23-06-2021

WedneSday

DhAKA: June 23, 2021; Ashar 9, 1428 BS; Zilqad 11,1442 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.19; N o. 77; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

international

US hits encouraging

milestones on virus

deaths and shots

>Page 7

SPortS

Suárez goal ends Uruguay's

scoring drought, Argentina

secure knockout spot

>Page 9

art & culture

Nisho, Tanha's

thriller 'Kuasha' to

release on Eid

>Page 10

Awami League becomes soul

organization of masses: PM

AL to observe its 72nd

anniv in limited scale

amid pandemic

DHAKA :The ruling Awami League (AL)

has taken limited scale programme

marking its 72nd founding annivesary

yesterday. Establihed in 1949 as Awami

Muslim League at Rose Garden in city's

old part on this day and later on the party

was appeared as Awami League.

To mark the day, national and party

flags will be hoisted at central and party

offices throughout the coutnry during

sunrise. Tribute will be paid at the potrait

of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in front of the

Bangabandhu Bhaban at 9am.

Tribute will be paid to the graveyard of

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Tungipara in

Gopalganj on behalf of the AL's central

executive council at 10:30am.

Awami League Presidium member

Leutinant Colonel (retd) Muhammad

Faruque Khan MP, Jahangir Kabir

Nanak, Organizing Secretary SM Kamal

Hossen, Mirza Azam MP, central committee

member Shahabuddin Farazi and

Syed Abdul Awal Shamim will attend

the programme at Tungipara.

Train services on several

routes suspended

DHAKA : Authorities have suspended

train services on several routes from

Tuesday as strict restrictions have been

enforced in some districts to stem the

spread of coronavirus, reports UNB.

According to a notice issued by the

Railways Ministry, two train services in

Gazipur-Turag Express and Kaliakair

Commuter Train were suspended from 6

am on Tuesday for nine days. No inter-city

train will stop in Gazipur during the period.

Besides, services of Tungipara Express

train on Gopalganj-Rajshahi route ,

Nakshikatha Express on Khulna-Rajbari

route, and Rajbari Express train on

Rajbari-Bhanga-Rajbari route have been

suspended. All Khulna-bound passenger

trains have been asked to halt operation at

Jashore stoppage.

Covid-19

Bangladesh reports

4,846 fresh cases

TBT RePoRT

As the Coronavirus situation continues to

worsen in Bangladesh creating new hotspots

outside capital Dhaka, health authorities

logged 4,846more new cases with a positivity

rate of 19.36% in 24 hours until Tuesday

morning. The positivity rate in the country

rose to 19.36% from Monday's 19.27 percent,

said a handout of the Directorate General of

Health Services (DGHS). Besides, the deadly

virus claimed the lives of 76 more people

during the 24-hour period, bringing the

national tally to 13,702.

Zohr

03:44 AM

12:10 PM

04:40 PM

06:52 PM

08:18 PM

5:11 6:49

Narayanganj district police was strict in preventing the entry and exit of all types of

vehicles in Narayanganj to implement the lockdown. Workers of various banks and

industrial establishments are in trouble due to the closure of vehicles. The picture is

taken from Narayanganj city.

Photo : Star mail

Vaccine looks like another

tool of exploitation: Momen

DHAKA : Foreign Minister Dr AK

Abdul Momen yesterday said that he

has urged UN to take firm stand in

ensuring COVID vaccine as public

goods while it appears that the muchneeded

inoculation became a 'tool of

exploitation' to others, reports BSS.

"(COVID) vaccine looks like another

tool of exploitation," he said adding that

some countries are asking for different

benefits in return of giving vaccine to

other nations.

The foreign minister made the

remarks while briefing journalists about

his week-long visit to New York where

he attended several UN events regarding

Least Development Countries

(LDCs) and Rohingya crisis.

Dr Momen said he talked about

COVID and vaccine issues at every

meeting during his US visit.

The foreign minister said the rich

countries have been assured Dhaka of

providing vaccines saying "you don't

worry", but they yet to give the shots to

Bangladesh.

However, he said in some cases, rich

countries asked favors from Bangladesh

to support them on particular issue like

elections in global forums.

"It should not be tagged with COVID

vaccination. It should be independent,"

BNP urges government to send Khaleda

Zia abroad for better treatment

Shafiqul iSlam (Shafiq)

The BNP National Standing Committee

has urged to the government to take BNP

chairperson and former Prime Minister

Begum Khaleda Zia in abroad for her better

treatment. BNP secretary general

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced

the decision at a press conference at the

party's chairperson's office in Gulshan on

Tuesday (June 22). He also said that the

government is cheating the people in the

name of lockdown. The lockdown is not

working. There is also a lockdown in

Dhaka. Do you see the lockdown anywhere?

Where is the lockdown? I can't see.

Everyone is going wherever they want,

everyone is doing whatever they want and

marriage is also happening. Mirza Fakhrul

said, the head of the Board of Physicians

according to AFM Siddiqui, Khaleda Zia is

free from coronvirus, but she is suffering

from the next few complications and not

out of risk. Treatment of her liver and

he said without naming any specific

country.

During his meeting with UN Secretary

General (SG) Antonio Guterres, Momen

said, he urged the SG to take solid stand

for ensuring that the vaccine is public

goods and it must be affordable to all.

The foreign minister said he placed

some examples in front of the SG that

some countries keep more vaccines than

their population size.

"No discrimination should be there.

Unfortunately rich countries are keeping

more vaccine compared to their

requirement and there are instance of

date expired of vaccine," he said.

About the UN's resolution on Rohingya

issue, the foreign minister said

Bangladesh would continue their efforts

'publicly and privately' keeping Rohingya

repatriation as the first priority.

Bangladesh has expressed deep disappointment

as the new UN General

Assembly (GA) resolution on Myanmar

failed to recommend actions on repatriation

of the Rohingyas.

The resolution on the 'Situation in

Myanmar' was adopted by the UN

General Assembly on June 18 with 119

votes in favour, 01 against and 36

abstentions focusing on the current

democratic crisis in that country.

other complications is required at any

advanced center in abroad. In Bangladesh,

the chances are relatively low.

The meeting of the BNP's standing

committee thinks that the country's

leader should go abroad to send Begum

Khaleda Zia to a more advanced medical

center for her treatment and called for

her release. Last Sunday (June 20), a

meeting of the standing committee

chaired by BNP acting chairman

Tarique Rahman reviewed the latest

health condition of Khaleda Zia, who is

suffering from various complications

including lung.

Asked about the next steps of the party

to send Khaleda Zia abroad, Mirza

Fakhrul said, we did not say before, her

family had said to send her abroad. We are

taking a resolution in the meeting of the

party's standing committee that she needs

treatment abroad. For this, whatever the

government needs to do, the government

should do it immediately.

Covid antibody higher

among Dhaka slum

dwellers : icddr,b

DHAKA : The presence of Covid-19

antibody is higher among the residents

of slums than adjacent low-to-middleincome

non-slum areas, suggesting

that the people of these areas were

infected more with the deadly virus,

reports UNB.

A study, carried out byicddr,b

between October 2020 and February

2021 among 3,220 people living in

slums and adjacent non-slum areas in

Dhaka and Chattogram cities, revealed

the above information.

The main objective of the study, titled

'Drivers of Covid-19 in Slums and Nonslum

Areas of Dhaka and Chattogram', was

to ascertain the seroprevalence of Covid -19

among slum and non-slum dwellers, and

identify probable risk factors.

According to the study, the overall

seroprevalence positivity among the

participants was 68%, while the rate

was 72% among people living in slums

and 62% among residents of non-slum

areas.

The seropositivity was similar across

adults (70%) and children (65.5%). The

seroprevalence was higher in females

(70.6%) than in males (66%).

Higher seroprevalence was found in

individuals with fewer years of education,

diabetes, overweight, and hypertension.

DHAKA : Greeting the countrymen

along with party leaders, activists and

admirers on the occasion of Awami

League's (AL's) 72nd founding anniversary,

Prime Minister and AL President

Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said Awami

League has become a soul organization

of mass-people of Bangladesh.

"On this day, I recall with profound

respect the greatest Bengali of all times,

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I recall Awami

League's founding president Mawlana

Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani and general

secretary Shamsul Haque. I recall with

deep respect Huseyn Shaheed

Suhrawardy," she said in a message

issued here marking the anniversary."

"In exchange of their supreme sacrifices,

we have got an independent and

sovereign state and Awami League has

become the close organization of the

people of Bangladesh," she added.

She recalled with respect the four

national leaders, and all martyrs of

struggles for freedom, Liberation War

and struggles for democracy and all

leaders and workers of AL who had

TBT RePoRT

Bangladesh University Grants

Commission has prepared a recovery

guideline to compensate the public university

students for the loss of Covid-19.

The recovery guideline includes six topics,

including reducing the time of the academic

year, canceling various types of

leave, and completing the entire syllabus.

The guideline signed by UGC Secretary

Ferdous Zaman (addl responsibilities)

said, which has sent to the vice-chancellors

and registrars of all public universities

on Tuesday.

In an view exchange meeting with the

Ministry of Education, UGC and the Vice-

Chancellor on the opening of public universities

on May 31, it was decided to formulate

a recovery guideline according to the capacity

and reality of the university. Education

Minister Dr. Dipu Moni chaired and Dy

Minister of Education Mahibul Hasan

Chowdhury, UGC Chairman Prof. Dr. Kazi

Shahidullah was involved virtual meeting.

Recovery Guidelines formulated by

UGC: 1) The duration of the conventional/existing

academic calendar of the

embraced martyrdom to turn the party

into the largest organization of the

masses, reports BSS.

Bangladesh Awami League was formed

on June 23 in 1949 at "Rose Garden" on

KM Das Lane in Dhaka to emancipate the

Bengali nation and realize their rights, the

premier said, adding Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was elected

Joint General Secretary while he was in

jail. Noting that every achievement in this

land was realized under the leadership of

AL since its inception, Sheikh Hasina said,

"The Language Movement in 1952, the

Jukta Front election in 1954, the anti-

Ayub movement in 1962, the restoration

of communal harmony after the 1964 riot,

the six-point movement in 1966 and the

mass upsurge in 1969- all took place under

the leadership of the AL".

In the general elections of 1970, the

people of Bangladesh gave an absolute

majority to the Awami League and in

continuation to that, Bangabandhu on

March 7 in 1971 declared that "This time

the struggle is for our freedom. This time

the struggle is for our independence" the

AL president mentioned.

UGC publishes recovery

guidelines for compensation

of higher education

University should be significantly and

acceptablely reduced. 2) In case of semester/

term or annual system, various holidays

(Summer Vacation, Winter Vacation,

Festival Vacation) may be reduced to complete

the final examination of class/class

test/assignment/ quiz/ semester in less

time than usual. Holidays can be avoided. 3)

The time of each class (theoretical and practical)

will remain the same as it is now, that

is, the time of the lecture cannot be reduced.

However, even if the number of lectures

needs to be reduced, the entire syllabus has

to be completed. 4) In the interest of reducing

the time of the academic calendar,

things like class tests/ quizzes/midterm

exams/ assignments/term papers can be

reconsidered. 5) In case of final examination,

preparatory leave, gap between examination

of two subjects and gap between

year/semester/term (Inter Semester/

Term/Year Break) can be reduced. 6) Above

all, after accepting the recovery plan and

approving it by the Academic Council, the

approved academic calendar should be

informed to the students at the beginning of

the academic year.

at the beginning of rainy season, the crop land was submerged in the overnight rain. The fish in the

pond is out. The farmers of Bogura's Dhunat upazila have been affected. fish farmers are fencing

with nets to keep the fish fence alive.

Photo: PBa

weDneSDAY, JUne 23, 2021

2

US announces allocation

plan for 55 mn Covid

vaccine doses

WASHINGTON : The

administration of US

President Joe Biden on

Monday announced its plan

for the next tranche of 55

million Covid vaccine doses it

plans to send to countries in

need.

The donation will complete

Washington's initial pledge of

80 million doses from its own

vaccine supply, made ahead

of a vow to buy 500 million

doses of Pfizer's vaccine for

low- and middle-income

nations.

Forty-one million of the 55

million doses (75 percent) are

being distributed through the

Covax program, with the

remaining 14 million (25

percent) shared with

recipients the US deems

priorities.

The vaccines being shared

with Covax include 14 million

for Latin America and the

Caribbean, approximately 16

million to Asia includes India

and Bangladesh, and 10

million for Africa in

coordination with the African

Union.

GD-1048/21 (3x3)

Monojotno Kendro has signed a memorandum

of understanding with AUST

On Tuesday, a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) was signed between

Ahsanullah University of Science and

Technology with the "Monojotno Kendro" a

Psychiatric Center for Mental and Drug

Addiction Services run by the Health Sector,

Dhaka Ahsania Mission, in an informal

ceremony. In the presence of Honorable

Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof.

Muhammad Fazle Elahi, the agreement was

signed in the meeting room of the university

by Treasurer Professor Mustafizur Rahman

on behalf of Ahsanullah University of Science

and Technology and Iqbal Masud, Director,

Health and Wash Sector, Dhaka Ahsania

Mission on behalf of "Monojotno Kendro".

According to the agreement, the "Monojotno

Kendro" will provide mental health services

to the students studying in the university as

per their need. Apart from the Vice-

Chancellor, Dr. Mohammad Mosharraf

Hossain, Registrar of the University and Dr.

Sharmin Reza Chowdhury, Professor and

Head of the Department of Civil Engineering

were also present at the signing ceremony.

Vice-Chancellor Prof. Muhammad Fazle

Elahi said that mental health care is essential

for every human being. The scope of work in

the health sector of Dhaka Ahsania Mission is

very wide. We are happy that they will help

our students with mental health issues. I

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hope others will follow our example and

come forward to provide mental health care

to the people.

Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Treasurer

of the University, said, "I have seen

universities in different countries of the

world have mental health services for their

students. This initiative has also started in

our country now. If the students are mentally

healthy and strong, they will be able to work

well for the development of the country and

the nation. I think today's initiative will play a

role in the mental excellence of our university

students.

Iqbal Masud, Director, Health and Wash

Sector, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, said, "We

know that the authorities of Ahsanullah

University of Science and Technology have

taken a multi-pronged approach to meet the

mental health needs of the students.

Strengthening mental health practices can

prevent many problems such as drug abuse,

stress and depression. I think through this

activity students will get ideas related to their

mental needs including dealing with their

daily stress and will be proactive in solving

problems. Because the students will be able

to realize the treatment that is needed to

reduce the mental stress like physical need

and through today's initiative we will try to

give them full support".

Elephant in the room:

Thai family gets repeat

mammoth visitor

BANGKOK : Some families

living in a jungle may be

fearful of things going bump

at night, but for one

household in Thailand, the

sight of an elephant

rummaging through their

kitchen was not a total shock.

"It came to cook again,"

wrote Kittichai Boodchan

sarcastically in a caption to a

Facebook video he shot over

the weekend of an elephant

nosing its way into his

kitchen.

On Tuesday, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Ahsanullah

University of Science and Technology with the "Monojotno Kendro" a Psychiatric Center for

Mental and Drug Addiction Services run by the Health Sector, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, in an

informal ceremony.

Photo : Courtesy

GD-1044/21 (10x4)

WEDNESDAy, JUNE 23, 2021

4

Meeting at the top

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Get back the

siphoned-off resources

Amedia report last year stated that the Anti-

Corruption Commission (ACC) and the

Bangladesh Bank (BB) would open a joint

department against money laundering and

financial corruption. In this connection, a

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was to

be signed between them. The report also

highlighted that Global Financial Integrity (GFI),

a Washington based research organization,

published a report last December that more than

Taka 1,00,000 crore had been siphoned off from

Bangladesh to different countries in the last 10

years.

According to another estimate, over a hundred

syndicates, including foreign ones, siphon off

Taka 200 billion on an average from

Bangladesh every year by a conservative count

through various conduits of transferring money

abroad. A section of businesses are reportedly

engaged in sending money abroad through overinvoicing,

under-invoicing and by using what is

called the illegal hundi channels.

Taka 40 billion was sent abroad through

various informal and illegal channels over the

past decade, according to a rough estimate given

by a previous military-controlled interim

government in 2007-2008. That government also

recovered Taka 12.1 billion, mainly from the

business people at home, by using coercive

means .The elected government that followed

formed a taskforce to look into the matter of

siphoned off money in the early part of its tenure.

But that body showed no notable success to

report afterwards .

But this is unfortunate. The present incumbents

in power were loud about bringing back the

resources illegally pumped out of the country. But

their initial declared only enthusiasm was not

seen matched by actual followed up vigorous

steps to that end. But from such steps taken, the

country's economy could certainly get a big shot

in the arm. For example, the substantial recovery

of the stolen monies of potentates of past regimes,

could help in the one-time boost of the public

exchequer to finance various developmental and

non developmental activities of the government.

Similarly, and more significantly, creating a

network of safeguards against regular money

laundering activities could lead to retention of

huge resource--locally-- and come in support of

the foreign currency reserve. The Taka's

exchange rate would be also helped.

Thus, considering all of these factors and

more, it is imperative to energize the activities of

the task force. It needs to be far more active in

completing negotiations with foreign

governments and organizations at the soonest to

secure their full cooperation in bringing back the

laundered and stolen resources.

The Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) initiative --is

a partnership between the World Bank Group

and the United Nations Office on Drugs and

Crime that supports international efforts to end

safe havens for corrupt funds. Bangladesh has

been lagging behind in forging optimum

relations with StAR and this lethargy must end

with stronger relationships forged with it.

A media report sometime ago informed that

Bangladesh has finally become a member of the

Egmont Group of countries. The Group aims to

foster closer inter-state relations to deter money

laundering and help individual countries to get

the requisite cooperation to get back their monies

illegally transferred abroad,But needles to say,

such efforts -- the ACC-BB pact, StAR initiative

and membership of Egmont Group, all these and

more will remain only as symbols of this

country's aspiration to get back adequately its

stolen resources and not much else in the

absence of determined follow up activities. Real

success in achieving this goal depends on enough

political resolve to utilize these mechanisms to

put a pace in the money recovery efforts.

SUMMITS, as meetings between

heads of state and government are

called, are as old as mankind itself.

The recent summits which President Joe

Biden undertook hold lessons in

summitry which has provoked a mass of

literature of uneven quality. On his visit to

the UK, he was treated to all the

pageantry for which the British are

famous. Of his 'summit' with Prime

Minister Boris Johnson, the less said the

better. The entire objective of Biden's

excursion was to repair the damage which

Donald Trump had inflicted on America's

ties with Western Europe and with Nato.

"I want all Europe to know that the

United States is there." He amplified

"Nato is critically important to us" and

that Article 5 is a "sacred obligation".

This provision of the North Atlantic

Treaty of 1949 embodies the pledge that a

military attack on a member of the

alliance will be regarded as an attack on

each and all. This was not evident after

9/11. The allies rushed to declare their

responsibility. President G.W. Bush

decided to go it alone while asking for the

allies to contribute their troops.

On June 16, Biden went to Geneva to

meet Russia's President Vladimir Putin

but not before he had let loose a volley of

epithets on Putin. He had referred to him

as a "killer".

It was Winston Churchill who first used

the word 'summit' in 1953 soon after

Stalin's death. He proposed that "a

conference on the highest level should

take place between the leading powers

without long delay". He added that "if

there is not at the summits of the nations

the will to win the greatest prize ... doomladen

responsibility will fall upon those

who now possess the power to decide".

After this speech the word became part of

political vocabulary.

There must be the will to listen, to

confer and to compromise.

However, Churchill's own foreign office

baulked at the idea. The US secretary of

state was cool to it. Accordingly, only a

foreign ministers' conference took place

that year. The only postwar Big Four

Summit to meet was the Geneva

Conference from July 18 to 23, 1955.

On the one side are those who regard

summitry as a panacea for all

international ills. On the other stand the

critics who condemn it as worse than

useless, as in fact positively dangerous.

There are examples of successful

summits held not after some

improvement in relations but while the

countries were tottering on the brink. The

Nehru-Liaquat meeting in 1950, for

A.G. NOORANI

instance. What distinguished them was

that, although the objective situation was

bad, there was on both sides such an

overwhelming desire to mend matters as

to make the summit worthwhile. There

must be at least the will to listen, to confer

and to compromise. Without these, the

best prepared summit will fail.

However, such is the complexity of

most modern problems that even where

It was Winston Churchill who first used the word 'summit'

in 1953 soon after Stalin's death. He proposed that "a

conference on the highest level should take place between

the leading powers without long delay". He added that "if

there is not at the summits of the nations the will to win

the greatest prize ... doom-laden responsibility will fall

upon those who now possess the power to decide".

the will to meet does exist, the summit

would be futile if the diplomatic

groundwork is not done well and in

advance.Lack of prior preparation is the

principal ground of expert criticism of

summits. George F. Kennan has

explained the necessity for such

preparation: "The multitude of ulterior

problems that press upon a prime

minister or a head of state is so great that

no single subject, especially one not

regarded as of primary importance, is apt

to receive detailed and exhaustive

attention. Nor can the senior statesmen

stay with a problem for any great length of

time. Their time is precious, other

JAMES BORTON AND TANAPON PHENRAT

responsibilities take them away."

There has, however, recently come into

being a new variant of the old summit. It

is a summit at which you just get to know

and to understand without professedly

negotiating. Winston Churchill himself

wanted a conference which "should not

be overhung by a ponderous or rigid

agenda, or led into mazes and jungles of

technical det ails, zealously contested by

hordes of experts and officials drawn up

in vast, cumbrous array. … It should meet

with a measure of informality and a still

greater measure of privacy and

seclusion". There is little question that

where there exists some

misunderstanding as to each other's

intentions such talks could be useful.

President Kennedy wanted to size up his

man and warn him of the dangers of

miscalculation at Vienna in 1961.

But such is the charm of the summit

that these hazards are often lost sight of.

The summit becomes an end in itself. The

instrument of policy becomes its master.

The result is a complete absence of

policy and a corruption of diplomacy.

This then is the balance sheet. There are

advantages and disadvantages. Whether

a summit should be held or not is a purely

practical question which should be

answered without any sentimentality.

Heads of state can resolve impasses better

than officials. But preparation and a spirit

of compromise are a must especially if

problems are complex.

Source: Dawn

Citizen scientists tackle Mekong environmental challenges

The Greater Mekong, a transnational

region in Southeast Asia, spans six

countries: China, Myanmar, Laos,

Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The

region is home to more than 325 million

people and, while it has survived the

trauma of wars, it now faces mounting

environmental threats from climate

change, dams, deforestation, and declines

in biodiversity, food security, and water

resources.

Since Conservation International places

this rich bio-diverse basin as one of the

five most threatened hotspots, the ranks

of professional scientists, researchers, and

policy experts may not prove sufficient to

reduce the dire environmental problems.

Now, through community science, or

citizen science, local farmers and fishers

are using their local knowledge to

supplement technology as they monitor,

investigate, and restore the environment.

According to the US National Advisory

Council for Environmental Policy and

Technology, the term "citizen science"

means collaboratively led scientific

investigation and exploration to address

community-defined questions, thus

allowing for public engagement in the

scientific process.

This democratization of science, even

against the strong headwinds of

authoritarian governments, is on course

to influence governmental and political

decision-making on various

environmental threats.

Thai villagers plant vetiver on the banks

of a creek to filter and degrade phenol

from contaminated shallow groundwater.

Photo: Tanapon Phenrat

In Thailand and Myanmar, local

contamination problems, including illegal

In the realm of foreign policy, vested

interests are more important than

anything else. However, the role of

leadership also affects a country's

international relations to a certain degree.

In particular, some politicians who leave

office after many years in power leave

behind a complex political legacy.

Israel's longest-serving prime minister,

Benjamin Netanyahu, who dominated his

country's politics and personified its

policies in the eyes of the world since

2009, has been dethroned.

During the course of his 12-year reign

there were several crucial regional

developments, including Arab uprisings,

the Iran nuclear deal and the Abraham

Accords. Also during his tenure, Israel's

relationship with former ally Turkey,

which in 1949 was the first Muslim

country to recognize Israel, reached new

lows.

Over the past decade, Ankara and Tel

Aviv grew increasingly critical of each

other's policies in the region, and these

incompatible agendas put them on a

collision course. To shed some light on

Netanyahu's legacy, and the crux of the

diplomatic conflict between Israel and

Turkey, it is important to recall what

happened to the relationship.

The tensions can be traced back to

dumping of hazardous industrial waste,

abandoned coal-mine waste dumps and

metal contamination from mining,

jeopardize the quality of life of villagers.

As a result, several local monitoring

groups from 13 provinces in the central,

western, and eastern parts of Thailand

have been brought together by Somnuck

Jongmeewasin, an environmental

management lecturer at Silpakorn

University International College in

Bangkok.

His community-science volunteers

investigated and developed a database of

40 illegal dumps of hazardous industrial

waste, previously unreported by

government agencies. Several cases from

this investigation led to court orders that

the polluters or government agencies

restore the contaminated lands.

The February military coup in Myanmar

has only served to put more pressure on

environmental protection efforts. Since

2015, a large and improperly disposed

heap of coal-mine waste in Ban Chaung in

Dawei district, Myanmar, has repeatedly

spontaneously combusted, affecting a

nearby indigenous community.

Nevertheless, a community science

approach has helped to empower the

affected villagers to make riskmanagement

decisions.

Information about suppression of

existing fire and mine-waste storage

options was presented to the community

so they could make informed decisions

about the most appropriate corrective

actions that should be undertaken by the

mine.

Throughout the region, and especially

downstream in the Mekong Delta,

incubators for the power of citizen science

are visible. The average size of a Mekong

In previous MEF-directed programs, 33 students from diverse backgrounds

and different universities in southern Vietnam, including

Pham Thi Phuong, Nguyen Hoai Chung (journalism students from Ho

Chi Minh City University of Journalism and Communication), Lam

Thi So Ri and Thach My Duc (Khmer students at Can Tho University),

have been trained as citizen scientists and citizen journalists.

rice paddy is only 1.2 hectares. In the most

hardscrabble villages, even access to a

smartphone is beyond the reach of many.

But it only takes one citizen scientist, or an

inspired professional, to assume the

responsibility to empower the locals with

knowledge. Furthermore, by sharing

information and joining forces, farmers

are able to exert some influence over the

environment on which they depend for

their livelihoods.

In addition to local environmental

contamination, citizen science tackles

climate change. In Vietnam, from the Red

River Delta to the Lower Mekong,

university students are engaging in

projects to monitor water quality.

"The emergence of grassroots climate

initiatives assists villagers to monitor

Turkey-Israel ties in the post-Netanyahu era

Israel's assaults on Gaza in 2008 and

2009, which became a turning point. The

most dramatic development was the "one

minute" incident at the World Economic

Forum in Davos in 2009. During a panel

discussion entitled, "Gaza: The Case for

Middle East Peace," Recep Tayyip

Erdogan, at the time the Turkish prime

minister, refused to be silenced by the

moderator while attempting to respond

to Israeli President Shimon Peres'

justification for the Israeli military action.

Eventually, a frustrated Erdogan stormed

off the stage. This was the first big shock

in Turkish-Israeli relations.

The escalating tensions led to a

diplomatic crisis in January 2010 when

the Turkish ambassador to Israel was

seated in a conspicuously lower chair

than his host's during a meeting with the

SINEM CENGIZ

Israeli deputy foreign minister, a

humiliation interpreted as an attempt to

portray the envoy as inferior to the

minister. Years later, the ambassador said

that "it was an incident unseen in

diplomatic history. There are incidents

where envoys are mistreated; but you do

it to their face, you don't do it from

behind."

Five months later, the Mavi Marmara

The Trump administration's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the

capital, and the harsh Israeli response to Palestinian street protests

that followed, in which 52 people lost their lives, led to another collapse

of efforts to improve Turkish-Israeli relations. Diplomatic ties

were downgraded again in 2018. Since then, ties between the two

states have maintained only at the level of charge d'affaires.

incident happened: Israeli security forces

raided a flotilla attempting to deliver

humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,

killing nine civilians. Ankara responded

by cutting off diplomatic relations with

Israel. Clearly, the years between 2008

and 2010 severely tested Turkish-Israeli

relations. Then Arab uprisings began,

altering many of the power balances in

the region. The changes, including the

changes, to influence decision-making

and to help restore their natural

ecosystems," said Nguyen Minh Quang,

co-founder of the Mekong Environment

Forum (MEF) in Can Tho.

In previous MEF-directed programs, 33

students from diverse backgrounds and

different universities in southern

Vietnam, including Pham Thi Phuong,

Nguyen Hoai Chung (journalism students

from Ho Chi Minh City University of

Journalism and Communication), Lam

Thi So Ri and Thach My Duc (Khmer

students at Can Tho University), have

been trained as citizen scientists and

citizen journalists.

Collectively, they work to assist with

people's environmental literacy and

introduce harmonious solutions to

address over-exploitation of groundwater,

mangrove deforestation, and climate

hazards. These young environmentalists

are generating awareness that efficiency

and small-scale, decentralized, and

climate-smart solutions are essential for

meeting economic needs without

degrading natural resources.

Through community-science-led

projects, volunteers and citizen journalists

have raised the viability of new options to

advance better resource management and

grassroots sustainability by connecting

"farmer scientists" and students,

practitioners, and community

representatives to open-access platforms

that enable them to contribute datasets,

thereby drawing public attention to

environmental hotspots in their

communities.

Source: Asia times

destabilization of Syria and a

strengthening of the Iranian position,

posed common threats to Ankara and Tel

Aviv and forced the two countries to enter

into negotiations.

The first step toward normalization was

taken in 2013, when US President Barack

Obama facilitated a telephone call

between Netanyahu and Erdogan. The

former apologized for the Mavi Marmara

incident and pledged to compensate the

families of the victims. However, no

progress was made due to domestic and

regional developments that year: A

military coup in Egypt, and the Gezi Park

protests that swept across Turkey.

During this period, Erdogan and

Netanyahu continued to direct harsh

rhetoric toward each other while

addressing their supporters, further

complicating the reconciliation process.

In 2016, Ankara and Tel Aviv once

again reached an agreement and

reappointed ambassadors as part of a

reconciliation deal. However, the process

was cut short when Netanyahu found

himself, following the election of Donald

Trump as US president, with the

opportunity to realize his dream of

making Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

Source: Arab news

WEDnESDAy, JunE 23, 2021

5

G7 nations take aggressive climate action

MiCHAEL D. SHEAr

President Biden joined with leaders of the world's wealthiest

nations on Sunday to take action aimed at holding down

global temperatures, but failed to set a firm end date on the

burning of coal, which is a primary contributor to global

warming.

Mr. Biden and six other leaders of the Group of 7 nations

promised to cut collective emissions in half by 2030 and to

try to stem the rapid extinction of animals and plants, calling

it an "equally important existential threat." They agreed that

by next year they would stop international funding for any

coal project that lacked technology to capture and store

carbon dioxide emissions and vowed to achieve an

"overwhelmingly decarbonized" electricity sector by the end

of the decade.

It was the first time that the major industrialized economies,

which are most responsible for the pollution that is warming the

planet, agreed to collectively slash their emissions by 2030,

although several nations had individually set those same goals,

including the United States and the United Kingdom. But

energy experts said the failure of the G7 nations, which together

produce about a quarter of the world's climate pollution, to

agree on a specific end date for the use of coal weakened their

ability to lean on China to curb its own still-growing coal use. It

may also make it more difficult to convince 200 nations to strike

a bold climate agreement at a United Nations summit in

Scotland later this year.

The G7 leaders also declined to pledge significant new

funding to help developing countries both manage climate

impacts as well as pivot away from burning oil, gas and

coal."It's very disappointing," said Jennifer Morgan, the

executive director of Greenpeace International. "This was a

moment when the G7 could have shown historic leadership,

and instead they left a massive void."

Scientists have warned that the world needs to urgently cut

emissions if it has any chance to keep average global

temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius,

compared with preindustrial levels. That's the threshold

beyond which experts say the planet will experience

catastrophic, irreversible damage. Temperature change is

not even around the globe; some regions have already

reached an increase of 2 degrees Celsius.

Mr. Biden opened his first foreign trip as president last

week by declaring that on issues like climate, "the United

States is back." After four years in which President Donald J.

Trump mocked the established science of climate change,

discouraged the development of clean energy while favoring

fossil fuels and refused to cooperate with allies on

environmental issues, Mr. Biden was once again part of a

unanimous consensus that the world needs to take drastic

action to prevent a global disaster.

"President Biden has committed to tackling the climate

crisis at home and abroad, rallying the rest of the world at the

leaders summit, G7, and beyond to reach for bold targets

within the next decade," said Daleep Singh, deputy national

security adviser. "While the previous administration ignored

the science and consequences of climate change, our

administration has taken unprecedented actions to prioritize

President Biden during a news conference at the end of the G7 summit in Cornwall, England, on

Sunday.

Photo: Doug Mills

this on the global stage."

In addition to rejoining the 2015 Paris Agreement that Mr.

Trump abandoned, Mr. Biden has promised to cut the

United States' greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent to 52

percent below 2005 levels by 2030, and to eliminate fossil

fuel emissions from America's power sector by 2035.

But it was the United Kingdom, along with some other

European countries, that had pushed aggressively during the

summit this year to stop burning coal for electricity by a

specific date in the 2030s. Burning coal is the largest source

of carbon dioxide emissions, and after a pandemic-year

retreat, demand for coal is expected to rise by 4.5 percent this

year, according to the International Energy Agency.

Instead, the final language of the leaders' "communiqué"

makes only a vague call to "rapidly scale up technologies and

policies that further accelerate the transition away" from coal

without carbon capture technology.

The debate at the summit over how quickly to abandon

coal came at a particularly delicate moment for Mr. Biden,

whose push for a major infrastructure package in a closely

divided Congress may depend on the vote of one Democratic

senator: Joe Manchin of coal-dependent West Virginia.

In a statement to The New York Times, Mr. Manchin noted

"projections showing that fossil fuels, including coal, will be

part of the global energy mix for decades to come" and

praised the Biden administration for recognizing the need to

develop clean energy technologies. But advocates for faster

action said concerns about placating Mr. Manchin appeared

to have prevented more aggressive steps.

The United States in particular had a chance to lead

countries in strong language to move away from fossil fuels

this decade, Ms. Morgan of Greenpeace said. But "it doesn't

seem like they were the ambition setters at this G7."

Other leading climate change advocates and diplomats

called the overall climate package a mixed bag.Mr. Biden and

the other leaders said they would deliver $2 billion to help

nations pivot away from fossil fuels, in what leaders hope will

be a global transition to wind, solar and other energy that

does not produce planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions.

And they agreed to raise their contributions and meet an

overdue pledge of mobilizing $100 billion a year to help

poorer countries cut emissions and cope with the

consequences of climate change, though firm dollar figures

were not on the table.

Laurence Tubiana, C.E.O. of the European Climate

Foundation who served as France's chief climate ambassador

during the 2015 Paris negotiations, said she was pleased that

nations would stop financing new coal projects without

technology to capture and store emissions. It will mean an

end to virtually all funding for new coal, since carbon capture

technology is nascent and not widely used.

"That leaves China to decide now if they want to still be the

backers of coal globally, because they will be the only one,"

she said. But she said the financing package was lacking for

developing countries, which are particularly vulnerable to

floods, drought and other impacts of a climate crisis created

by the industrialized nations.

G7 nations this week also backed Mr. Biden's sweeping

infrastructure plan to counter China's multi-trillion-dollar

Belt and Road Initiative. As part of that, countries promised

to help the developing world rebuild from the Covid-19

pandemic in a way that takes climate change into account.

Wealthy nations had agreed in 2009 to mobilize $100

billion in public and private funding by 2020 in order to help

poorer countries move to clean energy and adapt to the most

severe consequences of climate change. But they have

delivered only about $80 billion on that promise, according

to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and

Development. And most of that money is in the form of loans,

not grants, making it difficult for poor countries to use,

experts said. "The G7 announcement on climate finance is

really peanuts in the face of an existential catastrophe," said

Malik Amin Aslam, Pakistan's climate minister. He called it a

"huge disappointment" for his country and others that have

had to spend more to cope with extreme weather,

displacement and other impacts of global warming.

"At the least, countries responsible for this inescapable

crisis need to live up to their stated commitments, otherwise

the climate negotiations could well end in futility," he

warned.A recent report from the International Energy

Agency concluded that if the world is to stave off the most

devastating consequences of global warming, major

economies must immediately stop approving new coal plants

and oil and gas fields.

At the summit, the seven countries addressed biodiversity

loss, calling it a crisis on the same scale as climate

change.They said they would champion a global push to

conserve at least 30 percent of the planet's land and water by

2030 and would set up such protections within their own

countries. These measures are needed, scientists say and the

G7 reiterated, to help curb extinctions, ensure water and food

security, store carbon and reduce the risk of future

pandemics.

Today, about 17 percent of the planet's land and 8 percent

of its oceans are protected, according to the United

Nations.Environmental groups welcomed the inclusion of

the 30 percent commitment but emphasized the need for

action, which requires adequate financing. That's the hard

part, to be hammered out at a separate United Nations

biodiversity conference that will be held in October in

Kunming, China.

Because the world's remaining intact ecosystems and

biodiversity hot spots are unevenly distributed, scientists

emphasize that it's not enough for each country to carve out

its own 30 percent. Rather, countries should work together to

maximize the protection of areas that will yield the best

returns on reversing the interdependent biodiversity and

climate crises. Researchers have mapped suggestions.

The rights of local communities, including Indigenous

peoples who have been better stewards of biodiversity, must

be valued, advocates said. Protecting nature does not mean

kicking people out, but rather ensuring that wild areas are

used sustainably. Robert Watson, a former chairman of two

leading intergovernmental panels on climate change and

biodiversity, praised the agreement for linking the two crises.

But he said it needs to address the factors that are driving

species loss, including agriculture, logging and mining."I do

not see what actions will be taken to stop the causes," Dr.

Watson said.

Big oil takes a beating but its

investors are profiting

A spillway at Hoover Dam has been dry for years, a result of the low level of Lake Mead.

What is a mega drought?

HEnry founTAin

The Western United States is locked

in an extreme drought this year that

is one of the worst on record. But for

a large part of the region the only

thing that makes this year different is

the severity of the conditions. Much

of the Southwest is in the throes of a

megadrought.

Simply put, a megadrought is a

period of extreme dryness that lasts

for decades. Within that period there

may be occasional better, wet, years,

but the respite is brief. The dryness

soon returns and drought maintains

its long-term grip.

For the Southwest - including

Arizona, Nevada, Utah and parts of

California, Colorado and New Mexico

- the drought has lasted two

decades.There have been wet years

here and there, including the winter

of 2016-17, when huge storms hit

California (and led to a different set

of problems, including a nightmarish

wildfire season) and 2019, when a

wet spring lifted much of Arizona out

of drought, briefly, for the first time

in years.

But most of the region has been in

chronic drought since 2000. Not

coincidentally, that was the last time

Lake Mead, the giant reservoir on the

Colorado River that is now at a

historic low level, was anywhere near

full.

The Southwest is an arid region,

and much of it is classified as desert.

"Normal" means high heat, low

humidity and relatively little

precipitation. But normal also meant

the region usually got enough

precipitation, from late summer

through winter, to avoid the worst.

Scientists have identified long

periods over the past 2,000 years in

the Southwest when that normal

pattern was disrupted, most likely by

natural variability in Pacific Ocean

temperatures. Cooler water created

atmospheric conditions that blocked

most storms from reaching the region.

Researchers found the evidence for

these megadroughts in the annual

growth rings in the trunks of ancient

trees. Rings that are close together are

a sign of stunted growth. And in the

Southwest, what stunts growth is a

lack of moisture in the soil.

These megadroughts have lasted

for decades. One in the 2nd century

lasted for 50 years. Others, in the 9th,

12th, 13th and 16th centuries, lasted

between 30 and 40.The current

Southwestern drought is the driest

Photo: Ethan Miller

20 year period since the last

megadrought in the late 1500s, and

the second-driest since the 800s.

Time will tell whether it lasts as long,

or longer.

Some natural climate variability is

at work now, too, so conditions could

swing toward the wet side for long

enough to pull the region out of

drought. (Although water scarcity

would still be an issue - the

Southwest is now home to tens of

millions of people, industries and

agriculture that have created huge

demand for water.)

But those ancient megadroughts

occurred long before smokestacks

and tailpipes started spewing carbon

dioxide into the air, warming the

planet and changing the climate.

Global warming is affecting droughts

now, and accounts for about half of

the severity of the current

Southwestern drought.

With its warmer temperatures and

shifts in precipitation patterns,

human-caused climate change

reduces the odds of a given year

being a wet one and makes it less

likely that the region will have a few

good years in a row. In short, climate

change makes it more likely that this

megadrought will continue.

JEff SoMMEr

It has been a terrible several weeks for

big oil companies like Exxon Mobil,

Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell, which

have been rebuked in proxy fights, the

courts and a landmark public report,

all pressuring them to do much more

to stop climate change.

Yet it has also been a glorious stretch

for investors in energy, the bestperforming

sector in the stock market

this year. Prices of energy companies

and of oil and gas have been soaring.

Much of those increases can be

attributed to a surge in demand as the

economy recovers from the

coronavirus pandemic. But the

prospect of long-term energy supply

constraints, as companies are forced to

respond to climate change,

complicates matters enormously.

First, consider this odd combination

of developments.The news for fossil

fuel companies lately has been

relentlessly bleak, a series of defeats in

important shareholder votes and in the

courts. What's more, the energy

business has been the focus of a

landmark International Energy

Agency policy report that calls for

sharp cutbacks in fossil fuel

production.

The various battles are different, and

the details are important. But, briefly

put, these are most of them: Chevron

shareholders voted against

management last month, directing the

company to cut greenhouse gas

emissions. In the Exxon case,

shareholders defied the executive suite

and voted to install three independent

directors with the goal of pushing the

energy giant to reduce its carbon

footprint. And a court in the

Netherlands ruled that Shell must

accelerate and cut emissions 45

percent from 2019 levels by 2030.

Shell said it would appeal, while

environmentalists exulted that the

decision set a precedent for concerted

legal efforts worldwide.

What these disparate events had in

common was that they put major

publicly traded companies under

mounting pressure to address climate

change far more forcefully. In its

report, "Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap

for the Global Energy Sector," the

International Energy Agency was

explicit in stating what must be done to

avert the most catastrophic damage.

It said that governments around the

world needed to immediately stop

approving the development of new oil

and gas fields, and that oil companies

needed to scale back production.

While the report did not call for the

end of the oil business, the agency

projected a shrinking industry in a

future world with far less extraction,

refining and distribution of carbonbased

energy products.

In short, the headlines suggested

that big oil companies were in deep

trouble, and over the long run, that

may be true if they don't change their

ways.But the stock and commodities

markets, which appear to be focused

on the near term, have been telling a

far more upbeat story. Despite a brief

downturn, this has been a fabulous

time for investments in energy

companies as well as for the

commodities that have provided the

traditional basis for these companies'

existence.

An Exxon Mobil refinery in Baytown, Texas.

Consider some of the recent

performance numbers.

Six of the 10 top performers in the

S&P 500 this year are energy

companies, led by Marathon Oil,

which has risen 88 percent in 2021

alone. The companies in the energy

sector of the S&P 500 have done better

than any other broad market slice -

gaining 37 percent in 2021, compared

with about 11 percent for the overall

stock market benchmark.

The price of crude oil in the United

States has risen above $70 a barrel, its

highest level in three years. Oil, in turn,

has pushed the price of regular

gasoline at the pump well above $3 a

gallon, an increase of nearly 40 percent

for the year, according to AAA.

The main short-term reason for the

rising price trend for the energy sector

is the classic one: a simple imbalance

of supply and demand.

"Some of this is just what happens to

the energy market when the economy

grows after any recession," said Ed

Crooks, vice chairman of energy in the

Americas for the research firm Wood

Mackenzie. Demand has skyrocketed

as the economy has awakened from its

pandemic slumber.

At the same time, the oil supply has

been limited by a decline in production

during the recession, when people

stopped driving and flying and major

oil companies lost billions of dollars

and began to retrench. Supply has also

Photo: TamirKalifa

been tightened by the restraint

exercised by the group known as OPEC

Plus - made up of the Organization of

the Petroleum Exporting Countries

and allied producers like Russia. OPEC

Plus has already announced that its

members are beginning to increase

production a bit, which could keep

prices from rising much further.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2021

6

State Minister for Religious Affairs Faridul Haque Khan Dulal MP distributed hand washing

technology (Happy Tap) to 14 persons with disabilities and 26 primary schools in Jamalpur.

Samata Project, World Vision Bangladesh and Center for Disability Development (CDD)

organized this program.

Photo : Osman Haruni

Khulna records

27 more Covid-19

deaths, 998

infections in a day

KHULNA : Khulna division

saw another deadly day due

to coronovirus, recording 27

more deaths and 998

infections in last 24 hours till

8 am on Tuesday.

A total of 27 fatalities were

reported in seven districts of

the division during the time,

raising the death toll to 864,

said Dr Rasheda Sultana,

divisional director of Health.

Among the new fatalities,

nine are in Khulna, five in

Kustia, four each in

Bagerhat and Jashore, three

in Narail and two in

Meherpur in the division.

The total death toll

included 220 in Khulna, 162

in Kustia, 113 in Jashore, 74

in Chuadanga, , 70 in

Bagerhat, 68 in Jhenidah,

62 in Satkhira, 35 each in

Meherpur and Narail and 25

in Magura. A total of 998

more people have also tested

positive for Covid-19 in all 10

districts of the division

during the 24-hour period,

climbing the number of

infected patients to 46,975.

The new daily infection

figure also shows an increase

compared to the previous

day's figure of 945, said the

health department sources.

"Among the infected

people, 34, 948 have, so far,

been cured from the lethal

virus with 321 new

recoveries found," said Dr

Rasheda, adding that a total

of 5,942 infected patients are

now undergoing treatment

at different designated

hospitals here.

Besides, all the positive

cases for Covid-19 have, so

far, been brought under

necessary treatment while

47,228 were kept in isolation

units of different hospitals

for institutional supervision.

Of them, 35,622 have been

released so far. On the other

hand, 190 more people have

been sent to home and

institutional quarantine

afresh while 126 others were

released.

7th International Yoga Day

celebrated in Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI : The seventh International Day

of Yoga (IDY)-2021 was celebrated here with

a large number of people of different ages

doing Yoga together at different places in the

region.

On the occasion, the Assistant High

Commission of India in Rajshahi and Indian

Council for Cultural Relations jointly

organised a virtual session of Common Yoga

Protocol in association with Quantum

Foundation on Monday.

Assistant High Commissioner Sanjeev

Kumar Bhati highlighted how the

celebration of IDY over the years has boosted

Yoga's popularity and converted it into a

mass movement for health during his

welcome address.

Quantum Foundation Adviser Professor

Dr Manzurul Haque gave scientific reasons

to underline the relevance of Yoga during the

ongoing pandemic.

Sports associations, Yoga associations and

institutes, students from various schools,

colleges and universities participated in the

celebrations of IDY.

Disseminating his expertise on the issue

Prof Manzurul said regular yoga practice is

very important for both physical and mental

happiness coupled with generating selfconfidence

and courage in human beings.

Yoga can also bring joy and peace in body

and mind and its practice is very much

significant to keep the body disease-free and

workable.

He told the meeting identically that yoga

plays an important role towards maintaining

connection between body and mind.

Regular yoga practice reduces many

physical disorders like high blood pressure,

lever problem, constipation, skin disease,

obesity, arthritis, asthma, diabetes and

migraine.

He, however, put emphasis on enhancing

the requisite facilities for yoga practice

together with generating public awareness in

this regard.

In his remarks, Sanjeev Kumar Bhati said

yoga practice is a complete exercise method

for human beings. It acts as a bigger

antibiotic to protect the body from various

diseases. Many of the physicians are now

seen saying about exercise for physical

fitness. According to the present medical

science, only medicines cannot be the means

of sound health.

The Assistant High Commission organised

a virtual session on 'Yoga for Covid-19

Management' on Sunday highlighting

contributions of Yoga for Wellness. The Yoga

session was conducted by Nowrin Ahmed.

Duck rearing changes Narsingdi's

poor families' fortune

NARSINGDI : A number of ultra poor

families living in different char villages

under Narsingdi Sadar, Raipura and

Belabo upazilas of the district have been

able to change their destitution by rearing

ducks.

The inhabitants of char villages are

mostly poor as they are losing everything

by river erosion. A couple of years ago, the

char villagers started rearing ducks on a

commercial basis with the determination

to change their economic condition. On an

average, there are more than 50 ducks in

one family and they are earning Taka three

to four thousand every month selling eggs

and ducks.

Morjina Begum, a housewife of char

Alokbali village under Sadar upazila told

BSS that she gets on an average of 35 to 40

eggs every day from her pets and currently

she is earning Taka over seven thousand

every month. "I'm happy now as I found

the path of regular earning through duck

farming successfully. My children are now

going to school," she said, adding that

there are a number of poor families in

different char areas of the district who

make their living only rearing ducks.

District Livestock Officer Habibur

Rahman said duck farming business has

also become a stable employment source

here. Many people including poor and

marginal unemployed youths are now

joining the business of rearing ducks

alongside trading of the domestic birds and

its eggs and have become economically

solvent, he added.

Habibur Rahman mentioned that duck

farming is less expensive, simple and

commercially viable.

The BGB is regularly working to improve the law and order situation in the hills. I want to see the

peaceful stance of all the citizens living in the mountains. The government is doing everything

that needs to be done for the implementation of equal rights of every citizen, for development

and welfare. The government is working for the development of all the citizens of the hills. Zone

Commander Lt Col Tajul Islam Taj made the remarks at an exchange of views with local people's

representatives at the Rajnagar Battalion (37 BGB) zone in Langadu upazila of Rangamati on

Monday. Medical Officer Captain Fakrul Islam Rajan and Assistant Director (AD) Jamal Uddin

were also present on the occasion.

Photo : Omar Faruq Musa

Three held

with 15 lifted

mobile phones

in Rangpur

RANGPUR : Rapid Action

Battalion (RAB) arrested

three members of an

organised gang of mobile

phone lifters and seized 15

stolen mobile phone sets,

13 SIM cards and cash

money from their

possessions in the city on

Monday afternoon.

Acting on a tip off, an

operational team of RAB-

13 arrested them and

seized the lifted goods

from different places

under Tazhat police

station, said a press

release issued by Assistant

Director (Media) of RAB-

13 Flight Lieutenant

Mahmud Bashir Ahmed

yesterday.

The arrestees are:

Nirmal Chandra Biswas,

57, of Gaibandha as well as

Joynal Abedin, 52, and

Nur Alam Siddique alias

Manik, 45, of Rangpur

districts. During primary

interrogation, the arrested

persons admitted to be

involved in stealing mobile

phone sets for a long time.

"After filing a case in this

connection, the elite force

handed them over Tazhat

police station of Rangpur

Metropolitan Police," the

release added.

Covid-19 cases cross 22,300 with

258 afresh in Rangpur division

RANGPUR, June 22, 2021 (BSS) - The

number of coronavirus (Covid-19) cases has

speedily crossed the 22,300 mark with

diagnosis of 258 afresh in Rangpur division

where the infection rate continues rising

quickly in recent weeks.

Health officials said the number of Covid-

19 cases climbed to 22,353 as 258 more

patients were reported after

testing 746 samples of the division at the

infection rate of 34.58 percent on Monday.

Earlier, the daily infection rates in the

division were 38.94 percent on Sunday,

35.20 percent on Saturday,

29.12 percent on Friday, 33.60 percent on

Thursday, 31.68 percent on Wednesday and

30.18 percent on Tuesday last. "The infection

rate continues rising speedily in recent weeks

with an increasing number of casualties

amid a declining recovery rate across the

division," Focal Person of Covid-19 and

Assistant Director (Health) for Rangpur

division Dr ZA Siddiqui told BSS.

"The district-wise break-up of total 22,353

patients now stands at 5,425 in Rangpur, 901

in Panchagarh, 1,687 in Nilphamari, 1,301 in

Lalmonirhat, 1,489 in Kurigram, 2,479 in

Thakurgaon, 7,176 in Dinajpur and 1,895 in

Gaibandha," he said.

Since the beginning, a total of 1,44,979

collected samples were tested till Monday,

and of them, 22.353 were found Covid-19

positive with an average infection rate of

15.42 percent.

Meanwhile, the total number of healed

Covid-19 patients reached 18,915 with

recovery of 77 more infected patients on

Monday in the division where the average

recovery rate currently stands at 84.62

percent.

Beat policing activities have been launched to bring police services to the doorsteps of common people in

Saltha upazila of Faridpur. Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Md Suminur Rahman inaugurated

the program by handing over a bundle of stickers with the mobile numbers of the concerned beat officers

and duty officers of the police station to a SI at the Saltha police station premises on Tuesday noon. These

stickers will be affixed on the door of every house.

Photo : Shafiqul Islam

Covid-19 cases continuously

increases in Rajshahi division

RAJSHAHI : The surge of Covid-19

cases has been continuing in all eight

districts of the division since the very

beginning of the second wave making

the division a hotspot of the deadly

virus.

According to the official data on April

1 last, the number of positive cases was

26,907 with 411 fatalities as in Rajshahi

city, the number of infected patients

was 5,000 with 35 deaths.

But, with a gap of only 82 days, the

Covid-19 cases jumped to 48,819

with750 fatalities as in the city, the

cases climbed to 11,068 with 75

fatalities till on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a total of 763 more

people have tested positive for Covid-19

in all eight districts of the division on

Monday, raising the number of

infections to 48,819.

With 11 more fatalities from the

disease reported afresh on the day, the

death toll reached 750, including 351 in

Bogura and 126 in Rajshahi with 75 in

its city, said Dr Habibul Ahsan

Talukder, divisional director of Health.

The new daily infection figure shows

a declining trend compared to the

previous day's figure of 799, said the

health department sources.

Among the infected people, 35,835

have, so far, been cured from the lethal

virus with 259 new recoveries found on

Monday.

A total of 4,822 infected patients are

Moulovibazar Police arrested 5 members of a burglar-syndicate and ceased a

significant number of stolen materials. In the photo, the district police super

Mohammad Zakaria briefing the journalists.

Photo: Alok Kranti

now undergoing treatment at different

designated hospitals here.

Besides, all the positive cases for

Covid-19 have, so far, been brought

under necessary treatment while

10,795 were kept in isolation units of

different hospitals for institutional

supervision.

Of them, 8,116 have by now been

released. On the other hand, 598 more

people have been sent to home and

institutional quarantine afresh while

176 others were released from isolation

during the last 24 hours till 8 am on

Tuesday.

Of the total new positive cases, the

highest 326 were detected in Rajshahi,

including 253 in its city, followed by 110

in Joypurhat, 70 in Natore, 67 in

Naogaon, 65 in Pabna, 53 in

Chapainawabganj, 36 each in Bogura

and Sirajganj districts.

With the new detected patients, the

district-wise break-up of the total cases

now stands at 14,866 in Rajshahi,

including 12,068 in its city, 3,657 in

Chapainawabganj, 3,717 in Naogaon,

2,897 in Natore, 2,931 in Joypurhat,

12,992 in Bogura, 4,059 in Sirajganj

and 3,700 in Pabna.

A total of 79,971 people have, so far,

been kept under quarantine since

March 10 last year to prevent the

community transmission of the deadly

coronavirus (COVID-19).

Of them, 73,822 have, by now, been

released as they were given clearance

certificates after completing their

respective 14-day quarantine period.

Enhancing administrative

capacity for better civic

services stressed

RANGPUR : Enhancing administrative

capacity of everyone working in

Rangpur City Corporation (RpCC) is

crucial for providing better civic

services, maintaining cleanliness and

ensuring hygienic foods in the city,

reports BSS.

Mayor of Rangpur Mostafizar

Rahman Mostafa viewed this at the

"Administrative Improvement (AI)

Review and Planning Workshop- 2021"

held at the conference room of RpCC

here on Monday afternoon as the chief

guest. RpCC organised the workshop

for its city councilors, officials and

employees in cooperation with the

Japan International Cooperation

Agency (JICA) assisted Project for

Capacity Development of City

Corporations (C4C).

The Local Government Division of

the Ministry of Local Government,

Rural Development and Cooperatives

is implementing the project in four city

corporations across Bangladesh.

WeDNeSDAY, JUNe 23, 2021

7

COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have dipped below 300 a day for the first time since the early days of the

disaster in March 2020, while the drive to put shots in arms hit another encouraging milestone

Monday: 150 million Americans fully vaccinated.

Photo : AP

US hits encouraging milestones

on virus deaths and shots

NEW YORK : COVID-19 deaths in the

U.S. have dipped below 300 a day for

the first time since the early days of the

disaster in March 2020, while the drive

to put shots in arms hit another

encouraging milestone Monday: 150

million Americans fully vaccinated.

The coronavirus was the third leading

cause of death in the U.S. in 2020,

behind heart disease and cancer,

according to the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention. But now, as the

outbreak loosens its grip, it has fallen

down the list of the biggest killers.

CDC data suggests that more

Americans are dying every day from

accidents, chronic lower respiratory

diseases, strokes or Alzheimer's disease

than from COVID-19.

The U.S. death toll stands at more

than 600,000, while the worldwide

count is close to 3.9 million, though the

real figures in both cases are believed to

be markedly higher.

About 45% of the U.S. population has

been fully vaccinated, according to the

CDC. Over 53% of Americans have

received at least one dose of vaccine. But

U.S. demand for shots has slumped, to

the disappointment of public health

experts.

Dr. Ana Diez Roux, dean of Drexel

HONOLULU : Dozens of baby squid

from Hawaii are in space for study.

The baby Hawaiian bobtail squid

were raised at the University of

Hawaii's Kewalo Marine Laboratory

and were blasted into space earlier

this month on a SpaceX resupply

mission to the International Space

Station.

Researcher Jamie Foster, who

completed her doctorate at the

University of Hawaii, is studying how

spaceflight affects the squid in hopes

of bolstering human health during

long space missions, the Honolulu

Star-Advertiser reported Monday.

The squid have a symbiotic

relationship with natural bacteria that

help regulate their bioluminescence.

When astronauts are in low gravity

NASA sends squid from

Hawaii into space for

research

their body's relationship with

microbes changes, said University of

Hawaii professor Margaret McFall-

Ngai, who Foster studied under in the

1990s.

"We have found that the symbiosis

of humans with their microbes is

perturbed in microgravity, and Jamie

has shown that is true in squid," said

McFall-Ngai. "And, because it's a

simple system, she can get to the

bottom of what's going wrong."

Foster is now a Florida professor

and principal investigator for a NASA

program that researches how

microgravity affects the interactions

between animals and microbes.

"As astronauts spend more and

more time in space, their immune

systems become what's called

University's school of public health, said

the dropping rates of infections and

deaths are cause for celebration. But she

cautioned that the virus still has a

chance to spread and mutate given the

low vaccination rates in some states,

including Mississippi, Louisiana,

Alabama, Wyoming and Idaho.

"So far it looks like the vaccines we

have are effective against the variants

that are circulating," Diez Roux said.

"But the more time the virus is jumping

from person to person, the more time

there is for variants to develop, and

some of those could be more

dangerous."

New cases are running at about

11,400 a day on average, down from

over a quarter-million per day in early

January. Average deaths per day are

down to about 293, according to Johns

Hopkins University, after topping out at

over 3,400 in mid-January.

In New York, which suffered mightily

in the spring of 2020, Gov. Andrew

Cuomo tweeted on Monday that the

state had 10 new deaths. At the height of

the outbreak in the state, nearly 800

people a day were dying from the

coronavirus.

Some states are faring worse than

others. Missouri leads the nation in percapita

COVID-19 cases and is fourth

behind California, Florida and Texas in

the number of new cases per day over

the past week despite its significantly

smaller population.

The surge is being driven by new cases

in a farming region in the northern part

of the state and in the southwest corner,

which includes the towns of Branson

and Springfield. COVID-19

hospitalizations in southwest Missouri

have risen 72% since the beginning of

the month as of Friday.

The fall will bring new waves of

infection, but they will be less severe

and concentrated more in places with

low vaccination rates, said Amber

D'Souza, a professor of epidemiology at

the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School

of Public Health.

"So much depends on what happens

over the summer and what happens

with children," D'Souza said. "Anyone

who is not vaccinated can become

infected and transmit the virus."

Meanwhile, because of regulatory

hurdles and other factors, President Joe

Biden is expected to fall short of his

commitment to share 80 million

vaccine doses with the rest of the world

by the end of June, officials said

Monday.

dysregulated. It doesn't function as

well," Foster said. "Their immune

systems don't recognize bacteria as

easily. They sometimes get sick."

Foster said understanding what

happens to the squid in space could

help solve health problems that

astronauts face.

"There are aspects of the immune

system that just don't work properly

under long-duration spaceflights," she

said. "If humans want to spend time on

the moon or Mars, we have to solve

health problems to get them there

safely." The Kewalo Marine Laboratory

breeds the squid for research projects

around the world. The tiny animals are

plentiful in Hawaiian waters and are

about 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) long

as adults.

Lab manager Randall Scarborough looks at a squid in Honolulu on June 11, 2021. Dozens of baby

squid from Hawaii are in space for study. The baby Hawaiian bobtail squid were raised at the

University of Hawaii's Kewalo Marine Laboratory and were blasted into space earlier this month on

a SpaceX resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Photo : AP

North Korea acknowledges "food crisis"

amid novel coronavirus pandemic

BEIJING : North Korea's ruling

Workers' Party discussed how to

"overcome the present food

crisis," at its four-day plenary

meeting of the Central Committee

through Friday, state-run

television reported.

It is rare for North Korea to use

the expression "food crisis" when

describing the state of the nation,

raising concern that its citizens

are facing difficulties in obtaining

daily necessities with trade stifled

amid the novel coronavirus

pandemic.

North Korean leader Kim Jong

Un was quoted by the official

Korean Central News Agency as

saying at the gathering that the

food situation is "getting tense,"

as the nation's agricultural sector

was devastated by powerful

typhoons and flooding last year.

KCNA reported Friday that the

plenary meeting talked about how

to "stabilize and improve the

people's living." But Korean

Central Television has said the

agenda was called "emergency

measures to overcome the present

food crisis."

North Korea's economy has

languished further as the global

outbreak of the virus has choked

the country's trade with China and

the farming industry has become

sluggish, reports UNB.

Although Pyongyang claims it

has had no virus infections, the

nation has cut off traffic to and

from China and Russia since early

last year, with fears growing that

the virus-first detected in the

Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019

-- may spread across its borders.

China is known as Pyongyang's

closest and most influential ally in

economic terms. North Korea

depends on China for more than

90 percent of its trade.

North Korea is believed to be

vulnerable to infectious diseases

against a backdrop of chronic

shortages of food and medical

supplies triggered by

international economic sanctions

aimed at thwarting its nuclear and

ballistic missile ambitions.

Previously, it barred foreigners

from entering the country during

the 2003 outbreak of severe acute

respiratory syndrome, or SARS,

and the Ebola epidemic in West

Africa in 2014.

China's ambassador to North

Korea, meanwhile, stressed the

importance of bilateral relations

in a rare op-ed published Monday

in the Rodong Sinmun, the

newspaper of the Workers' Party.

Li Jinjun said North Korea has

developed under the leadership of

Kim and it has been taking

effective steps to prevent the

entry of the virus.

Sunday marked the 2nd

anniversary of Chinese President

Xi Jinping's first visit to North

Korea since he came to power in

2013. Li is scheduled to be

replaced by Wang Yajun, a senior

official of the ruling Communist

Party, in the not-so-distant

future.

North Korea's ruling Workers' Party discussed how to "overcome the present food crisis," at its fourday

plenary meeting of the Central Committee through Friday, state-run television reported. Photo : AP

21 cases of COVID-19

'Delta plus' variant found

in Maharashtra: Minister

MUMBAI : Twenty one cases

of the 'Delta plus' variant of

COVID-19, considered highly

infectious, have been found

in Maharashtra so far, state

Health Minister Rajesh Tope

has said.

The highest nine cases were

reported in Ratnagiri,

followed by seven in Jalgaon,

two in Mumbai, and one case

each in Palghar, Thane and

Sindhudurg districts, Tope

told reporters on Monday.

He said 7,500 samples

from different parts of the

state were collected and sent

for laboratory testing.

These samples were

collected since May 15 and

their genome sequencing was

done, the minister said.

Genome sequencing allows

the tracking of small

mutations in SARS-CoV2,

the virus that causes COVID-

19, meaning chains of

transmission can be

identified.

The scientific process also

assists in identifying missing

links in the chain of

transmission.

Tope said complete

information about the people

detected with the 'Delta plus'

variant is being sought,

including their travel history,

whether they were vaccinated

or not, and if they were

reinfected.

Their contacts are being

traced and tested, the

minister said, adding that

information on the mutation

of Delta and Delta plus

variants is also being

scrutinised.

Last week, the

Maharashtra health

department made a

presentation where it said the

newly identified 'Delta plus'

variant may trigger a third

wave of the pandemic in the

state.

Chief Minister Uddhav

Thackeray, state COVID-19

task force members and

health department officials

had attended the

presentation.

Taliban take key Afghan district,

adding to string of gains

KABUL : Taliban fighters took control of a

key district in Afghanistan's northern

Kunduz province Monday and encircled the

provincial capital, police said, as the

insurgent group added to its recent

battlefield victories while peace talks have

stalemated, reports UNB.

The Taliban's gains came as the Pentagon

reaffirmed the U.S. troop withdrawal was

still on pace to conclude by early September.

Fighting around Imam Sahib district

began late Sunday and by midday Monday

the Taliban had overrun the district

headquarters and were in control of police

headquarters, said Inamuddin Rahmani,

provincial police spokesman said.

Taliban militants were within a kilometer

(.6 miles) of Kunduz, the provincial capital

but had not entered into the city, he said,

although there were reports of small bands

of Taliban near the outskirts and residents

trying to leave for Kabul.

Dozens of districts have fallen to the

Taliban since May 1, when U.S. and NATO

troops began their final departure from

Afghanistan. Like Imam Sahib district in

northern Kunduz, their significance often

lies in their proximity to roads and major

cities.

Imam Sahib is strategically located near

Afghanistan's northern border with

Tajikistan, a key supply route from Central

Asia.

Rahmani said police and Afghan National

Army soldiers had jointly tried to defend the

district. He said it still wasn't clear how many

casualties the Afghan National Security and

Defense Forces suffered in the protracted

battle or how many Taliban were killed or

wounded.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed

confirmed Imam Sahib district was in

Taliban hands.

Several other districts in Kunduz have also

fallen to the insurgent group in the latest

round of fighting, including Dasht-e-Archi,

which neighbors Imam Sahib, said

Rahmani, further consolidating local

transportation links in the area.

Syed Mohammad Mousavi drove with his

family to the relative safety of Kabul from

northern Mazar-e-Sharif, about 120

kilometers (75 miles) west of Kunduz on

Sunday.

He said people were trying to leave Kunduz

city for Kabul fearing additional fighting.

"The Taliban were all over the road, checking

cars. We were very scared," he said after

reaching the capital. In recent days, the

Taliban have taken several districts across

the three northern provinces of Kunduz,

Baghlan and Balkh, said Mousavi.

Significantly, witnesses said Doshi district in

Baghlan province was in Taliban hands,

which if it true gives the insurgent group

control of the one road that links five

northern provinces to the capital Kabul.

The Taliban have circulated videos on their

website and to WhatsApp groups which they

claim show government soldiers who have

surrendered being told to return to their

homes and receiving money from the

Taliban. On Sunday, Taliban leader

Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhunzada issued a

statement ordering his soldiers to "treat

those who surrender well and display good

behavior with them."

But the fighting has been bitter in some

districts with both sides suffering casualties.

A senior police official speaking on condition

he not be identified because he is not

authorized to speak to the media said the

police fighting in the districts are mostly

from poor families.

Ballooning spiders leave Australian

region covered in webs

SYDNEY : An arachnid invasion left swathes

of Australia's Gippsland region covered in

webs as the spiders sought higher ground to

escape flooding.

A sea of silk engulfed an area in Australia's

southeast hit by flooding earlier in June,

caused by sheet web spiders that normally

live on the ground looking for shelter

according to ecologist Dieter Hochuli.

"When we get these types of very heavy

rains and flooding, these animals who spend

their lives cryptically on the ground can't live

there anymore, and do exactly what we try to

do-they move to the higher ground,"

Hochuli, from the University of Sydney, told

local broadcaster Channel 7.

Spiders are known to release webs to

create makeshift parachutes and ride the

wind to change location, a phenomenon

known as ballooning.

At least two people died when the storms

hit Victoria earlier this month, with

authorities finding both bodies in separate

partially submerged vehicles.

Thousands of people in the hardest-hit

areas were also left without power for weeks,

with some homes yet to be reconnected to

electricity.Australians living in regional and

rural areas have struck by a series of

disasters in recent years.


8

AIBL opens 188th branch at Cumilla

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd has opened

188th branch at Chandina, Cumilla

recently. Director of the Bank Alhajj

Abu Naser Md. Yeahea virtually

inaugurated the new branch as Chief

Guest. Managing Director and CEO

Farman R Chowdhury presided over

the ceremony. Member of the Board

Abdul Malek Mollah was present in the

occasion, a press release said.

Deputy Manging Directors S M

Jaffar, Shabbir Ahmed, Md. Shafiqur

Rahman, Syed Masodul Bari, Md.

Mahmudur Rahman, Mohammed

Nadim, Abed Ahmed Khan, Senior

Executive Vice President Kazi

Tokyo's Nikkei

drops 3.4% at

break on US

rate hike fear

TOKYO : Tokyo's key Nikkei

index was down over three

percent by the midday break

Monday, tracking losses on

Wall Street as investors

digested Federal Reserve

messaging on more

restrictive monetary policy,

reports BSS.

The benchmark Nikkei

225 index ended the

morning session at

27,980.87, down 3.39

percent or 983.21 points,

while the broader Topix

index was down 2.55

percent or 49.58 points to

1,896.98.

"Tokyo shares have been

sold as investors were

disheartened by falls in US

shares," senior strategist

Yoshihiro Ito of Okasan

Online Securities said in a

note. On Wall Street,

"reaction to last week's

hawkish FOMC meeting

continued," said Rodrigo

Catril, senior strategist at

National Australia Bank, in a

commentary.

Expectations of a Fed rate

hike sent US Treasury yields

higher and pushing down

stocks and the dollar.

Tokyo and US investors

were reacting to comments

by St Louis Fed President

Jim Bullard in which he

revealed himself as one of

the seven FOMC members

pencilling a rate hike by the

end of 2022.

Mahmood Karim, Senior Vice

President and Shylet Zonal Head AKM

Mostafizur Rahman participated in the

occasion. Former Mayor of Chandina

Municipality Md. Mofizul Islam, Ward

Commissioner Tofael Ahmed joni,

Officer in Charge of Chandina Thana

Md. Illias, Prominent businessman

Md. Majnur Rahman were also

participated in the event.

The ceremony was conducted by

Senior Executive Vice President

Engr. Md. Habib Ullah. A large

number of local people and wellwishers

were present in the

inauguration ceremony. New branch

manager Md. Mizanur Rahman

thanked the audience.

Alhajj Abu Naser Md. Yeahea said

in his speech, Al-Arafah Islami

Bank Ltd. was established not for

making profit by doing business but

for the welfare of society. He invited

all to have the blessings of Islamic

banking services in the new branch.

He also said, Islamic banking

system can boost-up the economy

of the country.

Managing Director and CEO of the

Bank Farman R Chowdhury explained

various statistics of the Bank and he

ensured best services for clients.

Modhumoti Bank Ltd inaugurated its 46th Branch at Habiganj recently.

Humayun Kabir, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Modhumoti Bank

Limited inaugurated the Branch through a virtual platform. Motassirul

Islam, Chairman, Upazila Parishad, Habiganj Sadar & President, Chamber

of Commerce & Industry, Habiganj, Ataur Rahman Selim, Mayor,

Habiganj Municipality, Md. Shafiul Azam, Managing Director & CEO of

Modhumoti Bank, Kazi Ahsan Khalil, Deputy Managing Director & Chief

Business Officer, Shahnawaj Chowdhury, Deputy Managing Director &

Chief Operating Officer, Md. Shaheen Howlader, Head of Corporate &

Investment Banking Division, Md. Matlubar Rahman, Habiganj Branch

Manager and local elites were present in the ceremony. Photo: Courtesy

China port backlog will take weeks

to clear, Maersk says

BEIJING : A backlog at China's largest container terminal caused by a Covid-19 outbreak

among port workers will take several weeks to clear, the world's biggest shipping firm said

Monday, reports BSS.

Yantian port, in China's southern trade hub Shenzhen, stopped accepting new export

containers in May after a local infection cluster involving port workers-stifling trade at a key

point of the stressed global shipping network. Port authorities, who stopped processing the

new containers for six days, have said operations will be back to normal by the end of June.

Maersk-which operates in 130 countries and employs about 80,000 people-told AFP it

would take a "few weeks" for the backlog to clear at the port, the world's third-largest

terminal. It comes a week after the firm warned Yantian was "the most prominent bottleneck

right now". "The Yantian Port Authorities have announced that productivity will be gradually

increased as more workers return to work and more berths reopen," Maersk said Monday.

Based on this, it added, the "backlog will be gradually cleared in the next few weeks".

A meeting of the Shari'ah Supervisory Committee of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited was held at virtual

Platform recently. Professor Dr. Mohammad Gias Uddin Talukdar, Chairman of the Committee

presided over the meeting. Mohammed Monirul Moula, Managing Director & CEO of the bank, Professor

Dr. Mohammad Abdus Samad, Member Secretary along with other members of the committee attended

the meeting.

Photo: Courtesy

'World's happiest country' seeks migrants

HELSINKI : Repeatedly dubbed the

happiest nation on the planet with worldbeating

living standards, Finland should

be deluged by people wanting to relocate,

but in fact it faces an acute workforce

shortage, reports BSS.

"It's now widely acknowledged that

we need a spectacular number of

people to come to the country,"

recruiter Saku Tihverainen from

agency Talented Solutions told AFP.

Workers are needed "to help cover

the cost of the greying generation", the

recruiter explained.

While many Western countries are

battling weak population growth, few

are feeling the effects as sharply as

Finland. With 39.2 over-65s per 100

working-age people, it is second only to

Japan in the extent of its ageing

population, according to the UN, which

forecasts that by 2030 the "old age

dependency ratio" will rise to 47.5.

The government has warned that the

nation of 5.5 million needs to

practically double immigration levels to

20,000-30,000 a year to maintain

public services and plug a looming

pensions deficit.

Finland might seem like an attractive

destination on paper, scoring high in

international comparisons for quality

of life, freedom and gender equality,

with little corruption, crime and

pollution. But anti-immigrant

sentiment and a reluctance to employ

outsiders are also widespread in

Western Europe's most homogenous

society, and the opposition far-right

Finns Party regularly draws substantial

support during elections.

Tipping point -

After years of inertia, businesses and

government "are now at the tipping

point and are recognising the problem"

posed by a greying population, said

Charles Mathies, a research fellow at

the Academy of Finland.

Mathies is one of the experts

consulted by the government's "Talent

Boost" programme, now in its fourth

year, which aims to make the country

more attractive internationally, in part

through local recruitment schemes.

Those targeted include health

workers from Spain, metalworkers

from Slovakia, and IT and maritime

experts from Russia, India and

Southeast Asia.

But previous such efforts have

petered out.

In 2013, five of the eight Spanish

nurses recruited to the western town of

Vaasa left after a few months, citing

Finland's exorbitant prices, cold

weather and notoriously complex

language.

Finland has nonetheless seen net

immigration for much of the last

decade, with around 15,000 more

people arriving than leaving in 2019.

But many of those quitting the

country are higher-educated people,

official statistics show.

Faced with the OECD's largest skilled

worker shortage, some Finnish

startups are creating a joint careers site

to better bag overseas talent.

"As you can imagine, this is a slow

burner," Shaun Rudden from food

delivery firm Wolt said in an email,

adding that "We try to make the

relocation process as painless as

possible."

First Security Islami Bank Ltd. inaugurated 4 sub-branches with a view to providing shariah based

banking services to its clients recently. The Sub branches are- Baroiarhat Sub Branch at Mirsharai,

Chattogram; Morichya Bazar Sub Branch at Ukhia, Cox's Bazar; Hazaribagh Sub Branch at

Hazaribagh, Dhaka; Chutipur Bazar Sub Branch at Jhikorgacha, Jashore. Syed Waseque Md Ali,

Managing Director of the Bank inaugurated those sub-branches through Video Conference. Among

others, Abdul Aziz and Md. Mustafa Khair, Additional Managing Director(s), Md. Zahurul Haque

and Md. Masudur Rahman Shah, Deputy Managing Director(s) along with other high officials were

present in the occasion. A Doa Mahfil was organized in this regard.

Photo: Courtesy

Tokyo stocks

open sharply

higher on US

bounceback

TOKYO : Tokyo stocks

opened higher on Tuesday,

rebounding from the

previous session as Wall

Street came back from a rout

last week. The benchmark

Nikkei 225 index gained 1.79

percent or 500.60 points to

28,511.53 in early trade,

while the broader Topix

index was up 1.74 percent or

33.03 points at 1,932.48,

reports BSS.

"Japanese shares are seen

starting with buying after US

shares bounced back" for the

first time in six sessions,

Mizuho Securities said in a

note.

"However, a wait-and-see

attitude may grow in later

trade ahead of Federal

Reserve Chair (Jerome)

Powell's testimony in the US

Congress" later in the day, it

added.

Mercantile Bank Ltd organized a virtual training on Digital banking

Platform 'MBL Rainbow' recently. A total number of 183 officials from different

branches of the bank attended the online program. The digital banking

platform, MBL Rainbow was officially inaugurated on 2nd June of this

month. Various aspects of MBL Rainbow features, transactions and registration

process were discussed elaborately at the virtual training. The

training was conducted by Noor Mohammad Shafi Kamal, FVP along with

officials from Digital Banking and Innovation Department. Javed Tariq,

Principal of MBTI moderated the program.

Photo: Courtesy

Brazil Congress green-lights Eletrobras

privatization

RIO DE JANEIRO : Brazil's Congress

passed a bill Monday paving the way to

privatize the biggest electric utility in

Latin America, state-controlled

company Eletrobras, a victory for farright

President Jair Bolsonaro's

privatization agenda, reports BSS.

The bill, which sets up a share issue

that will dilute the government's stake

in the company, passed the lower house

by a vote of 258 to 136.

Lawmakers must still vote on a series

of amendments before sending it to

Bolsonaro. It had already passed in the

Senate Thursday. The legislation will

reduce the government's stake in

Eletrobras from 51.82 to 45 percent, via

a share issue penciled in for early next

year that the state estimates will raise

60 billion reais (around $12 billion).

Of that amount, 25 billion reais

would go to the company's coffers and

the rest to government programs,

experts estimate.

The government will retain a "golden

share" in the company, giving it the

final say on strategic matters. Created

in 1962, Eletrobras is one of Brazil's

"big four" state-controlled firms, along

with oil company Petrobras and banks

Banco do Brasil and Caixa Economica

Federal. It supplies around one-third of

the electricity consumed in Brazil, Latin

America's biggest economy.

But critics complain it is inefficient,

bloated and needs more cash to invest

in modernizing its assets.

"Without privatization, Brazil's

energy system is going to end up in

chaos," Bolsonaro had warned.

His ultra-liberal economy minister,

Paulo Guedes, has said the

privatization will save Brazilians up

to 7.4 percent on electricity. However,

during a sometimes fiery debate in

the lower house, opponents warned

the plan would in fact increase

consumers' electricity bills and

threaten Brazil's control over its

energy supply. Opponents have also

criticized amendments that would

increase the amount of electricity

produced by heavily polluting

thermoelectric plants.

It is a sensitive subject for a

government already facing

international criticism over the

destruction of the Amazon rainforest, a

vital resource in the race to curb climate

change.

Shares jump -

Eletrobras shares surged more than

five percent Friday after the Senate

passed the bill, and gained another 2.21

percent Monday. They have risen more

than 40 percent on the year on

expectations the company would be

going private. Before that happens,

Eletrobras must first transfer

ownership of the Itaipu hydroelectric

dam and Angra dos Reis nuclear power

plants to the state, since Brazil's

constitution designates them as

strategic assets.

The privatization comes just as Brazil

faces an electricity crisis caused by the

worst drought in almost a century in

the central-west and southeast, key

regions for the hydroelectric dams that

supply the majority of the country's

electricity. The drought has led the

National Water and Sanitation Agency

(ANA) to declare a "critical shortage of

water resources," effective until

November, for the Parana river basin,

the heart of Brazil's hydroelectric

capacity.

WeDneSDAY, JUne 23, 2021

9

Uruguay's Luis Suarez, center, celebrates scoring his team's opening goal against Chile during

a Copa America match at Arena Pantanal stadium in Cuiaba, Brazil, Monday. Photo: AP

Suárez goal ends Uruguay's scoring

drought, Argentina secure knockout spot

SPORTS DESK

Luis Suárez ended a goal scoring

drought for Uruguay that threatened to

extend to a fifth straight game, reports

UNB.

The veteran striker's 66th-minute

equalizer helped Uruguay to 1-1 draw

against Chile at the Copa America on

Monday, its first point of the

tournament.

The result allowed Chile to advance to

the knockout stage of the tournament

and kept the Uruguayans in contention

in Group A.

Chile's Eduardo Vargas opened the

scoring in the 26th with a powerful

crossed shot from the right, and Suárez

levelled the score from close range.

Argentina leads Group A with seven

points. Chile is in second spot with five

points, followed by Paraguay (3),

Uruguay (1) and Bolivia (0).

Uruguay tried to be aggressive at the

start after four matches without

scoring, a stretch including Copa

America and World Cup qualifying

competition. Chilean goalkeeper

Claudio Bravo made two difficult saves

in the first 10 minutes, both to shots

taken by Giorgian de Arrascaeta.

And then Chile scored. Vargas had a

one-two with Ben Brereton on the right

flank, entered the penalty box and shot

with little angle past goalkeeper

Fernando Muslera.

Uruguay once again struggled to give

opportunities to Suárez and

EdinsonCavani, so coachÓscarTabárez

sent on midfielder NahitanNández and

Clinical Belgium

put Finland on

brink of exit

SPORTS DESK

Belgium scored two late

goals to see off a valiant

Finland 2-0 on Monday,

pushing their opponents to

the brink of a group-stage

exit from Euro 2020 and

sending Denmark through

to the last 16, reports UNB.

Finnish goalkeeper Lukas

Hradecky's 74th-minute

own goal and

RomeluLukaku's third strike

of the tournament ensured

Roberto Martinez's Belgium

finished top of Group B.

The world's number-oneranked

side will face a thirdplaced

team in the next

round on Sunday in Seville.

"We're making good

progress and we'll be ready,"

Belgium midfielder Kevin

De Bruyne told RTBF.

Finland finish third in the

group, but appear unlikely to

be one of the four best thirdplaced

teams.

"We received tremendous

support from the Finns,"

said Finland coach Markku

Kanerva.

"They inspired us. We

could not achieve our goal of

taking at least one point. We

are obviously disappointed. I

am proud of my team."

The other game saw

Denmark thrash Russia 4-1

in Copenhagen to snatch

second place and book a

ticket to the last 16.

Finland knew they

would only need a point to

go through if the Danes

won, but despite holding

off Belgium for more than

70 minutes, they couldn't

keep it up in the Saint

Petersburg heat.

striker Facundo Torres after the break.

Torres took a corner that deflected off

MatíasVecino's head so Suárez could

reach it. The striker and Chile's Arturo

Vidal stretched to reach the ball, but

Suárez hit it first with a volley.

Chile was down to 10 men in the 85th

when Erick Pulgar was injured, after

coach Martin Lasarte had already made

all his substitutions. But Uruguay was

unable to capitalize.

After the match, Suárez said he'd

been lucky to score at the Arena

Pantanal in Cuiaba.

"We are happy with our teamwork

today, but we know we have a lot to

improve," he said.

Chile's Bravo said the result was

bittersweet.

"We were not aggressive all the 90

minutes," he said. "But we held them

well in the end."

Uruguay will play its third match of

the tournament on Thursday against

Bolivia. Chile will have its last groupstage

game against Paraguay.

Papu Gómez scored in the 10th

minute as Argentina beat Paraguay 1-0

on Monday and secured its place in the

Copa America knockout stage.

The result at the ManéGarrincha

stadium in Brasilia put Argentina atop

Group A with seven points from three

matches. The game also gave Lionel

Messi a record 147th cap for the

national team, equalling the mark of

retired defender Javier Mascherano.

Chile, which also advanced to the

quarterfinals, is second in the group

SPORTS DESK

OnsJabeur became the first Arab woman to

win a WTA title on Sunday when the

Tunisian beat Daria Kasatkina of Russia 7-5,

6-4 in an engrossing hour and a half tussle in

Birmingham, reports UNB.

Jabeur, the second seed, gained a measure

of revenge as she secured her first title at the

expense of Kasatkina, one of two women to

have beaten her in her previous finals

appearances.

"I knew I had to go for it, I had to win this

title to at least breathe and give an example,"

said Jabeur.

"There's not a lot of Tunisian or Arabic

players playing, so I hope this could inspire

them, and I want to see more Arabic

(players) and Tunisians playing with me on

tour."

Jabeur, ranked 24 in the world, has been in

fine form this season where she ranks

alongside former world number one

Ashleigh Barty in terms of matches (28)

won.

The 26-year-old held her nerve despite

with five points after the 1-1 draw with

Uruguay. Paraguay has three points,

followed by Uruguay (1) and Bolivia

(0).

Captain Messi, seeking his first major

title with the national team, had to

work with a team impacted by six

changes in the starting lineup.

Defenders GermánPezzella and

NicolásTagliafico, midfielders Rodrigo

de Paul and Leandro Paredes; and

forwards Sergio Aguero and Ángel di

Maria started. NicolásOtamendi,

Marcos Acuña, Leandro Paredes,

Giovani Lo Celso, LautaroMartínez and

Nico González were left out of the

starting lineup.

The changes did not stop Argentina

from starting strongly. Early in the

game, Messi found Di María on the

right, and the veteran winger eluded

the Paraguayan defense with an assist

to Gómez. The striker lifted a shot over

Paraguay goalkeeper Antony Silva.

Argentina forced Silva to make

important saves in the first half but the

energy of the team waned in the second

half, as it has in several recent matches.

"I was waiting for this opportunity,"

Argentina's Gómez said after the

match. "I am thinking of my family, my

friends. It comes to your mind that you

made a lot of effort (to be there). I had

the patience to wait."

Argentina's last group-stage match

will be on Monday against Bolivia.

Paraguay will take on Chile on

Thursday. The top four in each fiveteam

group will advance.

Jabeur becomes first Arab

woman to win WTA title

Kasatkina breaking back when Jabeur

served for the first set at 5-4.

Jabeur, though, broke world number 35

Kasatkina immediately and this time she

made no mistake in serving to win the set.

Kasatkina had beaten Jabeur twice in

three-set affairs.

However, her opponent did not give her a

sniff of a chance of a repeat of forcing her

into a decider as she raced into a 4-0 lead in

the second set.

Kasatkina, winner of two titles this season,

fought her way back to 4-3 down but the

Tunisian remained focused, sealing the title

on her first match point when the Russian

netted.

Jabeur revealed the pain of her defeat to

Kasatkina in a final in Moscow in 2018

where she pleaded with her to be more

generous the next time they met.

"Last time we played was in Moscow, she

(Kasatkina) won, and I was crying, it was a

great battle," said Jabeur.

"I told her, 'Can you please share some

titles with me, at least, let me win my first

WTA?'"

Jabeur celebrates victory over Daria Kasatkina in the final of the

Viking Classic Birmingham.Photo: AP

Fairytale for

Denmark as rout

of Russia puts

them in last 16

SPORTS DESK

Despair turned to

exhilaration for Denmark as

they claimed an astonishing

4-1 victory over Russia to

scramble into the last 16 of

Euro 2020 on a headspinning

night in

Copenhagen on Monday,

reports UNB.

Nine days after Denmark's

talisman Christian Eriksen

needed life-saving treatment

after suffering a cardiac

arrest in front of a stunned

Parken Stadium crowd, his

team mates duly delivered

on their promise to "do it for

Christian".

Needing victory to have

any chance of making

progressafter losing to

Finland and Belgium, it was

Eriksen's replacement

MikkelDamsgaard who lit

the touchpaper with a 38thminute

wonder goal, the first

act on a night of high drama.

When a dreadful mistake

by Russia's Roman Zobnin

allowed YussufPoulsen to

double the lead on the hour,

it looked as though fate was

smiling kindly on Denmark.

It was not that simple as

even a win would not have

been sufficient had Finland

avoided defeat by Belgium, a

match bizarrely being played

in St Petersburg.

The script took a dark turn

when Russia's giant striker

ArtemDzyuba converted a

penalty at almost the exact

moment a Belgium opening

goal was being disallowed by

VAR.

But everything turned out

alright in the end as Andreas

Christensen's screamer and

JoakimMaehle'slate effort

completed the demolition of

Russia and Belgium beat

Finland 2-0.

The stadium erupted and

beer filled the air at the final

whistle as Denmark

remained alive and kicking

in a tournament which just

over a week ago looked

trivial following Eriksen's

brush with death.

Denmark, Finland and

Russia all finished Group B

on three points, behind

Belgium, but the Danes

edged through on goal

difference and can now look

forward to taking on Wales

in Amsterdam while Russia

are going home.

Only fully vaccinated fans

to be allowed in Qatar

SPORTS DESK

Qatar will only allow people

fully vaccinated against

Covid-19 to attend next

year's World Cup and is in

talks to secure one million

doses in case global

immunisation efforts lag,

the prime minister said,

reports UNB.

The Gulf Arab state hosts

the four-week tournament

in November 2022 and the

president of global soccer

body FIFA has said the

matches would be held in

full stadiums.

Prime Minister Sheikh

Khalid bin Khalifa bin

Abdulaziz Al Thani told

newspapers that while most

countries were expected to

have vaccinated their

citizens by then, Qatar was

still taking measures to

ensure a successful event.

"We are currently

negotiating with a company

to provide one million doses

of Covid-19 vaccines in order

to immunize and vaccinate

some of those coming to

Qatar," he said in remarks

also carried by state news

agency QNA late on Sunday,

without identifying the firm.

It was not immediately

clear how those vaccines

would be offered. Most

coronavirus vaccines require

two doses administered

weeks apart.

Qatari officials had earlier

said they hoped to hold a

coronavirus-free

tournament and planned to

make vaccinations available

to attendees not already

immunized.

Keshav Maharaj's hat-trick

helps SA seal series 2-0

SPORTS DESK

KeshavMaharaj took a hat trick in his 5-36 to

lead South Africa to a 158-run win over West

Indies in the second Test and a 2-0 series

sweep on Monday, reports UNB.

Maharaj became just the second South

African and first in more than 60 years to

take a Test hat trick when he dismissed

Kieran Powell, Jason Holder and Joshua Da

Silva in the second to last over before lunch

on the fourth day.

West Indies was already under pressure

after fast bowler KagisoRabada's three

wickets at the top of the order.

But Maharaj hurried the home team's

demise in St. Lucia as it was all out for 165

before tea on the fourth day well off the

target of 324 set by South Africa.

Maharaj also wrapped it up when Jayden

Seales was caught out on the square leg

boundary to give the left arm spinner his

fifth. Roston Chase wasn't able to take his

place at No. 4 because of a leg injury

meaning West Indies had only nine

batsmen.

Maharaj's three in three balls started with

a key breakthrough when Powell holed out at

square leg for 51. Maharaj added the wickets

of Holder and Da Silva with Wiaan Mulders

low onehanded catch down to his right at leg

slip sealing the hat trick. It sent Maharaj

running and sliding soccer-style on his chest

on the grass in celebration.

The only previous South African to take a

hat trick in tests was Geoff Griffin against

England at Lords in 1960.

West Indies started the day 150 but lost

captain Kraigg Brathwaite (6) and Shai Hope

(2) quickly to the pace of Rabada.

Powell and Kyle Mayer's 34 who was

pushed up to No. 4 in place of Chase resisted

and their 64-run stand looked set to take

West Indies to lunch without any further

damage.

Mayer's error in trying to pull across the

line against Rabada and sending a catch

looping up for Dean Elgar let South Africa in.

From 90-2 West Indies slid to 109-6 in the

seven overs leading up to lunch West Indies

didn't make 200 in any of its four innings of

the series.

South Africa clinched its first series win

away from home since March 2017 and gave

Elgar a successful start in his first series since

being appointed captain.

KeshavMaharaj has become just the second South African to take a hat trick in

Test cricket..

Photo: AP

Diya earns invitation place

in Tokyo Olympics

SPORTS DESK

Diya Siddique will represent Bangladesh

along with five other athletes in the

upcoming Tokyo Olympics as the recurve

archer earned an invitation place for the

meet offered by Tripartite Commission on

Monday, reports UNB.

Diya will compete in the women's

individual and the mixed team events in the

Olympics. Ruman Shana, who became the

first Bangladeshi archer to qualify for the

event, will take part in the mixed team event

with Diya.

The other four participants from

Bangladesh are - swimmers Junaina Ahmed

and Ariful Islam, athlete Jahir Raihan and

shooter Abdullah Hel Baki.

Bangladesh Archery Federation General

Secretary KaziRajib Uddin Ahmed Chapal

told The Daily Sun that the commission

selected Diya based on her performance in

the individual event of the final qualification

tournament for the Olympics in Paris.

"(We) just received the official letter from

the commission. It is really great though it is

not a wild card entry. She got an invitation

place. I think the commission was impressed

by her today's (Monday) performance,"

Chapal said.

Along with Diya, MarlyseHourtou from

Tchad earned an invitation place in the

women's section while Areneo David from

Malawi and Nicholas D'Amour from Virgin

Islands received invitation places in the

men's section.

Diya, however, suffered elimination from

the recurve women's individuals after

conceding a 5-6 setpoints defeat to Slovenian

archer Ana Umer in the round of 16.

Coming from 0-4 setpoints behind, the

Bangladeshi archer equalised the scoreline

4-4 with two consecutive wins in the next

two sets.

However, Diya fell short of Ana in the tiebreaker

and lost the match by 5-6 set points.

Earlier, Diya beat Argentine archer

Florencia Leithold by 6-0 set points in round

of 24. Among other archers,

MahanazAkterMonera conceded 4-6

setpoints defeat to Philippines archer

Gabrielle Monica Bidaure and Beauty Ray

conceded 1-7 setpoints defeat to Switzerland

archer Simone Gerster in round of 24.

Earlier, both Bangladesh men's and

women's recurve teams got eliminated from

the meet after conceding defeats in their

respective events.

ICC should come up with formula

to find winner in case of drawn

WTC final: Gavaskar

SPORTS DESK

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar feels

the ICC should find a way to decide a winner

in case the rain-hit World Test

Championship final between India and New

Zealand here ends in a draw, reports UNB.

The ongoing match has been affected by

English weather with the opening and fourth

day washed out completely, while play has

been disrupted frequently due to bad light.

Even though there is a reserve day but with

no play possible for two out of the first four

days, the match might end in a draw if

inclement weather continues to play

spoilsport.

"There must be a formula to pick a winner

in case of a drawn World Test Championship

final. ICC's cricket committee should think

and then take a decision," Gavaskar told

'AajTak'.

There is unlikely to be any change in the

rules in this edition as the ICC had made it

clear last month that India and New Zealand

will share the trophy in case of a draw or a tie.

"It seems that the World Test

Championship final will end up as a draw

and the trophy will be shared. This will be the

first time that the trophy will be shared in a

final," Gavaskar said.

"To complete three innings in two days

would be really difficult. Yes, if both teams

bat really badly, the three innings could be

completed."

A total of 141.1 overs have been bowled so

far in the WTC final and with 196 overs still

left in the match, a result is possible if

weather permits.

The former skipper urged the ICC to find a

tie-breaker to determine a winner and cited

the examples of other sports such as football

and tennis.

WeDNesDAY, JUNe 23, 2021

10

Nisho, Tanha's thriller

'Kuasha' to release on Eid

TBT RepoRT

For the first time popular small

screen actor Afran Nisho and big

screen rising heroine Tanha

Tasnia will be seen in a dark

thriller story titled 'Kuasha'.

Directed by Vicky Jahed based

on the story of Afran Nisho.

The director said, 'This is a

dark thriller story. Nisho has

played a whole new character

that he has never played before,

about Tanha's character let's

remain it a secret.'

Regarding this content Afran

Nisho said, 'The idea of the story

is mine. We see different events

along the way, some stories come

to mind from those thoughts.

Vicky has turned my thoughts

into screenplays.'

He added, 'I have worked on

thriller stories before. Still a little

different this time; Psychothriller.

My character here is SB

Officer; here I have two forms. I

will not say more than that, the

audience will understand after

watching, this is my first job with

Tanha.

I hope the viewers will like the

work of this new pair.' The

drama, produced by Tiger Media,

is set to be released on a You

Tube channel this Eid.

TBT RepoRT

'Trish Bochhor Poreo' and 'Ami

Faisa Gechi'-famed popular

singer Hyder Husyn, who has

been mesmerising audience

over three decades, has come

up with a new song. The title of

the track is 'Bhabte Ki

LageBhalo'. Hyder himself has

written the lyrics of the single

while Anik Faisal has composed

it. Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal from

Warfaze band is the guitarist of

Hyder Husyn's new

song 'Bhabte Ki

LageBhalo' released

the track. 'Bhabte Ki Lage

Bhalo' was released on the

YouTube channel of Hyder

Husyn on Thursday night.

About the song, Hyder Husyn

said, "I've always written songs

on different social issues to

aware general people. Kamal

has beautifully depicted the

song's story through his guitar. I

hope the audience will like the

song."

Kamal also shared, "It's my

pleasure that I've worked with a

noted singer like Hyder Husyn.

Hopefully, music lovers will like

our work."

Anik Faisal said, "I and Hyder

have collaborated in many

projects before. His songs

always have a social message.

This song has also an important

message to the young audience.

We are planning to make a

music video for this song."

Hyder Husyn is a popular

singer, lyricist and composer of

the country. Through the song

'Trish Bochhor Poreo Ami

Shadhinota Takey Khujhchi'

has become a household name.

His other notable songs are

'Ami Faisa Gechi, 'Sharee',

'Keno Kichu Bolle Na?', '71

(Ekattor)', 'Burigonga', 'Nobo

Jagoron' and others.

Selena never felt equal in her past

relationships

Selena Gomez has witnessed a lot of

heartbreaks in her life. Her mosttalked-about

relationship remains to

be with Justin Biber. The duo had

been together on and off ever since

2010 to 2017. Apart from that, the

singer-actress has dated The Weeknd,

Zedd, Charlie Puth amongst others.

The beauty is now opening up about it

all and it may be upsetting for most of

her fans.

It isn't hidden that Selena has

witnessed a lot in her life. From the

media scrutiny to failed relationships,

depression and health issues, she's

conquered it all and how! She may be

single today, but it's because she

believes in self-love more than

anything else! Selena Gomez has

opened up about how she felt 'less

than' in her past relationships. The Rare

singer said, "I think most of my

experiences in relationships have been

cursed. I've been way too young to be

exposed to certain things when I was in

relationships. I guess I needed to find

what was that word for me, because I

felt so less than in past relationships,

and never really felt equal."

Selena Gomez even shared how she

wants to live her life 'rare.' She added,

"It wasn't even necessarily like: 'Oh, I

feel that way, let me sing it. It was

almost like: 'Actually, I need to feel

that way about myself.' I think that

my family, and my chosen family-I

feel like I'm surrounded by real

people."

Source: Times Of India

Sunerah in new web series

'Pachish'

TBT RepoRT

Sunerah Binte Kamal is a Bangladeshi

model, actress, and dancer. She won

National Film Award for Best Actress

for her debut film.

This National Film Award-winning

actress has played the lead role in the

Mahmud Didar-directed upcoming web

series titled 'Pachish'.

The shooting of the web series took

place in various places in Dhaka,

including Bihari Camp, Uttara, and

Savar. The web series revolves around a

young woman who grew up in a Bihari

camp. She gradually earned success in

business and ultimately got involved in

the underworld.

Regarding this Sunerah said, "The

character is more attractive than I

initially thought. It is a kind of crazy

character which the audience might

enjoy. I do not want to disclose anything

Sara brutally

trolled for wearing

ruffled sari

Sara Ali Khan gets trolled time

and again on social media. Back

in 2019, the Kedarnath actress

was brutally trolled for wearing a

ruffled saree and netizens

compared her to a Natraj pencil.

Read to know the details below.

Sara is really active on social

media and keeps entertaining

her fans every now and then

with interesting stories, pictures

and videos.

Sara Ali Khan shared a picture

wearing a ruffled saree for Hello

Magazine back in 2019. It was a

dramatic red and orange hue

saree and was designed by the

maestro's Abu Jani Sandeep

Khosla for their 'Candy'

collection.

The chiffon saree had an

extraordinary blouse with one

shoulder fan sleeve and that's

what got the netizens attention.

Sara Ali Khan donned black bold

kohl eyes with the entire look

and accessorised it with

danglers.

Meanwhile, recently in an

interview with News18, Sara Ali

Khan revealed her first reaction

when she was 'Abba' Saif Ali

Khan and Kareena Kapoor

Khan's newborn and said, "He

looked at me and smiled at me

and I just melted. He is just a ball

of cuteness. My running joke

with my father is that he's had a

child in every decade of his lifein

his 20s, 30s, 40s, and now he

is in his 50s. He is really very

lucky to enjoy four different

avatars of fatherhood (laughs).

This child is going to bring even

more joy and excitement to my

father and Kareena's life and I

couldn't be happier for them."

Source: Indian Express

about the plot but the work went well."

Shamol Mawla, Sayed Babu, Iyash

Rohan, and many others co-starred in the

web series. Director Didar wrote the

script based on a story by Kamrunnesa

Mira.

Didar had not been seen in any drama

or other works for a long time as he was

busy working on a film titled 'Beauty

Circus.' The film is yet to be released. He

said the work on 'Beauty Circus' is almost

done and that is why he returned with the

web series.

'Pachish' is being made for the OTT

platform Binge, he said. Sunerah won the

National Film Award 2019 for her debut

film 'No Dorai.' She has not been seen in

any major work since then.

However, she acted in a play of "Close

Up" and a short film by Nuhash Humayun

in the meantime. The short film has not

been released yet.

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.

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.


11

South Africa to host vaccine

tech transfer hub

GENEVA : South Africa will

host the continent's first

Covid-19 vaccine production

facility, as President Cyril

Ramaphosa said Monday

Africa now understood that

doses would "never come"

from elsewhere in time to

save lives.

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Ramaphosa joined the

World Health Organization

(WHO) and French

President Emmanuel

Macron in announcing the

new hub for Messenger RNA

coronavirus vaccine

technology.

But as the project will take

time to get off the ground, no

vaccines are expected from it

until next year.

At tech transfer hubs, the

technology is established at

industrial scale, while

interested manufacturers

can receive training and any

necessary licences to the

technology.

"The ability to

manufacture vaccines,

medicines and other healthrelated

commodities will

help to put Africa on a path

to self-determination,"

Ramaphosa told a WHO

virtual press conference via

video-link.

"It's been shown now that

we just cannot continue to

rely on vaccines that are

made outside of Africa

because they never come.

They never arrive on time

and people continue to die."

The hub is seen by the

Geneva-based WHO as a

way to combat the vast

inequality in access to

vaccines between the world's

wealthiest and poorest

nations.

WHO chief scientist

Soumya Swaminathan said

it could take nine to 12

months before Covid-19

vaccines could be produced

in South Africa using tested

and approved processes.

Under the tech transfer

hub system, the WHO and

its partners bring in the

production know-how,

quality control and

necessary licences to enable

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Bangladesh Forest Industries Development Corporation, Banashilpa Bhaban 73 Motijheel C/A Dhaka-1000

a rapid roll-out.

At the South African hub,

the bio-pharmaceutical

company Biovac will act as

developer; the Afrigen

biotechnology firm will be

the manufacturer; and a

consortium of universities

will provide the scientific

know-how.

Messenger RNA genetic

technology-as used in the

Pfizer-BioNTech and

Moderna coronavirus jabstrains

the body to reproduce

spike proteins similar to

those found on the

coronavirus. When exposed

to the real virus later, the

body recognises the spike

proteins and is able to fight

them off.

The WHO said it would

"continue its assessment of

potential mRNA technology

donors and will launch

subsequent calls for other

technologies, such as viral

vectors and proteins, in

coming months".

Kate Stegeman of Doctors

Without Borders (MSF) said

that "Moderna and

Pfizer/BioNTech must

immediately share their

mRNA technology with the

hub so that many more

mRNA vaccines can be

produced independently by

manufacturers in South

Africa and more broadly on

the African continent".

During a visit to South

Africa last month, Macron

said he was pushing for the

faster transfer of technology

to allow poorer countries to

start manufacturing their

own Covid-19 jabs.

It was a "great day for

Africa", said Macron.

"Each continent must be

able to develop and produce

its own vaccines, its own

medicines," he added.

"Action for global public

goods is the fight that this

century must uphold and

the fight that cannot wait."

Australia struggles to

quash persistent

coronavirus outbreaks

SYDNEY : Sydney was

battling a fresh Covid-19

cluster on Tuesday just as

Melbourne's latest outbreak

receded, highlighting

Australia's difficulty in

quashing persistent small

virus flare-ups.

Ten people were diagnosed

with Covid-19 in Sydney

overnight, taking the cluster

that first emerged in the city's

Bondi Beach area last week to

21 cases.

New South Wales state

Premier Gladys Berejiklian

said health officials expected

the outbreak in Australia's

most populous city to

continue growing in the

coming days, after several

people were infected in just

"fleeting" non-physical

contact with a case in a cafe

and a large shopping centre.

In response, the

government has reimposed

mandatory mask-wearing in

public transport and retail

outlets across much of

greater Sydney, but it has

stopped short of ordering a

lockdown.

The outbreak is thought to

have started when a man

who works as a driver for

international flight crews

contracted the highly

contagious Delta variant of

the virus, which was first

identified in India.

"We also need to recognise

that this Delta variant... is

actually a gold medallist

when it comes to jumping

from one person to another,"

Berejiklian told reporters in

Sydney.

It comes as restrictions on

Melbourne's five million

residents continued easing,

with new cases slowing to a

trickle in recent days.

New Zealand and several

Australian states have

announced the removal of

travel restrictions imposed

last month as dozens of cases

were detected in Melbourne

and the city endured a twoweek

lockdown.

An online discussion program on National Budget 2021-22 titled "Corona Budget

Thinking: Life and Livelihood" organized by the Department of Economics of Southeast

University (SEU) was held on Tuesday. M. A. Mannan, MP, Planning Minister,

Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was present as the Chief Guest at the

webinar. Prof. Dr. ANM Meshquat Uddin, Adviser, Board of Trustees of SEU Trust chaired

the program while Prof. Dr. AFM Mafizul Islam, Vice Chancellor of SEU delivered the

Keynote Speech. Dr. Fahmda Khatun, Executive Director, Center for Policy Dialogue

(CPD) delivered speech as the Guest of Honor. Prof. Dr. M A Hakim, Dean of the School of

Arts and Social Sciences delivered the Welcome Speech. Among others, Maj Gen Kazi

Fakhruddin Ahmed (Retd), Registrar, Deans, Chairmen, Directors, Faculty members,

Officials and students attended the program. The program ended with the vote of thanks

by Ms. Madiha Khan, Chairperson Department of Economics.

Photo : Courtesy

21 cases of COVID-19

'Delta plus' variant found

in Maharashtra: Minister

MUMBAI : Twenty one

cases of the 'Delta plus'

variant of COVID-19,

considered highly

infectious, have been found

in Maharashtra so far, state

Health Minister Rajesh

Tope has said.

The highest nine cases

were reported in Ratnagiri,

followed by seven in

Jalgaon, two in Mumbai,

and one case each in

Palghar, Thane and

Sindhudurg districts, Tope

told reporters on

Monday.He said 7,500

samples from different

parts of the state were

collected and sent for

laboratory testing.

These samples were

collected since May 15 and

their genome sequencing

was done, the minister

said.

Genome sequencing

allows the tracking of small

mutations in SARS-CoV2,

the virus that causes

COVID-19, meaning chains

of transmission can be

identified.

S(21)(181)

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DIU sets up 'Pilot

Training-6 Aircraft'

in Campus

Aiming to introduce students directly with

Aviation and Aeronautical technology,

Daffodil International University (DIU) has

set up a training aircraft titled 'Pilot Training-

6 Aircraft' at its campus at 'Mukto Akash'

Square at Daffodil Smart City, Ashulia, Dhaka.

Through this establishment another Feather

is added in the history of the university in field

of gaining practical knowledge on Aviation

and Aeronautical technology. The aircraft was

inaugurated by Immediate Past Chief of

Bangladesh Air Force Marshal

Masihuzzaman Serniabat, BBP, OSP, ndu,

psc, as the chief guest on Tuesday (June 22).

Dr. Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, Board of

Trustees, Professor Dr. SM Mahbub Ul Haque

Majumder, Acting Vice Chancellor, Md.

Mominul Haque Majumder,

Treasurer,Professor Dr. Engineer AKM Fazlil

Haque, Registrar, Major Arman Ali Bhuiyan

(Retd.), Peng, Director (Planning &

Development), Deans of various faculties and

Heads of Departments of Daffodil

International University were also present.

While inauguration, Air Chief Marshal

Masihuzzaman Serniabat said, "I don't know

whether any university campus in Bangladesh

has aircraft for display in front of the students.

This is an unprecedented addition. By

deploying this aircraft, Daffodil University has

taken itself into a new height. This enhance

will not only increase the beauty of the campus

but also arouse the curiosity of the students

knowledge. They will become interested in

aviation technology and aeronautical

engineering, etc. He added that the students

of this university will travel from star to

starone day, taking advantage of the

opportunity that is creating for its students to

gain first-hand knowledge of various

subjects.

Dr. Md. Sabur Khan said that this is for the

first time an aircraft has been installed in a

university campus in Bangladesh. Through

this, students will be able to gain direct

knowledge about the details of the aircraft. He

thanked the Bangladesh Air Force for their

unwavering support and was not possible to

land the aircraft on campus without their help.

He also said that more materials will be added

gradually in this Mukto Akash square of the

campus. Daffodil University does not believe

in providing traditional education. All

technological arrangements will be made on

campus so that students can learn by hand

and acquire knowledge of technology directly.

Wednesday, Dhaka, June 23, 2021, Ashar 9, 1428 BS, Zilqad 11, 1442 Hijri

Govt to spend Tk 4,167cr on 10

projects, Ecnec gives nod

DHAKA : The Executive Committee of

National Economic Council (Ecnec) on

Tuesday cleared 10 development projects

involving Tk 4,167 crore, reports UNB.

The approval came from the Ecnec

meeting held at the NEC conference

room here. Ecenc Chairperson and

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired

the meeting, joining it through a videoconference

from Ganobhaban.

"Today 10 projects, including seven

new ones, got approval. The overall estimated

cost of the projects is Tk 4,166.61

crore," said Planning Minister MA

Mannan at a press briefing.

Of the cost, Tk 4,125.82 crore will

come from the national exchequer,

while the rest Tk 40.79 crore from the

own funds of the organisations concerned,

he said. Among the projects,

four are under the LGRD and

Cooperatives Ministry, two each under

the Road Transport and Bridges

Ministry and the Education Ministry,

In Satkhira

hamlet, no resting

place for the dead

SATKHIRA : Arshad Ali Sana, a 78-

year-old resident of Pratapnagar village

in Ashashuni upazila, died at his

residence last week due to old-age

complications. He died at 11am on

Friday, but it was another 12 hours

before his family could bury him.

"We frantically searched for a proper

burial place in the entire village for

a good six-seven hours and then

decided to build a concrete structure at

the family graveyard to put the patriarch

to rest. It was basically an aboveground

burial," his son told UNB.

The reason behind the family's

ordeal-wet ground inPratapnagar village

that is making burials impossible,

causing further anguish for bereaved

families.

Residents say that the entire village

was inundated due to flash floods triggered

by incessant rainfall under the

impact of the devastating Cyclone

Yaas. Though the flood water has

started receding in some areas, it has

rendered the ground wet.

"My 34-year-old son died of a heart

attack last week. With no place for his

burial in the village, locals helped us

prepare a concrete grave with cement

and bricks to put him to rest," said a

grieving Shahidul Islam, whose son

Mahmudul passed away on Thursday.

Authorities pleaded helplessness.

Sheikh Jakir Hossain, Chairman of

Pratapnagar union, said, "A large portion

of the village is under water and

there is not a single higher ground left

for burial. So the local people are

building concrete graves to bury the

dead."

Hundreds of houses, farmlands and

roads were ravaged by Cyclone Yaas,

rendering thousands in the upazila

homeless. The cyclone made landfall

in eastern India and Bangladesh in the

last week of May.

one each under the Environment,

Forest and Climate Change Ministry

and the Power, Energy and Mineral

Resources Ministry.

The projects under LGRD and

Cooperatives Ministry are Development

of Important Rural Infrastructures in

Tangail Project involving an estimated

cost of Tk 865.64 crore; Development of

Rural Infrastructures in Gazipur District

with Tk 685 crore; Acquisition of necessary

lands for solid waste management

and construction of bus-truck terminals

in Gazipur City Corporation with Tk

782.25 crore; and Improvement of Safe

Water Supply and Sanitation System in

Rural Areas of Gopalganj District

Project involving Tk 261.34 crore.

The two projects under the Road

Transport and Bridges Ministry are

Development of Kabirhat-Chamir

Munshirhat-Sonaimuri Road and Senbagh-

Begumganj Gasfield-Sonaimuri Road under

Noakhali road division involving Tk 371.16

crore; and Support to Joydevpur-Debgram-

Bhulta-Madanpur road (Dhaka Bypass) PPP

(1st revised) Project with an additional cost

of Tk 438.24 crore.

Another two projects are under the

Education Ministry and those are

Development of Bangladesh University

of Professionals (1st phase) (1st revised)

Project involving an additional cost of

Tk 90.63 crore; and Development of

Bangladesh University of Processionals

(2nd revised) Project costing an additional

amount of Tk 346.32 crore.

Ecnec approved another project

under the Environment Ministry which

is Innovation of improved technology to

store 'Agar regin' in matured Agar Trees

involving Tk 67.92 crore and the rest

one is under the Power and Energy

Ministry. The project, 'Construction of

gas distribution pipeline network in

Rangpur, Nilphamari, Pirganj towns

and adjacent areas', involves Tk 258.11

crore.

Suspension of long-haul

bus services makes people's

journeys arduous

DHAKA : No long-distance bus was

allowed to leave or enter capital Dhaka

on Tuesday as the government

enforced tougher restrictions in an

effort to beat the deadly Coronavirus.

As many people were not aware

about the suspension of the bus services

on long routes, they thronged

Gabtoli, Syedabad and Abdullahpur

bus terminals on Tuesday morning to

catch buses to reach their destinations.

Some of them returned home after a

long wait and some others were seen

looking for alternative vehicles to

move to their destinations.

The decision to suspend the bus

services was taken on Monday night

after announcing a strict lockdown in

seven adjacent districts of Dhaka to

stop the transmission of Coronavirus

amid rising infections in different districts,

as it is believed to have been

caused by Delta variant.

The districts are Narayanganj,

Gazipur, Munshiganj, Manikganj,

Madaripur, Rajbari and Gopalganj

districts.

Akhter Hossain, traffic inspector at

Uttara's Rajlakkhi, said Gazipur is one

of the seven districts where lockdown

has been enforced. No long-route bus

left the city for Mymensingh and neither

one came from that district.

AC (traffic-Dasus Salam) Iftekharul

Islam said as Manikganj district has

gone under lockdown, no bus from the

southern part of the country neither

entered nor left Dhaka. Only the

movement of vehicles providing emergency

services is allowed.

AC (traffic-Jatrabari) Tariqul Islam

Masud said the movement of longroute

buses on Dhaka-Mawa highway

remained halted since Tuesday as

Munsiganj district is under lockdown.

The movement of long-route buses

on Dhaka-Chattogram highway

remained halted as Narayanganj went

under lockdown.

The lockdown in the seven districts

will remain in force until June 30 midnight.

Decision on SSC and

HSC exams soon:

Education Minister

DHAKA : Minister of Education Dr.

Dipu Moni has said that a decision

regarding SSC and HSC examination

would be announced soon, reports

UNB.

The education minister said this

while addressing a virtual program

on distributing stipends and tuition

fees among 43 lac students on

Tuesday. She also advised the students

not to be worried about SSC

and HSC examinations

She said, "We have published the

results of the SSC examination held in

2020 and evaluated HSC results in an

alternative method."

Sixteen students from 10 educational

institutions from four upazilas

took part in the virtual stipend giving

ceremony.

Deputy Minister for Education

Barrister Mahibul Hasan Chowdhury

was present as a special guest at the

ceremony.

It has been announced to cut off communication with Dhaka for nine days to prevent corona infection.

Any long distance vehicles are not leaving from Sayedabad bus terminal.

Photo : Star Mail

Quader calls for banning

easy bikes and batterypowered

rickshaws

DHAKA : Road Transport and Bridges

Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday

asked Dhaka Metropolitan Police and

the city corporations to be strict in banning

easy bikes and battery-powered

rickshaws in the capital, reports UNB.

The minister was addressing virtually

a board meeting of Dhaka Transport

Coordination Authority (DTCA) from

his official residence.

He advised the DTCA to finalize the

project proposal in consultation with

two city corporations of Dhaka for

upgrading the Eastern Bypass and

Western section of Inner Ring Road.

He also said that digging in the Dhaka

City Corporation areas without coordination

will not be allowed.

The minister urged the DTCA to

extend necessary cooperation to the

two mayors of Dhaka in this regard.

Govt declares two

'fisheries villages'

in country

DHAKA : The government has declared

two villages in the country as 'fisheries village'

and those would be developed as

ideal villages to be followed by other villages.

As per the instruction from the

Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock

(MoFL), the Department of Fisheries

(DoF) issued an announcement to this end

on Monday marking the Mujib Borsho.

Under the announcement, Dakshin

Bishiura village at Sadar upazila under

Netrokona and Haloishar village under

Naria upazila of Shariatpur will be

developed as prosperous villages under

the implementation of government

special programme 'My village, My city

(amar gram, amar sahar).

A plan has been taken for employment

generation and livelihood development

locally by extending various

opportunities, including infrastructure

development, fisheries and agro industries,

farm mechanization and agricultural

diversification under the programme,

said an official release.

Passenger vessel

movement suspended

in 7 districts

DHAKA : Authorities have suspended the

movement of all passenger vessels in

Narayanganj, Gazipur, Munshiganj,

Manikganj, Madaripur, Rajbari and

Gopalganj since Tuesday morning to curb

the spread of Covid in these districts.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport

Authority (BIWTA) announced its decision

to suspend the movement of

launches, speedboats and trawlers on

Monday, following the Cabinet

Division's circular on the imposition of

lockdown in seven districts.

According to a notification by BIWTA,

vessel movement from Dhaka to other

parts of the country will also remain suspended

during the period.

However, the restrictions won't apply on

the movement of cargo vessels and emergency

services. Legal action will be taken

against violators, said the notification.

RAJSHAHI : More than 60 percent of the

new Covid-19 patients admitted in Covid

unit in Rajshahi Medical College and

Hospital (RMCH) are from villages.

"We have admitted 56 patients in the

designated ward till 6 am on Tuesday and

34 of those are from villages showing

60.72 percent," said Brig Gen Shamim

Yazdani, Director of RMCH, while talking

to newsmen. On Monday, among 61

admitted patients, 36 were counted from

villages showing 59.02 percent, while on

Sunday, the tally percentage was 50.

Brig Shamim Yazdani said the fatality

rate among the village patients is more

and the grave situation is aggravating dayby-day.

The infection couldn't be restricted

due to lack of right decisions at the

right time so the number of infected

patients is breaking records every day, he

added.

He, however, said the time has not

A woman is

selling a mask

with a baby in

her lap. The

picture was

taken from New

Market area in

the capital on

Tuesday.

Photo : Star Mail

60 pc Covid-19 patients from

villages in Rajshahi: Expert

NATORE : Deputy Inspector General

(DIG) of Police Abdul Baten on Tuesday

assured COVID-19 patients for supplying

free oxygen within 10 minutes after

a phone call seeking oxygen.

"Police are being built with human

values. In addition to providing legal

assistance, police will supply oxygen to

COVID-19 patients, who are in need,

within 10 minutes after a phone call

seeking oxygen," he said this, while

inaugurating Natore district police oxygen

bank as the chief guest.

Abdul Baten said inhabitant under

municipal area of the district will get

free oxygen within 10 minutes of calling,

adding, "As frontline fighters,

ended. Side by side with the urban, attention

should be given on villages.

In addition to the administration and

health workers, public representatives,

political activists and volunteers should

come forward and work together.

Otherwise, the situation may be furthermore

alarming, he opined.

Brig Yazdani clarified that awareness

among the villagers is less compared to

the urban people. Despite symptoms they

hesitate to go for tests. "Only they are

coming to the hospital when they feel

worse. Then we have nothing to do for

them, they are dying," he added.

He told the journalists that 13 more

patients died in the Covid unit in the last

24 hours, climbing the total death figure

to 229 in the current month.

At present, 393 Covid-19 patients are

undergoing treatment against 309 beds

and of those 19 are in ICU.

Free oxygen to be delivered

in 10 minutes: DIG Baten

DHAKA : The High Court (HC) yesterday

upheld death sentence of three

people convicted in a case lodged over

the murder of fourth-grader Abu

Sayeed from Sylhet.

A High Court division virtual bench

of Justice Shahidul Karim and Justice

Md Akhtaruzzaman passed the order,

after holding hearing on the death reference

and jail appeals of the convicts.

The three convicts are - Ebadur

Rahman Putul, Nurul Islam Rakib and

Ataur Rahman Geda.

Sayeed, a student of class four of

Sylhet city's Raynagar Shah Mir

Primary School and son of Abdul

Matin of Raynagar area, was abducted

on March 11, 2015. His body was found

in a sack in the house of then police

constable Ebadur Rahman Putul in

police launched the service to ensure

oxygen supply of any citizen, who are

in need during the coronavirus pandemic."

He said Natore district police will

deliver oxygen to hospital or home by

calling 01320-124503.

Chaired by Superintendent of Police

Liton Kumar Saha, the function was

addressed, among others, by

Additional DIG Joydeb Bhadra and

Superintendent of Police Bureau of

Investigation Sharif Uddin.

The oxygen bank was initially set up

with a total of 51 cylinders, including 30

of 6.8 cubic meters and 21 of 1.36 cubic

meters.

HC upholds death of 3 convicts

in Sayeed murder case

Jhornarpar Sonatola area. A murder

case was filed in this regard.

Then Sylhet Kotwali Police Station

officer in-charge Mosharraf Hossain

on September 23, 2015, filed the

charge-sheet against four : Ebadur

Rahman Putul, Nurul Islam Rakib,

Mahib Hossain Masum and Ataur

Rahman Geda.

Sylhet Women and Children

Repression Prevention Tribunal on

November 30, 2015, pronounced the

judgement, sentencing death to Putul,

Sylhet Ulama League leader Rakib and

police source Geda. The court however,

acquitted Masum from the charge.

The death reference of the judgement

was sent to the High Court and

the convicts in the meantime, also filed

appeals against the verdict.

23-06-2021

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