07-09-2020

Monday

Dhaka: September 7, 2020; Bhadra 23, 1427 BS; Muharram 18, 1442 hijri www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.17; N o.159; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

InternatIonal

NY attorney general

to form grand jury

after Prude death

>Page 7

art & CUltUre

Salman Shah's 24th

death anniv observed

>Page 8

sports

European heavyweights

enjoy winning starts in

Nations League

>Page 9

No exams at primary

level if schools

remain closed

DHAKA : Primary and Mass Education

Senior Secretary Akram-Al-Hossain

yesterday said there will be no examinations

if schools cannot be reopened

this year, reports BSS.

"We have two plans… If the schools

can resume academic activities in

October or November, we will consider

evaluation of the students to promote

them to the new grades.

Besides, no examinations will be held

if schools cannot be reopened this

year," he said.

The schools will not be reopened until

the coronavirus situation becomes normal,

he said. The senior secretary was

speaking at a press conference at

Secretariat marking the Int’l Literacy

Day, said a press release.

The senior secretary said they were

moving forward to ensure that the safety

of the children was not compromised.

ACC wants detailed

record of expenses from

Kuwait-BD Hospital

DHAKA : Anti-Corruption Commission

on Sunday again issued a letter to

Kuwait-Bangladesh Friendship Govt

Hospital seeking its record book including

bills and vouchers to investigate graft allegations

in accommodation and meal bills.

The hospital was also asked to submit

information about the accommodation

of the doctors and health workers during

the COVID-19 crisis, the official said.

Spokesman of the Commission Pranab

Kumar Bhattacharya told UNB that ACC

Director Mir Md Joynul Abedin sought

the documents recording purchases of

Covid-19 related equipment, and bills and

vouchers from the hotel where staff have

been accommodated, issuing a letter in

this regard. The Commission also sought

the specified documents by Sept 10.

ACC director Mir Joynul Abedin Shibli

asked both the authorities to submit all necessary

documents, including bills and payment

details, as there was an allegation that

huge irregularities took place in the food

supplying process, said an ACC official.

Zohr

04:27 AM

12:05 PM

04:27 PM

06:17 PM

07:40 PM

5:41 6:12

Reasons behind N'ganj mosque

explosions still unclear

NARAYANGANJ : Although two days

have elapsed since the horrific blasts at

a mosque in Narayanganj, it is yet to be

unearthedwhat actually caused the

explosions that killed 24 people and

injured many more, reports UNB.

Fire Service officials said gas accumulated

inside the mosque from a leaked

pipeline might be the reason behind the

explosions.

However, investigations are underway

as different probe bodies have been

formed to unearth the reason.

On Saturday Titas Gas Transmission

and Distribution Company Ltd formed

a 5-member committee to investigate

whether gas leakage in pipelines

sparked the fire and the subsequent

blasts of ACs at the mosque. The government

has so far formed four committees

to probe the deadly blast.

Some 40 people suffered burn

injuries as all the air-conditioners of the

mosque exploded during Esha prayers

in Fatullah, Narayanganj on Friday

night.

One of the injured died at night.

Later, 23 other people succumbed to

their injuries at Sheikh Hasina National

Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute till

Sunday afternoon.

Locals said

the incident

DHAKA : A new

armed group, named Arakan Rohingya

Army (ARA), has emerged in Myanmar

for what they say to protect the rights of

persecuted Rohingyas.

ARA declared its presence through

issuing a statement on September 1, an

informed source told UNB on Sunday.

ARA said they have formed the

armed group with Rohingyas from

Myanmar to restore their all destroyed

human rights, rights of Rohingyas and

ensure equal rights with other ethnic

minorities.

In its statement, ARA said their group

will remain present in north Rakhine

State and they will not use the lands of

other countries.

It said they will support all religions

and work to protect the lives and dignity

of minorities."We're determined to

took place around 8:45 pm at Baitus

Salam Mosque when the devotees had

just finished their prayers.

An air-conditioner went off and

sparked a fire inside the mosque. Later,

the remaining six ACs exploded there,

leaving the 40 devotees injured.

Deputy Assistant Director of

Narayanganj Fire Service Abdullah

Arefin said there was an underground

gas line on the north side of the

mosque. Gas can accumulate inside the

mosque due to gas leak from the line.

Gas might have accumulated at the

mosque for having ACs. An explosion

can occur from a spark when someone

turns the power switch on, he said.

Brigadier General Sajjad Hossain,

director general of the fire service, said,

"We're sure there's an underground gas

line or there's one very close to the

mosque. We're also investigating the

issue of electrical short-circuit. We'll

also look into whether it is a sabotage.

We'll continue the investigation keeping

all the issues open."

Meanwhile, Dhaka Power

Distribution Company (DPDC) disconnected

the power supply to the area on

Friday night following the incident.

A team from Titas Gas' regional

office visited the mosque on Saturday

morning and disconnected the gas

connection.

Rohingya Rights

New armed group ARA

emerges in Rakhine

achieve our goals," the statement reads.

The ARA said, "We would like to

inform you all with due respect that we

all should work together for the development

of the Arakan region through

peaceful coexistence."

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1

million Rohingyas and most of them

entered the country since August 25,

2017 amid military crackdowns on

them.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a

repatriation deal on November 23, 2017

but Myanmar did not take a single

Rohingya back to their place of origin in

Rakhine.

On January 16, 2018, Bangladesh

and Myanmar inked a document on

"Physical Arrangement", which was

supposed to facilitate the return of

Rohingyas to their homeland.

City dwellers face traffic gridlock at the first working day of the week.

The first and only eight-lane road in Bangladesh is now completely open for all types of vehicles. The picture is

taken from Nimtali area of Dhaka-Mawa highway on Sunday.

Photo: PBA

Prime accused of

attack on UNo put

on 7-day remand

RANGPUR : Prime accused Asadul

Haque among three arrested attackers

of Ghoraghat Upazila Nirbahi

Officer (UNO) Wahida Khanam and

her father Omar Ali Sheikh was

taken on seven-day police remand

today in Dinajpur, police said.

Investigating Officer (IO) of the

case and Officer-in-Charge (OC) of

the Detective Branch (DB) of

Dinajpur Inspector Imam Abu Jafar

produced Asadul before the Court of

Senior Judicial Magistrate

Moniruzzaman Sarker in Dinajpur

today with a 10-day remand plea.

After hearing the plea, the judge

granted remand for seven days for

the prime accused Asadul of

Sagarpur village under Ghoraghat

upazila in Dinajpur district.

The IO produced two other arrested

persons before the court of Chief

Judicial Magistrate of Dinajpur

Shishir Kumar Basu with a 10-day

remand prayer on Saturday

evening.

After hearing on the prayer, the

judge granted remand for seven

days for each of accused Nabiul

Islam, 36, and Santu Kumar Biswas,

28, for interrogation by the DB

Police.

Santu Kumar Das and Nabirul Islam

are residents of Chak Babunia

Biswanathpur village in Ghoraghat

upazila and both of them are painters.

Photo : Star Mail

The literacy rate has

touched a milestone

TBT REPoRT

State Minister for Primary and Mass

Education, Md. Zakir Hossain said the

literacy rate in the country has touched

a milestone. At present 74.7 percent of

State Minister for Primary and Mass

Education, Md. Zakir Hossain

the population can be considered literate.

Multi-dimensional steps have been

taken to increase the rate, he added.

At a press conference on Sunday, the

state minister read this statement at the

secretariat on the occasion of

International Literacy Day 2020.

Like many countries, the

International Literacy Day 2020 will be

Covid 19

Total infection rate in

Bangladesh now below 20 pc

DHAKA : With the 1,592 new Covid-19

patients detected in the last 24 hours

the total number of infections in the

country rose to 3,25,157 against

16,29,312 tests Sunday , reports UNB.

As per the latest data the number of

infected population dropped to 19.96

percent.

Since March 18, 4,479 people have

died in the country with the death of 32

patients in the past 24 hours. The fatality

rate in Bangladesh has increased to

1.38 percent.

Recovery rate in Bangladesh from the

disease saw exponential growth of

68.05 percent as 3,423 former have

recovered during the periodboosting

the total cases of recoveryto 2,21,275.

A press release sent by the Directorate

General of Health Services (DGHS)

provided the latest information.

At present, there are 99,403 active

cases in the country. Bangladesh is seeing

1,971 infections per million against

observed across the country on

September 8. International Literacy

Day was observed for the first time on

September 8, 1991 at the initiative of

UNESCO.

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman observed this

day for the first time in 1972 at the

newly independent Bangladesh.

Following this, the government has

been celebrating Literacy Day every

year. This year's theme is 'Covid-19

Crisis: Literacy teach changing pedagogicalstrategies

and the Role of

Educators'.

Md. Zakir Hossain said about 18 million

people have been brought under

literacy from 1999 to 2001 through various

programs under the Bureau of

Non-Formal Education. At present

people are being brought under literacy

through several projects. At present the

literacy rate in Bangladesh is 74.7%.

The state minister said the government

has been formulating and implementing

the 7th Five Year Plan (2016-

2020) and the SDGs as per the commitment.

To achieve the fourth goal of the

Sustainable Development Goals, activities

like literacy, skills development,

training and lifelong learning has been

added in the 7th Five Year Plan.

9,875 tests and 27 are dying.

Among those who lost their lives in

the last 24 hours, 26 are above 50 years;

four are between 41 and 50 and two are

between 31 and 40 years.

According to DGHS, 2,233 of the total

deceased are above 60 years, 1,222

between 51 and 60 years and 591 are

between 41 and 50 years. 433 others are

in other age brackets.

So far, 2,171 have died in Dhaka division,

960 in Chattoram, 297 in

Rajshahi, 375 in Khulna, 174 in

Barishal, 201 in Sylhet, 205 in Rangpur

and 96 have died in Mymensingh division.

Across the country, 19,634 people

are in isolation and 52,120 people are

quarantined at present.

In Bangladesh, the first three cases of

coronavirus infection were detected on

March 8 and on August 26 it crossed

3,00,000. On July 2, 4,019 Covid-19

patients were identified in the country,

the highest in a day.

MondAY, SePTeMber 7, 2020

2

raffle draw of Minister's "Koti

Koti Takar eid offer" held

The first raffle draw under 'Manusher Jonno Minister'er Ponno'

campaign organized by Minister, a popular brand in the domestic

electronics industry was held recently.

Photo: Courtesy

On the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha,

Minister, a popular brand in the

domestic electronics industry, came up

with "Manusher Jonno Minister'er

Ponno" campaign. Here, customers get

the Minister's products at 'almost half

price'. Minister has always come up

with new and exciting offers for their

customers. Following this, like every

year, they came up with "Koti Koti

Takar Eid offer" for the people of the

country on the occasion of Eid-ul-

Adha; which started from 1st July

2020, a press release said.

In the current pandemic situation,

Minister has reduced the price of its

products by almost half of the previous

price. The Minister has also given the

opportunity to win all the attractive

prizes on recent Eid so that the

customers can make a match between

the desire and affordability through

this offer. This offer was applicable for

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Fridge, AC, and Smart / LED TVs. By

purchasing all these products from

Minister's showroom, the buyers got 1

coupon with each product. With these,

the first phase of the raffle draw was

recently held in the showrooms. These

raffle draws were held simultaneously

in 11 showrooms of the country

including Bijoy Sarani, Narayanganj,

Cumilla, Chuadanga, and 8 divisional

cities of the country. Senior officials

and employees of the Minister Hi-Tech

Park were present at the occasion.

More than 2,000 attractive prizes

including Minister's fridge, LED TV,

smart TV, gas burner are given as

coupon prizes.

In this regard, KMG Kibria, Head of

Brand and Communication, Minister

Hi-Tech Park, said, "We have always

wanted to work with the people of our

country and tried to fulfill their needs.

Following this, we brought this Eid

offer to the market at this crucial time

in the country. In this crore taka offer,

the buyers got 1 coupon for each

product when they bought a fridge, AC,

and smart / LED TV. The raffle draw

was scheduled to take place in two

rounds. Following this, the raffle draw

of the first phase was held recently. The

second phase will be held on December

31, 2020. We handed out prizes to the

winners. The rest have been informed

that we will hand over the prizes to

them on another program. Needless to

say, this event has been organized in all

our showrooms following all the

hygiene rules. All the time we try to

make such an attractive arrangement

for our customers, and till now our

customers have been by our side with

love. That is why we are always grateful

to them."

It is to be noted that the Minister has

been moving forward with firm

conviction since the birth of the slogan

"Amar Ponno, Amar Desh Gorbo

Bangladesh". All the products of the

minister are being made in the country

by the experts in its factory.

Govt working to

collect razakar

list: Tapon

KHULNA : Secretary of Liberation War

Affairs Ministry Tapon Kumar Ghosh

here on Saturday afternoon said the

government is working to collect

collaborators (Razakar) list from grass

root level through local Muktijuddha

command council.

"List of Liberation War collaborators

will be published by the Ministry after

proper scrutiny, checking and cross

checking in schedule time," he said

while speaking at a view exchange

meeting with Paikgaccha upazila

Muktijuddha command council after

inaugurating construction

works of Bangabandhu and

Muktijuddha Complex at

Paikgachha Bazar.

Describing various

facilities for the freedom

fighters, he said government

is also working to make a

fresh list of freedom fighters.

Tapon Kumar said present

government is working for

wellbeing of the Liberation

War hero, adding that all

legal demand of freedom

fighters will be fulfilled

accordingly.

Chaired by Paikgachha

upazila UNO ABM Khalid

Hossain Siddiqi, the meeting

was addressed, among

others, by ex-upazila

Muktijoddha Commander

Sheikh Shahadat Hossain

Bacchu, FFs Abul Kalam

Azad, Tokarram Hossain

Tuku, Abdur Razzak and

president of the upazila

Awami League Anwar Iqbal

Montu.

3 'arms dealers' held with

pistols, ammunition at

benapole border

BENAPOLE : Border Guard

Bangladesh (BGB)

arrestedthree suspected

arms dealers along with 11

Pistol, 22 magazines, 50

rounds of ammunition and

14 kg of hemp at Ghiba

border under Benapole Port

Police Station on Saturday.

According to the BGB, a

patrol team from

Raghunathpur camp

conducted a drive in the

border area and arrested

them.

The arms were later seized

from a bag they were

carrying and the 14 kg of

hemp from another sack.

The arrested trio are

Anarul Biswas, 34, son of

Shahid Biswas of

Sarbanghuda villageunder

Benapole Port Police Station,

Alamgir Hossain, 40, son of

Sabed Ali and Sajjul Islam,

35, son of Ajibar Rahman of

the same village.

Commanding officer Lt.

Col. Selim Reza of Jashore

BGB-49 battalion confirmed

this.

In primary investigation,

the arrestees confessed their

longstandinginvolvement in

the arms trade.

new York bangla

book Fair website

launches today

DHAKA : The website of the

29th New York Bangla Book

Fair, dedicated to

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman on the

occasion of his birth

centenary, will be

inaugurated today.

State Minister for Culture

KM Khalid will inaugurate

the website via virtual

platform at 9am in

Bangladeshi time

(September 6, 11 pm in New

York), said a press release

issued by the Muktadhara

Foundation yesterday.

The event will be

broadcast live on the book

fair's Facebook page at-

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Israelis protest against PM as

coronavirus infections spike

Thousands of Israelis protested outside the

official residence of Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night,

pressing ahead with a monthslong campaign

demanding the embattled Israeli leader

resign, reports UNB.

The protest came as Israel is coping with

record levels of coronavirus infections.

Demonstrators have been protesting

Netanyahu's handling of the coronavirus

crisis, which has led to soaring

unemployment, and they say he should step

down while on trial for corruption charges.

Protesters held banners reading

"Revolution"and "Get out of here" and held

blue and white Israeli flags. A sign aimed at

the prime minister was projected on a

building reading in Hebrew: "Enough with

you." Smaller crowds gathered on bridges

and intersections across the country also

calling for Netanyahu to step down.

The government moved quickly to contain

the coronavirus last spring, but bungled the

reopening of the economy and now finds

itself dealing with a stronger outbreak. The

death toll has surpassed 1,000 people, and

the country is considering a new lockdown to

stop the rapid spike in daily infections. Israel

currently has over 26,000 active COVID-19

patients.

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Although the demonstrations have largely

been peaceful in recent weeks, protesters

scuffled with police in several locations. At

least 13 arrests were made, including a man

that police said "was dressed up as a woman

in a provocative way." Police also said two

officers were lightly injured when a crowd

burst through a police blockade.

Netanyahu has dismissed the protesters as

"leftists" and "anarchists." But his tough talk,

and even a series of foreign policy

accomplishments, have done nothing to

deter the crowds.

On Friday, Serbia and Kosovo gave Israel a

diplomatic boost as Serbia announced it will

move its embassy to Jerusalem and Kosovo

said it will establish ties with Israel with an

embassy in Jerusalem. The announcements,

making the countries the third and fourth to

move their embassies to contested

Jerusalem, follow Israel's historic agreement

last month to establish diplomatic ties with

the United Arab Emirates.

Netanyahu has vowed to remain in office

despite being charged last year with bribery,

fraud and breach of trust in three longrunning

corruption investigations. He has

denied the allegations, calling them a "witch

hunt" and lashing out at the judiciary, law

enforcement and media.

teaching activities to continue

in Khulna despite CoVId-19

pandemic: dC

KHULNA : Deputy Commissioner of

Khulna Mohammad Helal Hossain

said, though the educational

institutions remained closed, but the

teaching and learning activities are

continuing in Khulna district despite

COVID-19 pandemic situation.

He said online education system has

been introduced for students in the

pandemic to keep the education system

continue.

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"It's true that everyone may not have

mobile and internet services but they

can watch Sangsad TV which airing the

online classes," DC said.

He said this while speaking at an

online view-exchange meeting with the

teachers of primary schools at Dumuria

Upazila.

A total of 481 people including

government officials and teachers

participated in the meeting through

online zoom technology, organized by

Khulna District Primary Education

Office yesterday as chief guest.

Khulna District Primary Education

Officer ASM Sirajuddoha presided over

the meeting and Dumuria Upazila

Nirbahi Officer Shahnaz Begum

addressed the meeting as special guest.

DC Helal said, the government is

running a distance-learning

programme through Sangsad

Television. Apart from this,

classes are being taken on

Facebook and YouTube for

primary and secondary-level

students in Khulna.

"The programme is being

run through a Facebook

page and YouTube channel

under the joint auspices of

Digital Primary Education

and Digital Secondary

Education " he said.

Deputy Chief Information

Officer Javed Iqbal,

Assistant District Primary

Education Officer

Mohammad. Abdullah Al

Mamun, Dumuria Upazila

Education Officer GM

Alamgir Kabir among others

participated in the online

view-exchange meeting.

SAU professor Abu

bakr dies from

coronavirus

SYLHET : Professor DrAbu

Bakr Siddique, chairman of

Microbiology and

Immunology Department of

Sylhet Agriculture

University, died from

coronavirus on Saturday

night.

According to the public

relations department of the

university, Prof Abu Bakar,

who was infected with

coronavirus, was undergoing

treatment Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujib Medical

University Hospital where

he died at night. Professor

Dr. Abu Bakar Siddique

started teaching in 2000 at

the then Sylhet Government

Veterinary College.

He held various important

positions including the Dean

of the Faculty of Veterinary,

Animal and Biomedical

Sciences of Sylhet

Agricultural University.

Vice-Chancellor Prof.Dr.

Md. Matiar Rahman

Howladar has expressed

deep shock at his death and

conveyed deep sympathy to

the bereaved family.

China, Australia shocked

at n'ganj mosque

explosions

DHAKA : The Chinese

Embassy and Australian

High Commission in Dhaka

have expressed deep shock

at the loss of lives in

explosions at a mosque in

Narayanganj, reports UNB.

"We are deeply shocked to

have learned about the

horrible explosions at the

Narayanganj's Talla Baitus

Salah Jame Mosque in

Fatullah. We mourn the

passing of those devoted

Muslims and pray for the

quickest recovery of the

injured," said the Chinese

Embassy in a message.

The Embassy extended the

deepest condolences to the

bereaved families and

solidarity to all the victims.

The Australian High

Commission also expressed

its deepest condolences to

the families and friends of all

who lost their lives in the

tragic explosions at the

mosque. "We wish those

injured a speedy recovery,"

said the High Commission in

a message.

The death toll from

Narayanganj mosque blast

rose to 24 till Sunday

afternoon as three more

victims died at the Sheikh

Hasina National Burn and

Plastic Surgery Institute.

Four more dengue cases

recorded in 24 hrs

DHAKA : The Directorate

General of Health

Services (DGHS) has

recorded four new dengue

cases in the last 24 hours

till Sunday morning,

reports UNB.

Currently, ten patients

are undergoing treatment

at hospitals in Dhaka and

outside the capital, said a

DGHS media release.

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Malaysia imposes restrictions on entry

of citizens from 12 countries

DHAKA : Malaysia has imposed restrictions

on entry of citizens from 12 countries

including Bangladesh, said State Minister for

Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam on

Saturday.

The nine countries that came under

restrictions are Bangladesh, the USA, UK,

Brazil, Spain, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia and

Russia, he said.

Earlier, Malaysia imposed restrictions on

MondAY, SepteMber 7, 2020

3

entry of citizens from the Philippines,

Indonesia and India, Alam said.

In a post shared on his Facebook page on

Saturday, the State Minister said Bangladesh

will continue discussion with Malaysia over

the issue and will inform all if the decision is

changed.

Migrants who came to Bangladesh on

vacation will now have to wait until

December 31, he said.

moNdAY, SEPTEmBEr 7, 2020

4

Leadership Navigation: Education in Bangladesh

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Monday, September 7, 2020

Ensure building a comfortable

food grain stock

According to statistics, the country recorded

its biggest boro rice harvest in the on going

year. The Boro crop is the biggest one in the

country and government every year buys up a big

amount from private millers as well as farmers

with incentive prices to build up a comfortable

stock of food in public or government warehouses.

To this end, government has been proactive to

build up an adequate publicly owned food

reserve. This was seen as very important also in

the backdrop of the corona virus threat. In the

corona situation, a comfortable stock of food

grains in government's hands was seen as underwriting

the country's basic food security.

Government aimed to procure 16 lakh tons of

rice by August end. But according to last available

credible media reports, about 7.22 lakh tons

could be actually procured. Thus, the procurement

time has been extended till mid September.

It now remains to be seen whether the targeted

amount can be swiftly procured in the remaining

about ten days to at least go near the set target.

Notably, great enthusiasm was seen in the

Agriculture Ministry to make the most of this

unprecedentedly bountiful boro harvest.

Government bought and pressed into service

harvester machines and other paraphernalia to

help out in the timely harvesting of the boro crop

specially in the vulnerable haor areas prone to

flooding that yield a big output of boro rice. Thus,

it would be a setback now if the procurement

target is not met fully.

Thus, concerns are rising raising that efforts to

provide food to the poor amid the Covid-19 crisis

might suffer a setback without adequate stock in

government's hands. Usually, any sensing by rice

traders that government's stock position is not

satisfactory, produces the stimulus among them

to manipulate and artificially raise prices of the

staple food on the excuse of scarcity.

Therefore, government must be on guard

against such mischief since already such manipulation

by the traders has led to rise in the price of

coarse rice by Taka five or six per kg in open markets.

Needless to say, this unjustified trend must

be checked with timely actions. Government

reportedly has about 10 lakh metric tons of rice,

still, in its warehouses. With this amount it can

go on releasing food grain in the market at reasonable

prices and the same would result in stabilizing

prices of rice in open markets offsetting

thus the mischief of manipulators.

Simultaneously, it is very important to help out

farmers with replanting of aman rice seedlings

that have been damaged and wasted by the

recent floods. Farmers need to be supplied with

loans and other assistance to carry out replanting

of aman seedlings as soon as the flood waters

recede. Notably, the aman crop is also a major

pre winter rice crop that helps to build up the

total output of rice in the country. There is still

another rice crop in between the winter and

summer which is the aus rice crop. Government's

strategy should be one of setting the stage for

successful cultivation of the coming aman and

aus crops to achieve mid and longer term ample

supply of food grains. At the same time, it needs

to rev up efforts to procure more of the available

boro rice with additional incentive prices and

extension of the procurement time frame.

Government must not surrender to the temptations

of so called policy advisers who are trying to

scare government into opening a pipeline of

imported food grain to beef up the public stock of

food grains. Such a move will prove to be wasteful

in the long run as there is more than enough

locally produced food grains and government

needs to play its card skillfully to bring the

desired quantities of such privately held stocks

into its own warehouses with timely and wise

mix of policies and their implementation.

Taking the country forward in all

aspects - socially, economically,

and politically is a mandate that

the legislatures are charged with. A

long time ago, philosophers of the

stature of Aristotle had argued, after

law and order, economics takes the

front seat in terms of priorities. The

implications are clear. Generally

speaking, an economically strong

country gains leverage that makes it to

be noticed by other countries in the

world stage. The law-making

authorities, therefore, must provide

the leadership that makes economic

growth that much more a realisable

phenomenon.

However, achieving economic

growth is not an end. The results of

that growth must be filtered such that

all sections of the society benefit. In

other words, growth and development

must complement each other.

Development is a process, and it is of

utmost importance that agencies

primarily associated with the task of

looking after the process of

development understand this process.

Structural change within an economy

is central to this process - changes

taking place amongst the three major

sectors of an economy, namely,

agriculture, industry, and the service

sectors. And changes must occur in

such a way that they produce the

desired results reflected in the

eradication of poverty, opening up

avenues of education, creating

channels of employment, providing for

better health and housing amongst

others. To make this happen, other

intermediaries must have made their

presence felt - intermediaries such as

infrastructure development and

provision of energy. All these are, in

many ways, consequent upon

industrialisation- the powerhouse of

creating increasing amounts of wealth

for a country, having taken root.

All this, it must be necessarily

continuous too for growth and

development is not one-time affairs.

And to maintain this continuity,

interaction with the external world is

crucial because predictability has

extremely limited value there.

Moreover, the resources of a country,

put in the context of demand, are

limited and therefore, there are

competing needs and set of priorities.

All this, the volatility of the

environment brings home the truth

that "Development" is a complex

process, and it requires the

commitment of institutions mandated

to see it through. However, research

does suggest that one reason why

countries do not progress relates to the

functionality or the lack of it of the

institutions they have.

This is where legislatures, as

institutions, are so especially

important in ensuring the progress of

their respective countries. "Power" is

vested in them to bring concrete

returns to the expectations of the

stakeholders, i.e. the citizens at large

cutting across borders. Legislatures

are important catalysts of "Change" -

the consequences of which must be

socially productive and acceptable. A

good understanding of the

development paradigm will go a long

way to enable legislators to discharge

their duties effectively.

With over a fifth of the world's

population, South Asia is the most

densely populated region on the

planet. Rich in resources, and the

human capacity to innovate, it is also a

region beset with immense challenges

such as demographic change, riparian

conflict management and the need to

re-establish trust in the commercial

and political spheres. In 2007 the

World Bank noted that the region was

the least integrated into the world and

as such this is undermining economic

growth and partnership. As other

economic and political blocks seek to

re-assess their role in the world, it is of

paramount importance that leaders

work collaboratively to pilot their way

forward. Examples of good practise

exist across the region, and thus

leading figures from a range of sectors,

as well as policymakers and those in

public services, must work together in

a harmonious way to make

Bangladesh a better place to live and

take the decisions necessary to help it

to navigate the vicissitudes of life in the

coming years.

In many ways, Bangladesh

encapsulates many of the strengths

dr P. r. dATTA

and weaknesses of South Asia. A

country with a burgeoning population

(Currently over 57% of the population

is under the age of 25) that is largely

homogeneous, its economy shows

areas of real development and growth

and yet in common with its neighbours

it continues to wrestle with issues

concerning accountability, governance

and transparency. In common with

other South Asian countries, it is also

troubled by those preoccupied with

personal power, yet who invest little

time or energy in tempering power

with a sense of service and

responsibility. Bangladesh is working

diligently to create a winning

combination made up of a competitive

market,

business-friendly

environment and cost structure that

can deliver the best returns.

For those prepared to look as well as

see, there are many signs that

Bangladesh is on an upward trajectory

economically. Healthy levels of

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

continue to flow into the country, and

orders for Bangladeshi-made goods

remain buoyant. Taken as a whole; the

picture is encouraging, with the

country's Gross Domestic Product in

2019 calculated to have been US$

302.6 billion (Source: World Bank).

Whilst these GDP figures are certainly

encouraging, there is no room for

complacency, doubly so when one

compares Bangladesh (population 163

million) with the island nation of

Singapore (population 5.6 million).

Bangladesh is the 10th most populated

country in the world.

According

to

populationpyramid.net, the

population of Bangladesh would reach

218 million by 2050. Whilst there are

signs that by the middle of the century

the rate of growth will slow a little, it is

clear that population pressures are

going to have serious ramifications for

a variety of sectors. One sector it is

certain to impact on is that of

education, more especially higher

BArIA ALAmuddIN

education. Bangladesh has had a noble

record with respect to education, and

especially the store it has set by the

importance of language and culture.

Regardless of various political events,

there has been an appreciation of the

centrality of education to both the

economy and to life in general.

Publicly funded higher education

institutions have played a generally

positive role in the life of the nation,

but in recent decades it has been the

private sector that has begun to meet

various of the needs with respect to

ensuring Bangladesh holds onto many

of its brightest citizens and enables

them to grow and prosper.

Education is fundamental to the

well-being of society, and we would do

well to note what Mahatma Gandhi

(1869 - 1948) had to say. He spoke of

Buniyadi Shiksha (Fundamental

Education) stating that; "Education is

that which liberates." Gandhi rightly

observed that proper education is

fundamental to the functioning of a

creative and democratic society.

With both public and private

providers of tertiary education

booming throughout the region it is

imperative the right leadership is in

place to ensure that standards are

maintained and that institutions adapt

to anticipate and meet market needs.

Changes in demographics means that

education providers and their

resources are going to be under

enormous pressure, and thus having

high calibre managers and

institutional heads are essential to

ensure a future workforce that has the

skills and outlook to adapt to rigours

and demands of a rapidly changing

employment landscape. Although we

are in 21st Century but our education

system is still regimented. The

challenges are complex but not

difficult to overcome. To fulfil the

vision -2030 a transformative and

innovative practices are essential

across all level of Bangladesh Higher

Education. To thrive during the

turbulent time, it is imperative that

education sector is adaptive and agile.

In a complex situation a leader must

have the right attributes such as clear

vision, adaptive thinking abilities, an

understanding about the future

uncertainty, the ability to simplify and

make sense out of chaos and agility.

The writer is Executive Chair of

Centre for Business & Economic

research (CBEr), uK

The emigration brain drain - Lebanon's looming new catastrophe

About 380,000 Lebanese are said

to be considering departing their

home country in the context of

the ongoing economic and political

meltdown. There are few families in

Lebanon who don't have relatives

abroad, so networks already exist to

expedite migration.

Such a wave of emigration would have

a brutal impact, since it would be

disproportionately composed of highflying

graduates. Lebanon's outstanding

healthcare system will be particularly

hard hit if hundreds of doctors seek

careers overseas.

"I don't want to leave. Even if I must

stand in front of the tanks of your

disappointments, your ignorance and

your trash. Even if my body is squashed

upon the floor like a dead cat crushed by

a car, I'm better off. I'm from this land,

and we'll ensure that you depart

beforehand, so - Revolution!"

I'm loosely translating a snippet of

poetry sent to me that encapsulates the

attachment many Lebanese feel toward

our homeland. Nobody wants to start

from nothing in a strange, foreign land.

Yet young people struggle under a

corrupt, clientelist system that refuses

to reward and incentivize their

contributions.

If Prime Minister Mustapha Adib

shuns the usual roster of crooks and

cronies to bring talented, independent

technocrats into his Cabinet, perhaps

there is an opportunity to put matters

right. But if this incoming

administration feigns independence

while remaining beholden to corrupt

factions, this will fool nobody - certainly

not the International Monetary Fund.

The World Bank has just cancelled

$244 million in loans for a dam project,

due to the regime's failure to implement

its obligations. How does Lebanon

expect to attract billions of dollars of

new financial support if its leaders can't

competently deploy funds already

This is where legislatures, as institutions, are so especially important

in ensuring the progress of their respective countries. "Power" is

vested in them to bring concrete returns to the expectations of the

stakeholders, i.e. the citizens at large cutting across borders.

Legislatures are important catalysts of "Change" - the consequences

of which must be socially productive and acceptable.

promised?

In the ceremony marking a month

since the port explosion, the 190 candles

for those who died embodied the fatal

consequences of our leadership's

failings. We have long since passed the

self-imposed deadline to hear the

outcomes from President Michel Aoun's

investigation into the circumstances of

this explosion. We can't help but

interpret this as the regime's clumsy

attempts to cover up evidence of its own

criminal incompetence.

During the 1970s, Lebanese icon

Fairuz famously sang: "France, what

should I tell you about my wounded

country?" It may never be precisely

disclosed what she told Emmanuel

Macron about her wounded nation, but

after their recent meeting the French

president commented: "I made a

commitment to her, as I make a

commitment to you here tonight, to do

everything so that reforms are

implemented and that Lebanon

receives better. I promise you, I won't

leave you."

President Macron, we pray that you

follow through on these promises, and

that when our leaders fail us again you

will indeed impose sanctions upon

them - naming and shaming them. Your

intelligence services inevitably know

their secret bank accounts, the volumes

of stolen wealth, and the channels

exploited to launder ill-gotten gains.

France is also well aware of

Hezbollah's misuse of Lebanon's ports,

airport and borders for smuggling arms,

narcotics and other contraband goods.

Although UNIFIL's mandate was

recently expanded, the Trump

administration forced through a cut in

its troop numbers. How can Hezbollah

be confronted when those mandated to

do so have their hands tied behind their

backs?

Historically, Lebanon's intellectuals

and cultural heavyweights exerted a

commanding influence on the nation's

trajectory. Lebanon isn't the miserable

darkness in which the incompetent

thieves in our governing classes seek to

I'm loosely translating a snippet of poetry sent to me

that encapsulates the attachment many Lebanese feel

toward our homeland. Nobody wants to start from

nothing in a strange, foreign land. Yet young people

struggle under a corrupt, clientelist system that refuses

to reward and incentivize their contributions.

trap us. We don't belong within

Hezbollah's axis of fear and ignorance.

We need our best minds to trample

these sectarian, retrogressive ideologies

underfoot and offer an enlightened

alternative that guarantees Lebanon's

sovereignty and independence.

How does Lebanon expect to attract

billions of dollars of new financial

support if its leaders can't competently

deploy funds already promised?

It shouldn't be a question of choosing

between the Iranian or French camps -

we need a patriotic Lebanese camp,

transcending sect and faction. In this

nation of minorities, no single faction

alone can prevail. Rather than this

leading to perpetual stalemate, this

must be a recipe for political creativity,

rethinking our constitution and

governing model. The demand for early

elections is crucial, but elections won't

win themselves. The protest movement

must establish a non-sectarian, noncomplicit

formula of political

representation if there is to be any

alternative to the status quo.

We should take a lesson from the

Palestinians. Their absence of

leadership and failure to mobilize a new

intifada in response to Trump's

giveaway of Jerusalem fed into Jared

Kushner and David Friedman's vision

for handing much of the West Bank to

Israel. I'm a lifelong supporter of

Palestine, but we can't expect the world

to help us unless we help ourselves by

taking to the streets and forcing

Lebanon's kleptocratic regime to

radically change direction.

I speak as someone who departed

Lebanon with my young family after the

1982 Israeli invasion. Not a day goes by

when I don't wish I'd been able to

remain. The great Lebanese émigré poet

Michel Noeima wrote movingly of his

own sense of rootlessness in exile: "Dear

brother, who are we? Without a

neighbor, kin or country. We sleep and

we wake clad in shame."

The failure to create a meritocratic

system that rewards our most deserving

is one of the most glaring failures of this

clientelist regime that belongs in the

dustbin of history. Before our brilliant

graduates in law, finance, engineering

and physics embark on a ship for

Washington or Paris, perhaps they

should think the unthinkable and

embrace a career in politics as MPs, civil

servants, and civil society activists, to

confront the systematic failings that

forced them to consider emigration.

If Lebanon is to survive this

backbreaking confluence of crises,

patriotic young people must be offered

genuine hope that their best prospects

lie in investing their talents and

passions in their motherland.

Source: Arab news

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

5

Cadmium levels dangerously

high in waste pickers

5

The COVID-19 outbreak has seen vaccines developed in China, Brazil, South Africa, Russia.

Photo: Collected

COVID-19 solutions coming from South

FIONA BROOM

The COVID-19 outbreak has turned the

global science order on its head and

means many solutions are coming from

the global South, a European science

conference has heard. "If you think

retrospectively, the AIDS crisis - at least

from the 1990s - and certainly the

Ebola crisis and some other global

threats were global, but basically, they

were crises in the South with solutions

coming from the North," said Michel

Kazatchkine, special advisor to the

Joint United Nations Program on AIDS

(UNAIDS) in Eastern Europe and

Central Asia.

"This time, it's a 360-degree crisis,

everyone is in the same mess - no

treatment, no vaccine… Solutions may

well come from the South,"

Kazatchkine told the EuroScience

Open Forum (ESOF). Since it was first

identified in China at the end of 2019,

COVID-19 has infected more than 26

million people globally, according to

the latest data from Johns Hopkins

University, and led to almost one

million deaths.

COVID-19 vaccines are being

developed in China, Brazil, South

Africa and Russia, Kazatchkine says.

"The entire order is shifting and if we

succeed in reconstructing the

architecture for multilateral dialogue it

will certainly be on a different basis

than the one we've been using."

The meeting heard how future

international collaboration platforms

will need to consider global power

shifts towards developing countries.

Lidia Brito, Latin America and

Caribbean science director at the

United Nations Educational, Scientific

and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),

told the meeting that science

communities around the world need to

collaborate to strengthen science

systems, particularly across the

developing world.

"Many of the solutions are coming

from the global South," Brito told the

conference. "That means that we need

to work together, also scientifically, in

order for those solutions to become

global solutions." All people have the

right to access the benefits of research

and knowledge, Brito said, as she called

for open science and communication

between civil society and scientists.

The panel issued pleas to heads of

state, the UN and the World Health

Organization to repair and strengthen

international cooperation. Michinari

Hamaguchi, president of the Japanese

Science and Technology Agency, urged

the international community to adopt

the principles of transparency,

inclusiveness and fairness.

"For me, what is important is prompt

sharing of scientific knowledge

internationally," Hamaguchi said.

"Science can connect people." As the

world prepares "not just for the second

surge but for new pandemics", building

global governance for public health is

vital, says Salim Abdool Karim,

epidemiologist and chair of South

Africa's Ministerial Advisory

Committee on COVID-19.

"This is the moment not merely to

deal with the virus, but to deal with the

underlying issues that make this virus

and this epidemic more severe," Karim

says. "COVID-19 is just a warning bell

of worse to come." Karim says the

challenge in global governance is not

the lack of structures or processes, but a

failure to recognise that all

communities are connected.

"We have a broken belief system

where people believe: 'I can be safe

when you are not safe'… We have an

incorrect starting point, our paradigm

is built on a fundamental premise that

is wrong," he said. "I'm only safe when

you are safe. That means that we really

see the importance of the 'we' of our

collective good."

Argentina can be carbon neutral by 2050

WASHINGTON CASTILHOS

Waste pickers exposed to discarded

electronics, aluminium and metal

cans have up to four times higher

levels of the toxic heavy metal

cadmium in their blood than the

wider population, a study has found.

Researchers in Brazil found that

salvagers and workers at recycling

facilities - known as waste pickers -

who previously worked in another

occupation had lower cadmium

levels, suggesting that length of

exposure and heavy metal

concentration levels are linked.

Scientists compared the levels of

cadmium, mercury and lead in the

blood of 226 workers from four

recycling material cooperatives at

recycling sorting facilities in the

metropolitan area of São Paulo, with

653 people who do not work in the

industry.

These cooperatives are considered

waste management agents and are

contracted by municipalities or

companies to sort plastic, glass,

paper, and aluminium or other

metal cans. The recycling sorting

sites also contain electronic waste,

researchers say.

The study found 0.47 micrograms

of cadmium per litre of blood among

recyclers, compared with 0.12

micrograms among other workers.

Lead levels were about 10

micrograms higher among waste

workers. A United Nations

Children's Fund (UNICEF) study

found that the children of waste

pickers are also exposed to heavy

metals, such as lead.

Parents whose jobs involve

recycling batteries can bring

contaminated dust home on their

clothes, hair, hands and shoes. One

in three children - about 800 million

worldwide - have high levels of lead

in their blood, UNICEF says.

Cadmium, lead and mercury are

highly toxic and carcinogenic. High

levels of cadmium and lead can have

neurological, digestive and

cardiovascular impacts, while

mercury is associated with systemic

toxicity in the kidneys and central

nervous system.

Maria de Fátima Moreira, from

the Centre for the Study of

Occupational Health and Human

Ecology at Brazil's National School

of Public Health, tells SciDev.Net

that the study highlights the dangers

that waste pickers are exposed to.

But, she warns that the results may

not reflect the circumstances of

waste pickers across the whole of

Brazil, or of those in other

developing countries.

"There are great differences

among groups of waste pickers

inside and outside Brazil, especially

between those who work in

cooperatives and those in recycling

industries," Moreira tells

SciDev.Net.

"For an ideal comparison, both

populations should be as similar as

possible in socioeconomic terms and

processes of work." Toxicologist

Eduardo De Capitani, from the

University of Campinas, says that

researchers need to consider factors

beyond occupation that could affect

heavy metal concentrations in

blood.

"An evaluation cannot be made

considering only the activity," says

De Capitani, who was not involved

in the study, published in Reports in

Public Health (Cadernos de Saúde

Pública). "The levels of metals found

in the recyclers' blood show the

existence of an uncontrolled

exposure. But, the effects are

unpredictable.

Moreira agrees. "In chronic

exposure, the metals accumulate

over time and their harmful effects

will only be seen after many years,"

she tells SciDev.Net. Moreira says

the best measure of exposure to

cadmium and mercury is urine, as

Recycling operations in São Paulo.

Photo: Courtesy of Marina Ferron

"urine is more representative of

what happens in this absorption".

According to the Global Alliance of

Waste Pickers, there are more than

two million such workers in Latin

America, with 600,000 in Brazil

alone. In China, there are almost 2.5

million and in India, up to four

million people are estimated to work

in the waste collection sector.

De Capitani believes the study's

results may be applicable in other

contexts, provided there are similar

factors, such as food consumption

and types of waste. "There's no point

in comparing São Paulo to small

cities with little garbage of the same

type," he says.

JAzMíN ROCCO PREDASSI

Stabilising global temperature rises to

below 2°C and as close to 1.5°C as

possible is the 2015 Paris Agreement's

goal and requires reaching net zero

greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Doing so, a process known as

decarbonisation, means greatly

reducing man-made emissions.

Can Argentina be among the

countries that will help the world

achieve this? And, if so, by following

which pathways? A recent report by the

Fundación Ambiente y Recursos

Naturales (FARN), the Universidad

Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de

Buenos Aires (UNICEN), NGO

Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina

and researcher Roque Pedace sought to

provide answers.

However, sooner rather than later,

the government will have to make

critical decisions about its emissions

and the future development it wants for

the country. The report entitled

"Elements for achieving carbon

neutrality by 2050" models three

possible emissions scenarios and

explores what should be considered as

part of the country's urgent Long Term

Decarbonisation Strategy (LTS) at the

national level.

All scenarios proposed by UNICEN

lead Argentina to carbon neutrality by

2050. In other words, Argentina can

not only achieve this fundamental

objective, but has several ways of using

policies and technologies to get there,

such as electrification, increased use of

hydrogen and biofuels.

Most possibilities are linked to the

energy sector, which today is

responsible for 53% of national

emissions. In fact, Fundación Vida

Silvestre's research argues that, in a

world consuming increasing amounts

of energy, existing policies that only

consider supply lack vision.

A sustainable energy policy must

balance supply and demand. The

encouragement of rational and efficient

energy use in policies would allow the

provision of services at a lower cost,

with smaller investments and lower

environmental impacts, while also

making the widescale rollout of

renewable energies viable.

A new report looks at the different pathways for Argentina to

achieve a zero-emissions economy by 2050. Photo: Internet

Independent researcher Roque

Pedace highlights in the document the

importance of considering in an LTS

the diversification of technologies and

territorial ordering at the national level

that allows simultaneous

improvements in food and energy

sovereignty.

To persist with the current model

based on fossil fuels, which today

represent more than 90% of the energy

matrix, may result in 'stranded assets'

in Argentina. That's to say, the

investments made today may not

return enough money in the future

because they have become obsolete,

putting their profitability at risk.

With regard to the agriculture,

livestock, forestry and land use sector,

which at 37% is the second largest

source of emissions in Argentina,

according to the latest inventory, FARN

has urgently called for a change of

paradigm in the predominant

industrial model in Argentina.

Agroecology is the alternative. It is a

system that allows emissions

mitigation, increases the resilience of

agroecosystems and improves their

sustainability. It takes a holistic

approach that seeks to achieve

biophysical, socio-cultural and

economic benefits.

FARN also stresses the need to adopt

mitigation measures that guarantee the

integrity of natural ecosystems while

generating co-benefits for biodiversity,

local communities and climate change

adaptation. In other words, reducing

emissions has to consider the

protection of ecosystems. We cannot

address the climate emergency without

addressing the biodiversity crisis.

María Julia Tramutola, also from

FARN, argues that climate change

impacts women in an unequal way.

Consequently, actions to reduce

emissions in the long term do not

necessarily guarantee increased

employability for women.

That is why any long-term

decarbonisation strategy in Argentina

needs to be thought, designed and

implemented with a gender perspective

so as to guarantee a future that is not

only free of carbon but also fairer.

In short, long-term planning is

essential to give direction and purpose

to the type of development the country

desires. In our view, this development

must be in line with the Paris

Agreement and must never lose sight of

social issues or the environmental

integrity of ecosystems.

Faced with the current pandemic, the

discussion is more urgent than ever. It

must take place now, while the country

is planning its economic recovery. All

fossil fuel pathways lead to the same

trap: they lock us into carbon-intensive

economies.

National parks could lead to severe human rights violations and cause irreversible social harm for

some of the world's poorest people.

Photo: Collected

UN protected habitat plan

could displace 300 million

In May 2021, the Conference of

Parties to the Convention on

Biodiversity (CBD) is set to agree on a

new target to place at least 30 percent of

the Earth's surface under conservation

status by 2030. This '30 x 30' target

would double the current protected

land area over the coming decade.

The target is stated in a draft

agreement called the 'Post-2020 Global

Biodiversity Framework', which is

currently being prepared and negotiated

amongst the 186 governments which

are signatories to the Convention for

Biological Diversity (CBD).

A series of recent exposés have

revealed that communities continue to

be forcibly displaced and dispossessed

to make way for protected areas and

face severe human rights violations by

heavily armed anti-poaching agents.

In a letter to the CBD Secretariat, the

NGOs warn that as many as 300 million

people could be affected unless there

are much stronger protections for the

rights of indigenous peoples and other

traditional land-owners and

environmental stewards.

Environmental groups have also

stated that 'fortress conservation' found

in much of the Global South is failing to

prevent the rapid decline in

biodiversity, citing how typically heavyhanded

enforcement can turn local

people against conservation efforts and

could actually hasten environmental

destruction.

Any further increase in protected

areas, they argue, must first be

preceded by an independent review into

the social impacts and conservation

effectiveness of existing protected areas.

This has nothing to do with climate

change, protecting biodiversity or

avoiding pandemics - in fact it's more

likely to make all of them worse. It's

really all about money, land and

resource control, and an all out assault

on human diversity. This planned

dispossession of hundreds of millions of

people risks eradicating human

diversity and self-sufficiency - the real

keys to our being able to slow climate

change and protect biodiversity, added

Corry.

Joshua Castellino of Minority Rights

Group International said: "Urgent

measures are needed to arrest the

imminent breach of planetary

boundaries. This requires reigning in

those responsible for its continued

destruction, replacing them with those

responsible for its safeguarding.

Making indigenous peoples pay the

price for destruction that took place in

the drive towards overconsumption for

profit by others constitutes not only the

bullying of the dispossessed, it reifies

the quest for profit over people

privileging western 'scientific

approaches' borne out of commerce,

over the traditional knowledge it

subjugated, dominated and nearly

destroyed on the path to this

precipice."

MONDAY, SePTeMBeR 7, 2020 6

Navy provides food, medical assistance

to flood-hit areas in Munshiganj

the bangladesh navy has

provided food and medical

supplies to flood-hit areas in

sreenagar upazila of

munshiganj district to

combat the country-wide

flood situation. the navy on

sunday provided dry food

and medical supplies to

1,200 local families in

hasara, Radhikhal,

bhagyakul, baghra and

The Bangladesh Navy has provided food and medical supplies to flood-hit

areas in Sreenagar upazila of Munshiganj district to combat the countrywide

flood situation on Sunday.

Photo: Courtesy

Kolapara unions of

sreenagar upazila of

munshiganj district, who

were in dire need of food,

drink and medical treatment

due to the floods, a press

release said.

each family was provided

with rice, pulses, oil,

flattened rice, sugar, puffed

rice, molasses, salt, candles,

matches, saline, water

purification tablets and pure

water as food aid.

all these food items and

medical aid were provided in

presence of the upazila

nirbahi officer, local

Chairmen and local

dignitaries of sreenagar

upazila. it is to be noted that

the activities of the navy will

continue till the flood

situation in the country

improves.

Gaibandha Superintendent of Police Mohammad Touhidul Islam recently inaugurated bit policing

activities in 61 unions of Gaibandha district.

Photo: Rafiqul Islam

Bit policing activities begins

in 81 unions of Gaibandha

Rafiqul islam, Gaibandha CoRRespondent:

bit policing activities have recently

started in 81 unions of Gaibandha

district under the direction of

Gaibandha superintendent of police

mohammad touhidul islam. the real

culprits will be found through bit

policing activities including theft,

robbery, arbitration of society, women

and children abuse and drug

eradication.

the law and order situation in the

district has improved tremendously

since the joining of Gaibandha

superintendent of police mohammad

touhidul islam. the patrol duty of the

police is continuing under the direction

of the superintendent of police. using

information technology through bit

policing to identify the culprits and find

the culprits and ensure appropriate

punishment.

the superintendent of police said that

no matter how many conspiracies are

hatched by the anti-independence

forces, they will be implemented by

cracking down on them. if any police

member commits any corruption, he

will not be exempted, he will be brought

under the law and legal action will be

taken against him.

the superintendent of police said this

in an exclusive interview with our

correspondent.

Members of BGB arrested three arms dealers along with 11 Pistol, 22 magazines, 50 rounds of ammunition

and 14 kg of cannabis from Ghiba border of Benapole Port Police Station on Saturday. Photo: Shahid Joy

BGB detains three arms dealers in Jashore

shahid joY, jashoRe CoRRespondent:

border Guard bangladesh (bGb)

arrested three arms dealers along

with 11 pistol, 22 magazines, 50

rounds of ammunition and 14 kg of

cannabis while they were being

smuggled from india at Ghiba border

of benapole port police station on

saturday.

according to the bGb sources, a

bGb patrol team from Raghunathpur

camp raided the Ghiba border no. 2

in benapole on saturday morning and

arrested three arms dealers. the

weapons were later seized from a bag

they were carrying and 14 kg of Gaza

from another sack. the arrested were

anarul biswas, 34, son of shahid

biswas of sarbanghuda village under

benapole port police station, alamgir

hossain, 40, son of sabed ali and

sajjul islam, 35, son of ajibar

Rahman of the same village.

jashore 49 bGb Commanding

officer lt. Col. selim Reza said three

arms dealers were arrested from

Ghiba border along with 11pistols ,

22 magazines, 50 round bullets and

14 kg of cannabis while being

smuggled from india. they confess

they had been involved in the arms

trade for a long time. the detainees

have been handed over to benapole

port police station with a case

against them.

Noakhali Municipality Mayor Shahid Ullah Khan Sohail as the chief guest addressed a

farewell reception and one-time checks distribution programme among the retired officers

and employees of Noakhali Municipality on Sunday.

Photo: Manik Bhuiyan

Retired officers, employees of Noakhali

municipality given farewell reception

maniK bhuiYan, noaKhali CoRRespondent:

farewell reception and one-time

checks have been distributed to the

retired officers and employees of

noakhali municipality. the ceremony

was held at Rabiul hossain Kochi

Convention hall of noakhali

municipality on sunday.

noakhali municipality mayor shahid

ullah Khan sohail was the chief guest

at the function which was presided over

by sujit barua, executive engineer of

the municipality. during the time,

municipal secretaries, councilors,

officials and employees at various levels

were among others also present at the

occasion.

the chief guest handed over a onetime

check of taka 1 crore 15 lakh 63

thousand 992 to 21 retired officers and

employees of noakhali municipality.

Fish fries were distributed among 30 pond's of fishermen, fish farmers and various organizations

n Gopalganj on Sunday.

Photo: S M Nazrul Islam

Fish fries distributed in Gopalganj

s m nazRul islam, GopalGanj CoRRespondent:

fish fries were distributed among

fishermen, fish farmers and various

organizations in 30 ponds in

Gopalganj. Gopalganj district fisheries

officer biswajit bairagi started the

program on sunday morning by

releasing fish fries in a pond in

Gopalganj sadar upazila.

marking the occasion, 400 kg fish fry

were released in 30 ponds including

sadar upazila pond, helipad pond and

police line pond. during the time,

sadar upazila Chairman sheikh lutfar

Rahman bacchu, sadar upazila

nirbahi officer md. sadiqur Rahman

Khan, senior upazila fisheries officer

anjan Kumar biswas, sadar upazila

agriculture officer sheikh sekendar

ali, sadar upazila Vice Chairman

nitish Roy, Women Vice Chairman

nirunnahar Yusuf and others were also

present.

77pc COVID-19 patients recover

in Khulna division

Khulna: around 77.70

per cent coronavirus (CoVid-

19) infected patients recovered

since the beginning in all 10

districts of the division till

saturday, reports bss.

"a total of 15,105 CoVid-19

patients out of 19,882 infected

persons have already

recovered in the division. the

total recovery rate is 77.70 per

cent now," assistant director

(health) of Khulna division

dr. ferdousi akhter told bss

yesterday.

the recovery rate continues

increasing following

improved treatments being

provided to the patients amid

a falling trend now in the daily

infection rate in the division.

"the number of recovered

CoVid-19 patients rose to

15,105 with the healing of 220

more infected people on

saturday across the division,"

dr. ferdousi said.

among the15,105 recovered

patients, 4,839 are in Khulna,

2,400 in Kushtia, 2075 in

jashore, 1,159 in jhenaidah,

1,007 in narail, 870 in

Chuadanga, 830 in satkhira,

794 in bagerhat, 702 in

magura and 429 in meherpur

districts in the division.

meanwhile, the total

number of CoVid-19 patients

rose to 19,882 with 129 new

positive cases reported after

testing 282 samples at the

respective CoVid-19

laboratories here in the last 24

hours till last noon.

of the total new positive

cases, the highest 34 were

detected in Khulna followed

by 24 in jhenaidah, 22 in

jashore, 18 in narail, 12 in

meherpur, six in magura, five

each in bagerhat and Kushtia

and three in satkhira districts

in the division.

With the new detected

cases, the district-wise breakup

of the patients now stands

at 5,904 are in Khulna, 3,475

in jashore, 2,884 in Kushtia,

1,721 in jhenaidah, 1,292 in

Chuadanga, 1,230 in narail,

1,054 in satkhira, 927 in

bagerhat, 839 in magura and

556 in meherpur, she added.

"among the total 19,882

coronavirus infected persons,

2,093 are undergoing

treatment at isolation units of

different hospitals as 15,105

have recovered and 340 died

while the rest are undergoing

treatment in isolation at their

respective homes in the

division", the health official

continued.

talking to bss yesterday,

divisional director (health)

dr. Rasheda sultana said the

number of total fatalities rose

to 340 in the division with

three more deaths from one

each in Chuadanga, magura

and satkhira districts

reported during the period.

the district-wise break-up

of the fatalities now stands at

86 in Khulna, 64 in Kushtia,

39 in jashore, 31 in

Chuadanga, 28 in jhenaidah,

29 in satkhira, 21 in bagerhat,

13 in magura, 12 in meherpur

and 17 in narail under the

division.


7

New York's attorney general on Saturday moved to form a grand jury to investigate the death of Daniel Prude, a Black

man who died earlier this year after Rochester police placed a hood over his head and held him down. Photo : AP

NY attorney general to form

grand jury after Prude death

New York's attorney general on

Saturday moved to form a grand jury to

investigate the death of Daniel Prude, a

Black man who died earlier this year

after Rochester police placed a hood

over his head and held him down,

reports UNB.

"The Prude family and the Rochester

community have been through great

pain and anguish," Attorney General

Letitia James said in a statement about

Prude's death, which has sparked

nightly protests and calls for reform. She

said the grand jury would be part of an

"exhaustive investigation."

Prude's death after his brother called

for help for his erratic behavior in March

has roiled New York's third-largest city

since video of the encounter was made

public earlier this week, with protesters

demanding more accountability for how

it happened and legislation to change

how authorities respond to mental

GD–1142/20 (10x4)

health emergencies.

"This is just the beginning," Ashley

Gantt, a protest organizer, said by email

after James' announcement. "We will

not be stopped in our quest for truth and

justice."

Hundreds of protesters gathered

Saturday for a fourth night on the street

where Prude, naked and handcuffed,

was held face-down as snow fell. Policy

body camera video shows officers

covering Prude's head with a "spit

hood," designed to protect police from

bodily fluids, then pressing his face into

the pavement for two minutes.

Prude died a week later after he was

taken off life support. The Monroe

County medical examiner listed the

manner of death as homicide caused by

"complications of asphyxia in the setting

of physical restraint." Excited delirium

and acute intoxication by phencyclidine,

or PCP, were contributing factors, the

report said.

A police internal affairs investigation

cleared the officers involved of any

wrongdoing, concluding in April that

their "actions and conduct displayed

when dealing with Prude appear to be

appropriate and consistent with their

training." James' office opened its

investigation the same month. Under

New York law, deaths of unarmed

people in police custody are often turned

over to the attorney general's office,

rather than handled by local officials.

Police union officials have said the

officers were strictly following

department training and protocols.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this

week called on James to expedite the

probe. "Today, I applaud Attorney

General Tish James for taking swift,

decisive action in empaneling a

grand jury," Cuomo said in a

statement Saturday.

Austria switches

on COVID-19

“traffic light”

The COVID-19 "traffic light"

system has officially started

operation in Austria, the

government announced on

Friday, reports UNB.

Due to the consistently high

number of new infections,

Austria's three large cities-

Vienna, Linz and Graz-as well

as the Tyrolean district of

Kufstein light up in "yellow"

(medium risk), while the rest

of the country is designated

"green" (low risk), according

to a press conference held by

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz

and other government

officials.

In the "yellow" regions, the

mask requirement in schools,

in retail, in gastronomy as well

as at events will be tightened,

said Kurz.

He also noted the "traffic

light" will be evaluated weekly

and it is important that there

are regional measures.

There are currently neither

"orange" (high risk) nor "red"

(acute situation) zones in the

country.

For Health Minister Rudolf

Anschober, the aim of the

"traffic light" system is also

prevention. It is important not

only to react, but also to take

precautions, he said.

He also noted the "traffic

light" will be evaluated weekly

and it is important that there

are regional measures.

"Green is not carte blanche,"

said the minister. "You have to

be just as attentive, careful and

comply with hygiene

measures."

Cohen memoir casts

him as ‘star witness’

against Trump

Michael Cohen's tell-all

memoir makes the case that

President Donald Trump is

"guilty of the same crimes"

that landed his former fixer

in federal prison, offering a

blow-by-blow account of

Trump's alleged role in a

hush money scandal that

once overshadowed his

presidency, reports UNB.

Of all the crises Cohen

confronted working for

Trump, none proved as

vexing as the porn actress

Stormy Daniels and her

claims of an extramarital

affair with Trump, Cohen

writes in "Disloyal: The True

Story of the Former Personal

Attorney to President

Donald J. Trump."

Trump, despite his later

protestations, green-lighted

the $130,000 payment to

silence Daniels ahead of the

2016 election, reasoning he

would "have to pay" his wife

a far greater sum if the affair

ever became known, Cohen

writes, adding the president

later reimbursed him with

"fake legal fees."

"It never pays to settle

these things, but many,

many friends have advised

me to pay," Trump said,

according to Cohen. "If it

comes out, I'm not sure how

it would play with my

supporters. But I bet they'd

think it's cool that I slept

with a porn star."

The White House called

Cohen's memoir "fan

fiction."

"He readily admits to lying

routinely but expects people

to believe him now so that he

can make money from book

sales," White House

spokesman Brian

Morgenstern said in a

statement. "It's unfortunate

that the media is exploiting

this sad and desperate man

to attack President Trump."

The Associated Press

obtained an early copy of the

book, which is scheduled to

be released Tuesday.

Cohen, who pleaded guilty

to campaign finance

violations and other crimes,

including lying to Congress,

calls himself the "star

witness" of a hush-money

conspiracy that still could

culminate in charges for

Trump after he leaves office.

He described his new book

as a "fundamental piece of

evidence" of the president's

guilt.

Experts join efforts to salvage

burning tanker off Sri Lanka

A team of experts is joining efforts to salvage a

large oil tanker that has been burning for the

fourth day Sunday off Sri Lanka, the country's

navy said, reports UNB.

Four tug boats, three Sri Lankan navy ships

and six Indian ships have been battling the fire

on the MT New Diamond since Thursday. An

additional five Sri Lankan coast guard ships

and gun boats are supplying the others vessels.

Navy spokesman Indika de Silva said the fire

on the ship has been brought under control but

is still not extinguished. There was no leak. A

team led by an expert is already on one of the

tug boats while another 10 British and Dutch

professionals including rescue operation

specialists, disaster evaluators and legal

consultants are expected to join the mission on

Sunday, the navy said.

With engines shut down, the tanker carrying

nearly 2 million barrels of crude oil drifted

about 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) from

Sri Lanka's eastern coast on Friday before a tug

boat towed it farther out to sea. It's now located

about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) off the

coast. As ships and helicopters continue to

douse flames, the navy said there was a risk of

occasional fires due to deep sea winds but

they're being controlled.

The fire killed one crew member and injured

another. Both are Filipino. The injured third

engineer was hospitalized in stable condition.

The fire began in an engine room boiler but had

not spread to the tanker's oil storage area and

no leak has been reported, the navy said. Sri

A team of experts is joining efforts to salvage a large oil tanker that has been burning

for the fourth day Sunday off Sri Lanka, the country's navy said.

Photo : AP

GD–1141/20 (11x3)

Lankan officials have warned of possible

massive environmental damage to Sri Lanka if

the ship leaks or explodes. The head of Sri

Lanka's Marine Environment Protection

Authority, Darshani Lahandapur, said Sri

Lanka does not have the resources or capacity

to combat such a massive disaster and had

appealed for help from regional countries. She

said her organisation plans to take legal action

over the fire.

MONDAy, SePTeMBeR 7, 2020

8

Parvez

Sajjad’s

new song

‘Dukhodal’

TBT RePORT

Salman Shah’s 24th death

anniv observed

TBT RePORT

24th death anniversary of popular

film star Salman Shah was

observed on sunday, who quickly

became the heartthrob since his

debut in 'Keyamot Theke

Keyamot' in 1993. His unexpected

death in 1996, not only affected his

family, but also broke the hearts of

millions of his fans. 'Salman Shah

was a member of the Bangladesh

Film Artistes' Association.

Bangladesh Film Artistes'

Association organised a

programme which include

recitation from the holy Quran and

dua mahfil marking his death

anniversary on Sunday. The

association also distribute sweets

among the poor people after asr

prayers.

' Zayed Khan, general secretary

Bangladesh Film Artistes'

Association, told the media.

Salman Shah made his debut in

A new version of "The Godfather:

Part III" - Francis Ford Coppola's

belated follow-up to two of

Hollywood's greatest ever films -

will be released in theaters this

December, Paramount said

Thursday. The concluding movie

the film 'Keyamat Theke Keyamat'

with Moushumi at the age of 22.

Sohanur Rahman Sohan

directorial was a huge hit at that

time. Then, the duo was seen in

only three movies - 'Ontore

Ontore' 'Sneho'and 'Den Mohor'.

Later, Salman acted in several

films with Shabnur including

'Tumi Amar' (1994), 'Shopner

Thikana' (1995), 'Tomake Chai'

(1996), 'Shopner Prithibi'

(1996), 'Jibon Shongshar'

(1996) and 'Anondo Asru'

(1997). The duo made one of

the most popular pairs in the

history of the Bangladeshi film

industry. They starred in a total

of 14 films.

Salman Shah also paired up with

Shabnaz, Shahnaz, Lima, Shilpi,

Sonia, Brishti, Shama and others.

Salman Shah, who dominated

the silver screen in the 90s, was

born on 19 September 1971 in

Sylhet as Shahriar Chowdhury

about the Corleone crime

family's rise and fall was

relatively poorly received, and

the new cut will achieve Coppola

and screenwriter Mario Puzo's

"original vision for the finale," a

statement from the studio said.

Emon. He started his career with

the television serial 'Pathor

Shomoy'. He got breakthrough by

the film 'Keyamat Theke Keyamat'.

He acted in a total of 27 films.

His popular films are 'Keyamat

Thekey Keyamat', 'Antorey

Antorey', 'Bikkhov', 'Bichar Hobe',

'Den Morhor' 'Ei Ghor Ei Sangsar',

'Jibon Sangsar', 'Chawa Theke

Pawa', 'Anondo Osru', 'Mayer

Odhikar', and 'Shotter Mrittu Nei'.

Apart from films, he also worked

in a handful of TV plays with great

success. Salman acted dramas are

'Deoal', 'Shob Pakhi Ghore Fire',

'Shaikote Sharosh', 'Pathor

Shomoi' 'Iti Kotha', 'Noyon' and

'Swapner Prithibi'.

The iconic actor died on 6

September in 1996. He was found

hanging from the ceiling of his

bedroom at Eskaton, Dhaka.

Police had filed a case of suicide,

but the family objected to it and

lodged a murder case.

‘Godfather: Part III’ do-over to

offer ‘more appropriate’ finale

"For this version of the finale, I

created a new beginning and

ending, and rearranged some

scenes, shots and music cues,"

said Coppola in a statement to

Agence France-Presse.

"With these changes and the

restored footage and sound, to

me, it is a more appropriate

conclusion to 'The Godfather'

and 'The Godfather: Part II'."

The new edit, retitled "Mario

Puzo's The Godfather, Coda: The

Death of Michael Corleone", will

be released in limited theaters in

December - marking the original

film's 30th anniversary - before

moving to streaming platforms.

It "is an acknowledgement of

Mario's and my preferred title

and our original intentions for

what became 'The Godfather:

Part III'," said Coppola.

Source: inquire.net

Mahan Fahim, a member of the band Aurthohin , has

created a song titled 'Dukhodal' with musician Parvez

Sajjad's voice. Omar Farooq Bishal wrote the song with

the words ' Akhon Bujhe Shobe Toh Bujhe/ Tokhon

Kisue Bujhsilam Na/ Shongay Silam Shongi Silam Na /

Kasay Silam, Kasher Silam Na'. The song was released

on Sunday in a video from the production company G-

Series.

Regarding the song, Parvez Sajjad said, it is a song of

beautiful words. Great arrangement of great melodies.

Great job. I tried my best to give it my best. How much

I have done, let the audience judge.

Mahan Fahim said that if the lyrics are good, it is also

good to arrange the melody, which has happened in the

case of this song. You can say, 'Dukhodal' is going to be

one of the best songs I have ever composed. The

fictional video is based on the main message of the

song-story of 'Dukhodal'. Alif and Promi are the models

in the video. Directed by Mohammad Russell Abir.

Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor on Sunday revealed he has tested

positive for COVID-19 and is currently isolating at home. Arjun took

to Instagram to inform fans about his COVID-19 diagnosis. He

added that he is asymptomatic and doing fine.

"It is my duty to inform all of you that I have tested positive for

coronavirus. I'm feeling ok and I'm asymptomatic. I have isolated

myself at home under the advice of doctors and authorities and will

be under home quarantine. I thank you all in advance for your

NCB summons Rhea

for questioning in

drug case

The Narcotics Control Bureau

(NCB) on Sunday summoned

late Bollywood actor Sushant

Singh Rajput's girlfriend Rhea

Chakraborty for questioning in

connection with the drug case.

The NCB officials arrived at

the Primrose apartment in

Mumbai to summon Rhea for

questioning.

Rhea joins the investigation

around 11 am.

The summon to Rhea comes a

day after a court on Saturday

sent her brother Showik and

Sushant's house manager

Samuel Miranda to four days

NCB custody till September 9.

The NCB arrested Showik and

Miranda on Friday night after

10-hour long questioning.

During questioning the NCB

got the evidence against the duo

and later they were arrested.

On Friday, the NCB also

carried out searches at the

residences of Showik and

Miranda.

The NCB on Saturday also

arrested Dipesh Sawant, the

Arjun Kapoor

tests positive

for COVID-19

support and I will keep you all updated about my health in the days

to come. These are extraordinary and unprecedented times and I

have faith that all of humanity will overcome this virus," Arjun

Kapoor wrote. Earlier this week, Arjun resumed shooting for his

yet-untitled romantic drama, also starring Rakul Preet Singh, Neena

Gupta, John Abraham and Aditi Rao Hydari.

The actor had posted on Instagram a picture of himself from the

set, where members of the crew were seen wearing masks.

"Happy to just be back on set. Have to hand it to

@emmayentertainment making filming possible again for our

movie, it just felt seamless & organic because of all the effort behind

the scenes. Grateful to be working again, slow & steady under the

right guidelines," Arjun had captioned the photo.

Source: indianexpress.com

personal staff of Sushant.

The NCB had registered a case

on August 26 under various

sections of the Narcotic Drugs

and Psychotropic Substances

Act, naming Rhea, her brother,

talent manager Jaya Saha,

Sushant's co-manager Shruti

Modi, and Goa-based hotelier

Gaurav Arya, after the

Enforcement Directorate wrote

to it about the drugs angle.

This followed the discovery of

WhatsApp messages between

Rhea and Shruti Modi,

Miranada and Sushant's

flatmate Siddharth Pithani.

The NCB is the third Central

agency to join the probe into the

death case of Sushant after the

Central Bureau of Investigation

(CBI) and the ED.

Source: mumbaimirror

H O R O S C O P e

ARIeS

(March 21 - April 20) : Perhaps you've

been planning a trip or a return to

school for a long time. However, Aries,

a rather disturbing letter or phone call

could jeopardize your plans and leave you teetering

on the edge of disappointment. If you look at the

situation carefully, you may find that it doesn't set

you back that much. You can take care of it without

sacrificing what you want.

TAURUS

(April 21 - May 21): Seemingly bad news

about your financial situation could

throw your usually even-keeled nature

off kilter. Look into the matter carefully

before panicking, Taurus. There may have been a

computer error or other mistake, or perhaps

someone confused you with someone else. Take

steps to rectify the blunder. It's a drag, but you'll be

relieved to know that all was better than it seemed.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21): An unpleasant

situation could arise. Your first reaction

may be to protect those closest to you

from the truth. You could be tempted to

lie or at least avoid mentioning the situation. Don't give

in to the temptation, Gemini. Your desire to shield

loved ones is understandable, but it could cause

problems. You can't protect people from everything.

Most people prefer to know the facts.

CANCeR

(June 22 - July 23): Your mind may be

going a thousand miles an hour today.

You might be inundated with new

ideas and information that could cause

mental overload. Write it all down if you can. You'll

want to refer to it later. It might be advisable to then

go out for a walk or other exercise. This intellectual

overload could produce excess nervous energy that

you'll need to work off.

LeO

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Worries over the

situation of a lover or close friend who

seems depressed could plague you

today, yet you may hesitate to contact

this person and ask what's wrong because you don't

want to intrude. Nonetheless, you should. All is not

as bad as it seems, and your concern will be

appreciated. Tonight, get some much-needed rest.

You've been working far too hard.

VIRGO

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): A family member

may be depressed and not up for talking

about what's wrong. His or her mood

could spread to everyone else, so it might

be a good idea to ask what's wrong. Point out that

moods are contagious! Don't force the issue, Virgo.

That would be worse. A number of calls could interrupt

your work, which you might find irritating. Don't be

afraid to let voicemail get the calls.

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Misinformation

might spread through your extended

family or neighborhood and cause

unnecessary upsets among those

involved. Don't accept at face value any gossip or

rumor you hear today until you check it out

yourself, Libra. It could turn out to be a tempest in

a teapot. This isn't a good time to plan or take a trip

of any kind. Delays or mishaps could result.

SCORPIO

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): Misinformation

regarding money could come from

someone who has a stake in your

believing whatever you're told. This

could be a banker, creditor, investment counselor, or

even a close friend or relative. Whoever it is, Scorpio,

don't accept what this person says at face value. Look

into the facts of the situation yourself before making

any decisions about what you need to do.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): Someone close to you

may not be totally honest. This person could

be avoiding telling the truth or hiding

something from you in order to protect you.

Trust your instincts, Sagittarius. If someone tells you

something important that doesn't ring true, check it out

before accepting one person's word. This isn't a vicious

deception - only a protective one. But shielding someone

from the truth can sometimes backfire!

CAPRICORN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): Weariness may have

you feeling a bit listless today,

Capricorn, and you're likely to want to

stay home in bed rather than go

anywhere. This goes against your normal inclination,

so you could be tempted to bite the bullet and get out

in spite of your malaise. Don't fall into this trap. Get

some rest so that when you absolutely have to go out,

you'll be your old self again.

AQUARIUS

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19): A lover or close friend

may seem to have dropped out of the

picture, and this could have you

worried, confused, and wondering if

this person isn't interested in continuing a

relationship with you. Don't let your insecurity get

the best of you. The person has his or her troubles

and will eventually want a strong, sympathetic

shoulder to cry on. You're likely to be that person!

PISCeS

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20): Career interests may

be short-circuited by gossip, rumor,

and office politics. Someone has an

agenda and isn't likely to care too much

about the effect on others' lives of any underhanded

dealings. If you hear about such goings-on, Pisces,

do what you can to stop them before they get out of

hand. That way you can protect your and your

colleagues' career interests.


9

Holder, Santner ensure consolation

win for Tridents

France forward Kylian Mbappe (C) scores past Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen (L) during their

UEFA Nations League match at the Friends Arena in Solna, near Stockholm on Saturday. Photo: AP

European heavyweights enjoy winning

starts in Nations League

SportS DeSk:

european heavyweights england,

world champions France, holders

portugal and Belgium all enjoyed

winning starts to their UeFA Nations

League campaigns on Saturday even if

there were signs of international rust

following the coronavirus shutdown,

reports BSS.

england needed a stoppage-time

penalty to beat Iceland 1-0 while

France saw off Sweden by the same

scoreline.

portugal shrugged off the absence of

Cristiano ronaldo to thrash Croatia 4-

1 with top-ranked Belgium coming

away from Denmark with a 2-0 win.

In reykjavik, raheem Sterling's last

minute penalty salvaged england from

another embarrassing result against

Iceland.

Gareth Southgate's men also

survived going down to 10 men and

seeing Birkir Bjarnason miss a late

spot-kick for the hosts.

Four years on from one of english

football's most embarrassing nights in

losing 2-1 to Iceland at euro 2016,

england were far from the free-scoring

force that romped through euro 2020

qualifying in their first match for 10

months.

Harry kane had an early goal

wrongly ruled out for offside before

kyle Walker was sent-off for two

bookable offences 20 minutes from

time.

All of Iceland's good defensive work

was undone in the 89th minute when

Sverrir Ingason was also harshly

dismissed for a second booking when

he blocked Sterling's shot with his arm.

With kane having been replaced by

Mason Greenwood, Sterling took

responsibility from spot, but the drama

did not end there.

Straight from kick-off, Joe Gomez

was adjudged to have bundled over

Holmbert Fridjonsson inside the area,

but Bjarnason blazed the resulting

penalty over.

"the sending off is a key moment

because it is very difficult to win games

of football when you go down to 10

men. It was an unnecessary red card,"

said Southgate of Walker's dismissal.

"We leave here with the win but a bit

flat because in the end it feels like we

got away with it."

kylian Mbappe scored with France's

only shot on goal in Solna to give the

world champions a 1-0 victory over

Sweden.

Mbappe picked up the ball wide of

the goal in the 41st minute, squeezed

past two defenders, waited for

goalkeeper robin olsen to go down

and then clipped the ball just inside the

post from the narrowest of angles.

"It was a committed match, not a

great match," said France manager

Didier Deschamps. "It was a good

back-to-school game, considering the

fitness levels."

Instability means Bartomeu's victory

over Messi may prove hollow

SportS DeSk:

An unexpected winner in 2015 and

Barcelona's bad guy in 2020, the club's

president Josep Maria Bartomeu might

feel some satisfaction after winning his

showdown with Lionel Messi, reports

BSS.

the last year has been chaotic for

Barca, even more so for their president,

and not just because they lost La Liga to

real Madrid before being humiliated by

Bayern Munich in the Champions

League.

Since January, Bartomeu has bore the

brunt of the criticism, the Catalan

businessman and a shareholder of

Barcelona since he was eleven years old

never far from controversy.

His appointment of Quique Setien as

coach in January was a disappointment,

with fans awaiting the return of their

legendary former midfielder Xavi

Hernandez to replace the clumsily

dismissed ernesto Valverde.

then in February, the club had to deny

it was at the root of a social media

campaign to criticise those sceptical of

the board, including key players, in order

to improve the image of the president.

An audit report from

pricewaterhouseCoopers concluded "no

corrupt behaviour" took place but a

judicial investigation is ongoing, with the

total amount paid allegedly six times

higher than the market price.

And then in March, at the start of the

coronavirus pandemic and with the club

in serious financial difficulty, six

members of the board resigned in protest

at the way the club was being run.

they included two vice-presidents,

enrique tombas and emili rousaud, the

latter the one Bartomeu had in mind to

be his successor.

there were calls for the presidential

elections, originally scheduled to be held

in June next year, to be brought forward

but Bartomeu soldiered on, seemingly

unperturbed.

His regime has been high on blunders

and low on diplomacy.

Messi claimed on Friday that

Bartomeu "did not keep his word" over

an agreement to let him leave for free at

the end of the season.

Messi said in March the players were

"not surprised" that "people inside the

club" wanted to shift the pressure onto

them over the issue of pay cuts.

Managing Director of the

multinational company ADeLte, which

specialises in engineering for ports and

airports, Bartomeu's first steps at

Barcelona were taken in the basketball

and handball sections.

He had even played basketball for

some of Barca's youth teams before

joining city rivals espanyol and his

connection to the sport helped him

return to Camp Nou in 2003.

So did his long friendship with Sandro

rosell, with the pair forming part of Joan

Laporta's successful bid for the

presidency, only to be removed in 2005

as splits over the direction of the club

emerged.

But in 2010, when rosell bid for the

top job himself, he included Bartomeu as

his vice-president, winning the elections

with 61 per cent of the "socio" vote.

together, they began expunging the

club of those linked to the philosophies of

Laporta, Johan Cruyff and pep

Guardiola, instead favouring a more

conservative approach associated with

Josep Lluis Nunez, the president who

sacked Cruyff as coach in 1996.

But in January 2014, rosell resigned as

he faced charges of corruption over the

transfer of Neymar from Santos for

which he would later be jailed, leaving

Bartomeu to assume the interim

presidency.

Barcelona's president Josep Maria Bartomeu might feel some satisfaction after winning his showdown

with Lionel Messi.

Photo: AP

SportS DeSk:

A captain's knock from Jason Holder

and a fine all-round performance from

Mitchell Santner saw Barbados

tridents finish their difficult season

with a consolation win, rendering

Andre russell's ballistic 54 off 28 to no

use. the seven-wicket loss for Jamaica

tallawahs, who failed to defend their

161, means they are now confirmed

fourth, and set to clash with league

toppers and yet unbeaten trinbago

knight riders in the first semifinal,

reports Cricbuzz.

opting to bat, tallawahs had the

perfect launchpad provided by

Jermaine Blackwood, who they

promoted to open. He laid into the

tridends' two premier bowlers -

Joshua Bishop and Holder - early,

taking the team to 22 without loss after

four overs, before smashing the first six

of the game, to double that score by the

end of the powerplay.

Glenn phillips got a reprieve on 14,

but the second chance lasted just three

more balls as Bishop opened his

account in the eighth over. the wicket

sucked the momentum off tallawahs

innings, who were reduced to just 69

for 1 at the halfway mark.

Blackwood brought up his fifty with a

six off keon Harding's first ball of the

game. And when Asif Ali fell, cutting

Hayden Walsh, it brought Andre

russell to the crease, which saw

another gear shift in tallawahs'

innings. And russell got to it from the

word go. He luckily survived an edge off

Holder that deceived the keeper and

went for his first boundary, but then on

it was sheer power as he slammed a

couple of sixes off Walsh as tallwahs

surged to 112 for 2 at the end of 15 overs

Santner managed to keep a check on

russell but rashid, after going for runs,

was unlucky to see his googly outfoxing

the hard-hitter, hitting the stumps but

the bails never came off. russell went

on to bring his fifty off 26 balls in the

final over with a six, before eventually

falling to rashid. However, the two

vital fifties ensured their team had their

best score of the season so far - 161 for

4.

that didn't prove nearly enough

through, even against the then bottomranked

side. even though oshane

thomas justified his recall with a firstball

beauty to dismiss Johnson Charles

for a golden duck, the over went for 17

with Jonathan Carter, also promoted to

open, laying into the attack early. At the

Russell went on to bring his fifty off 26 balls agianst Barbados Tridents.

'Flat' Thiem fights

his way into US

Open last 16

SportS DeSk:

Second seed Dominic

thiem said he must raise his

game if he is to win a first

Grand Slam at the 2020 US

open after ousting Marin

Cilic in four sets to move into

the last 16 Saturday, reports

BSS.

the 27-year-old Austrian,

the losing finalist in the

Australian open this year,

battled to a 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

victory in the late match at

an empty Arthur Ashe

stadium.

"I felt a little bit flat," said

thiem, explaining his labors

in sets three and four. "It's

normal, it's really late, (and)

without the crowd," he

added.

thiem said he had yet to

play at 100 percent in the

tournament.

"I still have to raise my

level if I want to go deeper,"

he explained.

the world number three

will play 20-year-old

Canadian hotshot Felix

Auger-Aliassime for a place

in the quarter-finals.

the 15th seed blew away

France's Corentin Moutet 6-

1, 6-0, 6-4 in just 1hr 57

mins, becoming the first

player born in the 2000s to

reached a Grand Slam

fourth round.

SportS DeSk:

Serena Williams battled

into the US open last 16

Saturday as the tournament

endured fresh controversy

after New York health officials

ordered the women's top

doubles pairing be withdrawn

over coronavirus restrictions,

reports BSS.

Williams, chasing a recordequalling

24th Grand Slam

title, came from a set down to

oust 2017 champion Sloane

Stephens 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, in

what she called an "intense"

encounter on Arthur Ashe

Stadium.

"In that first set I don't

think she made any errors,

honestly. She was just playing

so clean and I just said, 'I

don't want to lose in straight

sets,'" said Williams. With

spectators barred from this

year's Flushing Meadows

event due to the pandemic,

second and fourth seeds Sofia

kenin and Naomi osaka took

advantage of suites they have

been assigned to check out

the competition. "It's cool us

players can watch each other.

It's interesting, I like it," said

Williams, who will play 15th

seed Maria Sakkari for a place

in the quarter-finals.

the Greek player, who

stunned Williams at the

Western & Southern open

last month, progressed with a

6-3, 6-1 dismantling of

America's 22nd seed Amanda

Anisimova.

off the court, number one

seeds kristina Mladenovic

and timea Babos were

yanked from the women's

doubles competition after

Mladenovic was instructed to

quarantine for coming in

contact with French

compatriot Benoit paire, who

tested positive for CoVID-19

last weekend.

"All persons who were

identified as having

prolonged close contact with

the infected player will

quarantine in their rooms for

the remainder of their

quarantine period," the

United States tennis

Association said in a

statement. the UStA said

local public health authorities

had issued the quarantine

notices, which prevented the

players commuting from

their hotel to the UStA Billie

Jean king National tennis

Center.

"the UStA is obligated to

adhere to government

guidance at the State, City

and County level," the body

said.

A spokesman for New York

state's health department said

other end, Shamarh Brooks too fell

cheaply, to debutant left-arm seamer

preston McSween, but that brought

Holder to the crease.Holder kicked off

his innings with a six, guiding the team

to their best powerplay score of the

tournament, 61 for 2.

Holder raised his fifty with a six too -

gleefully accepting a Brathwaite fulltoss

- and off just 28 balls to propel the

tridents to a decent 88 for 2 at the

halfway stage. He next went after

Lamichhane, hitting him for a six and a

four in the same over before eventually

getting dismissed LBW to him after a

well composed 69 off 42.

tallawahs had the late window of

opportunity but failed to grab it as

Santner, too, justified his promotion

with a fiery unbeaten 35 that contained

two sixes and three boundaries that

would help tridents finish off the chase

rather easily, and with ten balls to

spare.

Brief scores: Jamaica tallawahs

161/4 (Jermaine Blackwood 74, Andre

russell 54*; Joshua Bishop 1/30,

rashid khan 1/32) lost to Barbados

tridents 165/3 (Jason Holder 69,

Jonathan Carter 42*, Mitchell Santner

35*; Sandeep Lamichhane 1/26) by 7

wickets.

Photo: AP

Serena through to last 16 as fresh

controversy hits US Open

the decision was "in the best

interest" of health and safety.

But France's Alize Cornet

described the move as "very

brutal." "It's definitely weird

because she could play her

first round of singles and first

round of doubles, and now

suddenly she's kicked out,"

Cornet added, after

progressing to the last 16

when Madison keys retired

injured. the shock

intervention came a day after

government officials tried to

prevent Adrian Mannarino,

who had also been in contact

with paire, from playing his

last-32 match.

the health department

contacted the UStA to say

Mannarino should be

quarantining in his hotel

room.

the match got underway

three hours after its

scheduled start time, after

authorities ruled it could go

ahead following discussions

with tennis officials that also

included lobbying by world

number one Novak Djokovic.

Mannarino and Mladenovic

were two of 11, mostly French

players, put under enhanced

safety protocols on Monday

after paire was withdrawn

from the US open the

previous day following his

positive test.


10

'Made in Hong Kong' brand suffers

as US-China tensions deepen

Pioneer Insurance Company Ltd has been approved 20 per cent Cash Dividend for the year ended

December 31, 2019. The decision was taken at its 24th Annual General Meeting held on Thursday

through digital platform. M Anis Ud Dowla, Senior Director of the company presided over the meeting.

Directors Tapan Chowdhury, Syed Nasim Manzur, Shafiqul Islam Khan, Fahama Khan, Sanchia

Chowdhury, M.A. Majed, Parveen Akther, Rozina Afroze, Captain A B Tajul Islam (Retd.), MP,

Lieutenant Cornel (Retd.) Muhammad Nazrul Islam, Bir Protik, MP, Consultant QFM Sirajul Islam

and Chief Executive Officer (CC.) Tarik Ur Rahman as well as a large number of shareholders were

present in the meeting virtually.

Photo: Courtesy

G20 foreign ministers

discuss easing travel

restrictions

G20 foreign ministers on

Thursday sought

international cooperation

over easing travel

restrictions and reopening

borders, as months of

coronavirus shutdowns

exert a drag on the global

economy, reports BSS.

National shutdowns of

varying intensity and

duration have taken a toll

on livelihoods around the

globe as businesses are

shuttered, revenues plunge

and millions are forced out

of work.

"During the meeting,

foreign ministers

acknowledged the

importance of opening

borders, uniting families,

and promoting measures

to allow the economy to

thrive," the G20 group said

in a joint statement.

The ministers also

discussed the "importance

of coordinating

precautionary measures"

across borders to protect

lives and livelihoods, added

the statement following a

virtual meeting hosted by

Saudi Arabia.

The oil-rich kingdom,

which has suspended

international travel for

months in a bid to limit the

spread of the virus, holds

the G20 presidency this

year.

"Reopening borders, in

accordance with all the

protective measures… will

help our economies to

thrive, people to prosper,

and will of course bring

hope for humanity," Saudi

Foreign Minister Prince

Faisal bin Farhan was

quoted as saying in the

statement.

UN Secretary-General

Antonio Guterres said

concerns were growing

that the current travel

restrictions "could outlast

the immediate crisis".

He urged the G20

ministers to agree on

"common criteria" to lift

the restrictions based on a

scientific approach.

In his remarks at the

meeting, he also implored

the ministers to boost

investment to support

"safe travel", including

measures to enhance

testing and tracing.

The meeting comes after

a raft of recent economic

data, from India to Europe,

laid bare the toll from

lockdowns as nations try to

keep a lid on an illness that

has killed more than

850,000 people and

infected over 25 million.

New Delhi on Monday

reported that Asia's thirdlargest

economy suffered a

historic 23.9 percent

contraction between April

and June amid hefty

restrictions on businesses.

Meanwhile, Brazil's

economy, the biggest in

Latin America, contracted

by a record 9.7 percent in

the second quarter of the

year.

Agricultural

Bank of China

reports net

profit decline

The Agricultural Bank of

China, one of the country's

largest commercial

lenders, saw its net profit

slide 10.8 percent year on

year in the first half of this

year (H1) , reports BSS.

The bank raked in 109.19

billion yuan (about 15.97

billion U.S. dollars) in net

profit in the first six

months of 2020, down

13.18 billion yuan from the

same period last year, its

H1 report showed.

During the period, the

operating income of the

bank amounted to 339.17

billion yuan, up 1.6 billion

yuan from a year earlier,

according to the report.

As of the end of June, its

outstanding nonperforming

loans stood at

207.75 billion yuan, with

the non-performing loan

ratio at 1.43 percent, an

increase of 0.03 percentage

points from the previous

year-end.

Meanwhile, the newlyadded

loans for the real

economy came in at 1.17

trillion yuan in H1, 225.9

billion yuan more than the

same period last year.

US unemployment rate drops to

8.4 percent but recovery slows

The US economy added

1.4 million jobs in August

and the unemployment

rate fell to 8.4 percent as

the country emerged from

pandemic lockdowns, but

the data shows the recovery

is losing steam, reports

BSS.

The drop in the

unemployment rate from

10.2 percent in July as

reported by the Labor

Department on Friday was

welcome news for

President Donald Trump,

who called it "an incredible

number" as he faces a

tough fight for a second

term in the November

election.

Federal Reserve Chair

Jerome Powell also called

the report "a good one" in

an interview with National

Public Radio, but said it

would not shake the central

bank from its strategy of

keeping interest rates lower

for longer since the

recovery will take time.

"We think that the

economy's going to need

low interest rates, which

support economic activity,

for an extended period of

time," he said. "It will be

measured in years."

Nearly a quarter of the

August employment gains

were in government jobs,

particularly temporary

work for the 2020 census,

and employment in the

world's largest economy

remains 11.5 million

positions or 7.6 percent

below the level in February,

before the coronavirus

pandemic struck.

Without the census

hiring, analysts warn that

August's report is actually

weaker than it appears,

with key industries hiring

at a slower pace and

permanent layoffs

increasing, while the White

House and Congress

remain deadlocked on a

new aid package that could

get the economy back on

track.

Private employers

rehired just one million

workers, and so far have

regained less than half the

jobs lost in March and

April.

"The recovery is rapidly

decelerating and we still

have half of the lost jobs to

get back. That shouldn't be

happening," Adam

Ozimek, chief economist at

freelancing platform

Upwork, said on Twitter.

The United States has

seen tens of millions of

layoffs since businesses

shut down in mid-March to

stop the spread of the virus,

and new claims for jobless

benefits averaged nearly

one million every week in

August.

Congress passed the $2.2

trillion CARES Act in the

pandemic's early days to

blunt the economic

downturn, but key

provisions of that law have

expired.

"Without additional

federal support, this is an

emergency with no end in

sight," said Democratic

lawmaker John Yarmuth,

chairman of the House

Budget Committee.

Workers have benefited

from state moves to loosen

lockdown restrictions even

as the virus remains rife,

and the employment report

showed the number of

people on temporary layoff

decreased by 3.1 million to

6.2 million, well below the

peak of 18.1 million in

April.

However, the number of

permanent job losses also

increased by 534,000 to 3.4

million, and Lydia

Boussour of Oxford

Economics warned that

indicates "a trend of slower,

grinding growth (that) is

worrisome for the broader

recovery and points to

increased scarring effects

from the crisis."

Public sector jobs made

up a quarter of the overall

gains in the report, with

344,000 new jobs total,

238,000 of which were for

the census. The

government has hired

nearly 600,000 workers in

the past two months alone.

The leisure and

hospitality sector, one of

the hardest hit by the

business closures, saw

growth of 174,000 jobs,

with three quarters of that

coming from food service

and drinking places.

Retail, which has seen a

strong recovery from the

downturn, added 249,000

in August, but

manufacturing jobs

increased by just 29,000.

All told, private sector

hiring in August was at its

slowest pace since May,

and it would take 10

months at this pace for

employment levels to

return to where they were

before the pandemic, Ian

Shepherdson of Pantheon

Macroeconomics said.

Robert Frick, corporate

economist at Navy Federal

Credit Union, called the

August report "a big win for

American workers" but

acknowledged rehiring will

probably occur at a slower

rate in the coming months -

if it happens at all.

"Now we'll be battling

permanent layoffs once

thought to be temporary,

bankruptcies, secondary

layoffs and maybe major

layoffs in the airline

industry," Frick said.

At the Koon Chun Sauce Factory

workers are scrambling to cover

hundreds of thousands of bottles with

new "Made in China" labels as the

popular Hong Kong brand falls victim to

spiralling diplomatic tensions, reports

BSS.

Founded nearly a century ago, the

family-owned factory has survived a

world war, multiple economic crises and

the slow withering of Hong Kong's

manufacturing base as companies

looked for cheaper labour in mainland

China.

It remains one of the financial hub's

most enduring brands, churning out

culinary staples such as soy, hoisin and

oyster sauces found in Chinese

restaurants and kitchens around the

world.

But from November it can no longer

place the words "Made in Hong Kong"

on any products exported to the United

States - part of Washington's response

to Beijing imposing a tough new security

law on the restless city.

The new rules, announced by US

Customs in July, came just two days

before a Koon Chun shipment of 1,300

boxes was about to set sail for Atlanta.

The factory suddenly had to re-label

the entire shipment and all other cargo

the firm planned to ship to the US this

summer.

"It was a mission impossible," Daniel

Chan told AFP from the factory his

great-grandfather founded in 1928.

China blanketed Hong Kong in a new

security law to stamp out huge and often

violent pro-democracy protests that

convulsed the city last year.

Both Beijing and local authorities said

it would have no impact on businesses

and would restore stability.

Mercantile Bank Securities gets new

Chairman and Vice Chairman

M A Khan Belal has been

elected as Chairman of

Mercantile Bank Securities

Limited. He is also a Director

of the Bank. And Engr.

Mohd. Monsuruzzaman has

been elected Vice Chairman

of MBSL who is a sponsor of

Mercantile bank. They were

elected in 54th and 55th

Board Meeting of MBSL held

recently. M A Khan Belal is

the Chairman of Shamrat

World Bank

cancels loan for

controversial

Lebanon dam

The World Bank on Friday

said it was canceling a loan

to fund a dam in Lebanon

that environmentalists

claimed could destroy a

valley rich in biodiversity,

reports BSS.

The Bisri Dam was

partially suspended in June

after the Washington-based

development lender said it

raised concerns about the

project's implementation,

and given the government of

Lebanon until September 4

to finalize key agreements

related to operations and

maintenance as well as the

environment.

In a statement, the World

Bank said it had notified the

government that it was

withdrawing its financing

"due to non-completion of

the tasks that are

preconditions to the

commencement of

construction."

"The canceled portion of

the loan is $244 million and

the cancelation is effective

immediately," the bank said.

Located in a valley 30

kilometres (20 miles) south

of the capital, the dam aims

to supply drinking water as

well as irrigation for 1.6

million residents.

Environmentalists and

some farmers disputed

assurances from the

government and World

Bank that the dam to be built

on a seismic fault line does

not increase the risk of

earthquakes.

M A Khan Belal

But economic consequences have

rippled through the recession-hit hub as

authorities use the new powers to

pursue political opponents.

Rattled tech firms have declined to

share data with local police while some

companies and universities are

struggling to attract international talent.

Banks have found themselves caught

in an impossible situation.

The US has sanctioned key Chinese

and Hong Kong officials in response to

the law. But that same security law also

forbids companies from complying with

any foreign sanctions regime.

Another victim has been the "Made in

Hong Kong" brand, a label that

companies can place on products made

exclusively in the city.

Donald Trump has turned

increasingly hawkish towards China as

he seeks re-election, and the crackdown

on democracy supporters in Hong Kong

has given him fresh ammunition.

This summer his administration

declared Hong Kong no longer

sufficiently autonomous to justify

special trading status. Instead it would

be treated like any other Chinese city.

Chan, who studied at Harvard in the

US, said he expected the political

landscape would shift in Hong Kong.

But he never thought it would come so

fast.

"I envisioned something closer to

2047, when Hong Kong is officially

without One Country Two Systems,"

Chan said, referring to the China

promise to let Hong Kong keep key

liberties and autonomy for 50 years

after the 1997 handover from Britain.

The past few weeks have been a blur of

activity at the sauce factory as its 90

employees try to adjust to the new

Group. He is well recognized

for his benevolent

contribution to the society

through different

Educational, Social welfare &

development activities. On

the other hand Engr. Mohd.

Monsuruzzaman associated

with construction business.

Besides this, He is also

involved in various

educational and social

activities.

Russian ex-Gulag

town on China's

doorstep eyes rebirth

The remote Russian town

of Svobodny has languished

in misery for decades but the

launch of new mega-projects

with their sights set on

nearby China is expected to

give it a new lease on life,

reports BSS.

In the centre of a town that

once served as headquarters

of one of the largest Sovietera

Gulag camps, children

huddle around a small skate

park, the sole attraction of the

drab Lenin Square.

Svobodny's roads are

riddled with potholes, and

many buildings are

dilapidated and crumbling.

Few streets have modern

pavements, and just over 15

percent of public spaces are

illuminated. Heavy rainfall

frequently leaves streets

flooded, and tap water

sometimes turns reddish

brown. But the recent

emergence of new sports

facilities and streets being

dug up signal the beginning

of an ambitious project to

transform Svobodny by

2030.

"We have prepared a

roadmap for the city's

development," said mayor

Vladimir Konstantinov.

Konstantinov hopes that

Svobodny - whose name

means "free" in Russian - can

eventually become one of the

Engr. Mohd. Monsuruzzaman

"Far East's most beautiful

cities" and offer its residents a

new quality of life.

Over the past decade

Vladimir Putin's government

has spent billions of dollars to

renovate Soviet-era towns

and cities, and in 2017

authorities approved a 50

billion ruble ($663 million)

plan to transform Svobodny.

Authorities want Svobodny

to become one of Russia's

fastest-growing cities and a

top industrial hub that will

benefit from its proximity to

China. Russia's tensions with

the West and Moscow's pivot

to Beijing give those plans

new urgency.

Outside the town of 54,000

people, construction of two

huge plants is under way.

Energy giant Gazprom is

building what it says will be

one of the largest gas

processing plants in the

world, part of its Power of

Siberia project with China.

In August, petrochemicals

company Sibur began early

work on a huge gas polymer

plant that will also serve

Asian markets. Svobodny's

population has dropped by a

third since before the fall of

the Soviet Union, but the

master plan foresees the

arrival of a new workforce.

Tens of thousands of

people will work on-site at

reality.

On top of the stop-gap stickers, new

labels are being drawn up for US exports

- the large "Made in Hong Kong"

lettering replaced with a much smaller

"Made in China" declaration.

Much time has been spent

rearranging storage for now-delayed

cargo shipments.

Companies were given a reprieve

when Hong Kong's commerce minister

Edward Yau said Washington had

postponed the label rule until early

November, after the presidential

election.

"This buys us a little bit of time," Chan

said.

But he described it as "a short-term

solution to this whole politically inspired

fiasco".

Yau has slammed the labelling change

and threatened to take the US to the

World Trade Organization.

He also stressed that Hong Kongmade

shipments to the US were worth

just HK$3.7 billion ($480 million) in

2019, less than 0.1 percent of the city's

gross exports.

But that is little consolation for Chan

who says around half his products go to

the US, where the brand is especially

popular with the large Chinese diaspora

in North America.

"I would say we are the only company

which is only based in Hong Kong and

still doing this kind of mass production

and shipping it to US," he said.

Looking ahead, Chan fears more

international markets may follow

America.

"In 20 years, 30 years from now,

people will only have 'Made in China'

and forget about Hong Kong," Chan

said. "That's very sad."

the peak of construction and

Svobodny's population may

double in several years,

according to Strelka KB, the

country's top urban

consulting firm working on

the project.

Founded as a gold-mining

settlement, Svobodny earned

notoriety as headquarters of

the Baikal Amur Collective

Labour Camp (BamLag).

Set up in 1932, the gulag

housed hundreds of

thousands of prisoners who

built the Baikal-Amur

mainline railway.

In later years Svobodny

was a busy industrial centre

but most of the

manufacturing plants closed

in the early 1990s.

Some locals like Ilya

Kutyryov note that Svobodny

- which suffers from power

cuts and offers limited leisure

opportunities - has begun to

change. "In the morning, I

can now find takeaway coffee

here," said the 34-year-old

who has lived in the town for

the past two years.

A website has been set up to

crowdsource development

ideas from locals, and older

residents say they want to see

more public spaces for young

people to keep them in

Svobodny, said Semyon

Moskalik, project director at

Strelka.

MonDAY, SEPTEMBEr 7, 2020

11

The photo shows new three-storey building of Monohardi Model Government Primary School constructed

by LGED.

Photo: TBT

Colleges using CoVID

dorms, quarantines to

keep virus at bay

With the coronavirus spreading

through colleges at alarming rates,

universities are scrambling to find

quarantine locations in dormitory

buildings and off-campus properties

to isolate the thousands of students

who have caught COVID-19 or been

exposed to it, reports UNB.

Sacred Heart University has

converted a 34-room guest house at

the former Connecticut headquarters

of General Electric to quarantine

students. The University of South

Carolina ran out of space at a

dormitory for quarantined students

and began sending them to rooms it

rented in hotel-like quarters at a

training center for prosecutors. The

Air Force Academy sent 400 cadets to

hotels to free up space on its Colorado

base for quarantines.

The actions again demonstrate how

the virus has uprooted traditional

campus life amid a pandemic that has

killed nearly 200,000 people in the

U.S. and proven to be especially

problematic for universities since the

start of the school year. Many colleges

quickly scrapped in-person learning in

favor of online after cases began to

spike, bars have been shut down in

college towns, and students,

fraternities and sororities have been

repeatedly disciplined for parties and

GD- 1133/20 (7 x 3)

large gatherings.

Health officials such as White House

coronavirus task force member Dr.

Deborah Birx have been urging

colleges to keep students on campus to

avoid them infecting members of their

family and community.

At Sacred Heart, which acquired the

66-acre GE campus in 2016, the guest

house that once provided rooms for

visiting corporate executives will be

used for the rest of the year to isolate

any of its 3,000 students who test

positive for COVID-19 and are unable

to return home, said Gary

MacNamara, the school's director of

public safety.

Rooms are stocked with snacks and

equipped with TVs and work stations

for remote learning. Heath officials

will do periodic check-ups, security is

stationed outside and card swipes

keep track of who enters or leaves.

"With all the stress and fear a

student may have if in isolation we

believe we need to make it as

comfortable as possible," MacNamara

said. "This guest house helps us

accomplish that."

But not every situation is as

comfortable.

Ryan Bologna has been locked in his

dorm room at the University of

Connecticut since 12 cases were found

in his building last week. He's allowed

to go to a dining hall next door, but has

had no other contact with the outside

world.

Zoom classes and virtual marching

band practice and video gaming are

not what the communications major

had envisioned for the start of his

senior year.

"I do have friends I've made

throughout the years that I can talk

to," he said. "But If I were a freshman,

I'd be really struggling right now as far

as the social aspect."

Isolating students seems to be

working in states like Connecticut,

where the infection rate at UConn on

Thursday was 1.34% among

residential students tested for the

virus.

But the results haven't been as good

elsewhere.

The University of Alabama recently

informed students in half of a fivestory

complex that they had to move to

other housing to make room for

infected or potentially infected

students, because two other

quarantine-and-isolation facilities

would reach capacity.

So far, more than 1,000 students on

the Tuscaloosa campus have tested

positive since mid-August. As of

Thursday, the system's online

dashboard showed its

quarantine housing was 36%

full.

S.Korea reports 167

more CoVID-19

cases, 21,177 in

total

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) --

South Korea reported 167

more cases of the COVID-19

as of 0:00 a.m. Sunday local

time compared to 24 hours

ago, raising the total

number of infections to

21,177.

The daily caseload stayed

below 200 for four straight

days, but it continued to

grow in triple digits since

Aug. 14.

It was attributed to cluster

infections in Seoul and its

surrounding Gyeonggi

province linked to church

services and a massive rally

held in central Seoul on Aug.

15.

Of the new cases, 63 were

Seoul residents and 45 were

people residing in Gyeonggi

province.

Fifteen were imported

from overseas, lifting the

combined figure to 2,892.

One more death was

confirmed, leaving the death

toll at 334. The total fatality

rate stood at 1.58 percent.

A total of 137 more

patients were discharged

from quarantine after

making full recovery, pulling

up the combined number to

16,146. The total recovery

rate was 76.24 percent.

LGED constructs modern

building of Monohardi

Primary School

Staff Correspondent:

LGED has constructed a

modern visually pleasing

building of Monohardi Model

Government Primary School

in Monohardi Upazila of

Narsingdi District. The threestorey

building was

constructed in the 2019-

2020 financial year under the

Need Based Infrastructure

Development of Government

Primary Schools Project (1st

Phase).

The construction of the

building has cost about 1

crore 55 lakh taka. The

headmaster of the school

Amina Parveen said the

school was established in

1945. Before it was a twostorey

building and there was

a shortage of classrooms for

students. We couldn't teach

students properly. The

construction of new building

has alleviated the crisis of

classrooms. However, if there

are three more classrooms,

there will be no shortage of

students in the school.

At present the school has

22 teachers and 788

students. LGED's

construction of modern

visually pleasing building has

created a transparent

environment for improved

learning. The headmaster of

the school further said, "since

a new three-storey building

of the school has been

constructed, we are able to

run the educational activities

properly." The construction

work of the school has been

beautiful and sustainable.

With the construction of new

buildings, the number of

students in the school has

increased.

LGED's Narsingdi District

Executive Engineer Sheikh

Md. Abu Zakir Secunder said

the school building has been

constructed with modern

design and visual amenities

to create a pleasant learning

environment. As a result of

the construction of the new

building, the children have

shown eagerness to go to

school. The attendance of

students in the school has

increased. The students are

proud of the construction of

modern building.

Speaker nominates 5-member

panel of chairmen

SANGSAD BHABAN :

Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin

Chaudhury on Sunday

nominated a five-member

panel of chairmen for the

9th session of the 11th

parliament, reports UNB.

The panel members are

ASM Firoz, M Motahar

Hossain, Narayan Chandra

Chanda, Kazi Firoz Rashid

and Simin Hossain Rimi.

GD- 1135/20 (6 x 4)

Hundreds of protesters demand justice for

Breonna Taylor during Kentucky Derby

Hundreds of protesters gathered Saturday

evening outside the racecourse where the

146th Kentucky Derby was held in Louisville

in the U.S. state of Kentucky to demand

justice for Breonna Taylor, an African-

American woman killed by police, reports

UNB.

Protesters stood outside the racetrack

fences, calling for justice for the shooting

death of Taylor during a police raid and for

the Derby to be canceled. A plane dragging a

banner saying "arrest the cops who killed

Breonna Taylor" flew overhead just a few

minutes before the Derby race was set to

begin, local media reported.

Protesters left the racecourse and

continued their march shortly after the

Derby ended.

Earlier Saturday, armed counterprotesters

confronted a group of

demonstrators downtown. Then the group

engaged another one coming from Jefferson

Square. Louisville Metro Police Department

GD- 1138/20 (8 x 3)

(LMPD) officers worked to separate the two

groups of protesters and ease the tensions,

police official account tweeted.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer warned on

twitter Saturday that the Louisville police

department "has a plan and is ready for

Kentucky Derby day."

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel

Cameron tweeted Saturday: "Today, while

we honor a KY tradition with the running of

the Derby, we remain cognizant of the

community's desire for answers in the

investigation into the death of Ms. Breonna

Taylor," adding that "we continue to move

forward with our investigation, reviewing

each fact to reach the truth."

Taylor, 26, was fatally shot by several

LMPD officers on March 13 when they were

executing a "no-knock" search warrant at her

apartment, and gunfire broke out after her

boyfriend fired a warning shot because he

thought the plainclothes officers were

intruders.

Monday, Dhaka, September 7, 2020, Bhadra 23, 1427 BS, Muharram 18, 1442 Hijri

Bangladesh completes

genome sequencing of

263 COVID-19 samples

In Kashirhatkhola area of Koyra upazila of Khulna, salt water is entering the locality twice a day at high

tide through the broken embankment.

Photo : Star Mail

DHAKA : Gonoshasthaya Kendra

founder Dr Zafarullah Chowdhury on

Sunday urged the government to set up

a burn unit in every district to treat the

victims of rampant fire incidents across

the country.

"Burn units are more important than

ICUs. Steps should be taken to set up a

burn unit in every district for ensuring

the treatment of those receiving burn

injuries in different accidents," he said.

Zafarullah, also a freedom fighter,

made the remarks while talking to

reporters after visiting the victims of

Narayanganj mosque's AC explosions

at Sheikh Hasina National Institute of

Burn and Plastic Surgery, reports

UNB.

He said the lives of many people who

suffered burn injuries in the AC blasts

could have been saved had they provided

prompt treatment in Narayanganj

after the incident.

The noted physician said many

patients have to come to the capital

while some of them die on the way as

DHAKA : Given the severity of the coronavirus

pandemic and the global quest for

doing more sequencing of the virus before it

spreads, Bangladesh Council of Scientific

and Industrial Research (BCSIR) has completed

genome sequencing of 263 COVID-

19 samples at its laboratory.

The doing of such public health concern

task will pave the way for coronavirus vaccine

development with underscoring the

urgency of completing more genome

sequencing to contribute to research both

locally and globally, experts believe.

"We have collected samples from 300

coronavirus positive patients across the

country… Of them, we have decoded

genome sequences of 263," BCSIR

Chairman Prof Dr Md Aftab Ali Sheikh

told a dissemination meeting on

"Releasing report on genome

sequence" in the conference room of

the organization. Science and Technology

Minister Architect Yeafesh Osman also

addressed the meeting that drew a host of

researchers, scientists and officials.

Yeafesh said genome sequencing of

COVID-19 is an important task for an

effective vaccine development as it provides

nature of the virus, which eventually

will help scientists to produce inoculate

within a shortest possible times.

Referring to the fricative efforts of scientists

from almost all countries of the

world, he said Bangladesh has already

made significant contribution to the vaccine

development race by completing

these large number of genome sequences

of the deadly virus.The minister urged scientists

and researchers to intensify their

efforts with dedicated mindset to produce

fruitful outputs to fight the killer disease.

Aftab said the BCSIR has collected samples

from 300 COVID-19 patients from

May 7 to July 31 this year and successfully

completed 263 genome sequences

within a short time.

"We have already provided information

of 263 genome sequence to 50 organizations

in the world, which are in advanced

stage of COVID-19 vaccine development,"

he said. These fifty organizations and

institutions including Chinese company

Sinovac Research and Development

Limited, USA based biotech company

Moderna and the University of Oxford in

UK are analyzing genome sequence to

develop an effective vaccine of the deadly

virus, the BCSIR Chiarman added.

Bangladesh is proud of decoding a good

number of genome sequencing, he said

adding BCSIR lab is one of five largest labs

in the world in terms of highest number of

coronavirus genome sequencing and the

second largest one in South Asia.

Zafarullah seeks burn

units in all districts

most hospitals in districts and upazilas

lack necessary and enough medical

equipment.

"It cannot be accepted that a hospital

lacks morphine which costs only Tk 35.

It also can't be accepted that the physicians

will not have basic training. Every

doctor needs to have primary knowledge

on burn injury treatment since

there can be an accident or fire incident

at any time anywhere," he said.

Dr Zafarullah said the AC-blast victims

should have been given first aid in

Narayanganj, but it did not happen as

the doctors there are not trained to deal

with such patients.

He urged the government to arrange

training for doctors in every district

town so that they can treat the patients

with burn injuries.

Some 40 people suffered burn

injuries as all the air conditioners of

Baitus Salam Mosque exploded during

Esha prayers in Fatullah, Narayanganj

on Friday night. At least 24 of them succumbed

to their injuries.

Anisul for providing

justice by upholding

dignity of judiciary

DHAKA : Law, Justice and Parliamentary

Affairs Minister Anisul Huq on Sunday

emphasized on providing justice to people

by upholding the dignity of the judiciary.

"The judiciary is independent for sure

and the judges are also enjoying freedom

provided by the constituency. But we need

to remember one thing that if justice is

delayed, people's trust in the judiciary

comes under question. So, the judicial officers

have to observe the responsibility of

providing justice to people by upholding

the dignity of the judiciary," he said.

The minister said these while addressing

the inaugural function of fifth orientation

course, which was organised virtually,

for the judges of Women and Children

Repression Prevention Tribunals at the

Judicial Administration Training Institute

(JATI), a law ministry release said.

Presided over by JATI Director General

Justice Khondker Musa Khaled, the function

was also addressed by Law and Justice

Division Secretary Md Golam Sarwar and

JATI director Md Golam Kibria.

"We had planned to dispose of at least

six lakhs cases this year, but the implementation

of that planning has been

hampered by the coronavirus pandemic.

At this stage we have to think how to ease

the backlog of pending cases while ensuring

justice. We have four more months in

our hands this year, and if we can dispose

of 1.5 lakh cases, we can at least achieve

something," Anisul Huq said.

Seeking help of the judges in this

regard, the law minister said, the nation

is looking upon you, they want justice

from you and I know you will provide

them the justice.

TV reporter

comes under

attack in

Cox's Bazar

COX'S BAZAR : A reporter of

Somoy TV came under attack by

miscreants in Cox's Bazar district

town early Sunday, reports

UNB.

Sujauddin Rubel, 30, the victim,

said he came under attack around

12:30 am in front of the Zila

Parishad Market adjoining to the

Cox's Bazar Police Super's office

while returning home on foot.

Rubel, also a member of Cox's

Bazar Journalists Union, said the

miscreants tried to strangle him to

death.

As he fell unconscious, the attackers

left him alone on the road and

fled the scene. Rubel added.

Later, a pedestrian, Md Ismail,

rescued him and got him admitted

to hospital.

Masum Khan, officer-in-charge of

Cox's Bazar Sadar Model Police

Station, said they have already

launched a drive to arrest the miscreants.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the 9th session of the 11th parliament.

Oversee mosque construction: PM

DHAKA : Describing the Narayanganj

mosque blast as a very tragic incident,

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on

Sunday said it is essential to oversee

whether mosques are constructed in the

country maintaining the due designs

and with permission from relevant

authorities so that such incidents do not

happen again, reports UNB.

"Now air-conditioners are being

installed in the country's mosques in an

unplanned way or mosques are built

anywhere [without planning]. Now it's

absolutely essential to see if the place is

suitable to construct a structure or permission

is taken from appropriate

authorities or its design is formulated

accordingly. Or else, such incidents (like

Narayanganj mosque blast) might recur

anytime," she told Parliament.

The Prime Minister said this joining

the discussion on a condolence motion

brought in the House expressing profound

shock at the demise of two sitting

MPs-Advocate Sahara Khatun and

Israfil Alam- as well as former President

of India Pranab Mukherjee and some

other personalities. Speaker Dr Shirin

Sharmin Chaudhury moved the condolence

motion in the House at the beginning

of the 9th session of the 11th parliament.

Later, the House unanimously

adopted the condolence motion.

Sheikh Hasina said the government has

already formed a committee to ascertain

the reason why the deadly blast in the

Naryanganj mosque took place.

"Now it's being investigated to find out

how and why this incident happened. I

would like to say it (the reason) will definitely

be unearthed." she added.

The Prime Minister said she has

already instructed the Cabinet Secretary

and the electricity and gas authorities to

identify the reasons behind the incident.

She said the government has taken all

the necessary measures for the treatment

of those injured in the deadly blast.

She prayed for the salvation of the

departed souls, expressed deep sympathy

to the bereaved family members and

wished speedy recovery of the injured.

Bagerhat vegetable farmers'

last hopes washed away

by torrential rain

BAGERHAT : Already squeezed in

between the coronavirus pandemic and

annual monsoon flooding, a spell of torrential

rain arrived to wreck all remaining

hopes of salvaging this year's business

for Bagerhat's vegetable farmers,

reports UNB.

Hundreds of bighas of vegetable fields

have been inundated for days, rendering

the sweat and toil of farmers upto that

point meaningless.

Farmers wallow in deep frustration

this year as they count soaring losses.

After visiting Durgapur, Khaserhat,

Charlatima and other villages of

Chitalmari upazila, the UNB correspondent

saw dead vegetable plants spread all

over the fields while many plants have

turned yellow.

The scenario remained quite same for

a large portion of vegetable fields while

somewhere farmers were seen weeding

out the dead and pale plants. The paddy

fields of Aus, Aman and their saplings

were also damaged.

Far from anticipating any profits,

farmer are rather gravely concerned over

how they would repay the loans they had

collected for harvesting.

According to the Agriculture

Department crops worth around Tk

13.38 crore have been damaged, inflicting

losses worth about Tk 17.19 crore.

In light of increased demand, vegetables

are grown around the year in different

upazilas of the district, often right

next to the pisciculture enclosures.

Commercially grown vegetables

including gourd, sweet pumpkin, bitter

gourd, cucumber, cluster beans, and zucchini

are transported to Dhaka and different

parts of the country. Winter vegetables

are also grown in summer in the

district where farmers' dream of gaining

profit this year has washed away with

floods and rain.

Altaf Hossain, 60, a vegetable farmer

of Durgapur village, said he cultivated

cucumber, bitter gourd and cluster beans

on four bighas of land after taking a loan

of Tk 1.5 lakh.

"The plants were growing well but currently

they started to die due to water

stagnation for several days. Already most

of the plants are dead," he said, very concerned

over the loan stress he now faces.

Another such farmer, Sujon Mandal,

said his family lost vegetables farmed on

seven bighas of land, which was the only

source of their daily bread.

Swapna Nari Mandal, a woman

farmer who cultivated vegetables on five

bighas of land this year, is now grappling

with unexpected losses that will put a

strain on her family expenses.

Farmers like Mohadeb Mandal, Bijon

Hira, Bikash Mandal and many more

bear the same story and took large sum

of loan to cultivate on their lands which

was the key to running their households.

"We can't sustain without government's

help this year," one of them said.

Official of Chitalmari Upazila

Agriculture Department Hrituraj Sarkar,

said crops worth Tk 13.37 crore were

damaged in Chitalmari upazila.

Deputy Director of Bagerhat

Agricultural Extension Department

Raghunath Kar, said they are suggesting

that farmers plant saplings in polythene

bags for cultivation to recover

the damages.

Photo : TBT

Sinha murder

Home Ministry's

probe body to

submit report

on today

COX'S BAZAR : The investigation body

formed by the Home Ministry will submit

its report on September 7 (Monday)

over the killing of Major (retd) Sinha Md

Rashed Khan in Teknaf. Chattogram

Additional Commissioner Md Mizanur

Rahman, who led the probe, confirmed

the matter in a press briefing Saturday,

reports UNB.

The 80-page probe report is complete,

including a 12-point set of recommendations,

he said.

"The probe body talked with 68 people,

collected information from the spot and

also visited spots where Sinha recorded

his video documents," Rahman said.

The report contains the details over

why the murder was committed and

who was behind it, he said.

The body led by Mizanur Rahman

was formed on August 3, and initially

was scheduled to submit its report within

seven working days, but received several

extensions.

The probe body earlier interrogated

the prime accused former Officer-in-

Charge of Teknaf Model Police Station

Pradeep Kumar Das on Wednesday.

Major (retd) Sinha was killed in police

firing at Baharchhara police check-post

on July 31. Sharmin Shahriar Ferdous,

elder sister of Sinha, filed a case with

Teknaf Senior Judicial Magistrate's

Court on August 5.

No need to send

UNO Wahida

abroad right now:

Health Minister

DHAKA : Health Minister Zahid

Maleque on Sunday said there is no

need to send Ghoraghat UNO Wahida

Khanam abroad for better treatment at

this moment but a decision in this

regard will be taken later, if needed,

reports UNB.

"Observing Wahida's condition it

appears she doesn't need to be sent

abroad right now. Doctors at the

National Institute of Neurosciences and

Hospital are taking good care of her. A

decision in this regard will be taken

later, if needed," said the minister.

The Health Minister came up with the

information while talking to

reportersabout the health condition of

the UNO at the hospital in the morning.

"The 72-hour observation by the doctors

at the hospital will end on Monday

morning and no symptom of any infection

has been reported yet. The patient is

undergoing treatment under good management

and everything is going well.

Everything needed for her treatment

will be provided," he said.

The minister went on saying, "UNO

Wahida talked to me and I think her

condition is better now. Eight doctors

successfully operated on her injured

parts for two and a half hours and the

right side of her injured body is still

paralysed.

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

07-09-2020

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