26-08-2021

thurSday

DhAKA: August 26, 2021; Bhadra 11, 1428 BS; Muharram 16,1443 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.19; N o. 120; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

international

Biden holds to Kabul

August 31 deadline

despite criticism

>Page 7

SPortS

Scottish star

Robertson commits

to Liverpool

>Page 9

art & culture

Depp scores big win

over Amber as judge

rejects her bid

>Page 10

Next step of digital Bangladesh

is cashless society: Joy

Safiul alaM, Cox'S BazaR CoRReSpondenT

The court has withdrawn three members

of the police force for negligence.

This is due to the case of accused Officer

in Charge (OC) Pradeep was caught having

conversation through mobile phone

while testifying in the Sinha murder

case; A three-member investigation

committee has been formed into the

incident.

Cox's Bazar Superintendent of Police

Zohr

patients' interest in corona testing in Bagerhat's Mongla has reduced since the lockdown was

lifted, but the number of people receiving the vaccine has increased. photo : Star Mail

DU plans to reopen

residential halls

limitedly from Oct

TBT RepoRT

The progress made in bringing the students

of Dhaka University under the vaccination

program and the promising development of

the overall corona situation of the country is

that the residential halls of the University are

planned to be open limitedlyfrom October

2021 for the concerned residential students

on priority basis, a press release said.

Therefore, all the students who have not

yet come under the immunization program,

are kindly advised to inform the ICT

Solar Media Authority of DU on 15th Sept.

These plans were adopted at a special

meeting of the Deans Committee held at

Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate

Bhaban on Tuesday. Vice-Chancellor Prof.

Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman presided over the

meeting. There are plans to open the residential

halls for the first phase 4th year (honors)

and master's students and the second phase

1st, 2nd and 3rd year (honors) students.

It is to be noted that if all students are

not covered under the vaccination program,

then reopening halls and classed

will be halted. Online classes and test

activities will continue.

OC Pradeep's mobile conversation during

court proceedings caught on camera

04:21 AM

12:05 PM

04:33 PM

06:28 PM

07:42 PM

5:37 6:24

Mass Vaccination in Bangladesh

Administering 2nd dose

to start on Sept 7

Mohammad Hasanuzzaman confirmed

the information at 12 noon on

Wednesday.He did not give the names of

the withdrawn policemen, but said they

included an ATSI and two constables.

Additional Superintendent of Police

Pankaj Barua of the district police office

has been made the head of the threemember

investigation committee, the

superintendent of police said. Besides,

two officers with the rank of Assistant

Superintendent of Police (ASP) have

been included in the committee.

One of the accused in the case, Pradeep

Kumar Das, a sacked former OC of Teknaf

Police Station, sat on a bench and spoke to

an unidentified person on his mobile

phone during the court proceedings on

the first day of testimony in the Sinha

murder case on Monday (August 23).

A picture of OC Pradeep sitting on the

court bench talking on his mobile phone

was spread on social media.This image

has gone viral through various social

media over the last two days. There was

a storm of discussion at various levels

including the court and the police.

OC Pradeep was wearing a black vest

when he appeared in court on Monday,

the first day of testimony in the Sinha

murder case. His image, which has spread

through social media, also shows that he

was wearing a black vest. And when he

appeared in court on the second day,

Pradeep was wearing a pink vest.

DHAKA : The government will start

administering the second dose of

Covid-19 vaccine under its mass vaccination

campaign on Sep 7, according to

the chief of the Directorate General of

Health Services (DGHS).

Director General of DGHS Professor

Dr Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid

Alam disclosed the matter while talking

to reporters after an event at the Central

Medical Stores Depot (CMSD) auditorium

on Wednesday.

"Administering the 2nd dose won't be

a problem as we'll have available stocks

by then," he reassured.

Responding to a question whether the

jab seekers can walk in to their vaccination

centers without SMS from the concerned

authorities, he replied that details

on the second dose will be elaborated

after a meeting within the high officials of

DGHS and the health ministry.

Dr Abul Bashar also claimed that the

first phase of the mass vaccination campaign

has been a huge success apart

from a few isolated incidents.

He also informed that around 60 lakh

doses of Pfizer vaccine will arrive in the

country soon. He mentioned that they

have received 561 ventilators from

friendly sources which would soon be

dispatched to 300 Covid designated

hospitals across the country.

Bangladesh on August 7 kicked off its

mass vaccination drive aimed at inoculating

as many adults as possible in a

short period of time.

However, on Monday, Health

Minister Zahid Maleque said that

Bangladesh will not conduct any new

mass Covid inoculation drive as the

supply of vaccine doses is much lower

than the demand.

"No more mass inoculation drives

will be held in the country now as we do

not have adequate vaccines in hand and

we'll not use the word 'mass' in future,"

he told reporters at the Secretariat.

Arrest warrant issued

against Khandaker

Mushtaq's son

CUMILLA : A Cumilla court on

Wednesday issued a warrant to arrest

Khandaker Ishtiaq Ahmed Babu, son

of the key conspirator of the killing of

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in a case

lodged over fraud.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Md

Golam Mahbub Khan of Cumilla 3rd

Cognizance Court issued the warrant,

asking Daudkandi Police Station to

execute the order.

Khandaker Mushtaq's relative

Khandaker Jabir Ahammed Sarwar

filed the case against Khandaker

Ishtiaq Ahmed Babu, who is living in

Canada, his son Iftekhar Ahmed Shad

and caretaker Nizamuddin, last year.

According to the case documents,

Khandaker Ishtiaq Ahmed Babu kept all

the properties left by his late grandfather

Khandaker Kabir Uddin under his control

by force, denying all the other heirs

of the family.

He has a gang of local goons, which is

controlled by his caretaker Nizamuddin.

Babu allegedly sold many family lands

by making forged documents.

"He is depriving us of our rights in

the family property. Babu is leading

this gang in the Doshpara area sitting

in Canada. Nizamuddin is executing

all his orders here," plaintiff

Khandaker Jabir Ahammed Sarwar

told BSS.

DHAKA : Prime Minister's ICT Affairs

Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy yesterday

said that the next step of digital

Bangladesh is building a cashless society

to ensure transparency, accountability

and mobility in financial transactions.

"The next dream of digital Bangladesh is

to make a cashless society. The blaze service

is a part of the cashless society," he said

while inaugurating the blaze service as the

chief guest at a virtual function.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed

Palak and Bangladesh Bank Deputy

Governor Jamal Ahmed joined the function

as special guests while Chairman of the

Sonali Bank Board of Directors Ziaul Hasan

Siddiqui gave the concluding remarks.

CEO and Managing Director of the

Sonali Bank Limited Md. Ataur Rahman

Prodhan delivered the welcome speech.

The blaze service, a joint initiative of

Sonali Bank, Homepay and ITCL, will

reduce the tendency of sending money

through 'hundi' and will increase further

the country's foreign exchange reserves,

official sources said.

Through the service, the hard earned

Covid-19

Positivity rate reduces

further to 14.76 %

DHAKA : Bangladesh logged 114 Covid-

19 deaths in 24 hours until Wednesday

morning amid a steady decline in both

cases and positivity rate raising hope for

further improvement.

This was for the second consecutive

day the number of fatalities stood at 114,

the lowest in last two months.

The number of fresh Covid cases is

also seeing a downtrend as 4,966 people

were tested positive during this time

compared to 5,249 in the previous day.

The fresh number pushed the country's

total fatalities to 25,627 while the

cases reached 1,477,930, according to

the Directorate General of Health

Services (DGHS).

The country last saw 112 Coronavirusrelated

deaths on June 29 and the fatalities

jumped to 264 on August 5 and 10 when

the country was under a strict lockdown.

The latest cases were detected after

testing 33,640 samples during the last

24 hours, which reduced the daily case

positivity rate to 14.76 % from Tuesday's

15.12% and Monday's 15.54 %, said the

DGHS. The recovery rate rose to

94.02%, but the case fatality remained

unchanged at 1.73 % compared to the

same period.

money of expatriates from any part of the

world will be able to send easily and safely

within just five seconds in any time to the

country through the blaze service. Sonali

Bank Limited is the first in the banking

sector of Bangladesh to introduce such

activities. As a result, expatriates will be

able to send their money easily and the

beneficiaries will be able to withdraw the

money from their own banks quickly, the

sources added.

In his speech, Joy said under the

strong leadership and direction of Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has

achieved significant success in the development

of IT sector in the last 12 years as

part of building a "Digital Bangladesh".

Information technology has changed

the way of people's living and the economy

around the world and the current situation

caused by the COVID-19 epidemic

has multiplied the need and importance of

information technology, he added.

He informed that Bangladesh's economy

has not faced impact of Covid-19 as

the country adopted the digitization long

ago. Due to digitization, he said,

Cabinet body okays proposal for

setting up 42,500 solar systems

DHAKA : The Cabinet Committee on

Public Purchase on Wednesday approved

four proposals including one for installing

42,500 solar systems in the country's three

hill districts, reports UNB.

Of these, 40,000 are solar home systems

(SHS), each having 100 watt-peak capacity,

while the remaining 2,500 are solar community

systems, each having 320 watt-peak

capacity. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa

Kamal presided over the meeting.

According to officials, the Parbatya

Chattagram Unnayan Board (PCUB)

under the Ministry of Chittagong Hill

Tracts Affairs (MCHTA) will install solar

home and community systems at a cost of

Tk 204.37 crore.

Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory

(BMTF) Ltd, an enterprise of Bangladesh

Army, won the contract through direct

procurement method (DPM) to supply

and install the solar systems.

Under the DPM, any government entity

can purchase any product or service

through negotiation without any bidding

process. A senior official at MCHTA said

that the same proposal was approved by

the Cabinet body on April 29 to award the

contract to Border Guard of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is performing well than the

other countries during the Covid pandemic.

Bangladesh started various activities,

including video conferencing and e-filling,

long ago, just during the Covid pandemic,

the country is actively utilizing it,

he added.

In the last 12 years, the ICT Division

has achieved unimaginable success in

the banking sector and financial sector

of Bangladesh, including financial inclusion,

official sources said.

Due to information technology alone,

there are now about four crore mobile

banking customers in the country and

the daily turnover of mobile banking is

around Taka 2, 300 crore.

The monthly turnover under BEFTN,

RTGS and BACH was Taka 54,490

crore, Taka 1,44,411 crore and Taka

89,063 crore respectively. Besides, the

monthly transactions through ATMs,

POS and IBFT under NPSB amount is

around Taka 1,725 crore, Taka 138 crore

and Taka 542 crore respectively, the

sources added.

(BGB) Welfare Trust in the same process.

"But after objections from the Ministry

of Home Affairs, the contract was cancelled

and later awarded to BMTF through

negotiation", he added.

Contacted Kazi Mokhlesur Rahman,

Deputy Secretary of the MCHTA, said

about 40,000 families at the off-grid

remote areas will benefit from the solar

home systems.

He said the government will provide the

solar systems to the families free of cost

which will enable a consumer to use four

LED bulbs, each having 3 watt capacity, a

mobile recharging panel, a 12 volt fan and

a small TV. There will be a battery to provide

5-6 hours backup power supply for

the solar system.

The committee approved a proposal of

the National Curriculum and Textbook

Board (NCTB) of the Education Ministry

to award a contract for printing and supply

of about 1.68 crore textbooks for students

of different classes at a cost of Tk 59.36

crore. Six bidders won the contract.

The committee approved two separate

proposals of the Bangladesh Chemical

Industries Corporation under the Ministry

of Industries for import of bulk fertilizer.

The low-lying parts of Chattogram city have again gone under knee-high to waist-deep

water, severely disrupting the lives of the city dwellers due to heavy rainfall accompanied

by the gusty wind.

photo : Star Mail

ThurSDAY, AuGuST 26, 2021

2

Issa bin Youssef Al-Dahilan, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh met Textile and Jute

Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi yesterday.

Photo : Courtesy

PM to inaugurate ‘Bhumi Bhaban’

soon: Saifuzzaman

DHAKA : Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina will

inaugurate the Bhumi

Bhaban Complex at

Tejgaon in the capital in

September, said Land

Minister Saifuzzaman

Chowdhury.

He made the remarks

while inspecting the latest

progress of the building

yesterday, said a release.

During her visit to the

Ministry of Land on 18

September 2014, Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina

directed all the

departments and agencies

serving the Ministry of

Land to come under one

roof and take steps to

provide 'One Stop Service'

to the people.

Under her direction, an

initiative was taken to

construct a land building

complex to accommodate

all the offices and agencies

under the Ministry of Land.

The Land Reform Board,

Land Appeal Board and

Land Records and Survey

Department under the

Ministry of Land were

located at different places in

Dhaka city.

The location of these

offices in the same building

will facilitate the process of

land related services, added

the release.

Land Secretary Md

Mostafizur Rahman, Md.

Khaled Hossain, Project

Director of Bhumi Bhaban,

Supervising Engineer of

Public Works Project

Circle-1, Zahida Khanam,

Acting Chairman, Land

Reforms Board, Md.

Moazzem Hossain, Director

General, Land Records and

Survey Department,

Pradeep Kumar Das,

Additional Secretary, Land

Ministry, Satinath Basak,

Supervising Engineer,

Public Works Department

and concerned officials of

the departments, agencies

and public works

department were also

present during the land

minister's visit to the

project area.

A day-care center has

been set up at Bhumi

Bhaban Complex for the

convenience of working

women. Also, the building

is facilitated with sewerage

treatment plant system.

A Bangabandhu Corner

and Mural of Father of the

Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

have been established in the

complex.

The estimated cost of the

project is around Taka 180

crore.

58 more test

positive for

COVID-19

in Bhola

BHOLA: A number of 58

more persons were diagnosed

with COVID-19 positive in the

last 24 hours in the district

after testing 262 samples at

Bhola 250-bed General

Hospital COVID-19

laboratory, reports BSS.

Among the new positive

cases, 44 are in Sadar upazila,

four in Borhanuddin upazila,

three in Lalmohan upazila,

three in Tajumuddin upazila,

one in Daulatkhan upazila

and three in Charfashion

upazila of the district, civil

surgeon of the district Dr. K

M Shafiquzzaman, told BSS

last afternoon.

The total number of

infected people in the district

stood at 6,262 while the

number of recovery cases at

5,334, the civil surgeon said.

Meanwhile, a total of 53

patients recovered from

COVID-19 in the last 24 hours

in the district.

A total of 79 persons have

so far died of COVID-19 in the

district, he added.

Dr. K M Shafiquzzaman

said infected 44 persons are

now undergoing treatment at

Bhola 250-bed General

Hospital, rest of the infected

persons are now undergoing

treatment at home

quarantine under the

supervision of doctors from

their respective upazila health

complexes.

The health expert of the

district urged all to follow the

health rules strictly and use

masks to prevent the spread

of the lethal virus.

He urged everyone to be

more aware to prevent this

lethal infection.

Bangabandhu's ideal

is base of developed

Bangladesh: Nasrul

DHAKA : State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral

Resources Nasrul Hamid on Wednesday said the ideal of Father

of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the

base of building a developed 'Sonar Bangla'.

"Bangladesh will turn into a prosperous and developed

country on the base of the Vision-2021 and Vision-2041," he

said while inaugurating 'Mujib Corner' at corporate office of the

North-West Power Generation Company Ltd on virtual

platform on the occasion of Mujib Borsho.

Chaired by power secretary and also chairman of North-West

Power Generation Company Ltd. Md Habibur Rahman, the

programme was also addressed, among others, by Chairman of

Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Engineer Md

Belayet Hossain and Managing Director and Chief Executive

Officer of North-West Power Generation Company AM

Khorshedul Alam.

Nasrul Hamid said the more the contribution of Father of the

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will be

publicized the more patriotism will develop among the next

generations.

"Hundred percent electrification in Bangladesh is almost

achieved and the contribution of North-West Power Generation

Company in this huge work is also commendable," he said.

He suggested giving importance to customer services and

adopting coordinated steps for power and energy saving.

GO-NGO efforts for maintaining

urban cleanliness stressed

RANGPUR : Mayor of Rangpur Mostafizar

Rahman Mostafa yesterday stressed on

engaging joint GO-NGO efforts to ensure better

garbage management in urban areas for

maintaining cleanliness to improve the

environment. Mostafa said this while receiving

14 mobile garbage vans from World Vision

Bangladesh (WVB), an NGO, in a function held

on the City Bhaban premises in the metropolis

as the chief guest.

The NGO under its Area Development

Programme handed over the garbage vans to

Rangpur City Corporation (RpCC) to collect

household wastes for quicker disposal to

protect the environment from pollution and

maintain cleanliness in the city.

With Rangpur APC manager of WVB Anukul

Chandra Barman in the chair, its Finance

Officer Subhas Halder, Programme Officer

Linda Defo, City Councilor Saiful Islam Fulu

and other officials and employees of RpCC

were present. Speaking on the occasion, Mayor

Mostafa termed sound health as the most

important wealth and stressed on timely

disposal of household wastes to the fixed places

for keeping the city clean and safe to improve

the environment. "We must keep the air fresh

for ensuring sound health of every citizen,"

Mostafa said and sought cooperation of all

concerned in maintaining cleanliness at

houses, institutions, homesteads and open

places of the city.

Noakhali's Begumganj police arrested five terrorists with firearms. They were arrested

from Satkania in Chittagong district on Tuesday night. Photo : Manik Bhuyan

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GD-1235/21 (5x3)

Standing Committee

on defence ministry

meets

DHAKA : The 14th meeting of

the Standing Committee on

the Ministry of Defense of the

Eleventh Jatiya Sangsad was

held at the Jatiya Sangsad

Bhaban on Wednesday under

the chairmanship of

committee chairman

Mohammad Subid Ali

Bhuiyan.

Committee members -

Muhammad Faruk Khan, M

Ilias Uddin Mollah, M

Motahar Hossain, M Nasir

Uddin, M Mahibbur Rahman

and Begum Nahid Izahar

Khan participated in the

meeting.

The meeting reviewed the

progress of the decisions of

the 13th meeting, said a press

release.

The committee discussed

DGFI's telecommunications

and ICT infrastructure,

human resources, and

technical capacity projects,

recommending completion of

the activities of the project as

soon as possible.

GD-1234/21 (5x4)

ThuRSDAY, AuGuST 26, 2021

3

LGRD Minister Tajul Islam addressing 11th inter-ministry meeting at the meeting room of Local

Government Division.

Photo : Courtesy

Two drug dealers arrested with

10 thousand pieces of yaba

SHAFIqUL ISLAM (SHAFIq)

Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP)

Detective Branch has arrested two drug

dealers along with 10,000 pieces of yaba in a

raid in Uttara area of the capital. The

arrested are- Md. Manik Mia and Mst. Kaniz

Fatema Lipi. The Detective Uttara Zonal

Team raided the Abdullahpur area of Uttara

West Police Station at 7:30 pm on Tuesday

(August 24) and arrested them. Additional

Deputy Commissioner of Police

Badruzzaman Zillu, who led the operation,

said some drug dealers were reportedly

stationed in front of the Green Line transport

counter at Abdullahpur in Uttara West

Police Station to sell yaba. Based on this

information, Manik and Fatima were

arrested with 10,000 pieces of yaba.

Regarding the information obtained

during the preliminary interrogation, he said

that the arrested persons were staying to sell

the seized yaba. A case has been filed against

them in this regard at Uttara West Police

Station. He said Lipi's home is in Cox's

Bazar. She and her family are involved in the

DHAKA : University Teachers'

Network on Tuesday urged the

authority to reopen

universities from first week of

September otherwise they

announced to hold symbolic

classes in open spaces

protesting the closure, reports

UNB.

They proposed a roadmap

on how to reopen campuses

gradually during a virtual

press conference conducted by

Dhaka University Prof Gitiara

Nasreen.

According to the roadmap,

the residential halls should be

reopened immediately (from

September 1) for honours and

masters students. Once their

exams are over, the other

batches should get residential

facilities step by step.

"No examination can be

taken without ensuring

residential facilities. Students

who will stay in the halls and

those who will come from

home should participate in

exams in separate rooms to

curb Covid-19 transmission,"

said Chittagong University

Assistant Professor Maidul

Islam while presenting the

keynote paper.

After completion of the

exams, there could be a

"hybrid system", where

students should get the

opportunity to participate in

classes-both online and offline.

Fifty percent of the students

could join online and rest

could start regular classes in

the classroom.

"If a student falls ill, he/she

can join online," Maidul Islam

added.

According to the keynote

paper, Covid-19 testing and

vaccination for students

should be installed at campus

medical centres on a priority

basis. The capacity of medical

centres, along with isolation

facility, should be upgraded.

The University Teachers'

Network also demanded

starting an online teachinglearning

management system

yaba business. Her husband is in jail on

charges of involvement in the yaba business.

Lipi was running Yaba's business in the

absence of her husband. On the other hand,

Manik Miah's house is in Bogra. He has also

been involved in the yaba business for a long

time. Manik was responsible for selling the

Yaba consignment.

Moreover, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police

(DMP) has arrested 61 people in the last 24

hours for selling and consuming drugs in

anti-drug operations in different areas of the

capital. During the arrest, 10,567 pieces of

yaba, 283 grams of heroin, 6 kg 700 grams of

marijuana and 5 cans of beer were recovered

from them. DMP Media and Public

Relations Deputy Commissioner of Police

(DC) Md. Farooq Hossain said that as part of

the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's regular

anti-drug drive, they raided various police

stations in the capital from 6 am on 24

august (Tuesday) to 6 am on Wednesday and

recovered drugs. Forty cases have been filed

against the arrested under the Narcotics

Control Act.

Univ Teachers’ Network to

hold classes under open

sky if unis don't reopen

DHAKA : Bangladesh

Garment Manufacturers

and Exporters Association

(BGMEA) President

Faruque Hassan has said

journalists are genuine

heroes who have been

working with great courage

and sincerity despite health

risks amid the Covid-19

pandemic, reports UNB.

"They are playing a very

important role in informing

public about the impact of

the virus and dispelling

misinformation. They

deserve our immense

gratitude," he said.

The BGMEA chief made

remarks while handing over

25000 masks for journalists

to President of Dhaka

Reporters Unity (DRU)

Mursalin Nomani on

Wednesday.

BGMEA Vice President

Md. Nasir Uddin, Director

Md. Mohiuddin Rubel,

General Secretary of DRU

Mosiur Rahaman Khan and

Organizing Secretary of

DRU Mynul Hasan Sohel

were also present at the

ceremony held at BGMEA

office.

Faruque Hassan said

following health safety

guidelines, especially

wearing masks is a must to

minimize the risks Covid-19

for teachers and a separate

committee in each university

to train them. They demanded

measures necessary for mental

wellbeing of teachers and

students and high-speed

internet at low cost.

Teachers also demanded

identifying students who drop

out and make arrangements

for their safety net.

Moreover, some students of

Dhaka University on

Wednesday protested the long

closure and demanded

immediate reopening of

Dhaka University.

The protesters threatened to

go for tougher movement if the

university authority continue

remaining closure.

"Universities failed to draw a

roadmap to reopen

universities. we want to say,

reopen campuses immediately

or we will go for tougher

movement," protesters said at

a human chain held at the base

of Raju memorial sculpture at

the university.

infection and spread while

there is no alternative to

mass vaccination to combat

the pandemic.

DRU President Mursalin

Nomani expressed his

thanks to BGMEA for

recognizing the importance

of health safety of journalists

and giving the masks to

them.

Going beyond business

promotion, BGMEA also

believes in responsibility

towards society and is

actively engaged in activities

for the greater good of the

society, said the apex body of

the apparel industry.

Considering the

278 dengue

patients

hospitalised

in 24 hours:

DGHS

DHAKA : A total of 278 fresh

dengue cases were reported

across the country in the last

24 hours.

Of them, 230 were

admitted to different

hospitals in Dhaka and 48

outside the capital, a release

of the Health Crisis

Management and Control

Room of Directorate

General of Health Services

(DGHS) said here yesterday.

A total of 1,190 dengue

patients are undergoing

treatment at different

hospitals and clinics across

the country.

Among them, 987 patients

are taking treatment in

Dhaka division and 103 are

hospitalised outside the

capital, the release added.

A total of 8,853 patients

have been admitted to

different hospitals across the

country since January this

year. Of them, 7721 patients

have returned home after

recovery, the DGHS said.

The Institute of

Epidemiology Disease

Control and Research

(IEDCR) confirmed that 40

deaths have so far reported

due to dengue fever.

DUJ demands steps to

protect Altaf Mahmud's

grave from river erosion

DHAKA : Dhaka Union of

Journalists has called for

protecting the grave of noted

journalist Altaf Mahmud

from erosion of Ramnabad

River in Patuakhali district,

reports UNB.

The call came at a DUJ

meeting presided over by its

president Kuddus Afrad.

Altaf was buried at his

village home in Galachipa of

Patuakhali district after his

death in Dhaka in 2016. He

was the former president of

pro-Awami League faction

of Bangladesh Federal

Union of Journalists.

The meeting also

demanded that a dam is

built in the river to protect

the area from erosion.

Journalists deserve immense gratitude: BGMEA President

unprecedented crisis caused

by the Covid-19 pandemic in

Bangladesh, BGMEA has

come forward with its

limited resources to extend

its support to frontliners and

the poor people who were hit

hard.

In the wake of Covid-19

pandemic the trade

association has donated

more than 1o lakh pieces of

face masks to frontliners

including doctors, nurses,

hospital workers, law

enforcement agencies,

journalists and many other

emergency service

providers.

Workshop on disaster risk

reduction held in city

Strengthening Urban

Resilience project (SURP) II

of Community Participation

and Development (CPD),

with technical support of

Save the Children arranged a

workshop on the role of

government and nongovernment

organizations in

the implementation of

disaster risk reduction plans

and the phase out ceremony

at a time on 24 August

2021,Tuesday at hotel

Nascent Gardenia,

Baridhara with the presence

of Dhaka north City

Corporation (DNCC)

officials, representatives

from BGMEA, BKMEA,

WASA, TITAS, Ward

disaster management

committees, Urban

community volunteers and

media persons.

The event was chaired by

the secretary of DNCC, Md.

Masud Alam Siddique and

Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury visited the Bhumi Bhavan Complex at Tejgaon in the capital

on Wednesday.

Photo : Courtesy

DU asks students

to provide their

vaccination status

DHAKA : Dhaka University

students have been asked to

provide information

regarding Covid-19

vaccination by logging in

with their institutional e-

mail account.

If they face any trouble

while doing this, they were

also asked to communicate

with the respective

department or the admin of

the institutional email

accounts, said a press

release issued from Dhaka

University on Wednesday.

Since the information

about vaccination that was

emailed to the ICT cell

earlier couldn't be linked to

the database, students

would need to provide the

information from their

respective profiles by

logging in through the

institutional e-mail ID at the

following address:

as a chief guest Md. Selim

Reza, Chief Executive

Officer, Dhaka North City

Corporation. The SURP-II

team handed over the

disaster management plans

of the respective wards to the

city corporation authority in

the event and they assured

for linking up the plans with

the city corporation disaster

management plan and

proper budget allocation for

the intervention of disaster

management plans. Both

the chair and chief guest

appreciated

the

interventions

of

Strengthening Urban

Resilience project

(SURP)IIand highly

acknowledged the

contribution of the project in

reducing the disaster risks of

Dhaka city. They wished

good luck for Save the

Children and it's

implementing partner CPD

Razzaque urges big companies

to invest in agro-processing

DHAKA : Agriculture

Minister Dr M Abdur

Razzaque yesterday urged

the big companies to invest

in agro- processing in order

to make marketing and

supply chain of the agro

products stronger.

"Surplus rice and other

crop productions are

common in the country,

but marketing and supply

system is very much weak

and so far has not been

developed," he said.

The minister made this

comment while addressing

a discussion titled 'Food

security in pandemic and

ensuring supply', virtually

connecting to the

programme from the

Secretariat yesterday

morning.

"Balanced and

sustainable marketing

system will never develop,

and look further scopes to

work together with Save the

Children.

In his concluding remarks,

the secretary of DNCC

(Deputy Secretary),

Mohammed Masud Alam

Siddique said that due to

geographic location, the

entire country is prone to

natural disasters. Again, the

type and frequency of the

disasters are different in the

last decades. In all cases,

mostly the children are at

risk

Strengthening Urban

Resilience project II is

working to enhance the

capacities of urban systems,

institutes, and communities

by providing knowledge,

skills, and equipment to

reduce urban disaster risks

which is supported by

European Civil Protection

and Humanitarian Aid

Operations (ECHO).

Protest in Chattogram over construction

of elevated expressway

CHATTOGRAM : A large number of people

joined a human chain here to protest the

construction of an elevated expressway

connecting the city's Lalkhan Bazar with

Chattogram airport that they say threaten to

destroy the beauty of historical sites and hills in

the famed Tiger Pass area.

The protest was organised by Chattogram

Heritage Protection Council at the Tiger Pass

square, braving torrential rain and

waterlogging.

Speaking on the occasion, former mayor

Mahmudul Islam Chowdhury, chairman of the

Heritage Protection Council said ," Tiger Pass

has a tradition of hundreds of years. It is a gift

of nature. But those who are up to destroy it are

wasting government money. We have now

taken to the streets to petition for the

protection of this Tiger Pass."

He sought the intervention of the prime

minister to ensure that Tiger Pass is not

covered with concrete debris, ignoring public

opinion.

Journalist-writer Jasim Chowdhury Sabuj,

member secretary of the council, said that the

city mayor of Chittagong has written to the

Chattogram Development Authority to protect

the natural beauty of Tiger Pass.

He also informed the mayor is contacting the

high-ups of the government over the matter

and urged the CDA to suspend construction

work until further notice from the fire service.

Liberation War researcher Dr. Mahfuzur

Rahman said that the demand of not

constructing a flyover or similar establishment

at Tiger Pass has become a popular issue.

"It won't be wise for the concerned

authorities to construct something by bluntly

disregarding public opinion," he added.

if big companies do not

come forward for

agriculture processing," he

said at the function,

organized by Dhaka

Chamber of Commerce

and Industry (DCCI).

Razzaque said marketing

becomes a problem when

farm goods production

ultimately rises, saying that

"country's mango and

potato production is higher

this year, but the price is

lower. Growers are now

unable to sell the potato."

But large scale

manufacturing of

processed foods-like

mango juice, jelly and

potato chips through

mango and potato

processing would not

create any problem in

marketing and make the

growers financially gainers.

Food Secretary Dr Mst

HC cautions

former Kushtia SP

for misbehaving

with magistrate

DHAKA : The High Court

(HC) on Wednesday warned

former superintendent of

police (SP) in Kushtia SM

Tanvir Arafat for

misbehaving with senior

judicial magistrate Mohsin

Hasan while on their

election duty on January 16.

A High Court division

virtual bench of Justice

Mamnoon Rahman and

Justice Khandaker

Diliruzzaman passed the

order, discharging a rule it

had issued earlier in this

regard.

"The court warned SM

Tanvir Hasan to be careful in

discharging his professional

duties in future," Deputy

Attorney General Amir Das

Gupta told BSS.

Advocate Munshi

Moniruzzaman defended

the police official before the

court, while Advocate Ishrat

Hasan argued against him.

SM Tanvir Hasan, now

posted in Barisal,

misbehaved with senior

judicial magistrate Mohsin

Hasan on January 16 at

Bheramara Pilot Model

High School.

The High Court on

January 20 asked the then

Kushtia superintendent of

police to appear before it at

10:00am on January 25 to

explain his conduct. The

court also issued a rule on

suo moto, asking the SP to

explain as to why actions

shall not be taken against

him for contempt of court.

SM Tanvir Hasan on

January 25 appeared before

the court and offered an

unconditional apology. He

also promised that such

mistakes will not be

repeated in future.

Nazmanara Khanum,

Bangladesh Standard and

Testing Institute (BSTI)

Director General Dr M

Nazrul Anwar, DCCI

President Rizwan Rahman,

Senior Vice President NKA

Mubin, NATP Advisor

Mahbub Alam, Foodpanda

Managing Director

Ambarin Reza, among

others, spoke at the

webinar.

Bangladesh Agriculture

University Professor Dr

Borhan Uddin presented

the keynote paper at the

function.

To increase agroproducts

export and

ensuring quality products

export, Dr Razzaque said

the government has

approved a project of Taka

156 crore for modernizing

central packing house at

Shyampur.

THURSdAY, AUGUST 26, 2021

4

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Thursday, August 26, 2021

Developing the

dairy sector

According to an estimate, the import of milk

powder in Bangladesh has increased some

30 per cent in the last four years. Regularly,

a large sum of precious foreign resources get

drained away on such import. This amount could

be easily saved if policy planners did not take

casually the need to boost the local dairy sector.

Governments till the mid-nineties had policies

going to systematically encourage local dairies.

The interest started flagging after this period that

has gradually turned Bangladesh into a paradise

for overseas milk powder suppliers.

They have established a big and impressive

network to market their milk in powder form in

this country when there is every reason to think

that consumers are in no way amply nourished by

milk powder as they would be if they could drink

locally produced liquid and wholesome milk.

But Bangladesh with its predominant number of

rural people , its agrarian characteristics, plus the

traditional pastoral experience of rearing cows,

should normally have comparative advantages in

producing ample milk and milk products.

Planned efforts are necessary to develop the dairy

sector.

If the dairy industry here develops fast and

properly, then several useful ends can be served.

First of all, it would mean import substitution and

substantial saving of resources. The saved amount

would help the balance of payments. The nutrition

picture of the country could change positively with

significantly increased consumption of fresher

milk in liquid form

An improved and enlarged local dairy industry

will also create employment opportunities in

various ways where it matters the greatest--- at

grassroots level. From greater availability of cows,

different sorts of industries will be facilitated. For

example, more cow hides will be available for the

tanneries and leather industries. The import of

cows from India for sacrificial purposes will

drastically decline or cease which also would help

the country's balance of payments.

The availability of locally produced meat would

rise helping greater protein consumption by the

population. No part of the cow is wasted. Even its

horns and bones are used by cottage industries to

make button, combs and related products. There

can be also other spin-offs such as cow dung to be

used as fuel or as raw material to increase

production of bio-gas to help lighting, heating and

cooking in the rural areas.

But for all of these activities to be boosted, the

first step needs to be encouraging specially the

rural people to rear cows. It appears that

institutional credits specifically for the purpose

are not enough. Government can adopt a policy in

this regard and have it implemented very

extensively and efficiently through the Krishi

Bank and other mediums to provide credits to

persons willing to rear cows in the rural areas on

easy terms.

This would surely be a big stimulus for cow

rearing as rural people will be encouraged to go for

a good source of earning on the side.

Government should also help out in the

development and sustaining of a growing dairy

industry through research activities and breeding

of healthier species of cows.

It is obvious that rural small producers of dairy

products on their own will never have the

resources to invest in such projects. But the

government should have the resources to invest in

such projects.

Healthier species of cows can be bred in these

projects and sold to privately operated diaries.

Government should aim to run such projects with

the aim of breaking even in the areas of cost or

making only a small profit.

Side by side, the government conducted

veterinary services throughout the country will

have to be expanded and much revamped as

supportive of the growing dairy enterprises.

Inadequate veterinary services are one of the

major obstacles for livestock development.

Friends of Iran are now in power in Kabul

The Taliban have seized power in

Afghanistan, causing many

countries - including the UK, Italy,

Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway,

Denmark and Finland - to evacuate their

citizens and shut their embassies in Kabul.

Iran, however, has kept its embassy open.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman

Saeed Khatibzadeh, quoted by official

news agency IRNA, stated: "The embassy

of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Kabul is

fully open and active. Iran's consulate

general in Herat is also open and active."

It is critical to closely examine the

Iranian regime's ties with the Taliban, as

their relationship will have important

implications for the region.

While some scholars, politicians and

policy analysts argue that the Taliban and

the Iranian government are natural foes

because one is Shiite and the other Sunni,

such an observation is extremely

simplistic and a misconception. The

Iranian regime will ally itself with any

group, regardless of its religious

orientation, as long as it shares interests

with Tehran's ideological and

revolutionary principles. Some examples

include Iran's strong alliances with

Venezuela, North Korea, Hamas and Al-

Qaeda. One of the key shared interests

between the Taliban and the Islamic

Republic is their robust opposition to the

US. This is why the Iranian leaders

cheered America's withdrawal from

Afghanistan. They see this development

PUBLIC schooling and government

regulation of the education sector

more broadly are both

developmental and political phenomena.

Developmental because they aim to equip

future citizens with knowledge and skills

that may allow them to contribute

towards their personal and societal

growth. A well-educated citizenry can

therefore achieve its own material and

intellectual aspirations and help raise the

material and intellectual well-being of

society as a whole. Seen in this light, it

should be in the interest of every

conscientious government to expand

access to education and improve the

quality of education available. There are

debates on how best to do this in

contemporary Pakistan - some argue that

supporting education entrepreneurship

through the low cost fee-paying private

sector can fill the gaps that the

government does not have resources for.

Others argue that providing education is

now a constitutional right so any fiscal

and competence constraints should be

overcome to expand public schooling.

Some will argue for a hybrid model where

different types of systems may work in

tandem to achieve the basic goal of access

as a blow to Washington and a

manifestation of its foreign policy failure

in the region.

Before the Taliban's takeover, Ali

Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's

Supreme National Security Council,

tweeted in January: "In today's meeting

with the Taliban political delegation, I

found that the leaders of this group are

determined to fight the United States."

This infuriated the Afghan government

and surprised many because President

Ashraf Ghani was still in power. Yasin Zia,

chief of the general staff of the

Afghanistan National Army, responded by

tweeting: "Unfortunately, your

understanding (Shamkhani) of the

ongoing war in Afghanistan is inaccurate.

The Taliban is not fighting against the US,

but against the people of Afghanistan. We

will act decisively against any group which

is the enemy of the people of

Afghanistan."

It is also worth noting that Iran has long

provided shelter to Taliban leaders, who

dR. MAJId RAFIZAdeH

UMAIR JAved

have been traveling there since 1996.

Foreign Policy magazine reported in 2016

that Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar

Mansour "was killed in Pakistan by an

American drone… after leaving Iran,

where his family lives. US officials say that

Mullah Mansour regularly and freely

traveled into and out of Iran."

In addition, the Iranian regime has long

been providing the Taliban with cash and

weapons. Rahmatullah Nabil, the former

head of Afghanistan's National

Directorate of Security, in 2017 accused

Iran of providing the Taliban with arms

and financial aid. And two unnamed

Western officials told Foreign Policy

magazine in 2016 that the Iranian

government was "providing Taliban

forces along its border with money and

small amounts of relatively low-grade

weaponry like machine guns,

ammunition, and rocket-propelled

grenades."

While the Iranian regime used to keep

its ties with the Taliban a secret, it has now

Education as politics

and quality.

While the future of any country's

children is a high-stakes matter and

should be treated as such, such

developmental questions around

education are fairly standard. There are

differences in approach and methods but

at least some semblance of agreement on

what the end goal should be.

This consensus becomes a little more

complicated once public schooling and

government regulation of the school

education sector is analysed as a political

phenomenon. And there are several

reasons why it should be done so.

Increasingly it seems, more

opportunities in higher education and the

workforce are reserved for those on the

'right' side of the class divide.

RYM TINA GHAZAL

Firstly, and most relevantly in

Pakistan's current context, schooling

forms a direct relationship with

citizenship through the curriculum. What

kind of citizens are emerging from the

schooling system? What is being taught

and to whom? What kind of messaging is

being introduced at impressionable ages?

What will the legacy of this messaging be

in the long run? These are questions that

are not and should not be tangential to

discussions about education in any

country. A review of the history of primary

school expansion in the 19th and early

20th century across the West reveals that

in many places, political considerations

were a central part of why school access

was deemed an important goal. As states

increased political participation through

changed its policy and is publicly

supporting the group. For instance,

Kayhan, a newspaper that is funded by the

Office of Supreme Leader of Iran and is

considered a mouthpiece of Ali Khamenei,

has been attempting to paint a positive

picture of the Taliban. It wrote: "The

Taliban today is different from the Taliban

that used to behead people."

The Iranian regime has long been

providing the Taliban with cash and

weapons. However, former Iranian

diplomat Ali Khorram warned the regime:

"Thinking that the Taliban will come

under Tehran's command is tantamount

to growing a snake up your sleeve. As far

as Iran's national interests are concerned,

the liberal government of Ashraf Ghani is

a hundred times better than a radical

(Daesh)-Taliban government. You were

deceived by Russia and Israel in Syria.

Take care not to fall in a bigger trap laid

out in Afghanistan for you by the West,

Israel, Turkey and other regional players."

Before the US confirmed its withdrawal

from Afghanistan, a Taliban delegation

met publicly with senior Iranian officials,

including former Foreign Minister Javad

Zarif. During their January meeting, they

reportedly talked about "relations

between both countries, the situation of

the Afghan migrants in Iran, and the

current political and security situation of

Afghanistan and the region."

Source: Arab news

Taliban's drug trade may hint at way to protect Afghan culture

In intolerance: be like the ocean." Many

may not know that those words - a call

for the acceptance of diversity - by the

13th-century poet and Muslim scholar

Rumi may actually be those of one of

Afghanistan's legendary figures.

Rumi has been claimed by Turkey, Iran

and even parts of the Arab world, but he is

believed to have been born in 1207 in

Balkh, in the north of what is present-day

Afghanistan. It will be interesting to see

what the Taliban make of Rumi and other

totemic representatives of the cultures that

once blossomed in the land now called

Afghanistan. And if their consideration is

less than positive, what can be done to

protect the country's historical patrimony?

For now, the signs don't augur well. Soon

after swooping down on Kabul, the Taliban

announced they were a changed group that

now wanted peace. They declared an

"amnesty" for all who previously worked

against them, and said they were willing to

work, even, with "our sisters." Shortly after

that, they blew up a statue. Did they destroy

it because they believe statues promote

idolatry, because it depicted a man who was

their enemy, because that man was a Shiite,

or all of the above? It is impossible to say for

certain. But it is possible that the statue of

Abdul Ali Mazari, a champion of

Afghanistan's ethnic Hazara minority who

was executed by the Taliban in 1995, ticked

more than one box. Of course, Mazari's

statue had no great cultural or artistic

value. Its destruction has made it more

famous than it would ever have been

otherwise. But more interestingly, it stood

in Bamiyan province. For it was in

Bamiyan, in 2001, that the Taliban blew up

two massive, 1,500-year-old statues of the

Buddha carved into a mountainside. The

dynamiting of the statues remains possibly

While the Iranian regime used to keep its ties with the

Taliban a secret, it has now changed its policy and is publicly

supporting the group. For instance, Kayhan, a newspaper

that is funded by the Office of Supreme Leader of

Iran and is considered a mouthpiece of Ali Khamenei, has

been attempting to paint a positive picture of the Taliban.

the biggest act of wanton destruction of

culture in modern history.

So, then, is the Mazari statue's

destruction a sign of things to come? With

the fight against the "others" - the foreign

forces that occupied Afghanistan - now

over, will the fight now turn inward against

the "others" in Afghanistan's historic,

religious and social tableau?

Those "others" are plentiful in the

country. Afghanistan has a wealthy

heritage and history, and a diversity of

identities that have been overshadowed by

wars and conflicts. It was from Afghanistan

that Buddhism spread to China.

Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Judaism and

Hinduism thrived in the land before - and

after - the arrival of Islam in the 7th

century.

As a major way station on the millenniaold

trade routes connecting India with Iran

and China, Afghanistan is filled with the

remains of ancient cities, monasteries and

caravanserais that hosted famous travelers

like the 14th-century Moroccan Ibn

Battuta, and the 13th-century Venetian

Marco Polo.

Ancient artifacts are strewn across its

geography. Some 80,000 of these now are

housed in the National Museum. The

Taliban destroyed a number of such

artifacts in the museum the first time they

came to power. But in February this year,

their leaders forbade selling artifacts. They

told their followers to "robustly protect,

monitor and preserve" relics, halt illegal

digs and safeguard "all historic sites." We

shall have to see if that injunction holds.

Will the Taliban, for example, protect the

historical heart of the city of Herat? It is

currently on a UNESCO heritage site

tentative list. Herat was captured by

Alexander the Great in 330 BCE during his

campaign against the Achaemenids. It later

became a major outpost for the Hellenistic

Seleucid empire.

Then there is Balkh, which gave birth not

only to Rumi, but also Ibn Sina - better

Of course, Mazari's statue had no great cultural or artistic

value. Its destruction has made it more famous than it

would ever have been otherwise. But more interestingly, it

stood in Bamiyan province. For it was in Bamiyan, in

2001, that the Taliban blew up two massive, 1,500-yearold

statues of the Buddha carved into a mountainside.

known in the West as Avicenna - and the

poet Ferdowsi, both from around the turn

of the 1st millennium.

The name Balkh may be more familiar to

those who frequent Western museums as

Bactria, the ancient civilization that dates

back to the early 3rd millennium BCE.

From the Seleucids to the Sassanians to

many others, the history of civilization is

layered in the ground of Balkh and many

other cities like it across Afghanistan - sites

like Mes Aynak, home to a complex of at

least seven Buddhist monasteries and

under which may be Bronze Age structures.

It is tempting to think that the Taliban

have changed - after all, the rest of the

Seen in this light, it should be in the interest of every conscientious

government to expand access to education and improve the quality

of education available. There are debates on how best to do this in

contemporary Pakistan - some argue that supporting education

entrepreneurship through the low cost fee-paying private sector

can fill the gaps that the government does not have resources for.

world certainly has. We want to believe that

they will police adherence to their

injunction to do no harm to the country's

historical and cultural heritage.

The problem is, the Taliban are

committed to keeping themselves pure

from the poison of modernity. The future

has not caught up with them and likely

never will. And aside from their own

version of an imagined past, the rest is dust

to them. But there may be a way out. The

Taliban frown on drug use. But they don't

have a moral problem with other people

using narcotics.

In 2000, they banned poppy cultivation,

much like they have banned trading in

historical artifacts today. That poppy ban,

however, eventually evaporated. Today, the

Taliban control the world's largest supply of

illegal opiates - accounting for 80% of the

global opium and heroin market. A record

harvest in 2017 yielded sales the equivalent

of 7% of Afghanistan's gross domestic

product.

The intriguing question then is whether

the Taliban can be induced to protect the

heritage of Afghanistan if they are paid to

do so. They may have no use and see no

value in a sculpture of a Bactrian woman,

for example. But could they be persuaded

to keep it safe if it were a source of income?

Can an international trust fund be

established for this? And maybe for the

safekeeping of artifacts outside

Afghanistan? (Though, until when?)

There are many questions. Including the

moral one of privileging the safety of

cultural items over the safety and wellbeing

of people. Yet surely it's still one that

would be useful to have. But the first

question is, will the Taliban take part?

Source: Asia times

extension of electoral franchise, the

schooling system was identified as a key

avenue through which to generate

compliant and supportive citizens.

Depending on the ideological proclivities

of the state (or of different ruling parties),

schools would impart different types of

curricula. Current debates and handwringing

on 'Critical Race Theory' in

American schools is part of the same

phenomenon. Conservatives don't want

racial realities to be taught in schools,

while progressives are pushing for greater

societal reckoning with racial inequities.

A second reason why school education

is political is because its actual form and

associated regulation has powerful

distributional consequences. By

distributional we mean how do different

socioeconomic segments in society access

education, what they stand to gain from it,

and what are the long-term effects of any

differences that may exist across different

strata.

Take the example of a seemingly benign

decision in Pakistan, such as the opening

up of for-profit private schools and the

allowance for a foreign credential system.

Source: Dawn

THursdAy, AugusT 26, 2021

5

Crowds outside the airport in Kabul.

What is the main lesson

from Afghanistan

MAry KAldor

Iopposed the initial invasion

of Afghanistan on the grounds

that terrorism is a heinous

crime but not a war, and that

we needed to use the

techniques of policing and

intelligence, while tackling the

underlying causes of

terrorism, rather than

military methods to deal with

the problem.

Many of us said at the time

that the attacks of 9/11 should

have been viewed as a crime

against humanity, not as an

attack by a foreign state. The

terrorists should have been

designated as criminals not

enemies. As the distinguished

war historian Michael

Howard said, the phrase "war

on terror" accorded the

"terrorists a status they seek

and do not deserve".

After the invasion, I

favoured a strategy of human

security, stabilising

Afghanistan, and protecting

individual Afghans and their

families. President Biden

called this "nation building"

and said it should never have

been undertaken. This was

the approach of the UN in

Afghanistan and, while it is

possible to argue that nationbuilding

efforts are often too

top down and technical, and

need to include civil society

and local initiatives, these are

not the reasons that nation

building was so inadequate in

Afghanistan. Indeed there

were considerable gains in

women's rights and education

as well as democratic

consciousness, as exemplified

by the recent protests in

Jalalabad. The fundamental

reason was that the security of

Afghans was continually

undermined by the way that

the US prioritised counterterror

operations, by which it

meant military targeting of

the Taliban and al-Qaida, and

more recently, Islamic State.

Actually, there was no

insurgency until five years

after the invasion. The

insurgency began for two

main reasons. First, night

raids, drone attacks and

bombing produced a

counterreaction. Second, the

US allies in the counter-terror

endeavour were the so-called

warlords, many of the same

people or their children that

the CIA recruited to fight the

Soviets in the 1980s. It was

the continued presence of

these criminalised and

predatory warlords within the

Afghan government that

explains its systemic

corruption and lack of

legitimacy. Civil society

groups were vocal and

persistent in their demands

for justice and an end to

corruption. But their

demands were ignored.

Antony Blinken, the US

secretary of state, had the

temerity to blame the Afghan

security forces for not

defending their country

despite all the money the US

has provided. In fact, many of

them have died in defence of

their country. But much of the

trillions of dollars spent on

equipping and training the

security forces went into the

pockets of the US allies in the

"war on terror" - the Afghan

warlords and corrupt officials.

Moreover, private security

contractors used by the US

government suddenly

withdrew, taking with them

the logistical infrastructure

needed by the security forces.

Above all, the decision to

withdraw, taken by the Trump

administration and upheld by

the Biden administration

without conditions, had led to

peace talks with the Taliban

that excluded the government

and civil society and greatly

empowered the former. For

many in the security forces,

the hasty withdrawal

appeared to signal that the US

had changed sides and was

now supporting the Taliban,

and this was what

undermined the will to fight.

Any illusion that the Taliban

are somehow "different" -

despite the assassinations of

intellectuals and the

horrendous treatment of

women - should be disabused.

The Taliban government must

not be recognised. If sanctions

are applied, they should be

targeted so as not to cause yet

more suffering to ordinary

Afghans. What is likely to

happen is yet more violence as

factions emerge within the

Photo: Asvaka News

Taliban coalition and compete

for dwindling state resources

and control of criminal

activities. Al-Qaida, Islamic

State Khorasan Province

(ISKP), the Haqqani network,

not to mention different

ethnic militias, are all part of

the Taliban coalition.

If we want to help ordinary

Afghans, we should neither do

a deal with the Taliban nor

start a war against them -

continued counter-terror air

operations, as suggested by

Biden, will merely shore up

support for the Taliban.

Rather, we should undertake a

humanitarian intervention in

order to establish safe havens

and humanitarian corridors to

help those who need to flee

and to deliver aid. This is not

the same as war even though

military personnel could be

used - the aim would be to

protect people rather than kill

enemies.

The airport should come

under international control

(the UN or the International

Red Cross) and safe corridors

should be established to reach

it; it is incredible that the

chaos at the airport continues

after several days. The UN

could also establish protected

sites for civilians and safe land

corridors to other countries

could be established, for

example from Mazar-i-Sharif

to Uzbekistan, or Herat to

Iran. Consideration should be

given to the establishment of a

safe haven in the Panshir

valley, the only part of

Afghanistan not yet overrun

by the Taliban. At the same

time, visas should be given to

all Afghan refugees, just as the

UK is doing for Hong Kong

residents

fleeing

authoritarianism.

Covid passports could

compel to get vaccinated

MEliNdA Mills

After initially resisting the

idea of Covid passports, the

government has decided to

introduce them in "higher

risk" settings in England,

such as nightclubs and large

crowds, by the end of

September in an attempt to

coax young people into

getting vaccinated. Although

the details of this measure

are yet to be released, it will

probably involve showing

proof of vaccination, a

negative Covid test or recent

recovery from the virus.

The plans for England's

vaccine passports were

announced shortly after

France introduced its

hardline "health pass"

approach, which requires

people entering restaurants,

cinemas, trains and shopping

malls to show proof of two

vaccinations, a recent

negative Covid test or recent

recovery from infection.

News of France's health pass

sparked mass protests; an

estimated 160,000 people

took to the streets on 24 July.

But it also stimulated vaccine

uptake. Nearly 4 million

people came forward to get

vaccinated after the health

pass was announced.

Many seem to think

vaccine passports are a viable

solution that would

encourage uptake and allow

businesses to remain open

while ensuring restaurants,

bars and nightclubs don't

become Covid hotspots. Yet

introducing a passport would

be a technical and ethical

minefield, and a number of

criteria would need to be

met, ranging from how

immunity is measured to

what technology is used, and

what ethical requirements it

meets. The technology would

need to work across multiple

operating systems and be

linked to personal

information while also

maintaining privacy. But

beyond these concerns,

would a Covid passport

actually work?

At the end of June, the

Netherlands introduced the

type of passport that is

currently being proposed in

England. Its CoronaCheck

app crumbled within hours

of release. People were

required to have a negative

test, proof of vaccination or

recovery. The passport was

aimed at nightclubs, but on

the first night, a report filmed

drunken partygoers

explaining how they used the

negative test results of a

friend to gain entry and

found ways around the QR

code.

The app was clever: in

addition to proof-of-vaccine

or a test, it requested limited

personal details (your initials

and part of your birthdate),

while its constantly changing

QR code avoided privacy and

tracking concerns. But the

weak link was that bouncers

rarely checked the app

against

personal

identification, since this

would have required

additional staff on the door.

Perhaps the UK government

has developed a more

advanced solution, but I'm

not optimistic. The only way I

could obtain settled status in

the UK was by borrowing an

Android phone from a

colleague, as the government

application form didn't work

on an iPhone.

Like much of its pandemic

response, the government's

Covid vaccine passport shifts

responsibility from ministers

to individual members of the

public. First we were asked to

use our "personal judgment"

for when and where to wear

face coverings. Now

nightclubs will become the

referees for whether people

are safe to enter. In France, a

vaccine passport will apply

across restaurants and other

venues, but in the UK,

nightclubs - which generate

an estimated £66bn annually

and are responsible for 8% of

the country's employment -

have been singled out by the

government. If businesses

now work towards hiring

staff and implementing new

Covid passes only for the

policy to change in

September,

their

preparations could be in vain.

Public health experts and

behavioural scientists have

long argued that policies

nudging people or dangling

incentives like a carrot are

more effective than the stick.

Although it seems hard to

fathom now, there was

considerable backlash over

mandatory introduction of

Clubbers queue to get into a party in Brighton.

seatbelts, and it took years to

ban smoking on public

transport and in indoor

spaces. Again, the concern

was how far the state could

interfere with personal rights

and lifestyle. In the US,

where there are large

numbers of vaccine-hesitant

people, states have

introduced incentives

ranging from free guns and

beer to million-dollar

lotteries. Yet a recent study

found that it wasn't coercion

that worked, but the personal

approach of a text reminder

saying this vaccine is

"reserved for you" that was

the most effective in getting

people vaccinated.

There is a risk that a

mandatory Covid pass will be

seen as coercive, fuelling

greater mistrust around

vaccines. Requiring an ID

card or passport to enter a

football match or nightclub

could fuel suspicion for those

against the use of Covid

certification. We carried out

a nationally representative

survey of 1,476 adults in the

UK in December 2020

during the first vaccine

rollout, together with five

focus groups, and found that

those who are distrustful of

government and receive

information from

unregulated social media

sources such as YouTube

were less willing to be

vaccinated. For Covid

conspiracists, a vaccine

passport may have the same

symbolic effect as the face

masks that have so riled antilockdown

protesters.

When dealing with public

health measures, it's naive to

Photo: Chris Eades

argue a straightforward

libertarian case that the

government should stay out

of people's private lives. As

with secondhand smoking,

the government has a moral

duty to stop the spread of

Covid, and promote and

safeguard the health and

wellbeing of its citizens.

Policies that curtail

individual liberty for the

greater public good can be

powerful, but they need to be

properly scrutinised to

ensure they work. That

means avoiding unjustly

coercive measures that will

only produce more harm

than protection.

KATE AroNoFF

What the Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change's

report confirmed this month

is that the stable climate

many of us grew up with is gone and has been replaced by a

fundamentally unstable one. Sea levels will almost certainly rise

and storms will get more intense. Amid a drumbeat of

depressing news and decades of inaction, there's a sort of folk

wisdom emerging that liberal democracy might just be too slow

to tackle a problem as urgent and massive as the climate crisis.

It's an enticing vision: that governments can forgo the messy,

deliberative work of politics in favour of a benign dictatorship of

green technocrats who will get emissions down by brute force.

With a punishingly tiny budget of just 400 gigatonnes of CO2

left to make a decent shot of staying below 1.5C of warming, is

it time to give something less democratic a try?

It would be easy to look at the longstanding stalemate around

climate policy in the US, the world's second biggest emitter and

embattled superpower, as evidence that something more topdown

is needed. Yet the failure isn't one of too much democracy

but too little. The US Senate empowers West Virginia's Joe

Manchin - a man elected by fewer than 300,000 people - to

block the agenda of a president elected by more than 80 million.

Climate-sceptical Republicans, backed by corporate interests,

have attempted to gerrymander their way to electoral

dominance, halting progressive climate action in its tracks. The

fossil fuel industry can engulf lawmakers with lobbyists and

virtually unlimited campaign donations to sway their votes.

And as the Republican party's leading lights flirt with

authoritarians like Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orbán,

comprehensive bipartisan climate action remains a pipe dream.

If a less democratic world is needed to deal with the climate,

who are the people who'd like to bring a less democratic world

into being? Take Spain's far-right party Vox, the third largest in

the country's parliament. Having tried climate denial and taken

regular jabs at environmental movements and policy, it has

unveiled a set of proposals for how to deal with rising

temperatures. As Lluis de Nadal wrote for openDemocracy

recently, the party's "true ecology" platform aims to create a

national "energy autarchy" and mobilise a green manufacturing

renaissance. In France, the far-right National Rally - formerly

the Front National - has made ecological politics a key part of its

rebrand away from Holocaust denial. Jordan Bardella, the

party's vice-president, has called borders "the environment's

greatest ally", casting foreigners as rootless cosmopolitans

divorced from the land. The aim is not to reach net zero faster -

neither party has laid out workable plans to do so - but to

endear climate-conscious voters to an ethno-nationalist cause.

It's not just the right, however, that has considered a turn

Democracy and saving the planet

Xr activists dressed as snails protest against the slow movement towards net-zero emissions in The Hague.

away from democracy for the planet's sake. Back in 2010, the

influential climate scientist James Lovelock suggested that it

"may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while" to curb

emissions. More recently, centrists such as Michael Bloomberg

have started to see corporations as more reliable engines of

climate progress. As much as US and UK liberals have talked up

the promise of spreading democracy throughout the world this

century, though, many centrists - as the Progressive

International's David Adler wrote in 2018 - are pretty down on

democracy itself. Analysing the World Values and the European

Values surveys, Adler found that centrists in wealthy countries

were less supportive of democracy than their counterparts on

either the left or the far right. Less than half of centrists in the

US thought elections were essential; only 25% saw civil rights as

Photo: romy Arroyo Fernandez

a critical feature of democracy.

Actually existing centrist politicians, meanwhile, such as

Emmanuel Macron in France, haven't shown any willingness to

address the climate crisis at the speed or scale it demands. They

share a basic weariness about enthusiastic uses of state power

to plan out what it is an economy ought to be doing, and cower

in the face of major polluters like carmakers and the fossil fuel

industry. There are still plenty of austerians hanging around,

too, weary of the deficit spending necessary for

decarbonisation.

Openly authoritarian governments hardly fare better. China

has rolled out an impressive array of green technologies over

the last decade with massive industrial policy. Yet still it

continues to prioritise fossil-fuelled growth, with its 14th fiveyear

plan pledging to reduce

"emissions intensity" by just

18% through 2025, and the

planned opening of 43 new

coal-fuelled power stations -

not to mention the atrocities

that government routinely commits against its own people. In

India, now the world's third biggest emitter, Narendra Modi's

far-right government has made an ambitious pledge to be net

zero by 2050, on par with pledges made by long-developed

countries such as the US and UK But India, like China, has

missed the deadline to update its emissions reduction plan in

advance of UN climate talks in Glasgow this November.

There is simply no class of enlightened technocrats in

powerful governments waiting in the wings to save the day. No

authoritarians are gunning to decarbonise at the breakneck

speed required to avert catastrophe. And no billionaire saviour

in the form of Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos will rescue our dying

planet - they're both more interested in getting off it than

improving it.

The answer, stubbornly, is more democracy - both within and

beyond our borders. Countless millions will be displaced as

temperatures soar, meaning national boundaries are bound to

become more porous. Our conceptions of democracy should

too, to see those living downstream from the west's massive

historical emissions as deserving of citizenship and a say in how

- and how quickly - decarbonisation happens. "A proposal for

curbing emissions from the developed world so that the billion

individuals who live without electricity can enjoy its benefits

would probably pass in a landslide in a world referendum," the

writer and filmmaker Astra Taylor has argued, "but it would

likely fail if the vote were limited to people in the wealthiest

countries."

A best-case scenario detailed in their report by IPCC

scientists, Shared Socioeconomic Economic Pathway 1,

involves "more inclusive development" and unprecedented

collaboration among the world's governments to manage the

global commons. In the less upbeat SSP3, "resurgent

nationalism" and "concerns about competitiveness and

security" start to emerge as countries go their own way in

trying to adapt to and (more rarely) mitigate rising

temperatures.

Roads away from democracy all lead to climate chaos. There's

no easy alternative on offer of course. The illiberal right is

ascending much faster than the socialist left that has long

sought to extend democracy into political systems, homes, and

workplaces. The best hope in the short term is for a popular

front to browbeat the middling centrists who claim to "believe

science" into actually acting on it, and beating back the illiberal

right accordingly.

THuRSDAY, AuGuST 26, 2021

6

Rangpur District Police Super Biplob Kumar Sarkar took all the responsibilities of Jibon's treatment

recently.

Photo: Azam Parvez

SP Biplob Kumar Sarkar takes

responsibility of Jibon’s treatment

AzAM PARvEz, RANGPUR CORRESPONDENT

Mahmudul Hasan Jibon (10) broke an

arm as he fell off a bicycle. His poor

father, on the advice of the local people,

took him to the fake doctor and Kabiraj.

But the child did not get well. The life

that used to be spent laughing all day,

he is just groaning in pain day by day.

Jibon's father is extremely poor. His

grandfather came forward at this

difficult time. He is the night

watchman of a local school. He

somehow got Jibon admitted to

Rangpur Medical College to reach out

to different people of the society. But

by then it was too late. His hand got

rotten. After some time of treatment

there, he was admitted to a private

clinic. But not being able to pay the

expenses, he left the treatment

unfinished and took it home from the

clinic. Jibon's life becomes uncertain,

as he gradually progresses towards

paralysis.

After hearing Jobon's life story,

Rangpur District Police Super Biplob

Kumar Sarkar BPM (Bar), PPM called

Jibon. After hearing the details from

Jibon and his grandfather, the police

superintendent quickly ordered Jibon

to be sent to Dhaka for better

treatment. During this time he took all

the responsibility of Jibon's treatment.

Seeing this sincerity of the

Superintendent of Police, Jibon and his

grandfathercried with joy. At that time,

everyone in the police super office was

moved by the joy of life and his

grandfather.

Platform meeting on

prevention of

women, children and

child marriage held

at Banaripara

S MIzANUL ISLAM, BANARI-

PARA CORRESPONDENT

A meeting of CSO(Civil

Society Organization)

platform members was held

at 10 am on Monday, August

23 at Natunmukh

Auditorium on the initiative

of NGO Fehds.

The meeting discussed

what can be done to prevent

the increase in violence

against women and child

marriage during the Covid-

19 period. The meeting was

presided over by Platform

Joint Convener Lecturer

Md. Emam Hossain.

Member Secretary of the

Platform S Mizanul Islam,

Member Moazzem Hossain

Manik, Maksuda Akter,

Sandhya Rani Sarkar, Abdul

Awal, Putul Das and others

spoke on the performance of

PO Nasrin Khanam.

Prior to the discussion,

Platform Member Secretary

and Journalist S Mizanul

Islam was congratulated by

the members of Banaripara

GBv(Gender Basie

violence) Platform on

receiving the "Nelson

Mandela Signing

Personality Award-2021"

from the South Asia Social

Education Foundation.

Record 13.02 lakh tonnes maize

produced in Rangpur region

RANGPUR: A record quantity of over 13.02

lakh tonnes of maize was produced during

the Rabi and just-ended Kharif-1 seasons

this year in Rangpur agriculture region,

reports BSS.

According to market sources, farmers are

happy and successfully tackling the Covid-

19 pandemic situation, getting excellent

prices between Taka 850 and Taka 950 per

mound (every 40 kgs) of maize throughout

the year.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural

Extension (DAE) officials said farmers

produced over 10.92 lakh tonnes of maize

during the Rabi season and more than 2.10

tonnes of the crop during this Kharif-1

season this year in the region.

Earlier, the DAE had fixed a target of

producing over 10.51 tonnes of maize from

1,01,845 hectares of land for all five districts

of Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram,

Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat in the region

during the last Rabi season.

"However, farmers finally cultivated

maize on 1,01,335 hectares of land and

produced 10.92 lakh tonnes of the crop

against the fixed production target of 10.51

lakh tonnes," said Agriculturist Bidhu

Bhusan Ray, Additional Director of the

DAE, Rangpur region.

On the other hand, the DAE had fixed a

target of producing 2.27 lakh tonnes of

maize from 26,680 hectares of land for all

five districts of the region during the Kharif-

1 season.

"Farmers finally cultivated maize on

23,297 hectares of land and produced over

2.10 lakh tonnes of the cereal crop during

the Kharif-1 season this year in the region,"

Ray said.

The government provided special

incentives, high yielding varieties of maize

seeds and fertilisers to landless, small,

marginal and flood-hit farmers to enhance

maize cultivation during both the seasons in

the region.

Maize cultivation has been increasing

every year on the mainland as well as char

areas following huge demand, repeated

bumper output and lucrative market price

of the crop.

"Many farmers and char families have

attained self-reliance by cutting poverty

through maize cultivation in Rangpur,

Gaibandha, Kurigram, Nilphamari and

Lalmonirhat districts of the region in the

last 12 years," Ray added.

Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and

Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh

Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said maize

cultivation has become popular among

farmers.

"Cultivation of maize on the mainland and

char areas is more profitable than many

other crops helping farmers in cutting

poverty and improving their livelihoods and

living standard," he said.

Getting special incentives, assistance and

latest technologies from the DAE and

different NGOs, farmers are expanding

maize cultivation using the latest

agricultural technologies to get better

output and lucrative market price every

year.

"Farmers are reaping better profits

following huge demand for maize in the

poultry feed and animal feed industries as

the poultry, animal husbandry and dairy

sectors are booming across the country,"

Rashid added.

Talking to BSS, farmers Farhad Hossain,

Aminul Islam and Babul Hossain of

Rangpur expressed happiness over market

price of maize round the year.

Platform Member Secretary and Journalist S Mizanul Islam was congratulated by the members of

Banaripara GBV(Gender Based Violence) Platform on receiving the "Nelson Mandela Signing Personality

Award-2021 "from the South Asia Social Education Foundation recently.

Photo: TBT

Financial grants have been distributed among the extremely poor, temporarily unemployed and

marginalized people of the district under the auspices of Sonali Bank Limited Pabna on

Wednesday.

Photo: Abdul Hamid Khan

Sonali Bank distributes

financial grants among

marginalized people

in Pabna

ABDUL HAMID KHAN, PABNA CORRESPONDENT

Financial grants have been

distributed among the extremely

poor, temporarily unemployed

and marginalized people of the

district under the auspices of

Sonali Bank Limited Pabna as part

of special efforts to combat the

ongoing corona virus in the

country.

Pabna Deputy Commissioner

Biswas Russell Hossain was

presnet as the chief guest while

Sonali Bank Limited Pabna

Principal Office DGM

Muhammad Monwarul Islam

presided over the grant

distribution ceremony held at the

DC's Conference Room on

Wednesday.

Among others, Pabna Upazila

Parishad Chairman Alhaj

Mosharraf Hossain, Upazila

Nirbahi Officer Tahmina Akter

Raina, AGM of Sonali Bank Pabna

Principal Office Khandaker

Abidur Rahman, AGM of Sonali

Bank Pabna Branch Md. Shafiqul

Islam were also present at the

occassion.

Mango intercropping benefits

farmers in Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI: Acreage of mango

intercropping is seen rising gradually in

the region, including its vast Barind tract,

as the farmers are getting more profit

from this mixed culture practice, reports

BSS.

Jamal Hossain, a resident of Charghat

Upazila, said many farmers are seen

showing interest towards intercropping

of mango with various cereal crops

especially paddy in the region because

the method gives additional income to

the farmers.

Intercropping not only increases total

crop production but also helps improve

soil health and fertility with no negative

effect on mango yield and quality. It also

creates additional job opportunities

needed for intensive crop production

contributing a lot towards intensifying

the rural economy.

Hossain opined that the farmers face

trouble in terms of only paddy cultivation

in the wake of adverse impact of climate

change for the last couple of years.

To get more income and to recoup the

losses, they are cultivating paddy, onion,

garlic, brinjal, mustard, turmeric and

papaya with mango as intercropping. By

dint of excellent output, the framers

created new mango orchards in the new

method.

"I have an eight-bigha mango orchard

of intercropping with various seasonal

crops. I am getting additional income

from farming," said Jamal Hossain.

Mangoes grow almost everywhere in

the district but Poba, Charghat and

Bagha have a long-lasting tradition of

producing quality fruits.

As the growers reap large sums of

money from mango farming, it

encourages many others towards

farming mangoes.

Many varieties of mangoes such as

Guti, Langra, Fazlee, Khirsapat,

Mohanbog, Ashwini, Gopalbogh,

Haribhanhga, Amropali, Bari 4,

Nakfazlee, Gouromoti, are now cultivated

in the region.

Md Nurzzaman, a farmer of Jamgram

village under Patnitala Upazila, said,

"Nakfazlee mango plants were grown

here 10-15 years ago. This mango is tasty,

and it has less fiber and is less perishable

and has demand in the market. So, the

cultivators are more inclined to cultivate

this variety of mango."

Rangamati Hill District Council holds view exchange

meet with NDC course participants

MD SHAFIqUR RAHMAN, RANGAMATI CORRESPONDENT

A view exchange meeting was held

between Rangamati Hill District Council

Chairman and members with a group of

33 trainees participating in the National

Defense College, Bangladesh (NDC) 2021

course visiting Rangamati.The meeting

was held on Tuesday at Rangamati Hill

District Council meeting room.

Rangamati Hill District Council

Chairman Aungsuipru Chowdhury and

the members provided information to the

participants of National Defense College,

Bangladesh about the activities of Hill

Water Councils and socio-political and

various issues of Hill Water Councils.

Rangamati Hill District Council's

public relations officer Arunendu

Tripura presented the activities of

Rangamati Hill District Council through

projector.

A view exchange meeting was held between Rangamati Hill District Council Chairman and members with

a group of 33 trainees participating in the National Defense College, Bangladesh(NDC) 2021 course visiting

Rangamat on Tuesday.

Photo: Md Shafiqur Rahman

ThUrSDAY, AUgUST 26, 2021

7

U.S. President Joe Biden declared Tuesday he is sticking to his Aug. 31 deadline for completing a

risky airlift of Americans, endangered Afghans and others seeking to escape Taliban-controlled

Afghanistan.

Photo : AP

Biden holds to Kabul August 31

deadline despite criticism

WASHINGTON : U.S. President Joe

Biden declared Tuesday he is sticking

to his Aug. 31 deadline for completing a

risky airlift of Americans, endangered

Afghans and others seeking to escape

Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The

decision defies allied leaders who want

to give the evacuation more time and

opens Biden to criticism that he caved

to Taliban deadline demands, reports

UNB. "Every day we're on the ground is

another day that we know ISIS-K is

seeking to target the airport and attack

both us and allied forces and innocent

civilians," Biden said at the White

House, referring to the Islamic State

group's Afghanistan affiliate, which is

known for staging suicide attacks on

civilians.

He said the Taliban are cooperating

and security is holding despite a

number of violent incidents. "But it's a

tenuous situation," he said, adding,

"We run a serious risk of it breaking

down as time goes on."

The United States in recent days has

ramped up its airlift amid new reports

of rights abuses that fuel concern about

the fate of thousands of people who fear

retribution from the Taliban and are

trying to flee the country. The Pentagon

Kenya faces year

of uncertainty

before key polls

NAIROBI : With major

constitutional changes

suspended for now, and

swirling new alliances taking

shape, Kenya's political scene

is shrouded in uncertainty as

the country eyes crucial

elections due a year from

now, reports BSS.

Here is a look at how Kenya

got here and what lies ahead

when East Africa's

powerhouse elects a new

president and parliament

next August.

On Friday, Kenya's Court of

Appeal rejected President

Uhuru Kenyatta's bid to

change the constitution,

arguing that he had no right

to do so. The decision marked

the latest twist in a debate that

has gripped the country since

2018.

According to Kenyatta, the

so-called Building Bridges

Initiative (BBI) would expand

the executive and overturn

the winner-takes-all electoral

system that has been blamed

for frequent explosions of

poll-related violence in the

East African nation.

But his detractors saw it as

little more than a naked grab

for power by a two-term

president who cannot run a

third time, with the BBI

potentially allowing him to

assume the new position of

prime minister.

In addition to creating new

posts, the sweeping changes

would also increase the

number of parliamentarians

from 290 to 360, prompting

fresh alliances with a view to

dividing the spoils come

election time. Friday's

judgement has put paid to

those hopes.

said 21,600 people had been evacuated

in the 24 hours that ended Tuesday

morning, and Biden said an additional

12,000 had been flown out in the 12

hours that followed. Those include

flights operated by the U.S. military as

well as other charter flights.

Biden said he had asked the

Pentagon and State Department for

evacuation contingency plans that

would adjust the timeline for full

withdrawal should that become

necessary. Pentagon officials expressed

confidence the airlift, which started on

Aug. 14, can get all Americans out by

next Tuesday, the deadline Biden had

set long before the Taliban completed

their takeover. But unknown

thousands of other foreign nationals

remain in Afghanistan and are

struggling to get out.

The Taliban, who have wrested

control of the country back nearly 20

years after being ousted in a U.S.-led

invasion after the 9/11 attacks, insist

the airlift must end on Aug. 31. Any

decision by Biden to stay longer could

reignite a war between the militants

and the approximately 5,800 American

troops who are executing the airlift at

Kabul airport. In Kabul, Taliban

spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a

news conference the U.S. must stick to

its self-imposed deadline, saying "after

that we won't let Afghans be taken out"

on evacuation flights.

He also said the Taliban would bar

Afghans from accessing roads to the

airport, while allowing foreigners to

pass in order to prevent large crowds

from massing.

At the Pentagon, spokesman John

Kirby said Aug. 31 leaves enough time

to get all Americans out, but he was less

specific about completing the

evacuation of all at-risk Afghans. He

said about 4,000 American passport

holders and their family members had

been evacuated from Kabul as of

Tuesday.

"We expect that number to grow in

coming days," Kirby said. With the

full U.S. withdrawal looming, the

Pentagon said several hundred U.S.

troops have been withdrawn because

they are no longer needed to

complete the evacuation mission.

Kirby said these are headquarters

staff, maintenance personnel and

others. "It will have no impact on the

mission at hand," he said.

Nowhere to go for Haiti quake

victims upon hospital release

LES CAYES : Orderlies pushed Jertha Ylet's

bed from the center of the hospital ward to

one side so Dr. Michelet Paurus could plug in

his electric saw. She was silent as the doctor

cut off her plaster cast in measured strokes,

reports UNB. Today she would have to leave

the hospital, the doctor said.

Ylet had resisted until the cast came off.

She'd been at Les Cayes' General Hospital

since being brought there Aug. 14,

unconscious and with her leg crushed, after a

7.2-magnitude earthquake destroyed her

house, killing her father and two other

relatives and seriously injuring her brother.

There is no home to return to.

A surgeon inserted a metal rod in her lower

left leg on Thursday. Ylet, 25, had not been

out of bed, much less tried to walk, since she

arrived. Her 5-year-old daughter, Younaika,

who was not injured, shared her bed and

spent her days playing with other children

around the ward. More than a week after the

earthquake on Haiti's southwestern

peninsula killed at least 2,207 people,

injured 12,268 and destroyed nearly 53,000

houses, Ylet represents an emerging

dilemma for the region's limited health care

services: how to turn over hospital beds

when discharged patients have nowhere to

go.

"I said to the doctor, 'I don't have any place

to go,'" Ylet said. "I told them everything. The

doctor doesn't understand." In the first days

Orderlies pushed Jertha Ylet's bed from the center of the hospital ward to one

side so Dr. Michelet Paurus could plug in his electric saw. She was silent as the

doctor cut off her plaster cast in measured strokes.

Photo : AP

after the quake, the hospital was

overwhelmed with patients. The injured lay

on patios and breezeways awaiting care.

Now there are still people in those areas, but

they are discharged patients or people who

were never admitted at all, who have been

drawn by the donations of food, water and

clothing that arrive at the hospital daily.

"We have a lot patients who have been

discharged, but are still hanging out in the

yard," said hospital director Peterson Gede.

Palestinian wounded

in Gaza clash dies

ahead of new protest

GAZA CITY : A Palestinian

has died from injuries

sustained during weekend

clashes with Israeli forces on

the Gaza border, the

territory's health ministry

said, ahead of fresh protests

called for Wednesday.

Following Saturday's

unrest-which wounded

dozens and left an Israeli

police officer in critical

condition -- 32-year-old

Palestinian Osama Khaled

Deaih died after being shot by

Israeli forces, the ministry

said. The Israeli army said it

responded with live fire and

other measures to Palestinian

"rioters" who were hurling

explosives over the border

fence and attempting to scale

it. The territory's Islamist

rulers Hamas said that

among the wounded was a

13-year-old boy who was shot

in the head and left in critical

condition.

Palestinian factions in the

Israeli-blockaded enclave

have called a new protest for

5:00 pm (1400 GMT)

Wednesday on the border

near the south Gaza city of

Khan Yunis.

The Israeli army said it was

reinforcing its Gaza division

late Saturday, as it hit

multiple Hamas targets with

air strikes.

Israel struck Gaza again

overnight Monday-Tuesday

in response to incendiary

balloon launches that sparked

multiple fires in Israel's

southern Eskhol region.

There were no reported

casualties from the latest

Israeli strikes.

The protests come three

months after an informal

truce ended 11 days of conflict

between Hamas and Israel,

the worst fighting between

the two sides in years.

Moscow evacuates

Russians, ex-

Soviet citizens

from Afghanistan

MOSCOW : Russia's armed

forces said they began

evacuating more than 500

Russians and citizens of

several ex-Soviet states from

Afghanistan on Wednesday.

The evacuations were the

first made public by Russia,

which has taken a cautiously

optimistic outlook of the new

Taliban leadership in Kabul.

Moscow said it sent four

military transport planes to

fly out more than 500 citizens

of Russia, Belarus,

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,

Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

The evacuations were being

organised at the behest of

President Vladimir Putin and

Defence Minister Sergei

Shoigu, Russia's military said

in a statement.

Each plane had drinking

water, individual rations and

blankets for the evacuees, the

statement added.

While Belarus, Kyrgyzstan,

Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are

members of a Moscow-led

security bloc, Ukraine and

Russia have had strained ties

since Moscow in 2014

annexed Crimea and pro-

Russia separatists broke

away in the east. Unlike

Western countries, Russia

has not evacuated its

embassy in Kabul.

Crews scour debris for more

victims after Tennessee floods

WAVERLY : Crews with chainsaws and

heavy equipment cleared their way through

trees densely matted with vegetation,

garbage and building debris Tuesday as

searchers scoured a normally shallow creek

for more flooding victims in rural Tennessee.

Even cars and sheds were woven into the

tangle of debris lining Trace Creek in

Humphreys County, where the town of

Waverly saw the most death and destruction

from Saturday's flooding that killed 18

people. Three people remained unaccounted

for Tuesday, reports UNB.

At one bridge, an excavator crawled into

the creek to dig through a debris plug that

included large trees, huge spools of cable,

panels of wooden fencing and chunks of

concrete. Officers watched from above and

downstream in case a body was uncovered.

Other crews were working with chainsaws

along the banks, clearing smaller objects.

Several miles downstream, officers had

deployed drones to help with the search. It's

difficult to know how far the bodies might

have been carried, but one car was found

about a half-mile from where it had been

parked, Humphreys County Chief Deputy

Rob Edwards said.

Sheriff's deputies and police were aided by

crews from agencies all over the state, he

said. The teams have cadaver dogs at the

ready if they suspect a body might be nearby.

With the heat in the mid-80s and rising, it

was not difficult to detect the odor of decay,

Edwards said, although crews also were

finding animals.

As the search for the missing continues,

officials have started to comprehend the

scope of devastation in the community. The

Humphreys County Emergency

Management Agency said in a news release

that more than 270 homes had been

destroyed and 160 have major damage.

"Some are just gone - off the foundation -

twisted, turned," Humphreys County Sheriff

Chris Davis said at the news conference.

"They would probably have to be totally

destroyed before they could be built back."

"The sheer devastation that we saw in that

helicopter ride yesterday has made me

realize that we have got an extremely long

road to go in all of this," he said.

Crews with chainsaws and heavy equipment cleared their way through

trees densely matted with vegetation, garbage and building debris Tuesday

as searchers scoured a normally shallow creek for more flooding victims

in rural Tennessee.

Photo : AP

Pristine Lake Tahoe shrouded in

smoke from threatening fire

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE : Ash rained down

on Lake Tahoe on Tuesday and thick yellow

smoke blotted out views of the mountains

rimming its pristine blue waters as a massive

wildfire threatened the alpine vacation spot

on the California-Nevada state line.

Tourists ducked into cafes, outdoor gear

shops and casinos on Lake Tahoe Boulevard

for a respite from hazardous air coming from

an erratic blaze less than 20 miles (32

kilometers) away.

The Caldor Fire erupted over the course of

a week into the nation's No. 1 firefighting

priority and was "knocking on the door" of

Tahoe, said Thom Porter, California's state

fire chief. A major wildfire has not

penetrated the Lake Tahoe Basin since 2007.

Tourists typically come to swim and hike,

relax along the lake's calm shores or take

their chances gambling, not risk their lives in

the face of a potential disaster.

Although there were no evacuations

ordered and Porter said he didn't think the

fire would reach the lake, it was impossible to

ignore the blanket of haze so thick and vast

that it closed schools for a second day in

Reno, Nevada, which is about 60 miles (100

kilometers) from the fire.

Visitors wore masks outdoors - not

because the coronavirus pandemic, but

because of the toxic air and inescapable

stench of fire. The gondola that ferries

summer passengers to the summit of the

Heavenly Mountain ski area was closed until

winter due to the wildfire risk.

Cindy Osterloh, whose husband pushed a

relative in a wheelchair beneath the idled

cables, said she and family members visiting

WHO slams 'shocking disparity'

in access to vaccines

BRAZZAVILLE : The World Health Organization hit out on

Tuesday at the "shocking disparity" in access to coronavirus

vaccines, with only four countries in Africa able to meet their

inoculation targets so far. "Globally, 140 countries have

vaccinated at least 10 percent of their populations," WHO

chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the opening of an

online meeting of African health ministers. "But in our

continent, only four countries have been able to reach that

target, owing to the shocking disparity in access to vaccines."

The WHO secretary-general said that "the vaccine crisis

illustrates the fundamental weakness at the root of the

pandemic: the lack of global solidarity and sharing".

And that included the sharing of information and data,

biological samples, resources, technology and tools, he said.

Covax, the global programme co-sponsored by the WHO that

tries to secure vaccines for nations with less financial clout,

has delivered 40 million doses to African countries,

according to WHO Africa regional director, Matshidiso

Moeti, reports BSS. "This is a small fraction of the doses

needed across the continent to protect people from severe

Covid-19 illness and death," she said.

from San Diego were all on allergy

medications to take the sting out of their eyes

and keep their noses from running so they

can ride out the smoke for the rest of their

vacation.

"We got up and it was a lot clearer this

morning. We went for a walk and then we

came back and now it's coming in again," she

said of the smoke. "We're going to go and see

a movie and hopefully it clears up enough

that we can go do our boat rides."

An army of firefighters worked to contain

the blaze, which has spread explosively in a

manner witnessed in the past two years

during extreme drought. Climate change has

made the West warmer and drier in the past

30 years and will continue to make the

weather more extreme and wildfires more

destructive, according to scientists.

Massive plumes have erupted in flames,

burning embers carried by gusts have

skipped miles ahead of fire lines, and fires

that typically die down at night have made

long runs in the dark.

Northern California has seen a series of

disastrous blazes that have burned hundreds

of homes and many remain uncontained. On

Tuesday, President Joe Biden declared that a

major disaster exists in California and

ordered federal aid made available in four

northern counties ravaged by blazes dating

back to July 14.

The Caldor Fire had scorched more than

190 square miles (492 square kilometers)

and destroyed at least 455 homes since Aug.

14 in the Sierra Nevada southwest of Lake

Tahoe. It was 11% contained and threatened

more than 17,000 structures.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 2021

8

FIRST BANGLADESH FIXED INCOME FUND

Statement of Financial Position as at June 30, 2021

Statement of Profit or Loss and Other comprehensive income

For the year ended June 30, 2021

Statement of Changes in Equity


Statement of Changes in Equity


Statement of Cash Flows


Sd/= Sd/= Sd/=

General Information :

Sponsor

: Sonali Bank Ltd, Janata Bank Ltd, Eastern Bank Ltd, ICB Unit Funds,

Trustee

: Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB)

Custodian

: Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB)

Independent Auditor : Zoha Zaman Kabir Rashid & Co. Chartered Accountants

Banker

: Eastern Bank Limited

Dividend

: 4.00% Cash Dividend

The detailed annual financial report is available at the corporate office of Bangladesh RACE Management

PCL. Interested investors can collect a copy of the report on payment of Tk. 20 only.

“ The details of the published annual audited financial statements are available in website www.fbfif.com”

The Minister Group has launched a two-month program of the Human Care

Division. Under this program, any shopkeeper or retailer who buys more than

Tk 200,000 worth of human care products within two months will get a 170

model deep fridge or a 165 model refrigerator. Haji Shariatullah Store in

Fulpotti area of Narayanganj, Mayer Doa Store in Narayanganj, Alam Brothers

have been selected as the best shopkeepers of the month of this program

launched by the Minister. There are also a few stores in Savar including

Bhatija General Store, Big Bazar General Store, Bismillah General Store in

Ashulia, Khokon Sharif Store in Barisal Sadar, Mostafa Store in Kalapara area

of Patuakhali, Nayan Traders Bheramara in Kushtia, Liza General Store in

Pirgachha of Dhamurchakla and Rupa General Store in Kaliakair has also

been selected for the best shopkeeper program. Hafizul Karim, AGM Sales and

Marketing, Minister Group, said, "We have already provided a 32-inch LED TV

at Rupa General Store. This program of LED TV cost us over one and a half

lakh Taka. We still have this program running. Yet if a party purchases a

human care product worth two lakh Taka in two months with the same invoice

or part-by-part, it will also come under our program. Besides, we have already

delivered the gift of this program to the shopkeepers". Photo : Courtesy

WASHINGTON : The World

Bank has suspended aid to

Afghanistan, saying it is

"deeply concerned" by the

situation there, especially

regarding women's rights,

after the Taliban seized

power, a bank spokesperson

told AFP.

"We have paused

disbursements in our

World Bank 'deeply

concerned,' pauses

aid to Afghanistan

operations in Afghanistan and

we are closely monitoring and

assessing the situation," the

official said. "We are deeply

concerned about the situation

in Afghanistan and the impact

on the country's development

prospects, especially for

women."

The suspension follows the

Taliban's swift takeover of

Afghanistan, as US forces

prepared to complete a

withdrawal with a deadline of

August 31.

realmeto launch 4 trendsetting

devices on the 28th of August

2021 in Bangladesh

Top 1 Smartphone brand in Q2, 2021 realmehas announced

that it is all set to launch a gaming phone named 'narzo 30'

soon combining speed and performance for the Gen Z

players who want to outshine their competitors with their

champion performance. For the tech-savvy youth, they will

also launch a laptop 'realme Book Slim' to fulfill their

modern-day tech necessities. To win exciting prizes by

participating in the live launch event, click this

linkhttps://cutt.ly/realme_narzo30_BookSlim_Launch.

A latest offeringfrom the narzo series, narzo 30comes with

a stylish V design and dynamic appearance. The narzo series

is the gaming series of the brand, with powerful processor

and features that make gaming faster and smoother. By

combining speed with performance, narzo 30 has been

designed especially for the young gamers.

The narzo 30 is built for the champions who can enjoy the

ultimate speed and smooth gaming experience with this

phone owing to its octa-core Helio G95 gaming processor. It

comes with a battery capacity of up to 5000mAh with fast

chargingwith which ,the users can charge the deviceto 50% in

just 26 minutes.

It also features 90Hz Ultra Smooth Display along with a big

display, making scrolling on this phone more comfortable.

This phone is also equipped with an AI Triple Camera, which

includes Super Nightscape, Night Filters and Ultra Macro

and many other interesting features. As a brand realme

always encourages the youth to 'Dare to Leap' and unleash

their creativity and recently as a part of their Fan Fest, they

shared the story of a young gamer, Mohammad Ibrahim

Hossain also known as PUBG X - the name of his youtube

channel. He struggled from more than 7 years to establish

himself as a gamer with international repute despite all

setbacks. For an uninterrupted gaming experience, a good

gaming device is imperative and the narzo series lives upto

the mark.

ONE Bank Limited recently distributed relief materials as a part of its special

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program for the Corona pandemic

affected underprivileged families in Shahjadpur by maintaining

health rules and social distancing. A total of 315 underprivileged families

were given the humanitarian aid. In the total coordination of Bank's

Shahjadpur SME/Agri branch relief distribution program arranged successfully.

Each of them were given 15 kilograms of rice, 2 kilograms of

flour, 5 kilograms of potato, 1 kilogram lentil, salt, edible oil, onions , 100

grams of chili powder and 1 soap.

Photo : Courtesy

NRBC Bank has provided Tk.12 lac as cash assistance for 600 helpless and

distressed people who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. On

Wednesday, AKM Mostafizur Rahman, Director of the bank handed over

the money at Uzirpur, Barisal. Each family received Tk.2000 under special

Corporate Social Responsibly (CSR) program of the bank due to the

ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, NRBC Bank has been providing

health care and medical equipment to various hospitals and emergency

workers in the country, an assortment of food items to the destitute and

helpless people and providing scholarships to the poor meritorious students

since beginning of the pandemic. In addition to traditional banking,

Bank has launched a virtual 'Health Desk' with a call center to provide 24

hours healthcare to customers and the general people. Photo : Courtesy

thurSDAY, AuguSt 26, 2021

9

India captain Virat kohli has promised his side won't back down in the remainder of their series

against england.

photo: Ap

Kohli adamant India 'won't back

down' against England

SportS DeSk

India captain Virat Kohli has promised

his side won't back down in the

remainder of their series against

England after saying verbal abuse from

the hosts inspired a memorable win at

Lord's last week.

India are 1-0 up in the five-match

contest heading into Wednesday's third

Test at Headingley following a 151-run

victory at the 'home of cricket'.

What had been a hard-fought

encounter saw India pull away on the

last day after tailenders Mohammed

Shami and Jasprit Bumrah shared an

unbroken stand of 89 for the ninth

wicket.

India's quicks then combined to

dismiss England, set 272 to win in 60

overs, for just 120.

The match witnessed several verbal

confrontations, with the spark for all

the 'sledging' appearing to be lit when

Bumrah peppered England tailender

James Anderson with bouncers during

a 10-ball over on the third evening that

saw the India paceman repeatedly

over-step.

That prompted some sharp

exchanges between Anderson and

Kohli, with more flare-ups coming on a

last day where England, in what looked

like an attempt to exact revenge,

suffered a self-inflicted wound by too

Afghan Paralympians

evacuated and safe: IPC

SportS DeSk

Afghanistan's two Paralympic

athletes have been safely

evacuated from the country,

the International Paralympic

Committee said Wednesday,

declining to specify their

destination, reports BSS.

The two taekwondo

athletes, Zakia Khudadadi

and Hossain Rasouli, were

originally due to represent

their country at the Tokyo

Paralympics.

But with the swift fall of

Afghanistan to the Taliban,

the pair were among the tens

of thousands trapped and

unable to leave the country.

Before the Games began,

the IPC confirmed that the

athletes would no longer be

able to compete, and the

Afghan flag featured at

Tuesday's opening ceremony

in a symbolic fashion only,

carried by a volunteer.

"Efforts have been made to

remove them from

Afghanistan, they are now in a

safe place," IPC spokesman

Craig Spence said

Wednesday. n"I'm not going

to tell you where they are

because this isn't about sport,

this is about human life and

keeping people safe."

Spence said the pair would

not be competing at the

Games, and their focus at the

moment was on their wellbeing.

"Obviously they've

been through a very

traumatic process, they're

undergoing counselling and

psychological help," he told

reporters.

"We are being kept in the

loop about their whereabouts

and their well-being."

often bowling short at Shami and

Bumrah.

"(Lord's) just showed this team is not

going to back down and take a

backward step when provoked," Kohli

said Tuesday. "What is said on the field

and what's done in the moment gives

you extra motivation.

"We play together, we play to win and

we don't let anyone or any opposition

just take us lightly."

The star batsman refused to

comment on the specifics of England's

conduct, adding: "I cannot give you the

details of the words that were spoken.

"It happens in the moment when

you're playing competitive sport but it's

what you do after that situation, or how

you get up from that situation, that

matters," Kohli said.

The India skipper hinted he would

stick with a winning team unless the

pitch looked like it would favour

Ravichandran Ashwin's off-spin.

England, however will be without

Mark Wood due to a shoulder injury,

with the fast bowler joining a lengthy

list of absentee quicks that includes

Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer, Chris

Woakes and Olly Stone.

Meanwhile, key all-rounder Ben

Stokes remains unavailable due to

ongoing mental health issues.

But Kohli was affronted when it was

suggested to him that the hosts'

problems presented India with an ideal

opportunity to win their first Test series

in England since 2007.

"Even when key players are playing

we think we can beat anyone in the

world -- we don't wait for the

opposition to be weak," he said.

England's repeated failures at the top

of the order have led to a recall for

Dawid Malan, who is set to bat at

number three with Haseeb Hameed

moved up to open alongside Rory

Burns after Dom Sibley was dropped.

Joe Root, back on his Yorkshire home

ground, has been carrying England's

batting this series with 386 runs,

including two centuries and a superb

180 not out in the second Test, at an

average of 128.66.

Nevertheless, the England captain

remained upbeat even though his team

are now without a win in seven Tests.

"I'm playing for England and I'm

playing Test cricket," said Root. "It's

quite easy to stay positive in that

respect, I'm living my boyhood dream."

India have not played a Test at

Headingley since a commanding

innings win in 2002 built on hundreds

by Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and

Sourav Ganguly.

But an unconcerned Kohli said: "It's

just a Test match to be played against

England, be it any stadium, anywhere

in India or in England."

Scottish star Robertson

commits to Liverpool

SportS DeSk

Andy Robertson became the fifth senior

player in recent weeks to commit himself to

Liverpool when he signed a new long term

contract on Tuesday, reports BSS.

The 27-year-old Scottish international leftback

follows England defender Trent

Alexander-Arnold, Brazilian duo Fabinho,

and Alisson Becker and Dutch central

defender Virgil Van Dijk in signing new deals

with the 2020 champions.

Robertson was a pivotal player in both

Liverpool's 2019 Champions League success

and their league title campaign under Jurgen

Klopp. In all he has made 177 appearances

for Liverpool since joining from Hull in 2017

for £8 million ($10.9million).

"I want to stay at this club for as long as

possible and to extend my stay, it's always a

happy time for me, for my family,"

Robertson told the club website.

"We're settled here, we love everything

about this football club and I'm glad that the

journey is continuing."

Robertson said though it was nice to have

won Champions League and Premier League

winners medals he is hungry to add to them.

"When you sign for a massive club

obviously you have ambitions to become a

Andy robertson became the fifth senior player in recent weeks to commit himself

to Liverpool when he signed a new long term contract on tuesday. photo: Ap

regular player for Liverpool, to win trophies

for this club, to do everything else -- but the

way it's gone has been excellent," he said.

"But since the very start of my career I've

always been one to look forward; that's in the

past, that's something that I can sit down

with the people who want to listen to me

when I've hung up my boots and retired and

I can tell them all the stories that we've

already made.

Eriksen saviours

honoured by UEFA

SportS DeSk

The people who saved the

life of Denmark's Christian

Eriksen, who suffered a

cardiac arrest during the

opening match of Euro

2020, received the UEFA

President's Award on

Tuesday, the awarding body

announced, reports BSS.

UEFA president

Aleksander Ceferin

described the nine

recipients, who include

Denmark captain Simon

Kjaer, as "the true heroes of

Euro 2020".

"I have the utmost

admiration for the doctors

and medical staff for their

outstanding reaction and

calmness," said Ceferin.

"Attributes which were

crucial in Christian's

resuscitation."

"This year, the President's

Award transcends football.

It serves as an important

and eternal reminder of just

how precious life is and puts

everything in our lives into

the clearest perspective."

Afghanistan's Rashid

Khan sends Sussex

into T20 finals day

SportS DeSk

Rashid Khan saw Sussex

into the finals day of

English cricket's T20 Blast

despite the turmoil in his

native Afghanistan as his

dashing innings capped a

five-wicket win over

Yorkshire on Tuesday,

reports BSS.

After Luke Wright had

made 54, Khan came in

with south coast club

Sussex needing 43 off 21

balls to reach a victory

target of 178.But the

Afghanistan T20 captain,

best known as a legspinner,

unfurled his

'helicopter' shot as he

struck three fours and two

sixes to see Sussex home

with an unbeaten 27 off

just nine balls.

Japan expands virus emergency

after Paralympics open

SportS DeSk

Japan moved Wednesday to expand a virus

state of emergency to eight more regions, a

day after the Paralympic opening ceremony,

as rising infections put hospitals under

pressure.

The step comes with summer school

holidays ending and top infection experts

suggesting delaying the start of classes to

reduce infection risks.

The country has been recording more than

20,000 new infections a day in recent weeks,

and in urban areas like Tokyo patients in

serious condition have been left waiting for

hours or travelling long distances in

ambulances to find available hospital beds.

Government spokesman Katsunobu Kato

said a panel of experts had approved a plan

to place eight more regions under the

emergency already in place in 13 areas

including Tokyo.

The decision is expected to become official

later in the day, when Prime Minister

Yoshihide Suga convenes a special meeting

of ministers.

The measure largely limits the sale of

alcohol by restaurants and bars and asks

them to close early, while urging the public to

work from home and avoid non-urgent

outings.

"This puts further burden on the Japanese

people, but we ask for their continued efforts

to prevent infections," Kato told a regular

briefing.

2021/07/bill-pay-news-portel-770-x-90-

1-1627508116890.gif

The government also plans to bring four

other regions under a less strict measure that

already affects eight regions.

In all, the planned move will mean 33 of

Japan's 47 regions are under heightened

anti-infection rules as the country hosts the

Paralympics after the Olympics.

Organizers say their countermeasures

have stopped infection spreading from

participants to the Japanese public but some

experts argue holding the events has

undermined government messaging on the

virus and encouraged people to go out.

A top adviser to the government on the

virus told lawmakers Wednesday that

municipalities should be able to consider

extending the summer vacation for school

children to prevent infections.

The government has so far ruled out

blanket school closures, and is proceeding

with a vaccination program that began

slowly but has picked up speed, with around

40% of the population now fully inoculated.

So far Japan has recorded around 15,500

deaths in the pandemic.

Japan moved Wednesday to expand a virus state of emergency to eight

more regions, a day after the paralympic opening ceremony, as rising

infections put hospitals under pressure.

photo: Ap

Thompson-Herah 'on a mission' at

golden Lausanne Diamond League

SportS DeSk

A golden array of Olympic champions

has allowed the organisers to boast that

the Diamond League meeting in

Lausanne offered 'Best of Tokyo in 2

Hours' but even they were in doubt

over the headline race, reports BSS.

While World Athletics also crowed on

Tuesday that 19 Olympic gold

medallists had signed up for the

'Athletissima' meeting, the ninth leg of

the Diamond League, the most eyecatching

is sprinter Elaine Thompson-

Herah, who says she is on "a mission".

The Jamaican broke Florence-

Griffith Joyner's 33-year-old Olympic

record as she took gold in Tokyo.

Thompson-Herah then shaved another

0.07sec off her best time when she ran

10.54sec in the Diamond League

Prefontaine Classic in Oregon on

Saturday.

Only Griffith-Joyner, who set the

world record of 10.49 in Indianapolis in

1988, has run faster.

Before Thompson-Herah's explosive

win in Tokyo, the American had the

three fastest times in history, now she

has three of the five best and the

Pakistan beat West Indies

by 109 runs to level series

SportS DeSk

Shaheen Shah Afridi completed a ten-wicket match haul to

bowl Pakistan to a series-levelling 109-run victory over the

West Indies in the final session of the second and final Test

at Sabina Park on Tuesday.

Frustrated by the loss of an entire day's play and another

session to rain and a sodden outfield over the weekend,

Shaheen kept Pakistan's hopes alive with a devastating first

innings effort of six for 51 on day four - his best Test innings

performance - and returned on the final day to strike critical

blows.

Then, when it seemed the weather would ruin their

desperate push for victory, he came back for a final spell with

the second new ball to take the last two wickets and give his

team a tremendous triumph with one hour to spare.

Starting the day at 49 for one and facing the unlikely target

of 329, the West Indies were again let down by their toporder

batting, sliding to 113 for six in mid-afternoon despite

a battling 39 from captain Kraigg Brathwaite.

Jamaican wants the record.

"I think the records are in reach

because I ran 10.5 and I have so much

more within me," Thompson-Herah

said after her win in Eugene. "I have a

mission to complete."

"I have more races, so I don't get too

excited, too carried away. I have to

continue doing the job," she said.

On Thursday night she is due to face

six of the seven women she beat in

Tokyo including the silver and bronze

medallists, compatriots Shelly-Ann

Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson.

That is one of five events in Lausanne

where the all three athletes who stood

on the Olympic podium entered.

Competition opens on Wednesday

with a city-centre men's high jump, but

spectators will be deprived of a rematch

between the two men who agreed to

share gold in Tokyo.

While one Olympic champion, Italian

Gianmarco Tamberi will be there, the

other Mutaz Barshim withdrew after

the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamin bin

Hamad Al-Thani, asked the jumper to

be his guest of honour at a celebratory

function back home on Thursday.

"An invitation," World Athletics said,

ominously, "that could not be refused."

The man World Athletics called their

'Harry Lime', Belarusian Maksim

Nedasekau, the third man in an epic

Tokyo duel who ended up with bronze,

will be there.

On Thursday the action switches to

the cosy Stade Olympic de la Pontaise,

but while the 48,000 seats at the Tokyo

Olympic Stadium were empty for the

Games, this time athletes will compete

in a packed stadium close to its 12,200

capacity.

Other events with all three Olympic

medallists competing include the

women's high jump, the men's 800m,

the men's shot, where American double

Olympic champion Ryan Crouser could

attack his own world record.

Some Olympic champions are

switching events.

Norwegian Karsten Warholm, who

smashed the 400m hurdles world

record in Tokyo, will run the 400m flat.

His compatriot Jakob Ingebrigtsen,

the Olympic 1500m champion, and the

10,000 gold medallist Ethiopian

Selemon Barega, will more or less split

the difference and face each other in the

3,000m.

THURsDAY, AUGUsT 26, 2021

10

Depp scores big win over

Amber as judge rejects

her bid

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been

making the news for quite some time.

After Heard accused Depp of

physical abuse, not only did the

couple split up but also got caught

in a lengthy legal battle. Now,

there has been a new

development, with Depp scoring

a major victory

a g a i n s t

Amber.

Recently, the

Pirates of the

Caribbean actor

shared that he

thinks Hollywood

is boycotting him

because of the case.

Depp had sued the

'Aquaman' actress for a $50

million defamation case.

He also sued a British

tabloid for libel for calling

him a 'wife-beater'.

Amber Heard pleaded to

dismiss the defamation

case against her.

However, according to

the rumours, Fairfax

County Chief Judge Penney

Azcarate rejected Heard's

motion, causing a win for

Johnny Depp. The case will

Akshay Kumar ready

for 'Bell Bottom' sequel

The Akshay Kumar spy action

thriller - 'Bell Bottom' released on

Thursday. While fans of the actor

and movie lovers are flocking to

theatres, the actor recently has

something special in store for all. In

a recent chat, Khiladi Kumar

revealed that this Ranjit M Tewari

directorial could very well have a

sequel.

Talking to a news portal at the

post-screening press conference of

the movie, Akshay revealed with

the film's climax, there is scope for

a sequel. He also added that if the

makers develop a good script,

things could indeed work out.

Speaking about it, Akshay Kumar

told, "Yes, if you see the way the

film ended, there's definitely scope

for a sequel. So, let's wait and see, if

they (the makers) come with a good

script, then we could work things

out."

Akshay Kumar also opened up

about why the makers decided to

release 'Bell Bottom' during the

RakshaBandhan weekend instead

now proceed with the trial next year.

Even though Johnny Depp scored a

victory here, he lost the UK tabloid

libel case. It was reported that after

a trial that lasted for weeks, Judge

Andrew Nicol stated that there is

"substantial truth" to the article in

The Sun. The 14 incidents that

happened during the troubled

marriage added to the reason

why Depp lost the case to the

tabloid.

Amongst all of this, Amber's

team considered this as a win

for her. After this, she filed a

motion to ask the Virginia court

to dismiss the defamation case

against her. Deadline reported

that Depp's lawyers commented

on the case and said, "Mr Depp is

most gratified by the Court's

decision."

This is not the first win for Johnny

Depp. The actor was recently granted

permission by a New York judge to

check whether Amber Heard has

donated a small amount of their $ 7

million-divorce settlement to the ACLU,

which she proclaimed to do. As per some

reports, Depp also sued the ACLU to force

them to reveal if Head made the promised

donations.

Source: Times Of India

of the Independence Day weekend.

The actor said, "See, it is not my

call. Mr. VashuBhagnani, who's the

producer of the film, he takes the

call. So, I have no idea about this.

I'm just going according to what he

wants. I think, according to

Vashuji, the 19th of August is much

better, so yeah, they're seasoned

people, they know much better."

'Bell Bottom', a spy action thriller

film, is directed by Ranjit M Tewari

and written by AseemArrora and

Parveez Sheikh. It features Akshay

Kumar as the lead character Anshul

Malhotra aka Agent 'Bell Bottom',

Lara Dutta as Indira Gandhi, Vaani

Kapoor, Huma Qureshi and others

in pivotal roles. Produced by

VashuBhagnani, JackkyBhagnani,

DeepshikhaDeshmukh and

NikkhilAdvani under the banners

Pooja Entertainment and Emmay

Entertainment, the film is inspired

by real-life hijacking events in India

by Khalistani separatists during the

1980s.

Source: Indian Express

TBT RepoRT

Several days ago, Nazmun

Munira Nancy, a National Film

Award winning singer, said that

she is going to get married for

the third time. At the time, she

told The Bagladesh Today that

the she would get married for

the third time if the Corona

13 global artists' work

showcased at 'Femininity

is for Love'

To celebrate the glory of femininity, Begum

Gallery is hosting a virtual reality exhibition

"Femininity is for Love," featuring 13

renowned international artists, throughout

August, reports UNB.

The online exhibition has been dedicated

to revered Islamic Sufi preachers

HazratBoropir Syed Abdul QadirJilani (RA)

and HazratDeewanKhwajaGhareeb Nawaz

Moinuddin Chishti (RA), according to artist

Shaila Simi Nur, managing director of

Begum Gallery. About this special

exhibition, she said: "Instead of loving

women and respecting femininity, today's

society and communities are using women

as commodities. Let's change the attitude

situation returns to normal.

However, in the meantime, she

secretly got engaged at a private

ceremony amongst their close

family members.

It is heard that Nancy is in

love with Mohsin Mehedi,

the Chief Operating Officer of

music production company,

Anupam Recordings, is also a

towards females and femininity, which is

our motto behind the exhibition. Femininity

is a tree that keeps everyone under the shade

of love, and it has become a mountain that

holds the stability of today's world."

"In this event, we are also remembering

Hazrat Ahmed Shafi Maqsood (RA) and

Mother Taslima Begum (RA),"Shaila added.

While introducing the participant artists,

she said: "We've Bishwajit Goswami, a

ARIes

(March 21 - April 21) : Have you

been thinking about adopting a pet?

Even if you haven't, a lovely little dog

or cat could come into your life now and show signs

of wanting to stay with you, Aries. Don't let

mundane considerations get in your way. An

animal could bring a lot of joy into your life now.

Your health should continue to thrive, though your

energy might come and go in spurts.

TAURUs

(April 21 - May 21) :A friend could

propose that you participate in a

new project together. This may be

something you've never done

before, Taurus, and you're likely to have doubts. If

you have any interest at all, don't let your doubts

get in your way. Whatever your friend offers may

involve the investment of a lot of time, but all signs

say that in the end it will be worth it.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21) : A sudden

feeling of love for your home could

catapult you into redecorating,

Gemini. News could come your

way of sudden good fortune involving a family

member. This is likely to affect the entire family in

some way, so while you're happy for your relative,

be glad for yourself, too. Don't be surprised if you

feel a touch of envy. You're human, after all.

Nancy to tie knot

again, completes

engagement

lyricist.They are going to get

married soon. Nancy

recently celebrated Mehdi's

birthday. However, the artist

did not say anything openly

about it.

Meanwhile, as per Nancy's

earlier announcement, she

changed her Facebook

relationship status on

Monday (August 23). Seeing

'Engaged' there, she is

floating in good wishes from

the well-wishers.

On the same day, Anupam

Music CEO Mehedi's timeline

was adorned with a picture of

exchanging rings. There was

Nancy's hand on Mehdi's hand

along with rings.

Nancy has recently divorced

her second husband

Nazimuzzaman Zaid. Nancy

married Zayed on March 4,

2013.This was Nancy's second

marriage. Earlier, in 2006, she

married businessman Abu

Saeed Sourav. Their only

daughter is Rodela. They got

separated on May 24, 2012.

famous Bangladeshi artist and educator. He

is an assistant professor at the drawing and

painting department of the Faculty of Fine

Arts, University of Dhaka and also a visiting

faculty at the architecture department of

both BUET and Brac University. Two of his

artworks are now on display: Kingdom of

women 1 and 2," she said.

Polish artist Olga Zehaf's artworks are also

being showcased at the exhibition.

H o Roscope

LIBRA

(sept. 24 - oct. 23): Your

imagination is always fertile, but

today it's especially productive,

perhaps surprisingly so, Libra. You could come up

with ideas for all kinds of new projects. Friends

could want to work with you, and they should have

a lot to contribute. Make sure you write down some

of your ideas so you can go back to them later. You

won't be able to get everything done today!

scoRpIo

(oct. 24 - Nov. 22): A goal that

you and some friends have been

trying to reach may take a sudden

turn and show signs of manifesting sooner than

you expected. This could be a real break for you and

you might be baffled as to how to make the most of

it. Don't worry about that now. Celebrate with your

friends. Within a few days you'll be in the frame of

mind to move ahead!

sAGITTARIUs

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): Acknowledgement

for work well done could come your way,

Sagittarius, as those around you

suddenly seem to see you in a new light.

In some cases, a touch of fame could result. This could

pertain either to your career, personal life, or both. Either

way, it boosts your enthusiasm and self-esteem, which

should enable you to continue pushing ahead. Enjoy your

fame and then aim higher!

Fazlur Rahman Babu's upcoming film,

'Khachar Bhetor Ochin Pakhi'

TBT RepoRT

Fazlur Rahman Babu is a Bangladeshi actor and singer. He

won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Supporting

Actor three times for his roles in the films Shonkhonaad

(2004), Meyeti Ekhon Kothay Jabe (2016) and Fagun

Haway (2019). He has also been featured in an Indian film.

This noted actor Fazlur Rahman Babu is currently

shooting for the Chorki original film, "Khaanchar Bhetor

Ochin Paakhi", directed by Raihan Rafi, in Rangpur.

In the film, the character played by Fazlur Rahman Babu

goes missing. He will be shooting for "Khaanchar Bhetor

OchinPaakhi" in Rangpur for 10 days.

"Affluence or politics never attracted me. I have always

wanted to be an artiste," says Fazlur Rahman Babu, who

celebrated his birthday yesterday.

His films, "Paap Punno", "Payrar Chithi", "Uraal", "Raat

Jaga Phul", and "Nona Joler Kabbo" are awaiting release,

as of now. Besides that, the National Film Award-winning

actor is busy with his television ventures.

cANceR

(June 22 - July 23) : New

channels of communication may

open up for you today. A female

author whose work you enjoy could

release a new book, Cancer. You could meet some

new neighbors who share your interests or you

could come into contact with like-minded people

online. This promises to open new territory for you

regarding your intellectual and social lives. Your

mind is going to be working overtime!

Leo

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Your

adventurous side could show

itself, Leo. You might have a

talent for an activity you never

considered before, such as rafting, flying,

mountain climbing, or skydiving! Or it could

be a less risky pastime that's still new to you.

This is a good time to tackle new projects of

any kind. Just make sure you know all the ins

and outs before getting started.

VIRGo

(Aug. 24 - sept. 23): Lucky you! An

unexpected break could come your way

that gets you started in just the direction

you've wanted to follow. This could involve

love, career aspirations, or simply a new way of living that

you've been longing to experience. Friends might play a

major role in this process. Move ahead cautiously, but move

ahead. Breaks like this don't come very often!

cApRIcoRN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): Your desire

to advance your education and

learn new skills could be

promoted by a sudden event that points you in

the right direction, Capricorn. You could start

training an artistic talent or learn to use new

technology or find out about the latest

advances in scientific knowledge. Your mind

is sharp and curiosity high. The opportunity to

learn will appear.

AQUARIUs

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : Today you

might feel an overwhelming physical

attraction to a new person even if

you're already involved, Aquarius.

Also, an unusual stroke of luck could bring some extra

money your way. It could be an unexpected bonus, a

sale of some kind, or a gift. The temptation to spend it

all at once could arise. If you don't need the money for

routine expenses, go for it! You deserve a reward.

pIsces

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : An unexpected

invitation to a social event could put

you in touch with unusual, fascinating

people, Pisces. Some of them may be

involved in professions that interest you. Some may

become your friends and others might prove to be

valuable business contacts. New opportunities could

come your way as a result. Whatever invitations come

your way, don't turn them down.

ThursDAY, AuGusT 26, 2021

11

Bangladesh proclaims ‘Global Champion’

in child drowningprevention

Webinar titled "Bangladesh - a Global Leader in Drowning Prevention" held on Wednesday.

Photo : Courtesy

Slow Covid vaccination to cost

global economy $2.3 trillion

PARIS : The slow rollout of coronavirus

vaccines will cost the global economy $2.3

trillion in lost output, a report released

Wednesday found.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's study

found that emerging and developing

economies, whose vaccine rollouts are far

behind those of wealthier countries, will bear

the brunt of those losses.

The report comes as advanced nations

move towards providing booster shots to

their populations while the international

effort to provide vaccines for poorer nations

remains inadequate.

The study calculated that countries which

fail to vaccinate 60 percent of their

populations by mid-2022 will suffer the

losses, equivalent to two trillion euros, over

the 2022-2025 period.

"Emerging countries will shoulder around

two-thirds of these losses, further delaying

their economic convergence with more

developed countries," the EIU said.

It warned the delayed rollout of vaccines

could fuel resentment, increasing the risk of

social unrest in developing economies.

The Asia-Pacific Region will be the worst

hit in absolute terms, accounting for nearly

three-quarters of the losses.

KAMPALA : A flight

carrying Afghan evacuees

fleeing the Taliban takeover

of their country touched

down early Wednesday in

Uganda where they will be

given temporary refuge,

government officials said.

The foreign ministry said

a charter flight carrying 51

Afghans-including men,

women and children-landed

in the lakeside city of

Entebbe, where they were

whisked to hotels in a

convoy of buses.

More evacuees from

Afghanistan are expected to

arrive at a later time in

Uganda from the war-torn

country, the ministry said.

It said it followed a

request from the US

government to temporarily

host "at-risk" Afghan

nationals and others who

are in transit to the United

States and other

destinations worldwide.

"The decision to host

those in need, is informed

by the Government of

Uganda's consistent policy

of receiving refugees and

persons in distress as well as

playing a responsible role in

Uganda welcomes

first group of

Afghan refugees

matters of international

concern," the ministry said

in a statement.

Media reports have

suggested Uganda had

agreed to take about 2,000

refugees but this has not

been confirmed.

Uganda hosts one of the

largest refugee populations

in the world-nearly 1.5

million according to the

United Nations, mainly

from neighbouring South

Sudan and the Democratic

Republic of Congo.

The ministry said that

arrangements were also

being made to bring home a

number of Ugandans who

were unable to make this

first flight "due to the

challenges of accessing the

airport in Kabul".

Neighbouring Rwanda

said on Tuesday it also plans

to take in dozens of

schoolgirls and staff from

Afghanistan's only boarding

But as a percentage of GDP, sub-Saharan

Africa will suffer the worst losses.

Around 60 percent of the population of

higher-income countries received at least

one dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of late

August, compared to just one percent in

poorer nations, according to the study. Two

doses are required to be fully vaccinated for

most shots. "Vaccination campaigns are

progressing at a glacial pace in lower-income

economies," it said.

The report's author, Agathe Demarais, said

the international effort to provide

coronavirus vaccines to poor nations, Covax,

has failed to live up to its even modest

expectations.

"There is little chance that the divide over

access to vaccines will ever be bridged" with

rich countries providing only a fraction of

what is needed, she said in a statement.

"Finally, the focus in developed economies

is shifting towards administering booster

doses of coronavirus vaccines, which will

compound shortages of raw materials and

production bottlenecks," she added.

The EIU said its study was conducted by

combining its in-house forecasts for

vaccination timelines in around 200

countries with GDP growth forecasts.

school for girls.

Since the Taliban's August

15 takeover of Kabul,

Afghans have grown

increasingly desperate to

escape the country, with

many terrified of facing life

under the hardline Islamist

group.

The US embassy in

Kampala thanked Uganda

for its "generosity and

hospitality toward these

communities".

"The Government of

Uganda and the Ugandan

people have a long tradition

of welcoming refugees and

other communities in need,"

the embassy posted on

Twitter.

Most refugees in Uganda

live in large refugee

settlements in the sparsely

populated north of the

country but around 81,000

urban refugees live in the

capital Kampala.

Aid agencies have

repeatedly said that the

international response to

support refugees in Uganda,

a country of about 44

million people, has been

underfunded.

Oil edge lower

after two-day

rally on supply

issues

RIYADH: Oil prices

nudged lower on

Wednesday, taking a

breather after a strong

rally this week spurred

by the loss of a quarter of

Mexico's production and

signs that China, the

world's biggest importer,

has curbed a recent

coronavirus outbreak.

Brent crude futures

dropped 9 cents, or 0.1

percent, to $70.96 a

barrel by 0639 GMT,

while U.S. West Texas

Intermediate (WTI)

crude futures fell 19

cents, or 0.3 percent, to

$67.35.

Both benchmark

contracts rose by about

8% over the previous two

days, erasing most of the

slump from a seven-day

losing streak.

Also supporting oil

prices was a fire on an oil

platform off Mexico on

Sunday that killed five

workers and took

421,000 barrels per day

(bpd) of production -

about a quarter of the

country's overall output -

off line. The company

said on Monday that the

fire caused the shutdown

of 125 wells in the field,

which will reduce

Mexico's daily output of

oil equivalents by

421,000 bpd.

The US Department of

Energy said on Monday

it would sell up to 20

million barrels of crude

from the emergency oil

reserve to comply with

legislation, with

deliveries to take place

between Oct. 1 and Dec.

15.

Meanwhile, the value

of Saudi Arabia's oil

exports in June

increased 123 percent to

SR61.5 billion ($16.4

billion) from a year

earlier.

"We feel proud of Bangladesh's role

as a global leader in drowning

prevention. Underthe leadership of our

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, it is

important for Bangladesh toreduce

under 5 child drowning deaths to keep

our promise to reduce child

mortalityas targeted in the SDGs.

Through GO-NGO collaboration and

raising communityawareness like what

we did in reducing MMR and disaster

management, it is possiblefor

Bangladesh to save many lives from

drowning."

M A Mannan MP, minister, ministry

of planning, expressed his

commitment in anonline webinar

titled "Bangladesh - a Global Leader in

Drowning Prevention" held on

Wednesday, organized by Campaign

for Popular Education (CAMPE).The

chief guest of the event M A Mannan

MP, said, "the government has

alreadyidentified the child drowning

deaths as a serious public health

concern and prioritizesprevention. The

ministry of Women and Children

Affairs has already developed

DPP(Development Project Proposal)

GD-1237/21 (8x4)

and expecting approval shortly from

ECNEC." He alsosaid, "the government

of Bangladesh recognizes the urgency

to have a resolution togenerate greater

political commitment to prevention of

drowning and is honoured to lead this

effort at the UN recently. Due to

Bangladesh's leadership UN has taken

theresolution on drowning

prevention".

Special Guest of the event Aroma

Datta MP, member of the committee

ongovernment assurances,

Bangladesh parliament said, "Our

government is committedto work on

welfare of women and children. In view

of the increasing significance

offocusing on this particular issue and

the need for linking it with awareness

buildingamong parents and

communities has now become an

important area of thegovernment".

Presided over by Rashda K

Chowdhury, former Advisor, Caretaker

Governmentand the Executive

Director of CAMPE, the program

informed that the Ministry ofWomen

and Children Affairs has taken

initiatives to establish 200 child care

centers at 40 Upazilas of 16 districts

though which at least two lac children

under 5 will becomeunder institutional

supervision. They are waiting for the

approval from ECNEC. Vandana

Shah, Director - South Asia Program,

Campaign for Tobacco-

FreeKids/Global Health Advocacy

Incubator, said, "Our research based

pilot interventionshowed that

appropriate supervision and providing

community daycare to under fiveyears

old reduced drowning death by 88%.

Bloomberg philanthropic is happy to

seethat the Government of Bangladesh

is supporting to scale up nationwide

drowningprevention strategy."

Studies revealed that Bangladesh has

one of the highest fatal drowning rates

in theworld. Every year almost 13,000

children die from drowning. Drowning

accounts for43% of deaths among

children between the ages of one and

four. Every day 30Children under five

die from drowning who didn't even

grow enough to learnswimming.

Among others, Mr. RuhulQuddus,

country lead of GHAI expressed

hisopinion.

Energy giant Siemens, Egypt kick off

green hydrogen deal with pilot project

DUBAI: Egypt is working with global company Siemens

Energy to develop the country's hydrogen industry, kicking it

off with 200 megawatt (MW) of electrolyzer capacity.

The pilot project is part of a long-term partnership between

Siemens and the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company

(HECC), the pair said in a statement.

It is meant to drive early technology deployment, secure

certifications, and define logistic concepts as the country

pursues to develop a hydrogen-based industry with export

capabilities.

"The agreement will support EEHC and the Egyptian state

in opportunities to localize and maximize the use of the green

hydrogen industry," EEHC's Mohamed Shaker said.

Earlier in January, the two bodies signed a letter of intent

to cooperate on scaling up Egypt's hydrogen-based industry.

Under the partnership, they will jointly promote

"investment, technology transfer and implementation of

projects related to hydrogen production, based on renewable

energy in Egypt."

GD-1236/21 (5x4)

Thursday, Dhaka: august 26, 2021; Bhadra 11, 1428 BS; muharram 16, 1443 hijri

Attack on UNO's house

Nine people get

bail in Barishal

BARISHAL : A Barishal court on

Wednesday granted bail to nine accused

in two cases filed over the attack on the

residence of Sadar Upazila Nirbahi

Officer (UNO) Munibur Rahman on

August 18.

Barishal Additional Chief

Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad

Masum Billah passed the order, said

Advocate Rafiqul Islam Jhantu, a counsel

of the accused.

Earlier, Advocate Rafiqul Islam

Jhantu filed a petition seeking bail for 13

accused in the cases.

Those who secured bail are- Iktier

Uddin, Salam Manu, Alo Gazi, Momin

Uddin Kalu, Kabir Talukdar, Humayun

Kabir Hawladar, Ilias Jamir Uddin and

Nasir Uddin.

On August 22, a court rejected bail

plea of 21 Awami League men arrested

in connection with the cases filed over

the attack .

A clash broke out between the supporters

of the AL, BCL and members

and Ansar when the former tried to

attack the residence of the UNO at

Sadar Upazila Complex in Barishal on

August 18.

Five people suffered bullet wounds

during the clash. Of them two AL men

lost their eyesights later.

Earlier two separate cases were filed in

this connection.

Upazila Nirbahi officer Munibur

Rahman of Barisal Sadar Upazila and

Assistant sub-inspector of police

Shahjalal Mallick were the plaintiffs in

these cases accusing the mayor

Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah and his men

of obstruction of government work and

attempt to murder.

So far 22 people have been arrested in

this connection.

India sends 40

more ambulances

to Bangladesh

DHAKA : Forty more life support

ambulances have arrived in Petrapole

and will leave for Dhaka Thursday

after getting clearance at Benapole

land custom check post.

The remaining 38 ambulances are

expected to arrive in Dhaka by mid-

September.

These ambulances are intended to

support the Bangladesh government's

extensive effort to combat the Covid-

19 pandemic and underline India's

continuing and long-term commitment

to partner with the fraternal people

of Bangladesh.

During the state visit of Indian

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to

Bangladesh on 26-27 March

2021, he had announced the gift

of 109 life support ambulances to

the Bangladesh government, to

further enhance healthcare, especially

in the shared effort to contain

the Covid-19 pandemic in

Bangladesh.

In fulfilment of that commitment, 31

ambulances that had arrived earlier

were handed over to the Bangladesh

government on August 17.

SPM for fuel supply to

save Tk 800 cr yearly,

boost energy reserve

DHAKA : With installation of the Single

Point Mooring (SPM) having double

pipeline facility to supply imported fuel

at Moheshkhali island, the government

will save at least Taka 800 crore per

annum. "Bangladesh Petroleum

Corporation (BPC) initiated the SPM

project to carry fuel through pipelines

from mother vessels quickly, which

would also save Taka 800 crore per

annum," State Minister for Power

Energy and Mineral Resources told BSS.

He hoped the SPM construction

works will complete next year, adding,

"Once the project is implemented, it

would reduce oil pilferage and time for

fuel oil supply across the country."

"The Awami League government

led by Prime Minister Sheikh Haisna

has instructed to install SPM to

unload imported crude oil from deep

sea in a more efficient and time-saving

manner. The SPM will also ensure

energy security in the country,"

Nasrul Hamid added.

According to the project details, the

overall progress of the SPM installation

rose to 63.13 percent and the

financial progress reached 53.54 percent

so far. The SPM is located at the

west side of Maheshkhali island where

27-metre depth is available, which is

sufficient for docking a large tanker of

120,000 DWT.

Talking to BSS, Senior Secretary of

Energy Division Md Anisur Rahman

said that unloading of crude oil and

HSD from SPM will be done through

two separate Ø36" pipelines (Offshore

and Onshore) and will be stored into

the storage tanks at Maheshkahli.

"The SPM will easily unload imported

crude oil and finished products by 72

hours easily, which is now taking 11 days

for unloading 100,000 DWT

(Deadweight) tankers," he said, adding

that two separate lines for crude oil and

HSD will eliminate significant product

loss due to contamination if transported

through single pipeline and ensure efficient

and continuous transport of

designed quantity of each product along

the entire transport chain.

Anisur Rahman said that the crude

oil and HSD stored at storage tanks in

Maheshkhali will be pumped to

Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL)

through two separate Ø18" pipelines

(Offshore and Onshore).

"We have also undertaken projects

to install Chattogram to Dhaka for

uninterrupted supply of fuel, which

will reduce transport cost, pilferage

and wastage," he said.

Project Director of SPM with Double

Pipeline Engineer Md Sharif Hasnat

said that Chinese state-owned company

China Petroleum Pipeline

Engineering Company Ltd. (CPPEC) is

working as Engineering Procurement

and Construction (EPC) contractor,

while Germany based ILF Consulting

Engineers is engaged as consultant.

"The estimated cost for the SPM project

is around Taka 6568.27 crore, which is

being financed by Chinese EXIM Bank.

a Barishal court on Wednesday granted bail to nine accused in two cases filed over the attack on the residence

of Sadar upazila Nirbahi Officer (uNO) munibur Rahman.

Photo : Courtesy

Heavy rains lead to horrific

waterlogging in parts of

Chattogram

CHATTOGRAM : Incessant rains since

Tuesday night sent low-lying areas of

Chattogram city under water, causing

indescribable sufferings to its residents.

Waterlogging continues to haunt the

residents of the port city as its authorities

have so far failed to resolve the protracted

problem.

People living in Halishahar, Bakolia,

Agrabad CDA, Bahaddarhat,

Sholoshohor, No 2 Gate, Muradpur,

Prabartak and Chawkbazar areas are

experiencing the unusual waterlogging

following the heavy rainfalls.

Some people were seen wading

through knee-deep water to reach their

destinations in the morning. At some

places, the officer-goers had to pay extra

fares to reach their workplaces, reports

the UNB correspondent after visiting

different affected areas.

According to the local Met office, the

active monsoon triggered the rains and

that may continue for another two days.

"The rains may continue for two more

days. The Met office recorded 28 mm

rainfall till 9 am of Wednesday, and this

is happening due to active monsoon,"

said Sheikh Farid Ahmed, meteorologist

of Patenga Met office.

Idris Ali, a resident of Sholoshohor

area, said: "Just one hour of rain is

enough to drown the city, and that's

because of the authorities' negligence.

I've been waiting here for an hour but no

vehicle is available to catch."

Female office-goers are the worst

sufferers as they have to wade through

knee-deep water to go to their workplaces.

In some places, some CNG-run

auto-rickshaws went out of order as

rainwater entered their hosepipes,

forcing the drivers to manually push

them ahead.

Nasima Akhter, a garment worker, said:

"I've got stuck here in No-2 Gate area as all

the roads have gone under water. More

worrying is that the rickshaw-pullers were

demanding excess fares taking advantage

of the situation."

Pedestrians are crossing the road divider with risk. accidents can happen at any time. The picture was

taken from Kakrail area of the capital city yesterday.

Photo : Star mail

Govt wants

transparency, integrity

in all sectors: Quader

DHAKA : Awami League General

Secretary Obaidul Quader on Wednesday

said the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's

government wants transparency, integrity

and neutrality in all sectors.

He said this while addressing a discussion,

organised by Bangladesh

Secretariat Officers and Employees

Unity Council, at the Secretariat here

marking the National Mourning Day.

Speaking as the chief guest, Quader,

also the road transport and bridges minister,

said the results and consequences

of flattery and exploitation are not good.

"Many have now turned into neo-

Awami Leaguers. In words, they have

spoken and chanted slogans praising

Bangabandhu and Sheikh Hasina. I

want to ask them whether those words

are of their hearts." he said.

The AL general secretary said before

August 15 in 1975, many neo-Awami

Leaguers wore Mujib coats, but many

of them were trying to hide their Mujib

coats after the August 15.

The nation has not forgotten the

incident of shedding tears by

Bangabandhu's murderer Khondaker

Mostaq Ahmad and that is why there

is no need to pretend as the dearer

ones, he said.

Saudi willing to

invest in closed

jute mills

DHAKA : Saudi Arabia is keen to

invest in the production of jute goods

reopening the closed mills of

Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation

(BJMC), reports UNB.

Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh

Issa bin Youssef Al-Duhailan showed

his country's willingness at a meeting

with Textiles and Jute Minister Golam

Dastagir Gazi (Bir Pratik) at the latter's

office in Bangladesh Secretariat, said a

PID handout.

At the meeting, the minister assured

the Saudi ambassador that the world's

best quality jute is grown in

Bangladesh. Now different high quality

and attractive multi-purpose jute

products are being produced from this

fibre. Jute products are completely

environment friendly, he said.

Describing Saudi Arabia as a friendly

country of Bangladesh, Golam Dastagir

hoped that the kingdom would come up

with investments on a larger scale in the

textiles and jute sectors.

He said the demand for jute goods

has increased significantly in Saudi

Arabia with the rise of environmental

awareness there. Multipurpose jute

products are now being exported to

different countries in the world,

including Saudi Arabia.

"Bangladesh is willing to export jute

products to Saudi Arabia on a larger

scale in future," said the Minister.

In response, the Saudi envoy said his

country sincerely believes that

Bangladesh is a friendly country of

Saudi Arabia.

That is why Saudi Arabia is interested

in expanding and developing the

trade and commerce in the textiles

and jute sectors of Bangladesh, he

added.

Awami League introduced the

word 'disappearance': Rizvi

Shafiqul iSlam (Shafiq)

The BNP senior joint secretary general

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said, we have not

heard the word 'disappearance' before. I

have come to know what and how many

types of disappearances during this

Awami League (AL) government. So this

multiplication term was not familiar to

you before. He was speaking as a chief

guest at a discussion and prayer meeting

on the occasion of the 76th birth

anniversary of BNP chairperson Begum

Khaleda Zia organized by an organization

called Manab Seba Sangha at the

Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) auditorium

on Wednesday (Aug 25).

BNP chairperson's advisor Abul Khair

Bhuiyan, health affairs secretary Dr.

Rafiqul Islam, rural development affairs

secretary Gautam Chakraborty and

executive committee member Advocate

Nipun Roy Chowdhury spoke on the

occasion under the chairmanship of

Sanjay De Ripon.

Rizvi said on Tuesday in a program

the Prime Minister had said that the

grenade attack on August 21 was the

result of the disappearance of the body

by the then BNP government. That is,

she said strange things. Every day he

US reiterates pursuing accountability

for atrocities against Rohingya

DHAKA : The United States (US) yesterday

reiterated to pursuing and demanding

accountability for those responsible

for the atrocities and other human rights

abuses against Rohingyas, reports UNB.

"We recognize the need to address the

root causes of this violence and hold perpetrators

accountable to help prevent

such atrocities from recurring," US State

Department said in a statement marking

the fourth anniversary of horrific ethnic

cleansing against Rohingya in northern

Rakhine State of Myanmar.

The US welcomes the inclusive path

forward envisioned by the NUG and

other pro-democracy groups in

Myanmar and their pledge to reform the

1982 citizenship law, among other

actions intended to protect the rights of

Rohingya and members of other ethnic

minority groups, said the statement.

"These steps will be necessary to safeguard

the human rights and human dignity

of all people in Burma (Myanmar),

including Rohingya," the State Deptt said.

The statement said The United States

remembers the victims and recommits

to pursuing and demanding accountability

for those responsible for these

atrocities and other human rights abuses,

and seeking justice for victims.

The US will continue to promote justice

for victims and accountability for

those responsible for atrocities and other

human rights abuses, it said.

"The brutality of the military's atrocities

on that day shocked the conscience

of the international community - but we

recognize the Rohingya had already suffered

decades of grave human rights

spoke strangely and falsely. We have

never heard the word disappearance

before. I have come to know what and

how many types of disappearances

during this AL government. So this

multiplication term was not familiar to

you before.

The term came to be known during the

tenure of your government. And many

student human rights activists who

speak out for rights have gone missing.

Therefore, the people cannot be misled

by such misleading statements that the

then BNP government have disappeared

the body in the grenade attack on August

21. The people of the country are not

confused by your words.

Rizvi said the people immediately

understood that the ministers and MPs

of the government were making false

and misleading statements. During H M

Ershad's (late President) tenure you said

that those who will go to the polls under

this government are national traitors but

within 24 hours you went to the polls

with him.

And since then people don't believe

your words. He said the Rohingyas, who

have been persecuted by Myanmar's

army and government, have been living

in the country for four years.

abuses, and that many of those abuses

continue today," it added.

The statement said the same military

leaders who perpetrated the February 1

coup are committing abuses against prodemocracy

activists and members of

ethnic and religious communities across

the country.

"We have seen the same light infantry

brigades that terrorized Rohingya communities

in 2017 inflict brutal violence

on pro-democracy protestors since the

coup," read the statement.

The coup and the brutality of the military's

subsequent crackdown have exacerbated

the already precarious situation

for vulnerable people across Burma,

including Rohingya.

The United States continues to underscore

the need for unhindered humanitarian

access to all people requiring

assistance in Burma.

At the launch of the 2021 Joint

Response Plan for the Rohingya

Humanitarian Crisis in May, the United

States announced nearly $155 million in

new assistance to sustain critical efforts to

support Rohingya refugees and members

of the host communities in Bangladesh

and internally displaced Rohingya and

other affected people in Myanmar.

This new funding, which includes lifesaving

COVID assistance, brought the

total US humanitarian aid for those

affected by the crisis in Myanmar,

Bangladesh and elsewhere in the region,

to more than $1.3 billion - including

more than $1.1 billion in Bangladesh and

more than $238 million in Burma - since

August 2017.

26-08-2021

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