09-05-2022

MondAy
DhAkA: May 9, 2022; Baishakh 26, 1429 BS; Shawal 7,1443 hijri
www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net
Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.20; N o. 08; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00
InternAtIonAl
Sherpa guide breaks
own record scaling
Everest for 26th time
>Page 7
sports
Carlos Alcaraz beats
Djokovic to reach
Madrid Open final
>Page 9
Arts & Culture
Shabnam Faria
ties knot again
>Page 10
AL wants participatory
elections:Hasan
DHAKA : Information and Broadcasting
Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud yesterday
said Awami League wants an election participated
by all political parties of the country,
including the BNP.
"We (AL) want BNP's participation in
the next general election though the party
(BNP) was born through the backdoor,"
the minister told the reporters prior to
addressing a function in observance of the
International Mother's Day in the city's
CIRDUP auditorium.
Hasan informed that a six-hour-long
meeting of the Awami League Working
KISHOREGANJ : The paddy farmers of
haor upazilas Austagram, Itna,
Mithamoin, and Nikli of Kishoreganj district
are not getting a fair price of paddy in
Chamraghat, Bhairab, and Ashuganj
wholesale markets in this Boro paddy harvesting
season. As a result, paddy farmers
have been counting Tk 150-250 loss per
maund of paddy which will push them
into financial trouble.
Haor farmers have already faced two
flash floods triggered by incessant downpours
and onrush of water from upstream
areas in India's eastern zone. Farmers in
the haor areas continue to harvest halfripe
paddy fearing more flash floods
instructed by the administration, local
Zohr
03:56 AM
11:58 PM
04:32 PM
06:35 PM
07:57 PM
5:18 6:32
Committee was held yesterday where
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave
instructions to hold the party conference
regularly.
"She also put emphasis on forming different
sub-committees," Hasan said,
adding, "The Premier also told the meeting
that we (AL) want a participatory election
of all political parties, including BNP."
Replying to a query, the minister said
there is no possibility of a non-partisan
government during the election period as
per the constitution of the country.
The current governments discharge the
duty of polls-time government in all the
democratic countries across the globe
including India, the United Kingdom,
Australia, the USA and European countries,
he added.
Besides, he said, elections are held
under the Election Commission (EC), but
not under the government. The administrative
officials are not under the government
when the polls are held as they perform
responsibility under the EC, he
added. In fact, BNP is afraid of polls, said
Hasan, also Awami League joint general
secretary.
Replying to another query about a
recent report of the Reporters Sans
FrontiSres (RSF), the minister said the
report is malicious, objectionable and
unacceptable.
Replying to another query over the
recent rail incident, he said, "I don't think
that the minister (railways minister) lied. I
don't know all relatives of my wife and
none of us knows all of
our all relatives. I also
think that it is not
appropriate to suspend
anyone on the
instruction of the wife
of a minister."
During the function,
the minister paid rich
tributes to all parents
of the world, saying
the mother's affection
for her children is universal
and cannot be
compared to others.
An enlightened mother
is needed to build an enlightened
nation, he added.
Hasan said following the directives of
Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina, the government has enacted
a special act for providing support to
the parents and even many cases were
lodged under the act.
The prime minister's former principal
secretary Dr Kamal Abdul Naser
addressed the function as the guest of honour
with the hospital's chairman Prity
Chakrabarty in the chair.
Children often proud mothers also
addressed the function while the hospital's
managing director Dr Ashish Kumar
Chakrabarty conducted it.
The awardees 10 mothers are Nadera
Begum, Sajeda Khatun, Taskina Faruque,
Jostna Rani Dhar, Lutfa Begum, Akthara
Khanam, Jharna Ghose, Suraia
Chowdhury, Sharmin Akther and Pratima
Rani Das.
Kishoreganj haor farmers not
getting fair price for paddy
lawmakers, and the Department of
Agricultural Extension to cut further loss.
As farmers are harvesting half-ripe
paddy, they are unable to utilize it fully.
This is a huge loss for them. Moreover, the
Boro labour crisis has increased the losses
as farmers are counting on extra money to
get the necessary number of labourers to
harvest Boro crops.
This time, the unfair price of paddy has
turned the haor farmers unhappy. They
are now lamenting and passing days
thinking about how they will repay their
loans from local lenders.
Boro farmers of haor areas have
expressed their resentment about the
unfair paddy price.
Their disappointment comes when
farmers go to the wholesale market to sell
BRRI dhan 28 (a Boro paddy variety
which ripens early).
Visiting the Chamraghat rice market,
the UNB correspondent found farmers
from haor areas bringing paddy here by
river routes. Rice mill owners buy paddy
directly from farmers at this spot.
Farmers said they have been counting
huge losses as they are not getting a fair
price this year. Mill owners are buying
maximum paddy at a low price produced
in the haor areas.
The production cost per maund of
coarse paddy, including the labour cost, is
near Tk 900 while its selling price is only
Tk 650 to Tk 750, while plain paddy is
being sold at Tk 750 to Tk 850 against the
production cost near Tk 1000.
Karim Mia, a farmer of Dhanpur of Itna
upazila, said he has expended more than
Tk 1,000 to grow one maund paddy.
Railways authority
asked to withdraw
TTE's suspension
order
DHAKA : The authorities concerned of
Bangladesh Railway (BR) have been
asked to withdraw the suspension order of
the travelling ticket examiner (TTE) who
fined three passengers travelling without
tickets, reports BSS.
Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan
disclosed the information while talking to
the reporters at his office at Rail Bhaban
here. The journalists were also informed
that the authorities concerned have been
directed to issue a show cause notice on
Divisional Commercial Officer (DCO) of
Pakshey Nasir Uddin who suspended the
TTE.
Earlier, the TTE of BR's Pakshey division
in Pabna's Ishwardi upazila named
Shafiqul Islam was suspended on Friday.
Replying to a question of the journalists,
the railways minister said that an investigation
committee has been formed to
probe into the matter.
About the involvement of his relatives,
he told journalists that he did not know
whether the complainants were his relatives
until yesterday.
The minister said his wife did not ask
anyone to suspend anyone to this end, she
just complained about the matter.
Talking about the Transparency
International Bangladesh (TIB), Sujan
said the TIB has given a statement quickly
after the incident without knowing any
involvement of the minister in this matter.
Cyclone Asani unlikely
to hit Bangladesh
coast: State Minister
DHAKA : There is no possibility of
Cyclone Asani, lying over the Bay of
Bengal, hitting Bangladesh, State Minister
for Disaster Management and Relief Dr
Md Enamur Rahman on Sunday.
It may move towards Bangladesh after it
makes landfall along the Indian coast on
May 12, he said in response to a question
from reporters at his office in the
Secretariat. He said the cyclone is moving
northwestwards. It will weaken while
passing through Odisha, Visakhapatnam,
Bhubaneswar and West Bengal in India.
"So far, no possibility of the cyclone hitting
Bangladesh has been found."
Due to the cyclone, there may be storms
and rains in Bangladesh but there will be
no cyclone or tidal wave, he added.
"This is the latest information we have."
The state minister further said the
cyclone currently lies in the Bay 1175 km
from Chittagong port and 1250 km from
Cox's Bazar. The speed of the cyclone is 55
kilometers per hour.
Asani, which formed in the Andaman
Islands in the Indian Ocean on May 4, has
gradually crossed the four levels of lows
and turned into a cyclone at 6 am on
Sunday, he informed. Asked which part of
Bangladesh may be hit if the direction of
the cyclone changes, he said the direction
of the cyclone changes all the time. It can
take any turn at any time.
A man who fled
from a small
village near
Polohy rests
upon his arrival
to a reception
center for
displaced people
in Zaporizhzhia,
Ukraine,
Sunday,
May 8, 2022.
Thousands of
Ukrainian
continue to
leave Russian
occupied areas.
Photo : AP
A four member Canadian delegation called on Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina at Ganobhaban yesterday. Photo : PID
Dozens feared dead as Russian
shell hits Ukrainian school
ZAPORIZHZHIA : Dozens of Ukrainians
were feared dead Sunday after a Russian
bomb destroyed a school sheltering about
90 people in the basement as Moscow's
invading forces kept up their barrage of
cities, towns and villages in eastern and
southern Ukraine, reports UNB.
The governor of Luhansk province, one
of two areas that make up the eastern
industrial heartland known as the Donbas,
said the school in the village of Bilohorivka
caught fire after Saturday's bombing.
Emergency crews found two bodies and
rescued 30 people, he said.
"Most likely, all 60 people who remain
under the rubble are now dead," Gov.
Serhiy Haidai wrote on the Telegram messaging
app. Russian shelling also killed
two boys, ages 11 and 14, in the nearby
town of Pryvillia, he said.
Since failing to capture Ukraine's capital,
Russia has focused its offensive in the
Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists
have been fighting since 2014 and
occupy some territory. The largest
European conflict since World War II has
developed into a punishing war of attrition
due to the Ukrainian military's unexpectedly
effective defense.
To demonstrate success, Moscow was
aiming to complete its conquest of the
besieged port city of Mariupol in time for
Victory Day celebrations on Monday. All
the remaining women, children and older
civilians who had been sheltering with
Ukrainian fighters in a sprawling steel mill
that is the city's last defense holdout were
evacuated Saturday.
The troops still inside have refused to
surrender and requested international
help to get them out, too. Capturing
Mariupol would give Moscow a land
bridge to the Crimean Peninsula, annexed
from Ukraine during a 2014 invasion.
Satellite photos shot Friday by Planet
Labs PBC showed vast devastation at the
Azovstal steel mill. Buildings had gaping
holes in the roofs, including one under
which hundreds of fighters were likely hiding.
After rescuers evacuated the last civilians
Saturday, Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly
address that the focus would turn to
extracting the wounded and medics: "Of
course, if everyone fulfills the agreements.
Of course, if there are no lies."
Elsewhere on the coast, air raid sirens
sounded several times early Sunday in the
major Black sea port of Odesa, which
Russia struck with six cruise missiles on
Saturday.
The Odesa city council said four of the missiles
hit a furniture company, with the shock
waves and debris badly damaging high-rise
apartment buildings. The other two missiles
hit the Odesa airport, where a previous
Russian attack destroyed the runway.
In a sign of the dogged resistance that
has sustained the fighting into its 11th
week, Ukraine's military struck Russian
positions on a Black Sea island that was
captured in the war's first days and has
become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.
Western military analysts also said a
Ukrainian counteroffensive was advancing
around the country's second-largest
city, Kharkiv. Ukraine's military said
retreating Russian forces destroyed three
bridges on a road northeast of the city to
try to slow the Ukrainian advance.
Ukrainian leaders warned that attacks
would only worsen in the lead-up to
Victory Day, when Russia celebrates Nazi
Germany's defeat in 1945 with military
parades.
Don't go to
foreigners with
complaints: PM
to labour leaders
DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
on Sunday urged the labour leaders not to
make any complaint to foreigners against
the country, reports UNB.
"As long as Awami League or I am in
power, we can assure that we can solve the
problem if any here," she said, criticizing a
section of labour leaders who take their
problems to foreigners. The prime minister
was addressing a function marking the historic
May Day from her official residence
Ganobhaban through a video-conference.
The Labour and Employment Ministry
arranged the function at Bangabandhu
International Conference Centre here.
Hasina said her government has done a
lot for the welfare of the workers. Even
then there are some labour leaders who
like to make complaints whenever they
see any foreigner.
The PM said she doesn't know the reason
for this mental poverty or whether the
interest of any other is involved here.
"We'll be able to solve our own problems
in the country. I would like to tell the
labour leaders don't cry before the foreigners,
rather come to me if you have any
problem. If there is anything (benefit) that
needs to be materialized from the owners,
it is me who can do it," she said.
The premier said she believes that the
problem can be solved through negotiations
between the owners and the workers.
Today's Bangladesh has attained food
autarky and can implement 90 per cent of
Annual Development Programme (ADP)
with its own funds, which is a huge departure
from total dependence on foreign
assistance in the past.
"Why will we complain to others about
our own country? We don't want it.
Bangladesh will move with self-dignity,"
said the PM. She stressed the need for
maintaining a cordial relation between the
industrial owners and the workers for the
sake of development.
Returnees to capital
endure 12-hr journeys
due to tailback at
Daulatdia terminal
GOALANDA : As Eid-ul-Fitr holiday came
to an end people from south-western districts
started returning to their workstations
in the capital but the journey is taking
more than 12 hours for many due to
gridlock at Daulatdia ferry terminal.
Shariful Islam, a trader from Barishal
lying on the engine cover of a Dhakabound
bus on Sunday morning, said he
started around 7 pm on Saturday from his
house and got on the bus around 9 pm.
His bus was standing still three kilometers
away from the terminal as he was talking
to the UNB reporter.
Like Shariful, hundreds of passengers
were seen waiting to cross the river as the
long tailback of vehicles on the Dhaka-
Khulna highway crossed six kilometers
and kept getting longer by the hour.
To decrease the pressure on the terminal
police have started stopping vehicles 13 kilometers
from the terminal near the Ahladipur
area in Rajbari sadar upazila. Hundreds of
private vehicles reached the terminal crossing
an extra eight-kilometer path from
Padmar Mor and Jamidar Bridge area
through Ujan Char and Char Daulatdia.
Some drivers complained local influential
people and brokers were charging extra
money from the drivers of goods-laden vehicles
with the help of police as they were
given priority for crossing the river.
Abul Bashar, a fruits trader from Barguna
said he started around 8 pm with 22 tonnes
of watermelon on a covered van to Dhaka
and got stuck in the traffic around 11 pm.
He said, "I had to collect a ticket paying Tk
4,000 instead of regular Tk 1,800 as they
were allowing us to pass specially. Yet a
huge number of my watermelons perished
due to long 13 hours of wait amid heat."
According to the Daulatdia office of
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport
Authority (BIWTA), 11, 593 vehicles
crossed the Padma River in the last 24
hours till Sunday 6 am through ferry from
Daulatdia terminal.

MonDAY, MAY 9, 2022
2
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dhaka Prof. Dr. Akhtaruzzaman addressing a program on the
occasion of Rabindranath Tagore's 161st birth anniversary.
Photo : Courtesy
Six academic buildings
constructed with Tk over
8 crore in Dhubaura
MYMENSINGH : The
extension works of four
academic buildings of
selected non government
high schools has already
been completed at the cost of
TK Four crore Ninety Four
lakhs in Dhubaura Upazila
of the district.
The academic buildings
were constructed under the
supervision of the
Department of Education
Engineering (DEE),
Executive Engineer M Yusuf
Ali said.
These academic buildings
were constructed under a
project title 'Extension
Works of the Existing
Academic Buildings of the
Selected High Schools'.
What they wore: Amish Country
exhibit spotlights sex abuse
LEOLA : Clotheslines with billowing linens and
long dresses are a common sight on the off-grid
farms of Pennsylvania's Lancaster County,
home to the nation's largest Amish settlement.
For many tourists they're as iconic a part of
Amish Country's bucolic scenery as the rural
lanes and wooden bridges.
But for two days in late April, a clothesline with
a different purpose was strung in a small indoor
exhibit here. Hanging from it were 13 outfits
representing the trauma of sexual assault
suffered by members of the Amish, Mennonite
and similar groups, a reminder that the modest
attire they require, particularly of women and
girls, is no protection, reports UNB.
Each garment on display was either the actual
one a survivor wore at the time they were
assaulted or a replica assembled by volunteers
to match the strict dress codes of the survivor's
childhood church. One was a long-sleeve,
periwinkle blue Amish dress with a simple
stand collar. The accompanying sign said,
"Survivor Age: 4 years old."
Next to it was a 5-year-old's heavy coat, hat and
long, hunter green dress, displayed above
sturdy black shoes. "I was never safe and I was
a child. He was an adult," a sign quoted the
survivor as saying. "No one helped me when I
told them he hurt me."
There was also an infant's onesie.
"You feel rage when you get a tiny little outfit in
the mail," said Ruth Ann Brubaker of Wayne
County, Ohio, who helped put the exhibit
together. "I didn't know I could be so angry.
Then you start crying."
The clothes on display represented various
branches of the conservative Anabaptist
tradition, which include Amish, Mennonite,
Brethren and Charity. Often referred to as the
Plain churches, they emphasize separation
from mainstream society, church discipline,
forgiveness and modest dress.
Khalid urges
all to pursue
ideology of
Rabindranath
SIRAJGANJ : State Minister
for Shipping Khalid
Mahmud Chowdhury
yesterday urged people of all
strata of life to follow the
ideology of Rabindranath
Tagore in their respective
life as he was not only a poet
but also a great man.
"Though he was born in a
landlord family he spent his
entire life for the wellbeing
of common people," the
Minister said while speaking
as the chief guest at a
function arranged to mark
the 161st birth anniversary
of Rabindranath Tagore at
Kachari Bari auditorium in
Shahjadpur Upazila
yesterday afternoon.
Urging all to follow the
ideology of Rabindranath
Tagore, the minister said,
"Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman loved
people of the country, songs,
poetry, as he was imbued
with the beliefs of the great
poet of Bangalee."
Joint Secretary for
Cultural Affairs Ministry
Shamim Khan was present
at the function with Deputy
Commissioner of Sirajganj
Dr Faruk Ahmed in the
chair.
Upazila Parishad
Chairman Professor Azad
Rahman, Mayor Toru Lodi,
Vice-Chancellor of Rabindra
University Professor Dr
Shah Azam, Upazila AL
President Chayon Islam and
Professor Merina Jahan
Kabita, MP, were present at
the function.
China steers nimble monetary
policies to enliven economy
BEIJING : China is making agile use of
monetary policy ammo to buoy the economy
amid mounting uncertainties, said an official
with the central bank, adding that the country
is able to cope with the impact of other major
economies' tightening moves.
Deeming the domestic and international
situations as complex and grim, Chen Yulu,
vice governor of the People's Bank of China
(PBOC), said that the implementation of
prudent monetary policy has been stepped up
to stabilize economic fundamentals.
To ease the downward pressure on the real
economy, China announced to cut the reserve
requirement ratio (RRR) by 0.5 and 0.25
percentage points in December 2021 and in
April this year, respectively.
The RRR cut added long-term and stable
capital sources for the country's financial
institutions, contributing to maintaining
reasonable and sufficient liquidity, Chen said.
Since the start of this year, China has cut the
interest rates of its medium-term lending
facility loans and lowered the loan prime
rates, spurring the financing demand of
market entities.
Supported by the policy tools to adjust the
monetary aggregate, the country's financial
market has posted upbeat performance.
In March, China's new yuan-denominated
loans increased by 395.1 billion yuan (about
59.56 billion U.S. dollars) year on year to 3.13
trillion yuan, higher than the market forecast
of 2.8 trillion yuan.
The M2, a broad measure of money supply
that covers cash in circulation and all
deposits, increased 9.7 percent year on year
to 249.77 trillion yuan at the end of March.
The country has also given full play to the
"drip irrigation" function of the structural
monetary policy tools, as part of efforts to
defy headwinds from the lingering COVID-19
pandemic.
To funnel funds into where the money is
most needed, China has encouraged local
banks to issue more inclusive loans for small
and micro businesses through market-based
means, as well as made re-lending
arrangements for technological innovation,
elderly care services and clean use of coal.
Mymensingh city corporation organized Eid reunion program at Shaheed
Shahabuddin auditorium yesterday.
Photo : TBT
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MOnDAY, MAY 9, 2022
3
Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi Bir Protik handing over the Azad Product
Ratnagarva Ma Award yesterday.
Photo : PID
Housewife
stabbed
dead in Ctg
CHATTOGRAM : A 54-yearold
woman has been
stabbed to death allegedly by
her husband at Chandnaish
upazila in Chattogram.
The deceased was
identified as Rezia Begum,
wife of rickshaw puller
Abdus Sattar of the upazila.
Locals said the couple had
an altercation at their home
in West Elahabad area on
Saturday evening. At one
stage, Abdus Sattar stabbed
his wife with a sharp weapon
and fled the scene.
Later, Rezia was admitted
to Chattogram Medical
College and Hospital
(CMCH) where she
succumbed to her injuries
early Sunday, said Md
Anwar Hossain, officer-incharge
(OC) of Chandnaish
police station.
Efforts are on to arrest the
husband, he added.
Besides, family members
of the deceased are being
interrogated, the OC added.
AL to hold
joint meeting
tomorrow
DHAKA : Awami League
(AL) will hold a joint
meeting with its associate
bodies' presidents and
general secretaries as well as
presidents and general
secretaries of AL city north
and south units at 11am on
Tuesday (May 10).
AL General Secretary and
Road Transport and Bridges
Minister Obaidul Quader
will chair the meeting to be
held at Bangabandhu
Avenue central office here, a
press release said.
Quader urged the all
concerned to attend the
meeting on time in
compliance with the health
guidelines, it added.
Ex lawmaker
Shah Zikrul
passes away
DHAKA : Advocate Shah
Zikrul Ahmed, former MP of
Brahmanbaria-5
constituency, passed away
Saturday morning.
Family sources said he
died around 10:30 pm on
Saturday at Bangabandhu
Medical College Hospital in
Gopalganj at the age of 73.
He was taken to
Bangabandhu Medical
College Hospital as he
became sick.
Later, he died while
undergoing treatment at the
hospital.
He left behind his wife,
three daughters and a host
of relatives, friends and wellwishers
to mourn his death.
His first namaz-e janaza
was held yesterday morning
on Nabinagar Government
High School premises in
Brahmanbaria.
He will be laid to eternal
rest in the city's Banani
graveyard after janaza at the
Bangladesh Supreme Court
premises, Dhaka Taxes Bar
Association premises and
city's Paltan Line Mosque,
said a press release.
Mother's Day returns with
happiness, celebrations after
two deadly pandemic years
DHAKA : After observing two back-to-back
"no hugs" Mother's Day due to the global
pandemic of COVID-19, mothers and their
children in Bangladesh as elsewhere across
the globe are finally celebrating the occasion
on Sunday by expressing love and affection
towards each other.
The day was developed and
commercialized in the US and followed by
the rest of the world, and it has since been
observed through special indoor and
outdoor events focused on spreading the love
for mothers across the globe.
People in Bangladesh and around the
world celebrate the day by presenting gifts to
their mother as a norm of expressing love to
them for always being there, authoring
beautiful letters for their mother and making
their mother's favourite meals on the jovial
occasion.
Those who live away had to make do with
phone conversations and video chats, to
minimize the distance by making phone calls
and video calls and those who lost their
mothers, pray for their departed souls on this
day.
Social media platforms such as Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram are being flooded
with special messages and write-ups from
ordinary people to celebrities, for their
mothers.
There are also a large number of people
reminiscing about their mothers whom they
have lost in recent times due to the pandemic
in the last two years.
Meanwhile, many fashion brands, gift
shops, restaurants, food and grocery delivery
services, and recreational services providers
are offering special discounts and lucrative
deals to let their consumers celebrate this
special occasion with their mothers in
person, after passing two years of COVID-19
restrictions.
Generated from the idea that "Mother is
the person who has done more for you than
anyone in the world" - Anna Jarvis, an
American woman activist campaigned and
established the day during the first decade of
1900.
Following her mother Ann Reeves Jarvis's
death in 1905, Anna Jarvis conceived of
Mother's Day as a way of honouring the
sacrifices mothers made for their children.
In May 1908, she organized the first official
Mother's Day celebration at a Methodist
church in Grafton, West Virginia in the
United States.
She also held a campaign and further
activities to observe this day as a national
holiday, and her persistence paid off in 1914
when President Woodrow Wilson signed a
measure officially establishing the second
Sunday in May as Mother's Day in the
United States which has now been a globally
acknowledged and established day,
celebrated by billions around the world.
Fahmida Nabi, Samina
Salam bring new song
on Mother's Day 2022
DHAKA : Pouring heartfelt tribute to all the
mothers, a special song titled 'Ma' by
eminent singer Fahmida Nabi was released
on Sunday, reports UNB.
The song is written by Samina Salam, and
composed by popular music director Foad
Nasser Babu.
A music video of this song has also been
released, featuring veteran actress Dilara
Zaman, actress Sallha Khanam Nadia and
child artiste Affa Anjum.
Fahmida Nabi has sung about her mother
before and specifying this song she said, "The
word "Ma" is a short word, but the impact of
mothers in our lives is uncountable and
unimaginable. I feel honoured and lucky to
voice this beautiful track and hopefully, this
song will mesmerize the audiences."
Samina Salam said, "I wrote the song after
the passing of my mother, who was my
universe. I had a lot to say which I could not
express to anyone, thus I wrote this song to
express those unspoken verses."
Eminent actress Dilara Zaman also shared
her emotional experience regarding the
track, saying: "This song is pretty special for
me, both as an artist and a mother. As sweet
as the word "Ma" is, its meaning is incredibly
deep and impactful. A girl has written and
composed a song about her mother, and this
is the first time in my life I got the
opportunity to play the role of mother in the
music video of that song, which is very
special to me."
Created by Alamgir Hossain, the music
video of the song has been released and is
now available on Samina's Creative World
YouTube channel.
Shipping Minister Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury inaugurated the
three-day long programs marking 161st birth anniversary of
Rabindranath Tagore.
Photo : PID
Covid-19
Bangladesh
reports 23 new
cases, no death
DHAKA : Bangladesh
reported 23 Covid cases in
24 hours until Sunday
morning which took the
total caseload to 1,952,799.
With no new Covid death
reported during this period
the country's total fatalities
from the pandemic
remained unchanged at
29,127.
The daily test positivity
rate slightly increased to
0.41 per cent from
Saturday's 0.38 per cent as
5.599 samples were tested,
according to the Directorate
General of Health Services
(DGHS).
On Saturday, the number
of cases was lower as 10 new
cases were reported.
The mortality rate
remained unchanged at 1.49
percent. The recovery rate
rose to 97.17 percent as
263patients recovered
during this period.
In April, the country
reported only five Covidlinked
deaths and 1,114 new
cases, while 14,100 patients
recovered from the disease,
according to the DGHS.
Among the five deaths
during the period, two were
unvaccinated patients while
three were vaccinated with
two doses of the Covid
vaccine.
The country reported its
first zero Covid death in a
single day on November 20
last year, along with 178
cases, since the pandemic
broke out here in March
2020. On January 28,
Bangladesh logged its
previous highest positivity
rate of 33.37 percent.
The country registered its
highest daily caseload of
16,230 on July 28 last year
and daily fatalities of 264 on
August 10 in the same year.
DMP arrests 21 for
consuming, selling
drugs in city
DHAKA : As part of the antidrug
campaign in the
capital, members of the
Dhaka Metropolitan Police
(DMP) has arrested a total of
21 people on charges of
selling and consuming drugs
during last 24 hours till 6am
yesterday.
According to a release
issued by the DMP, police
conducted the operations
against drug sellers and
consumers in different areas
under various police stations
and detained 21 drug
traffickers and recovered
huge drugs from their
possession from 6am of May
7 to 6 am yesterday.
During the anti-drug
drives, police seized 23
grams and 30 puria (small
packet) of heroin, 4.630
kilograms of cannabis
(ganja), 1,405 pieces of yaba
tablets and five can beer
from them, it said.
Police filed 17 cases
against the arrestees in these
connections with respective
police stations under the
Narcotics Control Act.
JS deputy leader
Sajeda Chowdhury's
87th birthday
DHAKA : Sunday was the
87th birthday of Jatiya
Sangsad (JS) deputy leader
Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury.
Sajeda Chowdhury, one of
the organizers of the
Liberation War, was born in
a respected Muslim family in
Magura in 1935.
She joined Awami League
in 1956. She served as the
founding general secretary
of Mahila Awami League
from 1969-1975.
She was the founding
director of Kolkata Gobra
Nursing Camp during the
Liberation War.
The veteran leader also
served as the acting general
secretary of Awami League.
Apart from politics, she
also engaged herself in social
works and contributed to the
development of sports,
cultural and religious
institutions.
Dhaka's air quality remains
'unhealthy'
DHAKA : Dhaka's air quality continues to be
'unhealthy', though it is no longer the world's
most polluted city, reports UNB.
On Sunday, the densely populated capital
of Bangladesh occupied the fifth position in
the latest list of world cities with the worst air
quality.
The capital's air quality index (AQI) was
recorded at 159 at 10:31 am.
Pakistan's Lahore, Kuwait's Kuwait city,
Iran's Tehran and India's Mumbai occupied
the first fourth spots, with AQI scores of 188,
176, 172 and 166, respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered
'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is
said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to
400 is considered 'hazardous', posing
serious health risks to residents.
AQI, an index for reporting daily air
quality, is used by government agencies to
inform people how clean or polluted the air
of a certain city is, and what associated
health effects might be a concern for them.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five
criteria pollutants-Particulate Matter (PM10
and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air
pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns
unhealthy in winter and improves during the
monsoon.
A report by the Department of
Environment (DoE) and the World Bank in
March 2019 pointed out that the three main
sources of air pollution in Dhaka "are brick
kilns, fumes from vehicles and dust from
construction sites".
With the advent of winter, the city's air
quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the
massive discharge of pollutant particles from
construction work, rundown roads, brick
kilns and other sources.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the
top risk factors for death and disability
worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long
been recognised as increasing a person's
chances of developing a heart disease,
chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections
and cancer, according to several studies.
As per the World Health Organization
(WHO), air pollution kills an estimated
seven million people worldwide every year,
largely as a result of increased mortality from
stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute
respiratory infections.
Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque addressing as chief guest on
agriculture technology and food security.
Photo : PID
President pays rich tributes
to Dr Wazed Miah
DHAKA : President M Abdul Hamid
yesterday paid rich tributes to the memory of
internationally reputed nuclear scientist Dr
MA Wazed Miah, husband of Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina, on the occasion of his 13th
death anniversary to be observed tomorrow.
In a message on the eve of the day, Abdul
Hamid recalled that Dr Wazed had made
notable contributions to the field of atomic
research during his lifetime.
He served the Bangladesh Atomic Energy
Commission in different capacities
successfully, the President said.
He added that the area of Dr Wazed's
research was wide, covering issues like
Fundamental Interaction and Particle
Physics, Nuclear and Reactor Physics, Solid
State Physics, Electromagnetism, Health
and Radiation Physics, Renewable Energy
and so on.
Abdul Hamid said 'Jatiya Samannita
Unnayan Foundation' was established in
1997 at the advice and under the patronage
of Wazed Miah.
Dr Wazed Miah will remain a source of
inspiration to the future generation for his
works, he said.
President Abdul Hamid said Wazed Miah
had also contributed to the national politics
silently side by side with carrying out
scientific researches.
He recalled that Dr Wazed was arrested
during the movement against Aiyub Khan's
military rule in 1962.
Hamid said he (Dr Wazed) tied knot with
the elder daughter of Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman-
Sheikh Hasina-on November 17 in 1967 and
stood beside the family of Bangabandhu
during the Liberation War in 1971.
The President prayed for eternal peace of
the departed soul of Dr Wazed Miah.
Kushtia district administration organized discussion meeting and cultural
program on the occasion of 161st birth anniversary of Rabindranath
Tagore.
Photo : Star Mail
Youth dies from electrocution in city
DHAKA : A young man died after getting
electrocuted while cleaning a water tank in
the capital's Badda area on Sunday, reports
UNB.
The victim was identified as Alamin, 25,
son of Babul Mia, hailing from village
Baghbari under Raipura upazila in
Narsingdi district. He was residing at Jamai
Bazar area of T and T Korail slum of Banani
in the city. The incident took place at around
12:00 pm on Sunday while he was cleaning a
water tank at Gudara Ghat area in Badda. He
received severe shock injuries as he touched
an electric wire during his cleaning work.
Alamin was rescued in critical condition
and was rushed to the emergency
department of Dhaka Medical College
Hospital (DMCH) where the duty doctor
pronounced him dead around 2:00 pm.
Contacted, Inspector Bachhu Miah, incharge
of DMCH Police Camp said the body
was kept in the hospital morgue for autopsy.
The concerned police station has been
informed.
Mohammad Yasin, a co- worker of the
deceased Alamin, said that he along with
Alamin and Sumon were electrocuted while
brushing the walls of a water tank at a house
of Badda Gudara Ghat Road No. 6. The
doctor declared Alamin dead after he was
brought to the emergency department of the
medical college hospital.

MOnDAY, MAY 9, 2022
4
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Monday, May 9, 2022
Eid with a difference
Eid-ul- Fitr was observed all throughout
Bangladesh on last Saturday. But this was an Eid
unlike others we have seen in a long long time. Senior
citizens have almost come to forget Eids in the long
past when life and living was much easier with hardly
any stress. In recent years, Eid has come to mean a
stressful time.
Bangladeshis in great number have their second
homes or ancestral homes in rural areas. They tend to
habitually and customarily travel to their points of
origin and spend the Eid there with or without their
ancestors. This coming and observing Eid in the
village homes is a matter of great satisfaction for them.
But in recent years people of the country have found
their joys of Eid much diminished from harassments
faced during Eid time travel. Awful jams and
overcrowding at bus, train and steamer terminals,
ticket black marketing, pickpocketing, etc. tended to
mar the happiness of the occasion.
Therefore, this just observed Eid marked a very
striking difference for the better from other years.
People in the greatest number found their Eid time
travel free from hassles worth mentioning. The
overcrowding at conduit points were found peaceful
and serene in contrast to yester years. There was
found no need to jostle for tickets and find places to sit
in buses, trains and steamers. Tickets and buses,
trains and steamers were plenty so that the demand
for tickets and their buyers were well matched and
hardly there was opportunity for ticket black
marketing. Specially the scourge of ticket black
marketing was taken care of as if with iron hands by
the law enforcers.
The administration was found very alert to this need.
The buses, trains and steamers were noted punctually
coming and departing from the places of departure.
Police and other security forces were seen ensuring
travel safety and maintenance of law and order very
keenly. Thus, compared to any other time in recent
years people's experience of Eid time travel this year
was one of true bliss.
Not only Eid travel, people were found pleased with
their Eid time buying as well. Except for profiteering
move in relation to one kitchen item, cooking oil (that
was foiled) the markets were seen overflowing with
goods well withing the purchasing powers of all
categories of people. The release of regular salaries,
bonuses and other arrear payments well ahead of Eid
contributed to people having enough resources
generally in their hands to be able to spend freely
before and during the Eid. Needless to say, all these
aspects added to satisfactory observance of the Eid.
The ones who were left behind in the major cities,
their needs were very well attended. A major
concern for them was burglary and other incidents
of law and order in the backdrop of the thinned
population of the city. But such concerns were very
well taken care of by excellent vigil of police and
other agencies round the clock that meant residents
at homes in major cities could enjoy very secure and
unperturbed time. Of course, a few incidents of law
breaking could have happened. But the same were
too few in a country with over 160 million people not
worth giving any special focus.
The government leaders were found promising
before the Eid that they would be doing everything to
make sure that people could enjoy the Eid truly
happily in all respects. The pledges proved not fickle
ones but kept fully. This again proves that given
determination and planning we can repeat the good
administrative performance shown during this Eid
and make it a regular feature.
Perhaps the greatest relief people could feel during
this Eid was one of deliverance. The Corona menace
has very conspicuously declined in Bangladesh when
other countries, including China, are suffering from
more virulent outbreaks of the disease. Bangladesh
proudly stands at number five for its success in
keeping Corona under threat. There have been no
deaths from Corona for nearly a month in Bangladesh.
The daily infection rate yesterday was only 10 persons
or much less than even one per cent of the total tested.
It can be said reasonably that Bangladesh has become
triumphant against Corona after two long years of
struggle. No doubt this is a blessing also bestowed on
Bangladesh by Providence.
Yemen’s internal security challenges and the Riyadh talks
The attack on a liquefied natural gas
pipeline on Sunday was the latest
security incident in the oil and gasrich
Shabwa province in southern Yemen.
This incident and other security breaches
in government-controlled areas represent
a serious challenge to the authority of the
Presidential Leadership Council, which
was chosen during Gulf Cooperation
Council-facilitated Yemeni talks in
Riyadh earlier this month.
The province's newly appointed
governor, Awadh bin Al-Wazir Al-Awlaqi,
said on Monday that the attack was a
"terrorist destructive act," accusing
unnamed "terrorist groups" of carrying it
out. He said that the attack provided
evidence that terrorist groups are living
their final days but also attempting to
sabotage the process of restoring security
and stability in Yemen and divert the
PLC's attention.
This was not the first incident of
sabotage of oil and gas installations or
pipes in Yemen or even in Shabwa.
During the best of times there were
attacks, which gradually led to the flight
of foreign operators and a sharp
reduction in oil and gas production
throughout Yemen. As oil and gas have
long been a key source of government
revenue, these disruptions have put
severe pressure on its ability to provide
basic services.
However, Sunday's attack was the first
of its kind since the conclusion of the
GCC-hosted Yemeni talks. It came a few
days after Prime Minister Maeen Abdul
Malik Saeed had announced his
government's decision to resume LNG
production to help pay the salaries of
government employees and stabilize the
national currency.
The Yemen war has produced an
Stateless Ukrainians: No nationality and now, no home Stateless Ukrainian refugees fight for recognition and protection
As Europe mobilises to accommodate
the growing number of Ukrainians
fleeing the country - now more than
four million - stateless Ukrainians are
fighting a losing battle for protection and
recognition. Not recognised as nationals by
Ukraine or any other state under the
operation of its laws, stateless Ukrainians,
who number approximately 40,000, are
denied access to basic rights and have been
the targets of pervasive discrimination as
they seek refuge abroad. European states
must act decisively within their
international legal obligations to ensure
protections for all refugees, irrespective of
nationality, race, or ethnicity.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union,
people in former Soviet nations who fell
through the gaps of new nationality laws
became stateless. Racism and ethnic
discrimination left certain minority groups
particularly vulnerable. For example, Roma
represent one of the largest groups of
stateless people in Ukraine - and one of the
most discriminated against across Europe.
Lacking a nationality - and the
corresponding ability to establish one's legal
identity - has severe consequences.
Nationality is often referred to as a "gateway
right", without which access to other basic
rights is extremely challenging.
Statelessness creates barriers to accessing
work, healthcare, education, and housing,
and even to pursuing redress for those rights
violations in court. Without a legal identity,
it is as though stateless people do not exist.
When stateless people become refugees,
these risks multiply. Stateless status - which
should alone be grounds for protection - is
regularly overlooked in immigration
proceedings, despite being a critical factor in
US-ASEAN Summit opens up UNCLOS ratification issue
US Navy FONOPs (freedom of
navigation operations) in the South
China Sea would have more legitimacy
if Washington were to ratify UNCLOS. Photo:
US Naval Institute
When President Joe Biden and his White
House welcome Southeast Asian leaders on
May 12 for the start of a two-day US-ASEAN
Summit, it is worth noting that they will be
commemorating a 45th anniversary of this
relationship, one that validates the
administration's Indo-Pacific Strategy as well
as charting the future direction of the US with
ASEAN's 10 member states.
If one of the goals of hosting this
organization comprising Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam
is to secure their participation in a multipartner
Indo-Pacific Pax Americana or "rulesbased
international order" to curb China's
rising power in the disputed South China Sea,
then what better timing for the US to join the
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS) ?
Since Washington has been recalibrating its
DR. ABDEL AZIZ ALUWAISHEG
unprecedented breakdown in the rule of
law throughout the country, albeit its
severity has varied regionally. In Houthicontrolled
areas, lawlessness from the top
has been the primary tool for political and
social control, but it has also been used by
individual leaders for financial gain.
Assassinations, kidnappings, torture and
wholesale detentions have been
sanctioned by the group against its
political opponents. It has become
routine practice to blow up adversaries'
homes, mete out collective punishment
against tribes not fulfilling their quota of
recruits, and defile and board up mosques
not following their religious instructions.
By contrast, violence in governmentheld
areas comes from many sources,
including terrorist groups such as Al-
Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and
Houthi agents. The Houthis were last
year able to briefly capture parts of
Shabwa, with the help of some local
agents, before being driven out, but future
attacks by the militia cannot be ruled out.
However, violence in Shabwa and other
government-held areas also comes as a
result of fighting between political groups
over influence and among criminal
elements of all sorts over turf. In Shabwa,
high rates of addiction to the local variety
of shabu, an amphetamine-based drug
the assessment of a refugee or asylum claim.
Where their refugee or asylum claim is
denied, stateless people are often
indefinitely detained [PDF] simply because
there is no state that recognises them as
nationals to which they can be "returned".
With Europe facing what UNHCR
Commissioner Filippo Grandi called "the
fastest growing refugee crisis since World
War II", stateless Ukrainian refugees are
forced to confront these problems head-on.
One stateless Ukrainian woman expressed
her fear of leaving, even as her home was
bombed: "I'm afraid that if I decided to leave
I wouldn't be able to cross checkpoints or
borders because I don't have documents.
I'm also very scared they'd separate me from
my children because I have no proof that I'm
their mother."
But the lack of legal protection is not the
only problem stateless refugees are facing.
Racial and ethnic minorities - such as the
Roma, whose intersecting ethnic and
stateless identities make them doubly
vulnerable to discrimination - are finding it
particularly difficult to access the protection
they so desperately need. Many have
recounted horror stories of waiting for days
in camps without food or water, while their
Ukrainian citizen counterparts were
relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization in a concerted response to
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the interests of
the Biden administration and Congress may
also be well served by bringing to a vote the
ratification of UNCLOS, the recognized legal
instrument to define issues relating to
sovereignty, territorial waters and rights and
obligations of a maritime state.
While this summit serves to explain
America's Indo-Pacific mission that reinforces
a commitment to international law, the
ratification of UNCLOS would convince
members of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations that the US is no longer merely
offering empty promises and geopolitical
rhetoric. China's offensive maritime
maneuvers and its militarization of outposts in
the South China Sea do much more than
highlight the need for the US Senate to ratify
UNCLOS. Two months ago, the US House of
Representatives passed the America
COMPETES Act of 2022 aimed at increasing
US economic competitiveness with China.
The bill included an amendment that
stipulated it is in the nation's best interest to
KRISTInA FRIED
JAMES BORTOn
used throughout Asia, is also blamed for a
spate of incidents involving traffickers,
distributors and addicts.
While the authorities have yet to pin
down responsibility for the attack on the
LNG pipeline or other recent incidents in
Shabwa, there has been plenty of
speculation about the perpetrators. Some
sources have accused AQAP of carrying
out some of the attacks, including
Sunday's bombing of the pipeline, while
others have suggested that the Houthis
were indirectly behind the latest incident.
This was not the first incident of sabotage of oil and gas installations or
pipes in Yemen or even in Shabwa. During the best of times there were
attacks, which gradually led to the flight of foreign operators and a sharp
reduction in oil and gas production throughout Yemen. As oil and gas have
long been a key source of government revenue, these disruptions have put
severe pressure on its ability to provide basic services.
Most likely, there are multiple groups and
individuals behind the security breaches,
with both political and criminal motives.
Regardless of who the perpetrators are,
the recurring attacks underscore the need
to implement the security
recommendations of the Riyadh talks.
Several governors, law enforcement
officials and experts discussed the
security situation in government-held
areas. More than a dozen working papers
and policy proposals were considered,
identifying serious political,
administrative and financial challenges
that have weakened the rule of law in
those areas. Among the key
recommendations to address those
challenges was the need to speed up the
implementation of the Riyadh Accord of
welcomed with open arms. States' lack of
comprehensive legal frameworks
addressing statelessness - in violation of
their international legal obligations - is
largely to blame for the chronic
disenfranchisement of stateless people.
To be sure, many European states have
created safeguards against statelessness.
Ten states have a procedure for identifying
stateless individuals and conferring a
When stateless people become refugees, these risks multiply. Stateless status
- which should alone be grounds for protection - is regularly overlooked in
immigration proceedings, despite being a critical factor in the assessment of a
refugee or asylum claim. Where their refugee or asylum claim is denied,
stateless people are often indefinitely detained [PDF] simply because there is
no state that recognises them as nationals to which they can be "returned".
dedicated stateless status. Other states have
piecemeal procedures, but no
comprehensive framework that allows for
both determination and protection.
Ukraine's new framework, adopted in 2021,
establishes a stateless status determination
procedure and a process for naturalisation.
However, these safeguards do not fully
comply with states' legal obligations, nor do
they offer sufficient protection for stateless
refugees. As of December 31, 2021, only 55
stateless Ukrainians - out of 737 applicants -
have been recognised as stateless. They will
still have to wait three years before they can
apply for naturalisation and gain access to
their full rights. Now that process has been
interrupted. Meanwhile, most European
states, including all but one of Ukraine's
immediate neighbours, lack adequate legal
frameworks for the protection of stateless
ratify the UNCLOS treaty formally. (The
acronym COMPETES stands for Creating
Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote
Excellence in Technology, Education and
Science.) The Third United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted
in 1982. One hundred and sixty-two countries,
including China and Russia, are signatories to
the treaty that governs the world's oceans. The
US is not. Past endorsements by American
presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and
Barack Obama failed to move the needle
forward on this issue. Some Washington policy
observers don't think the recent resolution
from the US House of Representatives is
anything more than performative.
However, increasing numbers of
proponents argue that ratifying the agreement
would give the US more leverage in pressuring
other nations to do the same. The US Navy
and Coast Guard already largely follow the
rules of navigation the treaty lays out.
The time has come to put partisan politics
aside and focus on national interests. While
the US Navy's Seventh Fleet continues to
reinforce freedom of navigation in the South
2019, which was agreed between the
government and the Southern
Transitional Council, to reduce the
number of politically-motivated attacks.
Some of the other recommendations
focused on the need for coordination
among security forces and the armed
forces. In areas where coordination is low,
some law enforcement capacity has been
reduced as security forces have to lie low
and leave control to the militias.
Participants also called for better
coverage of secured communications
between the security forces, better
training and improved governance to
weed out corruption.
The recurring attacks underscore the
need to implement the security
recommendations of the Riyadh talks.
Echoing those understandings, Al-
Awlaqi on Monday called for enhanced
protection of the oil and LNG pipes,
improved preparedness in the military
and security forces, and increased
security patrols throughout his
province.
One of the key outcomes of the Riyadh
talks was the decision to set up a joint
military and security committee under
the PLC with a wide mandate. While its
focus is to coordinate the work of the
armed forces to prevent conflict between
them, it is also charged with coordinating
between the military and internal security
forces. By demarcating the lines of
responsibility, law enforcement agencies
will feel safe to carry out their duties and
focus on protection, prevention and
fighting crime and terrorism.
(Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the GCC
assistant secretary-general for political
affairs and negotiation, and a
columnist for Arab News.)
people. Even those with comprehensive
frameworks fall short in their
implementation, with stateless people -
particularly ethnic minorities - unable to
access basic rights and vulnerable to
detention.
Critically, Europe has excluded stateless
individuals from its refugee response plan,
which offers immediate protection to
Ukrainian nationals and permanent
residents. Although Moldova, Poland,
Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania have
promised to admit all refugees, including
those who are stateless, experts worry that
without dedicated protections, stateless
refugees will be left behind. Importantly,
these ad hoc policies do not consider that
many stateless refugees are at increased risk
because of their ethnicity or race - officials
have prevented Roma refugees from
entering Hungary and Slovakia, and
they have experienced widespread
discrimination in Moldova.
European states must make the necessary
policy and legislative changes to fulfill their
legal obligations respecting stateless people.
Statelessness is not a new problem in
Europe, but as the number of Ukrainian
refugees continues to rise, it has taken on a
new sense of urgency. Granting stateless
Ukrainians immediate, non-discriminatory
protection is the first step. But long-term,
systemic change is needed to ensure that
stateless people across Europe can finally
access their most fundamental right - the
right to a nationality.
(Kristina Fried is a volunteer attorney
with United Stateless, an US-based
organisation founded by and for stateless
persons to advocate for their rights, and
previously worked for the UN Refugee
Agency on statelessness)
China Sea's troubled waters, UNCLOS
formally defines limits of a country's territorial
seas, and establishes clear rules for transit
through "international straits" and "exclusive
economic zones" (EEZs).
With ratification, the United States would
have legal standing to bring any complaints to
an international dispute resolution body and
thus avoid possible confrontation with
Chinese naval forces and paramilitary fishing
trawlers in the Spratly Islands.
Vietnam, a former chair of ASEAN and a
comprehensive partner of the US, has been
one of the most vocal critics of China's
assertive actions in the South China Sea.
Hanoi is also quick to support the Law of the
Sea as a vital instrument for maintaining
peace, security, and freedom of navigation and
overflights above the challenged sea.
(James Borton is a senior fellow at the
Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins
University's School of Advanced
International Studies and the author of
Dispatches from the South China Sea:
Navigating to Common Ground.)

MoNDAy, MAy 9, 2022
5
Challenging the land rights
status quo in India
ShReyA KAlIA
When my 67-year-old
grandmother, Poli, learned
that her four brothers had
divided all the family land
among themselves, she was
furious. "When I asked my
brothers to give me an equal
share, they said, 'what do
you need this land for?
"'You are old, your
husband is dead, your
daughters are married.
What will you do with it?'
They threatened to call the
police on me," she says.
So my grandmother, who
lives in the city of Jammu in
Indian-administered
Kashmir, never attended
secondary school and
married at 15, took her
brothers to court. "That land
is as much mine as it is
theirs," she says.
Ideas over inheritance in
India follow gender lines.
Women grow up to 80% of
India's food, but own 11% of
its farmland.
Laws may have advanced -
in 2005, the Hindu
Succession (Amendment)
Act granted equal
inheritance property rights,
but some parents believe
girls should not inherit
because they are given a
dowry when they marry.
Dowries - outlawed six
decades ago - continue to be
paid in 95% of marriages.
Women grow 80% of India's food, but own only 11% of its farmland. Photo: Saqib Majeed
Others fear that land will
pass to a son-in-law's family
if it is given to married
daughters.
Women can come under
enormous pressure to
relinquish land ownership to
male relatives. Nikki, 51, a
teacher, with two children
and wants to be known by
her first name, inherited
land from her father.
"My father gave all the
property to my brother
except a small portion of
land. I inherited that. My
brother and relatives kept on
humiliating me and calling
me bad names. I had to give
that piece of land away to
stop the harassment."
But women like my
grandmother are now taking
action. Madhu, 22, an
archaeology graduate,
fought her uncles when they
tried to deny her mother a
share of Madhu's father's
inheritance.
When he died, the family
left the city for a village in
Uttar Pradesh where her
four uncles lived. They had
inherited all the property
and, Madhu says, "turned
hostile" when her mother
asked for a share.
"They threatened to kill us.
But we stood firm. The
matter was resolved in a
village meeting, in the
presence of the village head,
after six months and we
gained our share," she says.
"It was very difficult."
One uncle argued her
mother should get a smaller
share because she only had
one son whereas he had two.
"Our lawyer asked my
mother to not include me in
the property share since I
am a girl. But my mum did
not listen. She gave me an
equal share."
In Jhaloor, Punjab, Dalit
women began a fight in 2016
to win control of land owned
by the upper-caste Jatt
Sikhs. They were beaten and
sexually abused for their
stance while the authorities
mostly turned a blind eye..
Paramjit Kaur, from the
Zameen Prapti Sangharsh
Committee, which supports
Dalit women over land
rights, says the women were
"tired of verbal, physical and
sexual abuse" by Jatts, who
refused to relinquish land
legally reserved for lowercaste
communities.
"We protested for nearly a
year until we gained control
over the panchayati land
[plots governed by village
councils]. Now the Jatts are
also offering to apologise,"
she says. Their success
changed how the women
saw themselves. "It felt very
powerful to be able to speak,
because we've been silent for
so long," says Taran, a
woman who participated in
the protests.
In Gujarat, the Working
Group for Women and Land
Ownership (WGWLO), a
network of 35 organisations,
has supported around 9,000
women to secure land rights.
It was 2013 when my
grandmother threw herself
into this fight. Last month
we drove 20 miles for the
hearing but the case was
postponed. "Just when the
verdict is near, a
bureaucratic reshuffle or
transfer occurs and it gets
postponed," she says, but
adds: "I'm going to get the
land soon."
We don't know when that
day will come, but I am
proud my grandmother is
challenging these
patriarchal values.
UK aid cuts have forced scores
of Syrian children out of school
KAAMIl AhMeD
More than 40,000 Syrian
children are out of school as a
direct result of British aid cuts
and more schools could soon
close, a leading charity has
said. British funding for 133
schools run by Syria Relief
ended on 30 April, as the
government cut its total
foreign aid spending from its
commitment of 0.7% of gross
national income to 0.5%.
"If funds are not found to
plug the gaps left by the UK
government and other
donors, a generation of
children in northern Syria will
be out of school and this will
lead to a close-to-immediate
rise in child labour, child
marriage, early pregnancies,
child conscription to military
and armed groups, child
exploitation and child
trafficking," said Jessica
Adams, head of
communications for Syria
Relief and its parent charity,
Action For Humanity.
"This was a political choice
that we, and the children,
parents and teachers of Syria,
hope desperately will be
reversed."
The details of the UK's
"rushed" £4.2bn spending
cuts in 2021 were revealed in
March, and it was Syria that
received the harshest cuts,
despite millions of people still
living in refugee and
displacement camps more
than 10 years after the conflict
began.
Spending on Syria was
slashed by 69%, including
cuts to programmes on
education, health, maternal
health and Palestinian
refugees.
Syria Relief said it had been
the largest non-government
provider of schools in Syria,
with 306 schools. But with
other donors also reducing
spending or redirecting aid to
Ukraine, it currently supports
3,600 children in 24
remaining schools, which face
closure by August, leaving a
total of 100,000 children left
without an education since
2021.
The charity said the
closures would defeat the
Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Office's stated
goal of helping more girls into
school and would push more
girls into early marriages.
"If this school closes we will
have to send them to schools
that ask for money, but we
don't have money, not even
for rent, so we need the school
to stay open," said Abu Halid,
whose children are at school
in Mahmoodli camp for
internally displaced people in
northern Syria.
According to Syria Relief,
camp schools are
overcrowded without
electricity or heating. The
charity said there are already
high rates of child labour and
early marriages among the
war's displaced people, which
are likely to quickly increase if
more schools are shut.
A school destroyed by shellfire at Abrar
refugee camp in the Taoum district of Idlib,
Syria.
Photo: Anadolu Agency
West Darfur braces for more
outbreaks of fighting
ZeINAb MohAMMeD SAlIh
Many towns and villages in
Sudan to the north and east
of El Geneina, the capital of
West Darfur, are no-go areas.
The violence that erupted
here last week and left 200
people dead has subsided but
the tension is palpable.
The area around Jebel
Moon, 70km from El
Geneina, is surrounded and
sealed off by encamped Arab
militias tied to the Rapid
Support Forces (RSF) of
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo,
AKA Hemedti, the second
most powerful man in
Sudan.
These armed groups are
accused of carrying out last
week's massacre at Kreinik
and the atrocities in Darfur
over the past two years.
People living in the villages
here are unable to leave for
medical treatment, shopping
or to visit family without a
military convoy, something
which is sporadic, local
people say.
Hawa Adam, 40, a mother
of nine, has been sick and was
due to see a gynaecologist in
El Geneina, as the clinic in her
area has no doctors. She had
to wait 21 days to find a seat in
a car included in the convoy.
When she reached the city,
she was stuck after last week's
fighting, worried about her
nine children at home.
"I could stay here for
another 21 days waiting for a
safe way back home," she
says, on her way back. "When
I was 15, I once walked on
this road to Geneina with my
young brothers. We left very
early in the morning and
reached there after sunset.
That was before the war, now
it's impossible to even drive."
She is interrupted by the
driver, who shouts at her to
raise her window as they
approach a group of 15
armed Arab men on the road
ahead. The driver, who is also
from her Misseriya Jebel
community, tells the
passengers in a whisper: "I
saw six other armed men
hiding behind the bush too.
They looked as if they wanted
to carry out an attack, but we
are lucky today."
After passing the danger,
the passengers all begin to
discuss the people they knew
who had been killed in this
area, for belonging to the
Misseriya Jebel community.
This region is inhabited by
non-Arab communities,
mostly farmers, who have
experienced oppression from
Khartoum for decades,
pitting them against
neighbouring nomadic
peoples and marginalising
them politically and
economically.
This culminated in 2003
with the ousted president
Omar al-Bashir's murderous
campaign against the
insurgent groups of the
Justice and Equality
Movement and the Sudanese
Liberation Army, which the
US called "a genocide".
The new wave of violence
in Darfur between nomadic
Arab militias, supported and
armed by the RSF, and
farmers has erupted partly
Aftermath of violence in the village of al-Taweel Saadun, 85km south of
Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.
Photo: Ashraf Shazly
over pressure on water and
land, exacerbated by the
climate crisis. The situation
was aggravated by the failure
of the transitional authorities
to fully step up after the 2020
withdrawal of UN and
African Union peacekeeping
forces from the area. A peace
agreement was signed before
the withdrawal, but only by
five rebel groups.
Observers predict more
violence and conflict for West
Darfur. A recent report by the
US Institute of Peace pointed
to the lack of controls on Arab
militias, including the
Janjaweed, who were largely
incorporated into the RSF, and
said they were motivated by an
Arab supremacist agenda in
addition to their pursuit of
good pasture and water.
But in Darfur, guns are
cheap and available. The
Jebel Moon youth have
formed their own army unit,
called al-Shouosh, or al-
Aagda. A small band carrying
Kalashnikovs met the
governor of Darfur, Minni
Minnawi, recently. They
were wearing a mix of
military uniforms with desert
turbans and traditional
Sudanese clothing. They
accused the RSF of attacking
their people and vowed to
fight back.
However, the Arab militias
are far more advanced
militarily. "The idea of
forming this army is just to
protect our people in here
who get no protection from
the government at all in any
attack by the Janjaweed,"
says Abdulatif Ali, a civilian
member of the group, which
has an unarmed branch
representing women and
young people.
Thousands have fled their
villages, some going to the
mountains, some to Chad
and others to Darfur's capital.
Khadoja Gamar, 25, who has
five children, told the
Guardian her village,
Aroshori, was in ruins after
being burned down in
March. Many people fled to
Chad, but its water pumps
still function so Gamar and
other villagers come by
donkey to collect water,
despite the dangers.
Gamar says she leaves her
children hidden in the
mountains when she makes
the trip: "We need security. If
we were back here again, the
Arabs might come to kill us
all. They took even my
mobile phone, and the things
that they can't take, they just
burn down."
In Adikong, once a busy
commercial town on the
Chadian border, there have
been three attacks by the
Janjaweed this year. The last
one, in March, led to all its
37,000 people leaving for
Chad.
Last week, one couple
returned to check on their
onion crop in the deserted
and silent town. They told
the Guardian that they left
their children in Chad and
had come back to see their
field. "We lost everything, we
had to take only our children
and run. Our house was
burned down after the Arabs
came in killing and looting
everything they found," says
Doula Ali, 38.
SAIMA hANIF
I was very happy that
Pakistan reported no
polio cases for more than
a year, and I was hoping it
would be among the
countries that have
eradicated polio
completely. In Bangash
colony, Rawalpindi,
where I work, no virus
was detected where it is
measured - in sewage
water for a year.
Everyone was
celebrating it as a victory.
But sadly, after 15 months
of having no polio, the
case of the 15-month-old
boy came as a huge shock.
A few days ago, another
case was reported. Our
work will get tougher now.
I'm a mother of two. I
feel the pain of mothers
whose children get
affected by polio. There
should be a healthy
environment for children
to grow in.
There are parents who
refuse polio drops for
their children. I tell them I
am a mother myself and
that I have given them to
my children before
coming to give them to
their children. I try to
make them understand
the importance - that if we
want our children to stay
healthy and end polio,
then we should give
drops.
I tell them that the drops
Mission to make
Pakistan polio-free
will prevent their children
from being handicapped
for life, and that every
child has a right to a
healthy life. You must not
snatch their right away -
we can only help your
child if you cooperate.
In my area, many
parents refuse. A huge
chunk of them have come
from Afghanistan or from
the tribal areas on the
border, but it is not only
those people who are
conservative. A lot of
times, parents hide their
children when I come
round.
Some tell me that they
never gave polio drops to
their children in
Afghanistan, so why
should they do so here? I
insist that it is for the
child's betterment and
would prevent them from
a lifetime's misery.
Some people tell me it is
not allowed by Islam, and
some even say things like,
"my child has stopped
praying since you last
administered polio
drops". There are a lot of
myths around. I keep
giving examples of my
own children, and tell
them if they are not
praying it is not because of
polio drops.
Once, I went up many
flights of stairs, and the
parent refused, stating
that the child was crying,
although the child was
nearby and calm. They did
not let us in. Next day, we
went back. I tried to
convince them once again,
but failed. We had to
involve tribal and
religious elders to
convince them. Such
incidents happen a lot. It
becomes frustrating but
we keep struggling to
make Pakistan polio free.
There is a lot more
awareness now, and
people are cooperating.
But if cases emerge from
even one place, then the
virus may spread.
Our work is scary and I
don't feel safe at times.
Polio workers have been
killed, and the police who
were guarding them.
As a female worker, this
job is more risky. We have
to go to other people's
homes, and a lot of times
there are no women
Frontline polio worker Saima hanif in bangash colony, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
present so we have to be
vigilant and alert.
Sometimes, I ask my
colleagues to stand
outside and be alert while
I go inside to give the
drops.
Some people don't allow
us into their homes and
scold us. They tell us to
leave and talk rudely. But
there are good people who
give us so much respect.
They ask if we want water
and tell us 'you work in
such hot weather. You
people should come in
and have some rest.'
Despite the fear, and the
small amount frontline
polio workers get (the
equivalent of £23 for a
week-long campaign once
or twice a month), we do
our work. I think it is a
great service to the
country, but with inflation
in Pakistan, we should be
paid more.
This new case is a huge
setback, but I'm
determined. If we
continue fighting, there
will come a day when
Pakistan will be polio-free
- not only for a year, but
for eternity."
Photo: Shah Meer

MonDAY, MAY 9, 2022
6
Newborn rescued from Barishal
hospital's toilet pipe
BARISHAL : A newborn has been
rescued from the sewerage pipe of
Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical
College Hospital after her mother gave
birth in a toilet of the maternity ward,
the hospital's director said on Sunday,
reports UNB.
The incident occurred on Saturday
afternoon when Shilpi Begum
accidentally delivered the baby girl on a
high commode of the toilet.
The prematurely born baby slipped
toilet's pipeline and got stuck some
metres below,, said baby's father
Neyamat Ullah, a fisher from
Swarupkathi upazila in Pirojpur.
He said," I went out to bring some
medicines after the doctor decided to
conduct a c section surgery for
delivering the baby. As I returned, I saw
people crowding around the toilet and
my relatives crying."
"They described to me the whole
incident. I could hear my baby crying
from inside the pipe but was unable to
bring her out," said he.
The hospital immediately informed
the nearby Fire Service office to rescue
the baby. But before they arrived
Neyamat broke the pipe on the second
floor of the hospital building and
rescued the baby who suffered slight
bruises.
Baby's mother Shilpi said she didn't
realise when she gave birth due to
severe labour pain.
"The rescued baby is currently
admitted at Special Care Newborn
Units (SCANU) and the mother at the
maternity ward. We are giving top
priority to their treatment," said Dr HM
Saiful Islam, Director of SBMCH.
World Mother's Day was observed in Banaripara on Sunday. A discussion meeting was held at the
Upazila Parishad auditorium on the occasion.
Photo : S Mizanul Islam
10,000 fish fry
released in Halda
River
CHATTOGRAM : Members
of the Naval Police released
10,000 fish fries in the
Halda River aimed at
increasing volume of fish
stock in the river.
Earlier, a team of Naval
Police led by its Regional
Superintendent
Mohammad Mominul Islam
Bhuiyan rescued about
10,000 illegally reared fries
from different areas
yesterday morning.
Later, the fish fries were
released into the River.
The Naval police team also
seized huge fishing nets, and
abandoned boats with
10,000 Renu pona ( fish fry)
from Kachukhain area of
Raozan upazila.
International
Mother's Day
observed in
Natore
NATORE : The International
Mother's Day-2022 was
observed in the district town
yesterday.
With Deputy Commissioner
Shamim Ahmed in the chair, a
discussion was held at the
conference room of Deputy
Commissioner yesterday
morning.
Additional
District
Magistrate Rahima Khatun,
Additional Police Super Md
Mahosin, district Livestock
Officer Dr Golam Mostofa,
Mayor Uma Chowdhury Jolly
and educationist Subid Kumar
Moitra spoke in the discussion.
Teenage boy killed
in Sherpur road
accident
SHERPUR : A teenage boy
was killed and another
person injured as their
motorcycle hit a tree in
Sadar Upazila yesterday
morning. The deceased was
identified as Fahim, 16, son
of Faruk Mia of Endilpur
village under Sreebardi
upazial.
Sub-Inspector of Sherpur
police station Rubel Mia said
the accident occurred at
around 8 am in Tatalpur
area. Fahim died on the
spot. Injured Shojib was
admitted to a nearby
hospital.
Motorcyclist dies
in Kurigram road
accident
KURIGRAM : A motorcyclist
was killed and another injured
in an accident that took place
at Rajarhat upazila yesterday
morning. The deceased was
identified as Emon, 21,
hailed from Char Shitaijhad
area in the upazila.
Police said the accident
took place around 8 am near
Sharif cinema hall as Emon
lost his control over the
steering and hit a railing,
leaving him dead on the
spot, said Officer-in-Charge
of Rajarhat police station
Razu Sarker.
Safe vegetable farming becomes
boon for many Rajshahi people
RAJSHAHI : Belly Begum, 35, has become
economically solvent through farming of safe
vegetables as its demand is increasing
gradually everywhere in the society.
A resident of Dighipara village under Paba
Upazila in the district, Begum is earning cash
money through selling varieties of
vegetables, including red amaranth, spinach,
bottle gourd and Indian spinach (puishak),
at present.
With full-length support from her husband
and children, she is growing the chemicalfree
safe vegetables. "I've learnt about the
importance of bio-fertilizer, seed
conservation and seed exchange," she said,
while talking to BSS at her house on
Saturday. She has also learnt about proper
and sustainable use of land to protect its
productivity. She continued that her
vegetables are chemical free and most of
those are sold from her house regularly.
That's why she does not often need to take
those vegetables to market for sale.
In a choked voice, she stated that her
previous life wasn't pleasant and she
struggled to enhance her family income.
To get rid of poverty, she started growing
vegetables in her homestead side by side
with rearing poultry birds and goats.
Currently, she can fulfill the nutrition
demand of her family members through
consuming the chemical free vegetable and
milk and meat from domestic animals.
Being inspired from Begum's success,
many other neighbours have been growing
vegetables in their respective homesteads
applying organic methods for the last couple
of years.
World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day was observed in Kurigram yesterday.
A rally was brought out on the occasion.
Photo : Badshah Saykot
Social Welfare minister admitted to Dhaka
hospital after falling sick in Lalmonirhat
LALMONIRHAT : Minister of Social
Welfare Nuruzzaman Ahmed, who suffered
a heart attack in Lalmonirhat, has been
admitted to a private hospital in the capital.
After being brought to Dhaka by air
ambulance from Rangpur Medical College
and Hospital, he was admitted to the
coronary care unit (CCU) of United Hospital
around 4pm on Sunday, Public Relations
Officer of the Ministry of Social Welfare Md.
Zakir Hossain informed UNB.
The minister felt severe pain in his chest
while staying at Kaliganj in Lalmonirhat, his
village home, on Saturday night. He was
later admitted to the coronary care unit
(CCU) of the cardiology department of
Rangpur Medical College and Hospital
around 3am. There, the minister underwent
treatment under the supervision of Shakil
Gafur, the head of the Department of
Cardiology.
Dr Gafur said the minister had been
suffering from heart complications for a long
time. "He is doing well now. He is being sent
to Dhaka for further examination and
advanced treatment."
Eid reunion meeting with valiant Freedom Fighters was held at Paikgacha
of Khulna yesterday.
Photo : SK Deenmahmud
GD-844/22 (15 X 4)

MoNDAY, MAY 9, 2022
7
An experienced Nepalese Sherpa guide scaled Mount Everest for the 26th time breaking his own
record for the most climbs of the world's highest peak, expedition organizers said Sunday. Photo : AP
Sherpa guide breaks own record
scaling Everest for 26th time
KATHMANDU : An experienced
Nepalese Sherpa guide scaled Mount
Everest for the 26th time breaking his
own record for the most climbs of the
world's highest peak, expedition
organizers said Sunday.
Kami Rita reached the 8,849-meter
(29,032-foot) summit on Saturday
evening leading a group of Sherpa
climbers who fixed ropes along the
route so that hundreds of other
climbers and guides can make their
way to the top of the mountain later
this month.
Rita and 10 other Sherpa guides
reached the summit without any
problems and had safely returned to
lower camps, said Mingma Sherpa of
GD-837/22 (4x3)
the Kathmandu-based Seven Summit
Treks.
The group reached the summit
around 7 p.m. on Saturday, which by
Everest climbing standards is late. At
night, there is risk of weather
conditions deteriorating and climbers
losing their way on the way down.
Sherpa said the guides were all
highly experienced climbers.
There are hundreds of foreign
climbers and an equal number of
Sherpa guides who will attempt to
climb Everest this month. May is the
best month to climb Everest since it
has the best weather conditions. There
are generally only a couple of windows
for good weather on the highest
gywRe e‡l© ¯^v¯’¨ LvZ
GwM‡q hv‡e A‡bK avc
118 08/05/2022
section of the mountain in May that
enable climbers to reach the summit.
Rita, 52, first scaled Everest in 1994
and has been making the trip nearly
every year since then. He is one of
many Sherpa guides whose expertise
and skills are vital to the safety and
success of the foreign climbers who
head to Nepal each year seeking to
stand on top of the mountain.
His father was among the first
Sherpa guides, and Rita followed in
his footsteps and then some. In
addition to his 26 times to the top of
Everest, Rita has scaled several other
peaks that are among the world's
highest, including K-2, Cho-Oyu,
Manaslu and Lhotse.
Beijing loyalist John Lee elected
as Hong Kong's next leader
HONG KONG : John Lee, a
hard-line security chief who
oversaw a crackdown on
Hong Kong's pro-democracy
movement, was elected as the
city's next leader on Sunday
in a vote cast by a largely pro-
Beijing committee, reports
UNB.
Lee was the only candidate
and won with over 99% of the
vote in which nearly all 1,500
committee members were
carefully vetted by the central
government in Beijing.
He will replace current
leader Carrie Lam on July 1.
Her five-term was marked by
huge pro-democracy protests
calling for her resignation, a
security crackdown that has
quashed virtually all dissent,
the recent COVID-19 wave
that had overwhelmed the
health system - events that
have undermined Hong
Kong's reputation as an
international business hub
with Western-style freedoms.
"I look forward to all of us
starting a new chapter
together, building a Hong
Kong that is caring, open and
vibrant, and a Hong Kong
that is full of opportunities
and harmony," Lee said in his
victory speech.
Lam congratulated Lee in a
statement and said she would
submit the election results to
Beijing.
The election followed
major changes to Hong
Kong's electoral laws last year
to ensure that only "patriots"
loyal to Beijing can hold
office. The legislature was
also reorganized to all but
eliminate opposition voices.
The
elaborate
arrangements surrounding
the predetermined outcome
speak to Beijing's desire for a
veneer of democracy. The
committee members voted in
a secret ballot, and Lee's 1,416
votes were the highest
support ever for the city's top
leadership position. Without
opposition, Lee would likely
have easier time governing
Hong Kong compared to
Lam, said Ivan Choy, a senior
lecturer at the Chinese
University of Hong Kong's
Department of Government
and Public Administration.
"A major reason for easier
governance is that the
electoral system has
changed," he said. "In the
legislature and the election
committee, there is almost no
political opposition and the
political spectrum is
concentrated towards the
pro-establishment camp."
John Lee, a hard-line security chief who oversaw a crackdown on Hong
Kong's pro-democracy movement, was elected as the city's next leader on
Sunday in a vote cast by a largely pro-Beijing committee. Photo : AP
Israel captures
Palestinians
who killed 3 in
stabbing attack
TEL AVIV : Israeli police
said Sunday that forces
captured two Palestinian
attackers who killed three
people in a stabbing attack
last week, reports UNB.
Israel launched a massive
manhunt for the assailants,
who after carrying out the
stabbing rampage, fled the
scene. Residents were
asked to be on alert and not
to pick up hitchhikers.
The stabbing on
Thursday, Israel's
Independence Day, was the
latest in a series of deadly
assaults deep inside the
country in recent weeks. It
came as Israeli-Palestinian
tensions were already
heightened by violence at a
major holy site in
Jerusalem sacred to Jews
and Muslims.
Police did not
immediately offer details of
where and how the
assailants were captured.
Police identified the
attackers as 19- and 20-
year-old men from the
town of Jenin in the
occupied West Bank, which
has re-emerged as a
militant bastion in the
latest wave of violence - the
worst Israel has seen in
years. Several of the
attackers in the recent
violence have come from
Jenin.
At least 18 Israelis have
been killed in five attacks
since March, including
another stabbing rampage
in southern Israel, two
shootings in the Tel Aviv
area, and a shooting last
weekend in a West Bank
settlement.
Nearly 30 Palestinians
have died in violence - most
of whom had carried out
attacks or were involved in
confrontations with Israeli
forces in the West Bank.
But an unarmed woman
and two apparent
bystanders were also
among those killed and
rights groups say Israel
often uses excessive force.
Weapons
seized in N.
Afghanistan
KABUL : Afghanistan's
security forces have seized
weapons in the northern
Baghlan province, the
Afghan caretaker
government confirmed on
Sunday.
The confiscated weapons
that were found following an
intelligence operation in
Baghlan-e-Markazi district
included 18 assault rifles,
two rocket-propelled
grenade launchers, a
landmine, and a large
quantity of ammunition, the
government said in a
statement.
"No one has been arrested
in connection with the case
so far," the statement added.
The Taliban-led caretaker
government has ordered
security forces to confiscate
weapons from outside
security organizations.
Saudi king admitted to
hospital for medical tests
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES : Saudi Arabia's
octogenarian monarch
underwent medical tests on
Sunday, state-run media
reported, just weeks after he
had the battery of his
pacemaker changed.
The report in the official
Saudi Press Agency did not
provide further details about
King Salman's condition or
the nature of the medical
examinations. It said that the
king, 86, was admitted to King
Faisal Specialist Hospital in
the Saudi port city of Jiddah,
reports UNB.
The monarch's health is
closely watched because he
holds absolute power in the
kingdom. King Salman
ascended to the throne in 2015
and has appointed his 36-
year-old son, Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, as
his successor. However, he
has also already empowered
Prince Mohammed to lead
day-to-day affairs.
Since his elevation to power,
Prince Mohammed has
upended the kingdom with
dizzying social reforms,
sidelined royal rivals and
cracked down on perceived
opponents, sparking
controversy.
Earlier this year, state media
reported that King Salman
was hospitalized in Riyadh to
have the battery of his heart
pacemaker replaced. In 2020,
he had surgery to remove his
gallbladder after a stint in the
hospital that revived
speculation about the state of
his health.
UK pledges more aid
to Ukraine as Europe
marks VE Day
LONDON : Britain will provide an extra
1.3 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) in military
support to Ukraine to help the country
defend against Russian forces, officials
said Sunday, reports UNB.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson,
U.S. President Joe Biden and leaders from
other Group of Seven countries are
expected to hold online talks with
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
on Sunday to discuss the further support.
The meeting is partly meant to display
unity among Western allies on Victory in
Europe Day, which marks Nazi Germany's
surrender in 1945.
The funding, which comes from British
government reserves, includes 300
million pounds of military kit promised by
Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this
week, such as radar systems to target
Russian artillery, GPS jamming
equipment and night vision devices.
Britain's government said it is the
highest rate of U.K. military spending on a
conflict since Iraq and Afghanistan.
Officials said Johnson will meet with
British arms companies later this month
to discuss increasing production in
response to the demand created by the
conflict in Ukraine.
Israeli police said Sunday that forces captured two Palestinian attackers
who killed three people in a stabbing attack last week. Photo : AP
GD-840/22 (5.5x3)
Johnson said Britain's aid to Ukraine
will also help boost the U.K. defense
economy.
Britain has already committed to about
1.5 billion pounds for Ukraine, including
humanitarian aid and loan guarantees.
Also Sunday, Croatia's prime minister
visited Ukraine following reports that a
Croatian citizen fighting in Mariupol was
captured by Russian forces.
The Croatian government said in a
statement that the visit by Andrej
Plenkovic presented "an expression of
solidarity and support" with the Ukrainian
leadership and the people.
"Croatia knows what it is like to be under
a military aggression and it continues to
offer political, diplomatic, financial,
humanitarian, technical and any other
possible assistance to Ukraine," said the
statement hanges to Hong Kong's electoral
laws last year to ensure that only "patriots"
loyal to Beijing can hold office. The
legislature was also reorganized to all but
eliminate opposition
Plenkovic met with Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials.
The delegation included the Croatian
ambassador in Ukraine who will remain at
the embassy in Kyiv.
Lebanese in 48 countries voting
in parliamentary elections
BEIRUT : Thousands of Lebanese living in
nearly 50 countries began early voting
Sunday in the country's closely watched
parliamentary elections, days after a similar
vote was held in 10 predominantly Muslim
nations.
About 195,000 Lebanese had registered to
vote Sunday in 48 countries including the
United States, Canada, Australia, Russia,
European Union member states and several
African nations.
The vote in Lebanon takes place May 15.
Among those voting Sunday are many
Lebanese who fled the country over the past
two years during a historic economic
meltdown. The downturn has been blamed
on decades of corruption and
mismanagement by the political class that
has been running the small nation since the
end of the 1975-90 civil war.
Parliamentary elections are held once
every four years and the last vote in 2018
gave majority seats to the powerful Iranbacked
Hezbollah group and its allies.
The vote this year for the 128-member
legislature is the first since the economic and
financial crisis began in October 2019
leading to nationwide protests. It is also the
first vote held since the massive Aug. 4, 2020
blast at Beirut's port that killed more than
200 people, injured thousands and caused
widespread damage in the capital.
Little change was expected from the vote as
mainstream political parties and politicians
remained strong going into the vote while
opposition figures are fractured.

MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022
8
Business disputes stall govt move to open
pre-paid gas meters market to consumers
DHAKA : It has been about a year since
the government allowed open market
purchase of pre-paid gas meters to
expedite the process of installing the
system for customers' benefit, reports
UNB.
So far, no public or private company
has shown any interested in doing the
business. A wrangling between gas
distribution companies and meter
manufacturers/importers are holding
back the implementation of otherwise
welcome move by the government,
according to some people familiar with
the process.
Speaking on condition of anonymity
some insiders in the utility service
alleged that the Titas Gas company, the
largest of the distributors, has
monopolized the data accumulation
system where meters from other
companies are not synchronized.
As a result, a certain Japanese
company has been getting an extra
privilege to supply its meters, they
alleged. This has made the
implementation of the government's
plan to introduce pre-paid gas meters
for all consumers unlikely to be
implemented any time soon, the
industry insiders observed.
According to a study conducted by
the Bangladesh Institute of
Development Studies (BIDS), there are
about 4.15 million consumers in the
domestic category in the country.
The number breaks up as: Titas Gas
2.78 million, Bakhrabad Gas 0.491
million, Jalalabad Gas 0.417 million,
Poschimanchol Gas 0.128 million,
Karnaphuli Gas 0.65 million and
Sundarban Gas 0.0035 million.
However, the latest figure released by
the Titas Gas shows it has more than
2.8 million household consumers.
There is a big allegation that the nonmetered
household gas consumers are
being heavily discriminated against in
paying their bills against their
C.Africa's leap into
bitcoin leaves its
people bemused
LIBREVILLE : In the
Central African Republic
(CAR), nine out of 10 people
do not have internet, and
only one in seven has
electricity-that is, when
there are no power cuts.
Yet the CAR has just
followed El Salvador in
adopting bitcoin as legal
tender, a currency that
requires access to the net to
be bought, sold or used.
Foreign experts and CAR
citizens themselves are
struggling to understand
why the world's second least
developed economy has
announced this leap into
monetary hyperspace.
Among people queueing at
one of the rare automatic teller
machines (ATMs) in the capital
Bangui, the word "bitcoin"
stirred befuddlement.
"What is it?" asked
Sylvain, a man in his 30s,
waiting for his turn at the
cash machine, which was
operating thanks to a
generator.
"I don't know what
cryptocurrencies are-I don't
even have internet," said
Joelle, a vegetable hawker
nearby.
On April 28, President
Faustin Archange Touadera
announced that lawmakers
had unanimously approved
a bill that legalised the use of
bitcoin alongside the CFA
franc. All transactions using
the cryptocurrency,
including payment of taxes,
are being authorised.
Government spokesman
Serge Ghislain Djorie told
AFP: "We are going to
launch an awareness
campaign and shortly
introduce fibre optic cable-a
low internet connection is
enough to buy
cryptocurrency."
But even among CAR's
business community, which
in theory is best placed to
use bitcoin and other
cryptocurrencies regulated
by the new law, scepticism
runs deep. "I'm not
interested in having bitcoin
here-we have no
infrastructure and no
knowledge for getting
involved in this adventure
and there's no cybercrime
unit to ensure security," said
an entrepreneur, who spoke
on the condition of
anonymity.
consumption of natural gas mainly for
cooking purposes.
The latest study by Bangladesh
Energy Regulatory Commission
(BERC) shows that a pre-paid metered
consumer uses 40-50 cubic meter of
gas and pays around Tk 500-630 a
month while a non-meter consumer
has to pay almost double at Tk 975 for
the same quantity of consumption.
Titas Gas recently moved a proposal
to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory
Commission (BERC) to raise the gas
price by 117 per cent.
Provided the proposal is accepted by
the BERC, a single burner user will
have to pay over Tk 2000 per month.
The issue recently came up at a highlevel
meeting of the Energy and
Mineral Resources Division where the
pros and cons were discussed.
The meeting instructed the Titas Gas
Transmission and Distribution
Company Limited and also other gas
distributors to expedite installation of
pre-paid gas meters for their
consumers.
The meeting, held on April 19, asked
the companies to allow the private
companies to sell the pre-paid meters
in the open market so that consumers
can buy them easily and install on their
own cost which will ultimately reduce
the financial burden of the companies.
But such instruction is going to fall
flat as Titas Gas is found to be less
interested in implementing the
government's plan as many energy
experts believe that the company fears
it will ultimately reduce revenue
collection as consumers will get
opportunity to pay lesser bills.
Contacted Titas Gas managing
director Md Haronur Rashid Mullah
denied all the allegations.
He claimed Titas Gas data
accumulation system is fully ready to
receive data from any pre-paid meters
if it complies with the company's
criteria.
He, however, said he is not aware as
to why the private manufacturers or
importers are not interested to come
forward with their pre-paid meters to
sell in the open market.
"I don't need to know why they are
not interested in selling their pre-paid
meters on the open market", he told
UNB.
He also informed that Titas Gas is
trying to install 100,000 meters
through its own funding while it is
negotiating with some donor agencies
to arrange funds for installing another
1.5 million meters, especially for its
household consumers in Dhaka city.
So far only 400,000 pre-paid gas
meters have been installed in different
areas in Dhaka city including
Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur,
Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, Uttara,
Mohammadpur, Badda, Tejgaon,
Cantonment, Kafrul, Khilkhet, and
Mirpur under a JICA-funded project.
Another 120,000 metres are now
being installed in different areas in
central city areas, including Paltan,
Ramna, New Market, Khilgaon and
Segunbagicha under the Dhaka South
City Corporation (DSCC).
But most of the consumers of Titas
gas and other gas distribution
companies remain unmetered and pay
double the bills compared to metered
consumers every month.
On the other hand, an official of a
foreign joint venture company, which
has been manufacturing pre-paid
meters for electricity consumers,
alleged that Titas Gas's data
accumulation system is yet to be ready
to receive data from different pre-paid
meters.
"Titas's system can only receive data
from a Japanese meter which
discourages other companies from
coming into the open market to sell
their meters", he added.
Xi warms up China's economy,
but virus narrows options
BEIJING : President Xi Jinping has offered
state backing for tech, infrastructure and
jobs to revive China's economy, but analysts
warn growth will continue to wilt until
Beijing drops its rigid virus controls. Two
and a half years since the coronavirus first
emerged in Wuhan, China is the last major
economy still closed off to the world, despite
its relatively low death toll.
Lockdowns across dozens of cities-from
the manufacturing hubs of Shenzhen and
Shanghai to the breadbasket of Jilin-have
wreaked havoc on supply chains over recent
months, crushing small businesses and
trapping consumers at home.
That has imperilled Beijing's full-year
growth target of about 5.5 percent, with
forecasters anticipating that around one
percentage point may be shaved off that
figure. "We remain deeply concerned about
growth," Nomura analysts said this week.
"We believe the Omicron variant and zero-
Covid strategy represent the dominant
challenges to growth stability."
Yet China's Communist leadership insisted
Thursday that the country will stick
"unswervingly" to zero-Covid, with a
meeting chaired by Xi declaring that
"persistence is victory".
To curtail the growing economic damage,
Beijing has offered words of respite to the
tech sector from rolling regulatory
crackdowns and promised to pump prime
the economy with an "all-out" infrastructure
campaign.
But observers say rallies may be temporary
as long as the state's reflex remains to
hammer down the virus caseload at all costs.
"(The measures are) all very welcome... but
how many more bridges and how many
more sports stadiums are going to help us in
creating an environment of predictable
growth?" European Chamber president
Joerg Wuttke told reporters on Thursday.
While many cities have bounced back after
short, targeted lockdowns, other areas such
as agricultural base Jilin province have been
slow to recover from waves of restrictions.
"That precedent (Jilin) could mean a
longer-lasting impact from Shanghai's
highly disruptive lockdown," said Ernan Cui
of Gavekal Dragonomics in a report Friday.
Analysts are waiting for details of the
delivery behind sweeping promises of
support from Beijing's policymakers.
China's tech firms have been under the
state's microscope on concerns over data
misuse and monopoly.
ICMAB delegation
meets CAG
DHAKA : A delegation of the Institute of
Cost and Management Accountants of
Bangladesh (ICMAB), headed by its
President Md. Mamunur Rashid FCMA,
called on Comptroller and Auditor General
(CAG) of Bangladesh Mohammad Muslim
Chowdhury at his office on Sunday.
The ICMAB President apprised the CAG of
the role of cost and management
accountants on the matters of public
interest, financial management, accounting
and auditing, said a press release.
He also sought cooperation of the CAG for
further development of the ICMAB and CMA
profession.
The CAG of Bangladesh assured them of
providing all out support and assistance to
the ICMAB.
The Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) launched Service
Week from Saturday in order to ensure smooth and uninterrupted electricity
supply to its customers. The announcement came at a programme
at DPDC head office in the capital on Saturday presided over by DPDC
Managing Director Engr Bikash Dewan.
Photo : Courtesy
A Rouf Chowdhury
Re-elected as
Chairman of Bank
Asia
A Rouf Chowdhury has been
re-elected as Chairman of
Bank Asia at the 473rd
meeting of the Board of
Directors of the Bank held
recently. He is the main
sponsor of Bank Asia Ltd.
Chowdhury is an eminent
businessperson and
industrialist of the country.
He is the Chairman of Rangs
Group and Sea Resources
Group. He is also a Director
of the Daily Star, the highest
circulated English daily in
the country.
He has established
reputed organizations in
Transport, Medicine, Real
Estate, IT, Banking, Deep
Sea Fishing and in other
economic sectors of the
country that are
contributing immensely for
country's employment
generation and economic
development.
Chowdhury was the
President of Bangladesh
Basketball Association for
four years. He has been a
member of the Executive
Committee of Kurmitola
Golf Club for over 20 years.
Chowdhury is actively
associated with many social
activities.
U.S. jobs report strong, but hard
landing possible by year end
WASHINGTON : The United States saw
strong job growth in April, but fears are
mounting over whether the economy is
headed for a hard landing later this year.
The United States in April added slightly
more jobs than analysts had expected,
despite skyrocketing inflation and fears of
slowing growth, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported on Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 428,000 for the
month of April, and the jobless rate stood at
3.6 percent, the report found.
Economists said the number indicates a
resilient job market. But even so, economists
worry the pace of growth will slow in the
coming quarters and even lead to a
downturn, although there is still no
consensus on this issue.
Desmond Lachman, resident fellow at the
American Enterprise Institute and a former
official of the International Monetary Fund,
told Xinhua Friday's strong jobs report
shows a strong U.S. economy. However, "my
expectation is that the Fed's recent shift to a
more hawkish monetary policy stance will
lead to a hard economic landing," he said,
adding that there will be a recession at year's
end.
The Fed on Wednesday raised rates by half
a percentage point, in a bid to tame surging
inflation. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell
noted at a press briefing that the central bank
is "strongly committed to restoring price
stability." "As the economy moves into
recession later this year, today's strong
employment growth will be followed by
weak jobs numbers towards year end,"
Lachman said.
Bill Dudley, former president of the New
York Federal Reserve Bank, told CNN earlier
this week that achieving a soft landing will be
tough because of the surging jobs market - so
hot that the jobless rate might need to rise to
get inflation under control.
"The chances of pulling this off are very,
very low because they have to push up the
unemployment rate," Dudley said.
"In the past, when you've pushed up the
unemployment rate, you've almost never
been able to avoid a full-fledged recession,"
Dudley said. Still, a number of analysts and
economists note that Americans are
spending large sums of cash - a positive sign
- which they saved during the pandemic, and
that large U.S. corporations are seeing record
profits.
Other economists argue that as Europe
and other regions fret over flagging growth,
investors will put their money into U.S.
markets - by far the world's deepest and
most liquid. Others have faith that the Fed
will avoid cranking up interest rates so high
as to trigger a recession, and believe the
central bank
Sam Bullard, senior economist at Wells
Fargo, a major U.S. bank, told Xinhua that
Friday's jobs report "still projects forward
momentum in the U.S. economy as we move
through the second quarter."
While there are substantial risks that need
to be monitored, such as geopolitical events
and inflation, on balance the data is still
supportive of continued U.S. economic
expansion, he said. Bullard anticipates
consumer spending will be more materially
impacted by higher inflation in the second
quarter.
Daniel Zhao, senior economist at jobs
review site Glassdoor, argued on the
company's website that "the job market is
continuing to plow forward undeterred,
buoyed by strong employer demand." "As
the Federal Reserve raises rates, the labor
market looks resilient with room to continue
adding jobs even as conditions cool," Zhao
said.
Diane Swonk, chief economist at the major
accounting firm Grant Thornton, noted that
Fed Chair Powell was hopeful that he could
derail inflation without a "significant"
increase in unemployment. "Hope is not the
same as reality," Swonk said
. When asked about recession risks, Powell
told a press conference Wednesday that
"there is a path" to a soft landing, which
would allow the Fed to get inflation down
without having to slow the economy
substantially and allow unemployment to
rise materially. The Fed chair, however, also
admitted that he expects this to be "very
challenging," adding that there are factors
outside of the Fed's control.
Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited organized Eid re-union on Sunday at Islami Bank Tower.
Mohammed Monirul Moula, Managing Director and CEO of the Bank addressed the program as
Chief Guest. Muhammad Qaisar Ali, Additional Managing Director presided over the program while
Md. Omar Faruk Khan, Additional Managing Director addressed the welcome speech. J Q M
Habibullah, FCS, Md. Altaf Hossain & Md. Nayer Azam, Deputy Managing Directors, Mohammad Ali,
Chief Risk Officer, Taher Ahmed Chowdhury, CAMLCO and S M Rabiul Hassan, Principal, Islami
Bank Training & Research Academy along with senior executives of Head Office were present in the
program. Head of Zones, Head of Branches, Sub-branch In-charges and Bank's representatives
abroad attended the function through virtual platform.
Photo : Courtesy
Nigerian airlines suspend flights
over soaring fuel prices
ABUJA : Nigerian airlines are to
suspend all flights from Monday over
rising jet fuel prices, an umbrella
organisation of operators said on
Saturday.
The cost of fuel has soared worldwide
since Russia invaded its neighbour
Ukraine in February and the West
responded by slapping sanctions on
Moscow.
The Airline Operators of Nigeria said
the price of jet fuel had jumped from
190 to 700 Nigerian naira per litre
(from $0.45 to almost $1.70).
"No airline in the world can absorb
this kind of sudden shock from such an
astronomical rise over a short period,"
the AON said.
The group said it would now cost a
customer 120,000 naira ($289) for a
one-hour flight, a sum unaffordable for
Nigerians "already experiencing a lot of
difficulties". The AON therefore wished
"to regrettably inform the general
public that member airlines will
discontinue operations nationwide
with effect from Monday May 9, 2022
until further notice," it said.
The aviation ministry responded by
urging airlines to "consider the
multiplier effect of shutting down
operations, on Nigerians and global
travellers".
The Nigerian consumer protection
agency also implored "domestic
airlines to consider the effect of the
proposed shutdown on passengers and
the magnitude of difficulties and
hardship associated with such an
action". It added it was "concerned
with rising consumer feedback that
airlines have continued to sell tickets
beyond the date announced for the
proposed service shutdown." Social
media users made fun of the airlines
suggesting customers find alternative
means of travel.
"Airlines in Nigeria will shut down
their services to passengers from
Monday," one tweeted to more than
110,000 followers. "I hope you can trek
from Lagos to Abuja?" they wrote, of
the journey of more than 700
kilometres (more than 400 miles) by
road between the country's largest city
and its capital-one that normally takes
just over an hour on an airplane.
"If you use the roads, I hope you have
your ransom money?" they added,
making light of abductions in other
parts of the oil-rich country.
Nigeria produces 1.4 million barrels
of crude a day, but it refines little. It
relies almost completely on fuel
imports, making the local market
vulnerable to disruptions.
The rising price of fuel has caused
prolonged power blackouts in recent
weeks.

MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022
9
Manchester United fans are having a season to forget after the defeat against Brighton and Hove
Albion.
Photo: AP
Man United fans chant 'you're not fit to wear the
shirt' after 4-0 humiliation against Brighton
SPORTS DESK
Make that five straight away losses for
United in the English Premier League
after a chastening 4-0 thrashing by
Brighton on Saturday, reports UNB.
With just one game left this season -
at Crystal Palace in two weeks - United
has little to play for in a fifth straight
season without a trophy.
If Erik ten Hag needed a reminder of
the mess he is inheriting when the
current Ajax coach takes over at Old
Trafford in the offseason, it was this
embarrassing performance at Amex
Stadium.
Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella
scored their first goals in English soccer
- Cucurella was reduced to tears after
slamming home his shot in the 49th -
before strikes by Pascal Gross and
Leandro Trossard by the hour mark.
In United's previous four away games
in the league, it lost at Arsenal 3-1, at
Liverpool 4-0, at Everton 1-0 and at
Manchester City 4-1.
Liverpool's title
hopes fade after
Spurs stalemate
SPORTS DESK
Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool
cannot give up hope in the
Premier League title race
after a 1-1 draw against
Tottenham despite
admitting he cannot see
Manchester City slipping up,
reports UNB.
Klopp's side edged ahead
of City on goal difference
after dropping points at
Anfield for the first time
since February.
But the English
champions can now afford
to draw one of their
remaining four games and
still retain their title.
Pep Guardiola's men can
retake top spot and open up
a three-point lead when they
host Newcastle on Sunday.
"It is an important point
but we all know the
situation," said Klopp.
"We are now top of the
table and if we and City lose
all the rest of our games then
great, but we all know that
will not happen.
"I would love to sit here
and say yes City will drop
points, the problem is I can't
see it."
A share of the spoils took
Tottenham to within a point
of fourth-placed Arsenal, but
their chance of a top-four
finish now also rely on the
Gunners dropping points in
two of their final four games.
Son Heung-min rounded
off a brilliant team move to
put Spurs in front on 56
minutes.
Luis Diaz's deflected shot
levelled 16 minutes from
time, but Liverpool failed to
find a winner.
"It is not easy to play in
this moment against an
amazing team in an amazing
atmosphere," said
Tottenham boss Antonio
Conte.
"The have a lot of energy
despite playing every three
days, it is incredible. They
are deserving of everything
they are reaching this
season.
United is in sixth place, five points
behind fourth-placed Arsenal, and
cannot finish in the Champions League
qualification spots.
Burnley's survival hopes damaged by
losing to Villa in EPL
Burnley's relegation woes deepened
after losing to Aston Villa 3-1 in the
English Premier League on Saturday
for the team's first defeat under interim
manager Mike Jackson. Steven
Gerrard's Villa did both Everton and
Leeds a big favor by ripping Burnley
apart. Emi Buendia made the most of
only his second start since February
with a goal and an assist after coming in
for the dropped Philippe Coutinho.
Danny Ings scored against his old team
for a fourth goal in four matches
against Burnley, and Ollie Watkins
applied the killer blow.
Hodgson's Watford relegated after
losing at Crystal Palace
Watford became the second team to
be relegated from the English Premier
League after losing at Crystal Palace 1-0
on Saturday.
Even if Roy Hodgson's team won at
Selhurst Park, it was still highly likely to
go down. But survival was no longer
mathematically possible after Wilfried
Zaha's match-clinching penalty in the
30th minute.
The 74-year-old Hodgson will leave
Watford having failed in his short-term
mission to prevent the club making an
immediate return to the
Championship.
Brentford beats Southampton 3-0 to
boost hopes for top-10
Brentford scored two early goals in a
3-0 victory over Southampton on
Saturday to boost the club's hopes of a
top-half finish in its first season in the
English Premier League.
Pontus Jansson and Yoane Wissa
scored within a minute of each other as
Brentford moved to within a point of
10th-placed Brighton, which hosted
Manchester United late Saturday.
Keegan Bradley watches his shot during the third round of the Wells Fargo
Championship in Maryland.
Photo: AP
Bradley slogs to 67 to grab
lead at rain-hit PGA event
SPORTS DESK
Keegan Bradley grinded out a three-under
par 67 to seize a two-stroke lead after
Saturday's rain-soaked third round of the
US PGA Wells Fargo Championship,
reports BSS.
The 35-year-old American fired the low
round of a miserable day to stand on eightunder
202 after 54 holes on soggy TPC
Potomac at Avenel in suburban Washington.
American Max Homa was second on 204
after a 71 while India's Anirban Lahiri and
American James Hahn shared third on 206
with England's Matthew Fitzpatrick fifth in
207. More than 2 ½ inches of rain fell upon
the course since Wednesday with cold and
windy conditions as well on Saturday
requiring gritty play in miserable weather.
Bradley had the day's low round and was
among only four players to crack par in the
third round, matching the fewest in any
round this season with the final round in
March at Bay Hill.
"It was miserable," Bradley said. "But I
grew up playing in this weather, so it was fun.
But I am so glad to be done."
Bradley, the 2011 PGA Championship
winner in his major debut, was excited about
how he played in brutal conditions.
"Every shot is different than you hit
normally," he said. "I hit 7-iron from 140
today. I'm also really happy with my putting.
"To go out and stay strong in this weather,
it was daunting in the beginning. I was
thinking I've got a long way to go here. But
I'm proud of the way I played."
Bradley, ranked 64th, seeks his fifth US
PGA triumph, his first since taking the 2018
BMW Championship in a playoff over
England's Justin Rose.
He said the tough conditions could be an
advantage if they keep him from thinking
about the fact that he hasn't won in nearly
four years.
"You're so worried about keeping
everything dry," he said. "I'm just trying to
get to the next shot."
Lahiri, ranked 85th, seeks his first US PGA
victory and first victory since the 2015 Indian
Open on the European Tour.
"It feels like I've just gone 12 rounds in
a pro boxing match," said Lahiri. "You're
fighting everything, you're fighting your
body, the elements, the water, the cold,
the conditions. "It's tough work and you
just have to grit your teeth and grind it
out."
The course has its first PGA event since
2018 because Quail Hollow, the regular
Wells Fargo course in Charlotte, will host the
Presidents Cup in September. Australia's
Jason Day, the 2015 PGA Championship
winner who began the round with a threestroke
lead, found a bunker at the par-3 third
and needed a putt from just outside eight feet
to save bogey, then found water off the
fourth tee on the way to a triple-bogey seven
that left him co-leader with Homa, who
bogeyed the fourth.
At the par-4 fifth, Day sent another tee shot
into the water on his way to bogey while
Homa sank a four-foot birdie putt to grab a
two-stroke lead at 7-under.
Sri Lankan cricket
team arrive in
Dhaka
SPORTS DESK
The Sri Lanka Cricket team
arrived in Bangladesh on
Sunday for a two-match Test
series which are the part of
ICC World Test
Championship, reports
UNB.
The Lankan side touched
the ground at Hazrat
Shahjalal International
Airport at around 12:30pm.
Sri Lanka who are at the
fifth position in the World
Test Championship point
table will be playing this
series under their newly
appointed coach Chris
Silverwood. Bangladesh is at
eight position in the table at
this moment.
Sri Lanka brought up eight
changes to their Test side,
making it an almost a new
look.
Uncapped wicketkeeperbatter
Kamil Mishara, spinbowling
allrounder
Kamindu Mendis, left-arm
quick Dilshan Madushanka
and legspinner Suminda
Lakshan are among eight
changes to Sri Lanka's Test
squad for their tour.
Returning to the Test fold
alongside them are batter
Oshada Fernando,
allrounder Ramesh Mendis
and fast bowlers Kasun
Rajitha and Asitha Fernando.
There will be no biobubble
for this series but the
players will have to go
through frequent Covid-19
tests, the Bangladesh Cricket
Board (BCB) confirmed.
Carlos Alcaraz beats Djokovic
to reach Madrid Open final
SPORTS DESK
Rafael Nadal one day. Novak Djokovic the
other, reports UNB.
The list of victims of Spanish teenager Carlos
Alcaraz keeps growing.
And so does the hype over tennis' newest
sensation.
After defeating his idol Nadal in the
quarterfinals on Friday, the 19-year-old
Alcaraz rallied to beat top-ranked Djokovic
6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) after more than 3 ½
hours on Saturday to reach the Madrid Open
final.
Alcaraz converted on his third match
point to clinch the victory in front of a
raucous home crowd on the Caja Mágica
center court.
A win on Sunday will give Alcaraz his
fourth title this season, the most of any
player.
He will face defending champion
Alexander Zverev or Stefanos Tsitsipas, who
met in the late semifinal on Saturday.
Alcaraz, the youngest player in the top 10
since Nadal in 2005, has won this year in
Miami, Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona.
He beat Nadal for the first time on Friday,
and triumphed against Djokovic in their first
match.
Djokovic remains without a title this
season as he continues to try to regain his
best form going into his title defense at the
French Open in nine days.
Novak Djokovic, left, shakes hands with Carlos Alcaraz at the end of a
men's semifinal at the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in
Madrid.
Photo: AP
Alba strikes late as Barca secure
top-four spot with Betis win
SPORTS DESK
Barcelona secured qualification for
next season's Champions League on
Saturday as Jordi Alba's 94th-minute
winner against Real Betis guaranteed
the Catalans' place in the top four of La
Liga, reports UNB.
Alba's stinging injury-time volley
snatched a 2-1 victory for Barca at the
Benito Villamarin to ensure they will
play in the Champions League next
term, an achievement likely to be
crucial to the club's hopes of financial
recovery.
When Xavi Hernandez took over as
coach in November, Barcelona lay
ninth in La Liga, with genuine concerns
about their chances of closing the gap.
But, Xavi's team surged up the table
and can now look forward to rejoining
their rivals Real Madrid in Europe's
premier tournament next season.
"We have saved the situation," said
Xavi. "This team believes until the end,
it has a competitive edge that we didn't
have in November."
The difference between Champions
League and Europa League football
could be worth more than 50 million
euros ($52.7 million) to Barcelona, who
began the season with debts of more
than a billion euros, and were forced to
let Lionel Messi leave for free last
summer. While a trophyless season can
never count as a success for Barca,
finishing in the top four is an
impressive achievement for Xavi and a
huge relief for the club. "We are Barca,
so this is the minimum requirement,
but in November we were ninth,"
added Xavi. "We've had a very good
second half of the season and now we
look forward to next year, to improve
enough to win titles."
Victory leaves Barcelona second in
the table, 11 points clear of Betis in fifth.
Both teams have three games left to
play. Barca should now be confident of
clinching second place too, with a fivepoint
edge over Sevilla, who play at
Villarreal on Sunday.
Fati scores -
Betis looked like they had sealed a
point after Marc Bartra headed in an
equaliser in the 78th minute, three
minutes after Ansu Fati had come off
the bench to give Barcelona the lead.
Alba, though, fired in at the back post to
claim all three points for the visitors.
Fati's goal was his first in the league
since November as the 19-year-old
continues his latest recovery from
another lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The teenager briefly returned in
January from a hamstring injury that
has kept him out for the best part of six
months. That had followed his
nightmare 11 months out with a knee
problem between November 2020 and
September last year.
"Ansu has this magic, an eye for goal,
he is a difference-maker," said Xavi.
"Where someone else needs three of
four chances, he can score with half a
chance."
Real Betis had to change their
goalkeeper after 17 minutes as the
injured Claudio Bravo was replaced by
Rui Silva, who soon tipped Ronald
Araujo's header onto the crossbar.
Barca also had the woodwork to
thank for keeping the score level at halftime
as Guido Rodriguez's strike from
the edge of the area cannoned off the
bottom of the post.
Betis finished the first half the
stronger but the game opened up in the
second, with Barcelona looking more
dangerous.
It was Fati, off the bench, who made
the breakthrough.
First, he tried to wriggle through a
cluster of Betis defenders and when
that failed, he tried a more direct route,
the ball coming back to him from Alba
and the finish finding a way through
the bodies and dribbling into the
corner.
Barcelona's advantage, though,
lasted three minutes as a simple,
crossed free-kick from Nabil Fekir was
met by the shoulder of Bartra, who
bundled in a swift equaliser against his
former club.
Fati scuffed a chance at the other end
before Alba struck in the 94th minute,
drifting in at the back post and sizing
up Dani Alves' floated ball, catching it
sweetly, and sending the ball flying into
the top of the net.
Kim Bi-O holds nerve at the last to
secure first Asian Tour title
SPORTS DESK
Kim Bi-O thrilled huge home crowds
to win his maiden Asian Tour title at
the Maekyung Open on Sunday,
coming home two shots clear of fellow
South Korean Cho Ming-yu, reports
BSS.
Starting the final day with a fourshot
cushion at Namseoul Country
Club and still three shots clear on the
18th tee, Kim had to withstand a scare
when he carved his drive deep into
trees.
But he coolly prevented disaster by
threading a path back into play from a
pile of leaves and securing a bogey five
and a round of one-over-par 72 to lift
the trophy for the second time.
Cho, joint second overnight, had
drawn level with Kim after seven,
thanks to three birdies in four holes.
But a bogey then double-bogey at the
eighth and ninth derailed his
challenge. Cho eventually carded a
one-under 70 to finish solo second,
while Moon Kyung-jun shot a 67, the
round of the day, to be a stroke further
back in third.
A decade ago, Kim won the
Maekyung Open at the same course as
a 21-year-old when the tournament
had been sanctioned by the now
defunct OneAsia Tour.
"Today was quite tough and I was
struggling on a few holes and lost
concentration," said Kim. "But I'm
really happy to win."
He conceded that he tried not to
think about his big lead, all too aware
that shots can be frittered away on the
tight, undulating, tree-lined layout.
"I know Namseoul is a quite difficult
course. So I tried not to think about
having a four-shot lead," said Kim.
The 31-year-old was roared to victory
by thousands of golf-starved fans who
had been allowed into a tournament
for only the second time since the
pandemic began.
Kim's hiccup at the final hole had not
been the only drama of his week- he
earlier had to come to the rescue when
an official was taken ill.
As the final group began their third
round on Saturday, a 20-year-old
university student, who was handling
one of the scoreboards, collapsed on
the first tee as Kim was about to play.
Kim and a doctor who happened to
be in the large crowd rushed to help
before an ambulance was called and
the student, Lee Woo-jun who suffers
from anaemia, made a full recovery
after being taken to hospital.
Kim's winner's cheque of $255,537
moves him to second in the Asian Tour
order of merit, $57,338 behind
American Sihwan Kim who has
amassed $460,325 from the six
tournaments played so far in the 2022
season.

MONdAY, MAY 9, 2022
10
Oyshee’s ‘Garir Mechanic’
springs a surprise
Shabnam Faria ties knot again
TBT REPORT
Actress Shabnam Faria has tied the
knot again. The groom's name is
Zahin. After studying abroad, he is
now living in the country and
working in a private company.
When Shabnam Faria was
contacted to find out about the
marriage, her phone was found
While Marvel Studios' upcoming
Secret Invasion series for Disney Plus
has been, like the name in its title, one
of their most secretive projects, new
leaks have been trickling in that could
potentially reveal some big plot details,
including one revolving around Emilia
Clarke's new character.
The MCU series will follow Nick Fury
as he reunites with the friendly
intergalactic Skrull Talos to help take
down other rogue Skrulls who have
infiltrated Earth and taken great
positions of power. Filming began in
Leeds in January, where Samuel L.
Jackson and Clarke were spotted on
set, and has since continued filming
near Liverpool Street Station in
London, UK.
Clarke has already been shown in a
recent BTS video of her filming a Secret
Invasion fight scene with another actor
wearing a grey motion-capture CGI
suit, indicating she will likely be in a
role that is featured in quite a few
action scenes. Now, MCU leaker
MyTimeToShineHello took to Twitter
to share that Clarke will play Veranke,
switched off once, but when the
phone was found open, she hung
up the phone.
Shabnam Faria's aunt said she
got married two months ago. She
said, "Even though they are
married, Shabnam Faria is still not
staying at her in-law's house.
Jasmine Sultana also said that
although she got married two
one of the main supervillains from the
Secret Invasion comic storyline. The
villain has made many appearances in
the comics, but she is perhaps best
known for impersonating Spider-
Woman and working for Nick Fury as
a double agent while also leading her
army of Skrulls to invade and conquer
Earth. While of course not 100%
confirmed, reports indicate that
Veranke was rumored for a while to be
the villain for the Captain Marvel
sequel. Of course, Zawe Ashton was
since been confirmed to play the main
antagonist in that film. However, since
Clarke's role is still undisclosed and
seeing how Secret Invasion will likely
tie into Ms. Marvel and The Marvels,
there is still a possibility that Clarke
could end up playing the villain after all.
But until more details began to
surface online, there is no telling how
she will fit into the MCU. What has
been confirmed about Secret Invasion,
however, is that the series will
showcase many side characters who
have appeared in previous MCU films,
like Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill and
months ago, she first met Shabnam
Faria's husband Zahin on
Thursday. Family arrangements
were made at Jasmine Sultana's
house.
Shabnam Faria posted several
pictures on her Insta Story on
Thursday. In that photo, the boy
wearing blue Punjabi is the groom
of the actress.
Emilia’s ‘Secret Invasion’ character
possibly revealed in leak
Martin Freeman's Everett K. Ross. A
recent set photo also suggested Don
Cheadle's War Machine could make an
appearance as well.
Created by Mr. Robot's Kyle
Bradstreet, the series also stars Ben
Mendelsohn as Talos, Kingsley Ben-
Adir as the main villain. Olivia Colman,
Killian Scott, and Christopher
McDonald have also been cast in
undisclosed roles. Judging from
Jackson's recent social media posts
and other set photos, it's still unclear
when Secret Invasion will take place in
the MCU timeline. But seeing Jackson
donning Fury's classic eye patch as well
as a more rugged, retired look, the
series could very likely take place after
the events of Avengers: Endgame while
also flashing back to the events right
after Captain America: The Winter
Soldier, a period of time when Fury's
whereabouts were unknown that also
marks the last time he was seen
without his eye patch.
'Secret Invasion' is expected to
premiere on Disney Plus in late 2022.
Source: Collider
Bangladeshi singer Oyshee Fatima
Tuz Zahra's new music video 'Garir
Mechanic' was released on the eve of
Eid-ul-Fitr with a surprise for the
audience, reports UNB.
Afghan-origin Bollywood actress
Warina Hussain has, for the first time,
synched her lips with a Bangla song in
this music video.
The song was written and composed
by Kaushik Hossain Taposh and the
music video was produced and styled
by Farzana Munni. Moreover,
Bollywood director Adil Sheikh has
directed the music video under the
banner of Taposh and Munni's
production company TM Records.
The music video was shot in
Mumbai and was recently published in
TM Record's own Facebook page and
Youtube Channel.
Oyshee said her expectation,
excitement and emotions about the
song have been met with the way the
TBT REPORT
Coke Studio Bangla presented another
fusion rendition of 'Bhober Pagol' by
Nigar Sumi and Jalali Set on Eid-ul-Fitr.
Coke Studio Bangla's fourth song
represents traditional Lalon Geeti
alongside contemporary street style rap
by Jalali Set.
Keeping the remnants of old Bangla
songs alive, Coke Studio Bangla is
constantly serving diversity to the
listeners. 'Bhober Pagol' breaks new
ground by being the first fusion of Lalon
geeti and rap music. Female vocalist of
Lalon band Nigar Sultana Sumi and
Jalali Set strike a fine balance for a
powerful aural experience.
Warda Ashraf, Armin Musa and
Jannatul Ferdous Akbar also provided
vocals for 'Bhober Pagol'.
Shayan Chowdhury Arnob and Faizan
Rashid Ahmad (Buno) were responsible
for the composition and arrangement.
The Jalali rap was written by Jalali Set
and Shobai Pagol rap was written by
K.M Mehedi Hasan Ansari.
Akshay Kumar, who was recently
seen in Bachchhan Paandey, will
soon be representing a historical
character in his upcoming film,
music video came out.
She said, "Warina has adapted with
the song so well that it seemed like she
sang the song, not me. The way she
gave expressions along with a Bengali
song, though being a non-Bengali, was
amazing and commendable."
"I consider myself lucky to be
working on such a dream project.
Hopefully the audience will remember
this song like 'Dushtu Polapain'," said
Oyshee.
TM Record's song 'Dustu Polapain'
released last year starred another
popular Bollywood actress, Sunny
Leone.
Coke Studio Bangla releases
‘Bhober Pagol’
Akshay, Manushi Chhillar's Prithviraj
trailer to release today
Prithviraj.
The much-awaited film, which also
stars former miss world Manushi
Chhillar, after many delays caused
due to the Covid-19 pandemic is now
all set to release on June 3, The
Statesman reported.
The film is based on the life of King
Prithviraj Chauhan. The trailer of the
film will be released on Monday,
May 9, at a launch event in Mumbai.
On May 4, YRF shared a new
poster of Prithiviraj featuring
Akshay Kumar, as they celebrated
the Airlift actor's 30 years in
Bollywood.
On Monday, May 9, the makers of
Prithviraj will launch the trailer of
the historical film, starring Akshay
and Manushi Chhillar.
Fans are looking forward to
Prithviraj and this news will surely
get them all excited.
Source: Hindustan Times
H O R O s c O P E
ARIEs
Freedom is a key aspect of life today,
Aries. You might find that your
brain wants to break free and
pursue more independent ways of thinking.
Don't worry if such ways of thinking lead you
into unknown territory. This is a sign that this is
probably where you need to be. Your witty
banter could take a sudden twist that surprises
both you and the people you're talking to.
TAURUs
People are apt to be as stubborn as you in
their thinking today, Taurus. This could
be a recipe for disaster if you aren't
careful. Open the floodgates a bit wider
and take in more of the opinions of others. Don't
automatically assume that other people have to
conform to your viewpoint to resolve an issue. More
than likely, there needs to be some give and take from
all involved.
GEMINI
You could find yourself staring at a
stranger for just one extra second as you
pass on the street today, Gemini. Your
tendency toward the new and bizarre is
stronger than usual, and you're being pulled into
different mental directions. Go ahead and introduce
yourself to that stranger. Perhaps he or she will
become a business partner or new best friend. You
never know until you ask.
cANcER
As you work slowly and steadily toward
your goals, realize that there are apt to
be unexpected obstacles along the way,
Cancer. You can't possibly plan for
everything, so don't get discouraged today when
some crazy variable pops out of nowhere. Your
mental process may be thrown for a loop, and you
might find that you go into a frenzy. There's a
valuable lesson to be learned here - patience.
LEO
Leo: It's generally quite clear that you
aren't afraid to tell people what you
think, Leo. Maybe it's time to be more
expressive about how you feel. It could
be that your mental process is a bit off today, jolted
by an unexpected situation or person. Make sure
you incorporate some of your instincts and
emotions into your reaction to the situation. Don't
rely on your brain alone to have all the answers.
VIRGO
Today could be filled with unexpected
twists, turns, and bends in the road that
you may not be prepared for, Virgo.
Apparently someone forgot to install the
sign that warns of sharp curves ahead. Be on the
lookout for unexpected forks in the road. When you get
to them, take them, to coin a phrase. Your brain could
receive a jolt from an outside source that reminds you
to keep things real.
LIBRA
You could be thinking some bizarre
thoughts today, Libra. They might lead
you in a direction that doesn't quite
pertain to your current situation. Don't
be afraid to explore these strange realms, because they
could give you some important insight that you
wouldn't have realized otherwise. Wisdom can be
found in the unlikeliest of places, so don't discount
something because it seems a bit off the wall at first.
scORPIO
Your thinking is solid and clear today,
Scorpio, but other people could
challenge your mental power. Don't
let others put seeds of doubt in your
head about the way you approach a problem. Keep
your mind open to alternative solutions, but don't
beat yourself up for your current mental track. You
might need to modify your strategy, but don't
sacrifice your principles or values.
sAGITTARIUs
You could get the feeling that something is
wrong today when it isn't, Sagittarius. It's
probably just your perspective that needs
some adjusting. Pull out your binoculars and focus a bit
more so you can stand back yet have the power to
examine the details closely. Don't automatically assume
there's a clear distinction between right and wrong.
There are likely a great many shades of gray, too.
cAPRIcORN
Your sensitive nature is likely to pick
up a disturbance in your thinking
today, Capricorn. Suddenly, a blast of
unexpected information could come
your way and throw a monkey wrench in your
mental process. Try not to get thrown off balance by
the sudden jolt. You'll find that you can incorporate
some of this new knowledge in a way that gives you
a greater advantage.
AQUARIUs
You might experience some mental
distractions that pull you in different
directions today, Aquarius. There could
be a stubborn internal/ external battle
brewing. Realize that being in the middle is to your
advantage. Look at the situation as a way to learn
something about yourself and others. Understanding
your opposition's viewpoint will help you. Incorporate
the old and the new into your way of thinking.
PIscEs
It could be difficult for you to think
straight today, Pisces. Your brain is
probably working in short, erratic bursts
that keep you guessing about which way
to proceed. Avoid confusion during the day by
periodically centering and separating yourself and your
feelings from the drama around you. Don't pretend you
understand something if you don't. If a situation
doesn't make sense, go ahead and question it.

MonDAY, MAY 9, 2022
11
Brazil's ex-president
Lula launches
presidential campaign
SAO PAULO : Former
Brazilian President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva
launched Saturday his
campaign for the presidency
alongside his proposed vice
president, former Sao Paulo
Governor Geraldo Alckmin.
Lula announced his
candidacy and unveiled the
seven-party alliance Let's Go
Together for Brazil
Movement to a crowd of
about 4,000 people here,
reports UNB.
"It is more than urgent to
restore the sovereignty of
Brazil," he said during his
speech at the rally, adding
that if he wins the elections
scheduled for Oct. 2, he will
work "again on the mission
to combat hunger."
Nearly 1 million
COVID-19 deaths:
A look at the US
numbers
WASHINGTON : Doug
Lambrecht was among the
first of the nearly 1 million
Americans to die from
COVID-19.
His
demographic profile - an
older white male with
chronic health problems -
mirrors the faces of many
who would be lost over the
next two years, reports UNB.
The 71-year-old retired
physician was recovering
from a fall at a nursing home
near Seattle when the new
coronavirus swept through
in early 2020. He died
March 1, an early victim in a
devastating outbreak that
gave a first glimpse of the
price older Americans would
pay.
The pandemic has
generated gigabytes of data
that make clear which U.S.
groups have been hit the
hardest. More than 700,000
people 65 and older died.
Men died at higher rates
than women.
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Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, Dinajpur unit brought out a rally and organized a discussion
meeting on the occasion of World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day-2022. Photo : Star Mail
Desperate search for survivors
in Cuba hotel blast; 27 dead
HAVANA : Relatives of the missing in
Cuba's capital desperately searched
Saturday for victims of an explosion at
one of Havana's most luxurious hotels
that killed at least 27 people. They
checked the morgue, hospitals and if
unsuccessful, they returned to the
partially collapsed Hotel Saratoga, where
rescuers used dogs to hunt for survivors,
reports UNB.
A natural gas leak was the apparent
cause of Friday's blast at the 96-room
hotel. The 19th-century structure in the
Old Havana neighborhood did not have
any guests at the time because it was
undergoing renovations ahead of a
planned Tuesday reopening after being
closed for two years during the
pandemic.
On Saturday evening, Dr. Julio Guerra
Izquierdo, chief of hospital services at the
Ministry of Health, raised the death toll
to 27 with 81 people injured. The dead
included four children and a pregnant
woman. Spain's President Pedro Sanchez
said via Twitter that a Spanish tourist was
among the dead and that another
Spaniard was seriously injured.
Cuban authorities confirmed the
tourist's death and said her partner was
injured. They were not staying at the
hotel. Tourism Minister Dalila Gonzalez
said a Cuban-American tourist was also
injured.
Representatives of Grupo de Turismo
Gaviota SA, which owns the hotel, said
during a news conference Saturday that
51 workers had been inside the hotel at
the time, as well as two people working
on renovations. Of those, 11 were killed,
13 remained missing and six were
hospitalized.
Gonzalez said the cause of the blast was
still under investigation, but a large crane
hoisted a charred gas tanker from the
hotel's rubble early Saturday.
Search and rescue teams worked
through the night and into Saturday,
using ladders to descend through the
rubble and twisted metal into the hotel's
basement as heavy machinery gingerly
moved away piles of the building's facade
to allow access. Above, chunks of drywall
dangled from wires, desks sat seemingly
undisturbed inches from the void where
the front of the building cleaved away.
At least one survivor was found early
Saturday in the shattered ruins, and
rescuers using search dogs clambered
over huge chunks of concrete looking for
more. Relatives of missing people
remained at the site while others
gathered at hospitals where the injured
were being treated.
A desperate Yatmara Cobas stood
outside the perimeter waiting for word of
her daughter, 27-year-old housekeeper
Shaidis Cobas.
"My daughter is in the Saratoga; she's
been there since 8 a.m. (Friday), and at
this time I don't know anything about
her," Cobas said. "She's not at the
morgue, she's not in the hospital." The
mother said she had gone everywhere
seeking answers from authorities, but
coming up empty.
"I'm tired of the lies," she said.
Gov. Reinaldo Garcia Zapata said
Saturday evening that 19 families have
reported loved ones missing and that
rescue efforts would continue.
Lt. Col. Enrique Pena briefed
Comandante Ramiro Valdes, who fought
alongside Fidel Castro, on the search
efforts at the site. Pena said the presence
of people had been detected on the first
floor and in the basement and four teams
of search dogs and handlers were
working. He did not know if the victims
were alive or dead.
Exploitation of African American women
continues: The Washington Post
LOS ANGELES : "The
exploitation of Black women
continues," according to an
article recently published on
the website of the U.S.
newspaper The Washington
Post, reports UNB.
The writer, Eddie Neal,
noted in a letter to the
newspaper's editors that
"the spectrum of African
American skin color results
from the rape of Black
women during and
following the slave era."
"As an amateur
genealogist tracking my
Black ancestors in North
Carolina, I find instances in
which females were
selectively groomed by
enslavers as children and
then gave birth to multiple
offspring by these men
before they reached
adulthood," Neal wrote,
adding that "enslavers often
fathered children when they
were fathering children in
their marriages."
"My research shows that
the practice of rape of Black
women by White men who
wielded legal and economic
control of their lives
continued into the mid-
20th century" and "mothers
of mixed-race children
played a pivotal and heroic
role in documenting
fatherhood by informing
their children who their
fathers were and entering
the names of biological
fathers on official
documents, especially birth,
marriage and death
certificates," the writer
pointed out.
Burkina Faso's displaced numbers
swell amid jihadi violence
OUAGADOUGOU : Ami Sana hangs a
tattered tarp for a bit of shade where she can
rest on a break from pounding stones under
the scorching sun, reports UNB.
"The work is hard. It makes my body weak,
but what else can I do?" she asked.
The mother of six is one of 2 million people
displaced by Burkina Faso's rapidly rising
Islamic extremist violence, according to the
U.N.
Amid the clamor of clanging pickaxes and
falling rocks, Sana has found work in the Pissy
granite mine on the outskirts of Burkina
Faso's capital, Ouagadougou.
Lifting heavy rocks and hammering them
into gravel to sell to construction companies is
tough work that doesn't earn her enough to
adequately feed or educate her children, Sana
cvwb-915/2021-2022
GD-838/22 (10x3)
said. But it's the best work that she could find.
The rush of civilians from rural villages
plagued by extremist violence has put
pressure on Burkina Faso's cities.
"Some of the host cities have doubled or
tripled in size in the past three years, and their
infrastructures are often stretched to a
breaking point," said Hassane Hamadou,
country director for the Norwegian Refugee
Council.
"Schools can't absorb all the new children,
water points can't provide enough for all.
Hundreds of thousands are left without access
to an education, clean water or healthcare as a
result," he said.
The influx of displaced people is causing
competition among the approximately 3,000
people working at the granite mine.
2.1016 (25) 08/05/22
GD-842/22 (6x4)
GD-836/22 (5x4)

Monday, Dhaka: May 9, 2022; Baishakh 26, 1429 BS; Shawal 7, 1443 Hijri
9 Bangladeshi
firms set to
participate in
'Texworld Paris'
DHAKA : Nine Bangladeshi textile, garment
and leather companies are set to
take part in a three-day trade show,
Texworld Paris, scheduled for July 04-06
in the French capital.
The Bangladeshi companies will participate
in the expo, titled 'The Texworld/
Apparel Sourcing/ Leatherworld Paris',
through the Export Promotion Bureau
(EPB) under the Ministry of Commerce.
The business firms are: DD Sourcing
Limited, Nelima Fashion Wear Limited,
Lights Creation, Vertex Wear Limited, DK
Textile Limited, Hossain Dyeing and Printing
Mills Limited, Tosa Creation Limited CBM
International Limited and Anannya Socks
and Inners Industries Limited.
Manufacturers will exhibit various
products on cotton, denim, drapery and
tailoring, embroidery and lace, jacquard,
knitted fabrics, linen and hemp, prints,
shirting, silk, silky aspects, sportswear
and functional fabrics, trims and accessories,
wool and woollen materials.
Apparel Sourcing Paris is a major clothing
sourcing platform for the European
market. The wide range of products for
men, women, children, and accessories
include the entire price spectrum.
Talking to BSS, EPB Director (Fair and
Display) Abu Mukhles Alamgir Hossain
said within the European Union, France is
a major economic partner of Bangladesh.
"Both countries have developed strong
economic cooperation and are enjoying
warm business relationships. In fact,
ready-made garment is the major
Bangladeshi product for export earnings
from France. Export of other products,
such as leather and footwear, shrimps and
frozen fish, ceramic and pharmaceutical
articles, has also increased," he added. He
further said Bangladesh aims to widen
French investors portfolios, advise French
businessmen, secure market access and try
to diversify its export baskets.
He informed that France is the third
largest export destination of Bangladesh
in the European Union for apparel and in
2020-21, Bangladesh exported US$1.78
billion worth apparels.
Cinema hall refinance
scheme deadline
extended to December
DHAKA : Bangladesh Bank (BB) has extended
the loans disbursement schedule under a
refinance scheme to support cinema hall
owners. The Banking Regulations and Policy
Department (BRPD) of the central bank in a
notification on Sunday extended the schedule
to December 31, 2022, from the earlier
deadline March 31, 2022.
In February 2021, the BB formed a
refinance scheme of Tk1000 crore to
support cinema hall owners' for renovation,
technology upgradation and modernization
of halls to ensure time befitting
atmosphere for audience.
The BB later amended the notification
and extended the limit of loan for an owner
of cinema to Tk10 crore, which was Tk 5
crore earlier. A 100-seat capacity cinema
hall owner can avail maximum loan of Tk10
crore with 5 percent interest rate.
The cinema halls in the divisional cities
can avail the loans at 5 percent interest
rate while other cities at 4.5 percent
interest rate. The repayment period is
eight years with 1-year grace period.
BNP will fall in crisis
if it does not join
polls:Quader
DHAKA : Awami League General
Secretary Obaidul Quader yesterday said
if BNP does not participate in the next
parliamentary elections, it will fall in crisis
of existence.
"They (BNP) must join the next general
polls to sustain their existence. We also
want to welcome a strong opposition in
parliament. We want that the opposition
has a stand," he said while talking to
reporters at his Secretariat office here
this afternoon.
Asked whether there would be any initiative
to bring the BNP to polls, Quader
said: "We will ask them (BNP) to join the
polls though it should not be said."
Joining the elections is the right of the
BNP and it is not a matter of chance, he
said. "If the BNP does not exercise its
rights, its existence will fall in crisis. And
I do believe they (BNP) will not create
such a situation," he added.
Quader, also the road transport and
bridges minister, said Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina wants all the political parties
to join the polls.
"We want to hold elections ensuring
participation of all the political parties. It
is being ensured that there will be fair
polls by using electronic voting machines
(EVMs). The Election Commission will
remain neutral," he said.
That is why, he said, BNP secretary
Thai envoy for promoting
deeper people-to-people
ties with Bangladesh
DHAKA : Thai Ambassador to
Bangladesh Makawadee Sumitmor has
said Bangladesh and Thailand should
promote deeper mutual understanding
at the people-to-people level to cultivate
closer contact in all dimensions.
"People-to-people exchange is the
foundation of bilateral relations. After a
50-year-long journey our peoples still
have some unclear picture about each
other," she told UNB in an interview.
Ambassador Sumitmor said cultural
interactivity could enable Thais and
Bangladeshis to feel more acquainted
with each other.
This kind of interaction takes time to
develop but it will be a long-lasting foundation
of our friendship, she said.
The Ambassador said Bangladesh and
Thailand share ancient linkages. For
example, she said, it is a surprising
knowledge for her to learn that Thai and
Bangla languages have many similarities
through Sanskrit and Pali.
Some Bengali words have the same
meaning in Thai, such as 'sikkha' which
means 'education' and 'banijya' which
means 'commerce.'
In this respect, Ambassador Sumitmor
said, it could be said that Thailand and
Bangladesh are not just 'friends' but are
general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has
no reason to get worried.
Responding to a statement of Fakhrul
that the unelected government must quit
power, the AL general secretary said it is
an old doggerel, while there are the members
of BNP in the House too.
"The BNP has sent its members to parliament.
Are they unelected?... Mr
Fakfrul makes himself less important. If
he (Fakhrul) remained in the House, he
would have spoken strongly," he said.
About the national conference of the
Awami League, Quader said AL
President Sheikh Hasina has stated that
the AL conference will be held on regular
basis. The AL's existing committee will
expire in December next and it is expected
that the party's next conference will be
held in the month of victory, he said.
The AL general secretary said the AL
president has asked all the party men to
get prepared for the upcoming elections
and the conference.
She instructed to arrange the programme
of the AL founding anniversary
on June 23 and also directed to prepare
election manifesto by updating the existing
one, he said.
The conferences of the AL's expired
district-upazila committees must be held
before its national conference, the AL
general secretary said.
'relatives' with shared cultural root and
diverse common interests.
Another cultural link is the traditional
New Year celebration, said Ambassador
Sumitmor. While 14 April marks the date
for Bengali traditional New Year or
'Pahela Boishakh' Thai people also celebrate
Songkran festival, their traditional
new year in the same period.
A series of events will be organized
throughout the year with focus on
enhancing understanding between the
peoples marking the 50th anniversary of
diplomatic relations between the two
countries that falls on October 5.
The commemorative logo for this occasion
was launched on 1 March 2022 at
the 2nd Bangladesh-Thailand bilateral
consultations in Bangkok.
It features number 50 in Thai and
Bengali with gold borderline, signifying
the golden jubilee of relations.
Number five in Thai and Bengali script
has some similar line and curve so it is
designed in a way that it could be looked
either way.
"Our national flags are also part of the
logo. It is jointly designed by the Royal
Thai Embassy in Dhaka and the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh," said
the Thai Ambassador.
a mobile
court of Dhaka
South City
Corporation
has conducted
a drive on
Hawkers
Market in
Gulistan of
the capital city.
More than
500 illegal
establishments
and shops have
been evicted.
Photo :
Star Mail
Slow traffic movement witnessed on Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge highway yesterday. Photo : Star Mail
4 teen girls go
missing in
Laxmipur
LAXMIPUR : Four teenage girls have
been missing since Saturday morning
in Badamtoli in Kamalnagar upazila of
Laxmipur district, police said on
Sunday.
The victims were identified as
Zobaida Akter, 12, Mitu Akter, 12,
Samia Akter Niha, 13 and Shimu Akter,
14.
General diaries were lodged with
Kamalnagar Police in connection with
the disappearance of four girls on
Saturday night, said Mohammad
Solaiman, officer-in-charge of
Kamalnagar Police Station.
The four girls went out on Saturday
morning telling their mothers they
were going to their maternal grandfather's
house but on Saturday night,
Niha's family came to know that they
had not reached their destination.
Police are conducting a drive to find
them, said OC.
Khulna City mayor
to be taken to S’pore
for better treatment
KHULNA : Khulna City Corporation
Mayor Talukdar Abdul Khaleque was
brought to Dhaka on Sunday as he will
be taken to Singapore for better treatment,
reports UNB. He was shifted to
Dhaka's CMH from Shaheed Sheikh
Abu Naser Hospital by air ambulance
at 4.30 pm.
He will be undergoing treatment at
CMH for the next 15 days and then he
will be taken to Singapore for
advanced treatment, said District
Awami League general secretary MDA
Babul Rana.
He also said that Sheikh Salahuddin
Jewel, member of Parliament from
Khulna-2 constituency, has taken all the
responsibility for the treatment of the
mayor and wished good health to the
mayor.
He is accompanied by his wife Begum
Habibub Nahar, deputy minister of
Environment, Forests and Climate, and
his nephew Meghla.
The 69-year old KCC mayor was admitted
to Shaheed Sheikh Abu Naser
Specialised hospital in Khulna around 11
am on Saturday, said Prakash Chandra,
Residential Medical Officer (RMO) of the
hospital.
He has been suffering from heart disease,
diabetes, high blood pressure and
last year he underwent a surgery in the
prostate gland, said RMO Prakash
Chandra.
Trader fined for
stocking 2,328
litres soybean oil
CHATTOGRAM : A mobile court fined
a trader Tk40,000 on Saturday night
for illegally stocking 2,328 litres of soybean
oil at South Gizaria village under
Bhujpur thana of the district.
Based on secret information, the
mobile court led by Executive
Magistrate S M Alamgir conducted the
drive in the house of trader Akhter
Hossain and found 2,326 liters of illegally
stored soybean oil around
10:30pm last night.
The recovered edible oil was sold in
the open market yesterday morning.
BNP won't join election
under AL : Fakhrul
Safiqul iSlaM (JaMi)
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul
Islam Alamgir has said that there is no
question of BNP going to the polls without
the resignation of the present Awami
League (AL) government. He outlined
BNP's position at a press conference on
SMay 8 at the Gulshan office of BNP
chairperson in the wake of the ruling party's
decision to hold elections at a meeting
of the AL's executive committee on
Saturday.
The BNP secretary general said, "We
are clear about the next election. If the AL
government does not resign and power is
not handed over to a completely neutral
government, there will be no question of
an election. We do not want to talk about
this. We will not go to the polls if Sheikh
USAID Deputy Administrator
Coleman in Bangladesh
HAKA : USAID's Deputy Administrator
Isobel Coleman is now visiting
Bangladesh as part of her tri-nation
tour, reports UNB.
After wrapping up her Bangladesh
tour (May 7-11), she will travel to
Thailand and Laos, according to USAID.
During her Asian tour, she will assess
the needs of regional humanitarian
crises, including the Rohingya refugee
problem. The United States appreciates
Bangladesh's compassion and humanitarian
response to support over one million
Rohingya refugees currently living
in Cox's Bazar district and Bhasan Char
Island.
On April 4, USAID's Administrator
Samantha Power met with Foreign
Minister AK Abdul Momen and discussed
Rohingya refugee policies, joint
climate action to promote clean energy
solutions, and methods for improving
Bangladesh's business environment and
galvanizing investment.
Hasina is in power."
The first condition is that they should
resign and hand over power to a neutral
non-partisan government. They will
form an election commission to conduct
the elections based on the views of the
people and a government and parliament
representing the people will be formed by
the election commission, Fakhrul added.
Mirza Fakhrul said, "I don't think anything
will happen until the AL government
resigns." He also blamed the government
for the rampant surge of soybean
oil price.
However, BNP secretary general
condemns and protests the attack on
the house of party standing committee
member Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf
Hossain in Daudkandi on Saturday by
local miscreants.
Administrator Power and Minister
Momen commemorated 50 years of
Bangladesh-US bilateral relations and
reaffirmed their longstanding partnership
on development.
The Administrator celebrated the
strides Bangladesh has made in health
and economic development with the
United States at their side, and noted
Bangladesh's promising path to achieve
upper middle-income country status
over the next ten years.
During her trip, Coleman will also
advance the United States' partnership
with ASEAN member countries, including
Thailand and Laos, on the shared
priorities of COVID-19, climate action,
economic recovery efforts, and inclusive
development.
Throughout the trip, she will also meet
with women leaders and entrepreneurs,
and local climate and health experts on
the frontline of the global COVID-19
response.
Brace for showers with intense
lightning : Met Office
DHAKA : Showers with intense lightning
flashes and temporary gusty wind is likely
to occur across the country in the next
24 hours as the Cyclonic Storm "Asani"
over Southeast Bay and adjoining South
Andaman Sea moves Northwestwards,
reports UNB.
According to Met Office, "Showers are
likely to occur at many places over
Khulna, Barishal and Chattogram divisions
and at a few places over
Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions along
with one or two places over Rangpur,
Rajshahi, and Dhaka divisions."
Meanwhile a mild Heat Wave is sweeping
over Sylhet division and the districts
of Madaripur, Rangamati, Cumilla, M.
Court, Feni, Khulna and Jashore and it
may abate from some places, said
Bangladesh Meteorological Office in a
buletine. It said day temperature may fall
slightly and night temperature may
remain nearly unchanged over the country.
In an extended outlook for the next
three days BMD said "Thunder showers
activity may increase".
The cyclone was centered at noon on
Sunday about 1205 Kms South-Southwest
of Chattogram port, 1125 kms South-
Southwest of Cox's Bazar port, 1185 kms
South of Mongla port and 1145 kms South
of Payra port, said a Met office bulletin . It
is likely to intensify further and move in a
Northwesterly direction, it said.
Maximum sustained wind speed within
54 Kms of the cyclonic storm centre is
about 62 Kph rising to 88 Kph in gusts or
squalls. Sea will remain very rough near
the cyclonic center.
Maritime ports of Chattogram, Cox's
Bazar, Mongla and Payra have been
advised to hoist distant warning signal No
2. All fishing boats and trawlers over the
North Bay and deep sea have been
advised to remain close to the coast and
proceed with caution.