26-05-2021

WedneSday

Dhaka: May 26, 2021; Jaistha 12, 1428 BS; Shawal 13,1442 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.19; N o. 49; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

international

In NYC's furthest

flung neighborhood,

vaccine a tough sell

>Page 7

SPortS

Nadal, Djokovic eye history

as Roland Garros

embraces quiet night in

>Page 9

art & culture

Nancy's 'Sukno

Mombati' released

>Page 10

Covid-19 positivity

rate crosses 10pc

yet again

TBT RePORT

Forty people have died from Covid-19

in 24 hours according to a press release

issued by the Directorate General of

Health Services (DGHS).

The Covid-19 positivity rate rose to

10.08 percent again during the period

after maintaining it below 10 percent

since May 15.

The health directorate also said that

1,279 people across the country had

recovered in that period of time.

The latest data took the death toll

from the deadly disease to 12,441, the

total number of cases to 792,196, and

the number of recovered patients to

732,810 - since the pandemic made

landfall in Bangladesh in March last

year.

As many as 16,624 samples, including

some pending ones, were tested at 486

authorized labs across the country

between Monday and Tuesday mornings.

The number of positive results

took the daily infection rate to 10.08%.

To date, 5,854,919 tests have been

conducted in the country, which left the

overall test positivity rate at 13.53%.

These latest data disclosed in the

afternoon came several hours after the

Birdem General Hospital in Dhaka confirmed

that two of their Covid-19

patients were found infected with the

'black fungus' disease.

One of them is still undergoing treatment

there, while the other one, who

had contracted Covid-19 a month ago,

had died three days ago.

Chinese vaccine

inaugurated in the

country

MunSeeB HOSSaIn

The health minister Zahid Maleque on

May 25 inaugurated a vaccination program

at Dhaka Medical College

Hospital for the 5th year medical students.

The vaccines are supplied by

Chinese vaccine provider Sinopharm.

He said the second wave of Covid-

19 is now under control after the second

lockdown. However, people

have to adhere to hygiene rules. In

the meantime, pharmaceutical companies

have been instructed to prepare

their own drugs.

On May 12, China gave five lakh vaccines

as a gift to Bangladesh. During a

phone conversation with Foreign

Minister AK Abdul Momen on the

night of May 19, Chinese Foreign

Minister Wang Yi announced that he

would give another 6 lakh vaccines to

Bangladesh as a gift.

Zohr

03:50 AM

12:05 PM

04:33 PM

06:40 PM

08:05 PM

5:13 6:37

Bangladesh reports two

'black fungus' cases,

one suspected death

DHAKA : Two Covid-19 patients have

reportedly been found infected with

'black fungus' at BIRDEM Hospital in

Dhaka.

"Two patients, recovered from Covid-

19 infections, have been infected by

'black fungus' with one undergoing

treatment at the hospital," Prof Delwar

Hossain, head of the Respiratory

Medicine Department at the hospital,

told UNB on Tuesday.

"Another patient who might have

been infected by 'black fungus' died

three days back, However, we're still not

sure whether he died of 'black fungus'

but he died of Covid-19 for sure," Prof

Delwar added.

India has reported more than 8,800

cases of deadly "black fungus" in a growing

epidemic of the disease, reports the BBC.

Normally a rare infection, called

mucormycosis, has a mortality rate of

50%, with some only saved by removing

an eye. But in recent months, India saw

thousands of cases affecting the already

recovered or recovering Covid-19 patients.

Doctors say there is a link with the

steroids used to treat Covid. Diabetic

patients are at particular risk.

Doctors have told the BBC it seems to

SPORTS DeSk

strike 12 to 18 days after recovery from

Covid.

What is mucormycosis or black fungus?

Mucormycosis is a very rare infection.

It is caused by exposure to mucor mould

which is commonly found in soil, plants,

manure, and decaying fruits and vegetables,

according to a BBC report.

It affects the sinuses, the brain and the

lungs and can be life-threatening in diabetic

or severely immunocompromised

individuals, such as cancer patients or

people with HIV/AIDS.

Doctors believe mucormycosis, which

has an overall mortality rate of 50%, may

be being triggered by the use of steroids,

a life-saving treatment for severe and

critically ill Covid-19 patients.

Steroids reduce inflammation in the

lungs for Covid-19 and appear to help

stop some of the damage that can happen

when the body's immune system goes

into overdrive to fight off coronavirus.

But they also reduce immunity and push

up blood sugar levels in both diabetics

and non-diabetic Covid-19 patients.

It is thought that this drop in immunity

could be triggering these cases of

mucormycosis.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque on May 25 inaugurated a

vaccination program at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Photo : TBT

Local areas of kalapara upazila being inundated due to cyclone YaaS. Many people are leaving

houses and taking shelter at safe places.

Photo : Star Mail

HC grants bail to

7 over Hasina

murder attempt

MOTIaR RaHMan MaDHu

The High Court has granted bail to seven

people, who were sentenced by a lower

court, in a case filed over the attack on the

then opposition leader and current Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina's convoy in

Satkhira'sKalaroa in 2002.

A virtual court of Justice Jaman

Islam and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir

passed the order on Tuesday.

On August 30, 2002, Sheikh Hasina,

the then opposition leader, was returning

to Magura after visiting a freedom

fighter's wife in Satkhira when her convoy

came under attack in Kalaroaupazila

of the district.

Hasina survived the attack but many

Awami League leaders and workers were

injured along with some journalists.

Kalaroa Mohammad Moslem Uddin, freedom

fighter, filed a case against 27 men for

the attack which was later dismissed for

not being recorded at the police station.

The case was reopened on October

15, 2014 and police pressed charges in

court against 50 accused in this connection.

On May 17, 2015, inspector Sheikh

Shafiqur Islam, also the investigation

officer of the case, submitted charge

sheet against 50 people in the case.

Bangladesh win series beating Sri

Lanka by 103 runs in 2nd ODI

Bangladesh clinched their maiden ODI

series win over Sri Lanka after beating

the tourist by 103 runs in the second

match of the ongoing three-match

series at the Sher-e-Bangla National

Stadium on Tuesday, rerports UNB.

Mushfiqur Rahim hit a gritty 125 to

lift Bangladesh to 246 after the host lost

early wickets in the rain-hit match.

Mahmdullah Riyad scored the second

highest run of 41, before they were

bowled out in 48.1 overs in Dhaka.

Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal

won the toss on Tuesday and opted to

bat.

Bangladesh made two changes to the

squad which won the series-opener by

33 runs, giving left-arm fast bowler

Shoriful Islam a debut in place of

Taskin Ahmed and picking all-rounder

Mosaddek Hossain to replace

Mohammad Mithun.

Sri Lanka, which needs to win to keep

the three-match series alive, kept the

same starting lineup. The series was

important for both teams in terms of

qualification to the 2023 World Cup.

Bangladesh team celebrates after their maiden ODI series

win over Sri Lanka beating the tourist by 103 runs in the

second match.

Photo:BCB

District-bound lockdown may

enforce if the infection

increases: Health Minister

aSRafuL ISLaM aSRaf

Health Minister Dr. Zahid Maleque

said that lockdown will be imposed in

individual districts to control Covid-19

infection. Other border districts like

Chapainawabganj which are experiencing

increasing rate of corona infection

will be isolated from the rest of the

country through this process.

"Along with the new variant of India,

Black Fungus has also been reported to

have entered the country. In addition to

resisting the Indian variant ofcoronavirus,

now we also have to deal with

Black Fungus. But there is no reason to

be too scared at the moment. Because

so far, the virus has not spread in the

country.

As a precautionary measure, various

pharmaceutical companies in the country

have been asked to increase production

of anti-black fungus drugs and at

the same time the department has been

instructed on what to do for proper

treatment of the disease", Health

Minister Zahid Malek MP said.

He was speaking as the chief guest at

the inaugural function of vaccination

TBT RePORT

Severe cyclonic storm "Yaas" over

northwest bay and adjoining area

moved northwestwards further and

now lies over the same area.It was centred

at 12 noon on Tuesday about 565

kms southwest of Chattogram port, 525

kms southwest of Cox's Bazar port, 455

kms south, southwest of Mongla port

and 445 kms south - southwest of Payra

port, said a special bulletin of Met office.

Maximum sustained wind speed

within 64 kms of the severe cyclone

centre is about 89 kph Ristng to 117 kph

in gusts or squalls.

Our Barishal and Bhola correspondents

said that the water has increased

in the low-lying areas due to strong

winds and tides. At least 25,000 people

are facing waterlogging. However, local

people and government officials said

that the water will drain quickly.

Barishal Divisional Commissioner

Saiful Islam Badal said it would be possible

to provide shelter to about 20 lakh

people at 4,915 shelters in the division.

program for medical students at Dhaka

Medical College Hospital on May 25.

Highlighting the importance of vaccinating

medical students, the minister

said, "Medical students who are studying

in the 5th year are being vaccinated

in the first instance. Because, these

medical students are working with

Covid-19 patients and will continue to

do so.

Initiatives have been taken to vaccinate

the students on a priority basis

considering their health risks. Students

of Dhaka Medical College as well as

other government medical colleges of

the country will also be vaccinated in

phases."

Mentioning that vaccine production

will be started in the country itself, the

Health Minister further said,

"Honorable Prime Minister has given

instructions for vaccine production in

the country itself.

Talks are underway with all parties.

Vaccine production will be started in

the country soon like drug production.

It will be possible to export this vaccine

in the future by meeting the demand of

the country like medicine."

Bangladesh braces for impact

as Cyclone 'Yaas' approaches

Relief and Rehabilitation Officer in

charge of Bhola Control Room Anisur

Rahman said, the district has the capacity

to provide shelter to at least

5,23,000 people in 691 centres.

Our Satkhira Correspondent reported

that the rivers of Satkhira coast have

become turbulent due to the effect of

cyclone Yaas. The tidal waters are rising

higher than usual and the waves are

crashing on the dilapidated embankments

of the coast with strong winds. The

people of the coast have become terrified.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that

the water of the river has overflowed at

Napitkhali in Gabura of Shyamnagar,

Singhartali in Munshiganj and

Baravetkhali in Ramjangar. It is raining

heavily.

The water level of Kopotaksh and

Kholpetua rivers have risen two to two

and a half feet above normal. The river

has become turbulent. The main

impact of cyclone Yaas is said to be in

West Bengal and Odisha of India but it

has started affecting the coastal areas

since last morning.

WEDNEsDAy, MAy 26, 2021

2

On Tuesday, a human chain of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) engineers was

formed at Pani Bhaban, 72 Green Road, Dhaka demanding fair trial for the terrorist attack on

Md. Abu Raihan, an executive engineer of Natore.

Photo : Courtesy

TCB sells products to 3.33cr families

during COVID-19 period

DHAKA : The state-run Trading

Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has

sold its various products weighing

2,33,794 metric tons to some 3,33,23,006

families during the COVID-19 period

from March 2020 to May this year.

The TCB products which were sold at

an affordable price include soybean oil,

sugar, onion, chickpeas, potatoes and

dates. Some 13.33 crore people were

benefitted from these products sold by

TCB during this pandemic period, said a

press release of the Ministry of

Commerce. The release also said that the

price of all essential items except edible

oil was stable over the last one year

especially during the months of

Ramadan.

The Ministry of Commerce has been

continuing monitoring of production of

local products, international markets,

import and local markets round the clock

to keep the market price of essential

items stable. As a result of this, the

supply of essential items was good as well

as the market was stable during the

COVID-19 period including the past two

months of Ramadan. The price of edible

oil witnessed uptrend from June last year

due to the price hike in international

market. The Ministry of Commerce said

since Bangladesh mainly depends on

import for availing edible oil, it's market

price mainly depends on the fluctuation

of price in international market.

More than 95 percent of country's

overall edible oil demand is met from

abroad through import for which there is

often an impact in the local market when

price of edible oil increases in

international market.

But, the price of edible oil has not

increased to such extent in local market

as it has increased in international

market.

Rohingya youth killed in

Chattogram elephant attack

CHATTOGRAM : A Rohingya youth was killed in an elephant attack in Satkania upazila of

Chattogram on Tuesday, reports UNB.

The deceased was identified as Syadul Islam, 20, son of Abdus Salam of Kutupalong Rohingya

camp in Cox's Bazar. Local people recovered his body from Suipura garden of Ward-9 at Charati

union in the morning and informed police.

Officer-in-Charge of Satkania police station Md. Anwar Hossain said Syadul was working as a

labourrer in the garden. Charati UP chairman Dr. Rejaul Karim said the Rohingya youth went to

cut trees as a labourer in the garden owned by Mahmudul Haque Babul.

GD-889/21 (5 x 3)

353

PM for building

modern, environment

friendly TSC at DU

DHAKA : Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina yesterday

asked the authorities

concerned to take necessary

measures to build the

Teacher-Student

Centre

(TSC) of Dhaka University in

a modern and environment

friendly manner.

The Prime Minister gave

the instruction after

witnessing a power point

presentation on the

architectural design of the

TSC at her official

Ganabhaban residence in the

capital, PM's Assistant Press

Secretary MM Emrul Kayas

told the BSS.

Amir Hamza

remanded in JS

attack plotting case

DHAKA : A Dhaka court

yesterday placed extremist

orator Amir Hamza on a fiveday

remand in a case lodged

over plotting to carry out an

attack on Jatiya Sangsad (JS)

Bhaban.

Dhaka Metropolitan

Magistrate Atikul Islam passed

the order as police produced the

accused before the court and

pleaded to place him on 10-day

remand in the case.

Dhaka Metropolitan

Police's Counter Terrorism

and Transnational Crime

(CTTC) unit arrested Hamza

from his village home in

Dabirabhita under Patikabari

union under Kustia Sadar

upazila on May 24.

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WeDNeSDAY, MAY 26, 2021

3

Access to Covid vaccines top

priority for LDCs: Dhaka

DHAKA : Highlighting

multidimensional challenges posed by

the Covid-19 pandemic to the

LDCs,Bangladesh's Permanent

Representative to the UN

Ambassador RababFatima has

identified access to Covid-19 vaccines

as the top priority for the LDCs,

reports UNB.

She said if this issue is not addressed

immediately, the LDCs will face

serious humanitarian and economic

misery for years to come.

Ambassador Rabab Fatima and

Ambassador Bob Ray, Permanent

Representative of Canada, jointly

convened the first Session of the

Preparatory Committee (PrepCom)

meeting of the Fifth United Nations

Conference (LDC-5) on the Least

Developed Countries (LDCs) at the

UN Headquarters in New York on

Monday.

They were elected as the co-chairs of

the PrepCom at its organisational

session in February 2021.

The LDC-5 conference will be held

in DOHA, Qatar in January 2022.

The LDC-V conference is envisaged

to be one of the biggest UN

conferences in 2022. The next

programme of Action for the LDCs is

expected to come up with a new global

compact to address both the

immediate and structural issues of the

LDCs. As a co-chair, Bangladesh will

also have the opportunity to move

forward some of its key priorities,

including sustainable graduation and

international support measures for

graduation.

Notably, the UN recommended

Bangladesh to graduate from the LDC

category in February, 2021.

The President of Malawi Lazarus

McCarthy Chakwera joined the

meeting virtually as a keynote speaker

in his capacity as the global chair of

the LDCs.

As the host of the LDC-5 conference,

State Minister for Foreign Affairs of

Qatar Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi

also delivered a keynote speech.

Among others, President of the UN

General Assembly Volkan Bozkir,

President of the ECOSOC Munir

Akram, UN Deputy Secretary-General

Amina J Mohammed OECD

Development Assistance Committee

Chair Susanna Moorehead, and USG,

OHRLLSFekitamoeloa Katoa

Utoikamanu, spoke at the meeting.

The General Debate was addressed

by a large number of Member States,

including important development

partners, who highlighted serious

consequences facing LDCs due to the

pandemic and expressed solidarity

and partnership towards an ambitious

10-year Programme of Action for the

LDCs.

Ambassador Rabab Fatima stressed

the need for an incentives-based

graduation package for the graduating

and graduated countries from LDCs

as they are at a high risk of sliding

back-both by the Covid-19 impact and

the loss of LDC specific support

measures.

Among other things, she also

underscored the multidimensional

challenges and vulnerabilities faced by

the LDCs in the areas of poverty and

inequality, trade, climate change,

external debt, migration and

remittances.

This meeting sets in motion the

substantive work for the LDC5

Conference to be held in Doha, Qatar

in January 2022.

It will continue through the week.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr AK

Abdul Momen, and Information and

Communication Technology Affairs

Adviser to the Prime Minister Sajeeb

Ahmed Wazed are expected to

participate in different thematic

sessions of the meeting later this

week.

Rab members arrested two persons with heroin worth tk 35 lacs from Shyamoli are of the capital city

yesterday.

Photo : Courtesy

Ex-WB adviser writes how Pakistan may

end up taking aid from Bangladesh

DHAKA : Abid Hasan, a former adviser

to the World Bank for the Pakistan

Programme, has praised Bangladesh's

economic growth while highlighting how

Pakistan has gone around the world with

a "begging bowl" with a possibility

oftaking aid from Bangladesh in a

decade, reports UNB.

"It was unthinkable, 20 years back,

that Bangladesh's GDP per-capita in

2020 would be almost twice that of

Pakistan. Bangladesh could be an

economic powerhouse in 2030 if it

grows at the same rate as in the past," he

said in an article titled "Aid from

Bangladesh."

The article appeared on The News on

Monday, also reads, "If Pakistan

continues its dismal performance, it is in

the realm of possibility that we could be

seeking aid from Bangladesh in 2030."

Abid Hasan, former Member of

Pakistan Economic Advisory Committee

and Federal Board of Revenue Tax

Reforms Group, said if they continue

with a 'business as usual' policy, they

could end up taking aid from

Bangladesh in a decade.

In order to establish an economically

strong Pakistan, it is incumbent on the

PTI to reach out to all political parties to

develop a national consensus on the

fundamental reforms necessary to

accelerate inclusive growth and at the

same time lower debt, said the former

WB adviser.

At the beginning of his article, Hasan

said every government in Pakistan,

including the current one, has gone

around the world with a begging bowl.

"We're now drowning in debt and

stuck in an anemic growth orbit, and will

continue to be this way since no

government has pursued the deep

reforms necessary to establish an

economically strong Pakistan," he

mentioned. Hasan said Pakistan's poor

performance is their own fault, but their

leaders conveniently blame their

enemies and the IMF and the World

Bank.

There is no doubt that the IMF/WB

have often peddled "poorly thought out

and one-size-fits-all" policies and bad

loans but the deep hole that Pakistan is

in is largely its own doing.

While corruption and the economic

impact of terrorism have a role in the

mess, for the most part the poor

performance is a result of pursuing

irresponsible, inappropriate and

unpredictable policies, and half-hearted

reforms.

Deputy Commissioner of Natore District Mohammad Shahriaz PAA addressed the roundtable meeting

as the chief guest on increasing the participation of journalists in building an anti-drug society

in the district.

Photo : Courtesy

National Poet Kazi Nazrul's 122nd birth anniversary observed at DU. Vice-Chancellor of the

University Prof Dr Akhtaruzzaman placed wreath at the grave of Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam yesterday.

Photo : Courtesy

Bangladeshi injured

in BSF firing along

Lalmonirhat border

LALMONIRHAT : A

Bangladeshi national was shot

and wounded by the members

of Indian Border Security

Force(BSF) along Durgapur

border in Aditmari upazila of

Lalmonirhat district early

Tuesday. The victim was

identified as Milon Islam, son

of Raza Mia of Chauratari area.

Quoting local people, BGB

said, the BSF troops from Padna

Camp opened fire on a group of

Bangladeshi people numbering

4/5 when they reached near

border pillar no 925, leaving

Milon injured. Later, he was

taken to Lalmonirhat Sadar

Hospital from where he was

taken to Rangpur Medical

College and Hospital, said

commanding officer of BGB-15

Battalion, Towhid. A letter has

been sent to BSF protesting the

incident, he said.

SHAFIQUL ISLAM

Politically good enough: Palestine

on Bangladesh's clarification

DHAKA : Palestinian Ambassador to

Bangladesh Yousef SY Ramadan has

welcomed Bangladesh's clarification

on Israel issue, noting that it is

"politically good enough" but will be

happier to see those words - "except

Israel" - in Bangladesh e-passports,

reports UNB.

"Politically this (Bangladesh's

clarification) is good enough for me,"

he said on Monday thanking Foreign

Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen who

explained the situation and clarified

the position of Bangladesh assuring

everybody that nothing has changed in

the foreign policy of Bangladesh and

Bangladeshi citizens are still

prohibited to go to Israel.

While talking to a small group of

journalists at the Embassy, the

Palestinian Ambassador appreciated

the generosity of Bangladeshis,

including expatriates Bangladeshis in

Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United

Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and

Bahrain.

"You've such an amaging principle.

We don't compare you with anyone.

I'm saying that from my heart. It's not

lip service. It's true. You're magnificent

people. We'll never forget your

support, solidarity and principled

attitude," he said.

The Ambassador, however, said they

sincerely hope that Bangladesh will

revise this decision and keep this

sentence in the passport - "except

Israel" - because this also represents a

very good support to the people of

DHAKA : Neaz Ahmed and Shams

Mahmud have been elected President and

Secretary General respectively of the

Consular Corps in Bangladesh (CCB) for

the next two years (2021-2023), reports

UNB. Neaz Ahmed is the Honorary Consul

of New Zealand while Shams Mahmud is

the Honorary Consul of the Federal

Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

The Consular Corps in Bangladesh (CCB)

formed the new Executive Committee at

National poet Kazi Nazrul's 122nd

birth anniversary celebrated

The 122nd birth anniversary of national poet

Kazi Nazrul Islam has been celebrated

through various programs. On the occasion

of the poet's birth anniversary, people of

different political parties and different

professions have paid their respects with

flowers at his grave. On Tuesday (May 25)

morning, they paid their respects at the grave

of the poet located in the central mosque

premises of Dhaka University. In the

morning, the ruling party Awami League

paid homage at the National Poet's Shrine.

Under the led by Awami League General

Secretary Obaidul Quader, the party's

Organizing Secretary Ahmed Hossain, Abu

Saeed Al Mahmud Swapan, SM Kamal

Hossain, Afzal Hossain, Science and

Technology Secretary Engineer Abdus

Sabur, Office Secretary Barrister Biplob

Barua, Deputy Office Secretary Sayem Khan

Palestine.

"I didn't receive this news, frankly

speaking, with happiness or with joy. I

was sad to receive the news," said

Ambassador Ramadan, adding,

"because at least the blood of our

children is not dried yet."

The envoy said they can only request

the government to revise the decision

and they hope Bangladesh will do that.

"It is unacceptable, it's obviously

unacceptable. It cannot be acceptable

for us. But finally Bangladesh is a

sovereign State and that we respect.

Since you've asked about my feeling

and the majority of the Palestinian

people, I'm being frank with you about

my feeling that is unacceptable," he

told one of the questioners.

A government official said he is

"surprised" to see Ambassador's such

comments (unacceptable) even though

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen

himself clarified the matter on Israel

and passport issues on Sunday.

Ambassador Ramadan said the

change in passport was received by

Israel in a way like it was a reward.

"And they've tweeted, the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs (MoFA) tweeted as you

all know, the next step for Bangladesh,

they wish, will be diplomatic relations.

That's why it didn't send a clear

message to Israel, the wrong message

was sent to Israel after the incident,

after the crime was committed, after

the atrocity, and after we faced this

suffering. It was not the right time at

the 12thannual general meeting (AGM)

held virtually recently, said a media release

on Tuesday. KM Mozibul Hoque,

Honorary Consul General of Yemen, is the

immediate past President of the CCB.

The two newly elected vice presidents are

Reshadur Rahman, Honorary Consul

General of the Republic of Poland in Dhaka

and Abul Hossain, Honorary Consul of the

Republic of Uganda. Mohammed Taneem

Hasan, Honorary Consul of Bosnia and

and others were present.

Meanwhile, BNP chairperson's adviser

Abdus Salam, joint secretary general Khairul

Kabir Khokon, co-organizing secretary

Abdus Salam Azad, Chhatra Dal secretary

Iqbal Hossain Shyamal, Dhaka University

Chhatra Dal's president Rakibul Islam Rakib

and member secretary Md Aman Ullah were

present on behalf of the party. Bangladesh

NAP Secretary General M Golam Mostafa

Bhuiyan also paid tributes on behalf of his

party.

It may be mentioned that the 122nd

birth anniversary of the national poet Kazi

Nazrul Islam, known as the rebel of

Bengali poetry and the bulbul of song, was

yesterday. He was born on 11 May 1306 BS

(25 May 1899) in the village of Churulia,

Jamuria Police Station, Asansol, Burdwan

District, Undivided Bengal (now West

Bengal, India).

all. And I believe it should have been

[done] later on," he added.

Foreign Minister Dr Momen on

Sunday told UNB that there has been

no change in Bangladesh's position

towards Israel as it still does not

recognise Israel.

He said removing the words like

valid for travelling except Israel in the

new passport does not mean that there

has been a change in Bangladesh's

position.

The ban on travel of Bangladeshi

passport holders to Israel remains

unchanged.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said

the confusion appears to have

emanated from the new booklets of E-

passports which do not contain the

observation "all countries except

Israel".

The removal of the observation has

been done to maintain international

standards of Bangladeshi e-passports

and does not imply any change of

Bangladesh's foreign policy towards

the Middle East, it said.

The government of Bangladesh has

condemned the recent atrocities

inflicted upon the civilians by the

occupation forces of Israel in al-Aqsa

mosque compound and at Gaza.

Bangladesh reiterates its principled

position concerning the two-State

Solution of the Palestine-Israel conflict

in light of the UN resolutions

recognising pre-1967 borders and East

Jerusalem as the capital of the State of

Palestine, said the MoFA.

Neaz, Shams elected President,

Secretary General of CCB

Herzegovina, is the treasurer of the CCB.

ASM Mohiuddin Monem, Honorary

Consul of Czech Republic, Syed Farhad

Ahmed, Honorary Consul of the Republic of

Estonia, Riad Mahmud, Honorary Consul,

Consulate of Georgia in Bangladesh,

Zulfikar Ali, Honorary Consul of the

Republic of Guatemala and Samira Rahman

Ali, Honorary Consul, Consulate of Iceland

have been elected as Executive Committee

members of the new committee.

WEDnESDay, May 26, 2021

4

Time for West to fund Myanmar civil disobedience

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Wednesday, MAY 26, 2021

Earning more from

agro-based industries

Bangladesh enjoys a big comparative

advantage compared to many other

countries in producing and exporting a wide

range of fruits and vegetables to the world's

markets where there is a huge and growing

demand for the same. The very fertile soil,

favourable weather conditions and cheap labour,

give the local producers a big edge in producing for

export markets. The government in recent years

declared export-oriented agro-industries as a

thrust area although this has not been backed up

by adequate supports to it.

The steady progression of exports in this sector is

encouraging but a great deal more can be achieved

both in the areas of increasing export volumes and

earnings from this sector. For this to happen, all

stakeholders need to be persuaded by the

potentials of the sector and adopt and apply

policies with a vision.

A number of export-oriented agro-industries

have been doing path breaking work in this

direction. They have contracted with farmers to

produce round the year with guaranteed stable

price for their yields. Thus, the motivation of the

farmers have remained strong as their earnings

have become regular and ensured. More

significantly, the farmers have been trained to

produce quality products observing the latest

health and safety factors. Secondly, the agroindustries

have acquired good technologies in the

areas of processing and packaging which means

not only substantial value-addition to the

produces from the fields but also the creation of

appeal for the processed and packed foods among

not only Bangladeshi expatriates but also foreign

consumers. Thus, from the growers' to the

consumption stages, some producing and

exporting houses here have been successful in

ideally building up a value-chain that meets

eminently the interests of all the parties involved

at different phases.

Private sector operators who intend to join the

ranks of successful agro-industries with an export

dimension, need to essentially copy the methods

of the few firms which are there and which have

been successful in exporting agro-products. But

the new firms should try to do better than the

older ones by trying to acquire even more

sophisticated technologies, innovating with food

products and in their packaging. In that case, their

attraction will not be limited to only expatriate

Bangladesh and they can expect to gain a wider

market access among foreign consumers.

Consumers abroad of food products in

European, Japanese and North American

countries, are usually fond of trying out foods

catered to them in novel ways or enhancing their

appeal through packaging and different marketing

methods. Thus, the agro-industries here will have

to pay attention to these factors right from the

start to become successful and retain the success

over the longer run.

Specially, the problems of air shipment facilities

will have to be much improved and this is one area

where the government can play a major role

through the national carrier, Bangladesh Biman.

Biman is presently in financial difficulties but it

can considerably pull up from this situation by

arranging more flights or creating cargo spaces for

the exporters of agro-products. Biman would find

assured business of a lucrative kind if it attempts

this because only a few foreign airlines currently

agree to carry perishables but their charges are

prohibitive.

Thus, Biman can financially improve its position

as well as help out in opening up a rich new export

outlet for the country by substantially increasing air

shipment capacities for the products of agroindustries

particularly for the fast airfreighting of

fruits and vegetables. The Export Promotion

Bureau (EPB) should host more single country

fairs abroad to introduce and popularise the agroproducts.

The commercial wings of the Bangladesh

missions abroad must also take up more energetic

plans to makeagro-products familiar and popular

among the foreign buyers.

Appeals reverberate these days

through Asia's media landscape:

"Recognize Myanmar's National

Unity Government!" The arguments

that Myanmar activists, analysts, and

elder stateswomen and men make is

solid.

The junta that took power in a coup

on February 1 lacks all legitimacy: It

continues to torture and kill civilians,

more than 800 by now, it has lost

control over public administration and

it has driven the Myanmar economy off

a cliff.

The opposition National Unity

Government was formed in April and is

supported by the Committee

Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw,

legitimized in the November 2020

elections. It is a broad multi-ethnic

umbrella government that espouses a

liberal federal democratic future for

Myanmar that offers the only hope for a

sustainable solution of the country's

numerous violent ethnic conflicts.

It is now moving toward drafting a

new constitution. The NUG has

endorsed the formation of a People's

Defense Force, which is now battling

the Tatmadaw (the military) in western

Chin and eastern Kayah states. Ethnic

armed organizations, the Karen

National Union, the Kachin

Independence Organization, and now

also the Karenni National Progress

Party, are fighting the Tatmadaw in

more or less loose collaboration with

the NUG.

True, the NUG does not as of yet do

much governing, but through its

Interim Public Administration

Program it has done more than

Venezuela's Juan Guaidó ever did.

Then again, the US and its allies were

not locked in a geopolitical struggle

with China over the Caribbean Sea

when they decided to back Guaidó.

If Western inaction on the recognition

question is at least comprehensible - if

not easily defensible - the lack of

support for the Civil Disobedience

Movement (CDM) is not.

The single most important civilian

contribution to the defeat of Myanmar's

murderous junta is the continued

general strike, first announced in

February by a diverse coalition of prodemocracy

actors - trade unions, nongovernmental

organizations, political

parties, and religious groups - that has

paralyzed the public and private sectors

and made the country impossible to

govern for the junta.

It is the resistance of this movement

that has denied the junta what it craves

most: control over central Myanmar,

the major commercial cities of Yangon

and Mandalay. To put it bluntly: If the

junta can assert its control over central

Myanmar, the NUG and its ethnic

armed allies may as well rot on the Thai

border and up in Kachin State.

Call that idea the "normative force of

the factual" - a less than elegant

translation from my native German

language. Once the junta controls the

heartland - given the superpower

rivalry of the US and China and their

respective regional allies - the coup will

be complete and the regional powers

will grudgingly reconcile with the idea

of a murderous, unreliable, and

incapable junta running (the majority

of) Myanmar.

I have pointed out that this outcome

is in no one's interest. Make no mistake,

continued CDM is not sufficient for the

democratic resistance winning it, but it

is necessary for it to have a chance.

CDM is fast running out of money.

The parallel administrations that have

taken over government services in

places like the rural Mandalay, Magway

and Sagaing regions from March never

saw funding support.

"The community supports us, our

local farmers feed us and local

businessmen provide funds for our

CDM action," Thet Kyu, NLD member

in the national parliament for Magway's

Pakokku Township, told me in April.

With the economy collapsing, such

resources are now drying up across the

country.

PhiliPP annaWiTT

The NUG has been delivering limited

CDM support and promising more, but

it lacks funds. First reports have

emerged of private-sector employees

returning to work to feed their families.

Hundreds of millions of dollars have

been spent in the last few years

promoting responsible business and

civil-society development in Myanmar.

What would be more responsible

than refusing to work at the barrel of a

gun, to perpetuate the Myanmar

military's violent extractive crony

capitalism? What better expression is

there for Myanmar's civic vibrance than

Very likely, though, the impetus for action on CDM support

will for now have to come from Washington, Tokyo,

Brussels, Seoul, Canberra. There is not a single good reason

friendly countries should not fund CDM. There is virtually

no political risk attached: The junta will not toss

Western missions out of the country for funding CDM.

the multi-ethnic, multi-religious Civil

Disobedience Movement that stands up

for democracy, self-determination, and

inter-ethnic reconciliation?

Development agencies that could

fund such initiatives still appear shellshocked

and paralyzed. Development

assistance to the government has

mostly been frozen but is not yet

redirected to productive use.

Many of Myanmar's development

workers want to help but a culture of

risk aversion and strict accountability

frameworks in their organizations do

not let them: "How can we make sure

[CDM beneficiaries] won't turn around

and buy arms with these funds?" a

project manager for a major

multilateral development partner told

me recently.

Development assistance is obsessed

with accountability, and so it should be

in normal times - these are tax dollars

being spent, after all. These are not

normal times, however. Fiduciary risks

need to be taken, and development

agencies struggle with that.

Getting the money on the ground is

vital and doable.

"There are ways to deliver money

directly into the hands of civil servants.

EllEn laiPSon

For institutional donors and individuals

abroad, there are already mechanisms

to contribute directly to CDM on a

recurring basis. Donor reporting flows

can be complied with for larger

funding," a member of the group of

technology experts DWMC, which is

working with the CDM leaders, told me.

Donors may bill this support as

private-sector development or bill it as

civil-society development - neither is

wrong.

Very likely, though, the impetus for

action on CDM support will for now

have to come from Washington, Tokyo,

Brussels, Seoul, Canberra. There is not

a single good reason friendly countries

should not fund CDM. There is virtually

no political risk attached: The junta will

not toss Western missions out of the

country for funding CDM.

China is not aligned with the junta;

US, Japanese and European money

flowing into strike funds will not cause

Beijing to throw its weight behind the

mad dictator. But it will if the junta can

demonstrate that it is in control of

much of the country. And others will as

well.

CDM is at a critical point. June 1 is a

key date for the coup. After being closed

for months after the Covid outbreak

and the coup, schools are set to reopen.

The junta has announced it with great

fanfare. It is to be the first step in

Myanmar's return to normalcy.

CDM is particularly strong among

teachers. The junta itself estimates that

more than 100,000, or 27% of all

teachers, remain on strike. Expect that

number to get much larger.

News of significant direct support for

CDM would be a boost for the

campaign to boycott the school opening

and deal the junta another significant

blow and, most important, visibly deny

it the de facto legitimacy that comes

with controlling Myanmar's heartland.

Friendly governments need to fund

CDM now. It is the very least they can

do. Oh, and they really should recognize

the NUG

Philipp Annawitt served as an

adviser to Myanmar's government

and parliament from 2015 to 2021

Israel-Palestine may be test case of declining US influence

The latest explosion of violence

between Israel and the Palestinians has

exposed a weariness and resignation

among politicians and foreign-policy

experts. Expectations are low that the

United States, or the international

community more broadly, can really

affect the underlying issues, even if the

current ceasefire holds.

The moral and mental fatigue evident

in reactions to the events of this month

call for a deeper analysis of this chronic

and tragic state of affairs.

US diplomacy to achieve a just and

durable peace between Israel and the

Palestinians was powerful and often

successful from the 1970s to the 1990s.

It began with the way the 1973 October

War ended.

US secretary of state Henry Kissinger

managed the war's termination process

to prevent absolute victory by one side

and to create conditions for productive

diplomatic negotiations. It laid the

groundwork for the Carter

administration's Camp David process

only five years later.

From the Camp David Frameworks to

the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty in 1981

and the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty

in 1994 during Bill Clinton's presidency,

US diplomacy was the essential tool for

regional conflict resolution. It managed

to navigate between the enduring

domestic political support for Israeli

security and the necessity of balance

and even-handedness to address the

parties' demands for justice.

Granted, it was easier to achieve stateto-state

normalization than it was to

figure out strategies for the Palestinian

problem. But slowly, US

administrations moved to accept the

concept of full statehood for the

Palestinians and embraced territorial

compromise as a basic assumption of

the peace process. It was, after all,

embedded in UN resolutions from the

1947 partition plan.

President Jimmy Carter was the first

to endorse Palestinian statehood as US

policy, although his successor Ronald

Reagan then repudiated it. But

subsequent presidents often included

the language of "two states" and US

acceptance of a Palestinian state in their

annual addresses to the United Nations

General Assembly.

That is, in theory. In practice, it was

never quite the right moment.

The most recent case was president

Barack Obama's 2011 opposition to the

Palestinian effort to move up its status

at the UN to a non-member state. After

Obama signaled the United States'

intention to veto such a measure in the

Security Council, the UN General

Assembly voted overwhelmingly in

favor of the new status in 2012. The US

joined eight other countries in

opposition; European allies mostly

abstained.

US ability to shape the debate or

influence the outcome of Israeli-

Palestinian tensions has gradually

declined since the failure at Camp David

at the very end of the Clinton

administration. (Historic accounts do

not fault the US side, but Palestine

Liberation Organization president

Yasser Arafat's last-minute change of

heart.)

President Joe Biden's initially

cautious and quiet response to Israel's

bombing campaign against Gaza is only

the latest evidence of the erosion of

American leverage over Israeli actions.

Biden's multiple calls to Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu certainly

contributed to the May 20 ceasefire,

with Egyptian diplomacy in the lead.

Still, the Israelis only agreed to stop

when they were ready, and moving from

this tactical success to a more sustained

commitment to the heavy lift of a new

peace process would require a major

shift in Biden's foreign-policy priorities.

The last time the US used its real

leverage - withholding foreign aid - to

protest Israeli expansion of settlements

in disputed territory was during George

H W Bush's administration. It was a

short-lived punishment but an

important political step that subsequent

administrations have declined to take.

Settlements are only one of the

obstacles to a more productive

engagement over the future of Palestine,

but they have done more to erode

prospects for real territorial

compromise than any other issue.

Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian

state, refugees and the right of return

are all hugely fraught and complicated

legal issues, but the status of territory

and Palestinian rights to their homes

and land is fundamental.

The latest war was triggered in part

over confiscation of Palestinian homes

in a contested neighborhood of

Settlements are only one of the obstacles to a more productive

engagement over the future of Palestine, but

they have done more to erode prospects for real territorial

compromise than any other issue. Jerusalem as

capital of a Palestinian state, refugees and the right of

return are all hugely fraught and complicated legal

issues, but the status of territory and Palestinian rights

to their homes and land is fundamental.

Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah, but also over

Israeli heavy-handedness in and around

Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan. And

it is far more than just a struggle with

the intractable Islamist Hamas party

that leads Gaza; it has galvanized

Palestinians and Israeli Arabs in mixed

towns in Israel proper, not just in the

occupied territories.

The disrespect for the religious

traditions of Muslim Arabs, whether by

Israeli citizens or residents of disputed

territories, has provoked an emotional

reaction even among Israel's new

friends in the Gulf Arab states.

It will be interesting to see if the

implementation of the Abraham

Accords - normalization agreements

between Israel and the United Arab

Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan

- is affected.

That diplomatic achievement,

facilitated by Donald Trump's

administration as its Plan B after its

vaunted but deeply flawed peace plan

for Israel-Palestine collapsed, was

premised on the idea that the rest of the

Arab world no longer cared about the

feckless Palestinians. That assumption

may no longer be true.

For the Biden administration, the

durability of the new official ties

between Israel and Gulf Arabs is the

least of its challenges. More profoundly,

the administration has to manage this

issue in the context of its desire to focus

on other geopolitical challenges, its

understanding that asserting diplomatic

leadership will be all-consuming and

the reality that Israel is unlikely to be a

cooperative partner.

The hard truth is that Israel, in part

empowered by US largesse (more than

$150 billion in total aid, and now more

than $3 billion annually for weapons

purchases), and by Israel's own

national-security capabilities, is an

independent actor confident that

political criticism from any American

constituency is just noise, not real

pressure.

From a distance, it looks like Israel is

trapped in an over-militarized approach

to its existential dilemma, but as its

political center of gravity has moved

right, the government faces no domestic

pushback. Those Israelis who care

about peaceful co-existence and

territorial compromise are a pale

shadow of their former strength in

Israeli society.

The US presents an interesting

contrast, with rising pressure from the

left, in the form of Democratic Party

progressives who find Biden's approach

too timid and too willing to fall back on

the mantra of Israel's right to selfdefense.

One should not doubt the willingness

and ability of the US to step up to the

plate on critical international issues.

There is still overwhelming military

prowess, skilled diplomats with muscle

memory of decades of American

primacy and a president with a

cosmopolitan view of American

interests in a world of competition and

cooperation.

It is just a jarring truth that trying to

lead on the current Israel-Palestine

conflict is a woefully inadequate

response to the deeper causes of that

very conflict, and exposes the gradual

loss of US influence in the region.

Ellen Laipson, a former vicechairwoman

of the US National

Intelligence Council, is currently

director of the international

security program at the Schar

School of Policy and Government

at George Mason University in

Virginia. She is a former

president and CEO of the Stimson

Center in Washington.

WedneSday, May 26, 2021

5

Children may overcome serious symptoms after catching Covid

PaM BeLLUCk

Children who get sick from the rare but

serious Covid-related inflammatory

syndrome may surmount their most

significant symptoms within six months,

but they may still have muscle weakness

and emotional difficulties at that time, a

new small study suggests.

Published in the journal Lancet Child

and Adolescent Health on Monday, the

study appears to be the first detailed look at

the health status of children six months

after they were hospitalized with the

condition, called Multisystem

Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. The

syndrome typically emerges two weeks to

six weeks after a Covid-19 infection that is

often quite mild, and it can result in

hospitalizations for children with severe

symptoms involving the heart and several

other organs.

A major question has been whether

children who survive MIS-C will end up

with lasting organ damage or other health

problems. The new study, of 46 children

under 18 who were admitted to a London

hospital for MIS-C (it has a different name

and abbreviation, PIMS-TS, in Britain),

suggests that many of the most serious

problems can resolve with time.

"To be honest, I think we all didn't know

what to expect," said Dr. Justin Penner, a

pediatric infectious disease physician at the

hospital involved in the study, Great

Ormond Street Hospital, known as GOSH.

"We didn't know which body systems

would require assistance or become a

problem one month, three months, six

months down the line."

The children in the study were

hospitalized between April 4 and Sept. 1,

2020, part of the first wave of the

inflammatory syndrome. Many were quite

Most children with MIS-C did not have debilitating health issues.

sick. They all had systemic inflammation,

and most had symptoms involving

multiple organ systems, such as the heart,

kidneys or circulatory system. Forty-five

children had gastrointestinal symptoms,

and 24 had neurological symptoms such as

confusion, memory problems,

hallucinations, headaches or problems

with balance or muscle control.

Sixteen of the children were placed on

ventilators, 22 needed medication to help

their hearts pump more effectively and 40

were treated with immunotherapies like

intravenous immunoglobulin. All survived.

Six months after they were discharged

from the hospital, only one child still had

systemic inflammation, just two children

had heart abnormalities and six children

had gastrointestinal symptoms. All but one

child were able to resume school, either

virtually or in person.

Still, 18 of the children were experiencing

Photo: Getty Images

muscle weakness and fatigue, scoring in

the bottom 3 percent for their age and sex

on the six-minute walking test, a standard

test of endurance and aerobic capacity.

And 15 children were experiencing

emotional difficulties like anxiety or severe

mood changes, according to

questionnaires answered by either the

parents or the children.

In the United States, 3,742 young people

age 20 and under have developed the

syndrome, and 35 have died, according to

the most recent data from the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention. A major

study of long-term outcomes has already

recruited 600 children and will follow

them for five years, according to a leader of

that effort, Dr. Jane Newburger, associate

chief for academic affairs in the cardiology

department at Boston Children's Hospital.

Dr. Newburger, who was not involved in

the British report, called it a "small but

important study" that "contributes new

information to the knowledge gap about

long-term effects of MIS-C."

She and the authors themselves noted

that there were limitations to the findings

because the children in the study were not

compared with a control group of children

without MIS-C or those with other

illnesses. It is unclear, for example, if their

emotional problems and muscle weakness

were the result of the syndrome, the

process of being hospitalized for an illness

or other stressors during this time. "Mental

health and physical conditioning have

taken a hit in children and adolescents in

general during the pandemic," Dr.

Newburger said.

Dr. Srinivas Murthy, an associate

professor of pediatrics at the University of

British Columbia, who was not involved in

the new study, said it might be difficult to

tease out which residual problems were

directly attributable to the syndrome and

which might have resulted from any

critical illness. He said the fact that some of

the children still had trouble with muscle

weakness and endurance could yield

important lessons, because such issues can

require a different kind of a care including

"post-hospitalization rehabilitation

opportunities."

In fact, Dr. Penner said, the team at

Great Ormond Street Hospital has made

changes in the treatment of children

hospitalized with the syndrome since the

fall, because it has recognized "how

affected their muscles are at the onset and

how profoundly fatigued and weakened

these kids are."

In the hospital, for example, "often just

transferring from the bed to the toilet is

exceptionally difficult for these children,"

he said.

The hospital now has a more concerted

focus on providing the children in-hospital

physical therapy and work with

musculoskeletal therapists, he said, and it

sends them home with an individualized

rehabilitation plan that is linked to an app.

"We've also involved our occupational

therapists, and we've developed a fatigue

program that's run once a month where

the parents dial in for a group session," Dr.

Penner said. "I think the main message

that we give them is to avoid this boomand-bust

cycle, where the kids try to do the

things they used to do at full speed and

then they kind of crash afterwards - as

opposed to a gradual increase of activity

back to their normal state."

The hospital's team is continuing to

follow the children's health. One potential

concern is whether kidney or

gastrointestinal problems might emerge

later, which can occur after other critical

illnesses, the study's authors wrote. The

team also hopes to conduct neurocognitive

evaluations and other neurological testing,

Dr. Penner said.

"We don't know what the longer-term

outcomes will be," Dr. Penner said. But for

now, he added, "being able to relay at least

what we've seen so far to parents has really

enabled us to alleviate some of their

anxieties about this black box of unknowns

with regard to this new condition."

The latest coronavirus

comes from dogs

eMILy antheS

Scientists have discovered a new canine

coronavirus in a child who was

hospitalized with pneumonia in Malaysia

in 2018. If the virus is confirmed to be a

human pathogen, it would be the eighth

coronavirus, and the first canine

coronavirus, known to cause disease in

humans.

It is not yet clear whether this specific

virus poses a serious threat to humans,

the researchers stress. The study does not

prove that the pneumonia was caused by

the virus, which may not be capable of

spreading between people. But the

finding, which was published on

Thursday in the journal Clinical

Infectious Diseases, highlights the need

to more proactively search for viruses

that could jump from animals into

humans, the scientists said.

"I think the key message here is that

these things are probably happening all

over the world, where people come in

contact with animals, especially intense

contact, and we're not picking them up,"

said Dr. Gregory Gray, an infectious

disease epidemiologist at Duke

University who is one of the study's

authors. "We should be looking for these

things. If we can catch them early and

find out that these viruses are successful

in the human host, then we can mitigate

them before they become a pandemic

virus." Seven coronaviruses are currently

known to infect humans. In addition to

SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that

causes Covid-19, there are coronaviruses

that cause SARS, MERS and the common

cold. Many of these viruses are believed

to have originated in bats, but can jump

from bats to humans, either directly or

after a stopover in another animal host.

Scientists have known for decades that

coronaviruses can cause disease in dogs,

but until now there has been no evidence

that canine coronaviruses can infect

people.

Scientists still cannot be certain

whether it was a dog that transmitted the

new virus to the patient; it likely was a

dog, Dr. Gray said, but another,

intermediate animal host, including a cat,

may have been responsible.

(There is also no evidence that dogs

transmit SARS-CoV-2 to humans,

although both cats and dogs can catch it.)

The new research began last spring,

after the pandemic hit, when Dr. Gray

asked Leshan Xiu, a doctoral student, to

develop a screening tool that could help

them detect all kinds of coronaviruses,

not just the ones that scientists already

knew about.

Then they used the technique, a

variation on the gold-standard P.C.R. test

that is commonly used to diagnose Covid,

to analyze some old patient specimens.

The samples were nasopharyngeal swabs

taken from 301 people who had been

hospitalized with pneumonia in Sarawak,

Malaysia, in 2017 and 2018.

In eight of the specimens, they detected

what seemed like a novel coronavirus,

similar to those known to infect dogs.

These specimens were primarily from

children who lived in settings or areas in

which contact with domestic and wild

animals was common.

At first, Dr. Gray said, he and his

colleagues thought that they had made a

mistake. "If we examine 300 patients and

eight of them show a canine coronavirus

that had never been seen before, you go,

'This must be a contaminant, this must be

- this can't be true,'" he said.

So they sent the samples to Dr.

Anastasia Vlasova, a veterinarian and

virologist at Ohio State University, for

further investigation. Using a slightly less

sensitive screening technique, she

confirmed that two of the eight samples

did appear to contain a novel canine

coronavirus. Moreover, one of those

samples proved capable of causing

damage to canine cells, she found.

Then she assembled the complete

genome of the virus from this sample. Its

genome closely matched that of other

known canine coronaviruses. "It is highly

similar to a number of previously

characterized canine coronaviruses, but

it's a novel strain," Dr. Vlasova said.

The virus seemed to be a combination

of two previously identified canine

coronaviruses, and also contained

fragments of both a cat coronavirus and a

pig coronavirus. (These recombinant

coronaviruses are common in dogs, Dr.

Vlasova said.)

It also had an unusual genetic

mutation, a deletion in what is commonly

known as the N gene, which codes for an

important structural protein. This

deletion has not been documented in

other canine coronaviruses, Dr. Vlasova

said, but similar mutations have

appeared in the viruses that cause Covid

and SARS. "So what does this mean?" Dr.

Gray asks. "Well, you know, we don't

know exactly."

Although much more research is

needed, one possibility is that the

mutation may help animal coronaviruses

to adapt to human hosts, the researchers

said.

It is too soon to say whether this virus

poses a risk to humans. Researchers have

not yet proved that this virus is the cause

of the pneumonia that sent patients to the

hospital. And they have not yet studied

whether people who may contract the

virus from animals can spread it to other

people.

Scientists detected a new canine coronavirus in a pneumonia patient hospitalized in Malaysia in

2018. Photo: ohio State University

I've failed to practice what I preached about limiting sun exposure, but a new report has prompted

me to reform.

Photo: Gracia Lam

Paying the price for sun damage

Jane e. Brody

Pick your favorite cliché: Do as I say, not

as I do; an ounce of prevention is worth

a pound of cure; better safe than sorry;

forewarned is forearmed. Mea culpa. All

the above relate to my failure to follow

the well-established health advice about

sun exposure that I've offered

repeatedly to my readers: Routinely

protect your skin from the cancercausing

and aging effects of the sun's

ultraviolet rays.

For decades I've failed to practice

what I preached (OK to wince) and am

now paying for my negligence with

unsightly splotches, bumps and bruises

and at least one cancerous lesion on my

sun-damaged skin. My litany of excuses

has included: hats mess up my hair,

long sleeves and pants are too hot in

summer and exercising while coated

with sunscreen is suffocating.

Annually vowing to do better, every

summer I dutifully purchase the latest

dermatology-recommended sunscreen

that, alas, spends the summer

unopened on a bathroom shelf. I hereby

pledge to do better this year, albeit late

in the game.

A new report from a dermatology

team at Kaiser Permanente health care

centers in California has prompted me

to reform. The team, headed by the

epidemiologist Lisa Herrinton in

Oakland, followed nearly half a million

patients seen at the centers for up to 10

years. Half had already developed one

or more actinic keratosis, a

precancerous rough, scaly skin lesion

caused by years of unprotected sun

exposure.

As you might expect, these lesions

most often form on the face, ears, back

of the hands, forearms, scalp and neck

and are - or should be - routinely

removed when found by dermatologists

to prevent progression to cancer. The

lesions are markers of sun damage and

can serve as an early warning system for

people at risk of developing cancer

somewhere on sun-exposed skin.

While the hazard is greatest for people

with light skin, blue eyes, freckles or red

hair, having a dark complexion is not a

free pass. Tanning, not just burning, is a

form of sun damage.

Among patients in the Kaiser

Permanente study who were younger

than 50, those with a diagnosis of actinic

keratosis were nearly seven times more

likely to develop a skin cancer called

squamous cell carcinoma during the

decade-long follow-up. The cancer risk

was eight times higher among patients

older than 50 who had one or more

actinic keratosis removed, and the more

such lesions these patients had, the

more likely they were to develop skin

cancer during the follow-up.

Furthermore, the older the patient,

the sooner cancer was diagnosed after

actinic keratosis was found and

presumably treated. It took seven to

eight years for 10 percent of patients in

their 50s with an actinic keratosis to

receive a diagnosis of skin cancer, but it

took only three to four years for patients

in their 70s and one to two years for

those in their 80s.

Alas, those of us in the upper decades

of life knew little in our younger years

about the risks of sun damage beyond

the need to avoid a bad sunburn. Many

youngsters like me swam, hiked, biked

and played sports minimally clothed

while the sun tanned or burned our

skin. We sunbathed coated in baby oil in

a misguided effort to acquire a rich tan.

And many of us, myself included, failed

to reach adulthood with sun-protective

habits that could have prevented the

skin damage now woefully apparent.

Given that the risk of ultraviolet light

to healthy skin has since been widely

publicized, I'm astonished at how many

people today visit tanning salons or use

tanning beds at home, damaging the

wholesome cutaneous barrier nature

gave us.

Happily, the new study suggests that

more people now have a greater

understanding and respect for the sun's

effects on skin and can look forward to a

healthier future, said Dr. Sangeeta

Marwaha, a dermatologist in

Sacramento and co-author of the study.

Among people who entered the study in

2018, the risk of developing skin cancer

was two-thirds that of study entrants in

2008 who were followed for an equal

number of years.

"There's been an increase in sunprotective

habits and a resulting

decrease in the development of skin

cancer," Dr. Marwaha said in an

interview. "Parents today are more

likely to protect their children from

undue sun exposure, and the use of

sunscreen is now more mainstream."

But there's still a long way to go.

Fostering a healthy respect for sun

protection in young children is

especially important because experts

estimate that 80 percent of a person's

lifetime sun exposure is acquired before

age 18. Repeated exposure to the sun's

ultraviolet radiation causes most of the

skin changes - wrinkles, age spots and

tiny broken blood vessels - generally

considered a normal result of aging. Yes,

aging plays a role, but these effects occur

much earlier in life on sun-exposed skin.

UV light damages the elastin fibers in

skin, causing it to stretch, sag and

wrinkle.

WedNesdAY, MAY 26, 2021

6

Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard BCG station Patharghata in a drive detained a smuggler along

with 1 magnetic on Monday midnight.

Photo: Courtesy

Coast Guard detains trafficker with

magnetic pillars at Patharghata

krishnachura flowers spreading beauty at

the entrance of Matiranga municipality

ABuL HASHeM, MATIRANGA CORReSPONDeNT

The whole country including

Matiranga is burning in the heat of

summer. In the midst of such hot sun,

the krishnachura tree is spreading

beauty at the main entrance of

Matiranga municipality. Green thin

leaves. Red krishnacura flowers in the

gaps. everyone's eyes are covered

when they see it.

krishnachura is a tree species.

Whose scientific name is Delonix regia.

This tree is famous for its beautiful

foliage and fire and red flowers.

The beauty of this tree not only

attracts the attention of pedestrians. A

variety of birds can be seen roaming the

tree singing.

Although the leaves of krishnacura

fall in summer, it is evergreen in

temperate regions. In the cities or

villages of Bangladesh, red flowers are

blooming on the trees of krishnacura at

this time. Sometimes some flowers fall.

even in the black clouds of

kalavaishakhi, beautiful red-crowned

flowers peek out.

Hundreds of people come to this

municipality every day to get services

for different needs. As the tree is at the

entrance of the municipality, the beauty

of the municipal building has come to

the fore. Ignoring the hot sun,

hundreds of citizens come to this

municipality every day to get services.

They were fascinated by the tree and

did not forget to take a rest under the

tree after receiving the service.

Apart from this, traders sit in front of

the municipality with mangoes and

jackfruits for sale on the weekly market

day in Matiranga. Since the place is

beautiful, they compete to put banana

and jackfruit posara in its vicinity.

Maya Bibi, who came to the

municipality for services, said, "I often

have to come to the municipality for old

age allowance work." The tree looks

very beautiful so there is no rest when

coming and going.

Md. Ali, Councilor of Ward No. 2 of

Matiranga Municipality, said, "I have to

come to Porsabha almost every day.

Matiranga Mayor Md. Shamsul

Haque said, krishnacura is definitely

an ornamental tree of nature.

However, it has many medicinal

properties. Which is unknown to many

of us. In addition to spreading beauty,

the krishnacura tree provides shade in

the harshness of summer.

BCG station Patharghata under the

Bangladesh Coast Guard South Zone

in a drive detained a smuggler along

with 1 magnetic on Monday

midnight. Lt. Commander Amirul

Haque, media officer at the

Bangladesh Coast Guard

headquarters, said this on Tuesday

(May 25) afternoon, a press release

said.

He said the operation was carried

out on the basis of secret information

led by Station Commander

Patharghata Lt. Fahim Shahriar.

During the operation, Md. Abul

kalam (40), a smuggler of magnetic

pillar was arrested with 1 magnetic

pillar, was arrested from Baraitala

area of Ward No. 5 of Patharghata.

Later, the magnetic pillar and the

smuggler were handed over to

Patharghata police station.

He further said that regular

operations are continuing and will

continue in the areas under the

jurisdiction of Bangladesh Coast

Guard to maintain law and order,

control public safety as well as

kidnapping, robbery, control drugs

and protect domestic resources.

Krishnachura tree is spreading beauty at the main entrance of Matiranga municipality amid scorching

heat.

Photo: Abul Hashem

The monthly meeting of the Gournadi Upazila Law and Order Committee and preparation meeting of

cyclone 'Yaas' were held at the Upazila Parishad auditorium on Tuesday morning. Photo: Gias Uddin Mia

Law and order and preparation meeting

of cyclone ‘Yaas’ was held at Gournadi

GIAS uDDIN MIA, GOuRNADI CORReSPONDeNT

The monthly meeting of the Gournadi

upazila Law and Order Committee

and preperation meeting of cyclone

'Yaas' were held at the upazila

Parishad auditorium on Tuesday

morning.

upazila Nirbahi Officer Bipin

Chandra Biswas presided over the

function while among others, upazila

Assistant Commissioner (VM) Md.

Ariful Islam Prince, upazila Parishad

Vice Chairman Farhad Hossain

Munshi, Women Vice Chairman Zinia

Afroz Helen, upazila Agriculture

Officer Mamunur Rahman, Gournadi

Model Police Station OC

(Investigation) Mohammad

Touhiduzzaman, Sarikal union

Parishad Chairman Faruk Hossain

Mridha, Nalchira union Parishad

Chairman Golam Hafiz Mridha,

Senior Journalist Mohammad Gias

uddin Mia were also present at the

occasion.

56,412 hectares of land brought

under jute farming in Rangpur

RANGPuR: Farmers have brought

56,412 hectares of land under jute

cultivation this season in the

agriculture region where tender jute

plants are growing superbly predicting

a bumper production of the fibre crop,

reports BSS.

Officials of the Department of

Agricultural extension (DAe) said a

target of producing 6,89,367 (six lakh

89 thousand and 367 bales) of jute has

been fixed from 58,520 hectares of land

of all five districts in the region during

the current season.

The target includes production of

6,45,936 bales of 'Tosha' variety jute

fibre from 54,100 hectares of land,

34,928 bales of 'Deshi' variety from

3,560 hectares of land, 2,628 bales of

'Mechta' variety from 360 hectares of

land and 5,875 bales of kenaf variety of

jute from 500 hectares of land.

However, farmers in the region have

finally cultivated jute on 56,412

hectares of land, less by 2,108 hectares

of land or 3.60 percent against the fixed

farming target for the crop this season.

Of the total land, 9,197 hectares in

Rangpur, 16,460 hectares in

Gaibandha, 19,980 hectares in

kurigram, 4,075 hectares in

Lalmonirhat and 7,000 hectares in

Nilphamari districts.

"The tender jute plants are growing

superbly amid favourable climatic

conditions in the region where harvest

of the crop will begin from July next,"

said Agriculturist Bibhubhushan Roy,

additional director of the DAe for

Rangpur region.

After getting a lucrative price

between Taka 4,000 and Taka 5,000

per mound of jute last season, farmers

are showing more interest in farming

high yielding varieties of jute.

Due to crop diversification and

cultivation of Aush rice and maize on

more land area, the fixed target for jute

farming could not be achieved this

season in the agriculture region.

Demand of jute continues increasing

in local markets since declaration of

jute as a national agricultural product

by the government along with

mandatory use of jute sacs in various

sectors to ensure fair price of the

production for farmers.

Like in the previous years, the DAe,

other related organisations and dealers

supplied locally produced high quality

and imported jute seeds to the farmers

and provided latest technologies to

them to expand jute cultivation for

reviving past glory of the fibre.

"The DAe has also provided

necessary training and inputs to the

farmers for separating and rotting of

jute fibre adopting the latest

technologies to ensure better quality for

getting higher price of their produced

jute," Roy added.

Talking to BSS, Senior Coordinator

(Agriculture and environment) of

RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist

Mamunur Rashid said tender jute

plants are growing fabulously now

amid favourable climatic conditions

predicting an abundant production of

the crop.

Farmers Jafar Ali, Moksed Ali,

Amenur Rahman, Abdur Rahim,

Mubarak Hossain and ershadul Haque

of different villages in Rangpur said the

tender jute plants are growing

excellently on their crop fields

predicting a bumper production this

season.

AC Land demolishes illegal shops on

government canal in Barlekha

ABDuR ROB, BARLekHA CORReSPONDeNT

Occupying the land of the government

canal at kanungo Bazar on the

Hakaluki side of Barlekha, local

influential people built 3 shops in the

dark of night. But they were not spared,

Assistant Commissioner (Land) Nusrat

Laila Nira evicted the illegally

constructed shops with the help of the

police. The drainage of the canal has

been severely hampered for a long time

as local influential people have

occupied the land of the government

canal and built several illegal

structures.

It is learned that the Sonai canal, a

tributary of the Sonai river, flows past

kanungo Bazar in Talimpur union of

the upazila. The canal was occupied by

local influential canal and few shops

and houses constricted which has

obstructing the drainage of the canal

water. Severe waterlogging is seen in

the rainy season.

Meanwhile, local influential Abu

Bakkar, Nasir Mia, Sams uddin and

former uP member Nazrul Islam built

four more illegal shops in the dark of

Friday and Saturday night. upon

receiving the news, Assistant

Commissioner (Land) Nusrat Laila

Nira conducted an operation with

police and land officials on Monday

afternoon. During the time she

demolished 3 shops built on the basis of

night. She has been directed to take

part in the hearing at the upazila Land

Office on Tuesday with the documents

as a case is pending in the court

regarding the land for constructing a

shop.

Assistant Commissioner (Land) Nusrat Laila Nira evicted the illegally constructed shops with the help of

the police built on government canal in Barlekha recently.

Photo: Andur Rob

Two held with 1,000

bottles of phensidyl

in C'nawabganj

CHAPAINAWABGANJ: Members of

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested two

alleged drug peddlers with 1,000 bottles of

contraband Indian phensidyl from

Shibganj in the district on Monday night,

reports BSS.

The arrested were identified as Md.

Masum, 40, of Haripur village under

Damkura thana in Rajshahi district and

Md. Dollar Babu, 22, of Moharajpur

Miashahebpara under Chapainawabganj

sadar upazila.

Acting on a tip-off, an operation team of

the RAB-5 from Chapainawabganj camp

conducted a raid in Ranihati Bazar area

under Shibganj upazila of the district

around 09.05 pm and arrested the duo

with the phensidyls, RAB sources said.

11 more test positive for

COVID-19 in Bhola

BHOLA: A number of 11 more

people were diagnosed with COVID-

19 positive in the last 24 hours in the

district after testing 45 samples at

Bhola 250-bed General Hospital

COVID-19 laboratory, reports BSS.

All of the new positive cases are

residents in Sadar upazila of the

district. Meanwhile, seven patients

recovered from COVID-19 in the last

24 hours in the district, civil surgeon

of the district Dr Syed Rezaul Islam

told BSS.

The total number of infected people

in the district stood at 1,907 while the

number of recovery cases at 1,766, the

civil surgeon said.

A total of 26 persons have so far

died of COVID-19 in the district, Dr

Syed Rezaul Islam told BSS.

The health expert of the district

urged all to follow the health rules

strictly and use masks to prevent the

spread of the lethal virus.

Dr Syed Rezaul Islam said infected

11 persons are now undergoing

treatment at Bhola 250-bed General

Hospital, rest of the infected persons

are now undergoing treatment at

home under the supervision of

doctors from their respective upazila

health complexes.

WEdnESdAY, MAY 26, 2021

7

A Belarusian dog handler checks luggages off a Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS (flight number FR4978)

parked on Minsk International Airport's apron in Minsk.

Photo : Internet

In NYC's furthest flung neighborhood,

vaccine a tough sell

NEW YORK : If there's one

place where people could

fear the coronavirus more

than a vaccination needle,

it's the Far Rockaway

section of Queens: Nearly

460 residents of the

seaside neighborhood have

died of COVID-19, reports

UNB.

That's one out of every

146 people who live there,

making for one of New

York City's highest death

rates. And yet, no other

place in the city has a lower

percentage of vaccinated

people.

As of Monday, only 29%

of people living Far

Rockaway's ZIP code,

11691, had received even

one vaccine dose,

according to data from the

New York City Health

Department. That

compares to a rate of 49%

citywide and nationally.

The situation in the

community of around

67,000 people illustrates

Thousands evacuated in India

as strong cyclone inches closer

NEW DELHI : Tens of thousands of

people were evacuated Tuesday in lowlying

areas of two Indian states and

moved to cyclone shelters to escape a

powerful storm barreling toward the

eastern coast.

Cyclone Yaas is set to turn into a "very

severe cyclonic storm" with sustained

wind speeds of up to 177 kilometers per

hour (110 miles per hour), the India

Meteorological Department said. The

cyclone is expected to make landfall

early Wednesday in Odisha and West

Bengal states. The cyclone coming

amid a devastating coronavirus surge

complicates India's efforts to deal with

both just 10 days after Cyclone Tauktae

hit India's west coast and killed more

than 140 people.

Thousands of emergency personnel

have been deployed in coastal regions

the challenges facing

health officials in many

places as they try to

overcome hesitancy fueled

by

mistrust,

misinformation and fear.

"We have a good amount

of people that still don't

want to get vaccinated, for

whatever reason," said

Diana Catalan, a health

clinic manager involved in

the Far Rockaway

inoculation effort whose

father, a neighborhood

resident, died of the virus

in February.

Some people want to wait

a few months to see how

vaccinated friends and

family respond to the

shots, she said. Some have

heard unfounded

conspiracy theories that

the vaccine is dangerous.

Others just feel no urgency,

having escaped serious

harm so far.

Catalan said she was

anxious to get her father a

shot at the Joseph P.

Addabbo Family Health

Center, where she works.

But he got the virus before

the vaccine became

available to people in his

age group. He was 62.

"He was very young and

he had no chronic

illnesses," Catalan said.

"He was nothing but a

hard-working man."

More than an hour's

subway ride from

Manhattan, Far Rockaway

sits between a bay and a

strip of urban beach on the

eastern end of Queens

seashore, beneath the flight

path for nearby Kennedy

Airport.

Like a lot of places where

vaccination rates lag, a

majority of residents are

Black and Hispanic.

Among some Black

Americans, there's

documented distrust in the

medical establishment and

government because of a

history of discriminatory

treatment.

of the two states for evacuation and any

possible rescue operations, said S.N.

Pradhan, director of India's National

Disaster Response Force. India's air

force and navy were also on standby to

carry out relief work.

Fishing trawlers and boats have been

told to take shelter until further notice

as forecasters warned of high tidal

waves.

In West Bengal, authorities were

scrambling to move tens of thousands

of people to cyclone shelters. Officials

said at least 20 districts in the state will

feel the brunt of the storm.

Last May, nearly 100 people died in

Cyclone Amphan, the most powerful

storm in more than a decade to hit

eastern India, including West Bengal

state. It flattened villages, destroyed

farms and left millions without power

"People are naturally

going to be scared of

anything offered by the

medical community,

especially because of what

we've seen through health

care and what that has

looked like for low-income

black and brown

c o m m u n i t i e s

disadvantaged in the

state," Khaleel Anderson, a

state Assembly member

who represents the area

explained.

For some Latinos,

delaying the vaccine often

comes down to logistics,

such as work schedules or

fear of negative

i m m i g r a t i o n

consequences. A section of

the neighborhood is also

home to a community of

Orthodox Jews, a group

that, like white evangelical

Christians, is also

experiencing more vaccine

skepticism.

in eastern India and Bangladesh.

"We haven't been able to fix the

damage to our home from the last

cyclone. Now another cyclone is

coming, how will we stay here?" said

Samitri, who uses only one name.

In Odisha, a state already battered by

coronavirus infections, authorities

evacuated nearly 15,000 people living

along the coast and moved them to

cyclone shelters, senior officer Pradeep

Jena said.

In a televised address Monday, the

state's chief minister, Naveen Patnaik,

appealed to people being moved to

cyclone shelters to wear double masks

and maintain social distancing. He

asked authorities to distribute masks to

the evacuated people.

"We have to face both the challenges

simultaneously," Patnaik said.

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated Tuesday in low-lying areas of two Indian states and

moved to cyclone shelters to escape a powerful storm barreling toward the eastern coast. Photo : AP

More airlines suspend flights

in Belarus airspace

PARIS : Air France, Finnair and Singapore

Airlines became the latest carriers to suspend

flights over Belarus on Tuesday after Minsk

forced a jet to land to arrest a dissident.

The announcements came a day after

European Union leaders urged EU-based

airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace and

banned the country's airlines from the 27-

nation block.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko

sparked international outrage by dispatching a

fighter jet Sunday to intercept a Ryanair flight

from Athens to Vilnius carrying wanted

reporter Roman Protasevich, 26, and his

girlfriend Sofia Sapega.

Air France said in a statement it had "taken

note" of the conclusions of Monday's EU

summit and had suspended flights over

Belarus "until further notice".

Planes already in the air will have their flight

plans modified, the French company said.

Singapore Airlines was also rerouting flights

"that are bound for Europe to avoid the

Belarusian airspace" and would continue to

"closely monitor the situation", a spokesperson

said.

"The safety of our customers and crew is our

top priority," a spokesperson told AFP.

Finnair said the next flight that will be

affected by its decision to reroute planes is one

that was heading to the Turkish coastal town of

Gazipasa on Wednesday.

Scandinavian airline SAS, Germany's

Lufthansa and Latvia-based regional airline Air

Baltic made similar announcements on

Monday.

Britain also issued instructions for British

aircraft to avoid Belarusian airspace while

Ukraine decided to halt direct flights between

the two countries and over Belarus.

Western leaders have accused Belarusian

authorities of essentially hijacking a European

plane, while Minsk claimed it had reacted to

secure the flight after receiving a bomb threat.

Blinken in Israel on Mideast

tour to shore up Gaza truce

JERUSALEM : U.S. Secretary of

State Antony Blinken has arrived

in Israel at the start of a Middle

East tour aimed at shoring up the

Gaza cease-fire, reports UNB.

He will face the same obstacles

that have stifled a wider peace

process for more than a decade,

including a hawkish Israeli

leadership, Palestinian divisions

and deeply rooted tensions

surrounding Jerusalem and its

holy sites.

The 11-day Gaza war killed more

than 250 people, mostly

Palestinians, and caused

widespread destruction in the

impoverished coastal territory.

Blinken is expected to focus on

coordinating reconstruction

without engaging with Gaza's

militant Hamas rulers, who are

considered terrorists by Israel and

Western countries.

The truce that came into effect

Friday has so far held, but it did not

address any of the underlying

issues.

Blinken, who landed at Ben

Gurion International Airport early

Tuesday, is the highest-ranking

U.S. official to visit the region since

President Joe Biden assumed

office. He was welcomed on the

tarmac by Israeli Foreign Minister

Gabi Ashkenazi and other officials.

The administration had hoped to

extricate the U.S. from the region's

intractable conflicts and focus on

competition with China and

climate change. But like so many of

its predecessors, it was pulled back

into the Middle East by another

outbreak of violence.

He will begin his visit in Israel,

where Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu is fighting for his

political life after a fourth

inconclusive election in two years.

Netanyahu faces mounting

criticism from Israelis who say he

ended the offensive prematurely,

without forcibly halting Palestinian

rocket attacks or dealing a heavier

blow to Gaza's militant Hamas

rulers.

The war was triggered by weeks

of clashes in Jerusalem between

Israeli police and Palestinian

protesters in and around the Al-

Aqsa Mosque compound, a

flashpoint holy site. The protests

were directed at Israel's policing of

the area during the Muslim holy

month of Ramadan and the

threatened eviction of dozens of

Palestinian families by Jewish

settlers.

The evictions were put on hold

just before the Gaza fighting

erupted, but the legal process is set

to resume in the coming weeks.

Police briefly clashed with

protesters at Al-Aqsa on Friday,

hours after the cease-fire came into

effect. The site is revered by Jews

and Muslims, and has seen several

outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian

violence over the years.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, stands with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, upon

arrival at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport, Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Blinken has arrived

in Israel at the start of a Middle East tour aimed at shoring up the Gaza cease-fire. Photo : AP

New Zealand halts

travel bubble with

Australian state

WELLINGTON : New

Zealand suspended

quarantine-free travel with

Australia's Victoria state

over a new coronavirus

cluster Tuesday, the fourth

time the trans-Tasman

travel bubble has been

disrupted since it opened

last month.

Officials in Wellington

said they were taking a

cautious approach after

Melbourne recorded nine

locally acquired cases in the

past two days, believed to be

related to a leak from a

quarantine hotel.

New Zealand's Covid-19

response minister Chris

Hipkins said the suspension

would take effect at 8:00pm

(0800 GMT) Tuesday and

remain in place for at least

72 hours.

"The government

understands the disruption

this will temporarily cause

affected passengers," he

said.

"It was a close call but the

correct one given the

current unknowns."

As it stands, the

suspension will be lifted in

time for the Otago

Highlanders-Melbourne

Rebels Super Rugby match

in Queenstown, which will

be attended by New

Zealand Prime Minister

Jacinda Ardern and her

Australian counterpart

Scott Morrison.

Gaza-based journalists

in Hamas chat blocked

from WhatsApp

GAZA CITY : A few hours after the latest

cease-fire took effect in the Gaza Strip, a

number of Palestinian journalists in the

coastal enclave found they were blocked from

accessing WhatsApp messenger - a crucial

tool used to communicate with sources,

editors and the world beyond the blockaded

strip, reports UNB.

The Associated Press reached out to 17

journalists in Gaza who confirmed their

Whatsapp accounts had been blocked since

Friday. By midday Monday, only four

journalists - working for Al Jazeera -

confirmed their accounts had been restored.

The incident marks the latest puzzling

move concerning WhatsApp's owner

Facebook Inc. that's left Palestinian users or

their allies bewildered as to why they've been

targeted by the company, or if indeed they'd

been singled out for censorship at all.

Twelve of the 17 journalists contacted by

the AP said they had been part of a WhatsApp

group that disseminates information related

to Hamas military operations. Hamas, which

rules over the Gaza Strip, is viewed as a

terrorist organization by Israel and the

United States, where WhatsApp owner

Facebook is headquartered.

It's unclear if the journalists were targeted

because they'd been following that group's

announcements on WhatsApp.

Hamas runs Gaza's Health Ministry, which

has a WhatsApp group followed by more

than 80 people, many of them journalists.

That group, for example, has not been

blocked.

Hassan Slaieh, a freelance journalist in

Gaza whose WhatsApp account is blocked,

said he thinks his account might have been

targeted because he was on a group called

Hamas Media.

"This has affected my work and my income

because I lost conversations with sources and

people," Slaieh said.

Al Jazeera's chief correspondent in Gaza,

Wael al-Dahdouh, said his access to

WhatsApp was blocked around dawn on

Friday before it was reinstated Monday. He

said journalists subscribe to Hamas groups

only to get information needed to do

journalistic work.

A WhatsApp spokesperson said the

company bans accounts to comply with its

policies "to prevent harm as well as

applicable law." The company said it has

been in touch with media outlets over the last

week about its practices. "We will reinstate

journalists if any were impacted," the

company said.

Al Jazeera said that when it sought

information regarding its four journalists in

Gaza impacted by the blockage, they were

told by Facebook that the company had

blocked the numbers of groups based out of

Gaza and consequently the cell phone

numbers of Al Jazeera journalists were part

of the groups they had blocked.

Among those affected by the WhatsApp

blockage are two Agence France-Presse

journalists. The Paris-based international

news service told the AP it is working with

WhatsApp to understand what the problem

is and to restore their accounts. The 11-day

war caused widespread destruction across

Gaza with 248 Palestinians, including 66

children and 39 women, killed in the fighting.

Israel says 12 people in Israel, including two

children, also died.

WednesdAY, MAY 26, 2021

8

Indo-Bangla Joint Venture Company

to Invest US$ 2.95 M in Ishwardi EPZ

India-Bangladesh joint venture company

M/s Khyaati Leather Innovations BD Ltd.

has signed an agreement with

Bangladesh Export Processing Zones

Authority (BEPZA) to establish a

Garments Accessories & Bags

Manufacturing industry in Ishwardi EPZ

with an investment of US$ 2.95 million.

The company will produce annually

40-50 million pieces of Back Patches-

Paper/PU/Leather, Heat Seal labels,

Silicon Labels, Belts- PU/Leather,

Printed Fabrics (Coated & Uncoated),

Buttons, Rivets, Metal/ Plastic IDs, Metal

& Plastic Eyelets, Lock-pin, Hanging

Walton Digi-Tech Industries

Limited has launched

several new models of SSDs

in the market. DRAM cache

is the main attraction of

SATA and M.2 NVMe two

form factor SSDs which will

ensure high speed of the

computing devices. Users

will get faster read and write

speed on their laptop or

desktop, a press release said.

Solid State Drives or SSDs

are currently very popular

and widely used as the main

storage of computers. SSD is

being used in almost all

computers as storage

instead of old hard disk

drives. All the activities of

the computer are faster with

the SSDs, increasing the

boot speed of the operating

system. Walton Digi-Tech

Industries Limited has been

manufacturing and

marketing this storage

device for several years.

In three form factor- SATA

III, M.2 SATA III and M.2

NVMe- of 2.5-inch of

Walton SSDs are available in

the market. Walton has also

recently launched more

advanced state-of-the-art

storage devices.

According to officials, the

2.5-inch SATA III SSD

without DRAM cache is

available in 128, 256, 512 GB

and 1 terabyte. Prices range

from BDT 2,250 to BDT

10,950. 256 and 512 GB

SSDs of the same category

with DRAM cache are priced

at BDT 4,450 and BDT

Accessories, Fabric Label, Hang

Tags/Stickers, Laces, Shoe Sole, Shoe

Upper, Bags, all types of fashionable

Tapes, Taffeta labels, Woven Labels and

Knitted & Fabric Belts etc. They will

create employment opportunity for 116

Bangladeshi nationals, a press release

said

Member (Investment Promotion) of

BEPZA Md. Mahmudul Hossain Khan

and Chairman of Khyaati Leather Pravin

Satyapal Uppal signed the agreement

recently at BEPZA Complex, Dhaka on

behalf of their respective organizations.

The Executive Chairman of BEPZA

6,750 respectively. The same

capacity SATA M.2 SSD is

priced at BDT 3,250 and

BDT 5,950 respectively.

Walton's M.2 NVMe 256

and 512 GB SSDs without

DRAM cache, are priced at

BDT 3,550 and BDT 6,250

respectively while the 256,

512 GB and 1 terabyte SSDs

with DRAM cache of the

same category are priced at

BDT 4,550; 6,950 and

14,550 respectively. Walton

has been providing after

sales service for up to 3 years

based on models.

Rakib Bin Quader,

product manager of Walton

memory devices, said that

the 2.5-inch SATA III form

factor memory devices are

suitable for use on

motherboards of almost all

models of computers and

laptops. So customers can

upgrade their computer to

this high speed storage

device by replacing the old

hard disk drive. Modern

motherboard has slots for

the use of these two types of

memory devices, SATA III

and NVMe of M.2. The new

models of storage devices

have been launched to

ensure that customers can

easily increase the efficiency

of their computer according

to their needs and budget.

Walton Digi-Tech

Industries Limited Deputy

Managing Director and CEO

of the computer and

accessories department,

Liakat Ali said, technology

changes over time. Everyone

wants high speed and

durable digital devices at

affordable prices. Walton's

skilled engineers are

producing new and

Major General Md Nazrul Islam, SPP,

ndu, afwc, psc, G witnessed the signing

ceremony.

BEPZA is trying its best to attract local

& foreign investment in the EPZs even

during the Covid-19 pandemic. Among

others, Member (Engineering)

Mohammad Faruque Alam, Member

(Finance) Nafisa Banu, Secretary Md.

Zakir Hossain Chowdhury, General

Manager (Public Relations) Nazma Binte

Alamgir and General Manager

(Investment Promotion) Md. Tanvir

Hossain of BEPZA were present at the

signing ceremony.

Green groups slam UK bank

links to carbon emissions

LONDON : The UK financial

sector's amount of carbon

emissions exceeded the net

annual output of most

countries in 2019 as a result of

worldwide investments,

green groups claimed on

Tuesday.

A study by Greenpeace and

the UK arm of the World

Wildlife Fund comes ahead of

the COP26 UN climate

summit to be held in Glasgow

in November.

"As the host of this year's

pivotal global climate

summit, the (British)

government can no longer

turn a blind eye," said

Greenpeace UK's Executive

Director John Sauven in

comments published

alongside the report.

"Rather than relying on

self-regulation we need

legislation that forces all

banks and asset managers to

align all financing activities

with the goals" of the 2015

Paris accord to keeping the

global temperature increase

to under two degrees Celsius

and ideally closer to 1.5C by

2050.

"That would be genuine

climate leadership," Sauven

added.

The report noted that banks

and asset managers in the UK

were together responsible for

financing 805 million tonnes

of carbon dioxide in 2019.

This would have made The

City of London - commonly

referred to as the UK financial

sector - as the ninth biggest

emitter of CO2 if it were a

country, higher than Europe's

biggest economy Germany in

tenth place, it added.

Responding, the City of

London Corporation said that

while it "is showing

leadership in the fight against

climate change", it recognise

"that there is no room for

complacency.

"London is consistently

ranked as the leading global

centre when it comes to green

finance, a key part of the

solution to tackling climate

change," it added in a

statement.

Sauven said "banks and

investors are responsible for

more emissions than most

nations", claiming that "the

UK government is giving

them a free pass".

Greenpeace explained it

had taken a sample of British

and foreign banks and

investors listed in the UK,

adding that the study

excludes insurers.

The study found that UK

financial institutions in 2019

funded projects worldwide

that contributed to carbon

emissions almost double that

of the country's annual net

total.

"Trying to set a path to netzero

emissions without

tackling the UK financial

sector is like sticking a plaster

when the patient needs open

heart surgery," said WWF

UK's chief executive Tanya

Steele.

Walton launches new models of SSDs

sophisticated technology

products. We have launched

new models of SSDs giving

customers a fast computing

experience. We are getting

huge positive response from

customers regarding Walton

SSDs of 'Antique' brand.

Apart from SSDs, there are

various models of external

SSD, RAM and memory

card devices in the market.

Besides, Walton is

producing and marketing

various models and features

of desktop, laptop, all-in-one

PC, monitor, keyboard,

mouse, pen drive, earphone,

Wi-Fi router, power supply

unit, UPS, USB hub, card

reader, speaker and USB

Type-C cables. Walton will

soon launch products such

as printers, power banks,

projectors, networking

switches, webcams, etc.

AIIB approves $260m loan for

bridge construction in Bangladesh

DHAKA : The Asian Infrastructure

Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a

$260 million loan to Bangladesh for the

construction of a bridge that will make

use of the latest advances in technology to

improve safety and promote early

detection of structural damage.

The Kewatkhali Bridge, set to be the

first arch steel bridge in Bangladesh, will

substantially ease congestion in the

northern city of Mymensingh by

diverting traffic from the busy city center.

Moreover, the new bridge will be part of

the Dhaka-Mymensingh-India border

corridor, which is strategically important

for local and regional connectivity, said

an AIIB press release.

The release said once completed, over

11 million people in Bangladesh's

northern region will be benefited from

increased mobility and integration of

local and regional markets.

The bridge will also shorten the travel

time for people and vehicles and

contribute to the reduction of carbon

Inter-district bus service

resumes from 24th May, at

half capacity across the

country after a prolonged

period of restrictions on

public transport. Shohoz,

the country's leading

SuperApp has resumed its

bus ticket booking services

accordingly from 24th May.

Owing to the COVID-19

pandemic, safety has

always been in the forefront

of all its services. Shohoz

encourages its partner bus

operators and customers to

follow the necessary

hygiene rules even when

buying tickets offline. All

ticket booking processes are

being operated ensuring

usage of mask, regular hand

sanitation, and maintaining

a safe distance by the bus

operators. However, to

ensure maximum safety,

Shohoz encourages

everyone to book tickets

online. The confirmation

message of tickets booked

emissions.

"As in other river delta environments,

bridges play a strategic role in

Bangladesh's transport network. AIIB

considers the financing of the Kewatkhali

Bridge at Mymensingh an opportunity to

use the latest technology in bridge

maintenance and management to

improve its structural performance,

service life and the safety of the bridge for

residents and motorists," said AIIB

Senior Investment Operations Specialist

Natalia Sanz.

The project includes a proposed Bridge

Health Monitoring System (BHMS),

which, Sanz explains, will be used to

provide early warnings of structural

issues in the main bridge.

Data on load and environmental

effects, as well as the bridge responses,

will be captured in real time and

interfaced with a bridge rating system,

allowing for more efficient monitoring

and will help formulate a systematic

approach to periodic inspection."By

from Shohoz provides a

guaranteed booking for the

customers without the

hassle of offline booking. To

avail the online tickets,

passengers simply need to

show the confirmation

message from their mobile

to the bus counter.

Along with Shohoz

SuperApp, passengers will

be able to book tickets from

studying the changes observed in bridge

conditions over time, engineers can

develop models to distinguish the effects

of maintenance activity from normal

wear and tear," Sanz said. The AIIB

official said state-of-the-art work in this

area includes deepening our

understanding of physical deterioration

processes, especially the effect of

structural damage on the reliability and

performance of structural components.

Training and institutional development

of the national Roads and Highways

Department on the maintenance and

operation of an arch steel bridge and on

the use of the BHMS is a core component

of the project.

The AIIB is a multilateral development

bank whose mission is financing the

Infrastructure for Tomorrowinfrastructure

with sustainability at its

core.

AIIB began its operations in Beijing in

January 2016 and has since grown to 103

approved members worldwide.

Shohoz SuperApp

Guaranteed Bus Ticket in The Comfort of Your Home

Tata Steel to continue

salaries for Covid victims'

families in India

Tata Steel has said it will

compensate the families of

its workers in India that die

of Covid-19.

The firm said it will pay

deceased employees'

salaries, housing and

medical benefits until what

would have been their

retirement at the age of 60.

It also pledged to cover the

education costs of the

children of dead frontline

workers until they graduate.

This week India officially

counted 300,000 dead from

the virus, though experts

warn the number is higher.

"Tata Steel stands together

with a deep sense of loss at

the sad demise of its beloved

employees during this

dreadful pandemic," the

company said in a

statement.

After detailing the benefits

of the firm's "best-in-class

social security schemes" the

statement concluded by

saying that the "Tata Steel

family stands stoically with

all its people, committed to

their security and wellbeing."

Tata Steel is the latest

major employer in India to

announce financial support

plans for the families of its

workers that have lost their

lives to Covid-19.

Last week, hospitality

group Oyo Rooms said it

would help the families of its

workers who have died of

the coronavirus in a number

of ways, including eight

months' pay and support for

their children's education for

five years.

"The battle against COVID

is far from over but I hope

these initiatives will help

ease out the difficulties for

the families, the company's

founder Ritesh Agarwal said

in a series of Tweets.

Premium smartphone

brand TECNO launched a

cashback offer campaign

on May 3rd with two of

their CAMON series

smartphones. During the

campaign, TECNO

announced a cashback

offer ranging from Tk.

2,000 to Tk. 1 lakh on the

purchase of the state-ofthe-art

CAMON 16

Premier and CAMON 16

Pro phones. As part of the

campaign, TECNO

authorities handed over

the prize money (Tk. 1

lakh) to the first lucky

winner today.

According to the

campaign's offer, buying a

TECNO CAMON 16

Premier phone guaranteed

cashback of a minimum of

Tk. 5,000 to a maximum of

Tk. 1 lakh or another

CAMON 16 Premier phone

for free. On the other hand,

buying a CAMON 16 Pro

guaranteed cashback

ranging from Tk 2,000 to

Tk 1 lakh or a chance to win

another CAMON 16 Pro

phone for free.

Recently, Md. Jubayer

Hasan, a resident of

Laxmipur district, bought a

CAMON

series

smartphone from his

nearest shop (MK

Telecom) and won a

cashback prize of Tk. 1 lakh

(the maximum amount).

Rezwanul Haque, CEO of

the 'Shohoz Ticket' option

on the bKash mobile app.

Along with the facility to

book tickets from

anywhere, at any time users

can enjoy insurance

services. To avail the

insurance, consumers have

to add only BDT 10 extra

per person to the original

the bus ticket price. In the

occurrence of accident

while traveling, the family

of the insurance holder will

be paid up to a maximum of

BDT 150,000 in case of

injury or death.

Additionally, passengers

can avail the same

insurance facility offline

from the ticket counter of

SR Travels (Pvt.) Ltd.,

Saintmartin Travels, Royal

Coach, Orin Travels, Manik

Express, Kotalipara

Starline, Tungipara

Express, Saintmartin 2020

(Pvt.) Ltd., M.R Enterprise

and Shuvo Basundhara

Paribahan.

The Lucky winner received

Tk 1 lakh cashback by buying

a TECNO smartphone

Transsion Bangladesh;

Md. Rezaul Hasan, Head of

Sales Management; Md.

Asaduzzaman, Head of

Marketing and Md. Saifur

Rahman Khan, Head of

TECNO Business Unit

handed over the prizes to

the winners.

While accepting the

award, Md. Jubayer Hasan

said, "This is a memorable

day for me. I never thought

I would get this award. I

am grateful to TECNO for

running such a campaign."

He added, "I feel very

comfortable using a

TECNO phone. All in all, it

was a really joyful

experience for me."

WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021

9

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will attempt to win his first trophy as Manchester United manager in

Wednesday's Europa League final against Villarreal.

Photo: AP

Solskjaer touts europa

League as start of renewed

Man Utd success

SpOrtS DeSk

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will

attempt to win his first

trophy as Manchester

United manager in

Wednesday's europa

League final against

Villarreal, confident that

victory could ignite another

sustained run of success at

Old trafford, reports BSS.

the Norwegian, now 48,

will forever be

remembered for his late

winner against Bayern

Munich in the 1999

Champions League final,

and Solskjaer is eager to

further embed himself in

the club's rich history.

Having helped United

secure successive top-four

finishes for the first time

since Alex Ferguson retired

after the last of the club's

premier League titles in

2013, Solskjaer hopes to

now end their four-year

wait for silverware in

Gdansk.

"You always feel pressure

to win things at

Manchester United.

progress in the league

shows progress. the next

step is to win trophies and

challenge in the premier

League as well," he said.

"Winning a trophy can

give you belief but it can

make you hungry for more.

When you win things you

just want to win more, you

want to feel that sensation

again of lifting trophies.

"I know my players will

believe they can win it and

that we can move on to

better things, but when you

get that taste of the first

one, that's a big step in the

right direction."

Solskjaer's first four

semi-finals as United boss

ended in defeat, including a

2-1 loss to eventual

champions Sevilla in last

season's remodelled

europa League.

United crashed out in the

Champions League group

stage this term despite

winning three of their first

four games, heaping

pressure on Solskjaer as

rumours swirled about a

possible move for Mauricio

pochettino.

A return of 10 points

from nine matches saw

United off to their worst

league start since 1986-87,

but, remarkably,

Solskjaer's side became

just the fourth to go

through an english topflight

campaign undefeated

away from home.

Since replacing Jose

Mourinho in December

2018, United's gradual

improvement under

Solskjaer has resulted in

the club finishing sixth,

third and, this season,

second in the premier

League.

"We've worked together

two and a half years now

and taken a step into the

final after the near-misses

we've had. to get to a final

is one thing, but when you

get to a final you need to

win it," said Solskjaer.

"those nights when you

win the trophy it brings

everyone together, it's a

celebration.

"When we won in '99 it

didn't make me a better

player. It didn't make us

individually better players,

but as a group we believed

that we could go on to win

more stuff and we

comfortably won the

league the next couple of

seasons."

Only three starters from

the 2-0 win over Ajax in the

2017 final remain at the

club - paul pogba, Marcus

rashford and Juan Mata -

with United seeking to end

their longest run without a

trophy since the 1980s.

"this game's important

for us. We're so close to

being a team that can

compete and win trophies

every single season. Maybe

winning this title, this

europa League, can give us

that little push that we

need," said rashford.

Solskjaer will give

captain Harry Maguire

until tuesday's final

training session to prove

his fitness, although the

england defender is highly

unlikely to play after

damaging ankle ligaments

two weeks ago.

Another obstacle in

United's way is Unai

emery, a three-time

europa League champion

with Sevilla who has

overseen a 14-match

unbeaten run in europe

with Villarreal to reach his

fifth final.

All four previous

meetings between United

and Villarreal have finished

goalless. A similar outcome

is entirely plausible in

poland, but this time there

will be a winner and loser

regardless.

"It's going to be special.

You've got to be proud to

be able to lead a

Manchester United team

out to a final," said

Solskjaer.

"It's been a fantastic

journey and, as we say in

Norwegian, veien er målet

(the goal is the journey).

this is just a step on the

road to bringing our Man

United back."

Guardiola wins

england's

manager of the

year award

SpOrtS DeSk

Manchester City's pep

Guardiola has been named

manager of the year by

england's League Managers'

Association, it was

announced on Monday,

reports BSS.

Guardiola steered City to

the premier League title and

League Cup this season and

this Saturday the Spaniard's

side will bid to be crowned

kings of europe for the first

time when they face english

rivals Chelsea in the

Champions League final in

porto.

Former Barcelona and

Bayern Munich manager

Guardiola topped a poll

where the other leading

contenders were Leeds'

Marcelo Bielsa, Norwich's

Daniel Farke, Chelsea

women's manager emma

Hayes, West Ham's David

Moyes and Leicester's

Brendan rodgers.

"I am delighted to win the

LMA manager of the year

award for the second time,"

said Guardiola.

"It is, for me, such a special

trophy to win because it is

voted for by my fellow

managers. An award like

this is only possible though if

a manager is surrounded by

top professionals.

"My players have been

fantastic - their dedication

and professionalism never

wavered, even in a season

that has been the most

challenging we have ever

faced," added the 50-yearold,

whose mother died

during the coronavirus

pandemic.

"And my staff are also

deserving of the highest

praise. I am so lucky to have

a team of people who give

everything they have every

single day to make sure

Manchester City are the best

we can be.

Manchester City's Pep Guardiola has been named manager of the year by England's League

Managers' Association.

Photo: AP

Former england

cricketer proud of

mother and son

century stand

SpOrtS DeSk

Former england women's

cricketer Arran Brindle said

she was as "proud as punch"

of her son after the pair

shared a match-winning

century stand in a club

game, reports BSS.

Brindle made 134

international appearances

for england from 1999-

2014, with the 39-year-old

scoring unbeaten hundreds

in both test and one-day

international formats.

But on Sunday, a player

shortage meant she found

herself playing for Owmby

trojans - a team she coaches

- in the third division of the

Lincoln and District League

in central england.

they dismissed their

opponents, Nettleham CC's

Academy XI, for 141, with

Harry Brindle, Arran's 12-

year-old son, taking four

wickets.

the mother and son duo

then combined to chase

down Nettleham's score,

sharing an opening stand of

143 in 32.3 overs to secure a

10-wicket win. Harry scored

an unbeaten 32 while his

mum finished 94 not out.

"In terms of any

experience like that as a

parent, you're as proud as

punch," Brindle told

Britain's pA news agency.

"Because they've achieved

something - sometimes they

put too much expectation on

themselves.

"As a parent, whether

you're a mum or a dad, you

just want your children to be

happy with what they're

doing.

Nadal, Djokovic eye history

as roland Garros embraces

quiet night in

SpOrtS DeSk

rafael Nadal and Novak

Djokovic will set their sights

on more Grand Slam history

at roland Garros as the

French Open embraces a

new and eerily empty era of

night time tennis, reports

BSS.

A 14th title in paris for

Nadal would take him to a

record-setting 21st major,

surpassing the mark he

shares with roger Federer

who has already written off

his hopes of adding to his

lone success in the French

capital back in 2009.

Djokovic, the champion in

2016, can move to 19 Grand

Slam titles with victory.

that would make the

world number one the first

man in over half a century to

win all four majors on

multiple occasions.

Nadal arrives in paris

buoyed by having defeated

Djokovic in the rome

Masters final in what was

the pair's 57th meeting.

It was Nadal's 10th title in

the Italian capital.

Not that he was reading

too much into the statistics

as far as roland Garros is

concerned.

"I think I can work on a

couple of things that I can do

a little bit better," he

insisted.

"I just need to keep going.

I know what I need to work

on and I'm going to do it.

Work, relax mentally, and

work the right way."

At last year's delayed

roland Garros, Nadal swept

past Djokovic in straight sets

in the final.

It was Nadal's 100th win at

the tournament against just

two losses since his 2005

title-winning debut.

Giving Djokovic hope,

however, is the knowledge

that he was responsible for

one of those losses, in the

2015 quarter-finals.

He is also a four-time

runner-up although three of

those defeats in the

championship match came

against the Spaniard.

Only two men have

previously managed to win

all four of the Slams on more

than one occasion - roy

emerson and rod Laver of

Australia.

Laver's achievement came

back in 1969.

"I think I have a good

chance to go all the way in

paris, but of course it's a long

shot," said Djokovic who

captured the season's first

Grand Slam title in Australia

for a ninth time in February.

Federer, with his 40th

birthday fast approaching,

remains the sentimental

favourite but his priority will

be an assault on Wimbledon

where he has been

champion eight times.

"I'm not so sure in the last

50 years of the French Open,

somebody just rocks up at

nearly 40 years old, being

out for a year and a half, and

wins everything straight,"

said Federer after losing his

only clay court match this

year in Geneva last week.

Of the chasing pack, twotime

runner-up Dominic

thiem is low on form and

confidence.

A run to the Madrid semifinals

was followed by a

straight sets defeat to

Cameron Norrie in his Lyon

opener.

World number two Daniil

Medvedev has yet to win a

match at roland Garros in

four attempts.

In rome, he fell at the first

hurdle and half-jokingly

pleaded with the referee to

disqualify him such is his

dislike for clay.

World number five

Stefanos tsitsipas is the

most likely man to upset the

odds of Nadal and Djokovic

again making the final.

the 22-year-old Greek

won the prestigious Monte

Carlo clay court title in April,

had match point before

losing the Barcelona final to

Nadal and then lifted the

Lyon trophy.

He has beaten Nadal on

clay in Madrid in 2019 and

stretched Djokovic to five

sets at the 2020 French

Open semi-finals.

this year's roland Garros

will be the second taking

place under the shadow of

the coronavirus.

Just over 5,000 fans a day

will be allowed on site until

June 9 when that figure rises

to 13,000.

For the first time this year,

there will be nine evening

sessions at the tournament.

However, a Covid-19

curfew from 9pm means

that eight of those sessions

will be played out inside an

empty Court philippe

Chatrier.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will set their sights on more Grand Slam history at Roland

Garros.

Photo: AP

Citing Covid risk, US warns against

travel to Olympic host Japan

SpOrtS DeSk

the United States warned its citizens

Monday not to travel to Olympic host

Japan, citing the growing risk of the

Covid-19 pandemic in the Asian

nation just two months before the

Games begin, reports BSS.

But the US Olympic and

paralympic Committee said it was

still "confident" that American

athletes will be able to participate this

summer in tokyo.

the warning came in a travel

advisory issued by the State

Department as Japan, which has

been criticized for its slow inoculation

rate, opened its first mass vaccination

centers in a push ahead of the

Olympics, which were postponed last

year due to the pandemic.

the decision was based primarily

on government health advice, as well

as "secondary factors such as

commercial flight availability,

restrictions on US citizen entry, and

impediments to obtaining Covid test

results within three calendar days,"

the advisory said.

Just two percent of Japan's

population of 125 million has been

fully vaccinated so far.

the government aims to finish

inoculating the over-65s by late July,

when the Olympics begin, but

ministers say the Games do not figure

in their rollout schedule, and no date

has been announced for other age

groups.

In tokyo, government spokesman

katsunobu kato said the US advisory

would not affect the Olympics.

"It is our understanding that there

is no change to the US position to

support Japan's effort to hold the

Olympic and paralympic Games," he

told a regular briefing.

He said Japan had been briefed

that the advisory would not impact

the US Olympic team and noted the

measure was not a ban.

the US Olympic and paralympic

Committee also played down the

impact of the travel advisory.

"We feel confident that the current

mitigation practices in place for

athletes and staff… coupled with the

testing before travel, on arrival in

Japan, and during Games time, will

allow for safe participation of team

USA athletes this summer," it said in

a statement.

A State Department spokesman

said Washington understands "the

careful considerations that the

Japanese government and the

International Olympic Committee

are weighing as they prepare for the

tokyo Olympics this summer."

"president Biden proudly supports

the US athletes who have trained for

these Games and will be competing in

the best traditions of the Olympic

spirit," he said.

Japan has seen a relatively small

coronavirus outbreak, with around

12,000 deaths overall, but a recent

surge in infections has put hospitals

under strain.

tokyo, Osaka and eight other

regions are under a state of

emergency curbing commercial

activity until the end of May, with

reports saying the measures could be

extended.

public opinion is largely opposed to

holding the Olympics this summer

but organizers say the event can be

held safely.

the majority of athletes and others

staying in the Olympic village will be

vaccinated before they enter Japan,

but inoculation is not required to

participate.

wedNesdAY, MAY 26, 2021

10

Nancy's

'Sukno

Mombati'

released

Separation can't be stopped, but

there will be friendship: Apu

TBT RepoRT

Relationship between Mahi and Apu still survives?

Netizens have had such questions for a long time.

This time the answer was clear. On Sunday night at

12:49 pm, she announced on his Facebook account

that she would walk a different path. Wrote, 'Not

being able to be with the best man in the world is a

big failure. The biggest incapacity is not to be able to

see the people of the best in-laws in the world, to

lose the right to hear the Sunami from the mouth of

the father, the mother, the mother.

Forgive me, Be well I will miss you forever. ' She

has confirmed the matter of separation with her

husband to the media. She is ending five years of

marriage with her husband Parvez Mahmud Apu.

Mahi requested, 'The matter can be presented with

as much respect as possible. Please, don't write

anything negative! ' Actress Mahiya Mahi has

hinted separation on Facebook. The heroine has

confirmed the issue of separation when contacted

on the basis of status.

However, on Sunday afternoon, Mahir's husband

Mahmud Parvez said that he found out about Apu's

divorce from Mahi's status. He wants to talk to

H o Roscope

ARIes

(March 21 - April 20) : You may feel

nostalgic as you look through photo

albums, rearrange furniture, and

remember past times, Aries. Your mind will touch on

emotional events that you may not have fully dealt

with at the time they happened. Old feelings that you

thought were gone could well up and bring tears to

your eyes. Honestly face these feelings now instead of

stuffing them back down for another decade.

TAURUs

(April 21 - May 21) : You could

be operating based on an

assumption that's only a partial

representation of the truth. In

your effort to think about only the good side of

the situation, Taurus, you may not see the

entire truth. There's a downside to everything.

Feelings of anger, frustration, and even

loneliness may go along with it.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21) : If you're

experiencing emotional upheaval,

Gemini, you may take heart in

knowing that other people are

going through their own emotional turmoil as

well. You will know that you aren't alone in your

quest for emotional stability. Share your feelings

with others instead of shutting them up inside. It

will help you feel better.

cANceR

(June 22 - July 23) : You may

feel like someone's giving you

the third degree, Cancer. You

sense that you're being accused

of something and that you need to defend

your feelings and actions. Try not to fall into

this trap. Don't let self-doubt sneak into the

situation just because someone else questions

your way of life. No one but you fully

understands your situation.

Leo

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Today may

be filled with "I told you so!" You

could find fault with others who

haven't dealt with the truth of a

situation. Be careful about accusing someone of

the very thing that you're guilty of, Leo.

Penetrating emotions will cut to the heart of the

matter, and there will be no way to escape the

hole you dig for yourself. Don't criticize others

when until you take an honest look at yourself.

VIRGo

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): Most of the time

you deal with the facts, Virgo. Facts

are things you can grasp, categorize,

and make rational sense of.

Unfortunately, today some of your facts may be

challenged by one of the things you fear most -

intense emotions. The ensuing friction is like

dealing with apples and oranges.

Mahi about this and comment. Talking to Apu, he

said that they have officially taken the final decision

of separation.

However, they have not been separated yet. The

legal process of separation is going on. Apu said, we

have been having problems for a long time. That

will be about a year. This is not the way to go! So I

have decided to separate.

' However, both of them have tried their best to

prevent the separation with sincerity. However, he

commented that he could not stop the separation.

He said, 'I try to stop the separation. But at last

could not save it. We have to take separation. Our

two families are making such a decision together.

Please don't take the matter differently by

misinterpreting it.

' Apu further said, it is true that our family is no

longer lasting. But despite the separation, we were

friends, I am, I will be. ' Mahiya Mahi got married to

Mahmud Parvez Apu of Sylhet on May 24, 2016.

Apu studied computer engineering from the UK

and now runs his own family business in Sylhet.

Their five-year marriage is coming to an end with

the decision of two people.

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): It will be

hard to deal with emotional

issues that arise. A strong

misleading force is feeding the illusion that

things are fine when they really aren't. Stop

pretending that everything is going well,

Libra. The sooner you face the truth, the

sooner it will stop plaguing you. Confront

the deception directly.

scoRpIo

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): Don't automatically

assume that people are going to

understand your needs, Scorpio. Your

emotions may be powerful today, and

you could end up scaring people away instead of

drawing them closer simply because you act

irrationally and emotionally instead of reasonably and

civilly. Be careful about targeting your frustration at the

people who can help you the most.

sAGITTARIUs

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): You're in a

difficult position. Things aren't

exactly what they seem,

Sagittarius. Your emotions run the

show today, and you may jump from one extreme

to the other. There's a good chance that much of

what you experience is based on misinformation.

Don't get so caught up in the drama that you fail

to recognize the truth of the situation.

cApRIcoRN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): When faced

with an emotionally intense

situation, you're likely to flee,

Capricorn. You'd rather change

the subject to something more lighthearted.

This form of escapism is doing nothing to

solve the problem. In fact, by avoiding the

emotional topic, you're only creating more

friction than if you just approached the

problem directly.

AQUARIUs

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : With your

psychic abilities, you're liable to

shed some light on issues in

which the truth has been unclear

for quite a while, Aquarius. You can use your

sensitivity to cut to the heart of the matter and

expose the truth. This kind of behavior probably

won't come without friction from others. You

can almost guarantee that it will. Don't let it faze

you. It's important to reveal the truth.

pIsces

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : Control issues in

your home are apt to be of concern today,

Pisces. Be careful about feeding into

others' misconceptions of the situation.

You're dealing with powerful, opinionated forces that

aren't going to want to budge. Someone may have a

warped view of the true issue at hand. Lay all the facts on

the table before you start drawing any conclusions.

TBT RepoRT

Popular vocalist Nazmun Munira

Nancy has appeared with a new song

titled ' Sukno Mombati (Dry

Candles)'. It has been published on a

YouTube channel. Rajan Saha has

composed the song with lyrics and

melody by poet-producer Pauline

Kauser. Vocalist Nancy said, 'It was

great to be able to do the song.

The melody and lyrics of the song

Yusuf-Oishee's song 'Ekta

sopno niye ay' released

TBT RepoRT

Yusuf Ahmed Khan and Rakiba

Islam Oishee are the two talented

musicians of Channel I's best

voice (sera kontho), the two who

truly cherish music. They both

sang a song for the first time. The

title of the song is 'Ekta sopno niye

ay'. The song is written by

Shakhawat Hossain Maruf. The

melody is composed by Yusuf

Ahmed Khan.

Meanwhile, on May 19, the song

was released on the YouTube

channel 'Y Beats'. Ever since the

song was released, the song has

been acclaimed for its outstanding

singing. Especially those who

really understand the song, have

an idea about the song, they are

praising the song.

The general audience loves the

song. But even for those who

understand the song, when a song

becomes a favorite, they have to

understand that the song is really

good.

The song 'Come with a dream

(Ekta sopno niye ay)' has become

a favorite song just like that. Yusuf

and Oishee's music has become a

unique song in their lives, 'Come

with a dream'. The music video of

the song has been made by

Zahidul Islam.

The music video features a special

appearance by Kamrunnaha's

Army of the Dead: Zack Snyder's

zombie film has zero nuance

Zack Snyder's extravagant new zombie film,

out on Netflix, is an overlong and

overwhelming affair that reduces Huma

Qureshi to a damsel in distress.

The writing in director Zack Snyder's

films, especially when he insists on doing it

have an exceptional mood which is

very different. Hope everybody enjoys

the song. ' Regarding the song, Rajan

Saha said, "The song has started to

have a very positive effect on the

audience as there are differences in

the lyrics and melody." I hope the

song will touch the audience with

Nancy's impeccable voice. ' Pauline

Kauser also filmed the song along with

the lyrics and melody.

Munni. Regarding the song, Yusuf

Ahmed Khan said, 'A dream come

true project is a new song of

Yusufiana. Oishee is undoubtedly

a very good singer. Even before

this song, the Bangladeshi

audience was mesmerized by her

singing.

A musician who knows divine

songs. That's why I wanted to do a

song about her. I am fascinated by

her singing.

Many thanks to her for being

with me in this song. After the

release of the song, I am getting

response from many people.

Thanks to those who are inspiring

us. This inspiration will give us the

courage to do better in the future.

Thank you Munni for being with

us too.

'Oishee, the 2016' Best Voice

'champion from Sunamganj, said,'

I was impressed by the offer to

sing this song and the lyrics and

melody later. Yusuf Bhai was very

supportive during the recording of

the song. I really liked myself after

the recording was over and I also

enjoyed shooting the music video

for the song later.

Everyone involved with this

song has worked with utmost

sincerity with the highest love.

The song was released, now it's

time for everyone to know how

it felt. '

himself, is more lifeless than any zombie

that he has ever put on screen. But even with

two additional scribes on board this time,

his long-awaited return to roots, Army of the

Dead, is a stilted slog of a movie that finds

the filmmaker floundering even on the

He said, 'I try to make my song in a

meditative pattern, so that people can

easily mix it with a rhythm of their

own. Music to me is not just a simple

symphony of words and melodies but

more than that which is perhaps a

musical science. The song was sung by

Nancy and Rajan. The music video for

the song has been released on music

company Studio Joya's YouTube

channel.

Grateful to filmmakers

for not slotting me as an

actor: Amruta Subhash

So far, actor Amruta Subhash has been able to do to the

unavoidable: to not get pigeonholed as an artiste. The

National School of Drama graduate was a known name in

the Marathi film and theatre circuit, but it was her role in

Zoya Akhtar's musical drama Gully Boy as Murad's

(Ranveer Singh) mother Razia that got her the attention of

the mainstream Hindi cinema.

And recently, it was playing a fiery bar dancer and single

mother Lily in the Netflix series Bombay Begums that

garnered her acclaim.

"I am grateful that filmmakers are not slotting me,

whether it is economy class or anything," Subhash quipped.

"They are all coming with different sorts of minds and

characters. I am so excited and happy about it," she told PTI

in an interview. The 42-year-old actor made her film debut

with the 2004

Marathi feature

Shwaas, which won

the best feature film

at the 51st National

Film Awards and

was also the official

entry from India to

the 77th Academy

Awards in best

foreign language

film category.

She forayed into

Bollywood in 2008

with Nandita Das'

Firaaq and then

featured in Hindi

films like Gully Boy,

Anurag Kashyap's

Raman Raghav 2.0

and Choked, Hindilanguage

web series

like Selection Day,

Sacred Games

Season 2 and Bombay Begums.

Boundaries of region and language are "dissolving", the

National Award-winning actor said.

"There is no regional boundary of Hindi, Marathi

(cinema) or any other; all those boundaries are

transcending. Everyone is trying to do their best. There is

only good and bad cinema in terms of content."

Subhash, who doesn't want to limit herself to any

language, is keen to work in Malayalam and English films.

"Language was never a barrier for me, it is all about the

role. Actors can shine only if the content is good," the

Mumbai-born actor added.

Source : Times Of India

visual front, which is rare.

Shot by Snyder himself, the film utilises a

similar visual aesthetic to that Batman-

Joker epilogue in his recently released

director's cut of Justice League. Aside from

the sweeping CGI shots of a postapocalyptic

Las Vegas, Army of the Dead has

an almost entirely handheld vibe; filmed

with custom-made lenses that reduce the

depth of field to basically a few inches.

It gives the movie a unique look that takes

a while getting used to, and arguably also

robs it of scale in some scenes. You can sense

that Snyder got a little carried away after

initial camera tests. After a rather

perfunctory pre-credits sequence, Army of

the Dead leaps so joyously into old-school

Snyder territory that I can imagine longstarved

fans of his original films deciding to

spend an extra hour at the gym in

celebration.

The opening credits sequence, scored to a

comedic cover of Viva Las Vegas, establishes

the backstory and contextualises the rules of

the post-apocalyptic world in which the film

is set - a lot like the opening credits sequence

of Zombieland.

Snyder, who designed perhaps one the

finest credits sequences in recent memory

with Watchmen, is at his most visually

flamboyant in those five minutes. It's almost

as if he's actively rebelling against the

creative jail he's spent the last decade of his

career inside.

Source: Indian Express

WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021

11

Florida governor signs law barring

social media 'censorship'

MIAMI : Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

signed a law Monday which bars social

media firms from "de-platforming" political

candidates, drawing immediate fire from

civil liberties activists and the tech industry,

reports BSS.

The law marked the latest salvo in a

political battle over social media content

moderation following a bitter 2020 US

election and the banning by major platforms

of then-president Donald Trump, who was

impeached for inciting the January 6 Capitol

rampage. The law would impose fines of

$250,000 a day if social media firms remove

an account of a statewide political candidate.

It also allows Floridians to sue technology

firms if they face "unfair" treatment.

DeSantis said the measure would prevent

large platforms like Facebook and Twitter

from limiting speech of politicians.

"Many in our state have experienced

censorship and other tyrannical behavior

firsthand in Cuba and Venezuela," he said.

"If Big Tech censors enforce rules

inconsistently, to discriminate in favor of the

dominant Silicon Valley ideology, they will

now be held accountable."

The governor added: "Any Floridian can

GD-893/21 (4 x 3)

GD-894/21 (4 x 3)

GD-895/21 (5 x 3)

block any candidate they don't want to hear

from, and that is a right that belongs to each

citizen - it's not for Big Tech companies to

decide."

But the bill was certain to face legal

challenges under the Constitution's First

Amendment free speech provisions, and

critics said it would have the unintended

effect of encouraging disinformation by

making it harder for platforms to set rules.

"The law is a First Amendment train

wreck," said Corbin Barthold, policy counsel

at the nonprofit group TechFreedom.

"When it comes to free speech, a website is

no different from a newspaper or a parade: it

has a fundamental right to decide what

speech it will allow, and what speech it won't,

on its platform.

"Florida is trying to force a few large

platforms to host speech they otherwise

wouldn't. This kind of blatant content- and

speaker-based discrimination is

unconstitutional."

Matt Schruers, president of the Computer

& Communications Industry Association,

which represents many tech firms, said the

law is likely to unleash a flood of litigation

and not achieve its stated goals.

1220 :23.05.21

1218 :23.5.21

we`ÿ r/Rb-1106(2)/25/5/21

50 more test positive

for Covid-19 in

Rangpur division

RANGPUR : Fifty more

people were diagnosed with

coronavirus (Covid-19)

positive yesterday in

Rangpur division where the

infection rate is showing a

rising trend again during the

last one week.

"The 50 new cases were

reported after diagnosing

376 samples at the two

Covid-19 Laboratories at the

infection rate of 13.30

percent on Tuesday," Focal

Person of Covid-19 and

Assistant Director (Health)

for Rangpur division Dr. ZA

Siddiqui said.

Among the 50 new

patients diagnosed

yesterday, 30 were reported

positive after diagnosing 188

samples at the Covid-19

Laboratory at Rangpur

Medical College (RpMC) in

Rangpur city.

Malaysia probes metro crash

that injured over 200

KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysian authorities on Tuesday were

investigating a collision between metro trains in Kuala

Lumpur that injured more than 200 people, as dramatic

accounts emerged of the crash.

The accident happened in an underground tunnel close to

the landmark Petronas Twin Towers at around 8:45 pm

(1245 GMT) Monday, when a packed train collided with

another that was empty and heading in the opposite

direction on the same track.

Passengers were left battered and bruised after being

thrown across carriages during the crash, with many

evacuated on stretchers.

Most suffered minor injuries but 64 were taken to hospital,

and six were in critical condition Tuesday, authorities said.

One passenger, Lim Mahfudz, described the moment the

trains collided. "This resulted in all seated passengers being

thrown… and standing passengers being thrown," he wrote

on Twitter, adding people were injured as glass flew around

the carriage. It was a "real nightmare", he said.

"The impact was so strong that I suffered injuries to my

head, left leg and chest," another passenger, Afiq Luqman

Mohd Baharudin, told official news agency Bernama.

Shaken passengers had to be evacuated by emergency

workers from the tunnel, and brought up to the surface.

The empty train had a driver at the controls and was being

tested after repairs, while the full train was driverless.

Authorities say there was no sign of foul play and suspect

the accident was caused by a miscommunication between the

driver and the network's command centre.

The accident happened close to a station under the Twin

Towers, which is one of the busiest on the network. The

affected line resumed services early Tuesday.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has described the crash

as "serious" and urged authorities and the train operator to

"conduct an in-depth probe".

The accident was the worst on the metro system since it

began operations about 25 years ago, although there have

been less serious incidents. In 2008, four passengers

suffered minor injuries when two trains collided.

Denmark to donate 3 mln Covid

vaccines to Covax, says PM

COPENHAGEN : Denmark plans to donate three million

Covid-19 doses to developing countries this year through the

Covax global sharing scheme, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen

said on Monday.

Frederiksen made the announcement on her arrival in

Brussels for an EU summit, Danish media reported.

"We have purchased quite a few vaccines, so we have scope to

vaccinate the Danish people, revaccinate in the autumn if necessary

and donate vaccines," Danish news agency Ritzau quoted

Frederiksen as saying. Frederiksen said Denmark had not yet

decided which vaccines would be donated to Covax.

The Scandinavian country was the first in Europe to discontinue

the use of the vaccines made by AstraZeneca and

Johnson & Johnson due to concerns about a rare but serious

form of blood clots, but has since made both shots available

to volunteers. The country is using the Pfizer-BioNTech and

Moderna jabs in its vaccination programme.

The epidemic is considered under control in Denmark and

the majority of people at risk and health professionals have

been vaccinated. According to the latest figures, 20 percent of

Denmark's population of 5.8 million are fully vaccinated

while 32 percent have received the first dose of the vaccine.

Frederiksen said meanwhile that she expected EU heads of

state and government to agree at the summit to donate a total

of 100 million Covid vaccines to Covax.

Absconding terrorist

held in Lalmonirhat

RANGPUR : Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-13 arrested an

absconding top terrorist and drug trader and seized arms,

ammunition and drugs from Kaliganj upazila in Lalmonirhat

district on Monday night.

"On a tip off, an operational team of RAB-13 conducted a

sudden raid in the area and arrested the terrorist who was on

the run for a long time," said a press release issued yesterday

afternoon by Assistant Director (Media) of RAB-13 and ASP

Samuel Sangma. The arrested terrorist is Md Moniruzzaman

alias Monir, 38, of Lalmonirhat district. The elite force seized

a locally made one-shooter gun, two rounds of live bullets, a

sharp weapon, 50 pieces of Yaba tablets, one motorcycle and

cash money earned by selling drugs from the position of the

arrested terrorist.

A preparatory meeting was held at GIZ auditorium of Khulna Nagar Bhaban to face the

cyclone YAAS.

Photo : Titash Chakraborthey

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dt: 19.05.2021

Wednesday, dhaka, may 26, 2021, Jaistha 12, 1428 BS, Shawal 13, 1442 hijri

Visiting unGa President Volkan Bozkir met Prime minister Sheikh hasina at her official

residence Ganobhaban yesterday.

Photo : Star mail

Rohingya repatriation looks uncertain:

Hasina tells UNGA President

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina on Tuesday expressed concern

about the repatriation of Rohigyas following

the recent development in

Myanmar as it has made the process

uncertain.

"The situation has become uncertain

due to the recent developments in

Myanmar," Sheikh Hasina said when

visiting UNGA President Volkan Bozkir

met her at her official residence

Ganobhaban.

PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim

briefed reporters after the meeting.

Mentioning that over one million

Rohingya people have taken shelter in

Bangladesh, the Prime Minister said,

"We were in dialogue with the

Myanmar government with little

progress."

She said Bangladesh is monitoring

the present situation in Myanmar as

the repatriation process has become

uncertain.

Hasina said Bangladesh has prepared

an island, Bhashan Char, for

temporary but comfortable shelter of

the Myanmar nationals, mentioning

that over one lakh Rohingyas can be

shifted there. "More than 18,000 have

already been shifted."

Ihsanul Karim said both Hasina and

Bozkir discussed various issues like the

upcoming UNGA session, climate

change, Rohingya and Covid-19 pandemic.

About the pandemic in Bangladesh,

the Prime Minister said the government

is trying to save both the lives of

people and the economy amid the virus

surge.

Hasina mentioned about the stimulus

packages and other incentives

announced for all sections of people to

keep the economy moving properly facing

the fallouts of the pandemic.

Regarding women empowerment,

Hasina said the process to empower

women was initiated by Father of the

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman just after Bangladesh's independence.

"We're just following his path to

empower women in all sectors of society

- from politics to administration," she

said.

The Prime Minister said currently the

Leader of the House, Opposition

Leader of the House, the Speaker of

Parliament and Deputy Leader of the

House in Bangladesh are women.

She said the government has also

ensured food securityin Bangladesh

apart from expanding the social safety

Everyone must be ready to face

cyclone 'Yaas': LGRD Minister

KhandaKer Zannatun nahar

Local Government, Rural

Development and Cooperatives

Minister Md Tajul Islam has directed

the local government department to

open a control room to deal with

cyclone 'Yaas'.

He said this while speaking at an

emergency preparatory meeting held

online by the local government department

on Tuesday to deal with cyclone

'Yaas'.

The minister said district councils,

upazila councils, municipalities, union

councils, public representatives, local

government departments and other

government agencies, including district

administrations, play an important role

in providing people with awareness,

safe shelter and mental strength in any

disaster.

In this context, the minister further

said that the public representatives

have a close relationship with people of

all classes and professions of the society.

That is why public representatives

play an important role in making people

aware and aware of disasters. It is

possible to deal with any disaster if the

people's representatives at all levels, the

district administration and other government

institutions sit together and

prepare mentally.

Md. Tajul Islam informed that a control

room has been opened in the local

government department to take precautionary

measures to deal with

cyclone 'Yaas', to supervise and coordinate

the preparations of the departments

/ agencies and local government

institutions under the local government

department (control room phone number

9545415).

He directed the concerned to keep in

constant touch with this control room

and other locally opened control rooms

in the coastal areas to deal with any situation

and cooperate.

The Minister also said that the

Department of Public Health

Engineering has already prepared

various necessary activities including

mobile water treatment plant,

water purification tablets and sanitation

system.

The meeting was attended by senior

secretary of local government department

Helaluddin Ahmed, senior officials

of local government department,

mayors of Khulna, Chattogram and

Barishal city corporations, deputy commissioners

of coastal districts, chief

engineer of local government engineering

department and public health engineering

department and managing

director of Khulna WASA.

net.

Bozkir said they are thinking about

holding the General Assembly this year

with the physical presence of heads of

governments. "We're thinking of allowing

a delegation of one-plus persons

from each country in this year's

UNGA," he said.

He highly appreciated the leadership

of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for

the remarkable progress in gender parity

and women empowerment in

Bangladesh. "Bangladesh has achieved

tremendous success led by a lady prime

minister."

About Bangladesh's graduation from

the LDC status, Bozkir said Bangladesh

has become an example before the

whole world. "The people of

Bangladesh are very courageous, and

they'll carry it forward," he said.

Turning to the Rohingya issue, the

UNGA President highly praised the

generosity of Bangladesh for giving

shelter to over one million Rohingyas.

PM's daughter Saima Wazed, who is

also the Chairperson of the Bangladesh

National Advisory Committee for

Autism and Neurodevelopmental

Disorders, and Ambassador-at-Large

Mohammad Ziauddin were present

during the meeting.

Huge fake drinks,

beverages seized

in Ashulia

DHAKA : Bangladesh Standards and

Testing Institution (BSTI) in a drive

on Tuesday seized a huge quantity of

counterfeit fruit drinks and carbonated

beverages from Ashulia in Dhaka.

The BSTI conducted a mobile court

at Group 50 Agro Foods and Beverage

for manufacturing and marketing different

items including fruit drinks and

carbonated beverages without taking

license from BSTI and using BSTI sign

illegally.

The court also fined the manager of

the company Tk 100,000 , in default,

to suffer six months in jail.

The company has been manufacturing

and marketing various products

including lychee flavoured drinks,

mango flavoured drinks, puffed rice,

soybean oil, chili powder and chocolate,

though it is mandatorily required

to obtain BSTI license for all the items.

It didn't take any quality certificate

from BSTI for manufacturing and

marketing the products and even didn't

apply for the certificate.

During the drive, the BSTI seized a

huge quantity of packages and empty

bottles of these products.

The company's owner was fined and

sued under the BSTI Act 2018. The

mobile court also sealed off the factory,

said a BSTI release.

Zafrullah' demand for pardoning

Pakistan, actually BNP's

statement : Hasan Mahmud

DHAKA : Information and

Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan

Mahmud yesterday said the demand of

pro-BNP intellectual Dr Zafrullah for

forgiving Pakistan is actually the internal

statement of BNP.

"Advisor to the BNP chairperson Dr

Zafrullah requested the government to

pardon Pakistan when we are demanding

that Pakistan would seek apology

from us (Bangladesh). In fact, it is completely

BNP's statement, not Zafrullah.

It is clear that they (BNP) did not forget

Pakistan yet. I express my strong condemnation,"

he said.

Hasan, also Awami League joint general

secretary, said, "From today's meeting

we are demanding that Pakistan

would seek apology from us."

The minister made the comments

while addressing a memorial meeting at

an auditorium of Jatiya Press Club in the

capital.

Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote (BSJ)

organised the meeting in the memory of

eminent actress Sarah Begum Kobori

DHAKA : With Covid cases

keep soaring in frontier districts

apparently because of

the highly contagious Indian

variant, experts fear that

Bangladesh may face the

worst outbreak of the deadly

virus at the end of June next.

They said if the B.1.617,

known as the Indian variant,

can make its way into

other areas from the bordering

districts, Bangladesh is

likely to witness more than

20,000 cases a day in early

July, raising the fatality rate

sharply.

Lack of necessary oxygen

supply and other healthcare

facilities may aggravate the

situation, according to the

experts.

They suggested putting the

frontier districts, particularly

where the virus infection rate

has already gone up, under

strict lockdowns like

C’nawabganj and halting

inter-district public transport

services to contain the virus

locally.

Besides, they said, the government

should take adequate

preparations in

advance to face any grim situation

like in India and Nepal

by increasing the number of

hospital beds, treatment facilities,

equipment, setting up

field hospitals and finding out

potential sources for collecting

necessary oxygen supplies.

Though the country's

average Covid positivity rate

was 8.15 percent on Monday,

with its senior vice president Rafiqul

Alam in the chair.

State Minister for Information and

Broadcasting Dr Murad Hasan

addressed the meeting as special guest.

Hasan said Pakistan should seek apology

from Bangladesh for their crimes

against humanity in 1971.

Paying rich tribute to eminent actress

Kobori, the minister said she (Kobori)

practiced the spirit of Bangabandhu and

stood beside Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina throughout her entire life.

Kobori started her journey in the film

arena just after a few years of beginning

of the FDC by Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman, he added.

The minister said the contribution of

Sarah Begum Kobori in the filmdom will

be written with golden letters. It is difficult

to say whether there will be another

artist like Sarah Begum Kabari or not, he

added.

Hasan urged the cultural personalities

to practice own culture instead of being

indulged with foreign culture.

Quader seeks cordial

relation with the media

DHAKA : Awami League General

Secretary Obaidul Quader on Tuesday

said he does not want to see any hostility

between the government and the media.

"I don't want any confrontation and I

want to see a cordial relations with the

media," Quader said in reply to a question

after a meeting with a group of journalist

leaders at the Secretariat.

Quader, who doubles as Road

Transport and Bridges Minister, said he

met the leaders in his capacity as the

general secretary of the ruling party.

He said the leaders raised with him

some issues regarding the newspaper

industry, withdrawal of a case against

journalist Rozina Islam, media rights

and some other demands.

Talking about Rozina's case and other

demands Quader, said "A ministry concerned

is there to settle the issue.

Besides, Information and Broadcasting

Ministry, Home Ministry and Law

Ministry are there and some special

things related to the issues have to be

informed to the Prime Minister."

"They have raised the problems and I

will place these to the prime minister,"

he said.

Replying to a question whether the

case filed against Rozina should be withdrawn;

the Minister said "The case is

now in the court. We have to discuss the

matter with Law minister and others

and after an overall consideration and

discussion with all I can tell about this."

Prothom Alo senior reporter Rozina

Islam was sent to jail on May 18 in a case

filed under the Official Secrets Act and

the Penal Code by the Health Ministry.

She was freed from Kashimpur

Women's Central Jail on May 23 after a

Dhaka court granted her an ad-interim

bail until July 15.

it was very high in different

districts along the Indian border.

Chapainawabganj was the

worst-hit district with 55 percent

infection rate, forcing

the local administration to

enforce a 7-day strict lockdown.

Besides, the positivity

rate was over 40 percent in

Rajshahi.

The infection rate was also

Poet Habibullah

Siraji buried in

Azimpur graveyard

Shafiqul iSlam

The late Director General of Bangla

Academy and Ekushey Medal recipient

poet Habibullah Siraji was soaked in the

respect and love of his colleagues and

well-wishers at workplace. After paying

respects, he was buried at Azimpur

graveyard. Habibullah Siraji died at the

Bangladesh Specialized Hospital in

Dhaka around 11pm on Monday.

Habibullah Siraji was awarded the

Ekushey Padak in 2016 for his contribution

to Bengali language and literature.

On December 20, 2018, the government

appointed him as the Director

General of Bangla Academy.

Poet Habibullah Siraji's coffin was

brought to the Bangla Academy premises

at 9.50 am on Tuesday. After the first

janaza at 10 am, people of different professions

including the family members

of the poet paid their last respects with

flowers in his coffin.

On behalf of Bangla Academy,

Secretary and Acting Director General

of the Academy AHM Lokman paid

homage to Habibullah Siraji. Awami

League Organizing Secretary Afzal

Hossain, Cultural Secretary Asim

Kumar Ukil and Office Secretary Biplob

Barua paid their respects with flowers

on behalf of the party.

Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor

Professor Akhtaruzzaman paid tribute.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor

(Administration) of Dhaka University

and President of Kabita Parishad Prof

Muhammad Samad and General

Secretary Tariq Sujat, Golam Kuddus

also paid tributes on behalf of

Sammilita Sangskritik Jote. Besides,

various socio-cultural and political

organizations including Bangladesh

Writers Club, Bangladesh Chhatra

League paid their respects to the late

poet. The Ministry of Culture paid

homage to Habibullah Siraji at the

Bangla Academy premises on

Tuesday morning.

Bangladesh brace for worst Covid

outbreak by June-end: Experts

high in some other frontier

districts like Satkhira,

Jashore, Jhenaidah,

Dinajpur, Meherpur,

Chuadanga, Sylhet and

Moulvibazar.

26-05-2021

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