29-12-2020

tuesday

DHAkA : December 29, 2020; Poush 14, 1427 BS; Jamadi-ul Awal 13, 1442 Hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.17; N o.257; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

InternatIonal

Highlights of COVID-19,

government funding

law taking effect

>Page 7

sports

India close in on

series-parity after

clinical show

>Page 9

art & culture

Actress Tareen's

father Md. Shahjahan

on life support

>Page 10

Cabinet clears

draft of Hajj and

Umrah Law-2020

DHAKA : The Cabinet yesterday

approved the draft of "Hajj and Umrah

Management Law-2020" in principle

to bring more discipline in this sector.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired

the regular cabinet meeting, joining virtually

from her official residence

Ganabhaban while her cabinet colleagues

attended the meeting at the Bangladesh

Secretariat. Cabinet Secretary Khandker

Anwarul Islam briefed the newsmen

emerging from the meeting.

He said the hajj management has

been operating through a policy till the

date and that is why the government

faces difficulties while going to take any

measure against any agency, as they

(agencies) bring stay order from the

High Court challenging any action.

After the enactment of the new law,

he said, the government can bring any

hajj and umrah agency under trial in

the country even if they commit any

offense in Saudi Arabia.

Mentioning that Saudi Arabia has

changed hajj management system in

2011, the cabinet secretary said India,

Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia has

framed law and that is why Bangladesh

needs a legal structure to equip with

their hajj management.

In the new law, he said, none without

having registration under the law could

deal any haji (hajj pilgrim) and the registration

authority could take action

against anomaly.

2nd batch of

Rohingyas on their

way to Bhashan Char

DHAKA : Some 1500 Rohingyas have

started the journey from Cox's Bazar to

Bhashan Char in the second phase,

although the initial plan was to transfer

700 only. A source at the Prime Minister

Office (PMO) confirmed the development,

saying they will stop over at

Chattogram first, reports UNB.

On Tuesday they will start from

Chattogram to Bhashan Char on a

Bangladesh Navy vessel, the source said.

In the first phase on December 4, some

1642 Rohingyas were transferred to

Bhashan Char.

Bangladesh is hosting more than 1.1

million Rohingyas, most of whom came

here from their homeland in Myanmar

starting in Aug 2017. Bangladesh has

been urging the global community to

mount pressure on Myanmar for effective

repatriation of the Rohingyas.

The government plans to shift some

100,000 Rohingyas to Bhasan Char in

phases to provide them a better living

place. Located 34 kilometers from the

mainland, the island surfaced 20 years

ago and was never inhabited.

Zohr

05:20 AM

12:03 PM

03:37 PM

05:24 PM

06:41 PM

6:39 5:20

14-day mandatory quarantine

for UK returnees: Cabinet


decided to enforce 14-day mandatory

quarantine for the UK returnees in the

wake of transmission of a new variant

of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

chaired the regular cabinet meeting

joining virtually from her official residence

Ganabhaban while her cabinet

colleagues attended the meeting at the

Bangladesh Secretariat.

"Every passenger, arriving from the

UK through flights, will have to stay in

quarantine. Even if he or she has tested

Covid-19 negative yesterday, the

person will have to stay in 14-day

quarantine compulsorily," Cabinet

Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam

said while briefing the newsmen

emerging from the meeting.

DHAKA : Brother and nephew of former

Chief Justice Surendra Kumar

Sinha yesterday testified in a case

against him and 10 others for allegedly

embezzling Taka four crore from the

then Farmers Bank and laundering the

money abroad.

Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha's

brother Narendra Kumar Sinha and

nephew Shankhajit Sinha testified as

prosecution witness (PW) number 15

and 16 and were cross-examined by the

defence afterwards.

Judge Sheikh Nazmul Alam of Dhaka

Special Judge Court-4 after that

adjourned the hearing till January 13.

Sixteen prosecution witnesses out of the

total 18 have so far testified in the case.

Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 on

August 13 framed charges in the case.

Investigation Officer (IO) and ACC

director Benjir Ahmed filed the chargesheet

in the case with the court of Dhaka

Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Imrul

Qayes on December 10, 2019.

The court, however, on February 20,

2020, transferred the case to Dhaka

Special Judge Court-4 for further proceedings.

The Anti-Corruption Commission

(ACC) filed the case on July 10, 2019,

for embezzling Taka four crore from the

then Farmers Bank and laundering the

money abroad.

The other accused are former

Farmers Bank managing director AKM

Shameem, first vice-presidents Swapan

Kumar Roy and Shafiuddin Askaree,

senior executive vice-president Gazi

Salauddin, vice-president M Lutful

He said there were two options -

suspension of flight operation with

London or enforcing strong quarantine

for London returnees. Finally, the

Cabinet decided for enforcement of

strong quarantine for them, he added.

The Cabinet Secretary said the UK

returnees must stay either in government

quarantines or in any hotel under

the supervision of the government.

He, however, said a technical committee

meeting is scheduled to be held

this night (Monday),which would take

decisions regarding when the enforcement

of the strong quarantine would

start; as sudden enforcement will create

problems for many people.

A notification will be issued to this

end, after giving a logical time of 2 to 3

days, said Khandker Anwarul.

Brother, nephew testify in graft

case against former CJ Sinha

Haque, bank's entrepreneur director

Md Mahbubul Haque Chisty alias

Babul Chisty, bank clients Md

Shahjahan, Niranjan Chandra Saha, his

uncle Ranajit Chandra Saha, and

Ranajit's wife Santree Roy.

According to the allegation, Md

Shahjahan and Niranjan took the

money on loan from then Farmers

Bank, which was later transferred to

Justice Sinha's Sonali Bank account,

showing it was earned from selling of

his (Sinha's) house.

Cabinet okays draft of

Highway Law-2020


approved in principle a draft of "Highway

Law-2020" keeping provision of punishment

for different offenses.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired

the regular cabinet meeting, joining virtually

from her official residence

Ganabhaban while her cabinet colleagues

attended the meeting at the Bangladesh

Secretariat. Cabinet Secretary Khandker

Anwarul Islam briefed the newsmen after

from the meeting.

He said the proposed law kept a provision

that mentioned specific places

for pedestrian movement, while any

type of crop or good would not be

allowed on the highway for sundry or

other purposes. "If anyone violates

these rules, he or she would be penalized

Taka 1,000 to Taka 5000," he

added.

Voters line up to cast their votes in the municipal elections in Chuadanga.

First phase of

municipality

polls sees 60pc

turnout: EC

DHAKA : Secretary of

the Election Commission

Secretariat yesterday said

the first phase of the municipality

polls across the country

saw a voter turnout of 60

per cent.

"The first phase of the

municipality elections in 24

municipalities was held yesterday

in a peaceful manner.

It saw a voter turnout of 60

per cent," he said while

briefing the journalists at the

Nirbachan Bhaban in the

city's Agargaon area after the

voting ended, reports BSS.

The voting started at 8am

simultaneously at 24 municipalities

across the country

and continued till 4pm without

any break.

Although the voter turnout

was a bit low in the early

hours of the voting, it continued

to increase as the day

progressed.

The people especially the

new voters exercised their

franchises with festivity.

This is the first time that

the voting was held using

electronic voting machine

(EVM) in the municipality

election.

Dhaka

North City

Corporation

(DNCC) has

evicted a traffic

police box

from the bicycle

lane on

Manik Mia

Avenue in the

capital on

Monday.

Photo : Star

Mail

KHULNA : Till five years back, Mir

Quamruzzaman Bachchu believed that

the identity of the Sundarbans was

interwoven with Golpata (Nypa fruticans),

a trunk-less palm species which

grows naturally in patches along the

river banks in the deltaic mangrove forest,

reports UNB.

Half a decade on, he says the typical

trees of the Sundarbans are on the brink

of extinction, with top-dying diseasewhere

the uppermost parts are damaged

first with loss of leaves-affecting the

palm species due to salinity.

"The fertility of Golpata has been

reduced and the palm trees are in a

dying state due to poor collection and

trimming.

If the trees remain untouched for long,

their fertility reduces significantly," says

Bachchu, the president of the Sundarbans

Foresters Traders Federation.

Golpata leaves are widely used by the people

of Khulna for building thatched roof

houses. The leaves of the trees grow straight

up from the ground. Overall, it is an important

product of the mangrove forest due to

its demand among local people.

Experts fear that if the locals refrain

from collecting the leaves, then the

growth of the trees could be affected. To

increase the proliferation of the trees,

they need to be trimmed regularly.

The experts say that hundreds of thousands

of leaves of Golpata in the

Sunderbans are dying as the trees have

been failing to get nutrients from the

roots. In some trees, all the leaves of

some trees suffer damage, except the

middle-baby ones.

Forest officials and bawalis (wood collectors)

say the leaves of the important

trees of the Sundarbans suffer damage

due to low collection that affects their

fertility.

According to Bachchu, "There were

three wells in the Sundarbans under the

Khulna west zone division and Golpata

leaves were collected from the same.

Now only one well is available for collecting

the leaves, while the remaining

lay unused."

Besides, the use of the leaves is (not are)

also declining among the people of the

coastal areas as they now depend on corrugated

iron sheets for roofing, he says.

However, sources at the Sundarbans

west zone office say there are only two

wells under the zone and Golpata leaves

are collected from the same.

In the past, people used to collect

Golpata leaves from Aar-Shibsha,

Shibsha and Bhadra and Satkhira well

under Satkhira range. In 2017, the wells

except one were designated as sanctuary,

thus prohibiting collection of all

types of wild resources.

Earlier, nearly 1,000 bawalis used to collect

the palm leaves from the Sundarbans,

but now only 250 are available.

UNHCR provides LPG to

vulnerable families in Cox's Bazar

DHAKA : UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency,

in collaboration with local administration

and Bangladesh Red Crescent Society

(BDRCS), yesterday provided liquified petroleum

gas (LPG) canisters and stoves to more

than 5,770 vulnerable local Bangladeshi families.

All families will also receive training on

the safe use of LPG for cooking in the home,

a UNHCR press release said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, host

communities were severely impacted.

Employment and livelihoods opportunities

were disrupted increasing vulnerabilities

across the District.

In 2018, UNHCR began the distribution of

LPG to Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar in an

effort to reduce deforestation. This programme,

in collaboration with Int’l

Organization for Migration (IOM), was further

expanded in 2019 to include the most

vulnerable Bangladeshi host community families

in the Ukhiya and Teknaf Sub-Districts.

"We appreciate the generosity of UNHCR

and its partner BDRCS for their continuous

Photo : Star Mail

Golpata trees dying a slow

death in the Sundarbans

support to the local community, especially

those affected by the influx. Environment is

one of our priorities and this initiative to

provide LPG and stoves is a remarkable

step", said Nizam Uddin Ahmed, the UNO

(Upazila Nirbahi Officer) of Ukhiya sub-district

at today's event in Ukhiya.

To date, some 46,000 Bangladeshi families

have received LPG and stoves.

A recent study by UNHCR and partner

IUCN (Int’l Union for Conservation of

Nature) showed that the overall market

demand for firewood in Ukhiya sub-district

has dropped by a remarkable 92%. Thanks

to this intervention, the rate of LPG use in the

host community has increased from just 7%

to 20%, resulting in a 53% reduction in the

demand of firewood among them.

The combined target is to reach 71,000

host community households. Furthermore,

due to the availability of LPG dealers nearby,

more and more of the local community

also started using LPG for cooking at homes

and in restaurants.

tueSDAY, DeCeMber 29, 2020

2

India launches first

ever 'driverless

metro train'

NEW DELHI : India yesterday launched its first-ever driverless

fully-automated train on Delhi Metro's Magenta Line,

heralding a new era of comfort travelling and enhanced

mobility.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the eco-friendly,

sophisticated and driverless train service on Megenta Line

(Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden) yesterday morning

through a videoconferencing.

Apart from this, Modi opened a fully-operational National

Common Mobility Card (NCMC) for travel on the Airport

Express Line of Delhi Metro.

"With the achievement of Metro Rail without a driver, our

country has joined the select countries of the world where

such facilities are available…the metro today is no longer just

a medium of public transport, but a great way to reduce pollution

and traffic jam," the premier said.

The National Common Mobility Card, which will be fully

operationalised on the Airport Express Line, will enable anyone

carrying a "RuPay-Debit Card" issued from any part of

the country to travel on the Airport Express Line using that

card.

This facility will become available on the entire Delhi Metro

network by 2022, official sources said.

Delhi Metro began its commercial operation on December

25, 2002, a day after the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari

Vajpayee had inaugurated Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's

first stretch, spanning 8.2 km from Shahdara to Tis Hazari

with just six stations.

The driver-less trains, having six coaches, are equipped

with several advanced features and significant technological

as well as eco-friendly upgrades, while many additional features

have been added to ensure passenger comfort.

They are designed for a maximum speed of 95 kmph and

operational speed of 85 kmph, Delhi Metro sources said.

Each coach can accommodate a maximum of 380 passengers,

which transforms to 2,280 passengers in each train set

of six coaches, the sources said, adding that the cabin-less

trains would be able to accommodate 40 commuters more in

a six coaches train as the driver's cab will not be required in

such trains. At the command centres, the sources said, information

controllers will handle the passenger information

system as well as crowd monitoring.

With access to CCTV feed, all rolling stock controllers will

monitor train equipment in real-time, download faults and

other events captured by CCTVs and assist traffic controllers

in executing commands remotely, the sources added.

Three 'JMB

members' held

in Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI : Rapid Action

Battalion (Rab) members

arrested three suspected

members of banned militant

outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen

Bangladesh (JMB) from

Rajshahi

and

Chapainawabganj districts

early Sunday.

The arrestees are

Mohammad Ali, 36, son of

Md. Fanzur Ali of Haradang

of Godagari upazila , Hasan

Ali, 27, son of late Abdus

Salam of Mohishalbari of the

same Upazila and Md.

Emon Ali, 21, son of Md.

Elias Ali of Kamor Jogdoil in

Nachol Upazila of

Chapainawabganj.

Tipped off, a team of RAB-

5 conducted a drive in

Haradang and Mahishalbari

areas of Godagari Upazila of

Rajshahi district and Kamar

Jagdail area under Nachole

police station of

Chapainawabganj district

and arrested the JMB

men,said a press release of

Rab-5.

Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury addressing a program which was arranged for

distributing blanket among cold-hit people.

Photo : Star Mail

'Outlawed party leader' held

in Kushtia with arms

KUSHTIA : A regional leader ofbanned outlawed

party 'Gonomukti Fouz' has been

arrested along with arms at Vabanipur in

Kushtia sadar upazila

The arrestee is Rashidul Islam, 45, son of

late Torab Ali of the area. Rashidul is an

alleged associate of localterrorist Aminul

Islam Mukul.

RAB-12, CPC-1 company commander

Mejor Gaffaruzzaman said tipped off,they

conducted a special drive at Vabanipur

around 9pmon Sunday and arrested

Rashidul alsong with two firearms and 17

rounds of bullet. Rashidul was wanted in

various cases including of fiver murder cases,

said a RAB official.

GD- 1778/20 (8x 3)

Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Office of the Executive Engineer, RHD

Road Division, Pirojpur

Phone/Fax No-0461 62576/63599, Email: ee piroj@rhd.gov.bd

GD- 1777/20 (5x 3)

CHATTOGRAM PORT AUTHORITY

Marine Engineering Department

INVITATION FOR TENDER

Khulna municipal polls

BNP candidate Abul Khoyer

dies from Covid-19

KHULNA : Abul Khoyer Khan, BNP candidate for the mayor

of Chalna municipality in Khulna's Dakope upazila, died on

Monday after contracting Covid-19.

The 60-year-old BNP leader tested Covid-19 positive on

December 3 andwas undergoing treatment at Khulna

Medical College Hospital since December 23.

Abul Khoyerwas admitted to Khulna's Gazi Medical

College Hospital after being infected with Covid-19 and he

could not return to Chalna after theallotment of electoral

symbols.

As his condition worsened, Khoyerwas admitted to the

Corona unit of Khulna Medical College where he died while

undergoing

GD- 1779/20 (5x 4)

treatment,

BNPKhulnadistrictunitPresidentShafiqul Alam Mona confirmed.

Abul Khoyer, who left behind his wife and

daughter,became active in BNP's politics after joining

Jatiotabadi Jubo Dal in 1978.

He had been serving as the BNPDakope unit general secretary

and president since 1988. He also had a major role in the

BNP Khulna unit.

Pfizer delays vaccine deliveries

to 8 EU nations: Spain

MADRID : Pfizer has postponed the delivery of new batches of

its coronavirus vaccine to eight European nations including

Spain, the Spanish health ministry said Monday, a day after the

EU began its immunisation campaign.

The Spanish branch of Pfizer informed Madrid on Sunday

night of the delay in shipments to the eight nations due to a

"problem in the loading and shipment process" at its plant in

Belgium, the health ministry said in a statement.

It did not specify which European nations aside from Spain

were affected.Pfizer has informed the ministry that the problem

"was already resolved" but the next delivery of vaccines "will be

a few hours late" and arrive in Spain on Tuesday, a day later

than expected, the statement said.

Asked about the delay during an interview with radio Ser,

Health Minister Salvador Illa said it was due to a problem

"linked to the control of the temperature" of the shipments

which was "apparently fixed".

The vaccine must be stored at ultra-low temperatures of about

-70 degrees Celsius (-112 Fahrenheit) before being shipped to

distribution centres in specially designed cool boxes filled with

dry ice.Once out of ultra-low temperature storage, the vaccine

must be kept at 2 Celsius to 8 Celsius to remain effective for up

to five days.

Sydney bans New

Year crowds as

Australian virus

cluster grows

SYDNEY : Plans to let thousands

of frontline workers

ring in the new year around

Sydney Harbour were

ditched Monday as authorities

work to suppress a

growing cluster of virus

cases in Australia's most

populous city, reports BSS

Ordinarily, hundreds of

thousands of eager partiers

flock to vantage points for

the midnight fireworks

launched from the Sydney

Harbour Bridge.

Although allowing the

usual hordes of revellers had

been ruled out this year, officials

had plans to welcome

around 5,000 workers to the

foreshore as a token of

thanks for their work against

the pandemic.

But that idea has now been

axed over fears the celebrations

could turn into a

super-spreader event.

GD- 1780/20 (8 x 3)

TUeSDAY, DeCeMBeR 29, 2020

3

On the occasion of Mujib's year, 'Bangabandhu Lecture Series' has been started at Dhaka University on Monday. Vice

Chancellor of the university Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman inaugurated the lecture in a virtual program. Photo : Courtesy

DU to conduct research on

Bangabandhu's life, works: VC

DHAKA : Dhaka University (DU) Vice-Chancellor Professor

Dr Md Akhtaruzzaman yesterday said the university will

conduct fundamental research on life and works of Father of

the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

"Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Research Institute for Peace

and Liberty was established at the university with a view to

conduct fundamental research on life and works of

Bangabandhu," he said.

He stated this while inaugurating 'Bangabandhu Lecture

Series' at a virtual ceremony at Professor Abdul Matin

Chowdhury Virtual Classroom adjacent to VC office on the

campus.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Research Institute for Peace

and Liberty and Center for Advanced Research in Arts and

Razzaque urges all to remain

alert against fanatics

DHAKA : Agriculture

Minister Dr Abdur

Razzaque yesterday urged

all to remain alert against

bigots and religion traders.

He made the call at a

discussion organised by

the Ministry of

Agriculture at

Bangladesh

Agricultural Research

Council (BARC)

auditorium in the

capital on the occasion

of Victory Day.

Recalling the most

difficult and terrible

days of the 1971

liberation war,

Razzaque, also a

freedom fighter, said

in response to the call

of Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman, people

of all religions including

Muslims, Hindus and

Christians joined the war.

"But, in this

independent Bangladesh,

fanatics and religion

traders torture and kill

people in the name of

religion. We all need to be

aware of and united to

19 industrial units receive 'President's

Industrial Development Award'

DHAKA : Nineteen industrial units

under six categories yesterday received

'President's Industrial Development

Award-2018' for their outstanding

contribution to the national economy.

Among the winners, four are under a

large industries category, four under

medium, three small, three micro,

three cottage and two hi-tech

industries.

Industries Minister Nurul Majid

Mahmud Humayun handed over the

awards as the chief guest at a function

at Sonargaon Hotel in the city while

State Minister for Industries Kamal

Ahmed Mojumder and Federation of

Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce

and Industries (FBCCI) President

Sheikh Fazle Fahim attended the

function as special guests.

Industries Secretary KM Ali Azam

presided over the function.

In his speech, Nurul Majid Mahmud

Humayun said the Industries Ministry

is providing necessary policy support to

entrepreneurs for achieving the goal of

sustainable and knowledge-based

industrialization.

"Considering the changed situation of

world economy, we have taken

initiative to formulate 'National

Industrial Policy 2021' for achieving the

eradicate these bigots," he

said.The agriculture

minister

said

Bangabandhu's ideology

can never be erased by

vandalizing his sculptures.

The light of

Bangabandhu's ideology is

in the hands of his

daughter, Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina, he said.

Under the strong

leadership and foresight

of the Prime Minister,

Razzaque said, the

country's economy is

stable and strong even

amid the ongoing

coronavirus pandemic.

"Bangladesh is one of

the few countries that will

have positive economic

growth," he said, adding

that some people want to

hinder the development

pace of the country by

creating instability.

Chaired

by

Agriculture Secretary

Md Mesbahul Islam,

the meeting was

addressed, among

others, by former

secretary to the Prime

Minister's Office and

Chairman of Biman

Bangladesh Airlines

Sajjadul Hassan,

Bangladesh

Agricultural

University's Professor

Emeritus MA Sattar

Mandal, Chairman of

BADC Md Sayedul Islam,

Director General of the

Department

of

Agricultural Extension

Md Asadullah, Executive

Chairman of BARC Dr

Sheikh Mohammad

Bakhtiyar, agriculturist

Badiuzzaman Badsha and

additional secretary of the

ministry

Md

Hasanuzzaman Kallol.

Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs) and Vision-2041. Preparation

work has already started. In addition, a

world-class industrial database and an

industrial university have been set up,"

he added.

He said a planned and time bound

roadmap for the development of light

engineering industry is already being

prepared.

He said a strong private sector is

essential for achieving the desired goals

of industrialization. "Industries

Ministry has always been patronizing

the private sector. For the past few

years, we have been distributing CIP

(Industrial) Cards for significant

contributions to the industry. The

'Productivity and Quality Excellence

Award' is being given under the

direction of Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina to increase productivity at the

national level," he added.

Kamal Ahmed Mojumder called

upon the business community to stop

the trend of rising commodity prices

through syndicates and artificial crises.

"There is an adequate supply of all

kinds of daily necessities, so there is no

reason to raise prices," he said.

Kamal Mojumder advised the

awardees to expand the export market

Social Sciences (CARASS) jointly arranged the function.

The vice-chancellor expressed his optimism that institution

will play an important role in the field of education and

research not only at national level but also at international

arena.

Chairman of University Grant Commission (UGC) Dr Kazi

Shahidullah joined the inaugural ceremony as chief guest with

Chairman of CARASS Dr Atiur Rahman in the chair.

Chief coordinator of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Birth Centenary Celebration

National Implementation Committee Dr Kamal Abdul Naser

Chowdhury, chairman of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib

Research Institute for Peace and Liberty Dr Fakhrul Alam and

CARASS Director Prof. Dr. Abdul Bashir also addressed it.

French envoy

emphasizes France's

commitment to

support Bangladesh

DHAKA : Ambassador of

France to Bangladesh Jean-

Marin Schuh and Project

Officer ii-charge of the water

and sanitation sector of the

Agence Française de

Développement (AFD) in

Dhaka Fanny Nesen have

visited the Dhaka Water

Supply and Sewerage

Authority (DWASA)

headquarters.

The visit included a tour of

the Saidabad 1 and 2 water

treatment plants, reports

UNB.The recent visit served as

an opportunity to renew the

French Government's

commitments said the

Embassy in Dhaka on

Monday.

By providing financial and

technical support to DWASA,

France is supporting the

preservation of Dhaka's water

resources while providing

accessible, sustainable and

reliable water services for all.

Through AFD, the French

Government is financing

167M€ of water projects in

Bangladesh, which will supply

an additional 950,000 m3 of

drinking water to Dhaka.

of domestic products by ensuring

quality of products.

British American Tobacco

Bangladesh took the top spot under

large industry category followed by

Incepta Pharmaceuticals, Energypac

Engineering and Olympic Industries.

From among medium industries,

Tafrid Cotton Mills came in first,

Sheltech Technology and ECHOTEX

jointly second and Envoy Fashions

third.

Under the small industry category,

Concept Knitting took the lead

followed by APS Design Works and

Summit Oil and Shipping Company.

TRIM TEX BANGLADESH secured

first position among micro industries

with Masco Overseas and Crimson

Rosella Seafood respectively

following suit.

Classical Handmade Products BD

secured first position in cottage

industry category, Intelligent Card

second and Rupkatha Jubo O Mohila

Unnayan Sangstha third.

Among those in the high-tech

industry, Servic Engine was selected

for the first position and Metatude

Asia the second. There was no third

place in this category.

Mass hearing

on re-fixing

LPG price

begins Jan 14

DHAKA : The energy

regulator has decided to

hold public hearings to re-fix

the price of liquefied

petroleum gas (LPG) on

January 14, 17 and 18, 2021.

According to the

Bangladesh Energy

Regulatory Commission

(BERC), the procedure and

the location will be notified

in due course. Interested

persons or organizations are

requested to submit written

opinion/speech before the

hearings within January 4,

2021.

It said people, who are

interested to take part in the

public hearings, have to

inform the commission by

January 4. Listed persons or

organisations will be able to

submit facts and figure and

related documents about refixing

LPG.

About rescheduling of

LPG price, proposals could

be collected from the

regulatory office during

office hours and it will be

also available at the

commission's websitewww.berc.org.bd.

Good aquaculture

practice for ensuring

safe fisheries stressed

RAJSHAHI : Speakers at a ceremony have

underscored the need for safe fish farming

besides promoting its production through

the best use of hygienic fish feed alongside

the existing natural resources.

Safe fish production and its marketing has

become a big challenge at present and this is

the high time for facing the challenge

collectively.

The discussants came up with the

observation while inaugurating the Baya

Fisheries Wholesale Market under Paba

Upazila in the district.

Rajshahi Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman

Liton addressed the ceremony as chief guest,

while Ayen Uddin, MP, President of

Barendra Fishermen Welfare Cooperative

Society Abdul Quddus and its General

Secretary Mijanur Rahman spoke as special

guests. Local Awami League leader

Mustafizur Rahman presided over the

meeting.

In addition to the administrative

measures, Mayor Liton said time has come

to forge social resistance against the

manufacturing of adulterated and

unhygienic fish meals, its marketing and use

of formalin in fishes.

As aquaculture is a source of protein for

human health, good aquaculture practice is

essential to meet demand side requirements

of food safety and quality food.

All quarters like fish farmers, hatchery

owners, fish sellers, fish meal manufacturers

and sellers and the field level fisheries

officers and staff should work together to this

end.

There is no alternative to substantial and

sustainable promotion of good aquaculture

practice which is basically a principle for

improved responsible aquaculture practice,

he added.

Referring to the immense prospect of the

fisheries sector lawmaker Ayen Uddin said

safe fish production could easily be increased

to a great extent if the natural resources were

utilized properly.

Good aquaculture practice and

improvement of quality control expertise are

required for ensuring safe fisheries

production of the country.

There is no alternative to introducing

sustainable technology for the farmers

through good aquaculture practice under the

framework of international food safety rules

for safe fisheries production.

He recommended providing the farmers

with the latest scientific technologies and

knowledge for producing quality fish fries

and fingerlings for more fish cultivation.

Former Vice Chancellor of Maulana Bhasani University of Science and Technology Professor

Munimul Haque addressed a workshop held at the National Museum of Science and Technology on

Monday.

Photo : Courtesy

Proper use of ICT

stressed to deal

post-COVID era

DHAKA : Speakers at a

webinar underscored the need

for identifying challenges,

prospects of IT sector to avail

all the benefits of the sector to

make the country prosperous

as well as developed one by

dealing post-COVID global

situation.

The came up with the opinion

at a webinar titled "Role of

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and

Bangladesh Missions abroad in

the Enhancement of Export of

IT Products and IT Enabled

Services".

International Trade,

Investment and Technology

Wing of the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs organized the webinar

through virtual platform on

Sunday, said a press release.

Polythene worth Tk 6.2-lakh seized,

factory owner fined in capital

DHAKA : Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)

has seized illegal polythene worth Tk 6.2

lakh from a factory conducting a drive in

capital's Kamrangirchar area.

Later, a mobile court of the elite force

fined the factory owner Tk 2 lakh for

producing and marketing banned

polythene shopping bags, in default,

sentencing him to two months

imprisonment.

RAB-2 ASP (Media) Md Abdullah Al

Mamun confirmed the matter to BSS.

He said an operation was carried out in

the Kamrangichar police station area of

the capital at around 3:30 pm on Sunday

at the initiative of RAB-2.

During the drive, about four tons of

illegal banned polythene worth 6.20 lakh

taka was seized from a factory named

'Runa Plastic', he said.

At that time, RAB executive magistrate

Palash Kumar Basu conducted a mobile

court at the factory and fined its owner

Mohammad Farooq Hossain for

producing and marketing illegal polythene

shopping bags banned by the government.

Also, members of RAB-2 seized

polythene granules and its other raw

materials along with the polythene

shopping bags from another factory of

Farooq Hossain.

After the operation ended in the

evening, the seized goods were handed

over to the representatives of the

Department of Environment, said the

RAB official.

Additional Superintendent of Police

Mozammel Haque of RAB-2 and officials

of the Environment Department were

present during the operation.

Such drives will continue in the future ,

said the official.

Maintaining health rules, examination of Barishal University has been started after nine months. Photo : Courtesy

TuesDAy, DecembeR 29, 2020

4

Let us stand together and protect our values

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Repair and strengthen

coastal embankments

According to news reports, the coastal areas of

the country or 16 districts were severely affected

by unusual flood like tides in the wake of the

depression like situation in the Bay of Bengal some

months ago. The tides breached large areas of the

coastal embankments and inundated large areas

from where water is failing to drain away. As a result,

nearly ten million coastal people are living a life of

great distress with their homesteads and washed

away fish farms, boats, cattle, poultries and other

means of livelihood.

Besides, according to a Coast Trust research, about

150km of Bangladesh's 5,757km of coastal

embankments were affected by super cyclone

Amphan in the early part of the present year. The

post Amphan conditions dictated the very urgent

need of fastest repair, reconstruction and rebuilding

of embankments in the affected Amphan hit areas as

protection against future such events. But it appears

that this task was taken up casually. Although the

government has been doing very praiseworthy works

in many other vital areas, regrettably the tasks of

embankment repair and rebuilding remain relatively

neglected. Furthermore, whatever works were

carried out in relation to the embankments, the same

were riddled with corruption. Thus, the vastly

weakened embankments from the Amphan could

hardly provide defences against future unusual tidal

surges.

Speakers at an online discussion recently

demanded an immediate allocation of Tk 400 crore

to build and repair coastal embankments damaged

by cyclone Amphan and later tides. They also asked

the government to ensure Tk12,000 crore in

allocations each fiscal year to build sustainable

embankments in coastal areas.

The online discussion titled "Save Embankments

and Save Economic Activity of Coastal People

Through National Budget 2020-21" was jointly

organised by Coast Trust - a non-governmental

organisation - and Campaign for Sustainable Rural

Livelihood - a national network of individuals,

organisations and institutions. Chairman of Polli

Karma Sohayak Foundation Qazi Kholiquzzaman

presided over the function while Rezaul Karim

Chowdhury, executive director of Coast Trust,

moderated it.

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of Standing

Committee on Ministry of Environment, Forest and

Climate Change, noted economist Dr Qazi

Kholiquzzaman, lawmaker Akhtaruzzaman Babu,

and Dhaka University Professor Dr Mahbuba Nasrin

spoke, among others, at the occasion. Qazi

Kholiquzzaman said a special budgetary allocation is

a must to recover the losses of the coastal people.

Otherwise, many will lose their employment and the

areas will become prone to worse poverty. An

immediate survey should be conducted in this regard,

he added.

It is not that the government is too unmindful of the

problem. It has had several coastal embankment

projects under various nomenclatures and periods.

There was the Coastal Embankment Project (CEP)

implemented during the 1960s and early 1970s. And

following the two severe cyclones, SIDR and AILA,

that hit the coastal zone with devastating effect, the

Coastal Embankment Improvement Project, and

under it various other schemes, were formulated and

their implementation attempted with international

financing.

But the problem is that the long network of

embankments, running into hundreds of miles,

seldom fully stands a storm surge. The standard of

work and of course poor quality of construction

materials combine to render these protection barriers

brittle. There is need to construct newer

embankments every year, apart from regular repair

and maintenance . But the works must be done

absolutely incorruptibly. It is credibly alleged that

hundreds and hundreds of crores of Taka have just

gone down the drain from unpardonable 'corruption'

in the building, rebuilding, strengthening and

maintaining the networks of embankments. Such

callous loss of precious national resources cannot go

on unpunished.

Government must do two things immediately :

Fastest possible engagement in works along the total

length and breadth of the embankments network.

Second, all spending in the works must be carried out

with zero corruption to fetch the best results from

durable and effective embankments.

Bangladesh has a great cultural

history that deeply influenced by

the topography in which it sits and

the influence & interaction of faiths down

the centuries. The country has observed

the rise and fall of empires, with the

Maurya, Gupta, Mughal, and British raj

each leaving an ineradicable mark on this

fertile land. Hinduism and Islam have

shaped outlooks and cultural norms, with

the country strongly influenced by the

tastes and habits of its Indian neighbour,

whilst at the same time eager to forge a

distinctive identity. With the remarkable

growth of Islam borne out of the Mughal

period came a rich flowering of language,

music, poetry, literature and arts,

something that people of this land cherish

and are rightly proud of.

The people of Bangladesh always

showed great respect, tolerance, and freethinking

attitudes to each other's

irrespective of faiths, race, and communal

identities. We all lived together, fought

together, and prayed together during the

years of many national crises. We all

together demanded to be liberated and

free from West Pakistan. We all stand

together when West of the new country

mistrusted the East and took a series of

measures against us that caused

resentment and alienation in what had

once been East Bengal. When attempts

were made by West Pakistan to dominate

the East culturally and linguistically

protested vigorously by the people of

Bangladesh. Such aspirations were met

with violence and repression, with the

cultural elite being especially targeted.

Eventually, war broke out with the East.

We all fought together with great

aspiration and dream to protect our

motherland, our freedom, and our

beloved mother. The Bangladesh

Liberation War (1971), whilst it only lasted

nine months, was to be extremely brutal.

During this time, various minority groups,

especially communities such as the

Hindus, were persecuted, targeted, and

fled. Whilst West Pakistan eventually

acknowledged defeat, surrendered, and

accepted the East's desire to break away,

but in the process, millions had been

killed, and the country was brought to its

knees. The new nation is one borne out of

the war, it has had to cope with the

consequences of that traumatic period

ever since, and even to this day, the events

of 1971 continue to cast a long shadow

over the country.

Sadly, in recent years, Bangladesh has

witnessed some of the worst communal

violence. Dozens, possibly hundreds of

homes have been ransacked and heinous

crimes including rape and murder

perpetrated by Bangladeshis against

Bangladeshis. Though tragically such

violence, especially against minority and

disadvantageous communities is not new,

the scale of recent attacks should give

cause for alarm, significantly as it raises

serious question about the country's will

and ability to protect its citizens.

Given the fact that Bangladesh Awami

League, the Party under whose leadership

our country achieved the independence

established an independent state based on

the high ideals of nationalism, democracy,

and secularism. Unfortunately, the idea of

secularism has long been jettisoned, and

the country is lurching towards an

uncharted territory where citizens' rights

are poorly upheld. Intolerance and bigotry

have taken hold and as a direct result of

this free-thinking appears under attack

and many Bangladeshis no longer feel safe

in their own country.

As we survey this troubled world, it is

easy just to wring our hands and do

nothing. All too often we look around a see

evidence of grave injustices, and instead of

voicing our concerns, we see these

injustices through the prism of

partisanship. An injustice is an injustice,

and we must not permit our own political

or ideological convictions to cause us to be

selective about those injustices we raise

our voice about. All too often

governments are guilty of being

indifferent to the suffering of some, which

zealously championing others, by so doing

they demean themselves and do those

DR. P. R. DATTA

they are elected to serve a grave disservice.

Everywhere we look, we see evidence of

indifference or partisanship. It was even

heard that public servant, no less than a

government minister uttered sometimes

unlawful and hateful words towards

disadvantageous groups who had been

attacked. Such behaviour is intolerable

and besmirches our nation and its

founding ideals. The deafening silence

from the Government is being taken by

the anti-democratic and anti-civil rights

forces as tacit approval for their threats,

intimidation, and cowardly attacks. Many

in the wider world look on at what is

happening and naturally are having

second thoughts about visiting or

investing in Bangladesh. The climate of

fear and mistrust is now a grave threat to

peace, prosperity, and security of a nation

that we cherish.

As Bangladeshis, we do not want to see

Though tragically such violence, especially

against minority and disadvantageous

communities is not new, the scale of

recent attacks should give cause for alarm,

significantly as it raises serious question

about the country's will and ability to

protect its citizens.

Keyu Jin

a country that becomes a land of 'us and

them'. We know only too well what

suffering means. That is why we call on

the entire Government to act in concert to

put an end to the bigotry and persecution

that is destroying lives and whole

communities. It is time for the firm and

decisive action. Those officials who fail to

protect citizens dismissed and if

necessarily prosecuted using the full force

of the law. All the signs are that antidemocratic

forces sympathisers are on a

mission to destroy Bangladesh. They will

rely on inaction and weakness on the part

of the Government. Now is a time for clear

denunciations and robust action. After all,

an attack on a child, a priest, a place of

worship or any heinous attack on any

citizen of Bangladesh is an attack on our

values and an attack on each one of us.

There is frequent talk of secularism, yet

for a society to be truly secular, it must not

throw its lot in with a particular cause or

dominant group. Secularism recognises

the intrinsic value of pluralism; this

includes in faith, political beliefs, and

cultural traditions. A country such as

Bangladesh draws its strengths from a

variety of traditions down the ages, and

whilst there are some determined to

peddle a narrow version of events, in truth

the rope is made up of many strands. Our

outstanding achievement is the fact that

the whole is greater than the sum of its

parts.

Political, religious, and communal

strive is invariably borne out of

ignorance. We must guard against those

who dole out a little education, only to

manipulate and twist what they

distribute. Ultimately, we need to

empower and educate ourselves; for

them, we will come to realise that

education has the power to transcend

the boundaries of ignorance and

intolerance. Real knowledge is not

about degrees and certificates, but

about developing an understanding and

a conscience that means we tackle

injustice regardless of religion, creed,

colour and caste.

Thus, we respectfully call upon the

Government to awake from its apparent

slumber and defend ordinary citizens with

the same determination that it would the

borders of this nation we hold dear. What

we need is the enforcement of the rule of

law, and the ability to exercise the rights

enshrined in the Constitution of

Bangladesh freely. We hope and pray that

the Government will take this matter

seriously, as the very existence of

Bangladesh as a democratic and forwardthinking

country is under threat. We

respectfully ask the Government of

Bangladesh demonstrate a unity of

purpose and show a sign of courage and

determination worthy of the Bangladeshi

people that it was elected to protect and

serve. The language movement in 1952

and 1971`s war of independence both

reviewed our identity and unity as a

strong nation. This is the time for unity &

work together in solidarity to stop all

kinds of crimes, violence, and injustices

against any citizens of Bangladesh.

The Writer is the Executive Chair,

Centre for Business & Economic

Research, UK

China's economic recovery to be relatively slow but smooth

China's economy is on the road to

recovery after the coronavirus

disease (COVID-19) shock in the

spring of 2020. Negative growth rates

in investment, manufacturing activity

and consumption have reversed course

and moved into positive territory, while

some indicators, such as exports, have

even beaten expectations, registering a

positive growth rate of more than 10

percent in the third quarter of the year.

How an economy recovers from an

economic shock determines how

robust its recovery will be. Back in

2009, the Chinese government's 4

trillion yuan ($611 billion) stimulus

plan following the global financial

crisis fueled a credit boom, which

inflated the shadow banking sector and

sent debt levels soaring to alarming

heights.

To be sure, China's overall response

salvaged the economy and

maintained impressive growth rates.

But as investment flooded into

infrastructure projects and housing,

and onto the balance sheets of large

state-owned enterprises, it created

even more economic distortions than

there had been before the crisis.

Overall productivity growth would

remain diminished for the next

decade.

This time around, China's recovery is

again based on a large stimulus plan,

coupled with measures to control the

virus so that work and other economic

activities can resume. But much of the

spending so far has come from the

public sector rather than private

enterprise. Moreover, recent figures

show that China's post-COVID-19

rebound has been led by investments in

infrastructure and housing, whereas

consumption growth has been sluggish

and nowhere near the pre-crisis trend.

Even though people are safe going

about their normal lives, the service

sector is still nowhere near a true

recovery. Out of an abundance of

caution, people are saving more and

going out less. This trend could bode ill

not just for China but also for the rest

of the world, since it may be an

indication of what awaits other

economies.

There are also at least three other

reasons for concern. First, while

China's export figures exceeded

expectations this year, they may be

more disappointing in the year ahead.

In 2020, China acted as a global

"supplier of last resort," keeping

factories open as they were shut down

elsewhere. And because part of China's

current growth is led by exports of

critical pandemic-related goods (like

face masks) to the rest of the world, its

positive trade statistics reflect not so

much a recovery in global demand as a

shift in production to China. This

process will reverse whenever global

production sites reopen and supply

chains start functioning again.

A second concern is that the recovery

has triggered a broader structural

deterioration, following years of

economic reorientation away from

exports and investment and toward

consumption. There has been some

progress in this regard in recent years,

but the balance is now shifting back

toward investment and trade, as supply

leads demand in the process of

recovery.

China's macro-level recovery thus

masks micro-level challenges. As of the

third quarter of 2020, income growth

had not recovered and household

disposable income was contracting.

Demand for migrant workers had been

hit especially hard and showed no signs

of recovery. And the labor force

participation rate remained

diminished since falling at the onset of

the pandemic.

Beijing is a decade wiser than it was

when it encountered its first major

economic challenge of the post-1978

era.

The third cause for concern is that

financial risks are looming, and this

time they are arising from the real

economy. Corporate balance sheets will

look substantially worse over time,

especially for small and medium-sized

A second concern is that the recovery has triggered

a broader structural deterioration, following years

of economic reorientation away from exports and

investment and toward consumption. There has

been some progress in this regard in recent years,

but the balance is now shifting back toward

investment and trade, as supply leads demand in

the process of recovery.

firms. Over the first half of 2020, the

gap between corporate borrowing and

saving rose to unprecedented heights,

reaching more than 10 trillion yuan.

This would take at least one to two

years to resolve even under normal

circumstances. If cash flows remain

depressed for an extended period, risks

of bad debt will rise, especially in the

transportation, travel and restaurant

sectors. Such debts will pose significant

threats to financial institutions, as the

quality of bank assets (and thus of loan

portfolios) deteriorates.

Fortunately, although the

government's short-term recovery

measures have slowed progress on

longer-term reforms, its postpandemic

spending spree is more

targeted than last time, and thus

unlikely to fuel another credit bubble.

Among the most notable features of

this package is its emphasis on

investments in innovation. In the name

of building "new infrastructure," the

government is redirecting resources

from traditional projects to data

centers, artificial intelligence

applications, and electric vehicle

charging stations, increasing

investment in high-tech manufacturing

and services by nearly 10 percent over

the course of the year.

This suggests that we should expect a

continued commitment to opening up

the economy, particularly in financial

services. Chinese policymakers

recognize that the domestic financial

system needs to become more

competitive and more closely

integrated with Western institutions

and corporations amid heightening

geopolitical tensions.

Finally, China's recent decision to

dispense with a national growth target

is a welcome development. With less

pressure on local governments to

churn out high gross domestic product

figures, they can focus instead on

boosting employment, improving

livelihoods, strengthening food and

energy security, and creating

opportunities for small and mediumsized

businesses.

China is a decade wiser than it was

when it encountered its first major

economic challenge of the post-1978

era of "reform and opening up." Having

matured and grown more patient, it is

less impetuous about achieving shortterm

gains and more invested in

creating opportunities for its people

over the long term. The recovery may

be slow, but it will follow a path that is

smoother and more secure than the

one taken last time.

Source : Arab News

Do vaccinated people still

need to wear a mask

ApoorvaMandavilli

The new Covid-19 vaccines

from Pfizer and Moderna

seem to be remarkably good

at preventing serious illness.

But it's unclear how well

they will curb the spread of

the coronavirus.

That's because the Pfizer

and Moderna trials tracked

only how many vaccinated

people became sick with

Covid-19. That leaves open

the possibility that some

vaccinated people get

infected without developing

symptoms, and could then

silently transmit the virus -

especially if they come in

close contact with others or

stop wearing masks.

If vaccinated people are

silent spreaders of the virus,

they may keep it circulating

in their communities,

putting unvaccinated people

at risk."A lot of people are

thinking that once they get

vaccinated, they're not going

to have to wear masks

anymore," said Michal Tal,

an immunologist at Stanford

University. "It's really going

to be critical for them to

know if they have to keep

wearing masks, because they

could still be contagious."

In most respiratory

infections, including the new

coronavirus, the nose is the

main port of entry. The virus

rapidly multiplies there,

jolting the immune system

to produce a type of

antibodies that are specific

to mucosa, the moist tissue

lining the nose, mouth,

lungs and stomach. If the

same person is exposed to

the virus a second time,

those antibodies, as well as

immune cells that

remember the virus, rapidly

shut down the virus in the

nose before it gets a chance

to take hold elsewhere in the

body. The coronavirus

vaccines, in contrast, are

injected deep into the

muscles and quickly

absorbed into the blood,

where they stimulate the

immune system to produce

antibodies. This appears to

be enough protection to

keep the vaccinated person

from getting ill.

Some of those antibodies

will circulate to the nasal

mucosa and stand guard

there, but it's not clear how

much of the antibody pool

can be mobilized, or how

quickly. If the answer is not

much, then viruses could

bloom in the nose - and be

sneezed or breathed out to

infect others.

"It's a race: It depends

whether the virus can

replicate faster, or the

immune system can control

it faster," said Marion

Pepper, an immunologist at

the University of

Washington in Seattle. "It's a

really important question."

This is why mucosal

vaccines, like the nasal spray

FluMist or the oral polio

vaccine, are better than

intramuscular injections at

fending off respiratory

viruses, experts said.The

next generation of

coronavirus vaccines may

elicit immunity in the nose

and the rest of the

respiratory tract, where it's

most needed. Or people

could get an intramuscular

injection followed by a

Scientists worry that if vaccinated people are

silent spreaders of the virus. Photo: Collected

mucosal boost that produces

protective antibodies in the

nose and throat.

The coronavirus vaccines

have proved to be powerful

shields against severe

illness, but that is no

guarantee of their efficacy in

the nose. The lungs - the site

of severe symptoms - are

much more accessible to the

circulating antibodies than

the nose or throat, making

them easier to safeguard.

"Preventing severe disease

is easiest, preventing mild

Covid can further upset the immune system in post-recovery days.

disease is harder, and

preventing all infections is

the hardest," said Deepta

Bhattacharya, an

immunologist at the

University of Arizona. "If it's

95 percent effective at

preventing symptomatic

disease, it's going to be

something less than that in

preventing all infections, for

sure."

Still, he and other experts

said they were optimistic

that the vaccines would

suppress the virus enough

even in the nose and throat

to prevent immunized

people from spreading it to

others."My feeling is that

once you develop some form

of immunity with the

vaccine, your ability to get

infected will also go down,"

said Akiko Iwasaki, an

immunologist at Yale

University. "Even if you're

infected, the level of virus

that you replicate in your

nose should be reduced."

The vaccine trials have not

produced data on how many

vaccinated people were

infected with the virus but

did not have symptoms.

Some hints are emerging,

however.AstraZeneca,

which announced some of

its trial results in November,

said that volunteers had

been testing themselves

regularly for the virus, and

that those results suggested

that the vaccine might

prevent some infections.

Pfizer will test a subset of

its trial participants for

antibodies against a viral

protein called N. Because

the vaccines have nothing to

do with this protein, N

antibodies would reveal

whether the volunteers had

become infected with the

virus after immunization,

said.

Photo: Collected

Covid survivors with long-term is at risk

Pam Belluck

There is an urgent need to address

long-term symptoms of the

coronavirus, leading public health

officials said this week, warning that

hundreds of thousands of Americans

and millions of people worldwide

might experience lingering problems

that could impede their ability to work

and function normally.

In a two-day meeting Thursday and

Friday, the federal government's first

workshop dedicated to long-term

Covid-19, public health officials,

medical researchers and patients said

the condition needed to be recognized

as a syndrome, given a name and taken

seriously by doctors.

"This is a phenomenon that is really

quite real and quite extensive," Dr.

Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's top

infectious diseases expert, said at the

conference on Thursday.

While the number of people affected

is still unknown, he said, if long-term

symptoms afflict even a small

proportion of the millions of people

infected with the coronavirus, it is

"going to represent a significant public

health issue." Such symptoms - ranging

from breathing trouble to heart issues

to cognitive and psychological

problems - are already plaguing an

untold number of people worldwide.

Even for people who were never sick

enough to be hospitalized, the

aftermath can be long and grueling

with a complex and lasting mix of

symptoms.

The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention recently posted a list of

some long-term symptoms, including

fatigue, joint pain, chest pain, brain fog

and depression, but doctors and

researchers said they still know little

about the extent or cause of many of the

problems, which patients will develop

them or how to address them.

Over the last several months,

coronavirus patients with lingering,

debilitating health issues have been

widely referred to as "Covid longhaulers."

But some survivors and

experts feel that name trivializes the

experience, lessening its importance as

a medical syndrome which doctors and

insurers should recognize, diagnose

and try to treat. One of the pressing

issues patients and experts are now

weighing is what official medical term

should be adopted to describe the

collection of post-Covid symptoms.

"We need to dig in and do the work

that needs to be done to help relieve the

suffering and stop this madness," said

Dr. Michael Saag, an infectious disease

expert from the University of Alabama

at Birmingham, who was a co-chair of a

session.

In an inadvertent but stark

illustration of the difficulty of the

recovery process, two of the four

patients scheduled to speak at the

meeting were unable to because they

had recently been hospitalized. "Those

individuals had their acute illness

several months ago and they've been

suffering pretty mightily since then,"

Dr. Saag said. "And the fact that they're

still struggling with this gives extra

power to what we're trying to do today."

Dr. John Brooks, the chief medical

officer of the C.D.C.'s Covid response,

the co-chairman with Dr. Saag of one

session, said he expected long-term

post-Covid symptoms would affect "on

the order of tens of thousands in the

United States and possibly hundreds of

thousands."

Long Covid can later upset the human immune system.

TueSDAY, DeCemBer 29, 2020

5

Who should be prioritized of getting

vaccine first?

Abby Goodnough

With the coronavirus pandemic

surging and initial vaccine supplies

limited, the United States faces a hard

choice: Should the country's

immunization program focus in the

early months on the elderly and people

with serious medical conditions, who

are dying of the virus at the highest

rates, or on essential workers, an

expansive category encompassing

Americans who have borne the greatest

risk of infection?

Health care workers and the frailest

of the elderly - residents of long-termcare

facilities - will almost certainly get

the first shots, under guidelines the

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention issued on Thursday. But

with vaccination expected to start this

month, the debate among federal and

state health officials about who goes

next, and lobbying from outside groups

to be included, is growing more urgent.

It's a question increasingly guided by

concerns over the inequities laid bare

by the pandemic, from

disproportionately high rates of

infection and death among poor people

and people of color to disparate access

to testing, child care and technology for

online schooling. "It's damnable that

we are even being placed in this

position that we have to make these

choices," said the Rev. William J.

Barber II, a co-chairman of the Poor

People's Campaign, a national coalition

that calls attention to the challenges of

the working poor. "But if we have to

make the choice, we cannot once again

leave poor and low-wealth essential

workers to be last."

Ultimately, the choice comes down to

whether preventing death or curbing

the spread of the virus and returning to

some semblance of normalcy is the

highest priority. "If your goal is to

maximize the preservation of human

life, then you would bias the vaccine

toward older Americans," Dr. Scott

5

Photo: Internet

Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug

Administration commissioner, said

recently. "If your goal is to reduce the

rate of infection, then you would

prioritize essential workers. So it

depends what impact you're trying to

achieve."

The trade-off between the two is

muddied by the fact that the definition

of "essential workers" used by the

C.D.C. comprises nearly 70 percent of

the American work force, sweeping in

not just grocery store clerks and

emergency responders, but tugboat

operators, exterminators and nuclear

energy workers. Some labor

economists and public health officials

consider the category overbroad and

say it should be narrowed to only those

who interact in person with the public.

An independent committee of

medical experts that advises the C.D.C.

on immunization practices will soon

vote on whom to recommend for the

second phase of vaccination.

Is natural immunity from Covid

safer than a vaccine?

On the heels of last month's news of

stunning results from Pfizer's and

Moderna's experimental Covid-19

vaccines, Senator Rand Paul tweeted a

provocative comparison.The new

vaccines were 90 percent and 94.5

percent effective, said Mr. Paul,

Republican of Kentucky and a trained

ophthalmologist. And "naturally

acquired" Covid-19 was 99.9982

percent effective, he claimed.

Mr. Paul is one of many people who,

weary of lockdowns and economic

losses, have extolled the benefits of

contracting the coronavirus. The

senator was diagnosed with the disease

this year and has argued that surviving

a bout of Covid-19 confers greater

protection than getting vaccinated.

The trouble with that logic is that it's

difficult to predict who will survive an

infection unscathed, said Jennifer

Gommerman, an immunologist at the

University of Toronto. Given all of the

unknowns - like a region's hospital

capacity, or the strength of a person's

immune response - choosing the

disease over the vaccine is "a very bad

decision," she said.

The primary advantage of a vaccine is

that it's predictable and safe, she said.

"It's been optimally tailored to generate

an effective immune response."But

what do we know about how the

immunity from a prior infection

compares with the protection given by

the new vaccines? And what if you have

already had Covid - is it safe to be

vaccinated? We asked experts to weigh

in on the latest evidence.

We don't know. But Covid-19

vaccines have predictably prevented

illness, and they are a far safer bet,

experts said.Vaccines for some

pathogens, like pneumococcal bacteria,

induce better immunity than the

natural infection does. Early evidence

suggests that the Covid-19 vaccines

may fall into this category. Volunteers

who received the Moderna shot had

more antibodies - one marker of

immune response - in their blood than

did people who had been sick with

Covid-19.

In other cases, however, a natural

infection is more powerful than a

vaccine. For example, having mumps -

which can, in rare cases, cause fertility

problems in men - generates lifelong

immunity, but some people who have

received one or two doses of the vaccine

still get the disease.

Natural immunity from the

coronavirus is fortunately quite strong.

A vast majority of people infected

produce at least some antibodies and

immune cells that can fight off the

infection. And the evidence so far

suggests that this protection will persist

for years, preventing serious illness, if

not reinfection.

But there is a "massive dynamic

range" in that immune response, with a

200-fold difference in antibody

levels.In people who are only mildly ill,

the immune protection that can

prevent a second infection may wane

within a few months. "Those people

might benefit more from the vaccine

than others would," said Bill Hanage,

an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H.

Chan School of Public Health.

The diversity in the immune

response from natural infection might

be because of differences in the amount

of virus to which the person was

exposed.With a vaccine, everyone gets

the same dose. "We know the dose that

is being administered, and we know

that that dose is effective at eliciting an

immune response," Dr. Gommerman

said. "So that becomes a variable that's

taken off the table when you get the

vaccine."

Covid-19 is by far the more

dangerous option."It's clear that one is

less problematic for the body to recover

The vaccine is far safer than getting infected from COVID.

from them than the other - there's more

risk with natural infection," said

Marion Pepper, an immunologist at the

University of Washington in Seattle.

People who are obese, or who have

diseases like diabetes are particularly

susceptible to severe cases of Covid-19.

On average, the virus seems to be less

risky for younger people, and women

tend to fare better than men. But

beyond those broad generalizations,

doctors don't know why some people

get very sick and die while others have

no symptoms.

For example, people who harbor

certain mutations in immune genes are

more susceptible to the disease, several

studies have shown. "So there's a risk

factor that has nothing to do with age,"

Dr. Gommerman said.

In a study of more than 3,000 people,

ages 18 to 34, who were hospitalized for

Covid, 20 percent required intensive

care and 3 percent died."It's true that

most people aren't going to be

hospitalized, most people aren't going

to get in the intensive care unit or die,"

said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, who

represents the American Academy of

Pediatrics at the meetings of the federal

Advisory Committee on Immunization

Practices.

But "nobody is immune to severe

disease," she said. And even if people

are not at high risk of Covid themselves,

their friends or family could be.As

many as one in three people who

recover from Covid have chronic

Photo: Internet

complaints, including exhaustion and a

racing heart, for months afterward.

This includes people under 35 with no

previous health conditions.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2020

6

10 including journalist honored

in Rangabali

KaMRUL haSan, RanGaBaLI CORRESPOnDEnT:

10 people including a journalist have

been honored in Rangabali upazila of

Patuakhali. The 'Bangabandhu

Memorial award' crest was handed

over to them at the Bangabandhu

Poetry Festival organized on the

occasion of Bangabandhu's birth

centenary.

The event was organized by the

Central Committee of Kabi Sangsad

Bangladesh at Rangabali Model

Secondary School on Sunday

afternoon. They honored nominees

from different parts of the country for

their special contribution in six fields

including education, journalism and

literature.

Journalist Kamrul hasan, who works

for national daily newspaper in

Rangabali Upazila, has been honored

for his special contribution in

journalism by highlighting various

issues including the sorrows, problems,

possibilities and history and traditions

of the people of the coastal villages.

During this time, Marfia, Lakitullah

Mahmud Chishti, halima Kona,

Mehedi hasan and Bappi Saha got

honors in poetry. Professor Zafar

ahmed was honored in education,

Kamruzzaman Shibli in social service,

abul Kalam azad in research and amir

hossain in folklore.

During the time, Touhidul Islam

The multi-sectoral annual nutrition action meeting of Rangpur District was held on Sunday at the Parjatan

Motel in Rangpur.

Photo: Courtesy

Multi-sectoral district annual nutrition action

plan 2020-2021 workshop held in Rangpur

The multi-sectoral annual nutrition

action meeting of Rangpur District was

held on Sunday at the Parjatan Motel,

Rangpur, organized by the District

nutrition Coordinating Committee in

collaboration with the Joint action for

nutrition Outcome (JanO) Project, a

press release said.

The meeting was presided over by Md.

asib ahsan, Deputy Commissioner,

Rangpur and President, District

nutrition Coordinating Committee,

Rangpur Dr. Md. Khalilur Rahman, DG,

Bangladesh national nutrition Council

was present as the chief guest and Syed

Farhad hossain, Deputy Director

(Deputy Secretary), Local Government,

Rangpur and Dr. Ikhtiyar Uddin

Khandaker, Director-health, Care

Bangladesh were present as special

guests. along with members of the

District nutrition Coordination

Committee and JanO project officials,

Dr. hiramb Kumar Roy, Civil Surgeon,

Rangpur and Member Secretary, District

nutrition Coordinating Committee,

Rangpur, Dr. akhtar Imam, Deputy

Director, Bangladesh national nutrition

Council, Dr. Gazi ahmed hasan, Deputy

Program Manager, nnS, IPhn were also

present in the meeting.

The multi-sectoral annual district

nutrition action plan 2020-2021 of

Rangpur district was presented at the

meeting where the 2020-2021 annual

nutrition action plan of 8 Upazilas, 8

ministries, 10 departments 76 Unions 6

development partner organizations of

Rangpur were mentioned. In the

workshop, the officers in charge of all the

departments at the district level

presented the nutrition related action

plan of their respective departments. The

total allocation for the action plan is

1160616500 (one hundred and eighteen

crores seven lakh sixteen thousand five

hundred taka). Dr. hiramba Kumar Roy,

Civil Surgeon and Member Secretary,

District nutrition Coordinating

Committee, Rangpur presented the

District nutrition Plan and Dr. Md.

Mostafa Zaman Chowdhury, Upazila

health and Family Planning Officer and

Member Secretary, Upazila nutrition

Coordinating Committee, Taraganj,

Rangpur presented the Upazila nutrition

plan.

Md. Khalilur Rahman, Director

General of Bangladesh national

nutrition Council said that there is no

alternative to multi-sectoral district

nutrition action plan to solve the

nutrition issues in Bangladesh. Dr.

Ikhtiyar Uddin Khandaker, Directorhealth,

CaRE Bangladesh said that

JanO Project is always ready to support

to Government of Bangladesh specially in

Rangpur and nilphamari region on

multi-sectoral nutritional activities as

well as nutrition specific and nutrition

sensitive issues.

JanO project is funded by the

European Union and co-funded by the

austrian Development Cooperation and

is being implemented by CaRE

Bangladesh, Plan International and

ESDO. The objective of the project is to

contribute in ending malnutrition of

Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW)

together with addressing the nutritional

needs of children under five years of age,

and adolescent girls. The project will

closely work with the Government of

Bangladesh (GoB) at the national,

regional and local levels, to support the

effective implementation of the national

Plan of action for nutrition 2 (nPan 2).

BCG seizes huge quantity of Jatka from passenger launch

Bangladesh Coast Guard

Station Pagla conducted a

special operation on the

basis of secret information

from the Dhaleshari river

in Kathpatti area under

Sadar police station of

Munshiganj district and

seized 5,000 kg of Jatka

from a passenger launch

named Farhan-5 on

Sunday midnight, a press

release said.

During the time, it was

not possible to arrest

anyone as the real owners

of Jatka were not found in

the operation. The seized

jatkas were later

distributed among the

local orphans and destitute

in presence of the

Executive Magistrate and

the Upazila Senior

Fisheries Officer.

Regular operations will

be carried out in the areas

under the jurisdiction of

Bangladesh Coast Guard to

ensure law and order, curb

robberies and ensure

public safety as well as

prevent illegal fishing and

killing of jatkas.

Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard Station in a drive seized 5,000 kg

of Jatka from a passenger launch from Dhaleshari river in Kathpatti

area under Sadar police station of Munshiganj district on Sunday midnight.

Photo: Courtesy

Journalist Kamrul Hasan was honored with 'Bangabandhu Memorial Award' crest at the

Bangabandhu Poetry Festival organized on the occasion of Bangabandhu's birth centenary in

Rangabali upazila on Sunday.

Photo: TBT

Battery-powered autorickshaw LED bulbs increase

risk of accidents in 7 upazilas of Bhola

TayBUR RahaMan, ChaR

FaSSOn CORRESPOnDEnT:

Battery-powered autorickshaws

are rampant on

various roads and highways

in 7 upazilas of Bhola district.

The modern world is useless

without communication.

The flickering light of the

headlights of the LED bulbs

of different colors of the

battery-powered

autorickshaw has been

shown to be a cause of

danger.

as a result of being used in

battery-powered

autorickshaws, CnG,

nasimon, Karimon, etc. at

night, other vehicles

traveling in the opposite

direction, such as

motorcycles, various types of

bi-cycling, LED dim bulbs of

different colors, nothing is

seen, which increases the

number of accidents.

Extensive battery-powered

autorickshaws can be seen in

the districts and upazilas,

resulting in huge traffic jams,

Battery-powered autorickshaws are rampant on various roads and

highways in 7 upazilas of Bhola district. Photo: Taybur Rahaman

especially in Bhola

Lalmohan, Char Fashion,

Shashi Bhushan, Dularhat

South aicha, Chairman

Bazar, various places on

these roads.

accidents are on the rise

due to the dim light of

battery-powered

autorickshaw LED bulbs of

different

colors.

Motorcyclists said the LED

lights made it difficult to

drive at night. In front of the

autorickshaw, in fact,

nothing can be seen due to

the light of the LED bulbs of

different colors, the eyes

become absolutely blurred.

So to avoid these accidents,

the use of LED lights of

different colors should be

stopped immediately and

the common people of the

area have immediately

drawn the attention of the

concerned authorities.

An awareness meeting to inform about the large scale vaccination of dogs in Manikchari with the aim of eradicating

rabies was held at the Upazila Administration Auditorium on Monday. Photo: Md. Zakir Hossain

The photo shows long queue of voters due to slow voting in EVM system in Dhamrai municipal

election on Monday.

Photo: Milon Siddiqui

awareness meeting to prevent

rabies held in Manikchari

MD. ZaKIR hOSSaIn, ManIKChaRI CORRESPOnDEnT:

an awareness meeting was held at

the Upazila administration

auditorium on Monday afternoon to

inform about the large scale

vaccination of dogs in Manikchari with

the aim of eradicating rabies. Upazila

health and Family Planning Officer Dr.

Ratan Khisa presided over the meeting

and health assistant amjad hossain

conducted the information meeting.

During the time, Upazila Chairman

Joynal abedin, Upazila nirbahi Officer

Tamanna Mahmud, Officer-in-Charge

amir hossain, Vice Chairman Tajul

Islam Babul, Women Vice Chairman

Dolly Chowdhurani, UP Chairmen,

Journalists, various personalities were

also present at the occasion.

a total of 40 members in four unions

of the upazila will be vaccinated against

rabies, authorities said.

In 2010, dog vaccination was started

in some districts to eradicate rabies, but

now it is being carried out in 56 districts

of the country. according to the

organizers, the Department of health

has adopted this program with the aim

of declaring Bangladesh a 100% waterfree

country in 2022. he also sought

the cooperation of all to create

awareness among the general public

about the vaccination of dogs.

TUESDAY, DECEMbEr 29, 2020

7

Amid pandemic, Pacific islands

work to offset food shortages

The massive, year-end catchall bill that President Donald Trump signed into law combines $900

billion in COVID-19 aid with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill and reams of other unfinished

legislation on taxes, energy, education and health care.

Photo : AP

Highlights of COVID-19, government

funding law taking effect

The massive, year-end catchall bill that

President Donald Trump signed into law

combines $900 billion in COVID-19 aid

with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill

and reams of other unfinished legislation

on taxes, energy, education and health

care, reports UNB.

Highlights of the measure with

overall funding amounts and specific

amounts for some but not necessarily

all initiatives.

Unemployment insurance ($120

billion). Revives supplemental

federal pandemic unemployment

benefits but at $300 per week -

through March 14 - instead of the

$600 per week benefit that expired in

July. Extends special pandemic

benefits for "gig" workers and

extends the maximum period for

state-paid jobless benefits to 50

weeks.

Direct payments ($166 billion).

Provides $600 direct payments to

individuals making up to $75,000 per

Pakistan concerns

over high level of

violence in

Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD : Pakistan on

Sunday expressed concern

about the spike in violence in

Afghanistan and assured

help in enhancing security,

reports UNB.

The foreign ministry said

Pakistan continued to

"express its deep concern at

the increasing level of

violence" in Afghanistan

during the current year and

Prime Minister Imran Khan,

on several occasions, has

reiterated his calls for

reduction in violence leading

to a cease-fire.

"It is important to

underline the need for

Afghan government to take

proactive measures to fulfill

its responsibility for internal

security, law and order and

protection of Afghan lives," a

foreign ministry statement

said. The statement said

Pakistan stands ready to

expand all possible

cooperation in the area of

security and effective border

management through

effective institutional

collaboration.

Referring to the

resumption of intra-Afghan

negotiations expected on

Jan. 5, 2021, the statement

said the negotiations would

enter an important and

critical phase that would be

focusing on the substantive

issues related to a

comprehensive future

political settlement.

"In this delicate phase of

the Intra-Afghan

Negotiations, it is important

for the negotiating parties to

avoid accusations and to

demonstrate wisdom,

sagacity and vision for the

larger objective of lasting

peace and stability in

Afghanistan," according to

the statement. The

statement said Pakistan

would like to reiterate its

firm commitment.

year and couples making up to

$150,000 per year - with payments

phased out for higher incomes-with

$600 additional payments per

dependent child.

Paycheck Protection Program ($284

billion). Revives the Paycheck

Protection Program, which provides

forgivable loans to qualified businesses.

Especially hard-hit businesses that

received PPP grants would be eligible

for a second round. Ensures that PPP

subsidies are not taxed.

Vaccines, testing, health providers

($69 billion). Delivers more than $30

billion for procurement of vaccines and

treatments, distribution funds for

states, and a strategic stockpile. Adds

$22 billion for testing, tracing and

mitigation, $9 billion for health care

providers, and $4.5 billion for mental

health. Schools and universities ($82

billion). Delivers $54 billion to public

K-12 schools affected by the pandemic

and $23 billion for colleges and

universities; $4 billion would be

awarded to a Governors Emergency

Education Relief Fund; nearly $1

billion for Native American schools.

Rental assistance ($25 billion).

Provides money for a first-ever federal

rental assistance program; funds to be

distributed by state and local

governments to help people who have

fallen behind on their rent and may be

facing eviction.

Food/farm aid ($26 billion).

Increases stamp benefits by 15% for six

months and provides funding to food

banks, Meals on Wheels and other food

aid. Provides an equal amount ($13

billion) to farmers and ranchers.

Child Care ($10 billion). Provides $10

billion to the Child Care Development

Block Grant to help families with child

care costs and help providers cover

increased operating costs. Postal

Service ($10 billion). Forgives a $10

billion loan to the Postal Service

provided in earlier relief legislation.

Arifullah Khan had just administered another polio vaccine when the

gunfire blasted from the nearby hills.

Photo : AP

Wars, instability pose vaccine

challenges in poor nations

DAR MANGI : Arifullah Khan had just

administered another polio vaccine when the

gunfire blasted from the nearby hills, reports

UNB.

"It happened so suddenly. There was so

much gunfire it felt like an explosion," he

said, recalling details of the attack five years

ago in Pakistan's Bajaur tribal region near

the Afghan border.

A bullet shattered his thigh and he fell to

the ground. His childhood friend and

partner in the vaccination campaign,

Ruhollah, lay bleeding on the ground in front

of him. "I couldn't move," Khan said. "I

watched him lying right in front of me as he

took his last breath."

In Pakistan, delivering vaccines can be

deadly. Militants and radical religious

groups spread claims that the polio vaccine is

a Western ploy to sterilize Muslim children

or turn them away from religion. More than

100 health workers, vaccinators and security

officials involved in polio vaccination have

been killed since 2012.

The violence is an extreme example of the

difficulties many poor and developing

countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East

and Latin America face as they tackle the

monumental task of vaccinating their

populations against COVID-19.

It's not just the problem of affording

vaccines or beingat the back of the line

behind wealthy countriesin receiving them.

Poor infrastructure often means roads are

treacherous and electricity is sporadic for the

refrigerators vital to preserving vaccines.

Wars and insurgencies endanger

vaccinators. Corruption can siphon away

funds, and vaccination campaign planners

must sometimes navigate through multiple

armed factions.

"The most challenging areas ... are conflict

settings, where outbreaks of violence hinder

vaccinations, and areas where

misinformation is circulating, which

discourages community participation," said

UNICEF's deputy chief of global

immunization, Benjamin Schreiber.

Many nations are relying on COVAX, an

international system aimed at ensuring

equitable access to vaccines, though it is

already short on funding.

UNICEF, which runs immunization

programs worldwide, is gearing up to help

procure and administer COVID-19 vaccines,

Schreiber told The Associated Press. It has

stockpiled half a billion syringes and aims to

provide 70,000 refrigerators, mostly solar

powered, he said.

The agency aims to transport 850 tons of

COVID-19 vaccines a month next year,

double its usual annual monthly rate for

other vaccines, UNICEF's executive director

Henrietta Fore said in a statement.

JAKARTA : Coronavirus infections

have barely touched many of the

remote islands of the Pacific, but the

pandemic's fallout has been enormous,

disrupting the supply chain that brings

crucial food imports and sending prices

soaring as tourism wanes, reports

UNB.

With a food crisis looming, many

governments have begun community

initiatives to help alleviate shortages:

extending fishing seasons, expanding

indigenous food gathering lessons and

bolstering seed distribution programs

that allow residents greater selfreliance.

"We initially started with 5,000 seeds

and thought we would finish them in

nine months' time. But there was a very

big response, and we finished

distributing the seeds in one week,"

said Vinesh Kumar, head of operation

for Fiji's Agriculture Ministry.

The project provides residents with

vegetable seeds, saplings and basic

farming equipment to help them grow

their own home gardens.

Fiji resident Elisabeta Waqa said she

had contemplated starting a garden

before the pandemic, but-with no job,

extra time at home and seeds from the

ministry and friends-finally took

action.

Looking to have "zero financial

investment," Waqa collected buckets,

crates and other potential planters

discarded on the side of the road and

in the trash. Soon her yard

transformed into containers of green

beans, cucumber, cabbage and other

produce.

"When I started harvesting about

two, three weeks later, that's when I

realized: My gosh, this is a hobby

people have had for so long. I thought

about just how much money I could

save my doing this," Waqa said.

Geographically isolated with limited

arable land and increased urbanization,

many of the Pacific island countries and

territories have seen their populations

Coronavirus

toll at 1100

GMT Monday

PARIS : The novel

coronavirus has killed at

least 1,765,049 people since

the outbreak emerged in

China last December,

according to a tally from

official sources compiled by

AFP at 1100 GMT on

Monday.

At least 80,686,630 cases

of coronavirus have been

registered. Of these, at least

50,834,100 are now

considered recovered.

The tallies, using data

collected by AFP from

national authorities and

information from the World

Health Organization

(WHO), probably reflect

only a fraction of the actual

number of infections. Many

countries are testing only

symptomatic or the most

serious cases.

On Sunday, 7,273 new

deaths and 444,004 new

cases were recorded

worldwide. Based on latest

reports, the countries with

the most new deaths were

the United States with 1,329,

followed by Russia with 487

and Mexico with 400.

The United States is the

worst-affected country with

333,140 deaths from

19,136,589 cases. At least

6,298,082 people have been

declared recovered.

After the US, the hardesthit

countries are Brazil with

191,139 deaths from

7,484,285 cases, India with

147,901 deaths from

10,207,871 cases, Mexico

with 122,426 deaths from

1,383,434 cases, and Italy

with 71,925 deaths from

2,047,696 cases.

The country with the

highest number of deaths

compared to its population

is Belgium with 166 fatalities

per 100,000 inhabitants,

followed by Slovenia with

122, Bosnia-Herzegovina

with 120, Italy 119 and the

Republic of North

Macedonia 117. Europe

overall has 549,944 deaths

from 25,465,569 cases,

Latin America and the

Caribbean 497,894 deaths

from 15,191,123 infections,

and the United States and

Canada 348,097 deaths

from 19,684,350 cases.

shift from traditional agriculture-based

work to tourism. The trend has created

an increased reliance on imported food

such as corned beef, noodles and other

highly processed foods instead of the

traditional diet of locally grown items

like nutrient-rich yams and taro.

Eriko Hibi, director of the Food and

Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations Liaison Office in Japan, called

the shift a "triple burden" of health

issues: undernutrition, micronutrient

deficiencies and obesity.

When the pandemic hit, nearly all the

countries in the region closed their

borders. Shipping supply chains -

including fertilizer for farms and food -

were disrupted, causing prices to rise.

In Suva, Fiji, the cost of some fresh

fruits and vegetables rose by up to 75%

during the first weeks.

At same time, tourism - which Hibi

said accounts for up to 70% of some

countries' gross domestic product -

came to a halt, leaving thousands

unemployed with decreased access to

food.

"It's not just about the availability of

the prices in the market but also the

purchasing power of the consumers,

which has gone down," Hibi said.

In Tuvalu, the government held

workshops teaching youth

indigenous food production methods

such as taro planting and sap

collection from coconut trees. In Fiji,

the government extended fishing

season of coral trout and grouper that

could be sold for income or used as

food. Numerous governments

encouraged residents to move back to

rural areas that had stronger

Coronavirus infections have barely touched many of the remote

islands of the Pacific, but the pandemic's fallout has been enormous,

disrupting the supply chain that brings crucial food

imports and sending prices soaring as tourism wanes. Photo : AP

independent food resources.

Tevita Ratucadre and his wife moved

back to a rural village in Fiji to save on

rent and food costs after being laid off

from the hotel where they worked

because of COVID-19.

Post-Brexit trade deal risks

erosion of UK workers' rights,

think tank warns

LONDON : Britain's post-Brexit trade deal

with the European Union (EU) leaves

workers' rights and environmental

protection at risk of erosion and will slow the

country's economic recovery, which has

already been affected by the COVID-19

pandemic, a British think tank warned

Sunday in an early analysis, reports UNB.

The agreement offers clear benefits to

Britain and the EU, which would have been

lost if no deal had been negotiated, however,

its commitments on labour and

environmental standards are considerably

weaker than expected, said the Institute for

Public Policy Research (IPPR), a Londonbased

think tank.

Published its assessment on Sunday, the

IPPR said the bar for proof of breaches of the

"level playing field", one of the sticking

points in the long Britain-EU negotiations, to

safeguard the issues is so high that it will be

rarely enforced.

In aiming for an agreement which

guarantees maximal sovereignty, the British

government has watered down the "level

playing field" requirements on areas such as

labour and environmental protections and

secured only limited benefits in market

access, said the think tank.

"In the short-term, this is likely to lead to

disruption to trade flows, including at the

border. Over the longer term, the economy

will adapt to the new arrangements, but

barriers to UK-EU trade will likely lead to

slower growth and a more prolonged

economic recovery," the IPPR added in

Sunday's assessment.

Given it is notoriously difficult to prove

that any lowering of projection affects trade

or investment, "the deal is unlikely to

prevent the UK government from weakening

EU-derived labour and environmental

policies if it so chooses," said the IPPR.

"This leaves protections for workers,

climate and the environment at serious risk

of being eroded," said Marley Morris, an

IPPR director focusing on trade and EU

relations.

"This thin deal is better than no deal at all,

but still creates major trade barriers with our

closest neighbour, which will inhibit growth

and slow the economic recovery," Morris

added.

The trade deal, which came after nine

months of arduous negotiations between

Britain and the EU, was announced

Thursday by British Prime Minister Boris

Johnson and European Commission

President Ursula von der Leyen. It will come

into provisional force on Jan. 1, 2021 after

the Brexit transition ends on Dec. 31, 2020.

The landmark deal, if approved by British

and European parliaments, will guarantee

tariff-free trade on most goods and create a

platform for future Britain-EU cooperation

on issues such as crime fighting, energy and

data sharing.

The free trade deal is the biggest bilateral

trade deal signed by either side, covering

trade worth around 668 billion pounds

(about 905.4 U.S. dollars).

Britain is the EU's third largest trading

partner in goods, following the United States

and China.

Croatia rattled by 5.2

magnitude quake

ZAGREB : A 5.2-magnitude earthquake rattled central Croatia and Zagreb early Monday

morning, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said, damaging

buildings outside the capital but with no casualties reported.

The quake woke up residents in Zagreb at 0530 GMT when it struck some 50 kilometres to

the south near the town of Petrinje, where the tremors tore off bricks and left cracks in some

building facades. "People are on the streets, there is panic. There are badly damaged

buildings, so the citizens are afraid to go back inside," Petrinje's mayor Darinko Dumbovic

told regional broadcaster N1, adding that the town hall was damaged.

In nearby Sisak, home to around 35,000 people, the town's mayor said scores of firefighters

were deployed to help with building damage and rescue efforts.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic visited the area Monday to show "support for the citizens",

alongside President Zoran Milanovic. Civil protection teams and the army were deployed to

help locals and clear any debris, Plenkovic told reporters.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29 , 2020 8

Mercantile Bank launches 15 more

new Islamic Banking Window

Lanka Bangla Finance Limited (LBFL) recently signed MOU with Mutual Trust Bank Limited for its customer

privilege. Khwaja Shahriar, Managing Director & CEO, of LBFL and Syed Mahbubur Rahman, Managing

Director & CEO of Mutual Trust Bank Limited signed the MOU for their respective organizations. Under this

MOU, LBF Mastercard Titanium & VISA Platinum card members will enjoy free access with entertainment in

MTB Air Lounge at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka, Shah Amanat International Airport,

Chattogram, Osmani International Airport, Sylhet from 1st January 2021. Khurshed Alam, Head of Retail

Business, Md. Minhaz Uddin, Head of Cards of LBF and Syed Rafiqul Haq, AMD & CBO, Md. Shafquat

Hossain, Head of SME & Retail Banking of MTB and other high officials of both organizations were present

at the signing ceremony.

Photo : Courtesy

The Premier Bank Limited inaugurated its Panchrukhi Sub Branch recently at Narayanganj

(Panchrukhi Bazar, Satgram, Araihazar, Narayanganj.) The inauguration was addressed by Sami

Karim, Deputy Managing Director, The Premier Bank Limited as Chief Guest. Prominent businessmen

and local dignitaries of Narayanganj were also present in the ceremonies. Photo : Courtesy

NEC to approve 8th FYP (2021-2025) today

DHAKA : The National Economic

Council (NEC) sits today to consider

the 8th Five Year Plan (2021-2025) of

the country in order to attain 8 percent

GDP growth on average per year and

also to achieve various economic and

social targets during the five-year

period as envisioned under the

country's 2nd Perspective Plan (2021-

2041), reports BSS.

NEC Chairperson and Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina will preside

over the meeting virtually from her

official Ganobhaban residence while

Ministers, State Ministers and others

concerned will join the meeting from

the NEC Conference Room and also

from the Bangladesh Secretariat.

Like before, General Economics

Division (GED) under the Planning

Commission has framed the draft of the

8th Five Year Plan which is also the first

out of the four five-year plans to

materialize the 2nd Perspective Plan

(2021-2041).

According to a high official of the

Planning Commission, targets have

been set under the 8th Five Year Plan to

attain GDP growth at 8 percent on

average per year which is expected to

reach 8.51 percent in 2025, which is

also the last year of the Plan.

Besides, the government is also eying

to generate around 11.33 million

employments during this Plan period

of which the number of overseas

employments would be 3.25 million.

Apart from this, around 7.81 million

fresh workforces will be added to the

labour market during this Plan period.

Besides, necessary strategy has been

finalized under the Plan to lower the

poverty rate at 15.6 percent by 2025.

Talking to BSS, Planning Minister

MA Mannan said that the 8th Five Year

Plan has been formulated as a

"progressive plan" in continuation of

the previous five year plans.

He said this expansionary Plan would

be helpful in attaining growth, further

alleviating poverty, further

strengthening the rural economy,

addressing income inequality,

expanding and further deepening the

coverage of the social safety nets.

"This 8th plan aims to further

modernize all sorts of education

including primary education while the

technology-based education will be

further expanded," he added.

The Planning Minister said the

country will witness more mega

projects during this fresh five-year Plan

period while the implementation of the

existing mega projects would get a

'pick-up' as well as many of those would

witness completion during this 8th

Plan period.

He said the government would put

more emphasis on boosting external

and bilateral trade with the emerging

economies side by side continue its

efforts to explore new markets

alongside keeping up the existing

markets.

Another senior official of the

Planning Commission told the national

news agency that this five-year plan

would also help the government in

attaining the targets under the

Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs) and the Delta Plan 2100.

"Besides, the experiences on

implementation of the 7th Five-Year

Plan and the government steps towards

facing the adverse impacts of the

COVID-19 were given special

consideration towards framing the

draft of this plan," added the official.

Another official at the Planning

Commission said around Taka 64959.8

billion will be required to implement

this Plan considering the financial

value of the year 2021. Out of that

amount, Taka 12301.2 billion (18.9%)

will be mobilized from the public sector

while Taka 52658.6 billion (81.1%)

from the private sector.

Out of the overall estimated amount

required for implementing the Plan,

the official said the government is eying

to mobilize Taka 57483.9 billion

(88.5%) from the domestic sources

while Taka 7475.9 billion (11.5%) from

the foreign sources.

Besides, the Plan also aims to raise

the tax-GDP ratio to 12.30 percent from

the existing level of 8.90 percent side by

side made draft recommendations to

make further amendments to the tax

law and modernization and

strengthening of the revenue board to

boost the revenue collection as well as

to reduce dependency on duty.

The 202nd Shibu Market branch of United Commercial Bank Limited (UCB) was inaugurated on 28

December 2020 at Shibu Market, Narayangonj. Syed Faridul Islam, Additional Managing Director

of UCB inaugurated the branch as Chief Guest. Among others, Additional Managing Director of UCB

Arif Quadri along with different officials of UCB Shibu Market branch and corporate office of the

Bank were present at the event. United Commercial Bank Limited, one of the largest private commercial

banks of the country is committed to give the best service to clients with a wide range of

branch networks all over the country since 1983.

Photo : Courtesy

Mercantile Bank Limited

has launched 15 more

Shariah complied Islamic

Banking services named

'TAQWA' in its countrywide.

Bank's Managing Director &

CEO Md. Quamrul Islam

Chowdhury inaugurated 15

new Islamic Banking Services

through 'Islamic Banking

Window' on Monday

virtually as Chief Guest.

The Islamic Banking

service commencing

branches are 01.Gulshan

Branch, 02. Tejgaon-Gulshan

Link Road Branch & 03.

Elephant Road Branch in

Dhaka; 04. Narayanganj

Branch; 05. Cumilla Branch;

06. Jubilee Road Branch in

Chattogram; 07.

Chhagalnaiya Branch, Feni;

08. Khulna Branch; 09.

Hajigonj Branch in

Chandpur; 10. Sylhet Branch;

11. Suagoanj Branch,

Cumilla; 12. Rajnagar

SME/Krishi Branch;

13.Dagonbhuiyan Branch,

Feni; 14. Maijdee Court

Branch & 15. Amishapara

SME/Krishi Branch in

Noakhali. Mercantile Bank

will offer these special

services through 25 Islamic

Banking Window besides

their regular conventional

banking. Mati Ul Hasan,

AMD & CRO of the bank

among other DMDs G.W.M.

Mortaza, Md. Zakir Hossain,

Adil Raihan & Shamim

Ahmed delivered their

speeches on the ceremony

along with Md. Mizanur

Rahman Sarker, Head of

Islamic Banking Division,

DCCI inks MoU with ICSB, Daffodil

International University

DHAKA : Dhaka Chamber

of Commerce and Industry

(DCCI) yesterday inked a

Memorandum

of

Understanding (MoU)) with

the Institute of Chartered

Secretaries Bangladesh

(ICSB) and Daffodil

International University

(DIU), reports BSS.

DCCI President Shams

Mahmud, President of ICSB

Muzaffar Ahmed and Acting

Vice Chancellor of DIU

Professor Dr SM Mahbubul

Haque signed the MOU on

behalf of their respective

organizations, said a press

release.

Shams Mahmud said a

strong secretariat and its

effective compliance play a

vital role in a company

helping

economic

development in the country.

He suggested designing new

modules of professional

courses jointly by DCCI

Business institute and ICSB.

He said the industrial sector

of Bangladesh needs huge

skilled professionals and

universities in our country

should focus on providing

such skilled workforce.

Chairman, Board of

Trustees,

Daffodil

International University Dr

Md Sabur Khan urged the

DBI to conduct research to

identify resourceful course

modules so that universities

can outline such curriculum.

For the development of the

economy industry and

academia should work hand

in hand. He also urged for

ensuring an entrepreneurfriendly

curriculum so that

after the academic career a

student can target to be a new

entrepreneur.

President of ICSB Muzaffar

Ahmed said research is an

important element for

economic development.

Private sector can play a

driving role for the

development of research, he

said.

respective branch managers

& senior executives of the

bank were present in the

ceremony, a press release

said.

The Managing Director &

CEO of the bank expressed

that by fulfilling the special

clients demand Islamic

Banking facility parallel to the

conventional banking will

ensure all types of client

services. He also stated that

Mercantile Bank will open 20

more 'Islamic Banking

Window' very soon which will

increase total 45 Islamic

Banking Window.

Jamuna Bank Limited inaugurated Hatibandha branch with modern banking services at Hatibandha

in Lalmonirhat. Freedom Fighter Md. Motahar Hossain, MP, Lalmonirhat-1 was present as the chief

guest in this ceremony. Deputy Managing Director of Jamuna Bank Limited Md. Fazlur Rahman

Chowdhury, other senior officials of the bank, heads of branches of the locality, dignitaries and a

huge number of customers were also present.

Photo : Courtesy

Walton secures ‘AAA’ credit

rating for 5th consecutive years

Country's electronics giant Walton Hi-

Tech Industries Limited has been

achieved the long-term AAA credit

ratings for the last financial year 2020,

says a press release.

The capital market listed only

Bangladeshi Multinational Electronics

secured the highest credit rating for the

fifth consecutive times.

The 'AAA' is the highest credit rating of

an organisation which indicates the

maximum ability of the financial

institution to fulfill its financial

commitments and the risk of business

and financial transactions is minimal.

According to Dhaka Stock Exchange,

this year Walton Hi-Tech Industries

Limited achieved the long-term AAA and

the short-term ST-1 credit ratings from

Emerging Credit Rating Limited (ECRL).

ECRL has given this rating to the

company after reviewing the financial

statements of Walton Hi-Tech Industries

Limited and other financial information

from financial year 2019-20 until

September 30, 2020 of the current

financial year.

Dwelling on such great success,

Walton Hi-Tech Industries' Managing

Director Golam Murshed said, 'Securing

the highest credit rating 'Triple-A' for the

fifth consecutive years is really a great

achievement for us. This has been made

possible mainly due to Walton's

experienced board of directors, modern

and scientific management methods,

world-standard corporate culture,

quality product and service

management, strong competitive

position, highest quality capital

management, ability to meet financial

commitments and strong liquidity

position. Walton is a trusted name to all

parties including investors, business

partners, retailers and customers. This

achievement is the evidence of that trust.'

Earlier, the company received the AAA

Nagad users can pay DESCO

electricity bill free

DHAKA : Users of Nagad, the digital financial service of the

postal department, can now pay the electricity bills of

DESCO without any additional costs.

Nagad and DESCO recently signed an agreement to this

effect.

Under the deal, the customers of Dhaka Electricity Supply

Company Limited (DESCO) would be able to pay the prepaid

and postpaid bills instantly, said a press release.

The facility to pay the bills began the official journey at a

programme at the head office of DESCO in Nikunja in Dhaka

recently.

Secretary of Power Division Md Habibur Rahman,

Additional Secretary of Power Division and Chairman of the

board of DESCO Maksuda Khatun, DESCO Managing

Director Md Kausar Ameer Ali, Nagad's Executive Director

Md Shafayet Alam, Chief Operating Officer Ashish

Chakraborty, Chief Corporate Officer Mohammad Anwar

Hossain, Chief Marketing Officer Kingshuk Haque, Head of

Utility Bill and Education Pay Sohael S Tasneem and Eastern

Bank Limited's Deputy Managing Director and Head of

Corporate Banking Ahmed Shaheen were present on the

occassion.

Speaking at the ceremony, Habibur Rahman said, "Both

DESCO and Nagad are government-owned companies. And

that's why this partnership initiative should have been taken

much earlier. Still, I would like to thank both sides for

initiating the move. It has been an excellent move not to

charge any fee for the payment of electricity bills of DESCO

through Nagad. I hope people will reap the benefit."

rating in the financial years of 2018-19,

2017-18, 2016-17 and 2015-16.

Following the Dutch method for the

first time in the country's capital market,

the cut-off price per share of Walton was

set at Tk 315 with the proposed rates of

the eligible investors during the bidding

of price discovery of Walton's share from

to 5 March this year.

Through the IPO lottery, Walton

allotted 1.55 million shares to the general

investors at Tk 252 each, a 20 per cent

discount on cut-off price, as the company

gave 10 per cent additional discount

considering the interest of the capital

market and small investors.

And Walton shares' trading debut in

the countries two stock exchanges-

Dhaka and Chittagong- on September 23

this year. For the consecutive trading

days following the debut, prices of

Walton's each share were increased up to

the highest limit of circuit breaker. In the

capital market history, no other

companies share prices were increased

up to the circuit breaker for such number

of consecutive days from the day of

trading debut.

TueSDAY, DeCeMBeR 29, 2020

9

India close in on series-parity

after clinical show

SpOrtS DeSk:

All the doubts - if any - of India

struggling in the absence of Virat kohli

and Mohammed Shami have been put

to rest in Melbourne. A clinical outing

with bat and ball have put India on the

brink of a series-levelling win after the

third day's play, despite being a bowler

short. Australia, whose batting caved in

at a rapid pace just warded off an

innings defeat, only just mind you, to

force proceedings to the fourth day of

the Melbourne test, reports Ap.

After being reduced to 99 for 6,

Cameron Green and pat Cummins

resisted the Indian attack to finish on

133 for 6, amidst a stand of 34 when

stumps were drawn on Monday

(December 28). In the absence of

Umesh Yadav, who left the field with a

calf injury, India only had four bowlers

to contend with. the quartet available

though, didn't let India feel his absence

bowling tight lengths and keeping the

batsmen in control, posing timely

questions. they gave away no freebies

as Australia's batsmen, already under

pressure having conceded a 131-run,

were made to work hard for their runs.

Joe Burns's horror summer

continued but Matthew Wade dug in

for his patient 40, much in contrast to

his preferred style of play. Marnus

Labuschagne was undone by Ashwin

before Steve Smith was bowled down

leg by Bumrah as Australia were in

trouble early in their innings. Ashwin

challenged the batsmen varying his

pace and lengths bringing both edges

into play. Bumrah deployed the shortball

tactic from time to time before

darting in the yorkers. Head and Wade

then fell in quick succession before tim

paine's caught-behind decision was

much debated after being given out via

Snicko, but the lack of intent from the

Australian batters on a wicket that had

eased out prompted another familiar

collapse, bringing to the fore the

dependency on a couple of players to

hold fort. Australia added pressure on

themselves letting the spin duo of

Jadeja and Ashwin get away with overs

that fetched very little runs for three

wickets, conceding just 71 runs in 33

overs.

Australia bagged five wickets in the

opening session to bowl India out for

326. Australia needed quick wickets in

order to keep in control India's swelling

lead, and did well in the end to wrap up

the tail without too much fuss within

the first session. After finally getting rid

of centurion Ajinkya rahane and

Jadeja after their sapping century

stand, the Australian bowlers didn't let

the tail wag. After a poor outing in the

field yesterday, where Australia

dropped as many as five catches, even

letting off rahane twice, it was a run

out that finally gave Australia the

wicket they wanted. It was the first time

that rahane had been run out in test

cricket, departing for a splendid 112

that anchored India's innings.

Of the 24 balls in his spell, Mitchell

Starc bowled 22 short balls, with his

barrage unsettling the Indian tail, his

reward coming with Jadeja's wicket for

57. Umesh and Ashwin were dealt body

blows but the hosts' ongoing tryst with

dropped catches continued, with the

tally extending to as many as six in the

innings after Labuschagne put down

Ashwin at leg slip off Lyon whose late

runs were crucial in stretching India's

lead.

After Burns departed cheaply once

again, Labuschagne was saved by

umpire's call before adding runs at the

top with Wade. Labuschagne was living

dangerously though until his luck ran

out with Ashwin ekeing out the outside

edge against a quicker one, setting him

up nicely with the slower ones leading

up to it. India then reviewed another

leg before shout against Wade on the

insistence of Siraj but it pitched outside

leg. Wade, who had a very slow start,

began to gain momentum as the

session progressed.

the Ashwin vs Smith battle resumed

after the offspinner had gotten the

better of the right-hander so far in the

series with no runs scored off him

before this innings. Ashwin varied his

pace against Smith, forcing him to play

on the front foot, and kept it straight

with a leg gully and a slip. Smith was

fidgety and Ashwin almost had his man

when Smith flicked one down leg but it

didn't carry. Smith eventually fell to

Bumrah, and with scores of 1, 1*, 0 and

8 for 10 runs so far in the series, it's the

lowest tally he has recorded across four

innings in his career.

Brief scores: Australia 195 & 133/6

(Matthew Wade 40, Marnus

Labuschagne 28; ravindra Jadeja 2-

25) lead India 326 (Shubman Gill 45,

Ajinkya rahane 112, ravindra Jadeja

57; pat Cummins 2-80, Mitchell Starc

3-78) by 2 runs.

All the five bowlers employed by India in the second innings picked a wicket each at least.

Photo: AP

Masked and muted Olympics

will still dominate crowded

2021 in sports

SpOrtS DeSk:

the rescheduled tokyo Olympics will be the

centrepiece of a crammed sporting year in 2021

as sports administrators who had their

calendars wiped away by the coronavirus

pandemic try to fill the gaps even as a second

wave hits, reports BSS.

While the Games will still be called the 2020

Olympics, they have been changed by Covid-19.

tokyo organisers and the Japanese

government are struggling with increased costs

and, despite the growing possibility of

vaccination, whether to allow foreign visitors

and what safeguards and restrictions will apply

to spectators and participants.

In early December, organisers said the

delayed Games will cost at least an extra $2.4

billion as the unprecedented peacetime

postponement and a raft of pandemic health

measures inflate a budget that was already over

$13 billion.

enthusiasm appears to have waned in Japan.

A poll in July showed that just one in four

people wanted to see the Games held in 2021 -

and a majority backed either further delay or

cancellation.

"Whether it's seen as too much or that we

have done well to contain the costs, I think it

depends on how you look at it," said tokyo

2020 CeO toshiro Muto.

Organisers have reduced the number of free

tickets, scaled down the opening ceremony and

made savings on mascots, banners and meals,

but so far have cut just $280 million.

"It will be simple rather than festive, but I

hope it will be something moving that

encourages people through the power of sport,"

he said.

the organisers are determined to go ahead

next year, even if the pandemic has not

receded.

they want to welcome foreign spectators and

plan to waive quarantine requirements.

they plan to require fans to wear masks, to

refrain from cheering and keep their ticket

stubs for contact tracing.

Athletes will be asked to arrive late and leave

early, minimise their time in the Olympic

village, refrain from speaking loudly, avoid

physical contact and wear masks when not

competing or training. they will be screened on

arrival and undergo tests every four to five

days. "I think the Games will go off," World

Athletics president Sebastian Coe said this

month. "What nobody is clearly across at the

moment, is… whether we are going to have a

stadium populated by good, noisy, passionate

fans."

the challenge for the organisers is

considerable, since the Games bring together

11,000 athletes from 206 countries,

accompanied by at least 5,000 officials and

coaches, 20,000 media representatives and

60,000 volunteers. Meanwhile, other sports,

desperate to make up for lost time are, for the

most part, manoeuvering to minimise overlaps

between their revamped schedules and the

Olympic behemoth.

the National Basketball Association, which

only finished its coronavirus-hit 2019-20

season on October 12, agreed with its players

union to start the new season on December 22,

cut the regular season by 10 games and end it

on May 16.

Murray receives

Australian Open

wild card

SpOrtS DeSk:

Former world number one

Andy Murray has been

handed a wild card for

February's delayed Australian

Open, pushed back three

weeks as a result of the

coronavirus pandemic,

reports BSS.

Murray, 33, is a five-time

runner-up in Melbourne but

feared his last match at the

tournament in 2019 would

mark the end of his career due

to chronic hip pain.

the injury pushed him to

the brink of retirement but the

three-time Grand Slam

champion is battling to extend

his career having undergone

two hip surgeries.

the Scot's ranking of 122 is

too low to qualify directly for

the Australian Open main

draw, which starts on

February 8, and he has also

accepted a wild card to the

Delray Beach event early next

month.

Murray played just seven

tour-level matches this year as

he returned to action in

August following a lingering

pelvic injury and the

suspension of the tennis

season. "We welcome Andy

back to Melbourne with open

arms," said Australian Open

tournament director Craig

tiley.

Lionel Messi remained coy on his future at Barcelona in a long interview broadcast on Sunday in

which he called the Catalan giants "my life".

Photo: AP

Messi says Barca ‘my life’ but

stays tight-lipped on future

SpOrtS DeSk:

Lionel Messi remained coy on his future

at Barcelona in a long interview broadcast

on Sunday in which he called the Catalan

giants "my life", reports BSS.

Speaking to Spanish tV channel La

Sexta, Messi insisted that he was "excited"

to play under coach ronald koeman this

season despite trying to leave the club

where he has played his entire senior

career last summer.

He said that at the time he felt like he

"needed a change", but his attempted exit

was blocked amid a spat with former

Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Messi's contract expires at the end of

the season and from next month he will be

free to negotiate a move away from

Catalonia.

"Barca is my life, I'm in love with the

club. And the city, my children were born

here," Messi said in an interview

conducted earlier this month.

"It's true I had a bad time in the

SpOrtS DeSk:

that pakistan's run-rate of 2.34 was an

improvement dictated the narrative on

the third day until their late dash to

avoid the follow-on, with Faheem

Ashraf's career-best 91 at the center of it,

stealing all the limelight in Mount

Maunganui. pakistan were eventually

bowled out for 239 but the cat-andmouse

game to the follow-on score of

231, and how Ashraf delivered pakistan

past it with some help from four

consecutive boundaries off tim Southee,

made for a thrilling watch, reports Ap.

From reeling at 52/5, in part

prompted by an unbelievable run-rate of

1.33, pakistan were able to steady

themselves with a century stand

between Ashraf and Mohammad

rizwan before a run out by Mitchell

Santner sparked yet another collapse. It

was New Zealand's way of unpausing the

game after they controlled the

proceedings with immaculate lines and

summer. It came from everything that

happened before the summer, how the

season ended, the burofax (how Messi

communicated his desire to leave), all of

that.

"I carried that into the start of the

season a little bit."

Bartomeu stepped down in October and

a new Barcelona president will be elected

on January 24, after which 33-year-old

Messi is expected to begin talks over

whether to extend his career-long stay.

"I feel good right now, ready to fight for

everything. I feel excited," he said. - Barca

situation 'really bad' -

Messi said he is under no illusions over

the position Barca find themselves in,

with the financial problems exacerbated

by the coronavirus pandemic likely to

hamper player recruitment.

"I know the club is going through a

difficult period and that makes everything

surrounding Barcelona difficult, but I am

motivated," he said.

lengths that saw scoreboards static for

long periods of time.

kyle Jamieson, the first-change

bowler, led the way with that ploy earlier

in the day, bowling four maiden overs on

the trot before picking the wicket of Abid

Ali. Until then, pakistan had done well to

get through the opening spells of tim

Southee and trent Boult but Ali's wicket

sort of opened the doors. Boult barged

through it with the wicket of

nightwatchman Mohammad Abbas

(which gave ross taylor his 150th catch

in tests) and Southee followed it up with

two strikes in an over. It left pakistan

without their mainstays Azhar Ali and

Haris Sohail, and in muddy waters.

the slow scoring rate at the time only

made matters worse. But come the rainmarred

afternoon session, pakistan

fared better scoring 41 runs across 20

overs. Fawad Alam, the only wicket lost

in that session, fell top-edging a bouncer

from Neil Wagner. that the pacer

managed to take the field today after x-

He described Barca's situation as "really

bad" and poured scorn on the idea that

Neymar could make a shock return to

Catalonia.

"to do that you need money, and there

is no money. Neymar would cost a lot,"

Messi said.

Much of the talk surrounding Messi's

departure centred around the possibility

he might reunite with pep Guardiola at

Manchester City, although there are also

reports of him potentially lining up

alongside Neymar at paris Saint-

Germain.

Messi won three La Liga titles and two

Champions Leagues in his four seasons

under Guardiola, and was full of praise for

his former boss.

"pep has something special. He makes

you see things in one way: how he

prepares for matches, defensively, how to

attack," he said. "He told you exactly how

the match was going to be, how you had to

attack to win."

Ashraf-rizwan scrap not enough

to negate NZ's advantage

ray scans diagnosed an undisplacedfracture

in the fourth right toe was in

itself commendable.

Mohammad rizwan and Faheem

Ashraf then batted with intent, scoring at

strike-rates of around 45 to throw the

New Zealand pacers off their lengths a

bit. rizwan scored his fourth fifty, his

first as captain, and Ashraf followed suit

with his second half-century in the

format as the duo put on 107 runs for the

seventh wicket.

the flow of runs also forced errors

from the hosts, none more glaring that

rizwan's dropped catch in the slips by

Southee. then on 61, rizwan went on to

add 10 runs before succumbing to

Mitchell Santner's direct-hit from deep

square leg.

that crucial run out of the pakistan

captain late in the day made the visitors

vulnerable to a lower-order collapse and

a possible follow-on, and it took a heroic

effort from Ashraf to ensure that New

Zealand bat again.

Mohammad Rizwan acknowledges the crowd after bringing up his fifty against New Zealand. Photo: AP

TUesDAY, DeceMBeR 29, 2020

10

Actress Tareen's father

Md. Shahjahan on life support

TBT RepoRT

The country's popular dancer,

model, singer as well as actress of

small screen Tareen Jahan's father

Md. Shahjahan was admitted to a

hospital in the capital, she

confirmed news on her Facebook

status.

She said that her father is

currently on life support.

She sought everyone's blessings

for her father.

"My father, my strength, has been

put on life support. I just want your

sincere prayers," Tareen wrote in

her post.

Tareen's father Md. Shahjahan is

a businessman. Her mother

Tahmina Jahan is a housewife.

Tareen Jahan is the youngest of five

sisters. Tareen said his father Md.

Shahjahan has been suffering from

the geriatric disease for a long time.

He was admitted to the hospital last

Thursday when his physical

condition worsened recently. When

his condition deteriorated, he was

kept on life support as per the

doctors' advice.

Irrfan Khan's final film The Song

of Scorpions gears up for release

Get ready to witness Irrfan Khan on

the big screen one last time with

The Song of Scorpions. Written and

directed by Anup Singh, the film,

which is a "story of twisted love,

revenge and the redemptive power

of a song", also stars Golshifteh

Farahani, Waheeda Rehman and

Shashank Arora.

The film follows Nooran

(Farahani), a fiercely independent

tribal woman who is learning the

ancient healing art of scorpionsinging

from her grandmother

Zubeidaa (Rehman). According to a

myth, if a scorpion bites you, you

will die unless a scorpion-singer

sings her song and cures you.

Irrfan Khan's character Aadam is

a camel trader Aadam who falls in

love with Nooran.

The Song of Scorpions will be

released in early 2021 by Panorama

Spotlight along with 70 MM

Talkies.

Though The Song of Scorpions is

not the final project Irrfan shot for,

it will indeed be the last film of his

career to see the light of day. The

Song of Scorpions premiered at

Switzerland's 70th Locarno Film

Festival in August 2017.

Talking about the release of The

Song of Scorpions, Abhishek

Pathak, Producer and Director at

Panorama Spotlight, said in a

statement, "The Song of Scorpions

is a special story, and it is truly an

honour for us to present Irrfan

Khan's final performance in it. We

will be offering this film to the

audiences as a tribute to the

beloved star of Indian cinema. The

era of cinema in India and abroad

has benefitted from his acting

prowess and we're happy to have

canvassed his swansong."

Irrfan Khan was last seen in

Angrezi Medium, which released in

March this year.

Source: Indian Express

Proud

to be a

Muslim:

Barsha

TBT RepoRT

Actress Barsha expressed her feelings by

posting a picture of herself wearing a

hijab on Instagram "I am proud to be a

Muslim, Alhamdulillah, SubhanAllah,

MashaAllah".

The Search' famed actress was

greeted her with "SubhanAllah,

MashaAllah" in the comment box by

the fans and followers after posting the

photo.

Although the full name of the Barsha

is Afiea Nusrat Barsha, it has been

heard lately that the real name of this

actress is Khadiza. The name Barsha

has been added after debuting in the

film industry. She started her career as a

Popular actress Jennifer Aniston has

received backlash for her 2020 Christmas

decoration on social media.

The "Friends" actress posted an

Instagram story showing a Christmas

ornament engraved with the message "our

first pandemic 2020" which didn't go

down well with many internet users,

reports India Today.

Some Twitter users called her out for

appearing to share a message that seems to

ignore the losses and challenges brought

on by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Many internet users called out Jennifer

Aniston for being insensitive towards

model. She made her film debut in

2010 with Ananta Jalil through the film

'Khoj: The Search' directed by Iftekhar

Chowdhury. In her career, she played a

significant role in big-budget films like

'Khoj: The Search', 'Hridoy Vanga

Dheo', 'Most Welcome'. She is currently

awaiting the release of a film titled 'Din

The Day' most of which were shot in

Iran and Turkey. The protagonist of

Barsha is her husband Ananta Jalil as

usual. Barsha is a managing director of

Monsoon Film. She tied the knot with

Ananta Jalil on 23 September 2011. She

is now also the managing director of a

garments company called AB Group.

Jennifer Aniston receives

backlash for 'our first pandemic'

Christmas ornament

people's sufferings because of the

pandemic. One Twitter user wrote, "what

was the reason??? plus she acting like we

gonna have another one? "our first" miss

girl it better be our LAST."

Another one wrote, "Celebrities really

live in a different world."While many

criticised the actress for the post, there

were many others who liked her humour

and supported her. One such user wrote,

"Everyone's dunking on her but I'm

picking up on a sarcastic energy and

lowkey I like it."

TBT RepoRT

Another fan wrote, "This was clearly

meant with humour. Why are we giving

this air with all the actual things in the

world that we could be offended by? Don't

enable that faux rage in people, it's not

productive."

Jennifer Aniston became a household

name for portraying the character of

Racheal in the famous sitcom "Friends."

She has also acted in popular movies such

as: The Break-Up, Marley & Me, Just Go

with It, Horrible Bosses, We're the Millers

and Dumplin' among others.

Shikha's party song

'Boom Boom' released

Model and actress Shikha Khan will be seen this time as the model

of the party song 'Boom Boom'. The music video was released on

Sorna Tv's YouTube channel on Wednesday (December 28). It was

created by popular director Soumitra Ghosh Emon.

About the song, model and actress Shikha said, "This party song is

being made and promoted on the occasion of 31st Night in

Bangladesh. I hope the audience will have a lot of fun and will enjoy

it very much.

It is to be noted that Ashiquzzaman Apu is basically known as a

visual colorist or colorist in showbiz but he has a multi-faceted

talent. He can write songs, compose melodies and even sing well.

With no time or opportunity, he is busy with the color scheme in the

video and this is how he got acquainted. In the meantime, he has

gained a good reputation in film, drama and advertisement by

arranging colors. It is to be noted that Ashiquzzaman Apu is

basically known as a visual colorist or colorist in showbiz but he has

a multi-faceted talent. He can write songs, compose melodies and

even sings well. With no time or opportunity, he is busy with the

color scheme in the video and this is how he got acquainted. In the

meantime, he has gained a good reputation in film, drama and

advertisement by arranging colors.

With no time or opportunity, he is busy with the color scheme in

the video and this is how he got acquainted. In the meantime, he has

gained a good reputation in film, drama and advertisement by

arranging colors scheme.

H o R o s c o p e

ARIes

(March 21 - April 20) : You are very

interested in all kinds of professions

that concern humans, Aries -

medicine, psychology, or any kind of

spiritual therapy. You will be very sensitive to the

great opening toward the future that comes along

today. The planetary alignment initiates progress in

all areas of human existence. Keep your eyes and

ears wide open.

TAURUs

(April 21 - May 21) : You may surprise

the people around you over the next

few days, Taurus. You're a responsible

person and others can count on you.

But just like anybody else, you're sensitive to your

desires. You should expect your desires to be so

strong today that they may be irresistible. If this is

a positive experience, you may need to do some

planning in your personal life.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21) : You may have to stand

by certain difficult, worrisome decisions

today, Gemini. You may feel a kind of urgent

need for stability in your personal life. What

is really behind this feeling? Is it possible that you're just

afraid of your desire to put everything into question in

order to make a fresh start? Today you may find the

answer to this question. Stay tuned.

cANceR

(June 22 - July 23) : Do you help the

world evolve, Cancer? You may ask

yourself this kind of delicate question

today. Even if you're a person of

action who knows how to react to situations, you

should be careful not to be too impulsive. You

have a specific role to play. Don't get thrown off

track by emotional circumstances.

Leo

(July 24 - Aug. 23): You may tend to

be overprotective of the people closest to

you, especially children. You may feel

you live in a dangerous world in which

people don't care about responsibility to one another.

But the people you're trying to protect are probably

better prepared and adapted to the world than you

think, Leo. They might try to tell you this even if your

support is indispensable.

VIRGo

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): You probably need

society's or other people's approval in order to

feel good about yourself, Virgo. But your

original personality and way of thinking are

often hard for others to accept. You may need to make your

ideas less crazy and a little more down to Earth and practical.

This should be your goal over the next few days if you don't

want to feel left out of things.

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): The events of the day

depend on your ability to put things into

question today, Libra. In general, you're

good at analyzing situations when things

aren't going well in your relationships. Now someone

in your family may have a problem acting responsibly.

It's up to that person to take care of things, but you

could understand the message the person is trying to

send other people with his or her behavior.

scoRpIo

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): The planetary

aspects are going to have a big

impact on you today, Scorpio. This

isn't the time to fear the future.

Rather, it's a time to make it happen. The action

you take right now will be instrumental in your

future. Will there be enough of us walking toward

the future? Scorpio will be at the head of the pack

in any case, as always.

sAGITTARIUs

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): People are more alike

than we think, especially on days like today

that mean virtually the same thing to

everyone. Some incredible changes have

taken place in the world and its economic and social

systems. Now is the time to think about what the next few

years have in store. Do you have any ideas? Try to

articulate them.

cApRIcoRN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): Today is an

inspirational day for you, fast

thinking Capricorn. Let those visions

come to you, process them, and try to

verbalize them. A lot of information and

electricity is in the air, and you should have no

problem picking up on it. Open up your channels

for the best reception. Have a notepad handy to

jot down all your insights.

AQUARIUs

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : You're usually good

at bringing people together. Your

greatest strength is giving identity to

those people who seek it. In fact, you're

so aware of the differences between people that you

resist the changes that come about as people evolve.

Today's planetary alignment confronts you with

issues that concern your future. Your position will

help you accept things and go forward.

pIsces

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : Some of you still let

individuals from other Zodiac signs do all

the creating for you. The planetary

configuration today pushes you to free

yourself from the ties that bind you. It's time for you to

show more creativity. Show the gems that you usually

hide. Express yourself fully, without hesitation. Show

others who's really in charge.

tueSdAY, deCeMbeR 29, 2020

11

Counter Terrorism (CT) unit of Chittagong Metropolitan Police arrested two people overcarrying out these fraudulent activities

s in the port city of Chattogram with fake notes worth Tk 3.34 lakh on Monday. Photo: Saidul Rahman Shakib

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Iqvmv- R: Z: 483/2020

GD- 1774/20 (7 x 4)

a

A

South Korea detects

first coronavirus

variant cases

SEOUL : Three cases of a

particularly infectious

coronavirus variant that

recently emerged in

Britain have been confirmed

in South Korea,

health authorities said

Monday.

The three individuals are

members of a Londonbased

family who arrived

in the country on

December 22, according to

the Korea Disease Control

and Prevention Agency.

They have been placed in

isolation since testing positive

for Covid-19 on

arrival, the KDCA statement

said.

The new strain of the

virus emerged earlier this

month in Britain and has

already reached several

European countries, as

well as Canada, Jordan

and Japan.

Last week London said

another new variant of the

virus was found in the

country in cases linked to

South Africa, which is the

first African nation to

record one million coronavirus

cases.

The new strain, which

ÒkvwšÍ cvwbÓ gv‡qi ggZvi gZ wbivc`

2 detained over carrying

fraudulent activities using

counterfeit money in Ctg

Saidul Rahman Shakib, Chattogram Metropolitan

West Correspondent: Counter Terrorism (CT) unit of

Chittagong Metropolitan Police arrested two members of a

mobile buying and selling fraudulent online business in

the port city of Chattogram with fake notes worth Tk 3.34

lakh. The detainees were identified as Mohiuddin Al Azad,

26, son of late Shamsul Alam of Pekua Police Station in

Rajbari area and Md Marufullah, 28, son of late Mahbub

Mollah of Mollabari in Gutapara UP of Bagerhat district.

After an American expatriate recently came to the country,

and advertised on Facebook for a sale post of 'SAM-

SUNG GALAXY NOTE-20 ULTRA' model mobile set. A

fraudster pretends to be the buyer to buy the mobile set

with his fake Facebook ID 'Fahim Khan'. The fraudster

went to Chandanpura area and paid Tk 78,000 and took

the mobile set. Later the seller realizeed that the entire

amount of Tk 78,000 paid by the buyer is fake notes and

he has been deceived.

When such an incident took place, he lodged a complaint

of fraud in the cyber unit of the Counter Terrorism

Department of the CMP. In a similar incident on the 18th,

the fraudster with same mobile number brought a mobile

phone 'ONE PLUS 8 Pro' with fake notes of Tk 60,000 in

cash from a student from Halishahar police station area of

experts fear is more contagious,

prompted more

than 50 countries to

impose travel restrictions

on Britain.

South Korea was among

them and has barred

flights from Britain until

January 7.

In addition, the country

will make it mandatory for

passengers travelling from

Britain or South Africa to

submit negative Covid-19

test results before departure,

KDCA chief Jung

Eun-kyeong said.

Authorities are also

looking into the case of an

elderly South Korean man

who tested positive for

Covid-19 after his body

was returned from Britain

earlier this month.

The announcement came as

a third wave of the virus grips

the country, with a resurgence

centred on the greater Seoul

area seeing daily cases climb

to over 1,000 several times

this month despite stricter distancing

measures.

South Korea reported 808

new cases Monday, raising its

national total to 57,680 with

819 deaths.

Israel imposes third

nationwide COVID-19

lockdown amid

vaccination drive

JERUSALEM : Israel entered

on Sunday the third nationwide

lockdown as the country

gears up a vaccination drive to

curb a resurging wave of

COVID-19 infections.

The restrictions will last at

least two weeks, pending a

final decision by the coronavirus

cabinet.

From 5 pm local time (1500

GMT), all people are required

to stay within 1,000 meters of

their home, except for commuting

to workplaces that

have been defined as "essential,"

seeking medical care,

attending legal proceedings,

and exercising, reports UNB.

Restaurants and shops were

closed, except for deliveries.

Unlike the two previous

lockdowns, kindergartens,

schools for children under six,

and secondary schools for

grades 11 and 12 will remain

open during the current lockdown.

The finance ministry estimated

in a statement last

week that reimposing the

lockdown will cost the Israeli

economy about 3 billion new

shekels (930 million U.S. dollars)

a week. A day earlier,

Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu said he was hopeful

that the country's vaccination

drive will help beat the

pandemic, as Israel is entering

the second week of its vaccination

drive.

42/1329

GD- 1775/20 (7 x 3)

the city.

Following this, the main fraudster Mohiuddin Al Azad

Mohin Khan (26) was arrested from the port area on

December 27 with the help of information technology.

According to the information given by the arrested

accused, fake notes worth Tk 34,000, 0 mobiles bought by

fraud, 1 'ONE PLUS 8 Pro' model mobile phone, 1 'SAM-

SUNG Note20 Ultra 5G' mobile phone, 1 'SAMSUNG

Note10 + Mobile phones, 1 Winstar mobile phone and 1

ASUS LAPTOP were recovered from his house.

It is learnt that they have been using fake money for a

long time to buy mobiles, laptops and other scams online.

According to the information provided by him, the members

of the Counter Terrorism Unit arrested another member

named Mahbub Mollah (28) while searching for the

source of counterfeit money. He was arrested with a fake

net worth Tk 3 lakh, 1 'Winmax' mobile phone and 1

'Samsung J3' mobile phone.

Hamidul Alam, Deputy Commissioner of Police,

Counter Terrorism Unit, told reporters, "The gang is carrying

out these fraudulent activities by collecting fake

notes from Bagerhat. The operation to arrest other members

of the gang is underway. Regular cases have been registered

in their names at Bandar Police Station."

Rescue missions for trapped Tehran

mountain climbers find 12 bodies

AvBGmwcAvi/wewea/2392

28/12/2020 GD- 1776/20 (4 x 3)

TEHRAN : At least 12 mountain climbers

were found dead in the northern mountains of

Iran's capital Tehran after a blizzard hit the

area, rescuers and police sources said Sunday.

Three separate incidents occurred in the

districts of Kolakchal, Ahar, and Darabad on

Friday when a sudden blizzard caused avalanches,

prompting large-scale search and rescue

missions. After three days of search, the

Red Crescent in Tehran on Sunday called off

their operations, saying they have rescued 14

people trapped in the northern heights of the

capital and recovered 11 bodies. Also in the

day, police in Kolakchal district said they

found a 12th victim of the blizzard, according

to semi-official news agency Tasnim.

27/12/2020

Tuesday, Dhaka, December 29, 2020, Poush 14, 1427 BS, Jamadi-ul Awal 13 , 1442 Hijri

Awareness about the use of masks is growing. The picture was taken from Mugda area of Dhaka on

Monday.

Photo : Star Mail

27 more Covid-19

deaths in BD

DHAKA : Bangladesh saw the deaths of

23 more men and four women from

Covid-19 in the last 24 hours until early

Monday, reports UNB.

The fatality number rose to 7,479

since the first cases were reported in the

country on March 8. Also, 932 new

cases were reported during the same

period, taking the country's total caseload

to 510,080, said the Directorate

General of Health Services.

So far, 3,184,527 tests have been carried

out. The overall infection rate stood

at 16.02% and the death rate at 1.47

However, 453,318 patients - 88.87% -

have recovered up to now.

Bangladesh is seeing 2,995.07 infections,

2,661.78 recoveries and 43.91

deaths per million. The country's infection

number reached the 5,00000-mark

on December 20. The first death was

reported on March 18 and the death toll

exceeded 7,000 on December 12.

The government has been warning of

a second wave of Covid-19 in winter

and urging people to follow health safety

measures. It has also adopted a "no

mask, no service" policy.

Bangladesh will get Covid-19 vaccines

for around 4.5 crore people by May-

June next year, Cabinet Secretary

Khandker Anwarul Islam said recently.

"We will get 3 crore doses of vaccine

for 1.5 crore people at the end of

January or early February next year

and 6 crore doses for 3 crore people by

May-June."

Force Myanmar

to take back

Rohingyas : Quader

DHAKA : Awami League General

Secretary Obaidul Quader on Monday

urged the international community to

mount pressure on Myanmar to take

back Rohingyas, reports UNB.

He made the call at a regular briefing

at his official residence.

Since the outbreak of the Rohingya

crisis, the Sheikh Hasina government

has been seeking supportedof the international

community for a peaceful solution

to the crisis and continuing its

diplomatic efforts, he said.

Quader, also Road Transport and

Bridges Minister, said about 1.2 million

Rohingyas have taken shelter in Teknaf-

Ukhia, putting a great pressure on the

economy of Bangladesh and harming

the environment.

Both the social environment and the

biodiversity are now at stake as huge

people have been living in a place

beyond its capacity, Quader said.

The government has taken steps to relocate

the Rohingyas to Bhasanchar with

more facilities due to the delay in their

repatriation to Myanmar, Quader said.

The minister said only those who volunteer

to go to Bhashanchar are being

shifted and no pressure has been created

on them. The minister said the government

has already taken initiatives to

collect Covid-19 vaccine as and when it

is available.

He is hopeful that the vaccine will

arrive in the country either in the last

week of January or in February.

Mentioning that preparations are

underway to collect and store the vaccine

smoothly, the minister said the

health ministry is working on it and

informing people in this regard.

11 crore people connected to

internet in the country:Palak

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for

ICT, referring to Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina's Digital Bangladesh, said 11

crore people in the country are now connected

to the Internet. 10 lakh young

people are involved

in the IT sector,

including freelancing,

software development,

and outsourcing.

This

would not have

been possible if

Digital Bangladesh

had not been successfully

implemented,

a press release said. He said the

ICT sector has created employment for

10 lakh youths in the last 12 years. He

also said that in the epidemic of Covid-

19, education, health, agriculture, court

and supply system and even judicial

work have been kept active.

The state minister said this while

addressing a function virtually as the

chief guest at the "Witsa Award

Celebration 2020" organized by

Bangladesh Computer Society on

Monday.

Bangladesh Computer Association

President Md. Shahid-ul-Munir presided

over the function while among others,

NM Ziaul Alam, Senior Secretary, ICT

Department, Witsar Chairman Yasin

Siros and Witsar Secretary General, Dr.

James H. Poisantwere among others also

present at the occasion.

The state minister further said Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina had withdrawn

import duty on computers in 1996 to

make computers easily available to the

common people.

As a result, the children

of ordinary

people of all classes

in Bangladesh have

got the opportunity

to use computers.

Through the

implementation of

the Prime

Minister's vision,

we have been able to stand on our own

two feet in the field of technology for the

last 12 years. Mentioning that mobile

financial wallets like our cash have been

created, he said that no foreign inventor

was needed here. Our local entrepreneurs

have solved many such problems.

He said the WCIT award will inspire

new entrepreneurs in the days to come.

It is to be noted that Bangladesh has

won six projects in different categories

out of 9 categories of 'Witsa ICT

Excellence Award' at the World

Congress of IT, WCIT 2020, which is

famous for its information technology

Olympics. The projects are: Bijoy Digital,

Innovation Design and Entrepreneurship

Academy (Idea) Project, My Help,

Cash, Prism ERP, jointly with Synesis IT

and A2I.

Saudi court hands prison sentence

to women's rights activist

A Saudi court on Monday sentenced

prominent women's rights activist

Loujain al-Hathloul to five years and

eight months in prison, her family and

local media said, in a trial that has drawn

international condemnation as Riyadh

faces renewed US scrutiny, reports

Reuters.

Hathloul, 31, has been held since 2018

following her arrest along with at least a

dozen other women's rights activist.

The verdict poses an early challenge to

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's

relationship with US President-elect Joe

Biden, who has criticised Riyadh's

human rights record.

Hathloul was charged with seeking to

change the Saudi political system and

harming national security, Sabq and al-

Shark al-Awsat newspapers said.

The court suspended two years and 10

months of her sentence-or most of the

time already served since her arrest on

May 15, 2018 -- with a conditional

release to follow, the newspapers and

Hathloul's sister said. She could therefore

be released around end of February

2021, with a return to prison possible if

she commits any crime, the newspapers.

Hathloul was also given a five-year

travel ban, her sister Lina tweeted,

adding that both the public prosecutor

and Hathloul could appeal the judge's

verdict. United Nations human rights

experts have called the charges "spurious",

and along with leading rights

groups and lawmakers in the United

States and Europe have called for her

release.

Rights groups and her family say

Hathloul, who had championed

women's right to drive and for ending

the kingdom's male guardian system,

was subjected to abuse, including electric

shocks, waterboarding, flogging and

sexual assault. Saudi authorities have

denied the charges.

The criminal court last week cleared

the prosecution of torturing Hathloul in

detention, saying there was no evidence

to support the allegations.

Hathloul's sentencing came nearly

three weeks after a Riyadh court jailed

US-Saudi physician Walid al-Fitaihi for

six years, despite US pressure to release

him, in a case rights groups have called

politically motivated.

Foreign diplomats said the two trials

aimed to send a message at home and

abroad that Saudi Arabia would not

yield to pressure on human rights

issues. Riyadh could also use the sentences

as leverage in future negotiations

with the Biden administration, one

diplomat said. Biden has said he will

take a firmer line with the kingdom, an

oil titan and a major buyer of American

arms, than President Donald Trump,

who was a strong supporter of Prince

Mohammed.

Mild cold wave

continues to sweep

over the country

DHAKA : A mild cold wave continues

to sweep over the country's north and

northeastern regions with the mercury

falling below 9 degree Celsius in some

parts of the country.

The mild cold wave has already

gripped the regions of Dinajpur,

Panchagarh, Kurigram, Rajshahi,

Pabna, Noagaon, Jashore, Kushtia,

Chuadanga, Barishal, Gopalgonj and

Srimangal and it may continue, according

to Met office weather bulletin.

Light to moderate fog may occur over

the country during late night to morning.

Night and day temperature may

remain nearly unchanged over the

country. Weather may remain dry over

the country.

The lowest temperature of the country

was recorded at 7.7 degree Celsius at

Chuadanga while the maximum temperature

was 27.5 degree Celsius in Shitakunda.

Another GP bomb

found at HSIA

DHAKA : Another General Purpose

(GP) bomb weighing nearly 250 kg was

found yesterday during the ongoing piling

at the construction site of the third

terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal

International Airport (HSIA).

A bomb disposal unit of the

Bangladesh Air Force Base

Bangabandhu rushed to the spot and

defused the bomb, said a press release

issued here. The bomb was then taken

to a safe place with the necessary precautions

for disposal.

According to the release, bomb

experts have opined that the bomb was

dropped on the ground during the War

of Liberation in 1971 like the previous

bombs found at Hazrat Shahjalal

International Airport.

DHAKA : Bangladesh hopes to achieve a

15% growth in export earnings this fiscal,

with the economy showing

resilience to come out of the economic

downturn caused by the pandemic and

the government hinting at another stimulus

package in view of a second wave of

Covid that has already hit Europe.

In the last financial year, the country's

export earnings suffered a whopping

17% negative growth, despite the

government lowering the target than

that of the previous fiscal for the first

time since 1971. According to an official

document in possession with

UNB, the government has set an

export growth target of 10.8% and 11%

in 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscals,

respectively.The export growth in

2018-19 was 10.5%, while it was estimated

at 12% in the lastfiscal,but

Covid and its aftermath forced the

government to revise it to anegative

growth of10%. According to Export

Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, the

Conspirators active

to destroy CHT

peace: Hasan

CHATTOGRAM : Information

Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud yesterday

said conspirators are still active to

destroy the prevailing peace in

Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) region

along with destroying the peace of the

country as well.

"Those, who are not happy with the

development and peace of the country,

are also not happy with the development,

progress and peace of the hill

tracks region," he said and urged all to

remain alert against the conspirators.

The minister stated these while

inaugurating 'Bangabandhu Tour the

CHT Mountain Bike' competition at

Sajek Valley in Baghaichhari upazila of

Rangamati marking the birth centenary

of Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu.

President of Parliamentary

Standing Committee on Food

Dipankar Talukder, MP, Chairman

of CHT Taskforce Refugee Affairs

Kujendra Lal Tripura, MP, Basanti

Chakma, MP, Brigadier Commander

Faizur Rahman and Dighinala

upazila Chairman Abul Kashem,

among others, addressed the function

as special guests with CHT

affairs ministry secretary Shafiqul

Ahmed in the chair.

Hasan said the previous governments

especially BNP and Ershad didn't

take any initiative for the peace

agreement when they were in power.

"But Bangabandhu's daughter

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signed

the peace accord and implementing it.

Many refugees, who fled the country

export earnings in 2019-20 was USD

33,674.09 million, which was USD

40,535.04 million in the previous fiscal.

This means the export earnings in the

last fiscal saw a 16.93% negative growth.

If compared with the actual target of

USD 45,500 million, export earnings

registered a negative growth of 25.99%.

According to the official data, the

export earnings started to slow down in

the first half of the 2019-20 fiscal, while

it took a serious turn due to the pandemic.

In fact, in July-April, exports

decreased a whopping 13.09% as compared

to the corresponding period of the

previous fiscal. In the same period,

exports in the US and the EU slipped to

the negative zone, at 3.4% and 6.3%,

respectively.

For revamping the export sector as

well as the economy as a whole, as per

the document, the Bangladesh government

had announced stimulus packages

worth Tk 121,000 crore-equivalent to

4.3% of the country's GDP. The aim was

due to unrest, have also been repatriated.

Those who went astray have

returned to normal life. This was possible

due to the earnest efforts of the

premier," he added.

The information minister said the

scenario of whole CHT region has

been changed and the government is

very much earnest for overall development

of the region, said Hasan, also

Awami League joint general secretary.

He said there is huge potentiality for

tourism in the hill tracts region and

the potentiality of tourism of the area

will be highlighted before the globe

through this cycling tour.

The country will move forward if the

potentiality of tourism can be utilized

in a well-planned and environmentfriendly

management, he added.

Thanking the CHT Ministry for

organizing the mountain biking to

commemorate the birth centenary of

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the minister

said none but cyclists can express the

satisfaction of cycling in the beautifully

decorated Sajek Valley.

Recalling his student's life, Hasan

said, "When I was a student, I used to

ride my bicycle to and from university.

I am a cycling fan myself and I regularly

participate in various bicycle rallies

in Dhaka city with various demands

and environmental protection."

He said that there is no alternative

to practicing cultural and sports

activities including cycling to keep

away the youths from drugs and

other violent acts.

Another General Purpose (GP) bomb weighing nearly 250 kg was found yesterday during the ongoing piling at the

construction site of the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

Photo : ISPR

Bangladesh sets export earnings

target at 15% this fiscal

to minimise the impact of Covid on businesses,

employment and productivity.

A total of 18 economic sectors, including

export-oriented industries, small,

medium and cottage industries, agriculture,

fish farming, poultry and livestock,

have been brought under the ambit of

these incentive packages.

For the export-oriented industries,

thestimulus packages are special funds

worth Tk 5,000 crore,expanding the

facilities of the Export Development

Fund (EDF) of Bangladesh Bank with

Tk 12,750 crore, giving an extra 2%

interest as subsidy, andPre-Shipment

Credit Refinance Scheme worth Tk

5,000 crore.

Besides, the government has chalked

out various strategies like diversification

of export items, new market searching,

new Free Trade Agreement and

enhancement of productivity of the

export sector. Thegovernment has also

taken several otherinitiatives to help the

economy tide over the Covid crisis.

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

29-12-2020

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