25-09-2021

Saturday

DhAkA: September 25, 2021; Ashwin 10, 1428 BS; Safar 17,1443 hijriwww.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.19; N o. 149; 8 Pages~Tk.8.00

international

Women’s voices at

UN General Assembly

few, but growing

>Page 3

Science & tecH

Apple iPad 2021

review

>Page 5

art & culture

Purnima in new

TVC

>Page 6

Bangladesh a 'dev miracle'

UN Chief to Hasina

NEW YORK : Secretary-General of the

United Nations Antonio Guterres has

highly praised Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina for the development in

Bangladesh, calling it a 'miracle'.

"The UN Secretary-General commended

Bangladesh for its development in different

sectors and humanity.... he

thanked the Prime Minister for achieving

a development of miracle," said Foreign

Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen.

The Foreign Minister was briefing

reporters after a bilateral meeting held

between Sheikh Hasina and Antonio

Guterres at the UN Secretariat Building

in New York on Thursday.

As the Bangladesh Prime Minister

arrived at the meeting venue, the UN

Secretary-General said, "Welcome to

your home."

He said both the UN and Bangladesh

shared common priorities in different

areas, including climate, financing and

SDGs. "We share common priorities.

Whether it's climate, financing and

SDGs. Those priorities in the UN are also

the priorities of Bangladesh," Permanent

Representative of Bangladesh to the

United Nations Rabab Fatima, who was

Covid in Bangladesh

Positivity rate

drops to 4.54

per cent

DHAKA : Amid a declining positivity

rate Covid-19 claimed 31 more lives

and infected 1,233 others in the country

in 24 hours till Friday morning,

reports UNB.

The latest cases were detected after

testing 27,557 samples showing a

decline in the daily case positivity rate

to 4.54 per cent from Thursday's 4.61

per cent, said the Directorate General

of Health Services (DGHS).

The case positivity rate is the lowest

in around six months as the country

last recorded 4.98 per cent daily case

positivity rate on March 8 this year.

Meanwhile, it said, the fatality rate

remained static at 1.76 per cent.

On Thursday, the country recorded

lowest Covid deaths of 24 since May 15

when the country saw 22 single-day

deaths.

According to DGHS, the fresh number

of deaths took the country's total

Covid-19 fatalities to 27,368 while the

caseload mounted to 15,49,553.

Besides, the recovery rate increased

slightly to 97.40 per cent on Friday

with the recovery of 1,413 patients during

the 24-hour period.

So far, 1,509,202 people have recovered

from the deadly virus infections,

the DGHS added.

The World Health Organization

(WHO) recommends that the daily

case positivity rate should remain at 5

per cent or below for 14 days before

mass unlocking.

Johr

04:34 AM

01:30 PM

04:15 PM

06:00 PM

07:20 PM

5:47 5:54

at the briefing, quoted Antonio Guterres

as saying.

Sheikh Hasina urged the Secretary-

General to appoint more Bangladeshis to

higher posts in the United Nations since

Bangladesh plays a significant role in the

United Nations. "We're your major tools,

but there're a few Bangladeshis in your

different higher posts," she said.

In reply, the Secretary General said

they would consider it.

In this regard, the Foreign Minister

told reporters that Bangladesh and the

UN are very closely linked. Bangladesh is

the number-1 troops-contributing country

to its peacekeeping mission. All the

UNDP projects are fulfilled (implemented)

in Bangladesh, he said.

"Bangladesh is a model (case) to the

UN as it's a vibrant economy coming out

from a poor economy. This is why the UN

always respects Bangladesh," said Dr

Momen, adding that the Bangladesh is a

success story for the United Nations.

Bangladesh has been playing a very

significant role in the UN since it became

a member of the multilateral organisation

in 1974, he said. "Bangladeshi

peacekeepers are creating a brand name

BNP remains unwell as people

remain well: Quader

wherever they work. So, we asked them

to appoint Bangladeshis in other areas

also," Dr Momen added.

The Bangladesh Prime Minister also

had a bilateral meeting with Queen

Maxima of the Netherlands at the former's

place of residence.

Queen Maxima, also the UN Secretary-

General's Special Advocate for Inclusive

Finance for Development, said they are

thinking whether an insurance programme

can be launched in Bangladesh

to bring poor farmers who are affected by

flood and storm under the insurance coverage.

Hasina also held two separate bilateral

meetings with President of the Maldives

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and President

of Vietnam Nguy?n Xun Phuc at the UN

Headquarters on the sidelines of the

United Nations general assembly.

In the meeting with Ibrahim

Mohamed Solih, Bangladesh asked the

Maldives to introduce a commercial

shipping service between Chattogram

port and Male port to transport goods

and food items at cheap rates in order to

boost trade and business between the

two countries.

DHAKA : Awami League General

Secretary and Road Transport and

Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader

on Friday said BNP doesn't remain

well as the country's people remain

well.

He was addressing, as the chief

guest, the triennial council of Awami

League (AL)'s Chapainawabganj

municipality unit joining it virtually.

Quader said BNP feels jealousy as

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is

implementing development projects

one after another including Padma

bridge, metro-rail, elevated expressway,

Karnaphuli tunnel, underpasses,

upgrading highways to four or

eight lanes and reaching electricity

to the doorsteps of people.

BNP leaders are making absurd

comments as they cannot tolerate

these development works, he said,

adding that today wind of peace is

blowing through Bangladesh after

overcoming the BNP's dark period

and that is the reason for BNP's

jealousy. Mentioning that the

country's democracy is not safe to

BNP, the minister said BNP doesn't

perform politics for the country's

people rather for looters.

Talking of movements doesn't

suit the people, who could not

bring out a single effective procession

on streets for the party's

chairperson, he said, adding

BNP's series meetings are part of

series conspiracy.

As the people boycotted BNP,

they fear to join polls and that is

why BNP is spreading propaganda

centering elections, he said.

Quader said Sheikh Hasina's

goal is to develop the fortune of

the people while BNP's target is to

develop their own fortune earning

money.

He also called upon the party

leaders to provide scopes to

devoted workers of the party who

stayed beside the AL during its

dire need.

The AL general secretary said

public representatives who will be

found involved in wrongdoings,

drug trading, and terrorist acts

will not get party's nomination in

any elections in the future.

Visitors flock to the entertainment centers in the port city of Chittagong on Friday. People of all ages,

including children, flock to the tourist and recreation centers. The picture is taken from Foy's Lake Sea

World, Chattogram.

Photo : Star Mail

Bbilateral meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and UN Chief Antonio Guterres was

held at the UN Secretariat Building in New York on Thursday.

Photo : Star Mail

140 Bangladesh Police

officers in Mali get UN

Peacekeeping Medal

DHAKA : As many as 140 members of

Bangladesh Police working with the

United Nations Multidimensional

Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali

(MINUSMA) have been awarded the UN

Medal for their outstanding contribution

to the global peacekeeping operations,

reports UNB.

The medal was presented to the

Bangladesh cops at the MINUSMA headquarters

on September 21, where the mission's

Police Commissioner General

Bettina Patricia Bugani was present as the

chief guest. General Bettina praised the

professionalism and dedication of

Bangladesh Police in her speech. She said

the members of BANFPU-1 have been

very active in executing the mission mandate.

Commander (Superintendent of

Bangladesh Police) Belal Uddin, on his part,

said that the members of Bangladesh Police

have upheld the dignity of the country in the

international arena despite facing various

challenges amid the pandemic and by performing

their duties with sincerity and dedication.

He also thanked every officer for

their contribution. Besides, he expressed

his gratitude to the UN authorities for

awarding the Peacekeeping Medal to

Bangladesh Police. Chief of Operations

Sharfadin Margis, along with members of

the military, police and civilian from various

countries, were present on the occasion.

Narcotics department is to

crack down 3,500 listed

drug dealers in Dhaka

Boycotting elections to be

suicidal for BNP: Hasan

DHAKA : Up to 3,500 people are

involved in illicit drug business in the

capital, the Department of Narcotics

Control said on Friday vowing to

crack down on them soon, reports

UNB.

Some of the listed people are directly

involved in drug dealing, some are

patrons or investors, Fazlur Rahman,

Head and Additional Director of

Department of Narcotics Control's

Dhaka Division, told a press conference

in Dhaka.

Recently, a team of the Narcotics

Control Department (DNC) of Dhaka

Metro-North arrested five drug dealers

along with 560 grams of ice and

1,200 pieces of yaba worth Tk 90 lakh

after conducting drives in Gulshan,

Bhatara, Kuril and Ramna areas of

the capital.

This was the largest-ever seizure of

ice in Dhaka, claimed the agency.

The list of drug dealers was compiled

after analyzing information

from the imams, public representatives,

locals, victims, drug addicts,

previous drug related crimes and law

enforcement agencies, he said.

A separate list of retail and drug

addicts has also been made, he added.

He said the department is trying to

bring the godfathers of drugs under

the law. Many have given up the drug

business because of the efforts taken

by the law enforcement agencies.

Some of them are patronizing the

trade or investing in it, he said.

According to the Narcotics Control

Act, in order to detain a drug dealer,

drugs have to be seized from a his/her

possession. And so, it is usually difficult

to arrest the godfathers as the

substance is usually carried by lower

level retailers or dealers.

"However, we're trying to arrest the

godfathers," said the director.

Among others, the department's

Dhaka Metropolitan North Deputy

Director Rasheduzzaman and

Assistant Director Mehdi Hasan were

present at the press conference.

KHULNA : Information and

Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan

Mahmud on Friday said boycotting

elections is a suicidal decision for those

who rely on the people's vote and mandate.

"In politics, boycotting elections is a

suicidal decision for those who rely on

the people's vote and mandate. But,

those who want to go to power through

the back door can boycott elections," he

told a cheque distribution ceremony

here.

The function was arranged to distribute

cheques among journalists at the

conference room of Deputy

Commissioner's office as part of the

government's financial assistance to the

journalists amid the ongoing coronavirus

pandemic.

Speaking as the chief guest, Hasan,

also the Awami League joint general

secretary, said it appeared in newspapers

that the BNP decided not to go for

any election under the incumbent government.

He said the BNP did not participate

in the 2014 polls, but the election

was held and the constitutional

continuity was maintained in the country.

The information minister said the

BNP also decided not to participate in

polls in 2018 but the party finally joined

it after muddling the water.

"So, I don't know whether they (BNP

leaders) will stick to this decision or not,

but it will be suicidal for them. Of

course, the BNP always likes the back

door (to assume power)," he said.

While distributing cheques among

the journalists, Hasan encouraged them

to publish positive news which will create

hope in the minds of the people.

He said full-fledged Bangladesh

Television (BTV) stations will soon be

set up in six divisional cities, including

Khulna, while information complexes,

including cineplexes, will be built in different

districts.

The information minister said the

government is sincerely working to give

a new life to the country's film industry

that started its journey under guidance

of Bangabandhu.

SATuRDAY, SePTeMBeR 25, 2021

2

'Burn survivor disabled women

seek special assistance'

RANGPUR : Burn survivor women with

disabilities have sought special

assistance and need-based care for their

treatments and development to bring

an end to their indescribable miseries

through mainstreaming in the society.

They viewed this at the concluding

function of a two-day 'Gender and

Disability Awareness Training Course'

arranged with the theme of building

leadership involving disabled women

during the Covid-19 pandemic at

community levels on Thursday.

Voice and Views, a national NGO

working for promoting human rights of

disabled women, especially burn

survivors, organised the event with

financial assistance of international

donor organisation Women Fund Asia.

The event was held at the office of

Jagorn Protibondhi Nari O Shishu

Unnayan Sangstha (JPNSUS), a local

NGO, in village Deuti under Pirgachha

upazila of Rangpur district.

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19

pandemic, Voice and Views also

continues providing food assistance and

health safety materials to burn survivor

women with disabilities in Rangpur,

Narsingdi and Kushtia districts.

Adviser of JPNSUS Nur Alam

presided over the concluding function

participated by 22 burn survivor

Seminar on

Social Work

Education to be

held tomorrow

A day-long seminar on 'Social

work education in

Bangladesh: Challenges and

Opportunities' will be held on

September 26, 2021 under

the auspices of the Institute of

Social Welfare and Research

(ISWR) of Dhaka University

(DU) at the institute

auditorium. Cabinet

Secretary Khandker Anwarul

Islam will attend the seminar

as chief guest. DU Pro-Vice

Chancellor (Administration)

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Samad

and Pro-Vice Chancellor

(Academic) Prof. Dr. A S M

Maksud Kamal will address it

as special guests, a press

release said.

ISWR Director Prof.

Tahmina Akhtar will preside

over the seminar while Prof.

Dr. Azlinda Azman of

University Sains Malaysia

and Prof. Dr. Md. Nurul

Islam of DU ISWR will

present keynote papers.

women with disabilities of Parul union

in Pirgachha upazila.

President of JPNSUS Khadija

Parveen and Senior Reporter of

Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha Md

Mamun Islam conducted different

sessions of the training course as

resource persons.

After participating in group

discussions and different sessions of the

event for the first time in their life, the

burn survivor disabled women

discussed their sufferings saying that

they even forgot their legitimate rights

and meaning of life.

While expressing her painful life

story, Abeda Khatun, 32, of village

Aviram in Parul union said her body

was burnt and became physically

disabled long ago and could not avail

medical services due to poverty.

"I cannot walk as bleeding continues

all the time from both of my infected

legs --- I have no ability to avail

treatments- I am suffering from other

diseases too," said a homeless Abeda,

who lives in her mother-in-law's tiny

house.

Like many others, Peyari Begum, 38,

of village Arazi Chalunia said she was a

minor girl when she was suddenly burnt

and her legs became the worst affected.

She was later married at a premature

age. She has a son and her day-labourer

husband cannot work due to illness for

many years.

An eighth grade student Khadija

Akhter Lucky, 14, of village Sharif

Sundor said most parts of her body

were burnt six years ago.

"Despite acute poverty in my family, I

am hardly continuing studies. I need

special assistance for my treatment and

education and remaining safe from

child marriage," Lucky said.

The participating burn survivor

women expressed their deep gratitude

to Voice and Views for bringing them

under its various assistance

programmes to establish their human

rights in the society.

Talking to BSS, Founder and

Executive Director of Voice and Views

Jannatul Ferdous, a 60 percent burn

survivor, said the meaning of Voice and

Views is 'To raise our voice for creating

positive views of the society' on the way

to attain the SDGs by 2030.

"We are working since 2014 to raise

human rights issues of burn survivor

women and other women with

disabilities for their development and

empowerment to contribute to the

government's efforts of building a

developed Bangladesh by 2041," she

added.

Booth camp for creating awareness

on RTI held in Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI : A daylong booth camp for

creating public awareness on the Right to

Information (RTI) Act was held at Saranjai

High School playground in Tanore Upazila of

the district on Thursday. Association for

Community Development (ACD) hosted the

camp in collaboration with the Carter Centre

and financial support of USAID. The camp,

organized under the "Advancing Women's

Right of Access to Information in

Bangladesh" project, showcased ideas about

various public services among the

marginalized community besides making

them interested and inspired to the services,

reports BSS

Ensuring responsiveness of the GOs and

NGOs for providing information in an

efficient and equitable manner was the main

objective of the camp. Upazila Nirbahi

Officer Pankaj Chandra Debnath addressed

the programme as chief guest, while Upazila

Chairman Abdul Maleque was in the chair.

ACD Programme Director Sharmin Shubrina

welcomed the participants. Social Service

Officer Hossain Khan, Youth Development

Officer Muhammad Sadequzzaman,

Livestock Officer Dr Billal Hossain and ACD

Programme Officer Krishna Rani Biswas also

spoke.

The discussants observed that substantial

and sustainable improvement of access to

information (a2i) has become crucial for

improving the living and livelihood

conditions of rural women.

Terming the access to information as vital

they viewed the full-length implementation

of the RTI act with unhindered flow of

information by all government and nongovernment

organization's concerned needs

to be ensured for expediting development

and ensuring good governance everywhere in

the society.

Sharmin Shubrina gave an overview of the

project along with its aims, objectives and

implementation strategy during his

multimedia presentation. She said the

project is being implemented in the Ward

Number 5 and 6 of Rajshahi City Corporation

(RCC) and Gogram and Matikata Unions of

Godagari upazila and Chanduria and

Saranjai Unions of Tanore upazila of

Rajshahi district. As a whole, the project is

intended to create an enabling environment

where women, especially Dalit and

Marginalized are able to enjoy Right to

information from government and nongovernment

agencies for protecting their

fundamental Rights.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud paid tribute to the portrait of

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Khulna Radio Center on Friday. Photo : PID, Khulna

GD-1400/21 (4x4)

Russian Ambassador to Dhaka Alexander Vikentyevich Mantytskiy paid a courtesy call on Bangladesh

Army Chief General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed at the Army Headquarters on Thursday. Photo : ISPR

70 village police

receive bicycles

at Fulchhari

GAIBANDHA : A total of 70

village police members of

Fulchhari upazila got

bicycles, reports BSS.

The bicycles were given at a

function held on the

premises of upazila

headquarters at Kalir Bazaar

in the district on Thursday

afternoon.

UNO Abu Rayhan Dolon

handed over the bicycles to

the members of gram police

as the chief guest.

Upazila level officials and

public representatives were

present on the occasion.

Murad for posthumous trial of

Zia for Bangabandhu killing

DHAKA : State Minister for Information and

Broadcasting Dr Md Murad Hassan has said that

the posthumous trial of Ziaur Rahman should be

held as the mastermind of the August 15

assassination to erase the stigma of the nation.

"The posthumous trial of Ziaur Rahman, the

mastermind of the August 15 carnage, is

inevitable to erase the stigma of the Bengali

nation," he said.

He was speaking at a view exchange meeting

organized by the Ontario Awami League in

Toronto, Canada as the chief guest on Thursday

last.

Murad added that killer Ziaur Rahman was

fully involved in the conspiracy of the

assassination of Bangabandhu and his family,

which has been revealed through the

investigation of Bangabandhu murder case.

"It is clear from this that Ziaur Rahman was

deeply involved in it (the assassination)," he

continued. He requested the Canadian

government to repatriate the fugitive killers of

Bangabandhu if they remain in Canada.

With Ontario Awami League President

Mostafa Kamal in the chair, the programme was

conducted by its Ontario Awami League General

Secretary Liton Masood.

Bangabandhu was assassinated along with all

but two of his family members on August 15,

1975 at his Dhanmondi residence in Dhaka by a

group of army personnel. His daughters - Sheikh

Hasina, now the prime minister, and Sheikh

Rehana - survived the massacre. as they were

abroad at that time.

GD-1398/21 (10x4)

Malaysia's tourism

receipts plunge 71.2

pct to 12.51 bln USD

KUALA LUMPUR :

Malaysia's tourism receipts

in 2020 slumped 71.2

percent to 52.4 billion

ringgit (about 12.51 billion

U.S. dollars) from a year ago,

as the COVID-19 pandemic

dragged the tourism

industry, official data

showed Thursday.

The travel restrictions to

curb the spread of COVID-

19 has affected Malaysia's

tourism performance in

2020, the Department of

Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)

said in a statement.

According to DOSM, the

inbound tourism

expenditure plummeted

84.6 percent year on year to

only 13.7 billion ringgit in

2020; domestic tourism

receipts also declined by

58.3 percent year on year to

38.6 billion ringgit.

The impact of the COVID-

19 pandemic is also reflected

in the tourism direct gross

domestic product, which has

declined by 72 percent to

28.5 billion ringgit as

compared to 102 billion

ringgit in 2019.

DOSM data also showed

that the tourism industry

had generated 199.4 billion

ringgit of gross value added

of tourism industry (GVATI)

last year by contributing 14.1

percent to Malaysia's gross

domestic product.

Due to the government's

restriction in economic

activities to curb the spread

of COVID-19, the GVATI

had shrank 17.1 percent year

on year from 240.5 billion

ringgit in 2019. (1 U.S. dollar

equals 4.19 ringgit)

US soldier wins long

fight to get Afghan

translator asylum

NEW YORK : Army combat

veteran Spencer Sullivan has

never felt more victorious.

Sullivan spent years fighting

to get his Afghan translator

asylum after his former

platoon's other interpreter

was denied a U.S. visa before

being killed by the Taliban in

2017.

On Wednesday, Abdulhaq

Sodais was finally granted

asylum by a court in Germany,

where he was forced to flee

after being denied a U.S. visa

repeatedly despite facing

death threats for aiding U.S.

troops during its 20-year war

in Afghanistan, reports BSS.

Sullivan, who now lives in

Virginia, said he dropped his

phone when he saw the text

message from Sodais.

"I just started crying,"

Sullivan said.

The decision marked the

end of an eight-year journey

between the two men who

risked their lives together

trying to eliminate the

Taliban, bonding in a way that

can only be forged in war.

Sullivan dedicated himself

to helping Sodais after losing

another translator, Sayed

Masoud, who was killed by the

Taliban in 2017 while waiting

for a U.S. visa. The former

soldier is among scores of U.S.

combat veterans who have

been working on their own to

rescue the Afghans who

served alongside them.

Fossilized footprints discovered in New Mexico indicate that early humans were walking across

North America around 23,000 years ago, researchers reported Thursday.

Photo : Internet

Oldest human footprints in North

America found in New Mexico

WASHINGTON : Fossilized footprints

discovered in New Mexico indicate that

early humans were walking across

North America around 23,000 years

ago, researchers reported Thursday.

The first footprints were found in a

dry lake bed in White Sands National

Park in 2009. Scientists at the U.S.

Geological Survey recently analyzed

seeds stuck in the footprints to

determine their approximate age,

ranging from around 22,800 and

21,130 years ago.

The findings may shed light on a

mystery that has long intrigued

scientists: When did people first arrive

in the Americas, after dispersing from

Africa and Asia?

Most scientists believe ancient

migration came by way of a nowsubmerged

land bridge that connected

Asia to Alaska. Based on various

evidence - including stone tools, fossil

bones and genetic analysis - other

researchers have offered a range of

possible dates for human arrival in the

Americas, from 13,000 to 26,000 years

ago or more.

The current study provides a more

solid baseline for when humans

definitely were in North America,

although they could have arrived even

earlier, the authors say. Fossil

footprints are more indisputable and

direct evidence than "cultural artifacts,

modified bones, or other more

conventional fossils," they wrote in the

journal Science, which published the

study Thursday.

"What we present here is evidence of

a firm time and location," they said.

Based on the size of the footprints,

researchers believe that at least some

were made by children and teenagers

Hungary committed to

contentious LGBT law

UNITED NATIONS : The right-wing

populist government in Hungary is

attracting conservative thinkers from the

United States who admire its approaches to

migration, LGBT issues and national

sovereignty - all matters that have put the

country at odds with its European partners,

who see not a conservative haven but a

worrying erosion of democratic institutions

on multiple fronts.

Hungary's top diplomat has a few things

to say about that.

In an interview Thursday with The

Associated Press on the sidelines of the U.N.

General Assembly's meeting of world

leaders, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto

said his country would not cede ground on

policies that have caused the European

Union to impose financial penalties and

start legal proceedings against it over

violations of the bloc's values.

"We do not compromise on these issues

because we are a sovereign country, a

sovereign nation. And no one, not even the

European Commission, should blackmail us

regarding these policies," Szijjarto said.

Topping the list of contentious

government policies: a controversial

Hungarian law that the EU says violates the

fundamental rights of LGBT people. That

led the EU's executive commission to delay

billions in economic recovery funds

earmarked for Hungary - a move Szijjarto

called "a purely political decision" and

"blackmail." The law, he says, is meant to

protect children from pedophiles and

"homosexual propaganda."

"We will not make make compromises

about the future of our children," Szijjarto

told the AP.

The law, passed in June, makes it illegal to

promote or portray sex reassignment or

homosexuality to minors under 18 in media

content. It also contains provisions that

provide harsher penalties for pedophilia.

Critics say it conflates pedophilia with

homosexuality and stigmatizes sexual

minorities.

The measures were rejected emphatically

by most European leaders. Dutch Prime

Minister Mark Rutte suggested Hungary's

right-wing prime minister, Viktor Orban,

should pull his country out of the EU if he is

unwilling to abide by its collective

principles.

The conflict is only the latest in a

protracted fight with the bloc over what it

sees as a sustained assault on democratic

standards in Hungary - alleged corruption, a

consolidation of the media and increasing

political control over state institutions and

the judiciary.

Last year, the EU adopted a regulation

that links the payment of funds to its

member states' compliance with rule-of-law

standards - a measure fiercely opposed by

Hungary's government, which argued it was

a means to punish countries that break with

the liberal consensus of Western Europe's

countries.

The right-wing populist government in Hungary is attracting conservative thinkers from the United

States who admire its approaches to migration, LGBT issues and national sovereignty - all matters

that have put the country at odds with its European partners, who see not a conservative haven but

a worrying erosion of democratic institutions on multiple fronts.

Photo : Internet

who lived during the last ice age.

David Bustos, the park's resource

program manager, spotted the first

footprints in ancient wetlands in 2009.

He and others found more in the park

over the years.

"We knew they were old, but we had

no way to date the prints before we

discovered some with (seeds) on top,"

he said Thursday.

Made of fine silt and clay, the

footprints are fragile, so the researchers

had to work quickly to gather samples,

Bustos said.

"The only way we can save them is to

record them - to take a lot of photos and

make 3D models," he said.

Earlier excavations in White Sands

National Park have uncovered

fossilized tracks left by a saber-toothed

cat, dire wolf, Columbian mammoth

and other ice age animals.

Security Council

condemns attempted

coup in Sudan

UNITED NATIONS : The

Security Council on Wednesday

condemned in the strongest

terms Tuesday's attempt to

disrupt Sudan's transition by

force.

In a press statement, the

members of the Security

Council reiterated their full

support to Prime Minister

Abdalla Hamdok in his

endeavors to see Sudan

through a successful transition

in a manner that achieves the

hopes and aspirations of the

Sudanese people for an

inclusive, peaceful, stable,

democratic and prosperous

future, reports UNB.

The council members urged

all stakeholders to engage

constructively with the national

initiative known as "The

National Crisis and Issues of the

Transition-The Way Forward,"

and further encouraged

Sudan's civilian and military

actors to remain committed

and continue working in the

spirit of cooperation and

collaboration to achieve the goal

of Sudan's inclusive transition

as outlined in the Constitutional

Document and the Juba Peace

Agreement, said the statement.

The council members

expressed their solidarity with

the people of Sudan and

affirmed their readiness to

support Sudan during the

transition period, and

reaffirmed their strong

commitment to the

sovereignty, independence,

territorial integrity and national

unity of Sudan, it said.

UN Secretary-General

Antonio Guterres condemned

the attempted coup on

Tuesday.

"Any effort to undermine

Sudan's political transition will

jeopardize the hard-earned

progress made on the political

and economic fronts. The

secretary-general calls on all

parties to remain committed to

the transition and the

realization of the aspirations of

the Sudanese people for an

inclusive, peaceful, stable, and

democratic future," said

Stephane Dujarric, the

spokesman for Guterres, in a

statement.

SATUrDAY, SEPTEMBEr 25, 2021

3

Women's voices at UN General

Assembly few, but growing

NEW YORK : With cascading crises casting a

pall over the proceedings at this year's

United Nations General Assembly,

Slovakian President Zuzana ?aputova had

this reminder on the first day of debate: "We

cannot save our planet if we leave out the

vulnerable - the women, the girls, the

minorities."

But gender parity at the world's

preeminent forum of leaders still seems far

out of sight. Eight women are set to speak at

the U.N. General Assembly on Friday. That's

more than double the number - five - of

women that spoke across the first three days

of the summit.

On Friday, three vice presidents and five

prime ministers - including Bangladesh's

Sheikh Hasina and New Zealand's Jacinda

Arden - will take the rostrum or give their

address in a prerecorded video. "As the first

Blinken sees unity

on Taliban after talks

with Pakistan, China

UNITED NATIONS : US Secretary of State

Antony Blinken said Thursday he believed

the world was united on pressing the Taliban

after speaking with Pakistan, China and

Russia, key players with Afghanistan's new

rulers, reports BSS.

Blinken met Thursday on the sidelines of

the UN General Assembly with his

counterpart from Pakistan, the chief ally of

the Taliban regime that was toppled by US

troops in 2001, and held talks with ministers

of the four other veto-wielding Security

Council members including China and

Russia on Wednesday evening.

"I think there is very strong unity of

approach and unity of purpose," Blinken told

reporters.

"The Taliban says that it seeks legitimacy,

that it seeks support, from the international

community. The relationship that it has with

the international community is going to be

defined by the actions it takes."

female president in the history of my

country, the burden of expectation to deliver

gender equality is heavier on my shoulder,"

said Samia Suluhu Hassan, the president of

Tanzania. When it comes to such equality,

she said, ""COVID-19 is threatening to roll

back the gains that we have made,"

Hassan was the lone woman to address the

General Assembly on Thursday.

Despite those 13 women making up less

than 10% of speakers over the first four days,

the 13 represent an increase from last year,

when just nine women spoke over the course

of the session. There are also three more

female heads of state or heads of government

- 24 - than there were at this point in 2020.

"There can be no democracy, no security

and no development without one-half of the

humankind," Estonia President Kersti

Kaljulaid said Wednesday, also

underscoring women's vulnerability in

society.

The theme of vulnerability has been at the

forefront during a week haunted by the

ever-looming specters of climate change,

coronavirus and conflict. Most of the

speeches have taken on the tenor of pleas

issued at the precipice, batting away the

summit's theme of "building resiliency

through hope."

Dire predictions were not limited to the

General Assembly. At a U.N. Security

Council meeting Thursday, the high-level

officials urged stepped-up action to address

the security implications of climate change

and make global warming a key part of all

U.N. peacekeeping operations. They said

warming is making the world less safe,

pointing to Africa's conflict-plagued Sahel

region and Syria and Iraq.

Scores of leaders have already spoken, and

many have left New York altogether. But

some of the most anticipated countries have

yet to deliver their addresses: North Korea,

Myanmar and Afghanistan - all perennially

but also lately much in the news - are

expected to close out the session Monday

afternoon. Friday alone promises fireworks,

with a slate of speakers from countries

roiled by internal and external conflict.

With cascading crises casting a pall over the proceedings at this year's United

Nations General Assembly, Slovakian President Zuzana ?aputova had this

reminder on the first day of debate: "We cannot save our planet if we leave

out the vulnerable - the women, the girls, the minorities. Photo : Internet

CDC endorses COVID booster

for millions of older Americans

NEW YORK :The Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention on Thursday endorsed

booster shots for millions of older or

otherwise vulnerable Americans, opening a

major new phase in the U.S vaccination drive

against COVID-19, reports UNB.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky

signed off on a series of recommendations

from a panel of advisers late Thursday.

The advisers said boosters should be

offered to people 65 and older, nursing home

residents and those ages 50 to 64 who have

risky underlying health problems. The extra

dose would be given once they are at least six

months past their last Pfizer shot.

However, Walensky decided to make one

recommendation that the panel had rejected.

The panel on Thursday voted against

saying that people can get a booster if they are

ages 18 to 64 years and are health-care

workers or have another job that puts them at

increased risk of being exposed to the virus.

But Walensky disagreed and put that

recommendation back in, noting that such a

move aligns with an FDA booster

authorization decision earlier this week. The

category she included covers people who live

in institutional settings that increase their

risk of exposure, such as prisons or homeless

shelters, as well as health care workers.

The panel had offered the option of a

booster for those ages 18 to 49 who have

chronic health problems and want one. But

the advisers refused to go further and open

boosters to otherwise healthy front-line

health care workers who aren't at risk of

severe illness but want to avoid even a mild

infection.

The panel voted 9 to 6 to reject that

proposal. But Walensky decided to disregard

the advisory committee's counsel on that

issue. In a decision several hours after the

panel adjourned, Walensky issued a

statement saying she had restored the

recommendation.

"As CDC Director, it is my job to recognize

where our actions can have the greatest

impact," Walensky said in a statement late

Thursday night. "At CDC, we are tasked with

analyzing complex, often imperfect data to

make concrete recommendations that

optimize health. In a pandemic, even with

uncertainty, we must take actions that we

anticipate will do the greatest good."

Experts say getting the unvaccinated their

first shots remains the top priority, and the

panel wrestled with whether the booster

debate was distracting from that goal.

All three of the COVID-19 vaccines used in

the U.S. are still highly protective against

severe illness, hospitalization and death,

even with the spread of the extra-contagious

delta variant. But only about 182 million

Americans are fully vaccinated, or just 55%

of the population.

"We can give boosters to people, but that's

not really the answer to this pandemic," said

Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt

University. "Hospitals are full because

people are not vaccinated. We are declining

care to people who deserve care because we

are full of unvaccinated COVID-positive

patients."

Thursday's decision represented a

dramatic scaling back of the Biden

administration plan announced last month

to dispense boosters to nearly everyone to

shore up their protection. Late Wednesday,

the Food and Drug Administration, like the

CDC panel, signed off on Pfizer boosters for

a much narrower slice of the population than

the White House envisioned.

The booster plan marks an important shift

in the nation's vaccination drive. Britain and

Israel are already giving a third round of

shots over strong objections from the World

Health Organization that poor countries

don't have enough for their initial doses.

Walensky opened Thursday's meeting by

stressing that vaccinating the unvaccinated

remains the top goal "here in America and

around the world."

SaTurday, SePTeMber 25, 2021

4

From physician to legislator-risen to the heights

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Saturday, September 25, 2021

Correctly understanding

the role of remittance

ABangladesh Bank study reports that remittance sent

by expatriates is mostly used for consumption and in

the "non-productive" sectors of the country. The

survey conducted in 2011 found 90% of remittances were

used for meeting basic needs. Seventy-five percent of

households receiving remittance spent those on food, 42%

on loan repayment, 65% on education, 57% on treatment,

49% on marriage and 4% on running legal battles . Experts

described these as failure of successive governments to act on

diverting the remittances into "productive" sectors instead of

consumption.

But nothing could be further from truth even if we assume

for the sake of argument that all remittances go to finance

consumption plus acquisition of assets such as land.

The criticism is flawed for several reasons. Remittances in

Bangladesh are generally a contribution to the family budget,

not capital flows. Given the socio-cultural and educational

background of the majority of migrant households, they are

generally ill-prepared to undertake risky activities. Evidence

from some countries including Bangladesh shows that the

pattern of expenditure is invariant between remittancereceiving

and non-receiving households when controlled for

income and socio-cultural differences.

Spending remittances on consumption often contributes to

improved health, education and human capital, enhancing

both private and public welfare. It may be that in many cases

a significant part of the remittance-related investment

increases stock of wealth of the migrant household in the

form of land, housing and jewelry. But these have indirect

macro-economic effects on development. They provide a

monetary base for the supply of credit that can be used as

investment capital. Whether or not the supply of additional

credit will actually be used for investment purposes depends

on the efficacy of the banking system, the government and,

more generally, on the overall investment climate.

In Bangladesh as elsewhere, remittances have a related,

but distinctive type of positive effect on the rural economy

where lack of effective demand is often a serious constraint

on economic growth. A large part of the remittances is almost

invariably spent on locally produced goods and services. This

leads to cropping up of new demands for a variety of goods

and services, largely from a class within society that had

previously little purchasing power, have a powerful impact

on production of both tradable and non-tradable laborintensive

goods and services, land markets, construction and

spread of banking and commerce. The consequent stimulus

given to local industry, through better utilization of installed

capacity or creation of new productive units, far exceeds the

value of the initial rounds of expenditure. By generating a

multiplier effect they stimulate aggregate demand, output

and income.

Analyses of the dynamic macro-economic impact of

remittance induced expenditure show that its multiplier

effect on GNP could be as high as 1:2 or 1:3. In other words,

a remittance of $1 million could increase the country's GNP

by more than $2 to 3 million. Remittances in Bangladesh are

estimated to have a multiplier effect of 1:2.1 on GNP in the

long run.

Some caveats deserve mentioning. When remittances lead

to increased trading of existing goods, such as houses and

land, the expenditure may increase the stock of wealth and

investment of the family, not the country. However, except in

highly implausible cases where the supply of production

inputs is completely inelastic and factors are immobile,

increased demand due to remittance induced expenditure

lead over time to increased growth and employment, even if

it creates inflation in the short term. Nonetheless, the slow

response of input supplies could well be a real problem,

reducing the multiplier effect of remittance expenditure on

income and output. This may be exacerbated if in the face of

rising inflation at the local level the central bank adopts a

tighter monetary policy, thus offsetting some of the local

multiplier effect by stifling demand elsewhere in the

economy.

The nature of linkages between the remittance-receiving

localities and the national economy also influences the

remittances' multiplier effect on the overall economy. When

remittances are concentrated in limited areas, as is the case

in Bangladesh, the growth impulses of the multiplier are not

likely to be transmitted to the national economy. However, to

the extent that the remittance-receiving areas are integrated

with the rest of the economy, a good part of the benefits of

remittances tends to be passed on to other parts of the

country. The overall development effect of remittances

cannot be fully gauged by focusing on the remittancereceiving

communities alone without accounting for the

positive effect of remittances to the other parts of the

economy.

Summing up, remittances can make a positive impact on

output growth and overall economic performance under two

economy-wide conditions. First, the economy has an

integrated productive structure capable of responding

positively to the stimuli of remittances from abroad. Second,

the country has sound macro-economic policies, political

stability, and an investment-friendly environment, including

an efficient financial system and public administration.

Remittances, by themselves, cannot create these conditions.

Absent such conditions, remittance still increase welfare by

supplementing budgets of the recipient households,

providing the foreign exchange needed for financing imports

related to domestic consumption and investment, and

deepening the deposit base as well as the income sources of

the domestic banking system.

Whether traversing deserts, oceans

or even our great cities, there is a

need for navigational aids to

ensure that we increase the likelihood of

reaching our chosen destination. In an

increasingly complex world, those

individuals who find themself in or aspire

to leadership roles must appreciate the

vital means by which one can avoid

potential hazards to face challenges and

dangers when they arise. Authentic

leadership sees individuals and

institutions focus on responsibility rather

than power. Leaders with a solid

educational background strive to improve

and make beneficial societal

improvements. By having a more apparent

appreciation of stakeholder's leaders are

better placed to innovate and adapt,

increasing the chance of survival.

Leadership, especially in a national

context such as Bangladesh, is very

controversial. This is possibly mirrored in

our society's myriad negative implications

of leadership. One of the most important

reasons is that leaders and legislators are

seen as vital democratic actors who can

define and guide a country toward success.

The second argument is that they are able

to do so because they have power and

authority, which should be viewed and

understood in terms of the common good.

Many leaders in our society have truncated

visions in which egalitarianism is in an

unpopular territory. When we apply this

complex phenomenon to the "legislative

leadership" area, we can intuitively gauge

why we do not have "true and visionary

leaders" ad infinitum in the public domain

who will work for society and bring social

harmony & unity.

In the recent political arena, the nation

witnessed something extraordinary

happen when one of the most successful

and well-respected physicians, Prof. (Dr)

Prangopal Datta, became a legislator to

serve his constituents and the nation. Isn't

this a fascinating chapter in Bangladesh's

political history? It may not be for many,

but it is a ray of hope, new aspirations, new

movement, or a path to progress and

prosperity for others. Critics of politics will

raise their eyebrows or sigh deeply,

wondering how to strike a balance

between efficacy and pragmatism and

achieve maximum societal good with the

limited national resources that political

leaders will have at their disposal. This is,

of course, a problematic proposition not

only for a country such as Bangladesh but

also for countries that have excelled in

political and democratic fitness for

generations. This may be a strenuous task

to bring all sections of society together

because leadership is the scarcest

commodity in the political arena.

This is not a political debate, and I have

no desire to promote any particular

philosophy or objective. Instead, this

article concentrates on the good aspects of

national politics when an educated,

aspiring, moral, and professional

practitioner enters politics. Are there any

links between knowledgeable, ethical

individuals and democratic institutions

that need to be protected?

Taking the country forward in all aspects

- socially, economically and politically-is a

mandate that the legislatures are charged

with. A long time ago, philosophers of the

stature of Aristotle had argued, after law

and order, economics takes the front seat

in terms of priorities. The implications are

clear. Generally speaking, an economically

strong country gains leverage that makes it

noticed by other countries on the world

stage. Therefore, the law-making

authorities have to provide the leadership

that drives economic growth, a more

realisable phenomenon. However,

achieving economic growth is not an end

in itself. The results of that growth must be

filtered such that all sections of the society

benefit. This is where legislatures, as

institutions, are so crucial in ensuring their

respective countries' progress. "Power" is

vested in them to bring concrete returns to

the expectations of the stakeholders.

Legislatures are essential catalysts of

"Change" - the consequences must be

socially productive and acceptable.

We have seen many cases when

physicians become politicians worldwide,

which is very common in some countries

than we might suspect. During covid-19,

when Ireland was having struck by the

crisis, Prime Minister of the country Leo

Varadkar was working once a week to

serve the healthcare system. This is a rare

case when we see a high-profile politician

also serves as a frontline medical doctor. It

seems for some attributes being a

successful physician's pair well with those

needed to be a politician. Qualities such as

good time management & discipline,

ability to think carefully, organised &

conscientious, empathetic, curious,

collaborative, and persistent in advocating

for their clients are essential in both roles.

However, when it comes to public

trustworthiness, both have different levels.

People will trust a doctor more than a

politician; they will believe what they say to

their patients, but they will not have the

same amount of trust in a politician. Prof.

(Dr) Prangopal Datta is not the first

Bangladeshi physician to become a

legislator. Others were also involved in

politics in Bangladesh, but their legacy and

contributions to society were well-known.

Che Guevara, Argentina's former

president and best-known revolutionary

dr P r daTTa

leader, was a well-known dermatologist.

Many medical practitioners in America

have been involved in politics. Four

doctors signed even the American

declaration of independence in 1776.

A renowned physician rises to the

position of Chief Minister. Dr. Bidhan Roy

was a fundamental architect of

contemporary Bengal in West Bengal. Dr

Roy and his visionary leadership

aspiration helped him navigate the civil

disobedience movement before becoming

one of the most successful Mayors of

Kolkata, then Calcutta. On the other hand,

he never failed to offer his skills and

contribute to the advancement of the

healthcare system. He brought quality

healthcare services to ordinary people. He

played an instrumental role in

modernising the sector and created two

prestigious medical institutions - the

This is not a political debate, and I have no desire to promote any

particular philosophy or objective. Instead, this article concentrates

on the good aspects of national politics when an educated,

aspiring, moral, and professional practitioner enters politics. are

there any links between knowledgeable, ethical individuals and

democratic institutions that need to be protected?

Indian Medical Association in 1928 and

the Medical Council of India in 1934. He

was committed to the nation and his

profession. Even the day he died, on the 1st

of July 1961, he was treating some patients

in the morning. This remarkable legacy is

well reflected when British Medical

Journal described Dr Roy in its obituary as

the "first medical consultant of India, who

towered over his contemporaries in several

fields".

Dr. Ram Yadav was a well-known

physician in Nepalese politics and was the

country's first president (2008-2015). He

carried out his duties with utmost

seriousness and accountability, and his

presidency was defined by dignity. As a

result, I am confident that there are some

similarities between the two in terms of

their knowledge, traits, talents, and

awareness of the sector required by

legislators. I recall the wisdom of French

Philosopher Voltaire, who wrote, "Men

who are occupied in the restoration of

health by the Joint exertion of skills &

humanity are the greatest human of the

earth". When I consider the society in

which we live, I am occasionally

bewildered. What are the reactions of

highly educated top practitioners and wellinformed

and critical individuals to a

political system with weak institutions,

where corruption is one of the most

significant roadblocks to development?

Corruption is often regarded to have an

impact on democratic beliefs and

behaviours. Do politically sophisticated,

well-educated citizens, like low-educated

non-aspirational persons, sense

resignation when corruption is high?

MohaMMed abu dalhouM

These are the key questions that are

causing me to have serious reservations.

Corruption, in my opinion, is the most

egregious evidence of Bangladesh's poorly

organised public institutions.

Even though we recognise that a wellrun

democracy and corruption cannot

coexist, corruption threatens democracy's

functioning. I know there is no countries or

democracies in the world that can pride

themselves on being completely free from

institutional corruption, but our situation

is intolerable. Can we expect a highly

educated, competent, aspiring, and critical

political player like Prof. (Dr) Prangopal

Datta to be active, dynamic, and able to

make any significant changes in the society

when corruption and a toxic political

atmosphere are the norms of the

institutional system? Only the passage of

time will determine the outcome. I

contend that educated legislators will have

high levels of institutional trust, political

efficacy, and political engagement. To

improve institutional quality, they will use

a different approach. However, it has been

demonstrated that educated politicians

with high morals are better able to detect

institutional flaws and, as a result, are

more focused on improving the quality.

According to my observations, as the

level of corruption rises, so does top-tier

professional legislators' discontent with

the way democracy operates. Even though

corruption is ubiquitous in our society,

with a weak institutional system and

corrupt officials always attempting to skew

policy execution, it is believed that being

moral, ethical, educated, and politically

sophisticated will improve policy

implementation. Prof. (Dr) Prangopal

Datta, who served twice as Vice-Chancellor

of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujub Medical

University (BSMMU) and is one of

Bangladesh's top physicians,

demonstrates a higher possibility of

favourable institutional attitudes and

behaviours, in my opinion. Prof. Datta has

a stronger ability to bring his positive selfregarding

attitude, even if he may feel

disempowered in some circumstances

regarding official political institutions. It's

also worth noting that most political allies

have distinct reasons for pursuing their

political ambitions. Some may be

adamantly ideological, while others yearn

for higher office for financial gain or exert

power and authority for more significant

clout; others may have no ambitions other

than serving society and contributing to

social development and advancement.

Prof. Datta has the mentality to

recognise institutional flaws, particularly

in the healthcare and education systems.

He has a deeper understanding of political

corruption and a more robust dedication

to democratic norms.

The Writer is Educator, author, and

researcher and Executive Chair, Centre

for Business & Economic Research, UK

It is time for a Gulf rapprochement with Iraq

Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, the

finance consultant to the Iraqi

prime minister, this month

announced that Iraq is close to finishing

its Kuwait reparation payments. With

about $2.5 billion left, Iraq has thus far

paid $49.5 billion. Saleh clarified that 3

percent of Iraq's revenue from every

exported crude oil barrel is dedicated to

reparation payments.

This is a major milestone toward

reconciliation between the two states and

is an example of Iraq's goodwill toward

building positive political and economic

relations with regional countries,

particularly those in the Gulf, along with

Jordan and Egypt. If the Gulf nations

welcome Iraq with open arms and

reciprocate the same energy, Iraq's

economy can start to see the light at the

end of the tunnel.

In mid-August, the head of the National

Iraqi Alliance, Ammar Al-Hakim, warned

of an imminent collapse of the political

system in the country. He proposed seven

key points to address political failures.

Among these points, he notably

emphasized reforming Iraq's foreign

policy-making based on Iraqi priorities.

For the past two decades, Iraq has

become engulfed in Iran's sphere of

influence, with Tehran exerting greater

control over its policies. International

and regional powers that looked to limit

Iran's role and influence in the region

have also left Iraq under pressure, with

Iraqi citizens enduring most of the

burden.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government

continues to facilitate its regional foreign

policy in a manner that does not

necessarily represent the needs of

citizens. Rather, it has reflected

disastrously on them. Such foreign policy

choices have also effectively placed Iraq

within Iran's corner.

With new Iranian President Ebrahim

Raisi being a known hard-liner, the

West's approach toward Iran is not likely

to soften. If anything, sanctions might be

aggravated, exacerbating Iraq's economic

challenges, albeit indirectly.

Looking at some of these indirect

impacts, Iraq's unemployment rate

stands at about 40 percent, partly due to

the government's inability to create jobs,

while the country's gross domestic

product continues to fall, with a 10.3

percent contraction in 2020. And

COVID-19's third and fourth wave hit

Iraq badly. It has now recorded more

than 1.9 million cases and 21,000 deaths,

while only 6.3 percent of the population is

fully vaccinated.

The Iraqi government ought to align its

foreign policy interests with the needs of

its population.

Other externalities include a major

impact on Iraq's water resources. In fact,

Iran has focused on constructing dams

and water transfer projects, including on

its side of the river basins it shares with

Iraq, which have harmed the quantity

and quality of Iraq's water resources.

With that, and while sanctioning Iran

may remain the only policy, improved

regional rapprochement with Iraq is an

important option to consider, particularly

among the Gulf nations. Whether Gulf

nations view this approach as

interconnected with their relations with

Iran or as a completely independent

prospect, the outcome is improved

political relations with Baghdad, along

with mutual economic gains.

While rapprochement with Iraq is likely

to be viewed within the realms of a zerosum

game, especially in an increasingly

For the past two decades, Iraq has become engulfed in

Iran's sphere of influence, with Tehran exerting greater

control over its policies. International and regional

powers that looked to limit Iran's role and influence in

the region have also left Iraq under pressure, with Iraqi

citizens enduring most of the burden.

insecure region, it is rather more effective

to view this potential policy from a

liberalist standpoint. For that, the Gulf

nations can essentially determine the

areas where Iraq can be beneficial for

their economies, which may include

offshoring production, leveraging Iraq's

market of unemployed skilled labor.

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi

has been attempting to revitalize bilateral

relations with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and

Egypt, while also building relations with

Kuwait. At the same time, he is aware of

the need to maintain a balanced standing

with Iran. Such a situation requires Iraq

to perfectly balance its foreign relations.

This means that the Iraqi government

ought to align its foreign policy interests

with the needs of its population. Iraqis

are becoming increasingly dissatisfied

with their state's foreign policy

orientation. This is a ripe situation for the

success of a Gulf rapprochement with

Iraq.

Saudi Arabia has already built the

foundations for stronger relations with

Iraq with the opening of a consulate in

Basra in 2019, along with a sizable

financial support package over the past

few months.

Since Iraq employs a decentralized

system of governance, the Gulf nations

and their businesses can explore such

economic prospects with various

individual Iraqi governorates, moderated

by the federal government. This can also

create a healthy competition among Iraqi

governorates to offer better prices and

more favorable deals with Gulf

businesses, as both sides benefit.

Iraq requires tremendous economic

and financial assistance. Financial aid

packages can only alleviate some

pressure on the short term. Apart from

Iran, there is minimal regional

investment in Iraq's private sector.

Tehran's investment in Iraq has not

provided notable economic benefits,

mostly due to sanctions. Gulf nations

should explore Iraq as a viable contender

for their business investments, and they

can even leverage Jordan as a mediator to

form a strong economic triad.

Mohammed Abu Dalhoum is the

president of MENAACTION and a

senior research analyst at NAMA

Strategic Intelligence Solutions.

SatuRDaY, SePteMBeR 25, 2021

5

Reddit bans Covid misinformation

forum after a protest

You can turn the iPad into a more traditional computer with keyboards, mice and styluses from

apple.

Photo: Samuel Gibbs

Apple iPad 2021 review

SaMuel GiBBS

Apple's updated low-end iPad looks set

to continue its dominance of the

market with newer chips, twice the

storage and a brilliant new videocalling

camera.The 10.2in iPad costs

£319 ($329/A$499) - £300 for

students - making it Apple's best-value

tablet, sitting below the £479 iPad mini

and £579 iPad Air.

Unlike most of its tablet models,

Apple has taken to updating the

internal components of the standard

iPad once a year while keeping its cost

and design the same, ensuring its long

line of accessories such as keyboards,

cases and pens remain compatible.

As such the experience of using the

2021 iPad is the same as the 2020 iPad,

but with the updated iPadOS 15 and a

few new additions that keep it firmly in

pole position.

The iPad now has Apple's A13 Bionic

processor from 2019's iPhone 11. It's

not Apple's newest chip but it is

considerably more powerful than most

lower-cost rivals and easily able to

handle anything you can do with an

iPad. The tablet now comes with twice

the minimum of storage compared

with the previous version, at 64GB,

which will be enough for those who

mainly stream content rather

download vast movie libraries.

The new 12-megapixel wide-angle

"Centre Stage" camera removes some

of the annoyance of video calls by

automatically panning and zooming to

keep you and friends in frame without

having to think about it. It also has

much better low-light performance,

meaning everyone gets a better, easier

view, which will be particularly useful

for remote education.

The screen has had a minor but

welcome upgrade with the addition of

Apple's "true tone" technology, which

keeps colours looking true to life

adjusting to ambient light. The display

is otherwise still crisp and bright and

significantly better than many cheaper

rivals.

Apple does not give a rated lifecycle

for the iPad battery, typically 500 fullcharge

cycles in similar devices, but it

can be replaced for £99. The tablet is

generally repairable, with an out-ofwarranty

service costing £246.44,

which includes the screen.

The iPad uses 100% recycled

aluminium in its case, 100% recycled

tin in the solder of its main board, more

than 65% recycled rare earth elements

and at least 60% recycled plastic in

multiple other components. Apple

breaks down the tablet's environmental

impact in its report.

Apple also offers trade-in and free

recycling schemes, including for non-

Apple products.

The iPad (9th generation) costs £319

($329/A$499) with 64GB of storage or

£459 ($479/A$729) with 256GB. 4Gcapable

models cost £120

($130/A$200) more.

For comparison, the iPad mini costs

£479, the iPad Air costs £579 and the

iPad Pro costs from £749, Amazon's

Fire HD 8 costs £90, the Fire HD 10

costs £150 and Samsung's Galaxy Tab

S7 costs £519.

The 10.2in iPad is still the best tablet

for most people offering an unbeatable

combination of value, performance,

software and longevity.

It's not flash and it has some older

technology, such as the lightning cable

and wifi5, but its old design means

accessories made for many previous

models still fit. Doubling the storage to

64GB is welcome, the faster chip and

better display too, but it is the Centre

Stage auto-tracking video call camera

that is a biggest upgrade and will be

particularly useful.

DaN MilMo

Reddit has banned a discussion forum

that spreads misinformation about

coronavirus and vaccines after a user

rebellion over the site's failure to tackle

Covid sceptics.The online discussion

site acted after 135 Reddit communities,

or subreddits, announced they had

"gone dark", a move that blocks nonmembers

from reading or joining the

page, in protest at the site's refusal to

limit discussions that propagate

misleading theories about the

pandemic.

Reddit initially refused to ban

subreddits identified as spreading

misinformation. But it bowed to

pressure on Wednesday, announcing

that it had kicked out r/NoNewNormal

- which has 124,000 subscribers and

contains posts warning against taking

Covid vaccines - for breaking rules

related to interfering with or harassing

other subreddits. The site said

r/NoNewNormal was guilty of a

practice known as "brigading", where

members of one subreddit are incited to

target a rival discussion group.

"We found very clear signals

indicating that r/NoNewNormal was

the source of about 80 brigades in the

last 30 days (largely directed at

communities with more mainstream

views on Covid or location-based

communities that have been discussing

Covid restrictions). This behaviour

continued even after a warning was

issued," said a member of Reddit's

platform safety team on Wednesday,

announcing that the forum had been

banned. The r/NoNewNormal group

had described itself as "a diverse

international coalition with the shared

goal of restoring our old ways of life

before the world fell into the grips of fear

and hysteria". One post on Tuesday

stated: "Being anti-[vaccine] mandate is

not anti-science, it's pro-freedom, prochoice."

Reddit also announced that it

had "quarantined" an additional 54

communities, meaning it has flagged

the groups' content as having the

potential to be "highly offensive or

upsetting" and preventing it from

showing up on the normal homepage. It

added that the percentage of Covidrelated

content from Covid denial

communities has increased from 1% last

year to more than 3% currently, with

most of the increase occurring since

July 2021.

Reddit clarified its guidelines on

Wednesday, to make clear that it

prohibits posting health information

that has been manipulated and

presented to mislead, or poses a risk of

significant physical harm to the reader.

The "gone dark" protest covered

many of the site's largest subreddits,

including r/Futurology and r/TIFU,

which have more than 10 million

subscribers each, although r/TIFU had

reopened to non-members after the

new Reddit statement.

A message on the r/Futurology forum

announcing the protest said "people are

dying from misinformation" related to

coronavirus. "Futurology has gone

private to protest Reddit's inaction on

Covid-19 misinformation," the message

said. "Weaponised misinformation is a

key problem shaping our future. Reddit

won't enforce their policies against

misinformation, brigading, and

spamming." Reddit initially defended

its refusal to ban Covid sceptic groups.

Its chief executive, Steve Huffman,

wrote in a post last week that the site

was a place for "open and authentic

discussion". He said: "Dissent is a part

of Reddit and the foundation of

democracy. Reddit is a place for open

and authentic discussion and debate.

This includes conversations that

question or disagree with popular

consensus."

The r/PokémonGo subreddit,

representing players of the augmented

reality game, announced it was going

dark and would stay private until Reddit

removed sites spreading

misinformation about Covid. "We have

gone private in protest of Reddit's

inaction against Covid misinformation.

As our users know Covid directly

impacts this game because Go is played

outside in real life with others."The

message added that the group had

supported protests against Pokémon

Go's developer recently after it

announced plans to reverse safety

measures implemented at the start of

the pandemic last year.

Research by the UK and US-based

Center for Countering Digital Hate

published this year found the vast

majority of Covid-19 anti-vaccine

misinformation and conspiracy theories

originated from 12 people - including

the Kennedy family scion Robert F

Kennedy Jr - with a combined following

Reddit's chief executive, Steve huffman, wrote in a post

last week that the site was a place for open and authentic

discussion.

Photo: Dado Ruvi?

of 59 million people across multiple

social media platforms.

CCDH analysed 812,000 Facebook

posts and tweets and found just under

two-thirds came from the

"disinformation dozen". Facebook said

it had already taken action against some

of the groups mentioned in the report,

while Kennedy said he had never posted

an inaccurate statement on his

Instagram account.

Google temps are fighting a two-tier labor system

MiChael SaiNato

Ben Gwin works for Google Shopping in Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania. Though he is technically a temporary worker

at the tech giant, Gwin and 65 of his colleagues are now

represented by the United Steelworkers union.

The group of workers ratified their first union contract in

July after two years at the bargaining table with their

contractor, HCL America Inc. The contract victory was

historic in an industry that has aggressively opposed union

drives, especially among temp and contracted employees.

Workers have characterized temp positions in the tech

industry as a shadow, second-tier workforce who are

drastically underpaid compared with direct employees doing

the same or similar work and are often lured into the

positions with the implication they could eventually be

offered a permanent position directly with the company.

By seeking to unionize these positions, many of these

workers are hoping to improve their circumstances."It's a

race to the bottom," said Gwin. "That was one of the unionbusting

talking points. They claimed, 'if you negotiate for

better pay, someone else is going to come in and take this

contract and pay less fees.'"

Gwin said he and his co-workers all work in various

capacities for Google Shopping, alongside workers directly

employed by Google in the company's Pittsburgh office.

Gwin describes a drawn-out unionizing campaign that

included unfair labor practices filed by the union against the

contractor, and retaliation by the contractor, which

outsourced some of their jobs to Poland. But Gwin believes it

was worth it. He co-authored a report published by the

National Employment Law Project in August on how the

biggest technology companies in the world have exploited

workforces of temporary, vendor and contracted employees

through a lack of job stability, lower pay and poor working

conditions.

"This kind of system was created by tech companies so they

essentially could have two workforces, divide workforces

from each other, make worker solidarity harder to happen

and extract as much labor as possible from the second-tier,

temporary, contracted-out workforce while avoiding

responsibility as an employer and pleading ignorance to the

degraded work conditions their contracted workers face,"

said Laura Padin, a co-author of the report and senior staff

attorney with NELP.

Google has knowingly and illegally underpaid thousands of

temporary workers in Europe and Asia for years. Hundreds

of Google workers have signed a petition started by the

Alphabet Workers Union in response to reports that the

company illegally underpaid temporary workers. The

petition demands that Google provides back pay to all temps

and creates a path to permanent employment for these

workers, ending the two-tiered temp system.

While the US does not have pay parity laws similar to those

in Europe and Asia for contracted employees, legislation has

been introduced in Congress to grant more rights to workers

Contracted workers doing the same jobs for less pay and no job security are exposing the tech company's

workplace inequalities.

Photo: Noah Berge

classified as independent contractors, employees with

subcontractors, temporary agencies or franchises, and

expand and extend labor organizing rights to more workers

through the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (Pro Act).

Kevin Kiprovski worked as a contracted employee in the

New York City area through 2018 and 2019, selling Google

products to schools."I was doing a job where people who

were sitting next to me were getting paid three to four times

as much as me," said Kiprovski. "The only reason I stayed

there was because multiple Googlers came to me and said,

'Oh, we just can't wait to make you full-time.'"

He said contracted employees had different color badges

and were often treated poorly by colleagues who were

directly employed by Google, and that he was often mistaken

by customers for a Google employee as he worked to bring in

sales for Google, build the Google brand and sell Google

products.

Kiprovski also cited an incident when he had to use his own

car to travel for work to Vermont and accidentally hit a deer.

Neither Google nor his contractor would cover the roughly

$1,000 in repairs to his vehicle.

"I busted my ass for them," Kiprovski said. "You have no

protections. People treat you like garbage every day, no one

cares about you, and then you're just told that you're

worthless constantly."

More than half of Google's workforce around the world

consists of temporary, vendor or contracted workers, a

proportion that has steadily climbed since the company was

founded. OnContracting, a staffing website, has estimated a

technology company can save up to $100,000 annually by

using a contractor rather than directly employing a worker. A

2016 study conducted by Silicon Valley Rising found the

average annual wage for directly employed workers in the

tech industry was $113,000, compared with $19,900 for

contracted blue-collar tech industry workers and $53,200 for

contracted white-collar tech workers.

Google has long promoted the working conditions of their

employees as among the best in the world. For years, they

were consistently ranked by Fortune as the number one

employer to work for, citing perks such as free meals, free

haircuts, gym membership discounts and generous paid

leave policies.

But as Google and other tech companies have dropped in

those rankings in recent years, the reality of these workplaces

has been increasingly exposed by current, former and

contracted employees.

"We have this illusion, and this is part of their business,

these tech companies are so big and rich because of the

advances in the products they've made, that's where so much

of that revenue comes from, but their profitability is still this

old, rough approach to dividing the workforce and paying

people as little as possible," said Dave Desario, a co-author of

the NELP report and the director of Temp Worker Justice.

"Temp is really a misnomer. It's not about temporary length

of time, temp is an acronym: third-party employee with

minimal pay. That's what it's about - outsourcing the job to

someone that can make a lot less money."

A spokesperson for Google referred to a blogpost and

website from the company on their extended workforce.In

a statement in response to reports of illegally underpaid

temporary workers, Spyro Karetsos, chief compliance

officer at Google said: "We're doing a thorough review and

we're committed to identifying and addressing any pat

discrepancies that the team has not already addressed.

And we'll be conducting a review of our compliance

practises in this area. In short, we're going to figure out

what went wrong here, why it happened, and we're going

to make it right."

Facebook and Twitter should use

volunteer moderators Dan Milmo

Facebook and Twitter should adopt Wikipedia's approach to

battling online abuse and misinformation by deploying

thousands of volunteer moderators to monitor controversial

posts, according to the digital encyclopedia's founder.

Jimmy Wales said the scale of the problem facing social

media companies was underlined when he had to personally

ask Twitter's chief executive, Jack Dorsey, to deal with a

particularly vicious online troll, after the company's initial

response was to do nothing.

"If you are failing me, you are definitely failing a teenager

who is being abused by someone [online]," he

said.Wikipedia, which launched in 2001, uses volunteer

editors to oversee its entries, including a specialist medical

group that moderates its health and medicine entries.

Speaking to MPs and peers on the joint committee of the

draft online safety bill, which will place a duty of care on

social media companies to protect users from harmful

content, Wales said Wikipedia had up to 5,000 "extremely

active" volunteer editors out of a total of about 80,000 active

editors. Wikipedia receives around 2bn visits a month and its

pages are edited every 1.9 seconds.

He said Wikipedia's approach could work for social media

platforms. Facebook and Twitter have been urged to better

protect users from online abuse, with Twitter in particular

facing criticism over racist posts directed at England

footballers during this summer's European football

championship.

sATURDAY, sEPTEMBER 25, 2021

6

'Chandrabati Kotha' is set to hit the

halls on October 15

Bassbaba Sumon returns with

new song"Boyosh Holo Amar"

Popular Bangladeshi singer, lyricist, musician and the

frontman of rock band Aurthohin, SaidusSalehin

Khaled, also popularly known as 'Bassbaba'Sumon,

made a gloriouscomeback to music again with his

brand new single "BoyoshHolo Amar," released on his

YouTubechannel on Thursday night, reports UNB.

With the slogan "Happiness is a choice and life is

beautiful," this song marks his comeback

afterreceiving long-tenured treatment in Thailand

and Dubai for five months. Written and tuned by

BassbabaSumon himself, the song features guitarist

MahaanFahim as the solo guitarist and the music

producer. AhnafSalehin, son of Sumon, has also

participated in the song with his whistling tune.

Describing the song and the emotional journey

behind it, Sumon wrote on his official Facebook

profile on Wednesday: The song has no bass solo,

startling lead, or caricature of drums. This is a track

purely based on Mahaan's beautiful acoustic guitar

playing upon my lyrics, altogether a simplistic

presentation." "Having said that, this song is about me

slowly aging and being almost handicapped and

bedridden for over two years. It's a song about me

stumbling about in the dark and screaming in agony

every night. More significantly, it's a song about me

The next big thing to be

coming out in phase 4 of

the Marvel Cinematic

Universe is Chloé Zhao's

Marvel debut pad,

'Eternals'. Starring

Angelina Jolie, Salma

Hayek, Richard

Madden and Kit

Harington in the lead,

the movie has a lot

riding on its able back

and has many questions

that it needs to answer.

However, the topmost is

of course, what the team

will be doing in the

future now as the

Avengers have all gone

into different directions

and the new mighty

heroes are still in the

making.

Last month we saw

triumphing over adversity and reclaiming my way

back to the light," Sumon emotionally demonstrated

his feelings regarding the single. Released on Sumon's

verified Facebook page 'BassbabaSumon' and

YouTube channel 'BassbabaSumon&Aurthohin,' the

music video for "Boyosh Amar Holo" was shot in

Bandarban.

The music video is directed by Sumon himself,

while the cinematography in the picturesque and

serene nature of Bandarban is done by Bakhtiar

Hossain, vocal of another popular rock band Bay of

Bengal, and a multi-instrumentalist, painter, writer,

artistic director and sound designer.

Sumon flew to Bangkok on March 11 for treatment

and was admitted to SamitivejSukhumvit Hospital.

He was scheduled to undergo spine surgery in

Germany, but could not travel due to the Covid-19

situation. He was also tested positive for Covid-19

alongside his son Ahnaf, back in September last year.

Sumon is a cancer-survivor, who was diagnosed

with stomach cancer in 2011 and required surgery and

chemotherapy. After his long battle with cancer, he

got remission from cancer in 2013, however, he had to

go through multiple operations and check-ups abroad

over the years.

'Iron Man' to be replaced

as 'Avengers' leader by

'Eternals' Ikaris?

the trailer of Eternals

making its way to the

internet. While it

managed to build the

maximum intrigue and

addressed their absence

during the events of

'Endgame', Richard

Madden caught the

attention. Madden is

playing Ikaris and if you

observe the trailer, at

one point he says that he

is willing to be the new

leader of the 'Avengers'.

Now that Iron Man is

not active in the

universe, his joke can

turn out to be true. The

'Game Of Thrones'

alumni is now opening

up about the same.

Read on to know

everything you should

about the same and

what Richard Madden

has to say. "I don't

know," Madden replied

when asked if Ikaris

would be up to leading

the famous team of

heroes as per

Comicbook report. "I

know that he's a good

leader and a good

soldier. If those are two

traits that you need to

lead the Avengers, then

he has them. But I

wouldn't be able to

predict that."

"That's why I was

drawn to him. I don't

see him as a superhero

I've seen before,"

Eternals fame Richard

Madden explained. "I

see him as a man first,

and quite a complicated

character, before a

superhero. You know,

superheroes have laser

eyes. Superheroes can

fly. Therefore, there is

many parallels. But as a

character, I've not seen

anyone like him before."

Source: Indian

TBT REPORT

'Chandrabati Kotha', a full-length film on the

life of medieval Bengali poet Chandrabati, is

set to hit the cinema hallson October 15. The

makers of the film announced the date on the

occasion of releasing it trailer.

The much-awaited trailer of the

biographical drama film titled

'ChandrabatiKotha' has been released on

Monday evening. The film is directed by N

Rashed Chowdhury based on the life

Chandrabati, who is widely considered as the

first woman poet of Bengali language.

The makers of 'ChandrabatiKotha' released

a 2-minute and 10-second trailer on the

YouTube and Facebook page of the film. The

film is set against the backdrop of the mid-

16th century, East Bengal and inspired by the

life of Bengal's first feminist poet,

Chandrabati. The trailer shows the veteran

poet DijabangshiDas' daughter, Chandrabati

falls in love with another poet, Jayananda. Life

takes its own course on the eve of their

wedding, as Jayananda betrays Chandrabati

and marries another lady. Grief-stricken

Purnima in new TVC

TBT REPORT

DilaraHanif Rita known by her stage name Purnima, is a Bangladeshi

film actress. She won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Actress

for her performance in the film Ora AmakeBhaloHoteDilo Na.

This popular actress DilaraHanif Purnima has also worked in many

dramas. Her success on the small screen is worth mentioning.

Outside of that, we have seen her as programme host, sometimes

dancing, singing, and sometimes entertaining the audience in one way

or another. This sweet smiling actress has also been seen in

advertisements of various products.

This time the actress has seen yet another new Television

Commercial (TVC) of a hair oil brand. On September 10 and 11 she took

part in the shooting of the advertisement of the new product of

Kumarika brand 'Eva Hair Oil' in the capital Dhaka. Directed,

produced by Run Out Film's Shamim. Regarding the advertisement

Purnima said, "For a long time the making of this advertisement was on

process. Finally we have done it; feeling accomplished. The sincerity I

Karan Arjun, featuring Shah

Rukh Khan, Kajol, Salman Khan

and Mamta Kulkarni, is an iconic

film of the 90's, as it ticked all the

checkboxes of that era - action,

brotherhood, overwhelming

emotion, fiery romances, and a

pumping soundtrack to boot. It

was also another film that

bolstered Kajol and SRK's image

as the defining on-screen couple

of the era. The duo was back after

Baazigar with the revenge drama

Karan Arjun, and in 1995 itself,

DilwaleDulhaniya Le Jaaenge

established them as a leading pair

of the industry.

However, while their chemistry

appears effortless on screen, it

wasn't quite so easy for them. In a

series of old interviews, Kajol and

SRK discussed the awkwardness

behind the shooting of their song,

JaatiHoon Main from Karan

Arjun. While the song is intended

to be sensuous, it is also

remembered for its rather

unusual dance moves. In an old

Chandrabati isolates herself in a Shiva Temple

and embarks on an ambitious quest to rewrite

the epic 'Ramayana'. The plot of the movie

revolves around what happens afterwards.

'ChandrabatiKotha,' adapted from the ballads

found in the MymensinghGeetika,' portrays

the golden age of medieval Bengali literature.

Chandrabati, who learned everything from

her father, penned her 'Ramayana' in Pala

style (long ballads). Many of these poems have

served as the foundation for a variety of

Bangladeshi folklore. The entire film was shot

at an actual location in Kishoreganj, the

interview with CNN-IBN, Karan

Johar recalled how 'distraught'

Kajol was on the set. "Chinney

Prakash and Rekha Prakash were

giving them very acrobatic and

semi-vulgar moments to do." At

this point SRK jokingly interjected

saying, "I was okay with it." KJo

continued, "But she was angry.

She was sitting and reading a

book on that set with her glasses,

snarling, that she had to do this

very in-your-face (pun intended)

got in the team is great. Hope it will be a good TVC, the audience will

like it.' She also added that soon she is going to be associated with some

new work. Purnima starrer two new films titled 'Gangchil' and 'Jam',

directed by NaeemImtiazNeyamul are awaiting release. Recently the

actress has been elected as a member of the Board of Bangladesh Film

Artistes' Welfare Trust.

song." SRK also added, "I had to

take a blade of grass and run it

down her back, and the

expression was to be given by the

back. She was finding it difficult, I

don't know why, it's such an easy

thing to do," he added

sarcastically. He continued, "It

was so funny, because Kajol kept

saying 'I can't feel it'. It was very

strange. I was trying to be helpful,

but it was really strange."In

another interview during the

birthplace of Chandrabati. The ordinary

people of the village also acted in the film as

Palakar or Bayati. Model and actor Doel Mash

played the character of Chandrabati, while

actor ImtiazBorshon has played the character

of Jayananda in the film. The biography also

stars Dilruba Hossain Doyel, Jayanta

Chattopadhyay, QuaziNawshaba Ahmed, and

GaziRakayet. This film has a Kolkata

connection also. Satyakee Banerjee has

composed the music, and Sankha Biswas did

the editing of the film.

'ChandrabatiKotha' got clearance from the

Bangladesh Film Censor Board on February

26 this year while the film was stuck in the

censor board for almost a year. Earlier, the

world premiere of 'ChandrabatiKotha' was

held in November 2019 at the Calcutta

International Film Festival with a screening in

the competition section. Meanwhile, the film

has been screened at several film festivals

around the world.

Presented by Bashundhara LP Gas Limited

and distributed by Jaaz Multimedia,

'ChandrabatiKotha' is going to be released in

prominent theaters across the country.

Shah Rukh-Kajol struggled through

awkward Jaati Hoon Main

promotions of Dilwale, Shah

Rukh Khan and Kajol had

referenced the song again saying,

"We had never done a song like

this. Both of us were the most

awkward." Kajol added, "I can't

tell you how much we laughed."

SRK and Kajol have many such

hilarious stories together,

including their song from

Baazigar, where Kajol was

expected to let out a sensuous

gasp, but she was unable to make

it as exaggerated as the makers

wanted. So he was advised to give

her a pinch, and she got the shot

right. "For one moment, I've

worked with her enough, but for

that one moment I felt, is she

going to think I'm that kind of

hero, taking advantage and

pinching her?"Yet all said and

done, their chemistry oozes

superbly on screen and their fans

are waiting for them to recreate

their magic again. The duo last

worked with each other in Dilwale.

Source: Deccan Chronicle

H O R O s c O P E

ARIEs

(March 21 - April 20) : Your inspiration

and imagination are soaring today, Aries.

You may want to try an artistic project of

some kind. You could be pleasantly

surprised at the results. Your intuition is also high, and

your understanding of those around you is greatly

increased. Don't be afraid to act from instinct. This is

one of those days when it should win out over

rationality and logic!

TAURUs

(April 21 - May 21) : You look gorgeous

and feel especially sociable today,

Taurus. Don't be surprised if you either

host a social event or decide to attend

one to which you've been invited. You're always a

congenial companion, Taurus, but today more than

ever your enthusiasm is high. People will want to

enjoy your company. You may also have some

interesting information everyone will want to hear.

GEMINI

(May 22 - June 21) : Some

misunderstandings could cause

confusion in the home, Gemini. Your

intuition and insight should defuse the

situation, especially since you're more diplomatic than

usual. You could also have an artistic inspiration,

perhaps a new project that could be very important to

you. It could be important to your career or it could

open up new opportunities for you.

cANcER

(June 22 - July 23) : Social events you

attend today could put you in touch with

some fascinating people. A new

acquaintance could become a close friend.

These individuals may be highly educated in a field that

interests you or from other states or countries.

Conversation should be stimulating. Any information

gleaned could serve you well for a long time. Writing,

teaching, and publishing matters come to the forefront.

LEO

(July 24 - Aug. 23): You generally like

to think of yourself as a practical and

down-to-Earth person, Leo. Today you

might depend on intuition more than

usual. People around you might seem to be acting

peculiarly, and your insight could give you hints as

to their true motivations and how to deal with them.

Relations with colleagues could especially benefit

from this. Follow your heart!

VIRGO

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): Emotions

could run high among those close to

you, Virgo. It might seem like

everyone is in a bad mood! In your

own relations with them, your friendly nature

and social skills will calm them down and keep

them on an even keel, at least when you're

around! Social events may keep you busy. You

could make some valuable contacts.

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Your warmth,

sensitivity, and understanding in your

relations with those you care about are

heightened, Libra. You should feel

especially well, as your health is good. You want to

get out and be social with friends and family. If there

are no outings planned, don't hesitate to be the

instigator. Everyone will have a wonderful time, and

your company will be greatly enjoyed.

scORPIO

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) : Matters of

romance, love, and marriage should go

very well for you today, Scorpio. You

should feel especially warm and

supportive. Intimate conversations come easily to you.

Make certain before you speak that you're expressing

your thoughts in the right way. There's a danger your

partner might misinterpret your words. You don't want

any upset, however temporary, to mar your day!

sAGITTARIUs

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): Communication

between you and a family member could

be difficult today. Your warmth and

understanding might give this person the

courage to tell you what's on his or her mind. You

might feel adventurous, Sagittarius, so you and a

romantic partner could decide to go out on the town

and kick up your heels tonight. You're both looking and

feeling good. Have a great time!

cAPRIcORN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): A welcome letter,

phone call, or perhaps visit could come

from a lover or close friend bringing

interesting news. Your creative

energies are bubbling over, Capricorn, so you might

want to try writing, music, drawing, or painting. You

might send some letters, place a lot of phone calls, or

make a lot of short trips in your neighborhood,

maybe to libraries or bookstores.

AQUARIUs

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : Good news

regarding money could have you

thinking in terms of freshening up

your home. You might want to do

some painting or add some small decorative

touches like art or houseplants. You might even

want to shop for some new furniture. This

promises to be a lot of fun, Aquarius, so get family

members to do it with you.

PIscEs

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : A visit from a

relative or neighbor early in the day

could put you in a fantastic mood.

Perhaps this person has some

interesting news, encouraging words, or maybe a

gift. Listen and enjoy, Pisces, but beware of idle

gossip. Some of what you hear is unlikely to be

true, so it's best to keep it all to yourself. In the

evening, go out on the town!

Chehlum of Great

Sufi Saint of

Midnapore held

The Chehlum of Great Sufi

Saint of Midnapore Hazrat

Syed Shah Rashid Ali Al-

Quaderi (popularly known

as Boro Huzur Pak) was held

after Maghrib prayers on

Thursday, a press release

said.

It was held in the country's

18 Quaderiya khankas, 25

mosques and a madrasa in

Daulatdia in Rajbari with

due respect and dignity.

In India and in different

parts of the world, millions

of mourning disciples and

admirers of the great saint

also observed this solemn

event in their respective

khankas, mosques and

madrasas at the same time.

Boro Huzur was 22nd

descendant of Sultanul

Awliya Hazrat Syedena

Shaykh Mohiuddin Abdul

Qader Jilani and 35th

descendant of Holy Prophet

Muhammad (SA).

He passed away at his

Taltala residence in Kolkata

on August 16 this year.

E-poster published on

Bangabandhu's first

Bangla speech at UN

DHAKA : An e-poster has

been published at the

initiative of the Father of

the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's

Birth

Centenary

Celebration National

I m p l e m e n t a t i o n

Committee marking

Bangabandhu's first Bangla

speech at the 29th General

Assembly of the United

Nations on September 25,

1974.

The

national

implementation committee

has requested all to spread

the e-poster widely in

electronic, online and social

media on behalf of the

committee to celebrate the

birth centenary of Father of

the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,

said a press release.

4.5 lakh yaba

recovered in Cox's

Bazar, 5 held

COX'S BAZAR : Members of

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-

15 detained five people along

with 4.5 lakh contraband yaba

pills from the deep sea of Cox's

Bazar on Thursday midnight,

reports BSS. The arrested were

identified as Rashid Ullah,

Amanat Karim, Nasir Uddin,

Saiful Islam and Shaidur

Rahman, residents of different

areas in the district of Cox's

Bazar and Chattogram. Acting

on a tip-off, a RAB team raided

a fishing trawler in the deep

sea area around 12:30 am last

night and arrested them and

recovered 4.5 lakh yaba pills

from the fishing trawler, said

Tanvir Hasan, Deputy

Commander Squadron Leader

of RAB-15.

The next legal action is being

taken against them, the RAB

official added.

The 73rd founding anniversary of Dhaka University Alumni Association has been celebrated on

Friday. Vice Chancellor of the University Prof. Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman inaugurated various programs

of the founding anniversary as the chief guest at a function organized at the Nabab Nawab Ali

Chowdhury Senate building premises.

Photo: DU Public Relations

Income generation training

for fistula survivors' stressed

DINAJPUR : More income generating

vocational training can be the best ways of

successful rehabilitation of the obstetric

fistula survivors besides their family and

social reintegration.

Many women, particularly the poor and

marginalized ones, suffer a lot of many ways

due to the problem, so collaborative

approach has become crucial for proper

rehabilitation of the sufferers.

Health experts and development activists

came up with the observation while

addressing the closing ceremony of a fiveday

long training course titled "Capacity

Development of Fistula Survivors on

Rehabilitation and Reintegration," here on

Thursday.

LAMB Hospital hosted the function at its

training hall under Parbatipur Upazila in

collaboration with the Rangpur divisional

offices of the Department of Health, the

Department of Social Welfare Services and

UNFPA Bangladesh.

Main objective of the training was to

rehabilitate the fistula survivors through

sanitary pad making. Some 20 fistula

survivors joined the training course and

they were given practical knowledge on the

income generating activities.

Divisional Director of Health Dr

Motaherul Islam, Dr. Akhteruzzaman from

the Directorate General of Health Services,

Civil Surgeons Dr Jahangir Kabir and Dr

Hironmbo Roy and Deputy Director of the

Department of Social Services Abu Bakkor

Siddique addressed the meeting as resource

persons. Dr Animesh Biswas also spoke on

behalf of UNFPA Bangladesh, while Dr

Antje Oosterklam and Mahatab Liton on

behalf of the LAMB Hospital.

The meeting was told that the LAMB

Hospital has been implementing a project

titled "End Obstetric Fistula in Rangpur and

Rajshahi Division: Achievements and

Challenges" for overall development of the

fistula patients.

Under the project, LAMB Hospital are

implementing need-based programmes

such as case Identification from the

community, referral for diagnosis, timely

management, motivation, counseling,

follow up and comprehensive

rehabilitation and reintegration to free the

society from obstetric fistula.

In his remarks, Dr Motaherul Islam said

integrated efforts of all government and

non-government entities and other

specialists concerned is very important for

eliminating obstetric fistula from the

country by 2030.

He clarified that obstetric fistula is one

such chronic debilitating condition for

women around the country. Obstructed

and prolonged labors are the prime causes

for developing obstetric fistula, Dr

Motaherul added.

1,440 women to get

driving training in

seven divisional cities

.DHAKA : A plan has been taken to train

1,440 women as drivers at eight centers in

seven divisional cities in the country

aiming to make women economically

solvent and empower them.

The concerned authorities of the

Department of Women Affairs signed a

memorandum of understanding (MoU)

with Bangladesh Road Transport

Corporation (BRTC) in this regard at the

conference room of the Department of

Women's Affairs on Eskaton road on

Thursday night.

Director General of the Department of

Women Affairs Ram Chandra Das and

BRTC Chairman Md Tazul Islam signed

the MoU on behalf of their respective

sides.

Over the next one and a half years, the

Department of Women Affairs will

provide training on motor driving and

basic maintenance to women in seven

divisional cities and Pabna district

through income generating projects at the

upazila level.

A total of 1,440 women will be brought

under the training in six batches.

Later, the trainees will be given

certificates in both Bengali and English

languages.

7 held for

gambling in

C'nawabganj

CHAPAINAWABGANJ :

Members of Rapid Action

Battalion (RAB) arrested

seven persons allegedly for

gambling from Baliadanga

under Chapainawabganj

sadar upazila in the early

hours of Friday, reports BSS.

RAB sources said, an

operation team of RAB-5

from Chapainawabganj

camp conducted a raid in

Baliadanga near grave yard

at 1 am and arrested them as

they were gambling.

The RAB also seized three

sets of playing cards and

Taka 5,700 from them.

Later, they were handed

over to the police of

Chapainawabganj

thana with a case.

sadar

Nobel ceremonies

marred by pandemic

for second year

STOCKHOLM : Nobel Prize

winners in science and

literature will receive their

awards in their home countries

rather than Sweden for the

second year running because of

the pandemic, organisers said

Thursday, reports UNB.

The Nobel Foundation said a

decision on the Peace Prize,

which is usually awarded in

Norway, had not been made

yet.

The winners are announced

in early October and lavish

ceremonies in the two

Scandinavian capitals usually

follow on December 10, the

anniversary of the death

founder Alfred Nobel.

Last year, the foundation

gave out the science and

literature prizes in the

laureates' respective home

countries because of virus

travel restrictions.

SATURDAY, SePTeMBeR 25, 2021

7

Haitians see history of racist

policies in migrant treatment

Mexico : The images - men on horseback,

appearing to use reins as whips to corral Haitian

asylum seekers trying to cross into the U.S. from

Mexico - provoked an outcry. But to many

Haitians and Black Americans, they're merely

confirmation of a deeply held belief:

U.S. immigration policies, they say, are and

have long been anti-Black.

The Border Patrol's treatment of Haitian

migrants, they say, is just the latest in a long

history of discriminatory U.S. policies and of

indignities faced by Black people, sparking new

anger among Haitian Americans, Black

immigrant advocates and civil rights leaders.

They point to immigration data that indicate

Haitians and other Black migrants routinely face

structural barriers to legally entering or living in

the U.S. - and often endure disproportionate

contact with the American criminal legal system

that can jeopardize their residency or hasten

their deportation.

Haitians, in particular, are granted asylum at

the lowest rate of any nationality with

consistently high numbers of asylum seekers,

according to an analysis of data by The

Associated Press.

"Black immigrants live at the intersection of

race and immigration and, for too long, have

fallen through the cracks of red tape and legal

loopholes," said Yoliswa Cele of the

UndocuBlack Network, a national advocacy

organization for currently and formerly

undocumented Black people.

"Now through the videos capturing the abuses

on Haitians at the border, the world has now

seen for itself that all migrants seeking a better

tomorrow aren't treated equal when skin color is

involved."

Between 2018 and 2021, only 4.62% of

Haitian asylum seekers were granted asylum by

the U.S. - the lowest rate among 84 groups for

whom data is available. Asylum seekers from the

Dominican Republic, which shares the island of

Hispaniola with Haiti, have a similarly low rate

of 5.11%.

By comparison, four of the five top U.S.

asylum applicants are from Latin American

countries - El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and

Honduras. Their acceptance rates range from

6.21% to 14.12%.

Nicole Phillips, legal director for the Haitian

Bridge Alliance, said racism has long driven the

American government's treatment of Haitian

immigrants.

Phillips, whose organization is on the ground

helping Haitians in Texas, says this dates back to

the early 1800s, when Haitian slaves revolted

and gained independence from France, and has

continued through decades of U.S. intervention

and occupation in the small island nation.

She said the U.S., threatened by the possibility

of its own slaves revolting, both assisted the

French and didn't recognize Haitian

independence for nearly six decades. The U.S.

also loaned money to Haiti so that it could, in

essence, buy its independence, collecting

interest payments while plunging the country

into poverty for decades.

"This mentality and stigma against Haitians

stems all the way back to that period," Phillips

said. The U.S. violently occupied Haiti from 1915

to 1934 and backed former Haiti dictator

Francois Duvalier, whose oppressive regime

resulted in 30,000 deaths and drove thousands

to flee. While the U.S. long treated Cubans with

compassion - largely because of opposition to

the Communist regime - the administrations of

George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton took a hard

line on Haitians. And the Trump administration

ended Temporary Protected Status for several

nationalities, including Haitians and Central

Americans.

Tele Consumers Association of Bangladesh organized a discussion meeting

over e-commerce.

Photo : TBT

Woman arrested on suspicion

of starting California blaze

REDDING : A woman has been arrested on

suspicion of starting a Northern California

wildfire that spread rapidly, burning homes

and prompting evacuation orders Thursday in

a rural community, authorities said, reports

UNB.

Workers at a nearby quarry reported seeing

a woman acting strangely and trespassing in

the area in Shasta County where the Fawn

Fire was sparked Wednesday afternoon, the

California Department of Forestry and Fire

Protection said in a statement.

Later Wednesday, Alexandra Souverneva

walked out of the brush near the fire line and

approached firefighters and told them she was

dehydrated and needed medical help, Cal Fire

said.

Souverneva, 30, was taken out of the area

for evaluation and treatment. During an

interview with Cal Fire and law enforcement,

officers came to believe Souverneva, of Palo

Alto, was responsible for setting the fire,

officials said. She was arrested and booked

into the Shasta County Jail. It wasn't known

Thursday if she has an attorney.

KRCR-TV aired video Thursday of multiple

homes burning near the unincorporated

Mountain Gate area north of the city of

Redding.

The number of people affected by

evacuation orders was not immediately

known. People living in other areas were

warned to be prepared to leave. About 2,000

structures were threatened.

The fire scorched more than 8.5 square

miles (22 square kilometers) of heavy timber

on steep, rugged terrain amid hot, dry and

gusty conditions. It was just 5% contained.

Statewide, more than 9,000 firefighters

remained assigned to 10 large, active wildfires,

according to the California Department of

Forestry and Fire Protection.

Three people were killed and two others were injured in a head-on collision between a truck and a

passenger bus at Babla area on Bangabandhu Bridge Road in Tangail.

Photo : TBT

GD-1399/21 (5x4)

Saturday, Dhaka: September 25, 2021; Ashwin 10, 1428 BS; Safar 17, 1443 Hijri

An old woman is waiting for buyer with toys on the streets of the capital in search of a livelihood.

The picture is taken from Dhaka University area on Friday.

Photo: PBA

Dhaka, London

discuss shared

priorities ahead

of COP26

DHAKA : Bangladesh and the United

Kingdom have discussed shared priorities

ahead of COP26 and ways to resolve

the Rohingya crisis, reports UNB.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen

and Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon,

Minister of State Foreign

Commonwealth and Development

Affairs had a meeting in New York on

the sidelines of the United Nations

General Assembly (UNGA) and discussed

the issues of mutual interest.

Ahmad termed the meeting "productive"

on co-ordinating their efforts on

Afghanistan, supporting Rohingya

refugees and upholding human rights.

"We also discussed shared priorities

ahead of COP26," he tweeted.

DMP arrests 52

for consuming,

selling drug in city

DHAKA : Detective Branch (DB) of

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) have

arrested 52 persons for consuming and

selling drugs in the capital city.

According to a DMP statement

issued, the police raided different

areas under various police stations

and detained 52 drug abusers, recovered

drugs from their possession from

6 am on September 23, 2021 to 6 am

on Friday.

During the anti-drug campaign, police

seized 183 grams and 1,020 puria (small

packet) of heroin, 50.305 kilograms of

cannabis, eight bottles of phensidyle,

42,724 pieces of yaba tablets and 17 bottles

of local liquor from their possession,

it said.

Police filed 41 cases against the

arrestees in this connection with police

stations concerned under the Narcotics

Control Act.

Oil tanker fire:

missing worker's

body found on

Karnaphuli river

CHATTOGRAM : Naval police recovered

the body of a man from Bridgeghat

area of Karnaphuli River on Friday, two

days after he went missing from an oil

tanker that caught fire on the river in

Chattogram.

Nazrul Islam Saddam, 35, jumped

into the river to escape the fire caused by

an explosion on tanker 'OT Ocean" during

gas wielding work in its engine room

on Wednesday.

A worker named Junayed was burnt

to death on board the vessel. Several

others were injured.

But Nazrul was missing since he

jumped off the vessel.

ABM Mizanur Rahman, officer-incharge

of Sadarghat Naval Police, said

the body was sent to Chattogram

Medical College and Hospital for an

autopsy.

Bangabandhu, Bangladesh

and Liberation war are tied

to same thread: Khalid

COX'S BAZAR : Recalling the contribution

of Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman to the Bangalee nation, State

Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud

Chowdhury on Friday said that

Bangabandhu, Bangladesh and

Liberation war are tied to the same

thread. "Bangabandhu has given us

freedom through Liberation War.

Bangabandhu and Bangladesh are tied

to the same thread. Bangabandhu not

only thought about Bangladesh, he

also thought about the whole world,"

he said.

The state minister was speaking as

chief guest at the inaugural function of

'Biswa Jurey Bangabandhu o

Bangladesh Utshab' organized by

'Podokkhep Bangladesh' a cultural center

in Cox's Bazar on the occasion of

Mujib Year and the golden jubilee of the

country's independence, an official

handout said.

Thakurgaon, Sept 24 (UNB) -- Within

two weeks of the reopening of schools in

the country, five students of classes IV

and V have tested positive for Covid at a

primary school in Thakurgaon sadar

upazila.

This has prompted the authorities to

suspend all classes of IV and V grades at

Bahadurpara Government Primary

School in Thakurgaon sadar upazila with

effect from Thursday.

School principal Farhana Parvin said

that samples of the five girl students-two

studying in class IV and three in class V-

were sent for Covid-19 test on Monday.

The results came a day later.

"All the five students have been staying

at a government orphanage-

Thakurgaon Government Shishu

Poribar (girls) -- and of them, three are

aged between 10 and 12 years," said the

principal.

"Following a verbal direction from the

higher authorities, we have suspended

all classes of IV and V grades," she

added.

There are 426 students in the school

and of them, 84 are in class IV and 74 in

fifth grade. Meanwhile, the deputy

administrator of the orphanage said that

on September 17, only one student of

Hajipara Adarsha High School had fever

and cold, and "later these five students

also contracted the same".

From Monday to Wednesday, samples

of some 25 girls staying in the orphanage

were sent for Covid test and 13 of them

came out positive, including the five students

of Bahadurpara school, she said.

Resident medical officer of

Thakurgaon Modern Sadar Hospital

Rakibul Alam Chayan said the 13 girls

are being treated in isolation wards.

"They are doing well."

Assistant education officer of the

The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has

taken Bangladesh to new height by taking

up various development projects

including construction of Padma Bridge

and deep-sea port at Matarbari, Khalid

said.

"Bangabandhu was a friend to the

whole world while Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina is the mother of humanity,"

he added. 'Podokkhep Bangladesh'

President Badal Chowdhury presided

over the programme.

Member of Parliament Asheq Ullah

Rafiq, chairman of Bangladesh

Telecommunication Regulatory

Commission (BTRC) Shyam Sunder

Sikder, Mayor of Cox's Bazar Mujibur

Rahman, Jatiya Kabita Parishad

Presidium Member Aslam Sani, Cox's

Bazar district unit president of AL

Tofail Ahmed and Cox's Bazar district

Chhatra League president of AL SM

Saddam Hossain also spoke on the

occasion.

Five girl students contract

Covid in Thakurgaon school

upazila, Momtaz Ferdous said," We have

suspended the classes of fourth and fifth

grades at Bahadurpara school for a week

after being informed."

Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO)

Abdullah Al Mamun said, "We are keeping

a vigil on all students attending

schools across the upazila."

On September 12, after nearly 18

months, primary, secondary, and higher

secondary schools in Bangladesh

reopened with some Covid-safety protocols

in place.

4 killed in Khulna

road crash

KHULNA : Four people were killed as a

CNG auto rickshaw plunged into a ditch

after being hit by a truck on the Khulna-

Satkhira Highway at Dumuria upazila of

Khulna on Friday, reports UNB.

The deceased were identified as CNG

driver Ilias Sardar, 45, son of Zakaria

Sardar of Sharafpur in Dumuria,

Reshma Khatun, 32, daughter of

Mohiuddin of Rudaghara village. The

identities of two others are yet to be

known.

The accident occurred when a sandladen

truck hit the CNG on Khulna-

Satkhira Highway near east Jilerdanga

area around 2pm and then the CNG

plunged into a roadside ditch.

After four hours of frantic effort, the

fire service recovered four bodies from

the ditch at 6 pm. However, the CNG

could not be recovered.

Obaidur Rahman, Officer-in-charge of

Dumuria Police Station, said they

detained the truck driver Rakib Sheikh

over the accident.

Bogura fish farmer claims of

discovering artificial breeding

of kakila a year before BFRI

DHAKA : Recently Bangladesh

Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI)

claimed success in its quest for artificial

breeding of endangered indigenous

species of fish, Kakila.The institute,

which has won the Ekushey Padak in

native fish conservation research,

claims to be ahead of the world in discovering

the insemination process for

Kakila.

However, Abdul Ohab, a fish farmer

from Bogura, denounced this claim as a

rip off to the marginal fish farmers, and

that he was the first one who found success

in this process a year before BFRI.

The farmer told UNB he informed

the BFRI officials then about his discovery

of artificial breeding of Batashi

and Kakila fish. He even announced his

success at the time through a social

media post which was featured in local

news media.

Abdul Ohab also shared a screenshot

of a BFRI senior official liking his post

in social media with UNB.

In that Facebook post dated July 13,

2020 seen by UNB (available for viewing

on his timeline) Abdul Ohab writes,

"From personal experience of collecting,

rearing and artificially breeding I

can surely say that this species of fish is

on the verge of extinction. This sensitive

fish may die even with the slightest

mistake while carrying it to the river

bank from the water."

Authentic journalism

helps

taking country

forward: Sadhan

RAJSHAHI : Food Minister Sadhan

Chandra Majumder, MP, said authentic

and objective journalism always helps

take the country forward successfully.

He said journalists are the conscience

of the nation and they can open the eyes

of the society and the state as well

through their objective reporting.

The minister came up with the observation

while addressing the closing and

certificate-giving ceremony of a threeday

long journalists training course in

Naogaon district on Friday as the chief

guest.

Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB)

organized the training at Technical

Training Centre (TTC) in Naogaon town.

A total of 35 journalists of both print and

electronic media joined the course.

Food Minister Sadhan Majumder said

there will be competition among the

journalists in terms of who will collect

news first and will broadcast or print

first. He also expected the local journalists

will play a vital role towards publishing

development reports of Naogaon

district for taking it forward.

The minister said the journalists are

working as frontline fighters amid the

Covid-19 pandemic besides they are

motivating the public in general towards

following health rules which is absolutely

laudable. Minister Sadhan Majumder

urged the journalists to play an effective

role to make the Naogaon town free

from drug-addiction.

He also attached some images of his

discovery, which are shared with this

story. "Facing many difficulties like

keeping the hormone level in control

through pushing injections under

water, determining the gender of the

fish, yet I'm content that I finally found

success in inventing the artificial breeding

process that may save this fish from

getting extinct." Due to the egg being

big in size, Ohab couldn't collect more

than 60-80 eggs from a fully grown

female Kakila fish.

The eggs started hatching after 108

hours in 27-27.5 degree Celsius temperature,

Ohab wrote in his post.

According to him the most challenging

part of commercial farming of this

fish would be low egg or pollen production

and low hatching rate as the eggs

become more prone to infection by bacteria

and fungus during the long hatching

period.

If a solution for problems like Kakila

fish's high death rate while transporting

the brood stock is not found, protecting

this species will not be possible,

he said.

M Kabir, a marine biologist and senior

official of the fisheries department

told UNB he was informed about Abdul

Ohab's invention and said, "It's nothing

but a waste of money and time to do a

research that has already been done a

year back."

Afghanistan: Executions

will return, says senior

Taliban official

The Taliban's notorious former head of

religious police has said extreme punishments

such as executions and amputations

will resume in Afghanistan.

Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, now in

charge of prisons, told AP News amputations

were "necessary for security", reports

BBC.

He said these punishments may not be

meted out in public, as they were under

previous Taliban rule in the 1990s.

But he dismissed outrage over their

past public executions: "No-one will tell

us what our laws should be."

Since taking power in Afghanistan on

15 August the Taliban have been promising

a milder form of rule than in their

previous tenure.

But there have already been several reports

of human rights abuses carried out

across the country.

On Thursday, Human Rights Watch

warned that the Taliban in Herat were

"searching out high-profile women,

denying women freedom of movement

outside their homes [and] imposing

compulsory dress codes".

And in August, Amnesty International

said that Taliban fighters were behind

the massacre of nine members of the

persecuted Hazara minority.

Amnesty's Secretary-General Agnès

Callamard said at the time that the

"cold-blooded brutality" of the killings

He said a good researcher must have

knowledge of other research done in

that particular topic which researchers

of BFRI did not follow.

"This kind of research done to find

artificial breeding process is a routine

work for the researchers in this sector,

not a very incredible innovation

the way BFRI researchers are

announcing it to be," said the marine

biologist.

However, head of the BFRI

research team and chief scientist of

Jessore substation Dr Md Rabiul

Awal Hossain claimed they were the

first in Bangladesh to discover the

process for the artificial breeding of

Kakila fish. He also said information

of no other country doing such

research on this species has been

found so far.

When asked, Director General of

BFRI Yahia Mahmud agreed with the

research team head's claims.

According to BFRI DG, discovering

the process for the artificial breeding of

Kakila fish is the 31 st success story of

BFRI in its quest for conducting such

research to save 64 endangered indigenous

species of fish.

"I'm not informed of any local or

marginal farmer finding success in

identifying the breeding process before

our research team," said BFRI DG

Yahia Mahmud about Ohab's claim.

was "a reminder of the Taliban's past

record, and a horrifying indicator of

what Taliban rule may bring".

Days before the Taliban took control of

Kabul, a Taliban judge in Balkh, Haji

Badruddin, told the BBC's Secunder

Kermani that he supported the group's

harsh and literal interpretation of

Islamic religious law.

"In our Sharia it's clear, for those who

have sex and are unmarried, whether it's

a girl or a boy, the punishment is 100

lashes in public," Badruddin said. "But

for anyone who's married, they have to

be stoned to death... For those who steal:

if it's proved, then his hand should be cut

off."

These hardline views are in tune with

some ultra-conservative Afghans.

However, the group are now balancing

this desire to appeal to their conservative

base with a need to form connections

with the international community - and

since coming into power, the Taliban

have tried to present a more restrained

image of themselves.

Turabi, notorious for his harsh punishments

for people caught listening to

non-religious music or trimming their

beards in the 1990s, told AP that although

harsh forms of punishment

would continue, the group would now

allow televisions, mobile phones, photos

and videos.

Paddy straw is being taken by boat for cow-food in the char areas. The picture is taken from Gurudashpur of

Natore on Friday.

Photo: PBA

25-09-2021

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