimes.

photo : Star Mail

Myanmar urged to ensure all

rohingya can vote in nov polls

DHAKA : Fortify Rights on Thursday

said the government of Myanmar

should ensure all voting-age Rohingyaincluding

refugees in Bangladesh-have

the right and opportunity to vote in the

upcoming November elections, reports

UNB.

"Rohingya globally should have the

right to vote and participate in their

home country's political life," said Ismail

Wolff, Regional Director of Fortify

Rights.

The international community should

reignite their moral imagination and call

for refugees' right to vote-it is possible,

he said.

On Thursday, 14 Rohingya-led refugee

organizations in Cox's Bazar District,

Bangladesh published an open letter to

the Union Election Commission (UEC)

in Myanmar, urging it to "uphold the

right of Rohingya refugees to vote and

participate in the 2020 general election."

"All Rohingya should have the right to

vote. We had the right to vote in all the

elections held in Myanmar since 2010,"

said Shomima Bibi, Founder and

Director of the Rohingya Women

Education Initiative-a camp-based

refugee organization supporting

Rohingya women.

"Like before, we should have freedom

and enjoy nationality and citizenship in

Myanmar."

In the open letter, the Rohingya

Women Empowerment and Advocacy

Network, Rohingya Student Network,

Rohingya Youth for Legal Action, Voice

of Rohingya, and others, urged the UEC

Covid-9 in Bangladesh

Chair Hla Thein and the Myanmar

Government to "reverse these decisions"

to reject Rohingya candidates running

for office.

"I should have a right to participate in

the elections of Myanmar," said another

Rohingya, Sawyedollah from the

Rohingya Student Network in

Bangladesh. "I want to see my country

without discrimination."

The Government of Myanmar currently

has access to multiple forms of

documentation of Rohingya, including

household lists dating back to the 1990s,

National Verification Cards (NVCs),

National Registration Cards, White

Cards, White Card receipts, and other

previous government-issued and U.N.-

issued identity documents.

In collaboration with international

humanitarian organizations, the

Government of Myanmar and the

Embassy of Myanmar in Bangladesh

could use these forms of documentation

as well as alternative forms of evidence,

such as testimonial evidence, to determine

eligibility to vote in November's

election and as evidence to restore

Rohingya citizenship, Fortify Rights

said. On July 2, the UEC announced that

Myanmar nationals living abroad could

cast advanced ballots in this year's general

election.

The government also provided absentee

voting in the 2010 and 2015 elections.

Refugees elsewhere in the world

have voted in home-country elections

through voting stations in refugee

camps and absentee ballots.

32 more die in 24 hrs,

total cases hit 3,19,686

DHAKA : Health authorities of the country

detected 2,158 new cases of Covid-19

on Thursday after testing 14,422 samples

in the last 24 hours, reports UNB.

Another 32 patients have died from the

deadly disease during the period raising

the death tally to 4,383. The fatality rate in

Bangladesh is still 1.37 percent.

The daily infection rate stands at 14.96

percent during the period.

So far, 3,19,686 patients have been

identified in the country since March 8

after testing 15,92,038 samples and a

reduced 20.06 percent have turned out

Covid-19 positive. The country saw the

recovery of new 2,964 Covid-19 patients

in the last 24 hours until Thursday which

boosted the number of total recoveries

across the country to 2,13,980.

A press release sent by Directorate

General of Health Services (DGHS) provided

the latest information and also confirmed

that the recovery rate has climbed

further to 66.9 percent in Bangladesh.

Among the 32 people who lost their

lives during the period, 30 are above 50

years and two more are between 41 and

50 years. 1,201 people who died since

March 18 are between 51 and 60 years.

So far, 2,120 have died in Dhaka division,

950 in Chattoram, 291 in Rajshahi,

363 in Khulna, 169 in Barishal, 197 in

Sylhet, 200 in Rangpur and 93 have died

in Mymensingh division.

Across the country, 19,869 people are in

isolation and 52,183 people are quarantined

at present. In Bangladesh, the first

three cases of coronavirus infection were

detected on March 8 and on Wednesday

it crossed 3,00,000. On July 2, 4,019

Covid-19 patients were identified in the

country, the highest in a single day.

Quader calls Bnp

a representative of

anti-country force

DHAKA : Road Transport and Bridges

Minister and Awami League General

Secretary Obaidul Quader on thursday

said BNP was like a representative of an

anti-Bangladesh foreign force when it was

in power.

"People were not the source of power for

BNP as its politics came through the barrel

of gun. Talks of public interests do not

suit this party. When BNP was in power, it

was like a representative of an anti-country

foreign force," he said.

He was addressing a review-meeting on

work progress of different projects under

the ministry at Setu Bhaban at Banani

joining it through a videoconferencing

from his official residence here. Bridges

Division Secretary Mohammed Belayet

Hossain was present at the Setu Bhaban,

among others.

About BNP secretary general's remarks

that serving public interest is not the purpose

of the AL government, Quader said

since its inception, AL has been giving

highest priority to public interest so that it

becomes the symbol of trust to people.

He said AL, which is the oldest and

biggest political party in the country,

remains in the hearts of the people, while

BNP does not believe in protecting public

interests. The minister said interest of the

country and its people is the top priority to

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The demand of democracy does not suit

those who do politics of killings and terrorism,

sell out the country's interest and

destroy the spirit of independence, he

added.

Quader said the country became champions

in corruption for five times during

BNP's tenure due to 'charisma' of BNP

chairperson while they staged 'Joj Mia'

drama after perpetrating the gruesome

grenade attacks on August 21, 2004.

two more pWs testify

in arms case against

papia, husband

DHAKA : Two more prosecution witnesses

on Thursday testified in an arms case

against expelled Jubo Mohila League

leader Shamima Nur Papia and her husband

Mofizur Rahman Sumon.

The witnesses are police assistant subinspector

(ASI) Jamal and one Habibur

Rahman. Both of them are seizure list witnesses.

After examining both the witnesses,

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge

KM Imrul Qayes adjourned the hearing

till September 6.

The court on August 23 framed charges

in the case.

Investigation officer (IO) and RAB Sub-

Inspector Arifuzzaman filed charge-sheet

against the couple in the case on June 29,

making 12 people witnesses.

Earlier on February 22, the Rapid

Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Papia and

her husband, along with two of their

accomplices, from Hazrat Shahjalal

International Airport with counterfeit

banknotes, foreign currencies and cash.

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

04-09-2020

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