14-09-2020

Monday

DhAkA: September 14, 2020; Bhadra 30, 1427 BS; Muharram 25, 1442 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.17; N o.166; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

InternatIonal

Oxford and Astra

Zeneca resume

corona vaccine trial

>Page 7

art & culture

Aparna to star in

drama series

'Achira'

>Page 8

sports

Messi plays 45 minutes

in Barca friendly win

as La Liga kicks off

>Page 9

Bangladesh

tops in UN

Peacekeeping

Mission

DHAKA : Bangladesh has secured

the top position among 118 countries

in sending troops to the United

Nations peacekeeping missions.

The Inter Service Public Relation

(ISPR) Directorate disclosed the

information through a press release

on Saturday, reports UNB.

Bangladesh regained the position

by sending a 160-member Quick

Reaction Force in Central African

Republic on July 17, it said.

A total of 6,731 Bangladeshis are

now employed in different peacekeeping

missions of the United

Nations. Bangladesh is followed by

Ethiopia with 6,662 peacekeepers.

In Indian subcontinent, India has

been in fifth place with 5,353 peacekeepers

and Pakistan in sixth position

with 4,440 peacekeeping members

in the UN missions.

Ex-MP Bodi

indicted in

corruption case

CHATTOGRAM : Former Cox's

Bazar MP Abdur Rahman Bodi was

indicted in a case accusing him of

amassing illegal wealth, reports

UNB.

Chattogram District and Sessions

Judge Md Ismail Hossain framed the

charges against Bodi.

With this, the formal trial has

begun against Bodi, said Salauddin

Lablu, Anti-Corruption Commission

lawyer. The court also fixed October

18 for the next hearing in the case.

Ali Akbar, assistant lawyer of ACC

filed the case at Double Mooring

Police Station in 2017 against Bodi

for amassing Tk 47 lakh from

unknown sources and Tk 67 lakh illegally.

ACC submitted the chargesheet on

June 2018.

Zohr

04:29 AM

11:58 PM

04:21 PM

06:10 PM

07:25 PM

5:43 6:06

Role of government officials

sought for preventing

human trafficking

Civil Society activists sought cooperation

of the government officials for

proper implementation of National

Plan of Action (NPA) 2018-22 on preventing

human trafficking.

The NPA has five objectives such as

prevention of human trafficking, providing

protection to the victims and

their families, ensuring justice to the

victims by properly enforcing the relevant

law, participation of all concerned,

and evaluation of implementation

of NPA.

The call came at an opinion exchange

meeting between Civil Society activists

and government officials held at YWCA

auditorium at Mohammadpur in the

capital on Sunday.

Headed by Home Ministry, an interministerial

committee comprising high

officials of Foreign, Law, Women and

Children Affairs, Expatriate Welfare,

Religious Affairs, Education, Primary

and Mass Education, LGRD,

Information and Social Welfare

Ministries was formed as per the NPA

for combating the crime, a press release

said.

The meeting titled 'follow-up meeting

with government officials on implementation

of NPA on human trafficking' was

held with the participation of both government

and non-government officials.

Community Participation and

Development (CPD), a consortium

member of Prevention of Child

Trafficking through Strengthening

Community and Networking

(PCTSCN), organized the event on

behalf of PCTSCN.

Dr. Abul Hossain, deputy secretary,

Ministry of Women and Children

Affairs, attended as the chief guest,

while AKM Masud Ali, executive director

of INCIDIN Bangladesh, was in the

chair.

Advocate Md. Rafiqual Islam Khan

Alom, coordinator, PCTSCN secretariat,

presented the keynote paper.

Md. Alamgir Hossain, senior assistant

judge and legal aid officer, Dhaka district,

Rabiul Islam, deputy director of

National Human Rights Commission

Bangladesh, Mahmudul Kabir, country

director of TdH-Netherlands,

Bangladesh, Benjir Ahmed, district education

officer, Dhaka, among others,

spoke at the event.

Lawyers to get long-term

loan at low interest: Anisul

DHAKA : Law,

Justice and

Parliamentary

Affairs Minister

Anisul Huq

yesterday said

lawyers would

be given longterm

loans at

low interest to cope with the financial

crisis caused by the long general holiday

to stop the transmission of coronavirus.

"Lawyers could not practice for

around 2.5 months, making them

suffer a huge financial crisis. The crisis

was even grave for the junior

lawyers. They were suffering the

most. They would be given long-term

loans through the Bangladesh Bar

Council to cope with the crisis," he

said.

The law minister said these while

addressing a virtual function to inaugurate

newly-constructed eight-storied

Faridpur Chief Judicial

Magistrate Court Building, an official

release said.

"We have been able to complete

trial of Bangabandhu murder, jail

killings and war criminals during the

tenure of Sheikh Hasina government.

Verdict was delivered in a case over

custodial death, which was first of its

kind in this sub-continent. All should

remember the fact that none is above

the law and all would be brought to

justice for violating law," he added.

The law minister said at present

around 37 lakh cases are pending

before different courts across the

country, adding, "We have to ease

this backlog of cases." "We would

implement the 2,876 crore e-judiciary

project. We would take a middle

path between 'justice delayed is justice

denied' and 'justice hurried is justice

buried' and would try to lessen

the number of pending cases," Anisul

further said.

The admission process for Class XI (session 2020 - 2021) began on Sunday which will continue till Sept 17. Photo : Star Mail

Class XI

admission

process begins

Violating rules, a member of law enforcement agency crossing road at Motijheel area of the capital city.

DHAKA : The admission process for

Class XI (session 2020 - 2021) began

on Sunday which will continue till

September 17, reports UNB.

Dhaka Education Board Chairman

Md Ziaul Haque confirmed the matter.

According to the Inter-Education

Coordinating Board, applications

were taken from 1.4 million students

who had passed the SSC and its

equivalent examinations in three

stages.

This year 16,90,523 students have

passed the SSC and its equivalent

examinations.

According to the admission policy

issued earlier, MPO registered educational

institutions in municipal (upazila)

areas cannot take more than Tk

1,000 including session and admission

fee for class XI students, Tk 2,000 in

municipal (district headquarters)

areas and Tk 3,000 in the metropolitan

areas other than Dhaka.

Not more than Tk 5,000 can be collected

for admission in MPO registered

educational institutions in

Dhaka metropolitan area.

A maximum of Tk 8,000 for the

English version and Tk 7,000 for the

Bangla version can be charged for the

development of partial MPO or non-

MPO educational institutions in the

Dhaka metropolitan area and for the

payment of salaries and allowances

to non-MPO teachers.

Photo : TBT

54 pc Bangladeshi rural

families lack internet

access: Survey

NID forgery

5 gang members held in city

DHAKA : Detective Branch (DB) members

arrested five members of a gang,

who helped in getting bank loans by

making fake National Identity Cards

(NIDs), from the city's Mirpur area.

The arrestees are Md Sumon Parvez

(40), Md Majid (42), Siddharth

Shankar Sutradhar (32), Md Anwarul

Islam (26) and Md Abdullah Al Mamun

(41), reports UNB.

Twelve dual, fake and duplicate NIDs

cards were recovered from their possessions.

Tipped off, a team of Organized

Crime and Vehicle Theft Prevention

Team under the DB (Lalbagh Division)

conducted a drive in D-Block area of

Mirpur Zoo Road at 7:45 pm on Saturday

and arrested the five syndicate members.

Deputy commissioner (media) Walid

Hossain said Sumon and Majid used to

help loan defaulters to apply for loan

using fake NIDs and they usually take

DHAKA : Despite the government's prodigital

approach, 54 percent rural

households in Bangladesh do not have

access to internet, a new study shows, as

experts fear the 'digital divide' could hinder

e-governance progress, reports

UNB.

According to the research findings

unveiled Sunday, 59 percent of them do

not have access to a smartphone and 49

percent have no access to computers.

The study, carried out by Brac

Institute of Governance and

Development (BIGD), surveyed 6,500

rural households across the country to

develop a Digital Literacy Index (DLI)

that illustrates the current state of digital

literacy in rural Bangladesh.

Experts at an online seminar titled

'Digital Literacy in Bangladesh', where

the study results were unveiled, feared

that this persisting 'digital divide' among

the rural and urban households in

Bangladesh will continue to hinder the

successful expansion of the country's e-

governance system.

According to the study findings, rural

households in Chattogram, Dhaka, and

Khulna divisions enjoy higher digital

access, digital skills, and digital literacy

status than those in Mymensingh,

Rangpur, and Sylhet divisions.

It also revealed that among the surveyed

households less than one percent

generates any form of income through

online activities. The income of a household

has a strong and significant impact

on its digital access, skills, and literacy,

the findings showed.

Similar to digital access, categorised in

four classes based on their digital skills,

two-third of the rural households

appear to have "low" skills, 16 percent

households have "no" skill, 15 percent

have "basic" skills, and eight percent

have "above basic" skills.

The study also found that while the

gender of the household head has no

significant impact on digital access,

female-headed households are more

likely to have better digital literacy.

BIGD Senior Research Fellow Dr

Wasel Bin Shadat while presenting the

results said stakeholders must urgently

develop a comprehensive National

Digital Competency Framework that

can bridge the existing 'digital divide' in

Bangladesh.

Consultative Group to Assist the Poor

Policy Lead Gregory Chen said digital

literacy is the outcome of numerous

determinants affecting one another.

"Only when all of these different determinants

are identified and addressed,

will the level of digital literacy improve,"

Chen said.

Tk 80,000 to Tk 1 lakh from each of

them for making fake NID card.

Besides, they also asked their clients to

pay 10% of the total loan after sanction of

the loan amount from banks. If they

agreed, they first make a fake NID card.

Their other accomplices-Siddhartha

Shankar Sutradhar and Md. Anwarul

Islam used to make fake identity cards.

They used to charge Tk 35,000 to Tk

40,000 for each fake NID card, he said.

As Siddharth Shankar Sutradhar

and Anwarul Islam worked as data

entry operators in Khilgaon and

Gulshan offices under the Election

Commission's outsourcing company

e-zone companies, they could easily

create fake NID cards using the software

of the Election Commission

office, Walid Hossain added.

A case was filed against them with

Mirpur Mod police station.

MondAY, SepteMbeR 14, 2020

2

Aman farming target exceeds

by 1.17pc in Rangpur region

RANGPUR: Despite damages caused

by floods, farmers have exceeded the

fixed farming target of Aman rice with

government assistance braving the

coronavirus (COVID)-19 pandemic this

season in Rangpur agriculture region,

reports BSS.

"Farmers have already brought

6,12,235 hectares of land under Aman

rice farming exceeding the fixed

farming target by 1.17 percent," said

Muhammad Ali, Additional Director of

the Department of Agricultural

Extension (DAE) for Rangpur region.

Earlier, the government undertook

massive post-flood agriculture

rehabilitation programmes to assist

flood-affected farmers in attaining the

fixed Aman rice farming target to

recoup crop losses caused by the recent

floods in the region this season.

The government through the DAE

continues distributing specially

prepared Aman rice seedlings among

15,225 flood-hit farmers free of cost for

re-transplanting those on 15,225 bigha

of submerged cropland with one bigha

each in the region.

Earlier, the DAE has fixed a target of

producing 16,97,795 tonnes of clean

GD-1173/20 (13x4)

Aman rice (25,46,693 tonnes of paddy)

from 6,05,140 hectares of land for

Rangpur agriculture region this season.

"Farmers have already transplanted

Aman rice seedlings by Saturday on

6,12,235 hectares of land which is

higher by 7,095 hectares or 1.17 percent

against the fixed farming target of the

crop," Ali said.

Earlier, farmers had prepared Aman

rice seedbeds on 34,427 hectares of

land, higher by 4,036 hectares or 13.28

percent than a requirement of

preparing the same on 30,391 hectares

to produce seedlings for transplantation

on 6,05,140 hectares of land.

"However, the recent floods damaged

Aman rice seedbeds on 1,196 hectares of

land causing losses to seedlings worth

Taka 15.95 crore and affecting 38,705

farmers in the region," Ali said.

Besides, the floods damaged the

transplanted Aman rice crop on 111

hectares of land causing production

losses of 320 tonnes of rice worth Taka

1.16 crore and affecting 1,222 farmers.

As a part of the government

programmes, the DAE has prepared

community Aman rice seedbeds on 221

acres of land in flood-hit areas and

distribution of the prepared seedlings

among 14,732 flood-hit farmers of the

region is nearing completion.

Besides, 500 floating Aman rice

seedbeds have been prepared in floodhit

areas and the prepared seedlings are

being distributed among 125 floodaffected

farmers.

"In addition to this, the DAE

continues distributing late variety

Aman rice seedlings after preparing

those on 9,568 floating trays among

368 flood-affected farmers with 26

trays to each of the farmers of the

region," Ali said.

Besides, late variety Aman rice seeds

have been distributed free of cost

among flood-hit farmers who have

already broadcasted those on their

affected croplands.

Many flood-hit farmers have

cultivated late 'Ganjia' varieties of Aman

rice using seeds from their own stocks

in affected areas.

"Farmers are expected to complete

re-transplantation of Aman rice

seedlings on their submerged croplands

by the next couple of days to further

exceed the fixed farming target in the

region this season," Ali added.

Chattogram divisional

commissioner

infected with Covid-19

CHATTOGRAM :

Chattogram Divisional

Commissioner ABM Azad

has tested positive for

coronavirus. Ikhtier Uddin

Arafat, personal assistant to

the commissioner said

Azad's test report came out

from the Bangladesh

Institute of Tropical and

Infectious Diseases (BITID)

on Saturday, reports UNB.

"He is now in isolation at

his residence and is doing

well," said Ikhtier.

The wife and elder son of

Commissioner Azad were

found infected with the

virus on Thursday.

Besides, a total of 17,850

people have tested positive

for coronavirus in the

district, said sources at Civil

Surgeon's office.

Bangladesh reported 34

more deaths in 24 hours

pushing up the death tally

to 4,702.

Besides, the daily

infection rate declined to

11.96 percent during the

period as 1,282 new

patients were detected after

testing 10,723 samples.

Kurigram

farmers turning

to vegetable

cultivation

KURIGRAM : Many

farmers in Kurigram have

taken up vegetable

cultivation to recoup losses

incurred during the recent

flood, reports UNB.

The Department of

Agricultural Extension

(DAE) said the three-phase

floods damaged vegetables

in the district, forcing

farmers to count huge

losses.

Crops on 17,000 hectares

of land have been damaged

during the prolonged flood.

The authorities concerned

have estimated the loss

caused by the flood at Tk

140 crores, said DAE

sources.

DAE officials have

distributed vegetable seeds

to 27,761 farmers and

already 490 hectares of

land have been brought

under vegetable cultivation

under Kharip-2 (Kharip is

monsoon or autumn

crops).

Of these, radish has been

cultivated on 120 hectares,

bottle gourd on 70

hectares, jute on 160

hectares and red spinach

on 140 hectares.

Besides, many farmers

have planted eggplant and

early winter vegetables to

earn a good amount of

money.

During a recent visit,

farmers were seen working

hard in the fields with a

hope to recoup losses.

A number of vegetable

farmers of Sinai union in

Razarhat upazila said they

brought some 1.5 acres of

land under eggplant

cultivation and have spent

Tk 20,000-25,000 on each

bigha.

They hope that they will

be able to earn Tk 80,000

to Tk 100,000 from crops

on each bigha if the

weather remains good and

there's no pest attack.

Dr Mostafizur Rahman,

deputy director of DAE,

said the officials concerned

are giving advice to farmers

on recouping losses and the

work to distribute

vegetable seeds among

27,761 farmers of the

district is going on.

According to the

Agriculture Ministry, this

year flood has damaged

crops on over 1.58 lakh

hectares of lands, causing

losses worth Tk 1,323 crore.

Minister Abdur Razzaque

said the ministry has taken

various measures to recoup

losses and hopefully it

won't put any negative

impact on food production,

he added.

Young girl 'gang raped' in Jashore, 3 detained

JASHORE : A young girl has reportedly been

gang-raped by three people in Abhaynagar

upazila of Jashore on Saturday, reports UNB.

Police have taken three suspects into custody

after the incident.

The detainees were identified as Hasan Ali, 26,

son of Liakat Ali Biswas of Manirampur upazila,

GD-1167/20 (17x3)

Habib, 28, son of Chan Mia and Farid, 22, son of

Afil uddin Sheikh of Khulna's Koyra upazila.

Tajul Islam, officer-in-charge of Abhaynagar

Police Station, said the suspects waylaid the

victim when she was going to her sister's house at

Guakhola in Noapara municipality in the

morning with her two-year-old nephew.

MondAY, SePteMBer 14 2020

3

PM to virtually open Bangladesh

Chancery Complex in Ankara

DHAKA : Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina is

scheduled to virtually

inaugurate the newlyconstructed

Bangladesh

Chancery Complex in

Ankara on Monday,

reports UNB.

Foreign Minister Dr AK

GD- 1169/20 (4x3)

Abdul Momen will join his

Turkish counterpart

Mevlut Cavusoglu at the

inaugural ceremony.

Dr Momen left for

Turkey on Sunday

morning, a senior official

told UNB.

The Foreign Minister

will hold bilateral talks

with his Turkish

counterpart on September

15, he said.

Rohingya crisis, D-8

summit, trade and

investment issues are

expected to come up for

discussion at the meeting.

The Foreign Minister is

scheduled to return home

on September 16, said the

official.

The construction of

Bangladesh Chancery

Complex in Ankara at a

cost of Tk 45.76 crore was

completed on September

3.

Main features of the

Complex include Chancery

Building, Embassy

Residence, 229 seat hitech

auditorium named

'Victory 1971', automated

mechanical and electrical

systems, mosque,

gymnasium, display centre

for Bangladeshi items,

library for the reference

books on Bangladesh

primarily

on

Bangabandhu, War of

Independence and socioeconomic

development of

Bangladesh.

As reflection of

Bangladesh's history of

independence, a bust of

Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman and

Shaheed Minar were also

installed at the Complex,

said the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs.

Moreover, 36 sqm mural

works titled 'Invincible

Bangladesh' as well as

terracotta works on the

rural life of Bangladesh

was also placed at the

Complex.

Reflection of the aura of

Bangladeshi architecture

was ensured by the use of

red bricks in the facade of

the buildings and use of

flat roof.

A protocol between

Bangladesh and Turkey on

Exchange of Land Plots for

Diplomatic Missions was

signed in Dhaka at the

Foreign Minister level on

November 14, 2010.

The protocol paved the

way for acquisition of land

plots mutually exchanged

between the two countries

for construction of

diplomatic missions in

their respective capitals.

Later, in 2012, Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina

laid the foundation stone

for the 'Construction of

Bangladesh Chancery

Complex in Ankara'

project and the bust of

Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman at the

site at Oran Diplomatic

Zone during her visit to

Turkey in 2012.

The implementation of

the Project received a

renewed boost after M

Allama

Siddiki,

Ambassador

of

Bangladesh to Turkey and

current Project Director

took charge of the Mission

at the end of 2015, said the

Bangladesh Embassy in

Turkey.

The ground breaking for

the construction was done

on September 18, 2018.

Although construction

was going on smoothly,

work progress suffered

heavily due to snowfalls in

two winters and the

current COVID-19

pandemic.

Despite these hurdles,

the Embassy could

manage to complete the

construction within 20

months of the ground

breaking.

Tk 2.26 crore was

refunded by Bangladesh

Embassy in Ankara at the

successful completion of

the 'Construction of

Bangladesh Chancery

Complex in Ankara'

project.

GD- 1175/20 (6x4)

GD-1176/20 (7 x 4)

GD- 1174/20 (5x4)

GD- 1170/20 (4x4)

MONDAY, SEPTEMbER 14, 2020

4

The small island thinking big in the Med

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Monday, September 14, 2020

Actions against noise

pollution overdue

Noise pollution has become a major health worry

for inhabitants of the capital city Dhaka and

other cities and towns of the country . It is one

of the major menaces that plague the lives of the citizens.

There was a time when residents of Dhaka

could move peacefully from one place to the other in

the city. They did not have to face that much hassle ;

there was no ear-splitting traffic snarl, no traffic congestion

in those days.

With rapid urbanization, Dhaka saw high rise in

population. The city has become a bursting megacity

now with all its attendant evils, noise pollution being a

very major one of them. Honking of horns of vehicles,

sound of breaking bricks and stones by machines during

construction works, use of heavy and noisy equipment

and loudspeakers, sound caused by industrial

units, sound of grill making workshops, welding

shops, sound of generators, high volume of music

from audio video shops and residences of individuals

during wedding ceremonies and religious gatherings

are the main sources of noise pollution in the city in

recent times. There are also vendors who go on selling

their merchandise on the roads, lanes and by-lanes in

vans with loudspeakers describing the qualities of the

merchandise.

According to environmentalists sound decibel in

Dhaka city is in danger level compared to other cities

in the world. According to the World Health

Organisation (WHO), generally 60 decibel sound can

render a person deaf temporarily and 100 decibel can

cause complete deafness. The noise of any busy street

in Dhaka has been estimated at 60 to 80 decibels, with

the sound of hydraulic horns measuring 95 decibels. It

is unfortunate that the authorities could not implement

the Sound Pollution Control Act-2006. It is

gathered that the volume of sound that is one and a

half to two multiplierhigher than the tolerable limit is

noted generally in Dhaka. Save the Environment

Movement, an organisation, has recorded 84-100

decibel sound in the peaceful area at daytime, 84-93

in the residential area, 88-102 in the mixed area, 86-

103 in the commercial area, which are one and a half

to two multiplies higher than the tolerable limit.

According to Bangladesh PoribeshAndolon the

Sound Pollution Law does not allow installation and

use of building construction equipment within a 500-

meter radius of a residential area or dwelling houses.

But the law is hardly followed by the developers.

Similarly, the Noise Pollution (Control) Rules-2006

prohibits honking of horns within a 100-metre radius

of hospitals, educational institutions and offices. The

rules also make mandatory taking prior permission

for using loudspeakers.

But who cares ? Students, particularly examinees,

patients in hospitals and clinics bear the brunt of noise

pollution. Ours is a country with many people devoid

of rationality and common sense. There are people

with macho habits and temperaments. They care a fig

to abide by rules and regulations .Uncaring drivers of

vehicles keep on blaring horns without rhyme or reason.

Wayward youths keep on playing music with high

volumes near roadsides, much to the annoyance of the

pedestrians. Besides, rock musical sessions are

arranged on the rooftops of houses during marriage

ceremonies by the people who have no respect for others'

convenience. This kind of sound pollution mars

the sleeps of the people living in these areas. Peaceloving

neighbours have to endure this silently fearing

reprisals on complaining . Mushroom growth of

workshops and welding shops have also contributed

to noise pollution in the city. Besides, some times high

sound of loudspeakers from religious gatherings on

the roads add to the sound pollution.

According to physicians, noise pollution may cause

physiological and psychological problems, hypertension,

high stress level, obsession, headache, sleeplessness,

neurological disorder and even heart disease.

Noise pollution also can cause decline in learning ability

of children. The rate of dumbness among children

will further increase if the prevailing sound pollution

cannot be stopped or much reduced , said a specialist

physician.

It is high time for relevant authorities to sharpen

mass awareness against noise pollution and rein in the

people and organizations responsible for causing

noise pollution in the interest of public health. The

sooner thisis done, the best will happen in the highest

public interest. In sum, people are keen to see law

enforcement actions at the fastest against sound polluters.

Cyprus' tourist industry suffered a

hammer blow this year because of

the Covid-19 pandemic, but the

disaster has fueled other ambitions on the

island, with many political leaders,

financial experts and corporate players

now seeing the country as an international

hub for small and medium-sized

enterprises (SMEs).

Brexit uncertainty, changing work

patterns and lifestyle considerations,

coupled with the Cypriot government's

courting of global tech companies, has

resulted in SMEs increasingly looking to

this corner of the Mediterranean to grow

their wealth.

With a corporate tax rate of 12.5%, a

highly developed banking system built on

British standards and practices, and a legal

system based on British law, Cyprus is fast

emerging as a real contender in the

cutthroat arena of international

commerce.

"The Cyprus economy is built on a model

of SMEs," said Marios Christou, who heads

the Center of Economic Studies at the

University of Nicosia (UNIC). "And SMEs

have found a home base in Cyprus where

they can flourish.

"It's an upward trajectory that's likely to

continue in the coming months and years,

further propelling the status of the island

as an international business hub."

More than 90% of the businesses

operating in Cyprus are classed as micro,

small and medium-sized enterprises,

which is indicative of the overall work ethic

of locals and expats on the island according

to Elena Kontou, chief executive of Sepaga,

a Canadian-owned electronic money

institution (EMI) founded in Cyprus in

2015.

"Cyprus offers significant opportunities

to SMEs due to their key role in the local

economy," Kontou said. "They generate

approximately 77.7% of value added, which

is above the EU average of 56.8%.

"There are also many very well-educated,

driven young professionals to recruit, with

a strong work ethic, as well as a market

with grounds to grow and develop.

Especially in the area of technology and

finance, Cypriots are eager to learn and try

new solutions."

Revenue from tourism - which affects

many businesses on the island - suffered a

monumental drop in the first six months of

this year, dropping to €6.7 million (US$7.9

million) in June compared with €350.4

million at the same time last year.

According to statistics released this month

by the Cyprus Statistical Service, it's a

decrease of 98.1%.

However, despite the common

perception that tourism is the lifeblood of

the island, 70% of the Cypriot economy is

actually focused on financial and

professional services including banking,

PITAMbER KAUShIK

investment management, shipping and

real estate.

And prior to the pandemic, the economy

was doing better than predicted.

Over five consecutive years, Cyprus

registered GDP growth rates averaging

4.4%, with unemployment falling to its

lowest level in a decade. Downsizing the

banking sector, reducing the concentration

of high-risk assets and imposing one of the

strictest anti-money-laundering

frameworks in Europe had further

renewed confidence in the banking sector,

leading to new international business and

foreign direct investment (FDI).

Serious investment was also being

plowed into large-scale infrastructure

projects, hospitality, health care, higher

education, technology and renewables.

Georgios Lakkotrypis, the former energy

and commerce minister for Cyprus and an

adviser to the president, said: "In recent

years, Cyprus has transformed its banking

systems, fully aligning it with EU

regulations and the highest international

standards.

"Before temporarily being interrupted by

the pandemic, Cyprus was able to stabilize

MOhAMMED AlMEzEl

its economy and attract investment. With

its careful handling of the health crisis,

Cyprus will soon be in a strong position to

resume its growth trajectory."

One of the sectors the government is

pinning its hopes on to restore the island's

fortunes is future technologies. Theodoros

Loukaidis, the director general of Cyprus

Research and Innovation Foundation, says

interest in future capabilities, in particular,

has witnessed a "rapid evolution" in recent

years.

"The reform of the national

governance system for R&I as well as the

recent establishment of the Deputy

Ministry of Research, Innovation and

Digital Policy reflect the strong

commitment to establish R&I as a

fundamental pillar of a new model for

growth, capable of expanding the

productive base of the Cyprus economy.

"Through collaborative working, our aim

is to bring the ecosystem closer together

and amplify its potential to produce worldclass

research and innovation that results

in tangible benefit for the national

economy and the society."

Among the next-generation technology

companies that have made Cyprus their

base are Pundi X 365 and Borghese

Ventures offering tech solutions in tourism

and hospitality, fintech, edtech and data

analytics.

Joseph Borghese, an Indo-Cypriot

entrepreneur who owns both companies,

said: "Cyprus has many opportunities to

offer businesses seeking to develop within

the EU and beyond.

Source : Asia Times

Why we should be fine in a second COVID-19 wave

Is the coronavirus coming back? Are

we witnessing a much talked about

'second wave'? In all appearances, we

are. The recent numbers indicate that

COVID-19 is sadly back, with a

vengeance. That is bad news. The good

news is that there is no panic the way we

saw in March and April when the world

rushed to close every business and social

activity, which led to unprecedented

economic devastation, leaving millions of

people around the world out in the cold

without jobs.

First, the bad news. In the last 24

hours, the world has registered one of the

highest numbers of new cases - nearly

310,000 new infections on Friday.

Despite the success of most countries in

slowing down the outbreak in the past

three months, there is a substantial

resurgence in new cases in Europe, India,

South America, and the United States.

Some of these countries, such as

Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,

Montenegro, and India, have recorded

higher numbers in August and

September than they did at the peak of

the pandemic in March and April. In

India, for example, there were 97,654

confirmed new cases registered on

Friday. France, a European COVID-19

hotspot earlier in the year, announced

9,843 new cases on Thursday, the

highest number it has recorded.

In the UAE, 931 new cases were

announced on Friday, a big jump from

the average 300-400 we had seen in the

past two months. Experts in the UAE and

around the world say the increased

testing could explain the spike. The

resumption of on-site work and air travel

was followed by the new school year. So

more tests are naturally being conducted

than ever before; subsequently, more

new cases are discovered.

However, Dr Anthony Fauci, the White

House adviser and director of the

National Institute of Allergy and

Infectious Diseases in the US told

Americans, on Thursday they should

prepare for "a second wave" of COVID-19

infections as the flu season nears. "We

need to hunker down and get through

this fall and winter because it's not going

to be easy," he said at the Harvard

Medical School.

And there is more bad news -

economically speaking. A second blow is

always more painful than the first. The

first strike comes when they are standing.

When they get the second one,

unfortunately, people are lying down

trying to absorb the pain of the first one

and trying to get up - they are at the most

vulnerable.

World economies have been trying to

recover from the pandemic. The last

three months saw some improvements.

Markets recorded a significant boost as

the containment measure imposed

earlier were lifted, and some sort of

'normal' life began to spring back. But it

wasn't full recovery. Economists say that

we will see full economic recovery only a

year from now, at least. A second wave

In the UAE, 931 new cases were announced on Friday, a

big jump from the average 300-400 we had seen in the

past two months. Experts in the UAE and around the

world say the increased testing could explain the spike.

The resumption of on-site work and air travel was followed

by the new school year.

FAISAl j. AbbAS

means that the global economy will

receive the next blow while licking its

wounds.

What does that mean? Some of the

business that survived the first wave,

because of their ability to withstand the

lockdown with sufficient liquidity, will

likely not be able to survive a second

wave as they have expectedly run out of

cash reserve. Jobs lost to the first wave

might not come back soon. If things get

messy, more people will lose jobs, which

would impact the wider economic cycle.

Governments, especially in Europe and

the US, seem reluctant to disperse more

bailout money, desperately needed to

support the business. That will limit the

ability of their citizens to spend. The

longer the pandemic persists, the deeper

the recession will get.

So, where is the good news? There

actually might be one, even if it sounds

like a flicker, not an outright spotlight, at

the end of the long tunnel.

In his new book, Rage, American

journalist Bob Woodward quotes

President Donald Trump as saying he

intentionally "played down" the threat of

the coronavirus outbreak in January and

February because he didn't want to

"create panic" in the US. "I wanted to

always play it down," Trump told

Woodward in a March taped interview. "I

still like playing it down, because I don't

want to create a panic."

Panic is the key word. In the past two or

three weeks, as the reports of the socalled

second wave began making the

headlines, the reaction of medical

authorities across the world has been

restrained. And that is a good thing.

Medical facilities and staff have

expectedly become experienced in

dealing with new infections. There is a

noticeable decline in the death rate,

which is the most important parameter

for governments to initiate restrictive

measures.

Most governments indicated that new

lockdowns, total or even partial, are out

of the question. Nobody seems willing to

go the painful path of March and April.

Then, there are the vaccine trials, which

seem to be advancing rather fast - experts

believe that a COVID-19 vaccine could be

available by the end of the year or early

next year.

Source : Gulf News

Enough process, what we need is peace

The best analysis of why the Israeli-

Palestinian peace process is so

dysfunctional is that it has always

been plagued by too much process, not

enough peace. If anything is to be learned

from the UAE and Bahrain's

normalization of ties with Israel, it is that

peace can happen quickly and the process

can come later.

Of course, one cannot compare more

than 70 years of occupation and the

legitimate calls to end it, as is the case with

the Palestinians, with almost no hostilities

whatsoever between Israel and Gulf states.

Yes, there are divisions between Fatah

and Hamas. Yes, there is corruption in the

Palestinian Authority. Nevertheless, as US

President Donald Trump's adviser Jared

Kushner has pointed out, the Palestinians

never miss an opportunity to miss an

opportunity. When will they learn that

every time they turn away from the

negotiating table, the pie only gets

smaller? Compare what was offered to

them in 1999 and what is being offered

now - and to this day, every time they are

offered less, the Palestinian leadership

seems to want more. The loss of historical

"The reform of the national governance system for R&I

as well as the recent establishment of the Deputy

Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy

reflect the strong commitment to establish R&I as a fundamental

pillar of a new model for growth, capable of

expanding the productive base of the Cyprus economy.

Palestine is indeed a hard one to bear, but

the Palestinians - indeed all of us - must

put emotions to one side and embrace the

reality.

But the fault is not all on one side. By

expanding illegal settlements and

continually adding insult to injury, Israel

makes it impossible to reach a viable deal.

As the UAE demonstrated when it asked

for freeze on annexation of swaths of the

West Bank, Israel needs to learn that there

are rewards - and worthy ones - for acting

responsibly, in a way that encourages a

peace deal rather than undermines it.

So, will Saudi Arabia follow the UAE and

Bahrain? If I had a few dollars for every

time I've been asked that question, I would

be a wealthy man. The truth is Saudi

Arabia is a sovereign state and it doesn't

really beat about the bush when it comes

to its positions - so should there be a

change in policy, everyone should rest

assured that Riyadh will make it public.

So far, it has made its position clear: It

remains committed to the Arab Peace

Initiative, which Saudi Arabia itself

pioneered in 2002, stipulating a Palestine

state with its capital in East Jerusalem in

exchange for normalization of ties with the

Kingdom (home to Islam's two holy

shrines) and all other Arab states. The best

analysis of why the Israeli-Palestinian

peace process is so dysfunctional is that it

has always been plagued by too much

process, not enough peace.

Despite this position being affirmed

time and time again, many Western

pundits over-analyze it; they are split

between those who think Saudi Arabia

would never recognize or normalize ties

with Israel, and those who seem to believe

Riyadh is secretly rushing to do so.

Much of this confusion, of course, is

deliberately sown on the other side of the

Arabian Gulf. Many people might be led to

think that Saudi Arabia and Iran share the

same views about Israel. That is neither

true nor fair. Iran and its proxies are on

record as wanting to throw Jews into the

sea and wipe Israel off the map. They use

this rhetoric to justify their destabilizing

behavior in the region and their

deployment of armed militias - which, far

from "liberating" Jerusalem, instead

occupy four Arab capitals.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia's

official position has always been

reasonable, and never anti-Semitic.

Simply, Riyadh has always opposed the

illegal occupation of Palestinian territories

as defined by the UN and international

law. For decades, it has advocated peace

and gone out of its way to end Palestinian

divisions.

Of course, nobody denies that there

were elements in Saudi society who were

disgracefully anti-Semitic. But in the past

four years there has been serious reform of

school curriculums, new hate-speech laws,

and unprecedented steps toward dialogue

with and openness to other faiths - a

virtual revolution largely unreported by

Western media.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

himself has met leaders from other

religions, including Judaism, both inside

and outside the Kingdom. The Muslim

World League, led by Sheikh Mohammad

Al-Issa (also a Saudi) has gone far in

unequivocally criticizing Holocaust

deniers and encouraging a more open,

more tolerant interpretation of Islam.

Source : Arab News

MoNDAY, SePteMBer 14, 2020

5

North America lost three

billion birds in 50 years

eMILy HoLDen

The Us and Canada have lost

more than one in four birds - a

total of three billion - since

1970, culminating in what

scientists who published a

new study are calling a

"widespread ecological crisis".

Researchers observed a

29% decline in bird

populations across diverse

groups and habitats - from

songbirds such as

meadowlarks to long-distance

migratory birds such as

swallows and backyard birds

like sparrows. "Multiple,

independent lines of evidence

show a massive reduction in

the abundance of birds," said

Ken Rosenberg, the study's

lead author and a senior

scientist at the Cornell Lab of

ornithology and american

Bird Conservancy.

Co-author adam smith

from environment and

Climate Change Canada

called the findings a "wake-up

call". The population losses

are consistent with what

scientists have counted

among insects and

amphibians.

The study, published today

in the journal science, did not

analyze the reason for the

drop. But around the world,

birds are thought to be dying

more and having less success

breeding largely because their

habitats are being damaged

and destroyed by agriculture

and urbanization.

Researchers calculated the

declines with 10 years of

information on migratory

birds from weather radar

stations and 50 years of data

from the ground. sources

include citizen science from

the United states Geological

survey, the Canadian Wildlife

A chestnut-sided warbler perched on a branch during spring migration.

service, the audubon

Christmas Bird Count and

Manomet's International

shorebird survey.

Grassland birds were hit

especially hard, with a 53%

reduction in population.

shorebirds were already at

low numbers and now have

lost more than one-third of

their population. Radar of the

night skies found that the

volume of spring migration

has dropped 14% in just the

last decade.

Domestic cats, collisions

with glass and buildings, and

a decline in the insects birds

eat - probably because of

widespread pesticide use -

also contribute to the

dwindling bird numbers. and

climate change compounds

Photo: Vince F

those problems by altering

bird habitats.

not all bird species

declined. Raptors and

waterfowl showed gains,

probably because of focused

conservation efforts,

including under the

endangered species act.

Co-author Michael Parr,

president of the american

Bird Conservancy, said saving

birds will require policy

changes, bans on harmful

pesticides and funds for bird

conservation.

RoBeRT WaTson

The evidence is unequivocal:

biodiversity, important in its

own right and essential for

current and future

generations, is being

destroyed by human activities

at a rate unprecedented in

human history.

Governments around the

world recognised this at the

earth summit in Brazil in

1992 and established the

Convention on Biological

Diversity to protect and

conserve biodiversity. But the

situation has become more

and more dire. I have chaired

or co-chaired three

international assessments on

the state of knowledge of

biodiversity, and all have

repeated the same message -

we are destroying it at an

alarming rate. each time we

have called for action, only to

be largely ignored.

The continued loss of

biodiversity is not only an

environmental issue. It risks

undermining the achievement

of most of the Un sustainable

development goals. It is

central to development,

through food, water and

energy security.

It has significant economic

value, which should be

recognised in national

accounting systems. It is a

security issue in so far as loss

of natural resources,

especially in developing

countries, can lead to conflict.

It is an ethical issue because

loss of biodiversity hurts the

poorest people, further

exacerbating an already

inequitable world. and it is

also a moral issue, because we

should not destroy the living

planet.

In addition to playing a

critical role in providing food,

fibre, water, energy,

medicines and other genetic

materials, biodiversity is

equally important in

regulating climate, water

quality, pollution, pollination,

The long ignorance

on Biodiversity

flooding and storm surges. It

has vital social value,

providing wellbeing when

walking through forests or by

rivers, or green spaces in

cities.

since 1970, human

activities have destroyed and

degraded forests, grasslands,

wetlands and other

ecosystems and significantly

altered 75% of the ice-free

land surface. Most oceans are

polluted with plastics, and

over 85% of wetland area has

been lost. This destruction of

ecosystems has led to a

million species (500,000

animals and plants and

500,000 insects) being

threatened with extinction,

although many are

preventable if we improve our

management of biodiversity.

The largest driver of

biodiversity loss on land in

recent decades has been land

use change, primarily the

conversion of pristine native

habitats into agricultural

systems to feed the world,

while oceans are over-fished .

This has been driven in large

part by a doubling of the

world's population, a fourfold

increase in the global

economy, and a tenfold

increase in trade.

The challenge is to

transform our agricultural

and fishing practices, many of

which are unsustainable

today, into ones that produce

the food we need while

conserving biodiversity. For

agriculture, this means using

sustainable agroecological

practices; less chemicals,

fertilisers and pesticides; and

protecting soils and

pollinators.

The climate crisis and the

loss of biodiversity are issues

that affect each other. Global

heating adversely affects

genetic variability, species

richness and ecosystems. Loss

of biodiversity can adversely

affect climate - deforestation

increases the atmospheric

abundance of carbon dioxide

for example, a greenhouse

gas. so it is essential that the

issues of biodiversity loss and

the climate crisis are

From our environment to our economies, our security to our societies, biodiversity

is vital.

Photo: Daniel Beltra

addressed together.

To date, climate crisis has

received most of the attention.

The limited attention on

biodiversity tends to focus on

saving large charismatic

animals, rather than

informing the public of the

importance of biodiversity to

human life.

Dan MCDoUGaLL

Behind the remote research huts of

sermilik ice station, a vast sheet of ice

stretches north for 1,480 miles, spanning

an area three times the size of France. It is

holding 10% of the world's freshwater,

water that has been frozen solid for

millions of years. It's glacier calving

season in the south-eastern reaches of

Greenland, and the adjacent channel is

full of the thunderous roars and cracks of

a flotilla of icebergs breaking apart.

across a narrow granite ravine separating

the visitors' hut from the main living

quarters of the 40-year-old international

scientists' base, lab machines click and

whirr through the night.

The day's samples - water, air, carbon,

algae - spin frantically around curiouslooking

aluminium discs. Melting ice

drips slowly into assorted beakers.

struggling to adjust to the midnight sun,

a team of international research scientists

from aarhus University and Germany's

national research centre for solid earth

sciences peer into microscopes at clues to

the planet's future. These are samples of

glacial past and present, retrieved from

the belly of the Mittivakkat glacier, which

is in mortal retreat on the plateau above.

To understand our origins, scientists look

to the stars. To understand our eventual

demise, the glacier is ground zero.

Far from being barren places, glaciers

represent more than 10% of our

landmass and are teeming with

biodiversity. They are spawning and

breeding places not just for the familiar

species like whales, arctic hares and

foxes, polar bears, seals and muskoxen

but also for bacteria, fungi and algae that

have a vital role in the planet's

biodiversity. This team of microbiologists

is attempting to decode the lives of these

hidden creatures and their links to the ice

melts across the polar caps. algae

blooms, these scientists say, are turning

sun-reflecting glaciers into sun-absorbing

hotspots.

Long hours are spent on the glacier and

even more in the makeshift labs set up in

a decrepit series of huts built in the late

1960s on the edge of this lonely

archipelago some 40 miles away from the

nearest settlement.

archive photographs in Greenland's

capital, nuuk, show that the Mittivakkat

glacier's vast icy mouth opened out to the

arctic ocean as recently as the 1950s. But

to reach its heart in 2019 is a hike many

miles inland, crossing rocky terrain in

entirely unexpected 23-degree heat.

Lichen and unseasonal arctic flowers line

the route, as do thirsty mosquitoes, who

feast on the moisture of human eyeballs,

relenting only at the ice line.

Flying over a glacier by helicopter it's

easy to dismiss the landscape as devoid of

life, but for the seven scientists at

sermilik hiking over the ice, it is a source

of constant fascination for animal and

plant life.

Greenland: a hotspot of melting glaciers

Arctic willow near Siorapaluk in northern Greenland.

alexandre anesio is a professor in

arctic biogeochemistry from aarhus

University. a charismatic Brazilian, he

has a rifle slung over his shoulders - one

of four armed researchers, all on constant

vigil for the polar bears who stalk the

coastline here. He is also probably the

worst shot. His young doctoral students,

eva Doting and Laura Halbach, look

more keen-eyed, having spent the last

month preparing by shooting polar bear

targets at a rifle range in Copenhagen.

algae dramatically reduce the amount of

sunlight reflected by Greenland's glaciers

and increase the sunlight they absorb,

darkening the snow and ice.

Most concerning for the researchers

out on the glacier is the fact the algae that

live on the ice surface in summer are

increasingly dark brown, leading them to

absorb more sunlight and exacerbate

melting.

along with his colleague Professor

Liane Benning, anesio leads a team

on the Guardian's first evening, over responsible for this breakthrough

supper, anesio explains with earnest discovery.

patience that snow isn't universally white.

some of the last snow to lie on the surface

of the earth, long after the human race is

gone, might even be red. not blood-red -

more a watermelon hue.

He also talks about how, in the end, the

fate of our glaciers, sea-level rises and

biodiversity loss, will not only come down

to the excesses of the industrial age and

our unbridled consumer life, but also to

the influence of algae.

The sticky green residue familiar from

childhood tadpole ponds, as it turns out,

could be a microscopic bellwether for this

age of extinction. each year, high on

Greenland's glaciers, algae perform a

remarkable migration. after spending

winter deep in the snowpack as dormant

cysts, they awake in spring and swim

The team is now aiming to understand

the mechanisms behind the algal growth,

and how the organisms have adapted to

live on the ice. The key question is

whether the algae will grow and darken

other areas of the ice sheet as the climate

gets warmer. If this happens, which is

what the team here in sermilik suspect, it

will mean up to 30% faster melting of the

ice sheet than existing models are

predicting.

"In 2019 our glaciers and ice sheets

[are] already being darkened by dust,

soot, and ash from our industrial world,

which provides the perfect home for algae

to flourish," anesio says. "as the

organisms reproduce, they melt even

more snow, which in turn allows them to

proliferate again. so it's like a cycle. a very

through snowmelt, dividing and bad one."

photosynthesising along the route.

When they reach the surface, the algae

turn black, dark green and crimson -

colours that come from astaxanthin, a

molecular cousin of the chemical that

makes sweet potato orange. The algae

produce it as a sunscreen, as it absorbs

UV light. as a consequence the humble

as algae spread, the effect will be

compounded, leading to even more

melting. Benning, of the German

Research Centre for Geosciences or GFZ

in Potsdam, was previously part of the

Black and Bloom project to understand

how and why the Greenland ice sheet is

melting. she says algae-discoloured snow

Photo: Internet

isn't just an arctic phenomenon.

"It's a global occurrence," she says.

"This is increasingly a problem in the

arctic, alpine and Himalayan glaciers.

Blooms of red snow and brown ice are

turning up in antarctica also. What we

hope to do is spread our research out

further because we believe this is a

significant factor in ice melt. This is why

we are back here in Greenland but we

believe the work also needs to be done

elsewhere."

The sound of a city block-sized portion

of ice as it separates from Greenland's ice

shelf is unique. a violent sonic boom is

followed by an echoing machine-gun

style "ak-ak-ak-ak" as the iceberg turns

on its axis, before surrendering to the

ocean with an eerie silence. There is a

sadness to it.

on one single day last month, nasa's

oceans Melting Greenland project

announced that Greenland's ice sheet had

suffered its most substantial single-day

volume loss on record, sending an

estimated 12.5bn tonnes of ice pouring

into the arctic ocean - a body of water

that could cover the whole of england in

five inches of water. If the Greenland ice

sheet disappeared tomorrow, sea levels

around the world would rise by seven

metres and life, as we know it, would

come to an end.

Glaciers matter. and they are in

universal retreat. By 2100 alpine

summits may have lost around ninetenths

of the ice that covered them in

2003. In western Canada, somewhere

between 60% and 80% of the ice

measured in 2005 will have disappeared

and flowed into the sea. In south

america, the glaciers of Bolivia have lost

almost half their mass in the last 50 years.

sermilik's scientists argue for serious

thinking and funding to understand

glacier loss. For anesio, who left his job at

Bristol University, transferring to

Denmark because of the potential impact

of Brexit on his research, science has to be

"something collaborative".

"There is no question that the data we

are seeing is concerning," he says. "one of

the latest predictions is that there is a 10%

chance for sea levels to rise by two metres

in 2100. so maybe some people think

10% is not a great chance - but I don't

think I would cross the street if I had a

10% chance [of being] hit by a truck.

"our job as scientists is to create more

accurate models and add to our global

understanding of the climate crisis so that

it can be used for politicians to take action

- we hope, a little bit faster than is

happening now."

as glaciers retreat from India to

Greenland, biodiversity is being lost.

according to the Un one million species

face extinction due to human influence.

such a collapse in biodiversity would

wreak havoc on the interconnected

ecosystems of the planet, putting humans

at risk by compromising food sources,

fouling clean water and air, and eroding

defences against extreme weather such as

hurricanes and floods.

as Greenland's ice melt has been

adopted by the world as a global

bellwether for climate crisis, less focus is

being placed on the impact on

biodiversity. This ice sheet is not just

being melted by algae bloom and from

above by warmer air temperatures. arctic

waters are reaching record high

temperatures and warmer water is

lapping against these great glaciers.

For Greenland, one of the least densely

populated countries in the world, the

impact will be felt on land by the nation's

flowers, plants, bushes and heather, its

polar bears, caribous, arctic hares, foxes

and wolves and at sea by narwhals, seals,

bowhead whales and the large variety of

unique sea birds.

This is biodiversity that actually faces

few direct pressures from human

activities - the major threat is glacial melt

and climate crisis. The shrinking of the

sea ice area is already having a significant

impact on marine ecosystems. It's an

essential habitat and breeding ground for

many species, ranging from micro-algae

to marine mammals.

This is now a hungry time for polar

bears struggling to access the sea ice to

hunt for seals. an estimated 3,500 of the

bears stalk the coastline of Greenland and

at sermilik, stories are swapped of close

encounters with the animals.

scientific labours in the chill winds and

high seas of the arctic summer seem

wrapped in an unusual sense of urgency

this year. The scientists working in

Greenland are keen to communicate their

new, emerging understanding of the

dynamics of the declining ice sheet to the

broader world.

according to Christopher Trivedi, a Us

member of the scientific team,

communicating the work of the many

scientists active across Greenland to local

people is a vital and often overlooked part

of the job. "I think science

communication matters. We need to

include the local community here with

the work we are doing, and we also have a

responsibility to explain the work we are

doing here. What we are finding impacts

the immediate environment more than

anywhere else."

For the younger members of the

sermilik team, the bleakest conversation

held at the ice station is around the plastic

being discovered. "We are finding plastics

in the atmosphere at the centre of

Greenland's ice sheet," says Dr James

Bradley, assistant professor at the Queen

Mary University of London. "Millions of

tonnes of plastic are discarded into the

environment every year and are broken

down into small particles and fibres that

do not biodegrade. These particles,

known as microplastics, have now been

found everywhere from high mountains

to deep oceans and can carry toxic

chemicals and harmful microbes.

Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic

waste. Their presence in oceans and

waterways has received a great deal of

scientific and media attention in recent

years, but our growing concern is their

presence in the atmosphere."

It is evident that all the scientists feel a

growing responsibility on their shoulders

to answer questions that have been

ignored for too long. This summer, in the

face of record ice melt, there is a deeper

purpose and an urgency to their work.

They want more resources and new

technologies to map the details of ice loss

with greater precision. They want better

global monitoring of nutrients and

contaminants that are now trickling at

ever higher rates from glaciers into

downstream waterways. They want to

expand their work to antarctica and

other parts of the glacial world.

"To be honest, I'm massively worried,"

says anesio. "I just hope that we are not

crossing that tipping point because I

don't think humans can adapt to the rates

of changing climates at the moment."

He says that he also has hope, "because

I can see a new movement in the young

generation that cares. I think that

everyone individually can contribute, by

pressing politicians, but also by making

their contribution in terms of the

reduction of Co2."

Leaving the ice station by boat,

negotiating the same narrow channel of

icebergs that brought us here, we pass

over the shattered remnants of a glacier

and stop to scoop a 1,000-year-old chunk

of ice from the water. These lumps of ice

can only meet one path, drifting out into

the arctic sea at the mercy of winds and

warm currents until they break apart into

the ocean.

MOnDAY, SePTeMBeR 14, 2020 6

Coast Guard detains 3 drug

peddlers in Teknaf

Members of

Bangladesh coast

guard, Bcg station

teknaf in a drive

searched 3 suspicious

pedestrians in

Mithapani chhara area

under teknaf and seized

20,000 pieces of yaba

Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard in a drive arrested 3 drug peddlers along

with 20,000 pieces of yaba tablets in Mithapani Chhara area under Teknaf on

Sunday.

Photo: Courtesy

tablets on sunday.

during the time, 10,000

pieces of yaba tablets

were seized from a

potato sack and 10,000

pieces of yaba tablets

from different parts of

their bodies, a press

release said.

the arrestees were

identified as Md.

nasurullah, father late

Hossain Ahmed, Md.

naimullah, father late

ramidullah and Md.

shafiq Alam, father

nuru salam. the seized

yaba and the arrested

yaba smugglers have

been handed over to

teknaf police station for

further legal action.

the Bangladesh coast

guard has adopted and

will continue to conduct

regular operations in the

areas covered by the

coast guard to ensure

law and order, public

safety as well as

prevention of

kidnapping, robbery and

drug control.

OC Abdul Awal has changed overall

perception about police

MAFe sHeIkH, nIlPHAMArI corresPondent:

oc Abdul Awal has changed the

overall perception about Bangladesh

Police in kishoreganj upazila. the

newly joined oc Abdul Awal joined

kishoreganj police station a month

ago.

Visiting kishoreganj police station

on saturday, it was seen that in

different places including the

boundary wall of the police station, it

is written that the police are for the

people, the people are for the police,

there are various paintings including

the national flag and map of

Bangladesh. As one enter through the

police station gate, one can see a

garden on the right hand side, where

different species of flowers have been

planted. there is a tent, which is

known as a service tent for people

who come to the police station with

various problems. there is also a

garage for ordinary people to keep

their motorcycles. Inside the main

gate of the police station there is a

separate service deck for women,

children, the elderly and the disabled.

At one time many people were

annoyed by this police station

premises. Besides being crowded all

the time, the environment was dirty

and now there is no crowd of people.

ordinary people used to leave

without any hindrance after receiving

their prop services. there was a dirty

and smelly drain next to the police

station. In fact, one had to enter the

police station with a handkerchief on

their nose. now that the drain has

been cleaned, that scene has

disappeared. now, when you pass by

the police station, your mind

becomes absorbed.

Present on the occasion of

inauguration of Bit Policing office at

Magura union of kishoreganj

upazila recently, nilphamari Police

super Mohammad Mokleshar

rahman, in his speech, praised the

current oc of kishoreganj Police

station Abdul Awal, who has been

appointed as oc in the police station.

He is a meritorious police officer in

Bangladesh. He has successfully

completed the Anpol mission of the

police twice in a row with success and

reputation. He called on the police to

provide accurate information.

Panchagarh Sugar Mill Workers Union on Sunday held a rally demanding modernization of Panchagarh

Sugar Mill and to keep it functional without any decision to close it.

Photo: Md Anamul Haque

Workers demands modernization and

functional of Panchagarh Sugar Mill

Md AnAMul HAque, PAncHAgArH

corresPondent:

A protest rally has been held

demanding modernization of

Panchagarh sugar Mill and to keep it

functional without any decision to close

it. the Panchagarh sugar Mill Workers

union held a rally at the Panchagarh

sugar Mill premises on sunday

morning.

during the time, Anarul Haque,

general secretary of Bangladesh sugar

Industry corporation Workers

Federation and President of

Panchagarh sugar Mill Workers union,

Abdur rahim, general secretary of

sugar Mill Workers union, safiyar

rahman, organizing secretary and

nabi Hossain social Welfare and

cultural Affairs secretary addressed

the protest rally.

At the occasion, the speakers said, the

government has submitted all the

accounts in order to take a decision to

close 8 out of 15 sugar mills in the

country due to losses. If the

government announces the closure of

the sugar Mill, the only major

industrial enterprise in Panchagarh,

thousands of workers and employees

will become unemployed. Meanwhile,

besides the unemployed workers, the

farmers of Panchagarh district will also

be deprived of sugarcane cultivation.

therefore, they requested the

government to keep the sugar mill

operational by modernizing the sugar

mill and allocating various projects to

different sugar mills.

Members of Khulna District Detective Branch in a drive arrested two drug peddlers along with yaba

tablets from Rupsa recently.

Photo: Titash Chakraborthey

9 arrested with drugs in Khulna

The photo shows OC Abdul Awal along with other police members talking with a woman

victim at Kishoreganj police station recently.

Photo: Mafe Sheikh

Call to make agriculture

commercialised, profitable

rAJsHAHI: Agricultural officials

have urged district and upazila level

colleagues to put in their level best

efforts to make the agricultural

activities commercialised and

profitable to ensure food security of

the country's people, reports Bss.

they said the present government

under the dynamic leadership of

Prime Minister sheikh Hasina has

attached top priority to the

agriculture sector to boost its yield to

meet up the country's demand.

so, all the officials and staff

concerned should discharge their

duties with utmost sincerity and

honesty to supplement the

government endeavour.

the agricultural extension officials

came up with the observations while

addressing a daylong regional

workshop on boosting agricultural

production with collective initiatives

at BgB Party Point on saturday.

Additional director's office of the

department of Agriculture extension

(dAe) and tuber crop development

Project jointly organized the

workshop with participation of

around 100 district and upazilas level

officials concerned.

dAe director general dr Abdul

Muyeed and director of Improved

seed development Project Moazzem

Hossain addressed the workshop as

chief and special guests respectively,

while dAe Additional director

sudhendra nath roy was in the chair.

dAe deputy director shamsul

Haque, regional seed certification

officer Habibul Haque and director

of tuber crop development Project

Mukhlesur rahman also spoke.

dr Muyeed told the meeting that

the government has set a target of

doubling the food production, while

maize production to one crore tonnes

from the existing 50 lakh tonnes by

2030.

He urged all the officials and others

concerned to put in their best efforts

to attain the target.

Besides, he laid stress on delivering

accurate suggestions to the grassroots

farmers and their feedback.

utmost emphasis should be given

on promotion of tuber crops farming,

nutritive vegetable gardens under the

family agriculture approach and list

formulation of agriculture

entrepreneurs.

He also gave direction on

promoting high yielding varieties of

mustard, supplementary irrigation to

transplanted aman paddy, ensuring

fair price of fertilizer and its smooth

supply, eco-friendly pest

management and agricultural

incentives.

tItAsH cHAkrABortHey, kHulnA

corresPondent:

nine people were held including

yaba, Phensedyl and hemp from

khulna district and urban its areas. It

is learned that 8 separate cases have

been registered against the detainees.

the detainees had been running drug

business for a long time.

the district police in an email

message said that sI Mohammad

nazmul Haque, led by district

detective Branch officer-in-charge

T -Aman paddy farming target

achieved in Gaibandha

gAIBAndHA:

transplanted Aman

paddy farming target has

been achieved in the

district during the current

season, reports Bss.

department of

Agricultural extension

(dAe) fixed a target to

bring a total of 1, 26,000

hectares of land under t-

Aman paddy cultivation

this year with production

goal of 3,57,200 tonnes of

rice.

t-Aman paddy was

cultivated on 18,314

hectares of land in sadar

upazila, 15505 in

sadullapur upazila, 13912

sheikh koni Mia, and his associate

officer and force conducted a drug

rescue and operation in rupsa thana

on Friday. during the time, Md. sujan

and Md. Zahidul Islam were arrested

along with 79 pieces of yaba tablets,

03 different brands of mobile phones,

a red Hero Honda Hank motorcycle

from front of a tea shop. In this regard,

district Intelligence Branch, sI Md.

nazmul Haque filed a case against the

two accused under the narcotics Act

at rupsha Police station. the

detainees are residents of khulna city.

in Palashbari upazila,

31254 in gobindaganj

upazila, 27702 in

sundarganj upazila,

12055 in shaghata upazila

and 7178 in Fulchhari

upazila.

earlier, to make the

farming programme a

grand success,

Bangladesh Agricultural

development

corporation and its

approved dealers

distributed high quality

Aman seed to the farmers

at fair prices.

to bring the land under

the farming of t-Aman

paddy, the farmers had

prepared seedbed on

6785 hectares of land

where the seedlings have

grown well.

Besides, different state

run commercial banks

including rajshahi krishi

unnayan Bank have

taken initiatives to

disburse agri loans on

easy terms to the poor

and marginal farmers to

help them cultivate the t-

Aman paddy on their land

without economic

hardship, said a bank

official.

In addition, dAe has

been imparting training

to the farmers for

Meanwhile, drug dealers Mst lucky,

Md. omar Ali, Md. Ashikur rahman,

roni talukder , Md. rezaul karim ,

Md. rezaul karim and Md. khairul

sheikh have been arrested in a drive

conducted by khulna Metropolitan

Police in the last 24 hours according to

an e-mail message from the special

branch of district nagar Police. the

detainees are permanent residents of

khulna city. 730 grams of cannabis

and 5 bottles of Phensidyl were

recovered from the above drug dealers

as evidence.

adopting modern

technologies for paddy

cultivation, crop

management, judicious

use of fertilizer and

preservation of quality

seed, said district training

officer of dAe rahela

Parvin.

talking to the Bss,

deputy director of dAe

krishibid Masudur

rahman said necessary

measures had been taken

to ensure availability of

fertilizers, insecticides

and other agriculture

inputs for the farmers

during the current Aman

season.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBEr 14, 2020

7

Mideast countries differ on Bahrain-Israel

normalization agreement

Trials of a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University will resume

after being paused due to a reported side effect in a patient in the UK.

Photo : AP

Oxford and AstraZeneca resume

coronavirus vaccine trial

Countries in the Middle East have

mixed reactions to the move by

Israel and Bahrain to normalize

their ties, which came less than a

month after the United Arab

Emirates (UAE) and Israel reached

a similar U.S.-brokered

normalization deal, reports UNB.

A joint statement issued on

Friday by U.S. President Donald

Trump, Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu and

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al

Khalifa hailed the Bahrain-Israel

agreement as "a historic

breakthrough." Bahrain, the

second Gulf Arab country to

normalize ties with Israel after the

UAE announced a similar deal on

Aug. 13, is scheduled to sign the

peace agreement with Israel on

Sept. 15 at a ceremony in

Washington, during which the

UAE-Israel deal will also be inked.

Senior Bahraini officials

welcomed on Saturday the

normalization with Israel as a

contributor to regional security and

stability. Meanwhile, the National

Assembly, the Bahraini parliament,

called in a statement for achieving a

"just and comprehensive peace

based on the two-state solution" to

end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

However, the Bahrain-Israel deal

has enraged the Palestinian

Authority, which strongly

condemned it, while blasting the

U.S. for pressuring Arab countries

into normalizing ties with Israel.

Shortly after the announcement

of the Bahrain-Israel deal, the

Palestinian leadership issued a

statement condemning the

Bahraini move as "a betrayal of

Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque and

the Palestinian cause."

Palestinian Minister of Foreign

Affairs Riyad al-Maliki said that he

would recall the Palestinian

ambassador to Bahrain for

consultations on how Palestine

would take "necessary steps" to

respond to Bahrain's move.

In separate statements, the

Islamic Hamas movement, which

controls the Gaza Strip, and the

Palestinian Islamic Jihad slammed

the Bahrain-Israel deal as "a clear

aggression against our people" and

"a blatant coup against all Arab,

national and Islamic constants of

Palestine."

"Washington exploits its political

and economic power to force the

Arab countries to normalize ties

with Israel," said Hanan Ashrawi, a

member of the Palestine Liberation

Organization's Executive

Committee, in a press statement

issued on Saturday.

"The U.S. government is using all

means of incitement, intimidation

and pressure" to achieve the goal,

she added.

Oxford University announced Saturday

it was resuming a trial for a coronavirus

vaccine it is developing with

pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, a

move that comes days after the study was

suspended following a reported sideeffect

in a U.K. patient, reports UNB.

In a statement, the university

confirmed the restart across all of its U.K.

clinical trial sites after regulators gave the

go-ahead following the pause on Sunday.

"The independent review process has

concluded and following the

recommendations of both the

independent safety review committee

and the U.K. regulator, the MHRA, the

trials will recommence in the U.K.," it

said.

The vaccine being developed by Oxford

and AstraZeneca is widely perceived to be

one of the strongest contenders among

the dozens of coronavirus vaccines in

various stages of testing around the

world.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock

welcomed the restart, saying in a tweet

that it was "good news for everyone" that

the trial is "back up and running."

The university said in large trials such

as this "it is expected that some

participants will become unwell and

every case must be carefully evaluated to

ensure careful assessment of safety."

It said globally some 18,000 people

have received its vaccine so far.

Almost 8 million Britons will be subjected to tighter lockdown restrictions next week after fresh measures

were imposed in the West Midlands and Scotland, local media reported Saturday.

Photo : AP

About 8 mln Britons face tighter lockdown rules

as UK reaches "critical time" in virus fight

Almost 8 million Britons will be

subjected to tighter lockdown

restrictions next week after fresh

measures were imposed in the West

Midlands and Scotland, local media

reported Saturday, reports UNB.

From Tuesday, households in

Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull

will be banned from mixing after the

region reported a surge in coronavirus

cases, according to the Evening

Standard newspaper.

Further north, Lanarkshire joins

areas around Glasgow subject to

tougher controls, with the new rules in

force as of midnight on Friday.

Previously, nine new local authorities

were added to Public Health England's

Volunteers from some of the worst

affected countries - Britain, Brazil, South

Africa and the U.S. - are taking part in the

trial.

Brazil's health regulator Anvisa on

Saturday said it had approved the

resumption of tests of the "Oxford

vaccine" in the South American country

after receiving official information from

AstraZeneca.

Although Oxford would not disclose

information about the patient's illness

due to participant confidentiality, an

AstraZeneca spokesman said earlier this

week that a woman had developed severe

neurological symptoms that prompted

the pause. Specifically, the woman is said

to have developed symptoms consistent

with transverse myelitis, a rare

inflammation of the spinal cord.

The university insisted that it is

"committed to the safety of our

participants and the highest standards of

conduct in our studies and will continue

to monitor safety closely."

Pauses in drug trials are commonplace

and the temporary hold led to a sharp fall

in AstraZeneca's share price following the

announcement Tuesday.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca study had

been previously stopped in July for

several days after a participant developed

neurological symptoms that turned out to

be an undiagnosed case of multiple

sclerosis that researchers said was

watchlist, meaning they, too, could

soon see new restrictions imposed.

They are: Gateshead, Sunderland,

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Hertsmere,

Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, Sheffield

and St Helens.

Some 5.8 million people in England

(one in 10) will be forced to follow

tougher rules than the rest of the

country, when the new measures take

effect in the West Midlands, according

to analysis by Sky News.

Designated areas in Bradford,

Kirklees, Calderdale, Blackburn with

Darwen, Pendle and Greater

Manchester where restrictions are

already in place remain as areas of

national intervention, the British

unrelated to the vaccine.

During the third and final stage of

testing, researchers look for any signs of

possible side effects that may have gone

undetected in earlier patient research.

Because of their large size, the studies are

considered the most important study

phase for picking up less common side

effects and establishing safety. The trials

also assess effectiveness by tracking who

gets sick and who doesn't between

patients getting the vaccine and those

receiving a dummy shot.

Dr. Charlotte Summers, a lecturer in

intensive care medicine at the University

of Cambridge, said the pause was a sign

that the Oxford team was putting safety

issues first, but that it led to "much

unhelpful speculation."

"To tackle the global COVID-19

pandemic, we need to develop vaccines

and therapies that people feel

comfortable using, therefore it is vital to

maintaining public trust that we stick to

the evidence and do not draw

conclusions before information is

available," she said.

Scientists and others around the world,

including experts at the World Health

Organization, have sought to keep a lid

on expectations of an imminent

breakthrough for coronavirus vaccines,

stressing that vaccine trials are rarely

straightforward.

Department of Health confirmed.

The British government imposes the

new restrictions at a time when

countries, such as Britain, China,

Russia and the United States, are

engaged in a race against time to

develop a vaccine for the new

coronavirus.

A study by Imperial College London

found that coronavirus cases in

England were doubling every seven to

eight days at the beginning of

September.

The findings of the Real-Time

Assessment of Community

Transmission study suggest the virus is

now spread more widely in the

community.

Countries in the Middle East have mixed reactions to the move by Israel and Bahrain to normalize

their ties, which came less than a month after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel reached a

similar U.S.-brokered normalization deal.

Photo : AP

Turkey's Erdogan

warns French

president over E.

Med dispute

Turkish President Recep

Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday

warned French counterpart

Emmanuel Macron over the

latter's opposition to Turkey's

maritime activities in the

Eastern Mediterranean,

reports UNB.

"Don't mess with Turkey

and Turkish nation," Erdogan

was quoted by the official

Anadolu Agency as telling

Macron in a speech to a

symposium held in Istanbul.

"You cannot lecture us on

humanity," Erdogan said,

recalling the "massacres"

conducted by France in

Algeria and Rwanda that

killed a large number of

people.

The two NATO allies are at

odds over Turkey's dispute

with Greece on the

exploitation of energy

resources in the Eastern

Mediterranean, as France

opposes Turkey's drilling

activities in the region.

Turkey has been opposing

the drilling efforts of several

countries, including Greece,

without its involvement,

claiming that it has the same

rights in the waters.

New Zealand reports two new COVID-19 cases

New Zealand on Sunday reported

two new cases of COVID-19 with one

health worker testing positive, the

Ministry of Health said in a

statement, reports UNB.

Another was a returnee to New

Zealand in managed isolation while

the health worker worked in

Auckland's quarantine facility.

It is yet unknown whether the

health worker was infected from the

community or from within the

quarantine facility, said the ministry,

reports Xinhua.

The ministry said it was the first

time a staff member at the Jet Park

quarantine facility had tested positive

in five and a half months of

Greek PM presents policy

plan of economy, reforms,

defense spending

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos

Mitsotakis announced on Saturday a new

package of economic measures aimed to

alleviate society's strain from the

consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic,

reforms to keep Greece firmly on the growth

trajectory, as well as fresh defense

expenditure to further boost the country's

deterrent ability, reports UNB.

Outlining his government's economic

policy for the next 12 months, during a key

policy speech at the Thessaloniki Helexpo

Forum, in the city port of Thessaloniki in

northern Greece, he announced a series of

immediate tax cuts, benefits, reductions in

social security contributions and programs

to boost liquidity and investments in order to

ease burdens from employees, pensioners,

the unemployed and businesses.

For example, the state will provide

subsidies for six months for 100,000 new

positions, abolish a special property tax for

the inhabitants of the 26 smallest islands,

and extend until April 2021 the suspension

of tax and social insurance obligations to

professions hit by the pandemic.

In addition, the Greek government will

continue reforms to support employment

and growth by further reducing bureaucracy

operation. The facility was used to

manage people in quarantine after

they test positive for COVID-19.

Currently, three people were in

hospital with COVID-19, including

two in ICU, the ministry said.

The number of active cases in New

Zealand reached 97, including 39

imported cases in MIQ facilities and

58 community cases.

Meanwhile, the total number of

confirmed cases in New Zealand was

now 1,446, which was the number

the country reported to the World

Health Organization (WHO).

Laboratories across New Zealand

processed 7,211 tests, bringing the

total number of tests completed so

and improving the function of public sector

services, and by introducing new rules for

debt settlement to the state and banking

sector, Mitsotakis said.

"Nothing in the world is the same as

yesterday," he told a small audience

symbolically comprising 50 representatives

of all walks of life, during his address which

was broadcast on Greek national broadcaster

ERT.

"However, the crisis cannot become an

alibi for stalling the implementation of great

changes... Our program of actions has an

underlying motto: confidence faced with the

challenges ahead, confidence in defense, in

healthcare and in the economy," he said.

Regarding the battle against the pandemic,

Mitsotakis promised more ICUs beds and

hirings of thousands more doctors and

nurses. Amidst tensions in the Eastern

Mediterranean Sea lately over maritime

borders and the exploitation of energy

reserves, the Greek leader spoke extensively

also about the new 18 Rafale military

aircraft, four Navy helicopters, four frigates

and other armaments Greece is purchasing

as well as a plan of staff reinforcement with

15,000 men and women for five years in

order to strengthen its national defense.

far to 864,469.

New Zealand will remain at

COVID-19 Alert Level 2 until

Wednesday, with extra restrictions in

place for its largest city Auckland. A

decision will be made by the New

Zealand government on Monday on

the new Alert Level.

Coronavirus cases were first

reported in China in December last

year. The World Health Organization

declared the crisis a pandemic in

March.

The number of globally confirmed

cases stood at 28,660,123 on Sunday

morning as the death count soared to

919,081, according to Johns Hopkins

University.

MONdAy, SepTeMBeR 14, 2020

8

eminent actor Sadek Bachchu

on life support

TBT RepORT

SadekBachchu, popularly Known

for his negative roles in Dhaliwood,

has been put on life support as his

physical condition has deteriorated

further. The actor was placed on life

support in the Intensive Care Unit

(ICU) of Universal Medial College

Hospital in Dhaka's Mohakhali

when his physical condition

deteriorated on Saturday night,

according to his family sources.

Earlier, SadekBachchu was

admitted to Dhaka Medical College

Hospital on September 6 after his

physical condition deteriorated.

Later on September 8, he tested

positive for coronavirus or Covid-

19. The 66-year-old actor has been

suffering from heart ailment,

diabetes and other complications

Kaun Banega Crorepati 12 host

and superstar Amitabh

Bachchan recently shot for a

Karamveer special episode.

Karamveer episode features an

organisation or an individual

who has relentlessly worked

towards the betterment of the

society or humanity in one way

or another.

for a long time. He went under a

heart surgery in 2013.

Bachchu's family sought financial

assistance from the prime minister

as they are struggling to bear his

medical treatment cost over the

years. Zayed Khan, General Secretary

of Bangladesh CholochitroShilpiSamiti,

confirmed the news to the media. "We

are still at the hospital. He has been put

on life support. We hope he will recover

soon," Zayed Khan said. Bacchu, a

former employee of Bangladesh Post

Office, came into the limelight with the

film, Chadni, directed by Ehtesham,

back in the 90s. JibonNodir Tire,

KotiTakarKabin, Pita MatarAmanot,

ShujonShokhi, Mayer Chokh, Amar

PranerShami, BhalobashaZindabaad,

Badhuboron, LobhePaapPaapeMrittu

and Mon Boshe Na Porar Table E, are

some of his remarkable performances

Amitabh Bachchan expressed

the experience of shooting the

special episode in his blog. The

actor praised the "selfless work

that is being done by this

institution for their benefit and

care." At one point in the blog,

Big B mentioned, "How do they

that step out ..extend their hands

and efforts for them that do not

in film. SadekBachchu has noteworthy

contributions to the theatre, radio and

television. His debut television drama,

ProthomOngikar was aired in 1978,

while his debut film, Ramer

Sumoti, directed by Shohidul Amin,

was released in the 80s.

GronthikGonoKohe, JonakiJole,

ShojonBadhiarGhat, PurboRatriPurbo

Din and NakshiKanthar Math are

among his significant performances in

television dramas for BTV.

Founder and President of Motijheel

theatre, SadekBacchu started his

career on stage. Acclaimed

Bangladesh Betar drama, Khelaghor,

is considered one of his most

influential work on the radio.

Born in Chandpur in 1955, the

actor received the National Award

for his work in the film

EktiCinemarGolpo in 2018.

Amitabh Bachchan shoots for KBC

12's 'Karamveer special episode'

possess .. what brings them to

this pass .. where and how do

they construct their minds?"

Towards the end of the blog,

the 77-year-old wrote, "My love

for them that have thought and

given themselves for the good of

the other."

KaunBanegaCrorepati 12 is

likely to launch in October. The

audition process for this season

was done digitally. And as per

the makers, the participation

has been record-breaking.

Towards the end of the blog,

the 77-year-old wrote, "My love

for them that have thought and

given themselves for the good of

the other."

KaunBanegaCrorepati 12 is

likely to launch in October. The

audition process for this season

was done digitally. And as per

the makers, the participation has

been record-breaking.

Source: indianexpress.com

Aparna to star in drama

series ‘Achira’

TBT RepORT

Aparna Ghosh is one of the popular small

screen and film actresses in the country.

This actress has won the hearts of millions

by her fabulous acting skill. Aparna, who

has carved a permanent place in the minds

of the audience, will be seen acting in a new

drama titled 'Achira'.

Based on the current situation of the

society, Nahid Ahmed Peal has directed the

drama. Aparna will play the title role in

'Achira'. Popular actor RownakHasan will

be seen opposite toAparna.

The shooting of the drama has been

completed at different locationsincluding

Kalabagan in the capital.

Talking about the drama, Aparna said,

"The story of the drama is very interesting. I

have tried my best to portray myself

according to the character. Besides, Peal is a

talented director. Before this drama, I have

worked with him in several projects. He

always makes dramas with utmost care.

Actor Rownakhasan, who has worked with

me in the drama is also very cooperative

artiste. I hope 'Achira' will be a good drama

and audience will also enjoy it."

The drama will be aired on Rtv soon, said

director Peal. Aparna Ghosh is an actress,

TBT RepORT

Popular actor of small and big

screen Zahid Hasan has gained a

reputation as a producer as well

as acting in his long career. His

theater artiste and model in the country.

She won Bangladesh National Film Award

for Best Supporting Actress for her role in

the film Mrittika Maya (2013). She also

received Anannya Top Ten Awards in 2015.

She was one of the top five contestants

of 'Lux Beauty Peasant Competition' of

2006. After this beauty contest she

started her career in the media. Aparna's

first TV drama was 'Tobu o valobashi'. In

her 14 years career she acted in many

popular single and drama serials.

Aparna made her debut in the film

industry through the film 'Third Person

Singular Number' which was released in

2009. Her notable films are

'BhubanMajhi', 'Mrittika Maya' Third

Person Singular Number',

'AjJonmodinTomar', 'DarpanBishorjon',

'SutoparThikana', 'Meghmallar' and

'Bracelet' .

Meanwhile, the serial drama 'Bibaho

Hobe' directed by RaunakHasan and

starring Aparna has already started

airing on Banglavision. Aparna is also

regularly starring in HiranZaman's 'Tipu

Sultan', a serial being aired on RTV. The

movie 'Antoshtikriya' directed by Hosne

Mubarak Rumi is awaiting release.

single and serial dramas have also

gained popularity. He is currently

awaiting for a long-running

drama series called 'Hulsthul

TV'to be aired.

Among them, for the first time,

Regina King introduces One

Night in Miami to Oscars race

With the smell of wildfire smoke

seeping into her Los Angeles

home, Regina King was getting

ready for the premiere of her

feature film directorial debut at

the Toronto International Film

Festival.

The Oscar-winning actor, who

sat in the director's chair for One

Night in Miami, wished she could

pose with her cast and give them

hugs. But with the pandemic

scuttling travel plans, she was

settling for a virtual appearance

that she equated to a certain

television family. "We are going to

try to make the best as we can with

our little Brady Bunch boxes and

try to hope the people that are

watching will be inspired and

excited about catching one of the

screenings," King said.

Based on the stage play by

Kemp Powers, the film tells a

fictional account of four

prominent Black Americans

gathered in a hotel room in 1964

after a 22-year old Cassius Clay

stuns the boxing world with a

victory over heavyweight

champion Sonny Liston.

Clay, who would later change

his name to Muhammad Ali, joins

Malcolm X, Jim Brown and Sam

Zahid Hasan to

make drama for

first time in BTV

Zahid Hasan is starting to direct a

long serial drama called

'Pichutan' in his own production

of Bangladesh Television (BTV).

It is composed by Zakir Hossain

Ujjwal. Zahid Hasan told that the

shooting of the drama will start

from October 1.

"My acting career started with

BTV dramas," Zahid said. There

are countless work memories

with this channel. However, after

the launch of the private channel,

I am working less in BTV.

Although I act occasionally, I am

directing this first drama for this

channel. It's a great honor for me.

Cooke to discuss racial inequities

and ways of using their celebrity to

end segregation in the South. The

following morning, they emerge

determined to make the world a

better place. King, who took home

a supporting actress Oscar last

year for If Beale Street Can Talk, is

getting early Hollywood awards

The actor further said, 'The

drama is being made mainly with

a family story. Trying to get the

work done well and as planned.

Because it's a long series of

dramas. The expectations of the

audience will be higher. All in all,

I am planning to work on the

drama through a team work. '

Besides directing, Zahid Hasan

will also play a central character

in the drama. Dilara Zaman, Ali

Raj, Mili Hossain, Tarin, Tanveen

Sweety, Dr. Ejaz, Faruk Ahmed,

Arfan Ahmed, Saju Khadem,

Nabila Islam and Tariq Swapan

among others.

buzz for the film. She's directed

numerous television episodes

over the years.

King said that as she was

crafting the film over the past few

years, she seized "this opportunity

to use our art in a powerful way."

Source : indianexpress.com

H O R O S C O p e

ARIeS

(March 21 - April 20) : Ask for help if you

need it, Aries. Your nature is to serve

others, but in order to maintain that

energy, make sure that you're taken

care of as well. Offer extra support to the people you

love. In work-related issues, make sure that you

aren't biting off more than you can chew. Delegate

tasks to others. Pamper yourself tonight with a hot

bath and a good meal.

TAURUS

(April 21 - May 21): Keeping your

emotions in balance is going to be the

key to a successful day, Taurus. Don't

get swept away by a fanciful situation

that could send your mind spinning. Maintain

control at all times. This might be easier said than

done. Give yourself a break and avoid excess

alcohol or any sort of drug use. It will be hard

enough to keep your mind clear without them.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21): You may feel like

you're running into a brick wall at every

turn, Gemini, especially when it comes

to emotions. The intensity of the day

may have you feeling like you're in a pressure cooker.

Try not to blow things out of proportion. Realize that

much of the drama is more a figment of your

imagination than reality. Clear away the clouds and

get to the heart of the matter.

CANCeR

(June 22 - July 23): Bask in the sunshine

of today, Cancer. Focus on the positive

aspects of your life and work to expand

these energies. There's a great deal of

opportunity open at this time. The key to taking

advantage of this is to stay close to the things that

truly bring you the most happiness. The details will

work themselves out with almost no effort. Have

faith that you'll succeed, and you will.

LeO

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Make sure you're

getting enough sleep, Leo. You may

seem groggy and your head could be a

bit cloudy today, but try not to let this

stop you from getting your work done. Much of

what you perceive may not exactly correlate with

reality. Your emotions could be especially distorted.

You may have a strong desire to escape into a

fantasy world. Try to keep both feet on the ground.

VIRGO

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): There may be an

area of your life that seems completely

fanciful now, Virgo. The issues regarding

it have become a bit hazy. You may no

longer be sure of the reality of the situation. Today's

energies will bring these issues into focus. Your

emotions are especially heightened, and they, too, will

seem a bit clouded. Try to stay balanced and gain a new

perspective on the situation.

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Your fantasy life is

especially active today, Libra, so enjoy

this little break into your dream world.

Coming back to reality may be

difficult. Keep tabs on your emotions so they don't

get the better of you. The impressions you receive

from the outside world may not be accurate today.

Keep your wits about you and try not to get caught

up in drugs and alcohol.

SCORpIO

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): You're in a funloving

and jovial mood today, Scorpio,

and you should make time to enjoy it

with friends, if possible. The one caveat

to the day is that your emotions may be a bit clouded.

You may not have the most accurate impression of a

situation. You might feel that people have the wrong

impression of who you are. Try not to feel insecure.

Have confidence in yourself and take the lead.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): You may have a

strange paranoia that people are out to

get you today, Sagittarius, but don't let

this feeling paralyze you. Your emotions

are more than likely getting the better of you. The

reality of the situation is much different than your

sensitive emotions perceive. Avoid the tendency to

escape even further into this fantasy world. Stay away

from drugs or alcohol.

CApRICORN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): Your fantasy world is

piqued today, Capricorn. Your

imagination is running wild. Maintain a

certain amount of control over your

emotions or they may get the better of you. You could

find yourself in a cloud of confusion by afternoon.

Avoid this by trying to ground yourself throughout

the day. Make sure your actions result from an equal

balance between thought and emotion.

AQUARIUS

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19): You may get the feeling

that you're operating in an emotional

crossfire today, Aquarius. On the one

hand, you may have a "me first," selfish

feeling that demands attention from others. You may

also sense the need to work to serve others and bring

like-minded people together. Realize that both of these

energies are valid and deserve your attention. Balance

is the key. Work to soothe your fluctuating emotions.

pISCeS

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20): You'll enjoy a day of

high spirits and friendly interactions.

The energy of the day is in your favor,

although it may not seem like it. Your

emotions may become cloudy and it might seem

like people are working against you. Although this

may be true to some extent, realize that much of this

paranoia comes more from your emotional

insecurity than another's plot against you.

MONDAY, SePTeMBeR 14, 2020

9

Nadal renews Djokovic rivalry

in quest for 10th Rome title

Messi started and played 45 minutes in Barcelona's first pre-season friendly on Saturday. Photo: AP

Messi plays 45 minutes in Barca

friendly win as La Liga kicks off

SportS DeSk:

Lionel Messi started and played 45

minutes in Barcelona's first pre-season

friendly on Saturday as ronald

koeman showed no hesitation in

reintegrating the Argentinian, reports

BSS.

Barca beat third tier side Gimnastic

tarragona 3-1, with ousmane Dembele

opening the scoring on his first

appearance since November.

Antoine Griezmann and philippe

Coutinho, who was also returning after

his loan spell at Bayern Munich, then

each scored penalties, either side of

Javier Bonilla pulling one back for the

visitors.

But Messi's return at the Johan

Cruyff Stadium was perhaps the biggest

plus for koeman, who was taking

charge of his first game since being

appointed coach last month.

Messi also led the team out wearing

the armband after Barcelona had

confirmed earlier on Saturday that he

will continue as captain this season.

Both club and player appear keen to

put on a united front, at least for now,

ahead of their return to La Liga later

this month.

After condemning the board last

week and admitting he had been forced

to stay, Messi arrived early on Monday

for his return to pre-season training

and worked on the squad's days off in a

bid to catch up.

koeman, meanwhile, said last month

he only wanted players who wanted to

be at Barcelona but he was full of praise

for Messi on Friday, calling him "the

best", and backed that up in his first

team selection.

Messi played 45 minutes as part of

koeman's plan to field two different

line-ups in each half.

Yet his starting front three of Messi,

Griezmann and Dembele looked

suspiciously like a first-choice attack,

with Dembele making his first

appearance since he tore his hamstring

nine months ago.

koeman also handed starts to

youngsters Carles Alena and pedri in

midfield while Jordi Alba, Clement

Lenglet, Gerard pique and Sergi

roberto formed a familiar back four,

ahead of Neto, who is standing in for

the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen in

goal.

New signing Francisco trincao,

Coutinho, Frenkie de Jong and 19-yearold

American international konrad de

la Fuente were among those to come on

for the second half.

there was no place in the squad for

either Luis Suarez or Arturo Vidal, who

have both been told they can leave.

Barcelona will not play their first La

Liga game against Villarreal until

round three at the end of the month,

having been granted extra time off due

to their involvement in last season's

Champions League.

reigning champions real Madrid,

Atletico Madrid and Sevilla are also

sitting out the first weekend.

But seven games are scheduled this

Saturday and Sunday, the first of them

finishing goalless between eibar and

Celta Vigo.

Still without fans due to the

coronavirus pandemic, Spain's top

flight got off to a slow start at Ipurua,

where eibar finished with 10 men after

pape Diop was sent off in the 87th

minute.

Granada then picked up where they

left off last season by defeating Athletic

Bilbao 2-0 at Los Carmenes while

newly-promoted Cadiz, back in La Liga

for the first time in 14 years, lost 2-0 at

home to osasuna.

SportS DeSk:

rafael Nadal returns to

competition after a six-month

break chasing a tenth Italian open

title in rome against his greatest

rival Novak Djokovic before his bid

for a 13th roland Garros crown

later this month, reports BSS.

the Spaniard has won on the red

clay of the Foro Italico, normally

played in May but which starts

behind closed doors in rome on

Monday, a record nine times,

including the last two editions.

World number one Djokovic, a

four-time rome winner and fivetime

runner-up, lost to Nadal last

year in the final.

the 33-year-old is the top seed

ahead of world number two Nadal,

in the tuneup for the final Grand

Slam of the season at the French

open which begins on September

27.

Djokovic won the French open in

2016, with Nadal having won the

last three titles since.

Nadal, 34, has not played since

winning in Acapulco at the end of

February, skipping the US open

over coronavirus concerns.

Djokovic tested positive for

coronavirus in June after an

exhibition tournament he

organised, but the Serb won his

80th career title at the Cincinnati

Masters last month.

He also captured his 35th Atp

Masters crown, matching Nadal's

all-time record, with the pair

battling to pull ahead in rome this

week.

Djokovic arrives in rome after his

bid for an 18th Grand Slam ended

amid controversy at the US open a

week ago when he was disqualified

after accidentally striking a female

line judge with a ball during his last-

16 match.

Nadal opens his rome challenge

on Wednesday against 27th-ranked

fellow Spaniard pablo Carreno

Busta, the recipient of a first round

bye, after his run to the US open

semi-finals.

Nadal could play either Greek

third seed Stefanos tsitsipas or

seventh seeded Italian Fabio

Fognini for a place in the final.

Nadal has a 61-6 tournament

record, having not lost before the

quarter-finals since 2008.

Djokovic will start against either

Italian Salvatore Caruso or a

qualifier, with a potential semi-final

clash against France's fifth seed

Gael Monfils or tenth seeded Swiss

Stan Wawrinka.

US open finalists Dominic thiem

and Alexander Zverev, the 2017

winner, both pulled out after their

runs in Flushing Meadows, with

injured roger Federer also

sidelined.

Former French open champion

Simona Halep headlines the

women's event which also includes

defending champion karolina

pliskova and two-time rome

winner elina Svitolina.

Serena Williams withdrew due to

a left Achilles tendon injury

sustained in her US open semifinal

defeat.

the former world number one, a

four-time rome champion, joined

2019 US open winner Bianca

Andreescu and two-time

Wimbledon winner petra kvitova

in skipping the Italian event which

will also be without world number

one Ashleigh Barty and newlycrowned

US open champion

Naomi osaka.

World number two Halep won the

prague title a month ago, and will

face either Anastasija Sevastova or

Jasmine paolini in the second

round.

Former French open champion

Garbine Muguruza opens against

American Sloane Stephens.

Venus Williams, the 1999 rome

champion, has a tough start against

US open finalist Victoria Azarenka,

with the winner taking on third

seeded Sofia kenin.

Dutch player kiki Bertens and

Swiss Belinda Bencic are among the

six top ten players in the field.

Salah hat-trick saves Liverpool, Arsenal

cruise as Premier League returns

SportS DeSk:

Mohamed Salah's hat-trick saved

Liverpool from an opening day stumble

as the defending premier League

champions edged Leeds 4-3 on

Saturday, while Arsenal had a much

more comfortable start against newlypromoted

opposition with a 3-0 win at

Fulham, reports BSS.

Just 48 days after last season's delayed

conclusion, the premier League

returned with a bang as Liverpool and

Leeds, on their return to the top-flight

after a 16-year absence, served up a feast

of goals to open the 2020-21 campaign.

Jurgen klopp's side cruised to a first

league title in 30 years last season, but

Liverpool looked more like the wide

open side of the German's early days in

charge at Anfield as three times Leeds

came from behind.

Salah won a fourth-minute penalty

when his shot hit Leeds debutant robin

koch on his outstretched arm and he

dispatched the spot-kick himself.

Leeds fashioned a stunning equaliser

in the 12th minute when on-loan

Manchester City midfielder Jack

Harrison cut past trent Alexander-

Arnold and Joe Gomez before drilling a

superb low finish into the bottom corner.

Virgil van Dijk restored Liverpool's

lead eight minutes later with a thumping

header from Andy robertson's corner.

Leeds equalised again in the 30th

minute when Van Dijk made a hash of a

flicked attempt to clear and patrick

Bamford pounced to guide his shot past

Alisson Becker.

A remarkable game produced more

drama as Salah struck again three

minutes later with a thunderous drive

into the roof of the net.

Leeds equalised for a third time when

Mateusz klich made a well-timed run to

meet Helder Costa's pass with a

composed finish in the 66th minute.

But Liverpool won it in the 88th

minute when Leeds' record signing

rodrigo tripped Fabinho and Salah

slotted in the penalty, leaving klopp to

sum up the feelings of both teams when

he mouthed "wow" at the final whistle.

"Leeds are special. I said it before the

game and in the game everybody saw it

obviously," said klopp admiringly of

Bielsa's men.

"the way they play, the way they

defend, the way they go into challenges

was really, really good - and for 95

minutes, by the way!

"I'm completely fine with the game.

offensively, it was good; and defensively,

we can improve and we will improve."

At Craven Cottage, Arsenal hit the

ground running with the kind of

confident display that has become their

hallmark since Mikel Arteta took charge.

Willian starred on his Gunners debut

with three assists for Alexandre

Lacazette, fellow new-signing Gabriel

Magalhaes and pierre-emerick

Aubameyang.

Mohamed Salah's hat-trick saved Liverpool from an opening day stumble as the defending

Premier League champions edged Leeds 4-3 on Saturday.

Photo: AP

The Spaniard has won on the red clay of the Foro Italico, normally played in May but which starts behind

closed doors in Rome on Monday.

Photo: AP

Osaka beats

Azarenka to win

US Open and

third Grand Slam

SportS DeSk:

Japan's Naomi osaka

came from a set down to

beat Victoria Azarenka of

Belarus to win the US open

on Saturday and clinch her

third Grand Slam title,

reports BSS.

osaka, the fourth seed,

overcame her unseeded

opponent 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 inside

a near-empty Arthur Ashe

Stadium at Flushing

Meadows.

It brought 22-year-old

osaka's haul of tennis major

trophies to three after her

victories at the 2018 US

open and 2019 Australian

open.

"I didn't really enjoy that.

It was a really tough match

for me," osaka said

following her 1hr 53min

victory that delivers her

prize money of $3 million.

Azarenka, 31, sprinted to

the first set in just 26

minutes, dominating osaka

with an 88 percent success

rate on her first serve.

the Japanese was

uncharacteristically sloppy,

hitting a whopping 13

unforced errors.

Azarenka then went 2-0

ahead in the second set

before osaka fought back to

break her opponent's serve

twice and take a 4-3 lead.

Neymar seals Puma

sponsorship deal

SportS DeSk:

Neymar has signed an endorsement

contract with puma to become the German

sportswear giant's new global poster boy on

Saturday two weeks after the Brazilian

superstar parted company with longtime

sponsor Nike.

"Welcome to the fam @neymarjr

#kingIsBack" puma tweeted alongside a

photo of the paris Saint-Germain striker,

kitted out in his new marketing 'club's'

clothes.

the world's most expensive player

confirmed the sponsorship transfer in an

open letter posted on social media.

"I grew up watching videos of great football

legends such as pele, Cruyff, eusebio and

Maradona…who each played in puma.

"For these reasons, from today onward, I

have the honour to unite with the brand that

helped the biggest legends of football

become what they are," he wrote.

Neither Neymar nor puma gave details of

the length of the contract or how much it was

worth.

"Neymar Jr…is an ambassador of the

brand on and off the pitch," the company

told AFp, emphasising the confidentiality

around the contract.

the move represents a significant change

for the 28-year-old after leaving Nike, his

sponsors since he was a 13-year-old prodigy.

News that a deal had been struck was first

published by Brazilian sports site esporte

Interativo, which is known for breaking the

story of Neymar's transfer from Barcelona to

pSG in 2017.

Citing "exclusive information," it said

details on the agreement and Neymar's first

promotional appearances for puma were

expected "in the coming days".

Neymar had appeared to drop hints that a

deal was close, said esporte Interativo.

He recently followed puma, pumaFootball

and eight other accounts associated with the

brand on Instagram, and posted a picture of

himself thursday with what appeared to be a

statue of a puma in the background.

Neymar's last arrangement with Nike was

reportedly an 11-year contract up to 2022

worth a total $105 million (88 millions

euros).

Forbes magazine, which ranks him the

world's seventh highest-paid celebrity,

estimates his earnings for this year at $95.5

million, including endorsement deals.

At Nike, the world leading sportswear

company with turnover of 39.1 billion euros

in 2019, Neymar was one of many headline

sports stars like LeBron James, rafael

Nadal, Serena Williams, Cristiano ronaldo

and kylian Mbappe.

With his new puma 'family' he will

instantly assume a leading marketing role

alongside six-time Formula one world

champion Lewis Hamilton.

For the German firm, whose sales fell by

over 16% in the first quarter of 2020 due to

the coronavirus pandemic, Neymar's capture

should pay dividends in the medium term.

Neymar is a fitting replacement to another

global sports star in the puma family but

now retired - Usain Bolt.

pSG paid a record 222 million euros for his

transfer from Barcelona in 2017.

With his skinny good looks, tattoos, everchanging

hairstyles and huge following on

social media, Neymar is one of the biggest

names in sports and beyond - though his

brand has been tarnished at times.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

10

Experience the power of the S-Pen

of Galaxy Note 10 Lite at Tk.49,999

Samsung Bangladesh has

announced a special price for Galaxy

Note 10 Lite. Under its current offer,

the South Korean tech giant is

providing a discount of BDT 6,000, a

press release said.

Assembled in Bangladesh, the

flagship phone will now be available

at a budget-friendly price of BDT

49,999 after the discount (the regular

price is BDT 55,999). Moreover, with

the budget-friendly price, most

people now can understand the

reason why S Pen has remained

unmatched by the competition since

it was introduced with the first Galaxy

Note. The S Pen has been an excellent

tool for taking notes and unleashing

users' artistic side. Note 10 Lite brings

people the same stylus experience as

the previous ones along with

upgraded features such as the Text

Export feature that let users transfer

handwritten notes into text for quick

sharing.

The Galaxy Note 10 Lite features a

6.7-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-O

display with Full HD+ resolution, indisplay

fingerprint reader, and

HDR10+. The phone runs Android 10

with One UI 2.1 and is equipped with

Exynos 9810 processor. The Note 10

Lite has 8GB, 128 GB storage, and a

microSD card slot.

It features a 32MP selfie camera

and a 12MP+12MP+12MP triple rearfacing

camera. The phone can record

4K 60fps videos using both front and

rear cameras. It has an S Pen, GPS,

dual-SIM card slot, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

5.0, NFC, USB Type-C port, and

3.5mm headphone jack. The Galaxy

Note 10 Lite uses a 4,500mAh

battery, which is compatible with

25W fast charging.

Dhaka East Zone of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited organized a webinar on Compliance of

Shari'ah in Banking Sector on Saturday.

Photo: Courtesy

IBBL Dhaka East Zone organizes

webinar on Shari'ah compliance

Dhaka East Zone of Islami Bank

Bangladesh Limited organized a

webinar on Compliance of Shari'ah in

Banking Sector on 12 September

2020, Saturday, a press release said.

Professor Dr. Md. Salim Uddin,

FCA, FCMA, Chairman, executive

committee of of the bank addressed

the program as chief guest. Md.

Mahbub ul Alam, Managing Director

& CEO of the bank addressed the

program as special guest. Mufti

Sayeed Ahmed, Vice Chairman of

IBBL Shari'ah Supervisory Committee

addressed the webinar as chief

discussant. Mohammod Ullah, Head

of Dhaka East Zone presided over the

program while Md. Shamsul Huda

and Md. Shamsuddoha, Executive

Vice Presidents of the bank addressed

the program. Head of branches,

executives and officials under Dhaka

East Zone attended the webinar.

Professor Dr. Md. Salim Uddin,

FCA, FCMA said that Islamic Banking

is a successful reality of the world.

Islamic banking is providing modern

financial services with latest

technologies at present. He said, 25

percent banking of Bangladesh is

being conducted under Islamic

banking financial system. Referring to

the implementation of Shari'ah

principles, he said that in order to

implement Shari'ah banking, all the

executives, clients and stakeholders of

the organization needs to nurture

social and human values, welfare,

sincerity, devotion, transparency,

accountability and compliance in the

personal and professional life.

He said, Islamic banking is

governed by both Shari'ah principles

and traditional rules and regulations.

Adherence to Shari'ah principles is not

a priority of Islamic banking but a

compulsory one, he added. He

recalled, Islamic banking values

compliance in all areas. He suggested

to all concerned to be more vigilant in

enforcing proper Shari'ah in banking

activities.

Md. Mahbub ul Alam said that

Islamic banking is a universal banking

system without compromising with

the principles of Shari'ah. It has been

recognized as a successful model, he

added. Islamic banking system has

already been able to create a brand

image of accepting Halal and banning

Haram. He said Shari'ah policy is

essential in the Islamic banking

system. Due to the people's trust and

love for the principles of Shari'ah, the

system has become a model in the

banking industry.

Tk 889.55 crore Rangpur

city budget announced

RANGPUR : Mayor of

Rangpur Mostafizar

Rahman Mostafa has

proposed Taka 889.55

crore annual development

budget of Rangpur City

Corporation (RpCC) for the

2020-2021 fiscal.

Mostafa announced the

budget in a crowded press

conference arranged at the

conference room of the

City Bhaban yesterday

afternoon.

Chief Executive Officer of

RpCC Ruhul Amin Miah,

City Councilors, officials

and employees and local

journalists were present.

Speaking on the

occasion, the city mayor

said the announced

development budget for

the current fiscal is less by

Taka 124 than that of the

last fiscal.

"During the last fiscal, we

could spend 75 percent

money of the budget while

25 percent money

remained unspent," he

said, adding that efforts

will be there to spend a

minimum 95 percent

amount of the announced

development budget for

the current fiscal.

The proposed budget

includes income of Taka

88.51 crore from revenue

earnings and Taka 801.04

crore as development

assistance from the

government, different

donor agencies and

foreign- assisted projects to

spend for developments.

"In the proposed budget,

special emphasis has been

put on the health sector

with increased allocation to

face the COVID-19

pandemic and dengue,

improvement of

Shyamasundari Canal,

infrastructures, water

supply and drainage and

sewerage systems," he said.

The development

programmes includes a

special plan for

construction and

beautification of the

modern and elevated

Bangabandhu Road with

eye-catching looks from

the DC Mour to Modern

Mour in the city.

The proposed budget

also includes allocations

for education, garbage

management, forestation,

alleviation of urban

poverty, development

activities in the extended

areas of 18 new wards and

development of the city's

extremely poor and slum

dwellers.

"Emphasis has been put

on resolving the water

logging problem,

enhancing civic facilities,

removing traffic jams,

improving urban

sanitation, beautification,

tree plantation, climate

change adaptation and

some other sectors,"

Mostafa added.

Panel Mayor of Rangpur

Mahmudur Rahman Titu

and Chief Executive Officer

of RpCC Ruhul Amin

Miah, among others,

addressed the occasion.

'Avengers' game free with

Intel Processor

Avengers is a popular

movie that has won the

hearts of people from all

over the world. The game

'Marvel Avengers' has

been released on the 4th

of this month for

Avengers lovers. Intel has

also announced that the

game will be offered for

free with Intel's ninth and

tenth generation 'K'

series processors. The

game costs around 5000

BDT in Bangladesh, a

press release said.

This exciting offer will

be available until

February 26, 2021.

Customers can enjoy this

offer in Bangladesh from

Star Tech & Engineering

Ltd.

According to the

authorities of Star Tech &

Padma Bank's

board

meeting held

DHAKA : The 63rd board

of directors meeting of

Padma Bank Limited was

held yesterday through a

video conference, reports

BSS.

Presided over by the

bank's chairman

Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat,

Bank's Vice Chairman Dr

Hasan Taher Imam, Md Abu

Kaiser, Tamim Marzan

Huda, Managing Director

and CEO of Sonali Bank Md.

Ataur Rahman Prodhan,

Managing Director and CEO

of Janata Bank Md. Abdus

Salam Azad (F.F), Managing

Director and CEO of Agrani

Bank Mohammad Shams-ul

Islam, Managing Director

and CEO of Rupali Bank

Obayed Ullah Al Masud,

Managing Director of ICB

Md Abul Hossain and

Padma Bank MD & CEO

Md. Ehsan Khasru were

present, among others, at

the meeting.

UK to invest £23.8m

in strategic Omani

port

LONDON : Britain on

Friday announced a £23.8

million ($30.5 million, 25.7

million euros) investment to

triple the size of its base in an

Omani port close to the

sensitive waters of the Gulf.

The expansion of the

"logistics hub" at Duqm will

"facilitate Royal Navy

deployments to the Indian

Ocean" and "further support

British Army training in

Oman," the Ministry of

Defence said.

"The long-standing

friendships between the UK

and the Gulf states are more

important than ever," said

Defence Secretary Ben

Wallace as he visited Oman

and Qatar, reports UNB.

"Whether tackling Daesh

(the so-called Islamic State

group), or making our

streets in the UK safer

thanks to our intelligence

networks, these are hugely

valuable relationships that I

am pleased to be able to

renew this week," he added.

Engineering, a popular

computer retail shop

among Bangladeshi

gamers, Intel's offer will

be able to spread widely

in the gaming

community of

Bangladesh." The

company also informed

that "The new Intel Ninth

and Tenth Generation

"K" series processors will

not come in the usual

Intel box, but in the

Avengers theme box.

Johnson accuses EU of plotting

food 'blockade' on UK

Prime Minister Boris

Johnson has accused the

European Union of

threatening to tear the UK

apart by imposing a food

"blockade" between Britain

and Northern Ireland,

throwing new fuel on the fire

of simmering Brexit talks,

reports BSS.

Writing in Saturday's Daily

Telegraph newspaper,

Johnson said the EU's stance

justified his government's

introduction of new

legislation to rewrite its Brexit

withdrawal treaty - a bill that

is causing deep alarm among

former prime ministers and

his own MPs.

Talks between London and

Brussels on a future trading

relationship are deadlocked as

both sides struggle to prise

apart nearly 50 years of

economic integration, after

British voters opted for a

divorce. "My assessment is

that an unregulated situation

(no deal) would have very

significant consequences for

the British economy,"

German Finance Minister

Olaf Scholz warned after an

EU meeting in Berlin.

"Europe would be able to

deal with it and these would

not be particularly difficult

consequences after the

preparations we have already

made," he added. But absent

a deal by the end of this year,

when the full force of Brexit

kicks in, Johnson said the EU

was bent on an "extreme

interpretation" of rules for

Northern Ireland under the

divorce treaty both sides

signed in January. "We are

being told that the EU will not

only impose tariffs on goods

moving from Great Britain to

Northern Ireland, but that

they might actually stop the

transport of food products

from GB to NI," he wrote. "I

have to say that we never

seriously believed that the EU

would be willing to use a

treaty, negotiated in good

faith, to blockade one part of

the UK, to cut it off, or that

they would actually threaten

to destroy the economic and

territorial integrity of the UK."

Johnson said the EU's

stance would "seriously

endanger peace and stability

in Northern Ireland".

Trump advisor elected to head Inter-American

Development Bank

NEW YORK : An advisor

to US President Donald

Trump was elected

president of the Inter-

American Development

Bank, ending decades of

Latin American leadership,

the institution announced

Saturday, reports BSS.

Mauricio Claver-Carone,

who is a US citizen of

Cuban descent, was the

only candidate for the

position and will assume

office on October 1 for a

five-year term.

He won the vote of 30

IDB governors, 23 of them

from South American

countries and, according to

a Washington-based

source, a total of 66.8

percent of the votes.

In a statement, Claver-

Carone thanked regional

partners for "maintaining

the integrity of this

electoral process and

sharing in our common

vision of a stronger and

more responsive IDB."

The bank is the main

source of financing for

development in Latin

America and the

Caribbean. It comprises 48

countries: nations in the

region and Europe, plus the

United States, Canada,

Israel, Japan, South Korea

and China.

Claver-Carone, 45, is the

first non-Latin American

citizen in 60 years to lead

the IDB, and this had

caused friction among its

member states, including

Argentina and Chile.

The two South American

nations expressed concerns

that Claver-Carone would

undermine one of the

institutions capable of

offsetting the cost of the

coronavirus pandemic.

The vote, initially

scheduled for March, was

delayed due to Covid-19.

Argentina had called to

abstain, and Chile raised

the possibility of canceling

the election altogether.

Claver-Carone's victory

had the backing of many

Trump allies, including

Brazil, Colombia and

Bolivia.

US Secretary of State

Mike Pompeo also

congratulated Claver-

Carone on his election.

The US is the IDB's main

shareholder, with a 30

percent stake.

Known for his longstanding

activism against

Cuba's communist regime

and firm opposition to

Venezuelan President

Nicolas Maduro, Claver-

Carone has helped shape

the US administration's

tough policies towards the

two countries.

His election comes less

than two months before the

US presidential election in

November, where Trump is

seeking a second term.

MONDAY, SEPTEMbEr 14, 2020

11

1 civilian killed, 4

injured in Indian

firing : Pakistani army

Pakistani army said on

Sunday that one civilian

was killed and four others

were injured in Indian

forces' indiscriminate firing

along the Line of Control

(LoC) in the disputed

Kashmir region, reports

UNB.

An army statement said

the Indian troops

committed "unprovoked

ceasefire violations along

the LoC, targeting civil

population with automatics

and mortars in Hotspring

and Rakhchikri sectors."

A girl was killed while four

civilians including a 75-yearold

woman and two young

boys sustained injuries,

according to the statement.

Gangchil Foundation distributed masks among the unconscious people in Jessore. They distributed 500 masks in different

places of Jessore. In addition, at the beginning of the corona outbreak, they distributed food to needy people on Eid and

provided financial assistance for the treatment of a child suffering from a complex disease.

Photo : Shohid Joy

Thousands of Israelis protest

outside Netanyahu's residence

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated outside

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official

residence in central Jerusalem late Saturday,

demanding he resign over his trial on

corruption charges and what is widely seen as

his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic,

reports UNB.

With Israel reporting record levels of new

coronavirus cases each day, the country

appears to be headed toward a nationwide

lockdown this week ahead of the Jewish New

Year.

Saturday's demonstration came a day after

Israel announced an agreement to establish

diplomatic relations with Bahrain, the second

Arab country to normalize ties with Israel in

under a month and just the fourth overall.

But the surprise announcement had little

effect on the thousands of demonstrators, who

have been gathering outside Netanyahu's

residence every Saturday throughout the

summer.

Protests against Netanyahu over his

corruption trial have expanded to include

demonstrations against his handling of the

health crisis and the resulting economic pain.

Late Saturday, police detained several

protesters.

Israel earned praise last spring for its early

handling of the virus crisis, moving quickly to

seal the country's borders and appearing to

bring an outbreak under control.

But Netanyahu has come under criticism for

reopening the economy too quickly in May.

Since then, new cases have soared, the

government has been blamed for

mismanaging the resurgence and

unemployment has soared to double digit

levels. Many struggling workers and business

owners fear another closure will be

devastating. Many of the demonstrators are

unemployed.

Last week Netanyahu announced overnight

curfews on some 40 cities and towns hit hard

by the coronavirus, but backed away from

reported recommendations for full lockdowns

after an uproar by politically powerful religious

politicians.

Pompeo says "deeply

concerned" over Turkish

energy exploration in

Mediterranean

Visiting U.S. Secretary of State

Mike Pompeo said Saturday

that the United States is

"deeply concerned" over

Turkey's gas exploration in the

eastern Mediterranean amid

growing tensions between

Turkey, Cyprus and Greece,

reports UNB.

"We remain deeply

concerned by Turkey's

ongoing operations surveying

for natural resources in areas

over which Greece and Cyprus

assert jurisdiction in the

Eastern Mediterranean,"

Pompeo said at a joint press

conference with Cypriot

President Nicos Anastasiades.

Turkey and the two

European Union members

are engaged in a war of words

over oil and gas reserves and

maritime rights in the

disputed region, prompting

fears that tensions will

continue to rise.

Anastasiades, for his part,

voiced readiness to enter

negotiations for a

comprehensive solution of the

disputes, urging Ankara to

end "aggressive actions."

Seven Mediterranean states

on Thursday urged Turkey to

resolve territorial disputes

with Greece and Cyprus

through negotiation, warning

of "further restrictive

measures" if Turkey does not

halt its "unilateral activities."

On Friday, Turkish Foreign

Ministry spokesman Hami

Aksoy said EU countries

should abandon a policy of

"blindly" taking the side of

Greece and Cyprus, and called

on Greece to enter

unconditional and direct talks

to settle down disputes.

Lebanese protesters clash with

army near presidential palace

Lebanese soldiers on

Saturday fired rubber bullets

and live rounds in the air to

disperse hundreds of

protesters trying to march to

the presidential palace during

an anti-government

demonstration.

Tension is high in Lebanon

following last month's

devastating explosion at

Beirut's port that killed nearly

200 people, and after another

mysterious and huge blaze at

the same site Thursday,

reports UNB.

The Aug. 4 explosion was

caused by the detonation of

nearly three thousand tons of

ammonium nitrates that had

been improperly stored at the

port for years. More than five

weeks later, it is still not clear

what started the fire that

ignited the chemicals, and no

one has been held

accountable so far.

The explosion, which created

a massive shockwave that

shattered glass and blasted

windows, doors and injured

6,500 people, came on top of an

unprecedented economic and

financial crisis blamed on

decades of corruption and

mismanagement by the

country's political class.

Protesters had called for the

march Saturday to the

presidential palace in the

suburb of Baabda to express

their anger and call for

accountability. Supporters of

President Michel Aoun called

for a counter-protest at the

same location, adding to the

tension.

Hundreds of Lebanese

soldiers separated the two

camps. Later, as anti-Aoun

protesters attempted to break

a security cordon blocking

their path on the highway

leading to the palace, troops

fired at first live rounds in the

air, then rubber bullets, in an

effort to disperse them.

Some protesters threw

stones and tree branches at

the troops, injuring several of

them. Some sat in the middle

of the highway vowing to stay

there. A group climbed on a

sign post and hung ropes tied

into nooses.

Some soldiers threw stones

and sticks back at protesters,

and pointed their M-16

machine guns at them as well.

The military later issued a

statement saying it had to

form a human barrier to

separate the two groups of

demonstrators near the

presidential palace, and was

forced to fire in the air after

protesters pelted soldiers with

stones and beat them with

sticks in an attempt to reach

the presidential palace.

The public blames the

corruption and negligence of

Lebanon's politicians, security

and judicial officials, many of

whom knew about the storage

of the chemicals that exploded

and did nothing.

GD-1171/20 (10x3)

India's health ministry

suggests yoga as

post-COVID protocol

India's health ministry on

Sunday came out with

fresh guidelines of yoga

practice and dietary

supplement to be followed

by those who recovered

from COVID-19 pandemic,

reports UNB.

The guidelines included

adopting a yoga routine,

regular use of turmeric

and consumption of

Chyawanprash made of a

mixture of herbs and

spices.

As many as 3,702,595

people have been

successfully cured and

discharged from hospitals

in the country so far.

"The use of one spoon of

Chyawanprash in the

morning with lukewarm

water or milk is highly

recommended as in the

clinical practice it is

believed to be effective in

post-recovery period," said

the ministry's guidelines.

Titled "Post-COVID

Management Protocol," it

said a holistic approach is

required for follow up care

and well-being of all post-

COVID recovering

patients.

The guidelines are not

meant to be used as

preventive or curative

therapy. It provided an

integrated holistic

approach for managing

patients who have

recovered enough from

COVID for care at home.

According to an official

statement by the federal

health ministry, the

management protocol is to

be followed both at the

individual and community

levels.

It also recommended

daily practice of yogasana

(a set of physical

exercises), pranayama (a

set of breathing exercises)

and meditation, besides

daily morning or evening

walk.

GD-1168/20 (7x4)

GD-1172/20 (6x3)

Monday, Dhaka, September 14, 2020, Bhadra 30, 1427 BS, Muharram 25, 1442 hijri

Equal tariff planned to

promote solar-powered

irrigation pumps

DHAKA : The government has planned

to make the tariff of solar-run irrigation

pumps equal to that of the grid electricity-run

irrigation ones, reports UNB.

According to official sources, the consumers

of solar-run irrigation pumps

have to pay about Tk 17.73 per unit while

that of grid electricity-run pumps Tk 4.16

per unit.

"So, there's a gap of Tk 13.57 per unit

which creates a big impediment to the

government move to convert diesel-run

irrigation pumps into solar-run irrigation

systems," said a top official at the

Sustainable and Renewable Energy

Development Authority (Sreda).

However, Sreda chairman

Mohammad Alauddin, also an additional

secretary to Power Division, said there

has been no final decision yet.

"Still, Sreda, other power distribution

bodies and agencies have been working

on it," he told UNB.

Official sources said a comparative

study on the issue found that if a power

distribution company is provided with

Tk 0.014 (1.4 paisa) as financial support

to the utilities, the project on solar-run

irrigation pumps could be easily implemented

across the country.

They said the government's new initiative

to strike the balance between the tariff

of solar power and grid power is part

of its move to replace the diesel-run irrigation

pumps with solar-powered ones

throughout the country.

According to them, there are some

1.55 million irrigation pumps across

the country and 1.25 million of them

are diesel-run pumps. For these dieselrun

pumps, the government has to

a Jashore couple is working tirelessly to help the disadvantage people of the country.

ShahID JoY, JaShoRE CoRRESpoNDENt

People are for people. It is natural

to expect that people will come to the

rescue in times of crisis and danger,

otherwise the human birth will

remain incomplete. There are many

people in the society who cannot

remain silent when someone is in

danger.

Some are working on individual

initiative, some collectively, some

are working under some banner for

the service of helpless people or for

the welfare of the society and the

country.

One such example is a couple who

selflessly, not in the hope of gaining

any fame or glory, but simply to

work in human service out of the

responsibility of their own conscience.

They are a couple born in

Jashore district and now living in

Rampura, Banasree, Dhaka.

The couple reduced their household

expenses from their salary and

work with the help of close relatives

and some well-wishers in silence

import diesel worth about Tk 4,500

crore annually.

The government initiated a plan to

replace some 100,000 diesel-operated

irrigation pumps in the first phase with

solar-powered ones as part of the government's

policy initiative to increase the

use of solar power and reduce the consumption

of fossil fuel for irrigation

pump operation.

As per the initiative, Sreda moved to

implement a pilot project in Kushtia in

this regard to have a technical and financial

analysis of the pump replacement

project.

Sreda officials said irrigation through

solar-powered pumps initially seemed to

be costlier. "But in the final calculation, it

might be found to be cost-effective and

more economic than diesel-run one," he

mentioned. Other officials said it was

found in different studies that if the

diesel-run pumps are replaced with solar

irrigation ones, it will bring huge benefits

for the country.

Especially, they said, solar pumps will

reduce the use of about 50 percent of

water now the farmers are lifting for irrigation.

Explaining the matter, they said,

when farmers use a solar pump for irrigation,

they normally try to lift 20 percent

less water compared to the dieselpump

use. In the solar irrigation process,

the water supply to the field will be

through underground plastic pipes

instead of conventional use of open

canals, they mentioned.

According to them, such a process

will reduce another 30 percent as there

will be no evaporation and sucking of

water by soil.

Jashore couple working

for humane cause

often work for the poor and helpless.

The couple stood by the poor people

of the country at a time when they

were struggling to live a normal life.

They are Kazi Anisuzzaman Arju,

who works in a private bank, and his

wife Syeda Mita Monalisa, a school

teacher.

The middle-income couple said it

is their pleasure to stand by the disadvantaged

people of the society

with the rest of the money which they

save after the monthly expenses of

their family of six including their

three children.

Following the footsteps of the global

epidemic of coronavirus, they

helped more than 100 families in

Bhuiyanpara Meradia, Khilgaon with

rice, pulses, oil, onion, potato, salt,

mask and soap.

Social worker Kazi Anisuzzaman

Arju said, 'I am trying to stand by

the side of the poor people as much

as I can in this difficult time of the

country. The rich and the poor in

their respective areas should be on

their side.

BCSIR holds

tree plantation

programme on

Mujib Year

Bangladesh Council of Scientific and

Industrial Research (BCSIR) organized a

tree plantation programme at the Dhaka

campus of BCSIR on the occasion of

Mujib Year on Sunday. Secretary of

Forestry and Environmental Affairs,

Delwar Hossain was the chief guest at the

occasion while Prof. Dr. Md. Aftab Ali

Sheikh, Chairman, BCSIR, chaired the

tree planting ceremony, a press release

said. The program was inaugurated by

planting 21 fruit, forest and medicinal

trees at 3 places of BCSIR campus.

The chief guest Secretary of Forestry

and Environmental Affairs Delwar

Hossain said the government has a plan

to plant 1 crore trees on the occasion of

Mujib Year. So far, the Bangladesh

Awami League and its affiliates have

planted more than one crore trees and

distributed saplings. Apart from this,

this program is being conducted all over

the country from government, private,

semi-government, non-government

organizations, schools, colleges and universities

to the ward level. He expressed

optimism that we will be able to plant

about 4-5 crore trees in Mujib Year.

He further said that today is a very

important day, the birthday of

Bangabandhu's worthy daughter

Sheikh Rehana. To make the day memorable,

2 more medicinal plants were

planted in her name.

Prof. Dr. Md. Aftab Ali Sheikh,

Chairman, BCSIR said, "we planted the

saplings received from the Secretary of

Secretary of Forestry and

Environmental Affairs at his presence

and participation. We will also continue

the tree planting program in the regional

laboratories of BCSIR such as:

Chattogram, Rajshahi, Joypurhat,

Nayarhat in phases.

photo: Shahid Joy

BGB-BSF

border confce

postponed

DHAKA : The border conference

between Border Guard Bangladesh

(BGB) and

Indian Border Security Force

(BSF) has been postponed as the BSF

delegation failed to reach Dhaka due

to a technical glitch in their aircraft,

reports UNB.

Mohammad Shariful Islam, public

relation officer of BGB headquarters,

said the aircraft carrying BSF members,

who were scheduled to join the

Director General level Talks (DGLT)

could not came to Dhaka on Sunday.

However, the schedule of the

DGLT will be announced later, he

said.

The DGLT was scheduled to be

held in Dhaka from September 13 to

September 18 and the BSF delegation

is set to reach Dhaka by their

own aircraft following the suspension

of Dhaka-New Delhi-Kolkata

flight.

Secretary of Forestry and Environmental affairs, Delwar hossain as the chief guest inaugurated tree plantation

programme at BCSIR, Dhaka campus on the occasion of Mujib Year on Sunday.

photo: Courtesy

onion market may

heat up again

HILI (DINAJPUR) : The prices of onion

are likely to increase in the country again

as a fallout of its price hike in India,

reports UNB.

Local traders said the onion prices are

set to go up as they have to purchase the

bulb at higher rates. Mobarak Hossain,

an importer through Hili port, said one

metric ton of Indian onion cost US$150-

250 till Wednesday but now the Indian

traders re-fixed the rate at $300-420

from Thursday.

As a result, onion is being sold at Tk

37-38 per kg in Bangladesh. Indian

traders said supply crunch has forced

them to raise the prices. Sonu Majumdar,

an Indian trader, said onion production

suffered a setback in recent floods in India.

"We've to wait for two months to recoup

the losses. The price of onion in India is

also high," he said.

In an effort to keep the supply and

price of onion normal in the country,

state-owned Trading Corporation of

Bangladesh (TCB) is expected to start

selling it soon at a fair price.

A task force committee of the

Commerce Ministry took the decision at a

meeting, said a ministry handout issued

DSCC starts registration

of non-mechanical

vehicles

DHAKA : The Dhaka South City

Corporation (DSCC) formally started

registration process of nonmechanical

vehicles from Sunday,

reports UNB.

Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor

Taposh on Sunday said only the registered

non-mechanical vehicles will be

allowed to operate in the city.

All modified non-mechanical vehicles

such as rickshaws and peddled

vans will be banned from the streets,

he said.

"Many poets and playwright called

Dhaka the 'city of rickshaw'. It's our

tradition. We've taken steps to bring

slow vehicles like rickshaws under

registration to bring discipline on the

road," the mayor said while inaugurating

the registration of rickshaw,

van and cart at Nagar Bhaban.

He warned that legal action would

be taken against unauthorised vehicles

from Sunday as DSCC has

imposed restriction on plying of

engine/battery-run rickshaw.

Earlier, a notice was issued for

bringing the non-mechanical vehicles

under registration under DSCC. The

interested owners have been asked to

collect application form at a cost of Tk

100 from the Nagar Bhaban from

September 13 to September 27.

"This registration will help us bring

slow (non-mechanical) vehicles under

registration and regulations," Taposh

said. "Our main goal is to bring back

discipline on the road."

on September 7. Bangladesh saw a record

hike in onion prices after India banned its

export on September 29 last year.

Onion, a popular item in Bangladeshi

kitchens, witnessed a 557.8 percent

year-on-year rise, TCB said. The record

jump was made in only two months

after the Indian export ban. Each kg of

the bulb cost about Tk 30 before the

ban. According to TCB data, the price of

local onion increased by 542.86 percent

while that of imported one by 572.73 in

November last year compared to the

corresponding period of the last year.

A market analysis showed that the

price hike, which stemmed from the ban

India slapped on the export, is higher

than the TCB estimation.

According to the Commerce

Ministry, the annual demand for

onion in Bangladesh ranges between

2.2 and 2.5 million tonnes. Although

the country's own annual production

has risen, so has the amount imported

over the last decade. Commerce

Ministry figures show the amount

imported was hardly 0.4 million tons

in FY09, but had touched up to 1.1

million tons in recent years.

Coronavirus

Bangladesh

sees steady rise

in recovery rate

DHAKA : The coronavirus recovery rate

in Bangladesh jumped to 71.3 percent

on Sunday with the recovery of 2,372

patients, reports UNB.

So far, 240,643 coronavirus patients

have recovered. A handout from the

Directorate General of Health Services

(DGHS) said 31 patients have died and

1,476 new patients were detected till

morning after testing 12,999 samples.

The daily infection rate currently

stands at 11.35 percent. So far, 1,728,480

tests have been conducted and 337,520

or 19.53 percent of them have turned

out to be positive. Currently, the death

toll stands at 4,733. "The fatality rate is

1.4 percent," the handout said. In per

one million population, 1,981.84 cases

are being recorded - 1,413 are recovering

while 27.79 are dying.

Bangladesh recorded 255 deaths and

12,479 cases over the past week (Sept 6-

12). During this period, 20,479 patients

recovered. Bangladesh reported its first

coronavirus cases on March 8 and the

first death on March 18.

Among the deceased, 3,686 are men

and 1,047 women. Twenty-one of the

latest victims are aged above 60 years

and seven are between 51 and 60 years.

So far, 2,293 have died in Dhaka division,

1,001 in Chattogram, 319 in

Rajshahi, 401 in Khulna, 180 in

Barishal, 212 in Sylhet, 225 in Rangpur

and 102 in Mymensingh. Across the

country, 18,135 people are in isolation

and 49,525 are quarantined at present.

Bangladesh, India

maintain smoother,

warmer ties : Quader

DHAKA : Road Transport and

Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader

yesterday said the Bangladesh-India

friendly relations are now smoother,

warmer and more futuristic than any

time in the past.

"With her diplomatic efficiency,

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has

built a relation of trust between the

two neighboring countries to cooperate

with each other to take ahead the

mutual development," he said.

Quader, also Awami League general

secretary, was addressing a review

meeting on the progress of the underimplementation

projects in

Bangladesh under the Indian Lines of

Credit.

He joined it through videoconferencing

from his official residence on

parliament premises here. Outgoing

High Commissioner of India to

Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das, Road

Transport and Highways Division

Secretary Md Nazrul Islam and concerned

officials joined it virtually.

Describing Bangladesh and India

as trusted and time-tested friends,

the minister said if friendly relations

and people to people connectivity

exist between two next-door neighbors,

many unresolved bilateral

issues can be solved easily.

Man arrested

for killing

wife, 2 others

in Narsingdi

NARSINGDI : A man was arrested

in Narsingdi for reportedly murdering

his wife and two others during a

family feud at Kumardi in Shibpur

upazila on Sunday .

The deceased were identified as

Nazma Begum, 45, wife of Badal

Mia, Taijul islam, 57 and his wife

Monowara Begum, 50, of the village.

Quoting locals, Molla Azizur

Rahman, officer-in-charge of

Shibpur Police Sation said Badal and

his family used to live at the rented

house of one Taijul Islam in the area.

In the morning, an altercation

ensued between Badal and his wife

Nazma over a family matter.

At one stage, Badal stabbed his

wife with a knife, killing her on the

spot.

Hearing screams, Shohag Mia, 24,

son of Badal, Taijul and Monowara

and their daughter Kulsum Begum

appeared there and tried to save

Nazma from the brutal attack.

But Badal attacked them with the

sharp weapon, leaving Taijul and

Monowara dead and injured

Shohagh and Kulsum.

They were taken to Narsingdi

General Hospital.

On information, police rushed in

and arrested Badal from the spot.

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

14-09-2020

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