18-10-2020

sunday

DhAkA : October 18, 2020; kartik 2, 1427 BS; Safar 30, 1442 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.17; N o.196; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

InternatIonal

Virus surges in key

battleground states

as election nears

>Page 7

art & culture

Sraboni to release

three new songs

in Durga Puja

>Page 8

sports

AC Milan says Ibrahimovic

'ready to play' ahead of

derby clash with Inter

>Page 9

Information Minister

hospitalised with

corona infection

DHAKA : Information Minister Hasan

Mahmud has been admitted to a hospital

in the capital with coronavirus infection,

reports UNB.

"The minister was admitted to

Square Hospitals in the city on Friday

as he tested positive for Covid-19," his

personal assistant Kaisarul Alam told

UNB. Kaisar, however, said Minister

Mahmud is doing well.

The minister requested all to pray for

him for his early recovery, said Kaisar.

A number of ministers and state ministers

have been infected with Covid-19

since its outbreak in the country on

March 8.

Many of them have already recovered

from the deadly virus while one state

minister died of its infection.

Planning Minister MA Mannan was

diagnosed with Coronavirus on

October 13 and is undergoing treatment

at the Combined Military

Hospital (CMH), Dhaka.

Zohr

04:42 AM

11:50 PM

03:55 PM

05:37 PM

06:50 PM

5:56 5:33

Will tackle further spread

of Covid-19:PM

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

on Saturday said Bangladesh will be able

to prevent the further spread of the Covid-

19 in the coming days, reports UNB.

"So far, we're lucky that both the infection

and mortality rates of the disease are

very low in Bangladesh. We're hopeful

that we'll be able to prevent the further

spread of the disease in the coming

days," she said.

The Prime Minister said this in her

pre-recorded video message played at

the First International e-Conference on

Critical Care-2020. Bangladesh Society

of Anesthesiologists organised it virtually.

She said united efforts and the hardlabour

of physicians and health workers

can contain the spread of the deadly

virus in Bangladesh.

To face the Covid-19 emergency, she

said, the government has appointed 2,000

doctors and 5,000 nurses on an urgent

basis. The Prime Minister said the conference

is being held at a time when the world

is reeling under the Covid-19 pandemic

fallout. She mentioned that the anesthesiologists

play a crucial role in the management

of critically ill patients apart from

their work in operation theatres.

"Our anesthesiologists have been

doing a wonderful job during this pandemic

managing the Covid-19 patients in

ICUs and outside. Bangladesh Society of

Anesthesiologists helped the government

prepare the National Guideline for

COVID ICU Management".

She said they also arranged new ICU

facilities all over the country and trained

up ICU doctors and staff to manage

Covid-19 patients.

Sheikh Hasina said a good number of

physicians, including some anesthesiologists,

died of Covid-19 while discharging

their duties. She paid deep homage to

their memories and expressed sympathies

for their family members.

The Prime Minister said the government

has given utmost importance

towards improving the country's healthcare

service.

CeC asserts of fair election

in Dhaka-5; Naogaon-6

TBT RePoRT

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM

Nurul Huda has claimed that the byelections

in Dhaka-5 and Naogaon-6

have been fair. The CEC said this while

talking to reporters at the Election

Building in Agargaon after the polling

ended in the by-elections of these two

constituencies on Saturday. He said

there was no difficulty in voting in this

by-election. They did not receive any

complaint.

The CEC said measures have been

taken to ensure hygiene to protect voters

from getting contracted from coronavirus.

Responding to a question from

reporters, the CEC said the election

comission was more comfortable with

voting by electronic voting machine

(EVM) instead of the conventional ballot.

Now there is no disinterest in EVM

among the voters.

Responding to a question from

reporters on voter turnout, the CEC said

the national elections drawn attention

and public interests of voters from all

over the country. Voters are less interested

in by-elections as there is barely any

chance of bringing change in the government.

In addition, the fear of COVID-19

also have prevented voters to show up at

polling centers. The 'trend' or vibe of the

election is also good. The CEC said they

received news of a counter-chase outside

a polling station. But immediately it

comes under control.

A long march protesting the growing incidents of rape, sexual harassment and violence against women, came

under attack in Feni injuring 20 people including journalists on Saturday.

Photo : Star Mail

20 injured as anti-rape

long march comes

under attack in Feni

FENI : A long march protesting the growing incidents

of rape, sexual harassment and violence

against women, came under attack in Feni injuring

20 people including journalists on Saturday. Some

miscreants attacked the march in the Shaheed

Minar area at around 11:30am. The leaders of left

leaning organisations who organized the march

blamed local Awami League and Jubo League leaders

for the attack, reports UNB.

Witnesses said agitation started after the protesters

chanted anti-government slogans and wrote "protector of

rapists" on a festoon with the picture of Nizam Hazari at

Doel Chattar. Miscreants attacked the long march when it

was heading towards Eklashpur area of Begumganj.

The second attack was launched in front of the

Nirman Super Market. Dozens of people including

Jahirul Haque, correspondent of Ekattor television,

and camera person Saju were injured.

Samajtantrik Chhatra Front President Masud

Rana said the attackers vandalized 6 vehicles and

injured at least 200 protesters of the long march.

Awami League General Secretary of Sadar upazila

unit Shuhen Chandra Sheel said general people resisted

the long march as they wrote misleading comments

on pictures of Bangabandhu, Prime Minister

and local politician Md Nizam Uddin Hazari.

Next polls will be held in

due time: Quader

DHAKA : Road Transport and

Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader

yesterday said there is no need of

creating 'interim issue' in the

name of interim parliamentary

elections as the polls will be held

in due time and the people will

decide who will run the government.

"A clique is talking about

interim government. We want to

say that Awami League formed

government after getting people's

mandate. So, if you want the

changeover of the government,

you will have to wait till the next

elections," he said.

Quader, also Awami League

general secretary, was addressing

a discussion arranged by Dhaka

Mass Transit Company Limited

(DMTCL) marking the birth centenary

of Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman.

He joined it through videoconferencing

from his official residence

on parliament premises.

He said Awami League (AL)

doesn't look for secret alleyways to

go to power as it has absolute trust

in this soil and its people.

AL wants to win the hearts of

people through development

activities, not by hatching conspiracy,

he said.

The AL general secretary said if

the people give their verdict in

favour of AL in the next general

polls, it will again form government

and if the people do not

want AL, it will step down.

He said BNP leaders are making

same allegations year after

year that there is no democracy in

the country but they themselves

did not believe in democracy.

How a party which has no

democracy within itself would

establish democracy in the country,

he questioned.

SUNDAY, OCTOBEr 18, 2020

2

The water of all the rivers of Gaibandha has started decreasing. So the fishermen are busy rolling the

nets. The photo was taken from Tiagachha village in Bhatgram union of Gaibandha Sadullapur

upazila on Saturday.

Photo: PBA

Experts for single-digit

cash-out charge

DHAKA : Experts have suggested

mobile financial service (MFS)

providers to cut cash-out charge down

to a single-digit as high transaction cost

is keeping marginal people as well as

more micro and small enterprises

(MSEs) away from availing this

services.

They also urged the regulator -

Bangladesh Bank (BB) to intervene in

MFS charge by imposing ceiling to

materialize the government's ongoing

digital Bangladesh campaign.

Talking to BSS, former BB deputy

governor Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled

said in this present circumstance BB

has no alternative of intervention for

reducing the cash-out charge as the

MFS operator would not do it willingly.

"MFS operators have been doing

business as per their wish as BB is yet to

impose any restriction," he said.

Besides, e-Commerce Association of

Bangladesh (e-CAB) director Ashish

Chakraborty said cash-out charge in

Bangladesh as much as high compared

to other countries in the world and it

should be single-digit to boost country's

financial inclusion and digitalization

process.

At this moment, cash-out charge is

Taka 18.50 for per Taka 1,000 although

the agents of MFS providers have been

charging Taka 20.

Meanwhile, Nagad, a MFS arm of

Bangladesh Post office (BPO), has

reduced cash-out charge to Taka 9.99

for every Taka 1,000 cash-out to make

transaction process of customers easier

and comfortable.

To get this minimum rate, a customer

has to use the Nagad app and the

minimum cash-out amount should be

Taka 2,100. On top of the cash-out

charge, the customer has to pay a

supplementary duty at the rate of 15

percent fixed by the government.

However, if someone goes for cashout

through mobile operators USSD

technology without using the app, the

rate will be Taka 12.99 for Taka 1,000

and here 15 percent VAT will be added.

Welcoming Nagad's move of

trimming down cash-out charge,

Ashish Chakraborty said it might help

their customers, but he feared how long

Nagad can continue this offer defying

the pressure of other MFS operators.

Ashish said

other carriers

should follow

Nagad's move as

low cash-out

charge might

boost transaction

tremendously

and expand

industry size by

many folds.

Although

Nagad has

slashed charge

categorically, other carriers are still

reluctant to do it rather they are in

persuasion against this move of Nagad

which would give benefit to the

customers.

To implement the new cash-out

charge, Nagad has slashed their income

from the previous portion. However,

other operators in the market are still

charging cash-outs as before.

Nagad said even after bringing down

the cash-out charge to single digit, its

income from this segment is still

prevailing.

They said if Taka 1,000 was cash-out

using app at previous rate, its revenue

would have been Taka 2.74, which has

now been brought down to less than

Taka 0.02.

In case of full calculation of cash-out,

the cost of SMS is Taka 0.064 as before

while this cost is same like all MSF

operators.

In the new charge structure revenue

portion for distributors also reduced,

however income of the agents remains

same as before. Moreover, their income

has already increased more than before

due to the increase in transactions. In

the new charge structure of Nagad,

agents are getting Taka 4.10 for cashout

of Taka 1,000 as before.

Nagad Managing Director Tanvir A

Mishuk told BSS that they have been

providing customer-friendly service

from the beginning with lower charge

than all other operators.

"Single-digit cash out charge would

expedite financial inclusion in the

country," he said mentioning that over

the past decade, several MFS operators

have been cutting customer pockets

imposing high charges.

European nations strive

to rein in COVID-19 as

rising new cases paint

grim picture

BRUSSELS : The second wave of COVID-19 continued to

exert pressure on Europe on Friday as daily cases surged to

new highs in more countries. Faced with the grim picture, the

governments have decided to take or mulled over stricter

restrictions to contain the coronavirus. Germany, Greece and

Slovenia saw a troubling trend as their new COVID-19

infections within one day set new records on Friday, a day

after Italy, Portugal and Lithuania hit their single-day highs.

German national disease control agency, the Robert Koch

Institute (RKI), announced Friday that new COVID-19

infections in the country broke Thursday's record with 7,334

cases confirmed within one day, bringing the total number to

348,557.

Thursday's daily figure of 6,638 had marked a jump of

some 1,500 over the day before. The previous daily infection

peak, at around 6,300 cases, was registered in late March,

German news agency dpa reported, reports UNB.

Increased infection numbers were linked particularly to

private celebrations with family and friends. However, there

were also more COVID-19-related outbreaks reported in

older people's homes and nursing homes, according to the

RKI.

Helge Braun, head of the Chancellery, told the broadcaster

RTL/n-tv that the COVID-19 situation in Germany was

"considerably more serious" than in the spring. "We do not

expect the numbers to decline tomorrow," said Braun.

Meanwhile, France confirmed 25,085 COVID-19

infections in the past 24 hours, pushing the total count to

834,770, according to data released by health authorities.

The number of new infections was lower than a record

30,621 registered on Thursday, but it remained at a high level

unseen during the first wave.

In Italy, the first European country battered by COVID-19,

10,010 new coronavirus infections were reported on Friday,

pushing the total number of current active infections to

107,312, showed the latest data from the Ministry of Health.

U.S. COVID-19 cases

surpass 8 mln-Johns

Hopkins University

NEW YORK : The total

number of COVID-19 cases

in the United States

surpassed 8 million on

Friday, according to the

Center for Systems Science

and Engineering (CSSE) at

Johns Hopkins University.

U.S. COVID-19 case count

rose to 8,008,402, with the

national death toll reaching

218,097, as of 1:24 p.m. local

time (1724 GMT), according

to the CSSE, reports UNB.

California reported

868,755 cases, at the top of

the U.S. state-level case

count list. Texas registered

the country's second largest

caseload of 837,691,

followed by Florida with

748,437 cases. New York

state confirmed more than

470,000 cases.

Other states with over

210,000 cases include

Illinois, Georgia, North

Carolina, Arizona,

Tennessee and New Jersey,

according to the CSSE.

By far, the United States

remains the world's worsthit

nation, with the most

cases and deaths, making up

more than 20 percent of the

global caseload.

U.S. COVID-19 cases

topped 5 million on Aug. 9,

hit 6 million on Aug. 31, and

exceeded 7 million on Sept.

25.

Multiple regions across

the United States have seen

days of continuous highlevel

surge in new cases after

entering October.

U.S. cases gained 63,610

on Thursday, the highest

daily increase since the

country registered daily

cases of 64,601 two months

ago.

In addition, an ensemble

forecast released Thursday

by the U.S. Centers for

Disease Control and

Prevention predicted that

the virus may have caused a

total of 229,000 to 240,000

deaths in the United States

by Nov. 7.

Turkey, Ukraine vow

to boost cooperation

amid COVID-19

pandemic

ISTANBUL : Turkish

President Recep Tayyip

Erdogan and his Ukrainian

counterpart Volodymyr

Zelensky on Friday

pledged to enhance

cooperation in a wide

range of areas amid the

COVID-19 pandemic,

reports UNB.

"Ukraine and Turkey are

ready to develop their

strategic partnership in

every field in which they

have mutual benefits,"

Erdogan told reporters at a

joint press conference in

Istanbul.

The Turkish leader said

the two countries have

been taking steps for a

trade volume of 10 billion

U.S. dollars shortly, noting

the recent developments in

the field of tourism are

promising.

"Despite the global

pandemic, we hosted more

than 500,000 Ukrainian

guests this year, which

clearly shows the closeness

among our peoples and the

trust of our Ukrainian

guests in the measures we

have taken as part of our

safe tourism initiative,"

Erdogan said.

The leaders also agreed

to conclude the free trade

agreement negotiations

between the two countries

in short order, according to

the Turkish president.

Zelensky, for his part,

said the number of Turkish

companies involved in

infrastructure projects in

Ukraine should increase.

"I would like to note that

we have very similar

approaches regarding the

energy investments," he

said, noting the dialogue

between the two countries

continues dynamically

despite the pandemic.

Judge refuses to block New York

COVID-19 restrictions

A federal judge has refused to block Gov.

Andrew Cuomo's order limiting worship to

as few as 10 congregants in communities

seeing spikes in coronavirus infections,

reports UNB.

Ruling in a lawsuit brought by the Roman

Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, U.S. District

Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis said in an

order Friday that even though the rules harm

religious groups, it is not in the public

interest to block them if they are helping

prevent a wave of new infections.

"In fact, if the court issues an injunction

and the state is correct about the acuteness of

the threat currently posed by hotspot

neighborhoods, the result could be avoidable

death on a massive scale like New Yorkers

experienced in the spring," Garaufis wrote.

The ruling doesn't end the lawsuit, but

denied the church's request for a temporary

injunction.

Garaufis said it was conceivable the

diocese could end up ultimately winning the

case, but that the worst that could happen in

the meantime to the diocese's churches is

that 26 of them would have to curtail inperson

ceremonies for several weeks.

"That is not meant, in any way, to

downplay the seriousness of that

constitutional harm," the judge said. But he

said the potential to save lives outweighed

the damage the church would suffer.

Cuomo on Oct. 6 announced that he was

limiting attendance at houses of worship,

closing schools and shuttering nonessential

businesses in six parts of New York City,

Binghamton and Rockland and Orange

counties where COVID-19 infections have

spiked.

The cover of the publication `Brihattar Noakhalite Bangabandhu'

(Bangabandhu in Greater Noakhali) has been unveiled in Noakhali on the

occasion of Mujib Borsho. Valiant Freedom Fighter Farida Khanam Sakhi

MP inaugurated the book as the chief guest. Photo : Manik Bhuyan

Case against Nixon Chy: Section 144

imposed in Faridpur sadar upazila

FARIDPUR : Local administration imposed

section 144 in Faridpur sadar upazila

headquarters on Saturday apprehending

trouble as two groups called meetings at the

same venue and time, reports UNB.

The restriction will remain in force until 9

am on Sunday, said Purobi Goldar, Sadar

Upazila Nirbahi Officer. Supporters of

Faridpur-4 MP Mujibur Rahman Nixon

Chowdhuryand their rival group called

meetingsaround 10 am at Sadarpur Stadium

in sadarupazila headquarters on Saturday.

Apprehending possible clash, the local

administration imposed a restriction on

public gatherings in an around one kilometer

area of Sadar Upazila Headquarters.

Sadarpur Upazila Chaiman Kazi Shafiqur

called a rally protesting the case filed against

MP Nixon while a member of Jubo League

central committee Sayedid Gamal Lipu

called another rally demanding arrest of MP

Nixon.

GD- 1358/20 (4 x 3)

Most of the affected areas are home to

large communities of Orthodox Jews, which

has prompted protests from Jewish leaders

who say they are being unfairly targeted.

Garaufis wrote in his decision that it was

clear the state's restrictions had been "guided

by science, not a desire to target religious

practice."

The Brooklyn diocese had argued that its

congregations hadn't seen a big increase

coronavirus cases, and that it had

implemented successful social-distancing

measures for religious services, including

placing communion wafers in congregants'

hands rather than on their tongues.

Despite that, the governor "continues to

run roughshod over the diocese's right to

worship, without any basis-not a rational

one, not a narrowly tailored one, simply

none," the church's lawyers said in court

papers filed Friday.

Similar lawsuits have been filed by Jewish

groups.

In their filings, state lawyers said that

within the state's so-called "red zones," just

under 5% of all people who took a COVID-19

test were testing positive, down from nearly

8% in late September. They said that shows

the restrictions are working, but said things

had not improved enough to lift restrictions.

State lawyers also noted that the rules let

houses of worship remain open, while

nonessential businesses in "red zone" areas

were required to close entirely.

"This response respects the rights of

worshipers while curtailing the spread of the

virus and protecting the public health from

this deadly disease," Assistant Attorney

General Seth Farber said in a Friday filing.

A case was filed on Thursday against


Chowdhury for violating electoral code of

conduct during by-election to the post of

chairman of Charbhadrasan Upazila

Parishad.

Senior District Election Commission

officer Nauabul Islam filed the case with

Charbhadrashon police station around 10

am, said Saiful Islam, an election

commission officer.

In the FIR of the case, legal action was

sought against the MP under Upazila

Parishad Electoral Code 2013 and Upazila

Parishad Elector Code of Conduct 2016.


Chowdhury reportedly threatened the

deputy commissioner and the assistant

commissioner (land) of Faridpur district

over the arrest of his supporters during bypolls

to the post of chairman of

Charbhadrasan Upazila Parishad.

SundAY, OCtOBER 18, 2020

3

Community Participation and development (CPd) observed Global Handwashing day recently in

dhaka and narayanganj.

Photo : Courtesy

Police to serve better through

using technology: Palak

NATORE : State Minister for

Information and Communication

Technology (ICT) Division Zunaid

Ahmed Palak on Saturday said police

forces will provide better services to the

people through utilizing technology.

The state minister said this while

speaking as chief guest at a Bit policing

rally at Singra upazila court ground of

the district yesterday morning.

Palak said the hotline-999 service

center was launched in the country on

December 12, 2017 at the directive of

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her

ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy.

So far, this service center has received

2.17 crore phone calls on the hotline

and provided various citizen services.

The government is working to

modernize the police force through

technology, Palak said adding that

work is underway to bring 1000 police

stations of the country under high

speed internet optical fiber cable.

Piloting work is underway in five

police stations across the country to

launch online citizen service activities

including general dairy, the state

minister added.

The government's information and

communication technology

department is working tirelessly to stop

corruption and harassment through

introducing online-based services, he

said.

Palak also said that with the

launching of the Bit policing program,

all the citizens of rural areas will get the

desired service of the police by sitting at

home.

Among others, Singra Upazila

Nirbahi Officer Mst. Nasrin Banu and

Mayor of Singra Municipality Jannatul

Ferdous were present the programme

with Officer-in- Charge (OC) of Singra

Police Station Nur-E-Alam Siddique in

the chair.

Later, the state minister distributed

cheques of Taka 3.55 lakh among 17

religious institutions and provided 47

tonnes of rice for 95 puja mandaps in

the upazila on the occasion of the

upcoming Durga Puja in the upazila

auditorium.

Current nets

worth tk 9 cr

seized, 178

fishermen

jailed

DHAKA : Mobile courts conducted to

preserve Hilsa seized current nets

worth Tk 9 crore and finned 178

fishermen in the last three days until

Saturday, reports UNB.

Public Relations officer of Fisheries

and Livestock Ministry Md Iftekhn

Hossain said 442 mobile courts

conducted 3059 drives across the

country during the period and fined 178

fishermen Tk 6 lakh under the

Fisheries Act.

Global

Webinar on Covid-19,

risk management for

Islamic banks held

DHAKA : A half-day webinar on covid-19

and risk management for Islamic banks was

held yesterday in the capital.

Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management

(BIBM) organized the program in

association with INCEIEF (The Global

University of Islamic Finance). Dr. Md.

Akhtaruzzaman, director general of BIBM

chaired the program.

Dr. Shah Md. Ahsan Habib, professor of

BIBM, delivered the welcome address, said a

press release.

A paper titled 'Covid-19 and risk

management for Islamic banks: Proposal for

the new normal scenario' was presented in

the program by Dr. Shah Md. Ahsan Habib,

professor of BIBM.

Other members of the research team

include Dr. Md. Mahabbat Hossain.

M. Azizul Huq Chairman (Acting), CSBIB;

and chairman, Board of Directors of Pubali

Bank Limited; Assistant Professor Dr.

Ziyaad Mahomed Associate Dean/Director

Executive Education & E-Learning of

INCEIF; Md. Mahbub-ul-Alam, Managing

Director & CEO of Islami Bank Bangladesh

Limited; Ahmed Firas Head of Shariah

HSBC Amanah Malaysia Barhad spoke

among others.

A good number of participants, including

senior bank executives, academicians, media

representatives, faculty members of BIBM

took part in the webinar.

Barrister Rafiq-ul Haq taken

home from hospital,

physical condition normal

DHAKA : Prominent lawyer and former

Attorney General Barrister Rafiq-ul Huq was

taken home from the hospital with the

permission of doctors, as his condition was

declared to be normal. On October 15, the

veteran lawyer was taken to Ad-Din Hospital

in Moghbazar of the capital due to physical

illness, reports BSS.

After examination, he was kept in the VIP

cabin of the hospital and was treated under

the supervision of Dr. Richmond Gomez,

said Tabibur Rahman Akash, the public

relations officer of the hospital.

Barrister Rafiq-ul Huq became the

country's chief legal officer in 1990.

As a legal practitioner, he played a key role

for the country's top political leaders during

the 2007-2008 military-backed caretaker

government.

Enamul inaugurates 3-storey

admin building in Shariatpur

SHARIATPUR : Deputy Minister for Water

Resources AKM Enamul Haque Shamim on

Saturday inaugurated a three-storey

building to execute the administrative work

at Bhedarjang upazila in Shariatpur.

After the inauguration, the minister said,

"Bangabandhu had liberated our 'Sonar

Bangla' and without him Bangladesh could

not be independent. Now witnessing

continuous development carried out by

Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina,

some vested quartered are spreading rumors

from the central level up to the grassroots

level."

He urged the leaders and workers of all

allied organizations including Awami League

to come out against any conspiracy.

Bhedarganj Municipality Mayor Abdul

Mannan Hawlader presided over the

programme.

Youth held for violating

girl in Sylhet

SYLHET : Police arrested a young man from

Swarsati village in Golapganj upazila of

Sylhet on Friday midnight for violating a girl,

reports UNB.

The arrestee is Zabaul Islam, 31, son of

Abdul Latif of the village. Rashid

Chowdhury, officer-in-charge of Golapganj

Model Police Station, said Zabaul developed

a relationship with the victim and used to

violate her with a promise to marry her.

At one stage , the victim became pregnant

but Zabaul denied to marry her.

Later, on Thursday, the victim filed a case

with Golapganj Police Station against three

people including Zabul.

After getting the complaint, police arrested

Zabaul around 12 am on Friday from his

residence.

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GD- 1357/20 (9 x 4)

GD- 1356/20 (10 x 4)

SuNDAY, oCTobEr 18, 2020

4

Zoroastrians: Iran's forgotten minority

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Sunday, October 18, 2020

Aiding establishment

of effluent treatment

plants

Industries in Bangladesh do seriously need to

comply with the regulation that they must set

up effluent treatment plants (ETPs) for

treating waste matters created during production

process for the relatively safer treated waste

products to be discharged afterwards into water

bodies, drains or the soil. This is an absolute

requirement for the worsening environmental

conditions in the country. Unregulated discharge

of the industrial effluents is contaminating

waters of rivers and aquatic life in them and

similarly spoiling underground water aquifers

from seepage through soil.

Specially , the rivers that flow through and past

Dhaka city are in extremely burdened conditions

from the carefree discharge of all forms of

untreated effluents in them. Recent newspaper

photos highlighted prominently the very

degraded water quality of the affected parts of

these rivers. The urgency of restoring the water

quality of these rivers is dictated by the fact that

surface waters from the rivers are being widely

used for supplying in the city for household uses.

But frequent reports appeared in the press

about the poor quality of the water supplied by

DWASA (Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority).

DWASA supplied water is found to be smelly and

dark in appearance in many parts of the city and

unfit for drinking. DWASA authorities on their

part pointed to the unchecked pollution of the

rivers from untreated discharge of effluents-both

human excrements and industrial wastes -- that

make the tasks of purification extremely dificult

these days.

Thus, the compulsory establishment of the ETPs

by the industries cannot wait. However, there are

also other issues to be taken into consideration. A

main one of them would be avoidance of too

drastic steps on the plea of helping the

environment. ETPs must be acquired by all

offending industries and government's pressure

must be unrelenting to that end. But the merit of

any step would be questionable if it leads to a

crackdown or closure of industries from failing to

comply with the regulation for ETP

establishment. A report sometime ago indicated

that government was breathing down the necks

of some offenders pushing them into great

distresses. Whether such 'severe' pressures are

reasonable need to be assessed .

A more flexible policy response of the

government to the matter would be both

economically pragmatic and sensible than any

drastic moves. Industries suddenly forced into

closing down for non compliance will be a very

counterproductive development from the

turning off of their contribution to the national

economy and creation of large redundancies for

workers. The benefits of stoppage of discharge of

effluents may be offset by the higher negative

costs of lost production and jobs. Therefore,

government has to adopt a policy that meets both

the medium and longer term needs of getting the

ETPs established without causing industries to

shut down in the process. The essential planks of

such a policy should be one of putting pressures

on varying degrees for the sake of fairplay.

For example, the textile industries are struggling

hard to meet their compliance targets and these

ought not to be treated so harshly for meeting full

compliance immediately or face closure. These

industries may be given some more time and

persuaded and handled with patience while the

ones that paid no heed to compliance whatsoever

such as the tannery operators, they should be arm

twisted to show fastest evidence of working

towards compliance.

ETPs are costly to set up and expenditures on

them range between Taka 10 million and 100

million. Most of the industries could go on

polluting so freely as relevant authorities hardly

did anything about it. Asking these industries to

build ETPs all on a sudden can impose crushing

financial burden on them when government itself

has been so careless in making them uncaring

polluters.

Therefore, government has a responsibility to

them and should consider moblising a special

fund from which industries can borrow at

nominal rates for the establishment of ETPs. The

banks should be encouraged to draw up such

borrowing schemes to help the industries to

spend on ETPs.

It is disheartening, but the adherents

of the world's first monotheistic

religion appear to have been

consigned to oblivion in their ancestral

homeland, and as their numbers shrink,

it is not only a religion that is

disappearing, but the building blocks of a

civilization.

Zoroastrianism is believed to have been

founded in ancient Iran 3,500 years ago.

It was the dominant religion of the

Persian Empire until the Muslim

conquest of Persia starting in AD 633

capsized the cultural and religious

configuration of the nation and ushered

in new values based on Islamic law in a

society that initially perceived the arrival

of Islam as unwelcome.

Iran's 2011 census found that there

were only around 25,000 Zoroastrians

living in the country, and in a nation of 84

million people, the figure is simply

infinitesimal. Other than one lawmaker

representing them in the 290-member

parliament, a handful of functioning fire

temples and some schools and

kindergartens for their children, Iran's

Zoroastrian community does not enjoy

the luxury of the resources at the disposal

of the Muslim majority to proselytize,

assert their identity, network and

promote their faith.

Kourosh Niknam, a Zoroastrian priest

and former member of parliament, once

lamented his community's draining

resources: "We don't have the right to

make programs about our religion. I have

no platform on radio or television to go

and speak about Zoroastrianism. We

cannot get any budget for building a new

fire temple when mosques are being built

one after another."

What is well known about Zoroastrians

is that they subscribe to their prophet

Zoroaster's percepts of "good thoughts,

good words and good deeds,"

representing the linchpin of their

ideology. They are exemplarily peaceful

and some of their most revered cultural

relics are embedded into the lifestyles of

Iranian people, including pious Muslims.

The Persian New Year celebration of

Nowruz, the Yalda Night celebration of

the winter solstice and the ancient fiesta

of Chaharshanbe Suri (Wednesday

Feast) have remained mainstays of

Iranian society after the last Zoroastrian

One child, one teacher, one book, one

pen can change the world." These

words by Nobel Peace Prize winner

Malala Yousafzai could not ring more true.

Making sure girls and boys all over the

world get good quality education is how

we will build a more sustainable, more

equal and more peaceful world.

Global school closures in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in

unprecedented disruption to children's

education, with more than a billion

students affected.

Those who have returned to school are

presented with new challenges - masks,

social distancing, lack of access to

handwashing facilities and fears of getting

sick. As the digital divide deepens, most

will have missed out on the chance to learn

from home over the past few months. They

will have fallen behind as a result, making

the return to classrooms more daunting

for them - and for their teachers.

In many ways, however, they are still the

lucky ones. The new challenges they face

are by far overshadowed by the

catastrophic long-term impact of missing

out on education altogether, particularly in

the poorest countries and those affected by

conflicts or crises.

We know from previous crises that the

longer children stay out of school, the less

likely they are to return. We also know that

when children do not go to school, they are

at increased risk of violence, abuse and

dynasty, the Sassanians, was toppled in

AD 651. Even the Islamic Revolution of

1979, which was in effect a clampdown on

anything un-Islamic, did not manage to

obliterate these offcuts of

Zoroastrianism.

But the inspirations of Zoroastrianism

are not confined to the borders of Iran

and are more broad-ranging than one

might assume. The 17th-century French

writer Voltaire and German philosopher

Friedrich Nietzsche cited Zoroastrianism

as their guiding light, and even such

contemporary cinematic productions as

Star Wars and Game of Thrones were

influenced by its canons.

Zoroastrians are reputed to be hardworking

and entrepreneurial people.

Those who have settled in India and

currently make up a tiny minority of

61,000 people in the world's secondmost-populous

country contribute close

to 6% of the nation's economic turnover.

In India, they are known as Parsis, and

Mahatma Gandhi once famously

acclaimed their services by saying, "In

numbers Parsis are beneath contempt,

but in contribution, beyond compare."

In 2016, the World Religion Database

estimated that at best, Zoroastrians

numbered 200,000 people worldwide.

There are no more optimistic

approximations, portending a bleak

future for a faith that predates all

Abrahamic religions in antiquity,

esteemed not least because of its identity

as a divine guidance but for being the

incubator of an ancient culture founded

in what we know today as Iran.

It might sound eccentric, and equally

dismaying, but for nearly four decades,

debate on Zoroastrianism has been nonexistent

in Iran's state media, even

though according to the constitution it is

KouroSh ZIAbArI

recognized as an official religion and can

be practiced without persecution.

TV stations and newspapers prefer to

sidestep any reference to the ancient faith

lest they draw the ire of religious

hardliners and a panoply of Islamic

promotional organizations that would

not be happy to see other religions

advocated publicly. School and university

textbooks treat it as verboten and

unmentionable. There is a cap of 3,000

on how many copies of religious books

Zoroastrians are permitted to publish.

In 2015, the government budget

allocated to the Zoroastrian community

was a minuscule 8.28 billion rials

(US$26,000), which, compared with the

whopping funding filling the coffers of a

lineup of Islamic organizations, is

genuinely embarrassing. In 2020, a

syndicate of 23 Islamic and cultural

organizations received a staggering 47.8

trillion rials ($54 million) in public funds

from the government of President

Hassan Rouhani.

Sadly enough, there have been reports

of crackdowns on the festivals and

religious gatherings of this marginalized

community. Their properties are

sometimes seized against their will and

permissions are not granted for opening

new temples and religious buildings.

Backtracking from a long-standing

policy, the government in 2010 made it

unlawful for the Zoroastrian community

to use the schools it operates outside

working hours for religious ceremonies.

Spreading Zoroastrian propaganda is an

"offense" for which a number of

adherents have been convicted in recent

years.

In a highly digitized, interconnected

world, no human tradition will survive if

it is not afforded leeway to express itself,

We must get children back to learning

JuTTA urpIlAINEN AND hENrIETTA ForE

exploitation. Girls face the additional risk

of early marriage and pregnancy. Now

with COVID, and as essential health,

nutrition, immunisation and child

protection services are put on hold,

children are also exposed to

undernutrition, disease, mental health

issues and abuse.

In these most difficult of circumstances,

can we still win the battle to educate our

children? The answer is a resounding

"yes". But for this, like model students, we

will need to work even harder to get the

results we want. In response to global

pandemic, the European Union and its

Member States - Team Europe - have

demonstrated the power of working

together for better results. Given our

proven track record of getting results from

our partnerships, the EU and UNICEF can

together make a lasting difference to

education outcomes worldwide.

There are concrete steps we can take to

safeguard children's futures, steps that will

build on existing work and strike out in

new, innovative directions. This means

investing now, so that the most vulnerable

children can re-enter education. It means

making sure that their schools are safe and

their teachers can respond to their needs.

It means reshaping education systems so

In response to global pandemic, the European union and its

member States - Team Europe - have demonstrated the

power of working together for better results. Given our

proven track record of getting results from our partnerships,

the Eu and uNICEF can together make a lasting difference to

education outcomes worldwide.

Dr. JohN C. hulSmAN

that children graduate with 21st-century

skills, such as digital skills and

entrepreneurship training, ready for the

new world before them.

Recently, we have seen impressive

change, with many governments

providing education online, on television,

on the radio and via mobile phone. For

instance, in Somalia, offline recorded

lessons are being uploaded onto solarpowered

tablets and made available to

children. In Kyrgyzstan, children can

access remote learning through online

platforms, three national TV channels and

two mobile network applications free of

attract new devotees, refine itself,

intermingle with other civilizations and

showcase its virtues.

The rapid evolution of our societies in

lockstep with the growth of technology

unfolding at lightning speed has pushed

innumerable cultural traditions, faiths

and languages to the cusp of extinction.

Add to these the dynamics of people's

and governments' interaction with sociocultural

systems, practices, worldviews

and morals that sometimes empower

them and sometimes hasten their

demise.

Zoroastrianism is not immediately

disappearing, and even in Iran, where its

adherents are reeling from neglect and

discrimination, it continues to be a

dynamic presence. Yet the fact that their

numbers are increasingly diminishing,

and their worrying absence from the

public sphere, should raise the alarm for

those in Iran who care about the diversity

and heterogeneity of their society, and on

top of that, the connectivity of Iran to its

indispensable past, that a civilizational

misfortune is in the offing.

Iranians from all walks of life should

wake up to the fact that a cherished

historical and cultural heritage of theirs is

vanishing, bespeaking the impending

detachment of future generations of

Iranians from their identity and what

makes them distinct as a nation.

To the concerned citizens of the world,

also, the writing should be on the wall

that a creed from which almost all the

major global religious persuasions have

borrowed their understanding of

concepts such as hell, heaven, Judgment

Day, final revelation of the world, angels

and demons, good and evil, is being

surrendered to decline.

What can preclude or delay this

betrayal of history is to read about

Zoroastrianism, engage with

Zoroastrians, include them in public

debates and educational curricula, give

coverage to their community activities in

the media and refute the assumption that

the dwindling population of Zoroastrians

should necessarily translate into the

legacy of Zoroaster becoming extinct and

leaving no trace behind.

Source : Asia Times

charge. In Vietnam, certain tests and

modules have been dropped from the

curriculum, while others have been

postponed to the next school year to allow

students to catch up on missed learning

over the whole of next year, and to reduce

academic pressure and psychosocial

stress. So the green shoots of recovery are

there. Now it is time to nurture them. This

is the moment to reimagine education

systems, embrace technology, remove

barriers and give all children the same

access to modern education systems.

This must include closing the online

education gap. We must embrace and

invest in the promise of online learning -

not just basic skills like reading and math,

but digital, entrepreneurial and workplace

skills, so young people can join the

workforce.

Above all, education budgets must be

protected from cuts as the global economic

crisis bites. Education must be seen as part

of the COVID-19 recovery plan: Rather

than diverting finances away from

education, there must be more investment

to strengthen education systems.

Education is essential to human

development, which underlies all EU

investments in international cooperation

and this will be boosted in EU

development financing for the upcoming

period. Building back better applies as

much to education as to anything else.

Source : Gulf News

Erdogan's Turkey in danger of imperial overstretch

Since 2003, Turkish President Recep

Tayyip Erdogan has towered over his

country like a colossus, dominating its

political discourse in every respect. To

survive and thrive in this cut-and-thrust

political culture takes skill, brains and,

above all, cunning ruthlessness. But, along

with success, as the ancients tell us, so often

comes hubris - excessive self-confidence,

potentially leading to ruin. And, in pushing

his signature, expansionist neo-Ottoman

foreign policy beyond its limit, Erdogan has

bitten off more empire than Turkey can

chew.

On its surface, Erdogan's neo-

Ottomanism perfectly fits the tenor of the

The rapid evolution of our societies in lockstep with the

growth of technology unfolding at lightning speed has pushed

innumerable cultural traditions, faiths and languages to the

cusp of extinction. Add to these the dynamics of people's and

governments' interaction with socio-cultural systems, practices,

worldviews and morals that sometimes empower them

and sometimes hasten their demise.

times. The desire for the emboldened

Turkish Republic to more greatly influence

the former regions of its predecessor state -

the sultanate centered for centuries in

Istanbul - coincides with our new era of

loose bipolarity, wherein the two

superpowers, the US and China, have far

less control over other great powers just

beneath them, such as India, Russia,

Europe, Japan and the Anglosphere, in

terms of power.

Erdogan, viewing a revived Turkey as a

prospective great power in its own right

alongside these others, sees the chance to

set a largely independent Turkish foreign

policy for the first time in such a favorable

global system.

Reflexively, Erdogan has resolved the ageold

question of Turkey's basic cultural

orientation by harkening back to the days of

Ottoman power, when the answer was

"both" and "neither." Like the Ottomans,

Erdogan sees his country as both Western

and Middle Eastern-oriented, and also as

entirely distinct from both regions because

of its unique dual historical and cultural

circumstances.

Given this common view of identity,

Erdogan's Turkey, while still wishing to play

a role in European politics, has shifted its

emphasis to the Middle East, particularly to

the Ottoman Empire's former possessions

in Greece, Syria, Iraq and North Africa,

hoping to expand its power and influence in

this traditional bastion.

But, as has happened literally dozens of

times in history, in practice Erdogan has

engaged in imperial overstretch, taking on

more commitments than he can sustain.

Presently, Turkey is directly involved in

the civil war in Libya, supporting the

Government of National Accord (GNA)

faction in Tripoli against the forces ranged

around Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar, who

is backed in turn by Russia, France and

Egypt.

Source : Arab News

SUNDAY, OCtOBeR 18, 2020

5

When science is sidelined

JeneenInterlandi

From his first days in office, President Trump has waged a

relentless and cynical campaign against the institutions

most responsible for turning science into sound

policy.These institutions - the Food and Drug

Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency - are

as essential to democracy as any high court or legislative

body. They have set standards that the rest of the world still

aspires to, for safe food and medicine, for clean air and

water and, until recently, for effective disease control. At

their best, they stand as a bulwark against the apathy that

can attend such difficult problems and as a beacon for

human society's highest ideals: intelligence, discernment

and moral action in the face of grave threats.

In the past four years, however, they have been imperiled

like never before by a president who places no value on

science. Or data. Or facts. Or truth.He's a president who

muzzles credible scientists and amplifies charlatans. One

who suggested on live television that UV light and bleach

injections might cure people of the coronavirus. One who

has refused to promote or consistently wear face masks,

even as the virus has spread through his inner circle and

assaulted his immune system. He's a president who has lied,

again and again, about the severity of threats the country is

now facing - be they from climate change or the pandemic -

even as reams of evidence make those threats plain.

Mr. Trump's disdain for science is so terrifying that two

of the nation's oldest scientific publications - Scientific

American and the New England Journal of Medicine -

have waded into the morass of electoral politics for the

first time in their more-than-100-year histories. The

Journal implored voters to fire the president come

November, while Scientific American went a step further

and endorsed Joe Biden. "The evidence and science show

that Donald Trump has badly damaged the U.S. and its

people - because he rejects evidence and science," the

editors there wrote.

That rejection began at the Environmental Protection

Agency, where Mr. Trump appointed an administrator

whose greatest ambition had been to abolish the

Environmental Protection Agency. After a string of

scandals, Mr. Trump replaced him with a former coal

industry lobbyist. The agency has effectively prohibited any

study involving human participants and any scientist who

receives federal grants from informing its environmental

policies. It has deliberately downplayed climate change,

going so far as to purge the term from its website. It has also

weakened or dismantled scores of environmental

protections, including curbs on greenhouse gas emissions,

rules meant to keep toxic chemicals in check and protections

for national wetlands and wildlife.

The Trump administration has billed each of these

rollbacks as a win for the economy - a tired argument that's

easily debunked, in some cases by the government's own

research. The E.P.A.'s own lies have been even more brazen.

A spokeswoman recently told The Times that by undoing so

many environmental protections the agency was returning

to its "core mission," which is to protect the environment.

The story has been similar at the F.D.A., where officials

have repeatedly appeared to bend to the president's will, for

instance by authorizing unproven coronavirus treatments

that he champions but that scientists advise against. The

first of those authorizations - for the malaria drug

hydroxychloroquine - was rescinded after the treatment was

linked to potentially deadly side effects in Covid-19 patients.

The second - for convalescent plasma - triggered a crisis of

confidence in the F.D.A., when its commissioner, Dr.

Stephen Hahn, grossly overstated the treatment's potential

in public remarks that he was then forced to walk back.

That spectacle has left both scientists and ordinary citizens

deeply anxious about the coming coronavirus vaccines. The

president has all but promised one before Election Day;

scientists insist that such a timeline cannot possibly be met

without compromising safety. The F.D.A. recently tried to

assure the public that it will come down unequivocally on

the side of safety. But in early October Mr. Trump dismissed

the agency's newly tightened vaccine standards as a

"political hit job" and indicated that he would somehow

overrule officials there.

It was as Orwellian a ploy as any Americans have seen in

the past four years: a president who's running for re-election

interfering with an agency that's supposed to be apolitical, in

service of a campaign promise that no credible expert thinks

is achievable - and then accusing that same agency of

partisanship. In any other administration, it would be a

major scandal. Under Mr. Trump's leadership, it has

Battling the pandemic need concerted effort. Regulators and policy makers need to aid their opinion

with hard facts from science.

Photo: Collected

become commonplace.

The most shameful of all Mr. Trump's meddling has been

at the C.D.C., an agency designed to confront exactly the

kind of pandemic America is now facing. Political

appointees have prevented scientists at the agency from

publishing a range of crucial guidelines and edicts meant to

shepherd the nation through the pandemic. As a result,

decisions across the country about school openings and

closings, testing and mask-wearing have been muddy and

confused, too often determined by political calculus instead

of evidence.

The C.D.C.'s director, Dr. Robert Redfield, has repeatedly

walked back statements that counter the president's own

sunny assessment of the pandemic. Other scientists at the

agency have been muzzled altogether - holding few news

conferences and giving almost no talks or interviews in the

nine months since the coronavirus first reached American

shores. Morale at the agency has reached a low point, with

many career civil servants there telling The Times that they

might resign if Mr. Trump wins re-election, and others

speculating that the C.D.C.'s ability to function at all, in this

pandemic or the next, is in serious jeopardy.

The most immediate impacts of these machinations are

plain to see. Pollution is up, fines for polluters are down,

carbon emissions have risen and are poised to rise further.

Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, and millions

of livelihoods destroyed, by a pandemic that could have

been contained. The nation's standing in the wider world,

and public trust here at home, have been eroded almost

beyond recognition.

The longer-term impacts will be equally dire. Consider a

future in which the empirical truths ferreted out by doctors,

scientists and engineers no longer have currency because

there is no one left to act on them. Real medicine and snake

oil are sold on the same shelf, with no good way to tell the

two apart. Vaccines are developed, but even the most proscience

families don't trust them enough to make use of

them. We resign ourselves to the lead in our water, the

pesticides in our food and the toxins in our baby bottles

because we know that no one will resolve these crises in our

favor. Lies and shrugs become the official response to any

disease that threatens us.

Some of these things are already beginning to happen.

Agencies that use science to protect human health have long

been plagued by a lack of funding and too much political

interference. But a world in which these agencies become

fully ornamental would be dangerously different than the

world we currently inhabit.

It's hard to say what chance science or civics have against

so foolish and self-serving a commander in chief. But for

now, at least, there is still cause for hope. Earlier this month,

the F.D.A. updated its criteria for emergency authorization

of a coronavirus vaccine, against Mr. Trump's stated wishes.

After a brief standoff, the administration quietly backed off

its opposition to the new guidelines, which should make it

all but impossible for the president to rush a product

through in the next few weeks.

Career civil servants at the C.D.C., the E.P.A. and

elsewhere are engaged in similar battles to preserve these

institutions and the embers of what they stand for. Anyone

who wants to ensure that Americans' food and medicine

nourish rather than poisons them, or who worries about the

relentless march of climate change, or who hopes that the

next deadly disease outbreak will be prevented from

morphing into a global pandemic, should root for those civil

servants to succeed - and vote accordingly.

What is creative destruction?

In the early years of Nazi rule, the vagueness of much Nazi ideology enabled

many Germans to see in Nazism what they wanted to see. Photo: Collected

How Nazism gained traction

in Germany

Bill Niven

Moritz Föllmer's study of culture in the Third

Reich first appeared in German in 2016. Now

it is available in English. It is a surprising

book in some ways. If we reflect on culture

under Nazism, we might think of the films of

Leni Riefenstahl, or the attempt to create

dramatic forms such as the Thingspiel (an

outdoor theatre movement celebrating

national rebirth, which came to an end in

1935). We might also think of the tedious

blood and soil novels romanticising the

Germans' relationship to the land,

sarcastically described as 'Blubo' literature by,

among others, Thomas Mann. But Föllmer

has very little to say about any of this. He

does provide discussions of key Nazi-period

films such as Veit Harlan's notorious Jud Süß

(1940) or Rolf Hansen's The Great Love

(1942), in which the actor Zarah Leander

plays a singer who falls in love with a German

fighter pilot. Föllmer's book also considers

the role of architecture in Hitler's vision of

Germany's urban transformation. But for the

most part Föllmer is not so interested in Nazi

attempts to produce distinctive artistic forms

or modes of expression. This is in part,

presumably, because it has already been

studied (for instance by J.M. Ritchie and,

most recently, Michael Kater), but also

because his book operates on the premise

that these attempts largely failed. Instead, he

takes a different approach - and herein lies

the value and quality of this fascinating study.

Föllmer's understanding of culture is

broad. Often he uses it to mean lifestyle. It

was here that the Nazis offered much.

Föllmer explores how consumerism

boomed in the early years of the Third

Reich (and even, for a time, during the

war). For all that Nazism was a

dictatorship, ordinary non-Jewish

Germans felt they had choices they had not

had before. As the economy improved,

Germans travelled widely, a process

supported by Nazi organisations such as

Strength Through Joy, which offered a

range of affordable holidays. Travel-writing

journalism developed as a form. The Nazis

made theatre and concerts available to

wider audiences. For artists who had been

struggling to make ends meet during the

Weimar Republic, the corporate

organisation of the arts under Goebbels

brought with it the prospect of social

insurance (if patchy) and of course

employment - especially as the Jews and

other artists considered 'undesirable' by the

Nazis were squeezed out.

Again and again Föllmer shows how it was

precisely the vagueness of much Nazi

ideology, at least in the early years of Nazi

rule, that appealed to many Germans,

because it enabled them to see in Nazism

what they wanted to see. Often it was enough

that the Nazis seemed to be committed to

ideas of national pride and regeneration - that

this commitment involved excluding Jews

was all too wilfully overlooked.

Adrian Daub

There are certain phrases that are central to the

sway the tech industry holds over our collective

imagination: they do not simply reflect our

experience, they frame how we experience it in the

first place. They sweep aside certain parts of the

status quo, and leave other parts mysteriously

untouched. They implicitly cast you as a stick-inthe-mud

if you ask how much revolution someone

is capable of when that person represents billions

in venture capital investment. Among the most

influential of these phrases is undoubtedly

"disruption".

The concept of disruption is a way for companies,

the press or simply individuals to think about

questions of continuity and discontinuity - what

lasts and what doesn't, what is genuinely new and

what is just the next version of something older.

There is a lot at stake in how we think about these

issues. Are the changes the tech industry brings

about, or claims to bring about, fundamental

transformations of how capitalism functions, or

are they an extension of how it has always

functioned? The answers to such questions will

determine what regulatory oversight we believe is

necessary or desirable, what role we think the

government or unions should play in a new

industry such as tech, and even how the industry

and its titans ought to be discussed.

When we speak of disruption, we are usually

thinking about the perils of continuity; we express

the sense that continuity works fine until it doesn't.

To some extent, this sense that things staying the

same for too long is dangerous and makes us risk

falling behind, is characteristic of modernity - not

in the sense of a specific time period so much as the

condition of being modern, living in a modern age.

As the poet Charles Baudelaire wrote in the 19th

century, when the world around him was

modernising at a breakneck pace: "The form of a

city / changes faster, alas, than a mortal's heart."

Keep living the way you're living, and soon enough

you'll find yourself living in the past.

More specifically, though, disruption resonates

with our experience of capitalism. Think of all the

companies and products that you remember

treating as seemingly permanent, inextricable

fixtures of your everyday life, that nevertheless slid

right out and disappeared with time. Recall, if

you're of the right age, the act of respooling a

cassette tape with your pinkie finger, or the phrase

"Be kind, please rewind". Or, for a slightly younger

generation, the whistles of a dial-up modem or the

mastication of a floppy disk drive. Disruption tells

a story that explains how things that seem as if they

will last forever nevertheless come to be shortlived.

Neither those who argue for continuity nor those

who are in favour of discontinuity are disinterested

parties - everyone has a stake in these things. I have

to include myself in this. I confess to being very

wary of claims of disruption, but then again, as a

professor of literature, I'm in a profession that

pretty much depends on the idea that the past

matters a lot and that messing with it in any

meaningful sense entails spending a lot of time

studying it. As Mandy Rice-Davies put it when she

was told that the politician Lord Astor denied

having an affair with her: "He would say that,

wouldn't he?" And I would argue that stewardship

of the past is more important than riding

roughshod over it, wouldn't I?

Nonetheless, I think at least some of the

rhetoric of disruption depends on actively

misunderstanding and misrepresenting the

past. We can call this the infomercial effect. You

don't see quite so many of them today, but they

were once ubiquitous, and they would follow the

same template: "Don't you hate it when," they

would ask, and name an extremely minor

problem with some mundane task you honestly

couldn't say you had ever encountered. Then

they'd offer their revolutionary solution to the

problem they had invented about 30 seconds

prior. The infomercial deliberately

misinterpreted whatever it was seeking to

disrupt. One of the greatest works of collective

satire of the internet age are the 6,069 and

counting Amazon reviews for the Hutzler 571

banana slicer, which mock exactly the mania for

buzzy solutions in search of a problem - "No

more paying for those expensively sliced fruits- i

can just stay at home," joked one user.

The reason infomercials use this template is that

it taps into a pretty pervasive sense of boredom. We

Audio and video cassettes and floppy discs.

get excited when things get shaken up, for the big

and powerful to get taken down a peg. There is a joy

in seeing "the system" shaken up, old hierarchies

up-ended, Goliaths falling to Davids. Such

narratives play to our impatience with structures

and situations that seem to coast on habit and

inertia, and to the press's excitement about

underdogs, rebels, outsiders. If you look back at

coverage of Theranos, until the fateful article by

John Carreyrou in the Wall Street Journal that

brought the company down, few journalists really

bothered to ask whether or not Theranos could do

what it claimed to be able to do - they asked what

would happen if it could. Disruption is high drama.

The claim that "things work the way they work

because there's a certain logic to them" is not.

The idea of disruption has a particularly strange

backstory. Probably its oldest ancestors are Karl

Marx and Friedrich Engels, who wrote in the

Communist Manifesto that the modern capitalist

world is characterised by "constant revolutionising

of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all

social conditions", so that, as they put it, "all that is

solid melts into air". Whereas the premodern

world was defined by a few stable certainties, by

centuries-old tradition, and governed by ancient

habits of thought, in modernity all fixed relations

"are swept away, all new-formed ones become

antiquated before they can ossify". You can sense

their giddiness, even though the situation they

describe is disorienting and ultimately

nightmarish. And yet they are giddy, because they

feel that this accelerating cycle of constant

destruction and replacement ultimately destroys

itself.

This idea made its way from the Communist

Manifesto into business jargon by way of the

economist Joseph Schumpeter, who, in a 1942

book, coined the phrase "creative destruction".

Although hardly a communist himself,

Photo: Prostock-Studio

Schumpeter derived the term from Marx and

intended it to be descriptive rather than

affirmative. Born in Austria in 1883,

Schumpeter was steeped in both Marxian

economics and in the work of classical liberal

economists such as Ludwig von Mises. He

became one of the great analysts of the business

cycle, but also of its social ramifications. In 1932,

he became a professor at Harvard. Schumpeter

thought that capitalism would almost gradually

lead to some kind of state socialism, a fact that he

didn't exactly welcome but thought inevitable.

SuNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2020 6

Durga Puja is one of the main religious festivals

of Hindu community: KCC Mayor

titasH CHaKraBortHeY, KHulna

CorresPonDent:

Khulna City Corporation Mayor

talukder abdul Khaleq wished the

Hindu devotees marking the

upcoming Durga Puja and said that

communal harmony is our tradition.

He said Durga Puja is one of the

religious festivals of the Hindu

community. the government is

determined to uphold the amicable

communal harmony of the country.

the people of Bangladesh are

celebrating religious festivals without

any worries.

the mayor was speaking as the

chief guest at a function to distribute

new clothes and food items among

the needy women on the occasion of

Durga Puja at the Dharmasabha

temple premises in the city on Friday.

the city mayor further said the

coronavirus is not over yet. the

government has made it mandatory

to use masks to prevent coronavirus

infections. so far no cornonavirus

medicine has been developed. People

can now be seen walking without

masks in various places including

streets, shops, markets, shopping

malls. He said there is no alternative

for increasing social distance and

awareness to prevent corona

infection.

During the time, Khulna tax

region Commissioner Prashanta

Kumar roy, District Council Panel

Chairman Chowdhury Mohammad

raihan Farid and Khulna Chamber of

Commerce Director Gopi Kisan

Mundhara spoke on the occasion. it

was presided over by Prof. Dr.

shailendra nath Majumder, a life

member of Khulna srimad Bhagavad

Gita sangha.

at the occasion, the city mayor

distributed new clothes and food

items among 300 women.

14th founding anniversary of Rampur 'Ekota Sangha', a traditional social and non-political was celebrated in

the port city of Chattogram recently.

Photo: S M Akash

14th founding anniversary of Rampur

Ekota Sangha celebrated

s M aKasH, CHattoGraM CorresPonDent:

on the occasion of the 14th founding

anniversary of rampur 'ekota sangha',

a traditional social and non-political

organization in the port city of

Chattogram, a discussion meeting, cake

cutting and sweet distribution ceremony

were held recently.

the colorful programs was

inaugurated by the founding president

of the organization Md. nur uddin

shahed, while the discussion meeting

was presided over by the president of

the organization Md. abdul awal rupu,

the chief guest chief advisor alhaj Md.

ali and chief patron Md. Hamid ali was

present as special guest.

During the time, Joint General

secretary Md. aminul islam Dipu

moderated the occasion while among

others, General secretary nurur

rahman Jamshed, Vice-President

ujjwal Kumar nath, Joint General

secretary iftekhar uddin iftu,

organizing secretary tushar Kanti

nath, Board of Directors members

raisul islam Munna, abdul aman rafat

and shahajan Badshah were also

present at the occasion.

Various social and non-political

organizations of the city greeted the 14th

founding anniversary of rampur 'ekota

sangha'. During the discussion, the

speakers said that for more than a

decade now, ekota sangha has been

known as a humanitarian organization

for the common man and the people of

the city. in the coronavirus period in

particular, 'ekota sangha' has set an

example in the service of society and

people, including the distribution of

medical services, relief, food and

educational materials for street children

and adolescents.

Khulna City Corporation Mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleq as the chief guest distributed new clothes and

food items among the needy women on the occasion of Durga Puja at the Dharmasabha temple premises

in Khulna on Friday.

Photo: Titash Chakraborthey

Bit policing rally held in Guimara

DiDarul alaM, GuiMara CorresPonDent:

in three unions of Guimara upazila

of Khagrachhari, bit policing rally

against rape and torture of women

have held been held simultaneously at

the initiative of district police and

organized by Guimara police on

saturday.

Guimara Police station officer-in-

Charge (oC) Mizanur rahman

presided over the rally while among

assembly against rape and torture held in islampur

osMan Harunee, islaM-

Pur CorresPonDent:

an assembly was held

protesting against rape and

torture of women in

islampur upazila and was

organized by Jamalpur

district police.

Hosne ara, female MP

from Jamalpur and

sherpur reserved seats,

was the chief guest at the

assembly held at islampur

High school ground on

saturday morning.

islampur Circle assistant

superintendent of Police

sumon Miah presided over

the occasion while among

others, upazila Parishad

Chairman sM Jamal

abdun naser Babul,

upazila nirbahi officer sM

Mazharul islam, upazila

Parishad Vice Chairman a:

Khaleq Bsc and rozina

akter China, islampur

upazila awami league

Vice President Jamal

others, General secretary and uP

Chairman of upazila awami league

Memong Marma, Hafchhari uP

Chairman Chaithoai Chowdhury,

President of Hafchhari union awami

league abdul Quader, uP Women

Member Bibi Hawadhan, shiuli

tripura, nurul islam, Haripadma

tripura and arman Hossain were

also present at the occasion.

at this time, under the overall

abdun naser Chowdhury

Charles, islampur

Municipal Mayor abdul

Quader sheikh, Professor

Farid uddin, President of

islampur Municipal

awami league nur islam

nur and General secretary

shri ankon Karmakar were

also present at the

management of Bit in-charge si

Farhad Kalam sujan and satyajit

Bhowmik, local people's

representatives, dignitaries, people

from different walks of life in the area

took part.

speakers at the rally praised the role

of the police in the current situation

and said that rape and torture of

women in the country will stop as

soon as drugs are stopped.

Bit policing rally against rape and torture of women was held been held simultaneously at 3 unions of

Guimara upazila on Saturday.

Photo: Didarul Alam

occasion.

speakers at the assembly

called on the people to

stand up against rape and

violence against women.

Hosne Ara, female MP from Jamalpur and Sherpur reserved seats as the chief

guest addressed an assembly protesting against rape and torture of women in

Islampur upazila on Saturday.

Photo:Osman Harunee

PPr vaccination for goat and

sheep inaugurated in tetulia

asHraFul islaM, tetulia

CorresPonDent:

secretary of the Ministry of

Fisheries and livestock

raunak Mahmud said that

black Bengal goat is

Bangladesh's own resource.

there is no such rich breed

of goat anywhere in the

world. so Back Bengal goat

has already been declared as

a domestic brand. now that

hilsa has gained

international recognition,

the government is working

for international recognition

as a Black Bengal goat

Bangladeshi brand. the

announcement will come

internationally soon.

He said this at the

inaugural function of the

vaccine against PPr disease

in goats and sheep across in

tetulia. He inaugurated the

nationwide PPr vaccination

program on saturday

morning.

under the PPr Disease

eradication and Hoof

Disease Control Project of

the Ministry of Fisheries and

livestock, this free vaccine

has been introduced to

eradicate PPr disease in

goats and sheep across the

country. after the

inauguration, a discussion

meeting was held at Berang

Bit policing rally held at ishwardi

GoPal oDHiKari, isHWarDi CorresPonDent:

a bit policing rally against rape and

torture of women was held at

ishwardi bus terminal on saturday

morning. speakers at the rally, held

under the supervision of Pabna

superintendent of Police rafiqul

islam, expressed the firm stand of

the police in preventing all forms of

Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Raunak Mahmud inaugurated

PPR vaccination for goat and sheep in Tetulia on Saturday. Photo: Ashraful Islam

Complex auditorium of the

upazila.

He further said that, we

don't need foreign fish meat.

Bangladesh is producing far

more than the demand.

Bangladesh now has the

capacity to export fish and

meat. Bangladesh needs 43

lakh metric tons of fish. We

are producing more than 44

lakh metric tons. We need 73

lakh metric tons of meat and

we are producing 76 lakh

metric tons. We are lagging

behind only in milk and egg

production. every year we

need 104 eggs per person.

We are producing 103. now

the government has taken up

two projects for milk and egg

production to meet the

demand for export. soon the

demand for milk eggs will be

met through this project.

Panchagarh Deputy

Commissioner Deputy

Commissioner Dr. sabina

Yasmin chaired the occasion

while among others, Dr.

abdul Jabbar sikder,

Director General of the

violence against women across the

country.

initiatives have been taken to

immediately prevent any incident of

violence against women by involving

the local community by bringing the

police service to the doorsteps of the

people through bit policing. Member

of Parliament Freedom Fighter

nuruzzaman Biswas was the chief

guest under the chairmanship of

Department of livestock,

Kazi sams afroz, Director

General of the Department

of Fisheries, Bangladesh

Fisheries research institute

Director General Dr. Yahya

Mahmud, Director General

of the Bangladesh livestock

research institute Dr.

nathuram sarkar, tentulia

upazila Parishad Chairman

Kazi Mahmudur rahman

Dablu and upazila nirbahi

officer sohag Chandra saha

were also present at the

occasion.

Member of Parliament Freedom Fighter Nuruzzaman Biswas as he chief guest addressed a bit policing rally

against rape and torture of women was held at Ishwardi bus terminal on Saturday. Photo: Gopal Odhikari

officer-in-Charge sheikh nasir

uddin. During the time, additional

superintendent of Police shamima

akhter, acting President of upazila

awami league naib ali Biswas,

Municipal Mayor abul Kalam azad

Mintu, acting Chairman of upazila

abdus salam Khan, upazila nirbahi

officer P M imrul Kayes and Vice

Chairman atia Ferdous Kakoli were

also present at the occasion.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2020

7

In this Oct. 6, 2020, file photo two voters fill out ballots during early voting at the Cuyahoga

County Board of Elections in Cleveland. A surge in coronavirus cases is hitting key

presidential battleground states a little more than two weeks before Election Day, raising

concerns that voting could be thrown into chaos despite months of preparation and

planning by election officials and voters.

Photo : AP

Virus surges in key battleground

states as election nears

MADISON : Rising coronavirus cases

in key presidential battleground states

a little more than two weeks before

Election Day are the latest worry for

election officials and voters fearing

chaos or exposure to the virus at polling

places despite months of planning,

reports UNB.

The prospect of poll workers backing

out at the last minute because they are

infected, quarantined or scared of

getting sick has local election officials in

Midwest states such as Iowa and

Wisconsin opening more early voting

locations, recruiting backup workers

and encouraging voters to plan for long

lines and other inconveniences.

Confirmed virus cases and deaths are

on the rise in the swing states of Iowa,

Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania,

Ohio and Wisconsin.

Wisconsin broke records this week

for new coronavirus cases, deaths and

hospitalizations, leading to the opening

of a field hospital to handle COVID-19

patients. Gov. Tony Evers said he plans

to activate the Wisconsin National

Guard to fill any staffing shortages at

Australian man

faces life in prison

over large cocaine

haul

SYDNEY : A Sydney man is

facing life in prison after

Australian police

intercepted cocaine worth

248 million Australian

dollars ($168 million)

concealed in frozen fruit

products from Brazil,

reports UNB.

The Australian Federal

Police and Border Force

officers seized 552 kilograms

(1,214 pounds) of the drug

hidden in pallets of banana

pulp and branded with koala

pictures in Sydney on

Friday.

They also arrested a 68-

year-old man at Forestville

in the city's northwest

following a tipoff from

American authorities about

the suspect shipment, which

arrived in Australia on Sept.

21. Police allege the man,

Mark De Hesselle, collected

139 boxes of the pulp and

removed the drugs. He has

been charged with

attempting to import a

commercial quantity of

border-controlled drugs and

possessing a commercial

quantity of unlawfully

imported border-controlled

drugs.

Both offenses carry a

maximum penalty of life

imprisonment.

Police Detective

Superintendent Geoffrey

Turner said COVID-19

border restrictions had not

prevented criminal groups

trying a range of methods to

bring illicit drugs into

Australia.

election sites.

While holding a competitive

presidential election during a

pandemic is "tricky business," the

governor said, "People are ready to

have this election over, and I think it

will be a successful election with very

few hiccups."

In Iowa, Scott County Auditor

Roxanna Moritz opened additional

early voting sites in and around

Davenport, the state's third-largest city,

to try to reduce the number of people

casting ballots on Election Day and to

keep the virus from spreading in large

precincts.

"We have to remember that there is

this thing called COVID," Moritz said.

"Our numbers aren't getting any better.

The more people I can get to early vote,

the better."

The pandemic's recent trajectory

close to home has some voters

reconsidering a lifetime habit of

entering a voting booth on Election

Day. Tim Tompkins, a welding

engineer in Iowa, took the day off work

to cast an early ballot at the Bettendorf

Community Center. Tompkins, 62, said

he and his wife, Pat, were afraid of

coronavirus exposure in Election Day

crowds but determined to vote, so they

brought their own sanitizer to the

community center Friday.

"We'd go through a vat of boiling

COVID to get the current president out

of office," Tompkins said.

In some states, voting early still has

carried health risks. Voters in Georgia,

Texas and elsewhere encountered

hours-long lines that required

congregating with hundreds of other

people this week. In Georgia, nearly a

quarter of the workers in a warehouse

where Fulton County's election

supplies are kept and voting equipment

is readied tested positive for COVID-19.

The positive test results for 13 of the

preparation center's 60 workers

shouldn't delay election operations,

county elections director Rick Barron

said. Barron said Georgia's most

populous county is working to hire

replacement staff and to implement

additional safety measures, including

daily rapid testing.

Biden outraises Trump $383M

to $248M in September

WASHINGTON : President Donald Trump

was outraised by Democrat Joe Biden in

September and is being outgunned

financially by his rival with just weeks to go

until Election Day.

Trump's campaign, along with the

Republican National Committee and

associated groups, raised $247.8 million in

September, well short of the $383 million

raised by Biden and the Democratic National

Committee in the same period. Trump

campaign communications director Tim

Murtaugh tweeted that the Trump effort had

$251.4 million on hand at the end of

September, compared with $432 million for

Biden, reports UNB.

Trump's financial disadvantage was once

unthinkable - incumbent presidents

traditionally vastly outraise their rivals - and

poses a stark challenge to his reelection

prospects. The president's campaign was

betting on a well-stocked bank account to

blanket airwaves and online with Trump ads.

But last week he was outspent on advertising

by Biden by more than $10 million,

according to the ad tracking firm

Kantar/CMAG.

"President Trump hits final stretch with

strength, resources, record and huge

ground game needed to spread message and

secure re-election," Murtaugh tweeted.

Biden's fundraising benefited from a boost

in donor enthusiasm following the death of

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

and Trump's widely panned performance in

the first presidential debate.

President Donald Trump wipes away sweat during an NBC News

Town Hall, at Perez Art Museum Miami, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, in

Miami.

Photo : AP

9 die in India

road crash

NEW DELHI : As many as

nine people were killed and

some 30 others injured in a

head-on collision between a

passenger bus and a sports

utility vehicle in the

northern Indian state of

Uttar Pradesh early

Saturday morning, police

said.

The accident occurred

around 4am at Puranpur in

the state's Pilibhit district,

some 250 km from state

capital Lucknow, reports

UNB.

Eye-witnesses told cops

that the bus was travelling at

high speed and the driver

had failed to spot the SUV

coming from the opposite

direction while taking a

blind turn on the road,

leading to the collision.

"The impact was such that

the bus rolled down the road

into a nearby field before

coming to a halt. The longdistance

bus was ferrying

passengers from Lucknow to

Puranpur, when the

accident happened," Pilibhit

police chief Jai Prakash told

the media.

Taliban to suspend

assault after US

pledges to halt strikes

ISLAMABAD : The Taliban

said on Friday they have

agreed to suspend attacks in

southern Afghanistan that

have displaced thousands

this week - but only after the

Americans promised to halt

all strikes and night raids in

keeping with the peace

agreement the U.S. signed

with the insurgents in

February, reports UNB.

The U.S. has been

conducting air strikes in

support of Afghan forces

trying to repel week-long

Taliban assaults in southern

Helmand province that

threatened to derail efforts

to end Afghanistan's 19-year

war.

The Taliban pledge came

after a meeting with U.S.

peace envoy Zalmay

Khalilzad and Gen. Austin

Miller, commander of U.S.

troops in Afghanistan, a

Taliban figure familiar with

the discussions said. He

spoke on condition of

anonymity because he was

not authorized to speak to

the media.

The Taliban agreed to

suspend their operations

after the Americans said

they would end drone strikes

on insurgent positions, as

well as night raids and air

assaults, the Taliban figure

said.

Helmand has been the

scene of a blistering Taliban

assault since last week, with

rocket attacks from the

Taliban and retaliatory

airstrikes from U.S. and

Afghan aircraft forcing more

than 5,600 families to flee

their homes, seeking refuge

in the provincial capital of

Lashkar Gah and Nad Ali

and Marja districts.

Yemen's rival sides

complete war's largest

prisoner exchange

SANAA : Yemen's warring

sides completed a major,

U.N.-brokered prisoner

swap on Friday, officials

said, a development that

could revive the country's

stalled peace process after

more than five years of

grinding conflict, reports

UNB.

This week's prisoner

release, the largest-ever in

the war, marks a

breakthrough in the

implementation of a longawaited

deal between

Yemen's Iran-backed

Houthi rebels and a Saudiled

military coalition

supporting the country's

internationally recognized

government. International

pressure has been building

on the parties to end the war,

which has killed thousands

of civilians and triggered the

world's worst humanitarian

crisis.

Trudeau: Canada won't stop calling

for human rights in China

OTTAWA : Canadian Prime Minister Justin

Trudeau said Friday his government will not

stop standing up for human rights in China.

On Thursday, the Chinese ambassador to

Canada warned Ottawa against granting

asylum to Hong Kong residents fleeing the

situation. Cong Peiwu said if Canada cares

about 300,000 Canadian citizens in Hong

Kong - and Canadian companies doing

business there - it should support efforts to

fight what he called fight violent crime,

reports UNB.

"We will stand up loudly and clearly for

human rights," Trudeau said. "Whether it's

talking about the situation faced by the

Uighurs, whether it's talking about the very

concerning situation in Hong Kong, whether

it's calling out China for its coercive

diplomacy." Trudeau said Canada stands

with with allies around the world and the

United States, to Australia, to Great Britain,

to European nations to many nations around

the world who share these concerns.

Canada's opposition Conservative leader

said the Chinese ambassador should

apologize or be expelled from Canada.

"The Chinese ambassador has decided to

engage in belligerent rhetoric unbecoming of

his office," Conservative leader Erin O'Toole

said in a written statement. "To be clear, this

was a threat to the 300,000 Canadians in

Hong Kong. And a barely veiled one at that. It

was of the kind of tone and tenor one would

expect from someone seeking protection

money - not someone who is the official

emissary of a member of the United Nations

Security

The government should also swiftly set up a

"path" for political refugees to come to

Canada from Hong Kong and impose

sanctions on Chinese officials over the

national security law, O'Toole added.

Protests against the Hong Kong and

mainland Chinese governments swelled last

year, and Beijing clamped down on

expressions of antigovernment sentiment in

the city with a new national security law that

took effect June 30.

The law outlaws subversive, secessionist,

and terrorist activity, as well as collusion with

foreign powers to interfere in the city's

internal affairs. The U.S., Britain and Canada

accuse China of infringing on the city's

freedoms. Trudeau also said China is

engaging in coercive diplomacy by

imprisoning two Canadian men in retaliation

for the arrest of a Chinese Huawei executive

on an American extradition warrant.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday his government will

not stop standing up for human rights in China.

Photo : AP

Biden email episode illustrates

risk to Trump from Giuliani

WASHINGTON : A New York tabloid's

puzzling account about how it acquired

emails purportedly from Joe Biden's son has

raised some red flags. One of the biggest

involves the source of the emails: Rudy

Giuliani, reports UNB.

Giuliani has traveled abroad looking for

dirt on the Bidens, developing relationships

with shadowy figures, including a Ukrainian

lawmaker who U.S. officials have described

as a Russian agent and part of a broader

Russian effort to denigrate the Democratic

presidential nominee.

Yet Giuliani says foreign sources didn't

provide the Hunter Biden emails. He says a

laptop containing the emails and intimate

photos was simply abandoned in a Delaware

repair shop and the shop owner reached out

to Giuliani's lawyer.

That hasn't stopped the FBI from

investigating whether the emails are part of a

foreign influence operation. The emails have

surfaced as U.S. officials have been warning

that Russia, which backed Trump's 2016

campaign through hacking of Democratic

emails and a covert social media campaign,

is interfering again this year. The latest

episode with Giuliani underscores the risk he

poses to a White House that spent years

confronted by a federal investigation into

whether Trump associates had coordinated

with Russia.

The Washington Post reported Thursday

that intelligence agencies had warned the

White House last year that Giuliani was the

target of a Russian influence operation. The

newspaper, citing four former officials, said

that assessment was based on information

including intercepted communications

showing Giuliani had been in contact with

people tied to Russian intelligence.

The newspaper said national security

adviser Robert O'Brien had warned Trump

that information Giuliani brought back from

Ukraine should be considered contaminated

by Russia, but that Trump brushed off the

warning.

Far from distancing himself from Giuliani,

Trump has made the purported Hunter

Biden emails one of his main talking points

in the final weeks of the campaign as he tries

to disparage his Democratic rival.

The Trump-friendly New York Post began

publishing stories about the emails

Wednesday, saying it had obtained them

from the former New York mayor. The

newspaper said the emails of Hunter Biden,

a California resident, were found in a laptop

that had been dropped off for service at a

Delaware repair shop by an unidentified

man who never picked it up. They said the

shop owner turned it over to the FBI, but also

made a copy of the hard drive and provided

that to Giuliani's lawyer.

U.S. rejects Putin’s proposal

on New START extension

WASHINGTON : The White House on

Friday rejected Russian President Vladimir

Putin's proposal earlier in the day to extend

the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty

(New START) for at least one year without

conditions, reports UNB.

"President Putin's response today to

extend New START without freezing nuclear

warheads is a non-starter," U.S. President

Donald Trump's National Security Adviser

Robert O'Brien said on Twitter.

O'Brien reiterated the U.S. proposal of an

extension of New START for one year,

during which both countries cap all nuclear

warheads, referring to both strategic and

tactical ones.

"We hope that Russia will reevaluate its

position before a costly arms race ensues," he

added. Earlier in the day, Putin proposed to

extend the New START without conditions

for at least a year for further negotiations.

"I have a proposal, namely, to extend

the current Treaty without any

conditions for at least a year in order to

be able to conduct meaningful

negotiations on all issues that are

governed by agreements of this kind,"

Putin said at a meeting with permanent

members of the country's Security

Council.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei

Ryabkov earlier this week rebuffed

Washington's position on freezing nuclear

arsenals. "The U.S. position in favor of

freezing has long been known to us, it is

unacceptable to us."

sUNDAY, oCToBeR 18, 2020

8

sraboni to release

three new songs in

Durga puja

Iresh to portray as antagonist

in ‘Mukhosh’

TBT RepoRT

'Mukhosh' a movie which is going

to be made with government grant

under the direction of Ittekhar

Shuvo. Popular actor Iresh Zaker is

going to portray as antagonist in

Ittekhar's movie 'Mukhosh'.

Earlier, the actor was praised for his

negative roles in 'Chuye Dile Mon'

and 'Debi'. Iresh Zaker will be seen

as an influential producer named

Shah Newaz. And Faruk Ahmed

will be seen in the role of a director.

The director said that the artist of

the film is almost finalized.

Iftekhar Shuvo also said that

actor Farooq Ahmed has signed a

contract for an important role in his

movie.

However, the producer said that

another special surprise is waiting

in the list of artists of the movie

'Mukhosh'. This will be announced

on the first day of shooting or on the

day of Mahrat.

Iftekhar said, "Shooting of

'Mukhosh' movie will start next

December or January. Shooting

will be done at different places in

Sylhet-Savar and Dhaka."

Pori Moni and Roshan have

already been finalized as the

heroines in the movie 'Mukhosh'.

Iftekhar Shuvo will direct and

produce the governmentsponsored

film 'Mukhosh' for the

2019-20 financial year. The film is

based on his novel 'Mukhosh'.

Rape case against actor

Mithun Chakraborty's

son, wife

TBT RepoRT

Sraboni Shayontony is going to

appear with three new songs in

this season. The titles of the

songs are 'O Durga Maa',

'Okaron Biroho' and 'Bhool

Thikana'.

Sraboni said, 'The recording of

the songs was completed few

days ago. Recently the music

video was also completed. Only

one song will be released in

Durga Puja with the title 'O

Durga Ma'. I am quite optimistic

about this song. I believe this

TBT RepoRT

song will touch everyone's heart

in this year's festival. '

The songs will be released on

Hm Voice's YouTube channel.

Sraboni has already confirmed

that the shooting of the music

video for the three songs has

been completed. She will also be

seen as a model in these music

videos.

Notable songs sung by Sraboni

Shayontony include Boishakh

Elore, Sona Bondhu, Chandero

Alo, Phuler Bukey, Bachelor

Female Version-2, Sagorer Jal

Paharer Sur, Bondhu Boro

Today is the second death anniversary of the country's legendary

guitarist and band star Ayub Bachchu. He died on 18 October

2016. His anguish is still carried by his fans.

But there is great news for them. On the eve of the second

death anniversary of the beloved artist, it was learned that

measures have been taken to preserve Ayub Bachchu's songs

officially.

Zafar Raja Chowdhury, Copyright Register has confirmed the

Beiman, Mon Debona, Cholo

Abaro etc.

Sraboni is currently working

on some more basic songs. She

also said that they will be

released soon.

Sraboni Shayontony started

her journey in the country's

music world through 'Channel I

Best Voice'-2017. After that she

got popularity by singing one

song after another.

Government

takes initiative to

preserve Ayub

Bachchu's songs

matter. Through this, for the first time, songs of any artist of

Bangladesh are being preserved on government initiative. The

music arena have applauded the subject.

Zafar Raja Chowdhury said, 'A website has been launched in

memory of Ayub Bachchu at the initiative of Bangladesh

Copyright Office. Initially, 262 of his songs are preserved here.

Besides, a YouTube channel named Ayub Bachchu has also been

opened.

This initiative has been taken out on respect for the legendary

Ayub Bachchu and to keep his songs alive from generation to

generation. This is the first time such an event has been

organized by the Copyright Office. We have taken initiative to

protect various memories and songs of Ayub Bachchu. '

It is learned that the government is also planning to preserve

the songs of other legendary artists in the future.

Veteran actor Mithun

Chakraborty's son Mahaakshay

was on Thursday booked for

allegedly repeatedly raping an

actress for over three years and

forcing her to undergo abortion.

Chakraborty's wife, Yogita Bali,

is also named in the FIR.

In her complaint with the

police, the woman alleged that

in May 2015, Mahaakshay had

called her to his residence where

he offered her a spiked soft

drink. She then said that the

actor's son raped her after she

passed out.

Over the next three years, the

woman added, Mahaakshay

continued to sexually assault her

on the pretext of marrying her.

However, Mahaakshay tied

the knot with actress Madalasa

Sarma in 2018. In the interim,

the woman alleged that she was

forced to abort her child.

The woman later shifted to the

national capital and filed a

complaint in a court. The court,

however, ruled that the probe

should be conducted by

Mumbai Police as the alleged

offence had taken place in the

latter's jurisdiction.

Earlier this week, Mahaakshay

and his mother, who the woman

claimed was aware of her son's

actions, were booked for

committing rape, administering

her a poisonous substance,

cheating and causing her to

abort her child, police said.

Source: indianexpress.com

African-made films challenge

Hollywood stereotypes

Producers of two African-made

films premiering on Netflix this

month believe their work will

show there's subscriber

appetite for movies that go

deeper than the Hollywood

stereotypes that often make

African viewers groan.

Subscribers to the world's

largest streaming service can

now watch Poacher, a Kenyan

drama about elephant poaching

and Òlòt?ré, a Nigerian thriller

about a journalist whose world

falls apart after she goes

undercover as a sex worker.

The films avoid the simplistic

portrayals that viewers in Africa

often resent, the producers say.

Netflix has begun screening

more content produced in

Africa, and in June released

romantic comedy Cook Off,

Zimbabwe's first offering on the

streaming service.

Poacher, the first Kenyan film

released on Netflix, uses drama

to show the lives of everyday

people involved in poaching.

"It's very simple to point

fingers," said Davina Leonard,

who co-wrote, co-produced,

and stars in Poacher. "When

you start a drama, now you're

looking at the people and their

motivations." The film's other

star, Brian Ogola, hopes

Poacher will spur people to

action. "It's still not enough if

we want our grandchildren to

see some of these animals in

their natural habitat."

The film ends with a statistic

from the World Wildlife

Foundation: if current trends

continue, elephants will be

extinct by 2040.

The other movie, Òlòt?ré,

joins a host of Nigerian films on

the platform, which has nearly

193 million subscribers

globally. Òlòt?ré was shot on

the gritty streets and in

rundown homes of Lagos. It

tells the story of impoverished

sex workers lured into being

trafficked overseas. Human

Rights Watch ranks Nigeria a

top origin country of trafficking

victims in Europe and

elsewhere.

Source: wionews.com

H o R o s C o p e

ARIes

(March 21 - April 20) : You might want

to escape the frenzy of the day by going

shopping, Aries. Align yourself with

partners and allies who share your

views. Try to keep the disagreements to a

minimum. There is enough tension and war raging

in the world around you today that you don't need

to add to the negative force by contributing disputes

and ailments to the situation.

TAURUs

(April 21 - May 21): Your mood should

be quite good today, Taurus, although

there may be some strong forces at work

trying to subvert this positive attitude.

Try not to let other people's disagreements bring you

down. Take the high ground and you will certainly

prevail. A peaceful nature is extremely important in

order to balance the anger and hostility that's present

all around. Be the one to promote this harmony.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21): Today's arena is one

in which you can find a great deal of

material, Gemini. There will be no

shortage of energy to work with or

opinions coming from you. Realize that your words

have a greater potency about them as people become

more intent on uncovering the truth. Apply yourself

to peace and cooperation among groups. Help

people work together toward a common goal.

CANCeR

(June 22 - July 23): Peace and harmony

are in the regularly scheduled

program for the day, but there is a

good chance that there could be a

warring force with strong opinions and vindictive

tendencies. Hold onto your hat, Cancer, and

make sure you have your actions well aligned

with your soul or else you could be thrown into a

battle that has nothing to do with you.

Leo

(July 24 - Aug. 23): I told you so

might be your motto of the day. Try not to

rub this in other people's faces, Leo.

Indeed, you have the foresight to witness

an action and see the consequences right away. These

consequences might rear their ugly heads on a day like

this. Use your incredible perception and intuition to

home in on the best solution possible and work toward

that goal before things get out of hand.

VIRGo

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): You may know

exactly the right thing to do today, but for

some reason, the action required may be

a hard thing for you to implement, Virgo.

Take an active role to get involved. Say your peace, but

don't get so attached to the results that you get upset

and discouraged if things don't exactly work out

according to plan. Independence is an important virtue

to hold onto today.

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Make sure your

opinion doesn't get lost in the frenzy of

the day, Libra. Your words may not

quite fit with the things that people

want to hear. Try not to take this personally. Realize

that this isn't an indication that your words are any

less important. You have an incredible gift of being

able to see things that others can't. Cherish and

nourish this ability instead of invalidating it.

sCoRpIo

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

choices today. Either jump into the

thick of the mess with both feet or stay

out of it altogether. There are definitely

two distinct camps setting up their arsenals for

battle. Realize that there is also a soft, tender,

harmonious aspect that just wants peace. It will be

hard to ignore the fact that your usual warring

nature is ready to do battle.

sAGITTARIUs

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): You may end up

being the peaceful savior that calms

everyone down today, Sagittarius. Use

your artistic nature and love of beauty

and harmony to inspire others to put away their

differences and concentrate on the positive aspects.

Generous acceptance of others is the only way to go,

especially today, when people are riled up and ready

to fight. Do your best to promote peace.

CApRICoRN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): Your unique ability to

communicate with many different groups

and personalities will be extremely

important today to maintaining a bridge

between warring camps, Capricorn. Keep things moving

and try not to let the situation stagnate on any one issue.

If the conversation turns to raging and ranting, it's in your

best interests to stop it right away. Don't be afraid to step

up and take a leadership role.

AQUARIUs

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19): You might feel like you're

getting worked up from all angles today,

Aquarius. Find comfort in knowing that

things will definitely improve by tomorrow.

You might get the feeling that somehow you're all alone

despite the circle of friends that surrounds and loves you.

You may be called to action by a strong force. Try to stay

abreast of information and developments around you so

you can make the most informed decisions possible.

pIsCes

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : Try to rise above the

potential tension and rough spots of the

day, Pisces. Do yourself a favor and don't

feel like you have to stoop to another's

level. Take pride in your actions and do things with

confidence. Work with the negativity. The worst thing

to do would be to ignore it. Approach problems

squarely as soon as they arise. Don't dredge up the

past. It's time to move forward.


9

The veteran striker has recovered from Covid-19 and will be in contention to face his side's city

rivals.

Photo: AP

AC Milan boss says Ibrahimovic is 'ready

to play' ahead of derby clash with Inter

Sports Desk: Milan boss Stefano Pioli

says Zlatan Ibrahimovic is raring to go

after recovering from coronavirus

ahead of what he believes will be a

"spectacular" derby against city rivals

Inter, repoprts AP.

Ibrahimovic tested positive for

Covid-19 on September 24, three days

after he had scored a Serie A double in

the 3-0 win over Bologna.

Milan confirmed last week the striker

was clear of the virus after having two

negative tests, allowing him to leave a

period of self-isolation that had caused

him to miss four matches.

That put the 39-year-old in

contention to play at least some part in

Saturday's crunch Serie A clash, with

the two Milan clubs looking as good as

they have for many years.

"Zlatan has been smiling and is in a

positive and determined frame of

mind," Pioli told reporters as Milan

look to win their opening four league

games for the first time since 1995

under Fabio Capello.

"He has only been training for a week

but is feeling fine. He had a problem,

Former player

sues AFL and

ex-club over

'racist abuse'

Sports Desk: A former

Australian Rules player has

launched legal action against

the AFL and his ex-club over

racial abuse he claims was

directed at him throughout

his career that caused

trauma and distress, reports

BSS.

Heritier Lumumba, who is

of Brazilian and Congolese

heritage, filed a writ in the

Supreme Court of Victoria

alleging his former club

Collingwood breached its

duty of care and contractual

obligations.

It also claimed both the

club and the Australian

Football League failed to

provide a safe working

environment.

"On numerous occasions

during his employment, the

plaintiff (Lumumba) was

subjected to racial abuse or

racially-offensive conduct,"

said the documents, lodged

Wednesday.

Lumumba, who made 199

appearances

for

Collingwood during a 10-

year stint that ended in

2014, claimed both players

and club employees were

responsible.

The suit said Collingwood

and the AFL should have

been aware of what was

happening and intervened,

contending he suffered "loss,

damage, and injury

including trauma,

humiliation, distress, and

loss of enjoyment".

No specific examples were

included in the court filing,

but Lumumba, 33, has

previously claimed he was

nicknamed "chimp" while at

the club.

He went public with his

allegations earlier this year

and Collingwood pledged an

independent investigation

"in an effort to search for the

truth".

but I have found him to be the same as

always. "He is ready to play, but we still

need to assess how many minutes he

has got in his legs.

"Our start to the season with three

league wins and going through in

Europe was important and what I

hoped for - now Zlatan's return is an

additional boost going into the derby."

Milan are unbeaten since March - a

run of 19 games in all competitions -

while Inter are two points behind them

after finishing second and reaching the

Europa League final in Antonio Conte's

first season.

Except for Atalanta (56), Milan (54)

and Inter (47) are the two teams who

have gained the most points in Serie A

in 2020. Pioli added: "I am expecting a

spectacular game. We will be facing a

side with a system that sees players

occupy precise positions on the pitch.

"Inter are very strong, but, like all

teams, also have weaknesses. We need

to remain composed and understand

when it is necessary to press and when

we need to bide our time.

"We will be intense and will not hold

off. This will also apply to them but we

have our own identity and way of

playing out on the pitch.

"For us, the tests never stop: we know

that this will be an important and

difficult test, but we have prepared well

in the little time we had available and

feel ready." Inter only finished one

point behind champions Juventus last

season, with Conte now looking to

become the first Inter coach ever to win

their first three Milan derbies.

Pioli added: "Unfortunately, there

won't be a crowd, but we'll take to the

pitch aware of the importance of this

match and what it means. We feel the

rivalry and it will be a heartfelt match.

"Our journey began a year ago, but I

can also say that we're still in the early

stages. We still have plenty of room for

improvement and will be facing the

side everyone is tipping to win the title.

"But we are going to take to the pitch

with the objective to be better than

them. They are doing well, so beating

such a strong side would give us

enthusiasm and even more confidence

in the qualities we have."

England confirm invitation

to tour Pakistan in 2021

Sports Desk: England could tour Pakistan

for the first time in over a decade after

officials confirmed they had received an

invitation to visit the Asian giants early in

2021 for a "short white-ball series", reports

BSS.

Fifty-over world champions England have

not played in Pakistan since 2005/06.

An attack by armed militants on Sri

Lanka's team bus in Lahore in 2009 ended

major cricket tours for a decade.

But Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and West Indies

have all since made the trip.

An England and Wales Cricket Board

statement issued Thursday said: "After

discussions with the Pakistan Cricket Board

(PCB), we can confirm the England and

Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has received an

invitation in respect of a short white-ball tour

to Pakistan during the early part of 2021.

"We welcome the fact that international

cricket is returning to Pakistan and are

committed to doing what we can to help this

develop further."

The statement added that "the safety and

welfare of our players and staff is

paramount", with security issues and the

development of Covid-19 secure 'bubbles' of

the kind pioneered in England this year

among the ECB's key concerns.

"We will be liaising with the PCB, and as

well as other partners over the coming weeks

to work through these considerations, before

a final decision will be taken in due course,"

the ECB said.

Although the ECB did not specify any

dates, Wasim Khan, the Birmingham-born

chief executive of the PCB said: "We have

sent them a window of January 13-20, so we

will do our best to make this tour happen.

"They (the ECB) will consider it (the

invitation) and have a security assessment.

"It will be a very important tour and help

improve our credibility as a host," he added.

It is understood the proposed tour could

consist of three T20 internationals, none of

which would replace England's rescheduled

tour of Sri Lanka.

Pakistan, following in the footsteps of the

West Indies, visited England this year for

three Tests and three T20 internationals

despite Britain being one of the countries

worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic. -

'You owe Pakistan' -

Two of international cricket's financially

poorer leading sides helped spare one of

the wealthiest in England an estimated

o280 million ($366 million) loss if all the

ECB's scheduled matches were wiped out

by Covid-19.

England could tour Pakistan for the first time in over a decade. Photo: AP

Klopp reveals

text to Liverpool

flops after Villa

thrashing

Sports Desk: Liverpool

manager Jurgen Klopp has

revealed he sent a "long,

long" text message to his

players after their

humiliating 7-2 defeat

against Aston Villa, reports

BSS.

Klopp suffered the

heaviest loss of his

managerial career on a

traumatic afternoon at Villa

Park earlier this month.

The shocking performance

from the Premier League

champions ended their

unbeaten start and exposed

defensive flaws that were

already visible this season.

The majority of Klopp's

squad headed off for

international duty

immediately after the defeat

and the German decided to

clear the air in a text to his

stars.

"The night after the game

was not the best night of my

life, but I got up in the

morning and I knew I had to

speak to my boys but they

were not here," Klopp told

the BBC on Thursday.

"I texted them a long,

long message. It was pretty

much my thoughts about

what had happened, and,

after that I felt much better

because it was out and

from that moment on we

could carry on and that's

what we did."

Klopp will hope his

message has the desired

effect when Liverpool return

to action this weekend for

the first time since the Villa

embarrassment.

The Reds make the short

trip across Stanley Park to

face table-toppers Everton

in the Merseyside derby on

Saturday.

Djokovic plans

to finish season as

world number one

Sports Desk: World

number one Novak Djokovic

said Thursday he planned to

play two more tournaments

until the end of the season -

in Vienna and London - and

keep his top ATP ranking,

reports BSS.

"I'm going to play the

Vienna tournament that

wasn't originally on my

schedule," Djokovic told

AFP.

He was speaking on the

sidelines of a visit to a

wellness park in Bosnia

where he came to recuperate

after losing Sunday's French

Open final to Rafael Nadal.

"I haven't played in Vienna

for 15 years so I'm happy

about that," Djokovic added.

The 33-year-old Serb said

that the London Masters,

starting on November 15, is

the second and final

tournament that he still

intended to play for the

remainder of the season.

"This season, which was

very intermittent, different

and weird, at the same time

brought me a lot of success

and I'm very satisfied with

my game, points, ranking.

"I hope that, after the

month and a half that's left

in this season, I will finish it

as world number one. That's

my professional goal and I'm

going to work on it. It's

mostly up to me," he added.

Topping the world's

rankings since February 3,

Djokovic is 1,890 points

ahead of Nadal on the ATP

list.

After the straight sets

defeat in Paris, the Serb

went with his wife to the

park in Bosnia to recuperate.

"I have played a lot of

games for two and a half

months… I could not go out

because of the restrictions

and rules (due to the

coronavirus pandemic) and

it has mentally exhausted

me a lot," said the 17-time

Grand Slam champion.

Ronaldo 'violated' Covid protocol,

says Italy's sports minister

Sports Desk: Cristiano Ronaldo could have

violated Italian coronavirus measures by

returning to Turin from Portugal after

testing positive, Italy's sports minister

Vincenzo Spadafora said on Thursday,

reports BSS.

"Yes, I think so, if there were no specific

authorisations from the health authority,"

Spadafora told Radio Uno when asked

whether the 35-year-old Portuguese star's

return had breached COVID-19 rules.

Ronaldo left the Portuguese team camp

near Lisbon on Wednesday to fly back to

Northern Italy on his private jet.

"Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Italy with a

medical flight authorised by the competent

health authorities at the request of the player

and will continue his isolation at his home,"

Juventus said.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was

"asymptomatic" after testing positive on

Monday, the day after Portugal drew 0-0

with France in Paris.

However, the incident renewed

controversy over his departure from Turin

the previous week, which local health

authorities said breached virus protocols

after two Juventus staff members tested

positive.

"I think that, at the moment, the protocols

in force for the sports championships, both

for Serie A football and for the sports

associations and clubs are valid as long as

they are respected," said Spadafora.

"And if there is someone who does not

respect them, then the cases that we read in

the news are created.

"If they are respected, and if the general

situation of the country allows it, I hope that

leagues at all levels can continue in the best

possible way in the interest of the players,

staff, but also all sports fans in Italy."

The entire Juventus team were back in

isolation on Wednesday evening after US

midfielder Weston McKennie tested

positive.

Both McKennie and Ronaldo are in

quarantine, for at least ten days, and must

test negative before rejoining their

teammates.

Under UEFA rules a player must provide

evidence that he is no longer sick a week

before a European match.

Ronaldo who will miss Juventus's

Champions League opener against Dynamo

Kiev on October 20, must test negative on

October 21 to play against Barcelona a week

later.

Spadafora rejected a call from the Italian

regions to open stadiums to 25 percent

capacity from the current maximum of

1,000.

"For now we cannot authorise it," he said.

"At least until next month, we have to see

how the contagion curve will go from here

until mid-November."

Ronaldo left the Portuguese team camp near Lisbon on Wednesday to fly

back to Northern Italy on his private jet.

Photo: AP

Wimbledon set to return in

2021 even without fans

Sports Desk: Wimbledon is set to go ahead

next year even if the Grand Slam tournament

has to be staged behind closed doors,

organisers announced on Friday, reports

BSS.

The grass-court championships were

cancelled this year for the first time since

World War II because of the coronavirus

pandemic.

The tennis season has been badly

disrupted by Covid-19 but the US Open went

ahead behind closed doors and the French

Open took place in front of only 1,000 fans a

day after its starting date was moved from

May to late September.

The All England Club is planning for

several scenarios in 2021 - a full-capacity

Wimbledon, reduced numbers of fans or

holding the tournament with no spectators

present. "Staging the championships in 2021

is our number-one priority and we are

actively engaged in scenario-planning in

order to deliver on that priority," said chief

executive Sally Bolton.

Wimbledon's statement read: "Our

overriding priority will continue to be the

health and safety of all of our stakeholders, in

particular our guests, our staff, and our

competitors.

"We are working closely with the relevant

government and public health authorities,

alongside the rest of the sports industry, to

understand the varying challenges and

opportunities presented by the ongoing

coronavirus pandemic."

The 134th championships will be staged

from June 28 to July 11, 2021.

Wimbledon has been working closely with

local communities during the pandemic and

will continue to provide 200 hot meals a day

to people in need until Christmas.

More than œ750,000 ($970,000) has

been donated to charities and organisations,

while 30,000 of the famous Wimbledon

towels that were intended to be used for the

2020 tournament have been given away.

Neymar misses PSG

game after Brazil duty

Sports Desk: Neymar will

sit out Paris Saint-Germain's

Ligue 1 game away at Nimes

on Friday, hot on the heels of

his starring role on

international duty for Brazil,

reports BSS.

The world's most

expensive player scored a

hat-trick for his country in a

4-2 win in Peru in 2022

World Cup qualifying.

That match in Lima did

not finish until the early

hours of Wednesday,

European time, and the

quick turnaround means he

will play no part for his club

this weekend.

Instead Paris coach

Thomas Tuchel will keep the

Brazilian fresh for the

Champions League clash at

home to Manchester United

next Tuesday.

PSG are without a raft of

players for the game at

Nimes, where they are

seeking a fifth straight win

after starting the season with

two straight losses.

Angel Di Maria and

Marquinhos are suspended,

while Marco Verratti and

Mauro Icardi are among

those missing due to injury.

Midfielder Danilo

Pereira must wait for his

debut after arriving on

loan from Porto - he is

isolating after coming into

contact with Cristiano

Ronaldo, who tested

positive for Covid-19,

while on international

duty with Portugal.

However, fellow new

arrivals Rafinha and Moise

Kean could play, and

Kylian Mbappe is in the

squad despite playing for

France in Croatia on

Wednesday evening.


10

LafargeHolcim Bangladesh reports 31pc

growth in operating profit in Q3, 2020

In a challenging market

environment, Net Sales of

LafargeHolcim

Bangladesh during the

quarter increased by 3%

to 3,655 mBDT compared

to 3,558 mBDT for the

same quarter last year

supported by sales and

marketing initiatives.

Profit After Tax for the

quarter registered an

improvement of 71% to

654 mBDT against 381

mBDT during the

previous year's quarter on

the back of internal

efficiencies, a press

release said.

"We are very proud of

the resilience, agility and

great team work of our

employees and the strong

cooperation with our

customers and suppliers.

Our efforts on HEALTH,

COST and CASH have

ensured that we stay

focused during the crisis,

while our fast progress on

digital helped us being

effective in the

marketplace" said Rajesh

Kumar Surana, CEO &

Country Representative

The Company's cost

management and

operational efficiency

programs have

maintained their strong

momentum. During the

quarter, enhanced focus

on supply chain

management, contract

negotiations, and

improved production

efficiencies have helped in

partially addressing the

impact of softer volume

growth. Fixed cost and

Selling, General &

Administrative expenses

were also significantly

lower during this quarter

on a year-on-year basis.

With its strong balance

sheet, LafargeHolcim

Bangladesh is well

positioned to take

advantage from the

expected uptick in

demand.

Despite the uncertainty

and disruptions

surrounding COVID-19,

the Company believes

that our country with its

strong record of growth

and sound economic

policies will rebound on

its growth trajectory. The

recent initiatives by the

Government coupled with

improvements in inward

remittances will help

resurgence of rural

demand. Additionally,

Government impetus on

infrastructure will play a

strong role in driving

cement demand.

It is to be noted that,

LafargeHolcim

Bangladesh Ltd. (LHBL)

is a frontline cement

producer in Bangladesh.

Operating for almost two

decades, it has invested ~

US$ 500 million in

building one fully

integrated cement plant

and three grinding plants,

the largest foreign direct

investment in the sector.

It is a joint venture of

LafargeHolcim Group

based in Switzerland and

Cementos Molins based

in Spain. With state-ofthe

art technology and

well groomed staff, the

company produces world

class cement to meet the

growing demand

generated by massive

infrastructure

development programs

and improved socio

economic conditions. The

company has provided

direct and indirect

employment

opportunities for over

3000 people.

With its grip in global

standards and strength in

innovations,

LafargeHolcim

Bangladesh Limited is

also regarded as a

dependable solution

provider in construction

materials. It is producing

and supplying customized

cement for high profile

projects in the country.

National Bank Limited arranged a 'Milad & Doa Mahfil' in connection to the shifting of Head Office

from Dilkusha to Banglamotor (116/1, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Dhaka). The program was

arranged by the instruction of valiant freedom fighter Zainul Haque Sikder, the Sponsor Director of

National Bank Limited & Chairman of the Bank where the Executives, Officers & Staffs participated

spontaneously. The program ended up with a special doa and milad offered for the well-being of the

nation and all the citizens of the country.

Photo : Courtesy

Standard Chartered Bangladesh has partnered with OBHIZATRIK

Foundation to distribute fresh food packages consisting of organic fruits

and vegetables to serve the immediate needs of distressed communities in

Dhaka and Chittagong. Under the initiative, the food packages will reach

40,000 families, supporting 200,000 direct beneficiaries. The produce will

be sourced directly from 200 rural smallholder firms, sustaining employment

for around 2000 workers. Depressed economic activity as a result of

the pandemic continues to put distressed communities in a twin jeopardy,

where they must face the threat of a pandemic while their livelihoods

remain uncertain. Informal and casually employed workers are particularly

vulnerable. Through this partnership, the Bank hopes to build a sustainable

linkage between vulnerable individuals with diminished purchasing

power and smallholder farmers facing a dearth of demand for their produce.

The food packages will include a range of fresh vegetables and fruits,

including sweet pumpkin, bitter gourd, gourd, green chili, potato, spinach,

eggplant, cucumber and seasonal fruits. Each package will consist of 5 KG

of fresh organic produce. The produce will be distributed through OBHIZA-

TRIK Foundation's "Bina Poyshar Bazar" platform, at locations across

Dhaka and Chattogram.

Photo : Courtesy

Brexit: Trade

talks with the

EU are over,

says No 10

Talks between the UK and

EU over a post-Brexit trade

agreement are "over",

Downing Street has said.

No 10 argued there was

"no point" in discussions

continuing next week unless

the EU was prepared to

discuss the detailed legal text

of a partnership, reports

BBC.

UK chief negotiator Lord

Frost said he had told EU

counterpart Michel Barnier

there was now no "basis" for

planned talks on Monday.

Number 10 said the two

sides had agreed to talk

again next week - by phone.

Earlier, EU Commission

President Ursula von der

Leyen tweeted that the

Brussels negotiating team

would go to London after the

weekend to "intensify"

discussions.

France's Europe minister

Clément Beaune told BBC

Newsnight that, while the

EU would not pursue a deal

at any cost, "we will listen to

what the UK side wants to

say to us".

Meanwhile, ratings agency

Moody's has downgraded

the UK's credit status, citing

falling economic strength

due to the coronavirus

pandemic and uncertainty

over Brexit.

Brothers Furniture is one of the best brands in the furniture industry in the world.In order to bring

the furniture industry to the doorsteps of the people, another new showroom of Brothers Furniture

was inaugurated at Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) Purnabhoomi Sylhet Subid bazar on Thursday, October

15, 2020. The showroom was officially inaugurated by Hon'ble Mayor of Sylhet City Corporation Mr.

Md. Ariful Haque Chowdhury and Chairman of Brothers Furniture Ltd Habibur Rahman Sarkar.

Mr. Mahmud Bin Amin, Director and Associate of Hi-tech Corporation, Mr. Ehsan Zia (GM) of Hitech

Corporation, Mr. Nazmul Hossain, Head of Coordinator of Hi-tech Corporation and Assistant

Manager (Marketing & Sales) of Brothers Furniture Ltd. Other officials and dignitaries were present.

On the occasion of happy inauguration, there is a 5% to 15% discount on all furniture purchases

in that branch. This offer will run from 15 October to 13 November 2020.

Photo : Courtesy

Europe's leading Brand Beko

Invents home appliances

Beko, Europe's leading

home appliance brand, has

developed Hygiene Shield, a

ground-breaking portfolio of

household products, created

in response to emerging

consumer needs in the postlockdown

era. The new home

appliances line uses UV light

technology heat and steam

for at-home disinfecting

eliminating more than 99%

bacteria and Virus, including

Covid-19 that resulted the

pandemic.

The new portfolio includes

seven appliances with inbuilt

disinfection programs

and functions to disinfect

packaged food and

belongings to help

consumers adjust to the 'new

normal' at home. Developed

as a result of in-depth

consumer research

conducted across the globe

and with innovative new

technology, the Hygiene

Shield product line has the

power to kill more than 99%

of bacteria and viruses

(including coronavirus),

providing a level of

reassurance unrivalled in the

market place.

Beko - the top European

brand in Europe is owned by

Turkish company Areclik

which is also the major

shareholder of Bangladesh's

leading Consumer

Appliances company

SINGER Bangladesh

Limited.

SINGER is the exclusive

Israel's peace deals with

the UAE and Bahrain are

"going to be big" for

business and trade in the

region, one of the most

influential businessmen in

the Middle East has told

the BBC.

Sultan Ahmed bin

Sulayem, the chairman

and CEO of Dubai-based

DP World, says they will

remove barriers to

business links previously

"not allowed", by

shortening trade routes

and making it easier to

deal with Europe.

Israeli estimates suggest

trade with the UAE could

eventually total $4bn a

year, creating 15,000 jobs.

Mr bin Sulayem agrees it

would be mutually

beneficial: "We need

something from Israel,

they need something from

us".

Many exports are likely

to be technology based,

distributor of Beko

appliances in Bangladesh.

The seven appliances under

the HygieneShield series are:

Combi refrigerator with

disinfection drawer,

HygieneShield Washing

Machine, HygieneShield

Washer Dryer, Built-in Oven

with Saturated Steam and

Heat, HygieneShield

Dishwasher, Tumble Dryer

with UV Light Technology

and UV Cleaning Cabinet.

In a statement on this

occasion, SINGER

Bangladesh CEO MHM

Fairoz said, '' As a member of

the Arcelik family, SINGER

is proud to be a part of this

humanitarian innovation in

including cyber-security,

as well as the latest

innovations in medicine

and agriculture.

Trade is also likely to

grow to include more

physical goods with many

Asian exports flowing

through Dubai.

This week, the MSC Paris

became one of the first

cargo ships to make the

voyage between the two

countries, and Israel's

parliament formally

approved the treaty with

the United Arab Emirates.

Israeli's Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu

called the shipment of

electronics, cleaning

supplies, iron and

firefighting equipment the

"beginning of something

huge".

DP World is the world's

biggest ports operator and

is working with Israel's

DoverTower to expand its

presence in the country.

response to the global

disaster caused by the Covid-

19 pandemic. We are

expecting to offer these

HygieneShield appliances

line up to consumers of

Bangladesh soon''.

The formal announcement

of this breakthrough product

line came from a Virtual

Press Conference attended

by Arçelik CEO Hakan

Bulgurlu, its CMO, Zeynep

Yal?m Uzun and top medical

researchers on October 7,

2020. From the Press

Conference, the Arcelik CEO

Hakan Bulgurlu said, "We

are excited to introduce

Beko's latest innovations and

our first ever full product line

Israel is looking to upgrade

port facilities at Ashdod

and Haifa that are crucial

to its economy.

It is this ambition to

broaden its presence that

Mr bin Sulayem says has

helped his company

outperform the rest of the

cargo industry during the

Covid-19 pandemic.

Before the pandemic, DP

World handled 10% of all

the shipping containers

that are used to move

everything from

electronics to clothes and

car parts around the world.

The number of those

containers is set to fall this

year with the IMF

predicting that the global

economy will shrink 4.4%.

"It's been very tough for

everybody," says Mr bin

Sulayem.

"All the shipping

companies, port operators,

logistics operators were

shocked because of the

to market. The products have

been tailored to help

consumers achieve

professional levels of hygiene

at home and protect them

from infections and diseases.

Beko's consumer research,

across 31 countries revealed

that one of the primary

concerns is hygiene. People

have increased the amount of

cleaning and laundry in their

homes, with some people

disinfecting bedding for the

first time. 75% of people are

cleaning the house more

often, 64% are doing more

laundry and 68% are paying

more attention to the

cleanliness of the packaging

on purchased products.

Israel-UAE peace deal ‘big' for

trade in Middle East

lockdown and many of the

procedures they [now]

have to do."

In the first six months of

2020, DP World handled

33.9m TEU (twenty-foot

equivalent units). That is a

3.9% fall in the number of

shipping containers

compared with the same

time in 2019, with the

biggest fall in the Americas

and Australia.

But that is better than the

5.6% global fall estimated

by the maritime research

firm Drewry.

"Trade has been pretty

resilient", says the firm's

container research expert

Simon Heaney, who says

the lifting of restrictions

means it is likely for the

year as a whole that global

trade will only be down

3.3% - with North America

and Europe leading the

recovery.


11

Helal Uddin, the mayoral candidate of Sirajganj Municipality, has held a view exchange meeting with

his colleagues in the upcoming elections. Helal Uddin, President of Sirajganj Municipal Awami

League, President of Sirajganj Press Club, Panel Mayor-1, held the view the meeting with media colleagues

at his residence on Wednesday night. During the time, General Secretary of the Press Club

Ferdous Robin and Joint General Secretary Israel Hossain Babu moderated the occasion while

among others, Vice President SM Tafiz Uddin, Former President Harun-ur-Rashid Hasan, General

Secretary of Television Journalists Forum Ferdous Hasan and Editor of Sirajganj Barta Abdul

Hamid Khan Hira were also present at the occasion. Photo: Badrul Alam Dulal

Nobel winner urges billionaires

to save millions from famine

UNITED NATIONS : The head of the

World Food Program, this year's

winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, again

urged billionaires to donate just a few

billion to save millions of lives, saying

Friday the number of people "marching

toward starvation" has jumped from

135 million to 270 million since the

COVID-19 pandemic, reports UNB.

"Humanity needs the help right

now," David Beasley said. "This is a

one-time request. ... The world is at a

crossroads, and we need from the

billionaires to step up in a way they've

never stepped up before."

The executive director of the U.N.

food agency told a virtual U.N. press

conference that the global wealth of

some 2,200 billionaires rose by about

$2 trillion between April and July as

the pandemic raged. He was referring

to a study by Swiss bank UBS and

accounting firm PwC published last

week which said the global wealth of

billionaires climbed from $8 trillion at

the start of April to $10.2 trillion in

July.

"I just need a few billion to save

millions of lives and save humanity

from one of the greatest catastrophes

since World War II," Beasley said. "It's

Instagram to crack

down on 'hidden'

advertising

Is that post on Instagram

actually an advertisement?

The photo and video sharing

platform's 1 billion users may

soon have a better idea if

they're looking at a sales pitch

thanks to new measures aimed

at combating "hidden"

advertising, reports CNN.

UK regulators said in a

statement on Friday that

Facebook (FB) has agreed to

changes that will make it

"much harder" for people to

post advertisements on its

Instagram platform without

labeling them as such. The

restrictions apply to all

Instagram users globally, but

the platform will only report

on how it's tracking against the

commitments in the United

Kingdom.

"For too long, major

platforms have shied away

from taking responsibility for

hidden advertising on their

site," said Andrea Coscelli,

CEO of the UK Competition

and Markets Authority (CMA).

"These changes mean there

will be no excuse for

businesses to overlook how

their brands are being

advertised either - making life

a lot harder for those who are

not upfront and honest with

their followers," Coscelli

added. Social media

influencers with thousands of

followers often earn fees from

companies to promote their

products. Many businesses

and major global brands are

allocating a growing portion of

their advertising budgets to

influencer marketing,

particularly to reach younger

consumers who may not watch

television or read newspapers.

not too much to ask."

Asked for names of some of the

billionaires he was targeting Beasley

replied: "I don't get to hang around

with that crowd. I'm hanging around

people who are starving to death."

He said WFP is "greatly concerned

about 2021" because budgets weren't

calculated to take into account the

economic fallout from the COVID-19

pandemic.

Beasley said wealthy countries put

$17 trillion into economic stimulus

packages for their citizens to tackle the

coronavirus, and "that's $17 trillion that

isn't going to be available for 2021."

This year, he said, many

governments reached deeper into their

pockets while they could and gave the

U.N. and its agencies more money, but

the governments are now "tapped out."

Beasley said debts for middle- and

low-income countries were put on hold

or deferred until January 2021, and

"that's $8 trillion worth of debt

services" coming due. In addition,

remittances from overseas workers to

families in developing countries have

fallen, and lockdowns are adding to

deteriorating economies.

"It is an appalling situation," he said.

Beasley said that's why a one-time

infusion of cash from the billionaires is

so essential for 2021.

He said the humanitarian crises in

the world are worsening, with Yemen

"the worst of the worst of the worst,"

Africa's Sahel region "undoubtedly one

of the worst," Congo "just horrific" and

Syria "deteriorating." He said many

other countries are also deteriorating

including Nigeria, South Sudan and

Ethiopia.

Beasley got COVID-19 in March and

has resumed traveling, including to

Niger in the Sahel where he was last

week when the announcement of the

Nobel Peace Prize to the World Food

Program stunned and delighted staff

and the broader United Nations family.

The WFP chief said he went to the

Sahel because "nobody is bringing to

the world the calamities that are

developing in a catastrophic way, and

this is a time we've all got to come

together."

"So all hands on deck," Beasley said.

"If we don't get the support we need,

you literally can be looking at famine in

several dozen countries. But if we get

the support we need we'll avert

famine."

Thai police crack down on protesters,

PM refuses to resign

BANGKOK : Riot police in Thailand cracked

down on thousands of student-led protesters

who rallied Friday in the capital in defiance

of a strict state of emergency, while the prime

minister rejected calls for his resignation,

reports UNB.

The protesters gathered in torrential

monsoon rains to push their demands,

including that Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha

leave office, the constitution be

amended and the nation's monarchy

undergo reform.

It was the second day they defied an order

not to gather, imposed after some

demonstrators heckled a royal motorcade,

an unprecedented development in Thailand,

where the monarchy is normally held in

reverence.

Police used water cannons and charged at

the crowd, scattering protesters, onlookers

and reporters. Journalists who were hit by

the water said it caused a stinging sensation

and was dyed blue, to mark protesters for

possible later arrest.

Police appeared to have assumed control

of the rally site, and much of the crowd

retreated down a street to nearby

Chulalongkorn University, where some

organizers advised them to shelter if they

were not going directly home.

Police said several protesters and police

were injured during the pushing and shoving

and seven people were arrested. An

opposition lawmaker, Pita Limjaroenrat, put

the number of arrests at 100.

Police had earlier closed roads and put up

barricades around a major Bangkok

intersection where some 10,000 protesters

defied the new decree Thursday. Police in

riot gear secured the area, while malls in the

normally busy shopping district closed early.

Nearby mass transit stations were closed to

stop crowds of protesters from getting near.

The student protesters, however, simply

moved down the street to another large

intersection.

Prayuth's government declared a strict

new state of emergency for the capital on

Thursday, a day after the heckling of the

motorcade.

The state of emergency outlaws public

gatherings of more than five people and bans

the dissemination of news that is deemed to

threaten national security. It also gives

authorities broad powers, including

detaining people at length without charge.

British Airways

fined £20m

over data

breach

British Airways has been

fined £20m ($26m) by the

I n f o r m a t i o n

Commissioner's Office

(ICO) for a data breach

which affected more than

400,000 customers.

The breach took place in

2018 and affected both

personal and credit card

data.

The fine is considerably

smaller than the £183m that

the ICO originally said it

intended to issue back in

2019.

It said "the economic

impact of Covid-19" had

been taken into account.

However, it is still the

largest penalty issued by the

ICO to date.

The incident took place

when BA's systems were

compromised by its

attackers, and then modified

to harvest customers' details

as they were input.

It was two months before

BA was made aware of it by a

security researcher, and

then notified the ICO.

The data stolen included

log in, payment card and

travel booking details as well

name and address

information.

A

subsequent

investigation concluded that

sufficient security measures,

such as multi-factor

authentication, were not in

place at the time.

The ICO noted that some

of these measures were

available on the Microsoft

operating system that BA

was using at the time.

"When organisations take

poor decisions around

people's personal data, that

can have a real impact on

people's lives. The law now

gives us the tools to

encourage businesses to

make better decisions about

data, including investing in

up-to-date security," said

Information Commissioner

Elizabeth Denman.

Boeing is nearing a longdelayed

approval for the

grounded 737 Max

Boeing appears close to

securing key regulatory

approvals for its grounded

737 Max to fly again - a

potential lifeline for the

struggling plane maker,

reports CNN

The approval process has

moved at a glacial pace,

taking more than a year

longer than Boeing (BA) had

hoped. Even with the recent

progress, there are many

bureaucratic procedures,

plane repairs and pilot

training that must be

completed, enough to keep

airlines from putting

passengers on the planes

until sometime next year.

The approval will come as

demand for passenger jets

has nearly evaporated due to

the sharp drop in air travel

and massive losses across

the airline industry caused

by the pandemic.

Some good news for

Boeing came Friday, when

the the EU Aviation Safety

Agency confirmed it is also

getting close to giving the

all-clear. But it will still take

more than a month to

complete that final

approval.

Satkhira district Police Super and Valiant Freedom Fighter Mir Mostak Ahmed Robi MP seen at rally

to protect violence against women.

Photo : Motiar Rahman Modhu

New Zealanders go to the polls

as Ardern seeks 2nd term

AUCKLAND : Polling places opened on

election day in New Zealand on Saturday

as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern seeks a

second term.

Ardern brought homemade cheese

scones to campaign volunteers in

Auckland and appeared relaxed as she

awaited results, which will be announced

later in the evening, reports UNB.

Opinion polls indicate Ardern is poised

to win, with her liberal Labour Party

polling far ahead of the conservative

National Party, led by Judith Collins. A

record number of voters cast early ballots

in the two weeks leading up to the

election.

On the campaign trail, Ardern has been

greeted like a rock star by people who have

crammed into malls and spilled onto

streets to cheer her on and get selfies with

her.

Her popularity soared earlier this year

after she led a successful effort to stamp

out the coronavirus. There is currently no

community spread of the virus in the

nation of 5 million and people are no

longer required to wear masks or social

distance.

One question will be whether Labour

can win an outright majority in

Parliament, something that hasn't

happened since New Zealand

implemented a proportional voting

system 24 years ago. Typically, parties

must form alliances to govern, but this

time there's a chance Ardern and Labour

will be able to go it alone.

Ardern's rival Collins says she still

believes she can win and that polls have

been wrong before, notably about Brexit

and the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Ardern, 40, won the top job after the

2017 election when Labour formed an

alliance with two other parties. The

following year, she became only the

second world leader to give birth while in

office.

She became a role model for working

mothers around the world, many of whom

saw her as a counterpoint to President

Donald Trump. And she was praised for

her handling of last year's attack on two

Christchurch mosques, when a white

supremacist gunned down 51 Muslim

worshippers.

She moved quickly to pass new laws

banning the deadliest types of semiautomatic

weapons.

In late March this year, when only about

100 people had tested positive for COVID-

19, Ardern and her health officials put

New Zealand into a strict lockdown with a

motto of "Go hard and go early." She shut

the borders and outlined an ambitious

goal of eliminating the virus entirely

rather than just trying to control its

spread.

With New Zealand having the advantage

of being an isolated island nation, the

strategy worked. New Zealand eliminated

community transmission for 102 days

before a new cluster was discovered in

August in Auckland. Ardern swiftly

imposed a second lockdown in Auckland

and the new outbreak faded away. The

only new cases found recently have been

among returning travelers, who are in

quarantine. The Auckland outbreak also

prompted Ardern to postpone the election

by a month and helped increase the early

voter turnout.

Collins, 61, is a former lawyer. She

served as a minister when National was in

power and prides herself on a blunt, nononsense

approach, a contrast to Ardern's

empathetic style. Collins is promising

sweeping tax cuts in response to the

economic downturn caused by the virus.

In the election, voters also have a say on

two contentious social issues - whether to

legalize marijuana and euthanasia. Polls

indicate the euthanasia referendum is

likely to pass while the marijuana vote

remains close.

SCC mayor Ariful

Haque hospitalised

SYLHET : Sylhet City Corporation (SCC)

mayor Ariful Haque was admitted to a

hospital in the city on Saturday, reports

UNB.

Dr Zahidul Islam, chief medical officer of

SCC, said the mayor was taken toNurjahan

Hospital around 9:30 am from his residence

after he complained of chest pain.

The physicians of the hospital conducted

ECG and ECO tests upon his arrival.

He is now under care of a cardiac specialist

of the hospital, said Dr Zahidul.

On the occasion of Durga Puja in Joypurhat, exchange of greetings was

held and Joypurhat-1 MP Adv. Shamsul Alam Dudu has provided a grant of

5 lakh 34 thousand taka at 178 puja mandaps. Marking the occasion, a program

was organized by Joypurhat Sadar Upazila and Municipal Puja

Udjapan Parishad at Joypurhat District Shilpakala Academy auditorium

on Saturday. President of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, Joypurhat

Sadar Upazila Branch, Nepal Chandra Mandal presided over the function

and Joypurhat-1 MP Adv. Shamsul Alam Dudu distributed grant money to

178 puja mandals of Joypurhat and Panchbibi Upazilas as the chief guest.

Photo: Masrakul Alom

UK PM defends coronavirus

restrictions as "right and

responsible thing"

LONDON : British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday

defended his government's coronavirus restrictions as "the

right and responsible thing to do" in the fight to curb the spread

of coronavirus in the country, reports UNB.

"Taking action is the right and responsible thing to do," the

prime minister said at a virtual press conference at Downing

Street. "Without action our health service will be

overwhelmed," he said. "I want to avoid another national

lockdown." The British government's three-level COVID-19

alert system came into force in England on Wednesday.

Under the Tier Two of the alert system, millions of

Londoners will face tougher measures from Saturday with

different households banned from meeting in indoors,

including in pubs and restaurants. Lancashire will join

Liverpool and move into Tier Three, the top level of England's

COVID restrictions from Saturday. The "very high" alert level

means pub closures and bans on household mixing indoors, in

private gardens and most outdoor venues.

Meanwhile, Johnson said Britain has "started building the

domestic infrastructure" to offer more rapid tests which could

provide results in as fast as 15 minutes.

The government plans to "start distributing and trialling

tests across the country...In time we want to use tests to keep

open more parts of the economy that have sadly been closed."

Johnson said.

Talking about Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham's

reluctance to move the city to Tier Three restrictions, Johnson

said he "completely" understands.

Flood damages

Tk 255.73cr crops

in Rajshahi

division

RAJSHAHI: Standing crops

on around 21,210 hectares of

croplands worth about Taka

255.73 crore have been

damaged by the latest flood

waters affecting over 1.43

lakh farming families in

different districts under

Rajshahi division, officials

said, reports BSS.

Various crops like

transplanted aman paddy,

blackgram, advanced

vegetables, groundnut, betel

leaf, banana, green chili and

direct-seeded aman paddy

were affected badly by the

floodwater which was

experienced over three

months till the end of

September. Latest official

data said the deluge has

affected the transplanted

aman on 16,256 hectares of

land, vegetables on 7,392

hectares, blackgram on

3,864 hectares and betel leaf

on 25 hectares of land.

Sunday, Dhaka, October 18, 2020, Kartik 2, 1427 BS, Safar 30, 1442 Hijri

Eid-e-Miladunnabi

on October 30

DHAKA : The holy Eid-e-Miladunnabi

(SM), marking the anniversary of birth

and demise of Prophet Muhammad

(SM), will be observed in the country on

October 30 with due religious solemnity.

The decision was taken at the

National Moon Sighting Committee's

meeting, held at the Islamic

Foundation's Baitul Mukarram office

with Additional Secretary of the

Ministry of Religious Affairs Altaf

Hossain Chowdhury in the chair, said

an Islamic Foundation press release.

The meeting informed that the moon

of Rabiul Awal of 1442 Hijri was not

sighted in Bangladesh sky yesterday and

due to that reason, the holy month of

Rabiul Awal will be counted from

Monday, October 19.

The holy Eid-e-Miladunnabi will be

marked on October 30, the meeting

said. On this day in 570, the 12th of

Rabiul Awal of the Hijri calendar,

Prophet Muhammad (SM) was born in

Makkah of Saudi Arabia with divine

blessings and messages of peace for

mankind. He also passed away on the

same day. The day is a public holiday.

Vegetable prices

skyrocketing

DHAKA : Defying the government's

fixed rate of Tk 30 per kg, traders are

selling potatoes at double prices in the

kitchen markets of the capital, pinching

the pockets of customers, reports

UNB.

Visiting several retail markets in the

city, including Jatrabari, Demra,

Bangshal and Moghbazar areas, on

Friday, the UNB correspondent saw

that potatoes were selling at Tk 50-60

per kg based on quality, turning the

government measure to check the

surging vegetable prices into a futile

exercise.

Earlier, the Department of

Agricultural Marketing (DAM) under

the Agriculture Ministry fixed the maximum

retail price of potato at Tk 30.

DAM also fixed its wholesale price at

Tk25 perkg while the gate price (cold

storage) at Tk23 per kg mentioning the

cost of potato production per kg was

Tk8.32 for a farmer.

According to state-run Trading

Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) data,

the potato prices surged by 111.11 percent

on October 16 compared to the

same period of the previous year when

it was sold at Tk20-Tk25 a kg.

The price jumped by 28.38 percent

just within two weeks as the item was

sold at Tk34-40 per kg on October 1,

the data shows.

Sources at DAM said there is no

deficit of potato in Bangladesh as the

country has surplus of 31.91 lakh

tonnes of potato against the annual

demand for 77.09 lakh tonnes and the

total production of 1.09 crore tonnes in

the last harvesting season. Talking to

UNB, many consumers said there is no

DHAKA : The tragedy of cyclones and

consequent floods and embankment

damage is an annual saga in

Bangladesh. This year was no exception,

reports UNB.

But what's lacking is a sustainable

embankment and river management

policy, say policymakers andexperts,as

they have urged the Bangladesh government

toallocate an emergency budget

for repair ofembankmentsacross the

country in the wake of damage by

Cyclone Amphan.

In fact, the clarion call for a long-term

approach to tackle embankmentdamage

came from none other thanMP

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, the chairman

of the Parliamentary Standing

Committee on Ministry of

Environment, Forest and Climate

Change, at a virtual seminar on

Saturday. "Due to lack of sustainable

embankment and river management

policy, the country faces huge financial

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressing the inaugural

program of the First International e-Conference on Critical

Care-2020.

Photo : Star Mail

impact of the government decision on

its price in the market. "The government

has failed to control the prices of

essentials. Now we've to purchase

green chili at Tk280-300 per kg, tomato

at Tk 120, bitter gourd Tk 80, onion

at Tk80-100, potato at Tk50, and

cucumber at Tk80," Amina Begum, a

resident of Bangshal, said.

It is not only the prices of daily essentials

that have gone up in the market

but also that of fruit have soared abnormally,

she said.

"Each kg pomegranate is now selling

at Tk280-320, while matla (orange) at

Tk 180, grape at Tk 250, guava at Tk80.

How will we buy fruits at these high

prices? Unscrupulous businesspeople

are raising the prices but there's no one

to monitor it properly. How will consumers

survive amid the Covid-19 pandemic?"

she questioned.

Saiful Alam, a shopkeeper at

Jatrabari, told UNB that they have to

buy potatoes at Tk 45-48 per kg from

the wholesale market. "So, we've nothing

to do except sellingit at Tk50-60

based on quality. This is very difficult

to do business," a frustrated Alam said.

Almas Hossain, a potato wholesalerat

Shyambazar, said the prices have

gone up due to supply crunch. "If any

product is found in plenty in the market,

then its price comes down. Today

each kg potato is selling at Tk 40-45

here. We hope the price will come

down soon," he added. President of

Bangladesh Cold Storage Association

Mosharraf Hossain said there is a production

shortage of around 20 lakh

tonnes of potato this year and that is

why the prices have shot up.

losses every year as moneyis spent on

embankment repairs.We need a longterm

plan to tackle the problem as well

as anintegrated approach by engaging

with ministries that are related with

water and river management directlyor

indirectly," he said.

Saber Hossain was the chief guest at

the seminar, titled 'Demand Emergency

Budget Allocation in UpcomingDry

Season to Embankment Repair and

Maintenance', was organised by nongovernment

organisations, COAST

Trust and Campaign for Sustainable

Rural Livelihood (CSRL).

Arif Dewan of COAST Trust, on his

part, said the latest Cyclone Amphan

and consequent floods had damaged

around 600km embankments across

the country, thus causing losses to the

tune of BDT 75 billion to the state

exchequer. "In this context, emergency

repair is needed in the upcoming dry

season to avoid further devastation, he

Sheikh Russel’s

birthday

today

DHAKA : The 57th birthday of

Shaheed Sheikh Russel, youngest

son of Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman, will be observed

today, reports BSS.

Sheikh Russel, also youngest

brother of Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina, was born on October 18 in

1964 at the historic Bangabandhu

Bhaban at Dhanmondi here.

He was assassinated by the

killers on August 15 in 1975. Russel

was brutally killed along with most

of his family members, including

his father Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman, when he was a

student of class four at University

Laboratory School.

Different socio-cultural organisations,

including the associate bodies

of the ruling Awami League,

have taken various programmes to

observe the birthday of Sheikh

Russel.

To mark the day, Awami League

will place floral wreath on the

graves of all martyrs, including

Sheikh Russel, of the 15 August

carnage in 1975, in the city's

Banani graveyard at 8 am today.

Besides, fateha, milad and doa

mahfil will also be held by the party

members.

Awami League General Secretary

and Minister for Road Transport

and Bridges Obaidul Quader, in a

statement, urged party leaders,

workers, supporters and people of

all walks of life to observe the

birthday of Sheikh Russel following

the health rules.

'Allocate budget, formulate strategy to

tackle annual embankment damage'

said. Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad,

the chairman of Palli Karma Sahayak

Foundation (PKSF), who chaired the

seminar, however, said that the country

has a plan. "But it has never been the priority.We

need an all-party parliamentary

group to give a nod for an embankment

management strategy. That might

show results," he said at the seminar.

Moderated by Rezaul Karim of

COAST Trust, others who attended the

seminar included Talukdar Abdul

Khaleque, the Mayor of Khulna City

Corporation, Asheq Ullah Rafiq, Cox's

Bazar-2MP,Nurunnabi Chowdhury,

MP of Bhola-3 constituency, Md

Monowar Hossain Chowdhury,

Gaibandha-4MP.

Talukdar Abdul said that waterlogging

is mainly caused by river siltation

but embankment failure has been escalating

the issue. "So the government

should consider both issues as a longterm

solution," he said.

US seeks ‘unified voice’ from

Myanmar’s all neighbours

for Rohingya repatriation

DHAKA : The United States has sought

an equal role from Myanmar's all neighbours

with "broad and unified voice" so

that Rohingyas can get the confidence

back to return to their homeland without

any fear of further deportation,

reports UNB.

"We need every single one of

Myanmar's neighbours [to have that

done]," said US Secretary of State

Stephen E Biegun while responding to a

UNB question at a roundtable discussion

with a select group of journalists.

Myanmar is bordered by Bangladesh

and India to its northwest, China to its

northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east

and southeast, and the Andaman Sea

and the Bay of Bengal to its south and

southwest.

Biegun made it clear that this is not

simply the responsibility of the government

of Bangladesh, as generous as that

government has been.

"This is a global priority and one that

every major country in the Indo-Pacific

US polls result won't impact

BD-USA ties : Analysts

DHAKA : As the United States awaits

the crucial presidential elections in next

few days, analysts predict the outcome

is unlikely to affect the existing close

Dhaka-Washington relation despite

speculations about the polls impact on

US ties with some other nations.

US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen

E Biegun has just concluded a threeday

Dhaka tour when he indicated that

his country treats Bangladesh as a "centerpiece"

in South Asia, a position

which was unlikely to be changed whoever

takes the Whitehouse -

Republicans or Demarcates.

Bangladesh foreign minister Dr AK

Abdul Momen said the United States

set outline of its relations with Dhaka

under a "well plotted strategy" while

past instances suggested the change of

administration after presidential elections

there make no rapid change in US

foreign policy.

"Whoever comes (to power in US)

hopefully will follow the same policy

(towards Bangladesh)," he said after a

meeting with Biegun on Thursday

adding that Bangladesh's robust economic

growth and stability alongside its

geopolitical location drew the US interest

towards Dhaka.

But, he said, Bangladesh counts US

interest. International relations analyst

Professor Lailufar Yasmin of Dhaka

University echoed Momen saying "US

policy towards Bangladesh whether it is

under Trump administration or

Obama administration didn't change".

"Now they (US) took IPS (Indo

Pacific Strategy) but there was no

change in Bangladesh's geopolitical

strategic significance," she told BSS.

She pointed out that in his election

campaign Predsident Donald Trump's

rival Joe Biden is also speaking against

China in line with his party's foreign

policy. International affairs expert Prof

Dr Imtiaz Ahmed, however, said

Bangladesh should not take any major

decision regarding ties with the United

States ahead of the polls as the "Trump

administration's foreign policy is insular

and promoting deglobalization".

Biegun arrived here just less than

three weeks before the US polls while

the democratic candidate Joe Biden is

leading Donald Trump in the national

polls for the presidential election.

Ahmed speculated that the senior US

official's could be part of Trump's election

campaign to show the US voters

that the Republicans were very confident

to stage a comeback and being

engaged in geopolitics against China.

He said huge numbers of Indian and

Bangladeshi origin USA diaspora voters

could be another reason for

Biegun's selection of New Delhi and

Dhaka for the visit just two weeks

before the polls.

should be speaking with equal outspokenness

to the government of Myanmar

to take the steps necessary to ease this

crisis," he said adding that they need to

find out every possible means.

Biegun laid emphasis on international

cooperation and collaboration staying

outspoken like the US so that Myanmar

makes sure Rohingyas will no longer be

mistreated and they have confidence to

start returning to the Rakhine State.

The Deputy Secretary of State said the

US has been "quite outspoken" and used

its "political influence" as much as possible

to influence decisions inside

Myanmar regarding the treatment and

restoration of rights of these people.

He emphasised that this requires a

regional and a global response. "All

countries need to work together shoulder

to shoulder."

Biegun said they very much agreed

with the government of Bangladesh that

a solution needs to be found to restore

the rights and right of return of the people

who are currently in camps in Cox's

Bazar. "We've to meet their immediate

humanitarian needs, but we also have to

redouble our efforts in the international

community to reach a long-term solution,"

he said.

During his recent visit, the US Deputy

Secretary of State discussed the challenges

and ways to get a permanent

solution so that the government of

Bangladesh and the people of

Bangladesh do not permanently have to

carry the weight of this on their own

shoulders.

"The United States, of course, has

been a very supportive partner. We'll be

raising a substantial amount of additional

humanitarian assistance together

as we seek to work for a more permanent

solution to the resolution of that

crisis," Biegun said.

Bangladesh wants the presence of

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi as China

proposed to hold a tripartite meeting to discuss

Rohingya repatriation issues in Beijing.

Global Hunger Index

Bangladesh moves

13 notches up

DHAKA : Bangladesh has maintained a

steady progress in tackling hunger as

the country has moved 13 notches up in

the 2020 Global Hunger Index (GHI),

reports BSS.

The country has been ranked 75th out

of 107 qualifying countries in the 2020

GHI with a score of 20.4 while

Bangladesh's rank was 88 out of 117

counties in the last year.

According to the GHI report published

jointly by Concern Worldwide

and Welthungerhilfe, Bangladesh is

ahead of India and Pakistan as these two

neighbouring countries have been

ranked 94th and 88th places respectively

in 2020 GHI.

However, despite of Bangladesh's

steady progress in the GHI, the report

described the country's hunger status as

"serious" one. Among other qualifying

South Asian countries, Sri Lanka with the

rank 64th and Nepal with the rank 73rd

are ahead of Bangladesh in the index.

The GHI is a peer-reviewed annual

report designed to comprehensively

measure and track hunger at the global,

regional, and country levels. GHI scores

are calculated each year to assess progress

and setbacks in combating hunger.

The GHI is designed to raise awareness

and understanding of the struggle against

hunger, provide a way to compare levels of

hunger between countries and regions,

and call attention to those areas of the

world where hunger levels are highest and

where the need for additional efforts to

eliminate hunger is greatest.

While cutting soil from farmer Rezaul's land in the Guriadah area adjacent to Lalmonirhat

airbase, a fighter jet which was downed during World War II, found. The rescue operation was

carried out by the members of the local air force.

Photo: PBA

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

18-10-2020

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