29-07-2022

FRIDAY

DHAKA : July 29, 2022; Srabon 14, 1429 BS; Zilhaj 29, 1443 Hijri www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net Regd. No. DA~2065, Vol. 20; No. 81; 12 Pages~Tk. 8.00

INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ART & CULTURE

Courts block abortion

Prolific Popp sends

Mithila to start

bans in Wyoming,

Germany into Euro 2022

shooting for her new

North Dakota

final against England

movie in October

>Page 7

>Page 9 >Page 10

Concealing wealth

information

ACC files case

against ex-OC,

his wife

CHATTOGRAM : The Anti-Corruption

Commission (ACC) yesterday

filed a case against former police

Inspector Shahjahan and his wife

Ferdousi Akter for concealing information

of their assets worth about

Tk 1,71,736 providing false statement

and transfer of assets of Taka

1,48,04413. Atikul Alam, Deputy

Director (DD) of the ACC Integrated

Office-2, filed the case against them

with its office yesterday noon.

Earlier, Ratan Kumar Das, DD of

the ACC headquarters, now attached

with Chattogram ACC Integrated

Office-2, filed another case against

Shahjahan with Chattogram ACC Integrated

Office-1 on Janurary 4 this

year.

In the case filed by the ACC, Inspector

Shahjahan has been accused

of misusing his power and concealing

information acquiring assets worth

Tk 4.9 million. At the same time,

assets worth about Tk 7.8 million

are found to be inconsistent with his

known source of income, in the first

case. Md Shahjahan, son of Sultan

Ahmed from Katalia area of Lalmai

in Cumilla, was the Officer-in-Charge

(OC) of Lohagara Police Station for

more than six years.

Police headquarters issued transfer

orders several times but he remained

on duty at the same police

station defying higher authority’s

direction.

Md Shahjahan, now working at

tourist police in Chattogram region,

submitted an income tax statement

to the ACC where he concealed information

of his wealth.

Drives against US

dollar hoarders will

be continued: Police

DHAKA : Detective Branch (DB) of

Police would continue its ongoing

drives against the individuals involved

in manufacturing counterfeit

US dollars and hoarding the currency

illegally.

“We must conduct raids against

people involved in manufacturing

counterfeit US dollars and hoarding

the currency,” said Mohammad Harun

Or Rashid, DB Chief of Dhaka

Metropolitan Police (DMP), while

addressing a media briefing.

“As a part of its ongoing drive

against the illegal dollar hoarders,

the DB will continue its ongoing

drives in the capital to control the

sudden hike in the US dollars’ price

that has already created an artificial

crisis of dollars in the open market,”

he said.

Harun, also DMP’s additional

commissioner (investigation), said,

“The information regarding dollar

hoarders is being collected.”

Against the backdrop of the rapid

dollar crisis, that the country is

facing right now, he said the central

bank, in the meantime, has already

taken actions to check the rise in

prices of US dollars.

04:05 AM

Zumma 01:30 PM

04:43 PM

06:47 PM

08:1 0 PM

5:26 6:44

A faint glimmer of hope in

Rohingya repatriation process

Tonmoy Chowdhury

Van-rickshaws, auto-tempo and trucks are running together on the Dhaka-Mawa

Expressway. Passengers are traveling with the risk of accidents. Photo : Star Mail

Strengthening social security in BD

EU contributes with

EUR 2 million

DHAKA : The European Union

(EU) has transferred EUR 2 million

(around Tk 20 crore) to the government

of Bangladesh to strengthen

key areas of its social security system.

It has a specific focus on strengthening

institutional set-up, the overall

Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

of the social security services,

introduction of a nutrition sensitive

child benefit programme and having

an improved social security framework

for workers.

EU Ambassador to Bangladesh

Charles Whiteley said “We encourage

the government to ensure an

appropriate social protection system

and measures that protect those who

are in need.”

Beyond the immediate Covid-19

response initiated by Team Europe,

he said, this programme represents

a concrete first step towards the longer-term

objective to establish an

adequate and sustainable social security

system.

A historic event was happening while

Judge Joan E. Donoghue, president

of the International Court of Justice

(ICJ), was reading out the court’s

decision at the Peace Palace in The

Hague at 1 p.m. on 22 July. The

ICJ has announced its judgement

on Myanmar’s objections to a case

accusing it of genocide against the

country’s Rohingya minority group.

The judgement goes in the favor of

humanity and against the crime. The

World Court rejected Myanmar’s objections,

paving the way for the case

to be heard in full. Such decision of

the ICJ again falsified that `Justice

Delayed, Justice Denied’.

It is the opening path of the victory

of persecuted people like Rohingya.

Now Rohingya along with

all minority ethnic groups of Myanmar

will have hope to see that crime

never goes without of punishment.

The brutality of Myanmar military,

“The EU and its Member States

are committed to support efforts to

establish adequate and sustainable

social security for workers, with the

shared objectives to protect lives and

livelihoods,” said the EU member.

The disbursement of this payment

comes after a “positive decision” of

the Budget Support Steering Committee

(SSC) of the European Commission’s

Directorate-General for

International Cooperation and Development

in July 2022, said the EU

Embassy in Dhaka on Thursday.

The European Consensus for Development

enshrines the commitment

from both the EU and its Member

States to promote “adequate and

sustainable social protection”.

With the proactive political commitment

of the government of Bangladesh

(GoB) to achieve the Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs)

in order to ‘leave no-one behind’, the

EU has been a committed development

and humanitarian partner to

Bangladesh since 1973.

World Court’s Rejection over Myanmar’s

Objection on Rohingya Genocide Case

their action of genocide, war crimes

and crime against humanity are accountable

to the conscience of the

world. The disturbing preliminary

objections by Myanmar are now settled

down with the opening of genocide

case completely in the ICJ. The

preliminary objections were filed by

Myanmar’s civilian government just

before it was overthrown in a military

coup in February 2021, and argue

that the court does not have the jurisdiction

to hear the case. Among other

things, Myanmar was trying to have

the case dismissed on the grounds

that the Gambia was acting as a

proxy for the Organization of Islamic

Cooperation, and that the court can

only hear cases between nations. But

the Presiding Judge Joan Donoghue

said the 13-judge panel found that all

members of the 1948 Genocide Convention

can and are obliged to act to

prevent genocide, and the court has

jurisdiction in the case.

>(Contd. on page-2)

Garments export

from Mongla Port

begins after Padma

Bridge opening

KHULNA : The apparel manufacturers

of Dhaka yesterday started export

of huge garment items through Mongla

Port for the first time after opening

of the Padma Bridge.

A foreign ship ‘MAERSK NESNA’,

belongs to Panama flag left the jetty

No-8 of the country’s second largest

seaport to Poland yesterday morning,

said an official of the port authority.

A total of 27 garment factories

have been exporting their readymade

garment (RMG) items, including

T-shirt, Jersey, Cardigan, Trousers

and Kids item.

Talking to BSS, Chairman of Mongla

Port Authority (MPA) Rear Admiral

Md Musa said garment owners

have started shipping of RMG items

from the port after few days of the

Padma Bridge opening.

Commodities handling for foreign

ship are now very easier, speedy and

safe through this port, he said.

Businessmen are now showing

their keen interest to export their

products through Mongla port as

transportation cost has been reduced

after opening of the Padma Bridge,

the Chairman added.

Useless Ukraine-Russia

war benefitting only

arms producers : PM

DHAKA : Terming the Ukraine-Russia

war as meaningless Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said

only arms producers are profitting

from the conflict.

“...this war is meaningless. Because

we are witnessing that only the

arms producers are making profits.

The lives of the general people are

endangered,” she said.

The prime minister said this while

inaugurating Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujib Centennial Technical Training

Center in Tungipara and 23 other

technical training centres in various

upazilas across the country.

The programme was held at Osmani

Memorial Auditorium while

the PM joined virtually from her official

residence Ganabhaban. Hasina

said that this war comes with sanctions

and counter-sanctions threatening

the global economy.

“Developed countries are facing

severe problems. They have now

started to save electricity and fuel oil,

they are in anxiety about food security

and taking various steps for that,”

she said. The premier said that countries

like Bangladesh which have

started a journey towards a specific

goal to become developed is facing

severe hurdles due to this war.

“This is very much regretful. But

we must not stop our advancement,”

she said. The PM mentioned that the

war struck when the world was facing

coronavirus pandemic and resultant

economic recession. “To save the fuel

oil all countries have taken various

types of initiatives and we are also

following that,” she said.

Hasina put emphasis on building

skilled manpower as Bangladesh has

a huge number of young population.

“We are working on that. We want

to build skilled manpower through

providing them training aiming to

continue the pace of development.”

The prime minister said that it’s

very much normal that the foreign

exchange reserves will sometimes be

more and sometimes less.

“There are some people who are

making hue and cry over this issue. I

think it is enough if we have reserves

for procuring three months’ food,”

she said. But she said that the country

should reduce its dependency on

others for food items.

IFAD reaches record level of

support for world’s rural poor

DHAKA : The UN’s International Fund

for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

doubled down on its commitment to

the world’s poorest rural communities

in 2021, increasing support to reach

128 million small-scale farmers and

vulnerable people, according to its

annual report released from Rome on

Thursday. The record level of support

for world’s rural poor came amid rising

challenges posed by climate change,

the COVID-19 pandemic and global

economic shocks. In the IFAD Annual

Report 2021, IFAD detailed how its

efforts successfully targeted those who

needed it most: data released during

2021 revealed that 49 per cent of direct

beneficiaries were women, while 22 per

cent were youth.

“We know that economic empowerment

of women is the key to greater

empowerment for all, while more

than 600 million youth in rural areas

globally need our help,” said Gilbert F.

Houngbo, President of IFAD.

“These investments will ultimately

help deliver greater food security, poverty

reduction and economic resilience

to their broader communities - that

is, the people who produce a third of

the world’s food but are too often left

behind,” he said. The annual report

recaps the activities of the UN specialized

agency and international finance

institution, which mobilizes funds,

technical expertise and other resources

to combat poverty and hunger among

the 3.4 billion people who live in rural

areas of the developing world.

With global hunger on the rise and

climate change impacting agricultural

output, IFAD’s role in ensuring global

food security has never been more crucial.

IFAD’s 177 Member States have

recognised this by committing a record

US$1.55 billion to the agency’s 2022-

2024 core resources with the aim of

doubling its impact by 2030.

Day by day the balance of the environment is losing. There is no alternative to trees in protecting

the environment. Ward No. 11 councilor of the capital Abdul Mannan has planted 3000 trees in

his area. The photo is taken from Technical area.

Photo : Star Mail

FRIDAy, JuLy 29, 2022

2

A faint glimmer of hope in Rohingya

repatriation process

>(From page-1)

The case has been

cognizable and is now vying

for a final verdict after the

ICJ accepted the Gambia's

complaint where it alleged

against Myanmar that

genocide has taken place

under the Genocide

Convention, highlighting two

dimensions or waysgenocidal

intent and the

commission of genocidal

acts. Myanmar's persecution

of the Rohingya as

`Genocidal Intent' includes:

its systematic denial of legal

rights to Rohingya, the

restrictions on their ability to

marry and bear children and

severe restrictions on

freedom of movement along

with detention camps, and

its support for and

participation in, pervasive

hate campaigns aimed at

demonizing

and

dehumanizing the group. On

the other hand, `Genocidal

Acts' against Rohingya by

Myanmar includes: the

incidents from the October

2016 and August 2017,

``clearance operations'' with

mass executions of Rohingya

men, women and children;

the systematic burning of

Rohingya villages with the

intent to destroy the group in

whole or in part; the

targeting of children; and the

commission of rape and

sexual violence on a massive

scale. That cold-blooded

clearance campaign forced

more than 700,000

Rohingya fled into

neighboring Bangladesh.

Since the allegation of

Gambia has now been

considered as the genocide

case, the ICJ in future can

take strong actions against

the accused (Myanmar) and

in favor of the victim

(Rohingya) or the plaintiff

(Gambia). Under Article 94

of the UN Charter, all

member countries must

abide by ICJ decisions in

cases to which they are a

party, and in the event of

noncompliance, the UN

Security Council may decide

upon measures to be taken to

give effect to the judgement.

The ICJ can pave the way in

the future to ensure that

those responsible for

genocide are held to account

before a competent tribunal;

and can ensure to provide

reparations to Rohingya

victims of genocidal acts

including ``allowing the safe

and dignified return'' of

those who have been forcibly

displaced and ``respect for

their full citizenship and

human rights and protection

against discrimination,

persecution and other

related acts.'' The ICJ can

now also arrange the

assurance and guarantees

from Myanmar that it won't

repeat its violations of the

Genocide Convention.

But all that hope remains

somewhat uncertain as

power in Myanmar is now

held by the brutal military

what is the main accused.

Since the 2021 coup in

Myanmar and the

assumption of authority by

the 'State Administration

Council', the military has

committed grave human

rights violations as a part of a

widespread and systematic

attack against people across

the country, amounting to

crimes against humanity.

Atrocities against the

Rohingyas persist, and

military rule since the coup

has heightened their

vulnerability. The same

generals who oversaw the

mass atrocities against the

Rohingyas in 2017 are now at

the helm of the brutal

military regime- putting at

further risk Myanmar's

adherence to the ICJ's legally

binding provisional

measures order which

directed Myanmar to:

prevent the commission of

genocidal acts; to ensure its

military, police, or any other

irregular force supported or

directed by it or under its

control not commit

genocidal acts; to preserve all

evidence of genocidal acts,

and to submit a status report

every six months until a final

judgment by the Court.

A review of previous cases

shows that partial or full

judgments of the ICJ have

been enforced if the parties

involved have democratic

governments in power. In

case of Myanmar, while the

military junta assumed the

right to represent Myanmar

at the ICJ, the opposition

National Unity Government

(NUG) asserts that it is the

legitimate representative of

the country. The

encouraging aspect is that

the NUG officially

recognized the ICJ's

jurisdiction, pledged to

withdraw all of the

preliminary objections, and

promised to cooperate with

the proceedings.

The proceedings before

the ICJ are an important

means to hold Myanmar

accountable for the mass

atrocities against the

Rohingya. Bringing justice

to the Rohingya and all

groups suffering under

Myanmar's military is

necessary to break the

deeply rooted trend of

impunity inMyanmar and

end the accompanying risk

of resurgence of atrocity

crimes. The limited action

by the international

community, including the

failure of the United Nations

Security Council to pass a

resolution imposing a global

arms embargo and referring

the situation in Myanmar to

the International Criminal

Court has further

emboldened Myanmar's

military making the ICJ

proceedings especially

important.

In the absence of domestic

accountability, the case

before the ICJ offers hope to

the Rohingyas in their

efforts to hold the military

junta accountable for the

crime of genocide. If the case

proceeds to the substantive

stage, the Court will decide

whether Myanmar

committed, failed to

prevent, and failed to punish

the international crime of

genocide against the

Rohingya. The ICJ hearings

once again reflect the urgent

need to provide a platform

for the Rohingyas to share

their vision and voice.

Tonmoy Chowdhury,

Refugee & Security Affairs

Analyst,

ctonmoy555@gmail.com

Covid-19 in Bangladesh

4 more die, 618 new

cases reported in

24hrs

DHAKA : Bangladesh

recorded four more Covid-19-

linked deaths with 618 new

cases in 24 hours till Thursday

morning.

With the latest figures, the

country's total fatalities

reached 29,284 while the

caseload 2,004,188, according

to the Directorate General of

Health Services (DGHS).

The daily case positivity rate

rose to 6.62 from Wednesday's

6.83 per cent as 9,338 samples

were tested.

The deceased included two

men and two women. Three of

them were from Chattogram

and another from Dhaka

division.

The mortality rate remained

unchanged at 1.46 percent.

The recovery rate rose to

96.80 per cent from

Thursday's 96.79 per cent.

In June, the country

reported 18 Covid-linked

deaths and 20,201 new cases,

according to the DGHS.

Bangladesh reported its first

zero Covid death on

November 20 last year since

the pandemic broke out here

in March 2020. 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.

'Sheikh Hasina Tantpalli'

to create job for people of

south-western region:

Minister

DHAKA : The Ministry of

Textiles and Jute is setting up

'Sheikh Hasina Tant palli' in

Shibchar Upazila of Madaripur

district at the Jajira end of the

Padma Bridge to create

opportunities for selfemployment

in the southwestern

region.

Textile and Jute Minister

Golam Dastagir Gazi said this

while visiting the project on 120

acres of land in the upazila on

Thursday.

Under this project, weavers

will be provided with all kinds

of facilities including residential

buildings, handloom shed,

dormitories, rest house, cyber

cafes and power substations.

Dissemination Seminar on Role of Local Government in Facilitating Reproductive Health and

Nutrition Service in Bangladesh & Assessment of Institutional Capacity and Quality of Training

Conducted by NIRPORT was held yesterday.

Photo : PID

KCC announces Tk 861.06cr

budget for 2022-23FY

KHULNA : Khulna City Corporation

(KCC) has announced its annual budget

amounting to Tk 861.06 crore for the

2022-23 fiscal years.

KCC Mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleq

made the announcement at Shaheed

Altaf Auditorium in Nagar Bhaban.

Revenue expenditure in the proposed

budget has been estimated at Tk 192.11

crore while development expenditure at

Tk 668.95 crore.

The mayor said that no new tax has

been imposed on the budget. The

corporation has a plan to increase its

Smokeless tobacco control needs tougher

>(From page-12)

According to a report by the World

Health Organization in November 2021,

1.3 billion people in the world now use

tobacco products. In 2015, this number

was 132 crores. In 2020, 22.3 percent of

the world's population used tobacco

products. Among them 7.8 percent are

women. In 2020, the number of women

who used tobacco was 23 crore 10 lakh.

Among them, the number of women

aged 55 to 64 years is the highest. More

than 8 million people die every year due

to the use of tobacco and tobacco

products alone. Among them, about 1.2

million people are dying due to tobacco

products even if they do not smoke

revenue by collecting dues of

municipality taxes, levying taxes on all

newly constructed establishments as per

the existing rules and expanding its own

source of income.

In the budget, Tk 56.31 crore has been

earmarked for annual development

works.

In the proposed budget, Tk 42.37

crore has been allocated for the

development sector from the revenue

sector while Tk 13.94 crore for

infrastructures and renovation. A total

of Tk 14.88 crore has been proposed for

directly.According to the survey

conducted by Anti-Tobacco Women's

Alliance (Tabinaz), the number of

smokeless tobacco users in our country is

63 per thousand, while the number of

women is 379. This information is

undoubtedly worrying. Smokeless

tobacco like Gul, Saadapata contains

more than 2000 chemicals, which cause

life-threatening diseases.

Executive Director of Pragya ABM

Zubair said that the strictness of the law

is necessary to reduce the consumption

of tobacco and to protect the future

generation from the grip of tobacco.

These harmful tobacco products should

waste management and mosquito

eradication.

In the last 2021-22 financial year, the

budget was Tk 608.02 crore and the

revised budget was Tk 450.65 crore. The

rate of implementation of the budget

was 74.12 per cent.

KCC's finance and establishment

affairs standing committee's president

councillor Sheikh Md Gausul Azam

presided over the event. Officials of

KCC, and media representatives, among

others, were present during the budget

announcement.

be banned in public places for both men

and women, along with restrictions on

the sale of smokeless tobacco. He said

that the goal of making the country

tobacco-free by 2040 is possible only

through the strictness of the law.

According to the survey by Global

Adult Tobacco, out of 3.78 million

tobacco users in the country, 2.2 million

people use smokeless tobacco, which is

58 percent. Again, if we look at the

smokeless tobacco factories, it will be

seen that the number of listed companies

in the country is 20 to 30. But in the

actual sense, its number is 10 to 15

thousand.

FRiDAY, JULY 29, 2022

3

Bangladesh must act fast to offset

fallout of Ukraine conflict

Prof. David Lewis of London School of Economics and Prof. Mushtaq Khan of School of Oriental and

African Studies of UK called on Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman on

Wednesday at the latter's office of the university.

Photo: Courtesy

Two UK

Professors

calls on

DU VC

Prof. David Lewis of London

School of Economics (LSE)

and Prof. Mushtaq Khan of

School of Oriental and African

Studies (SOAS), UK called on

Dhaka University (DU) Vice-

Chancellor Prof. Dr. Md.

Akhtaruzzaman on

Wednesday at the latter's

office of the university.

Chairman of DU

Development Studies

Department Prof. Dr. Rashed

Al Mahmud Titumir and Prof.

Dr. Mohammad Abu Eusuf

were present on this occasion.

During the meeting they

discussed matters of mutual

interest especially regarding

on-going joint collaborative

academic and research

programs among the

University of Dhaka, London

School of Economics and

School of Oriental and African

Studies. These two

distinguished professors of

UK expressed their

willingness to further

strengthen academic and

research collaborations with

Dhaka University.

Prof. Dr. Md.

Akhtaruzzaman thanked

these two UK professors for

their visit to and keen interest

in strengthening joint

academic and research

collaborations with DU.

Earlier Prof. David Lewis

and Prof. Mushtaq Khan

delivered lectures on 'Whither

Development Studies: Past,

Present and Future' at Prof.

Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury

auditorioum of the university

as a part of year-long

Development Dialogue-2022

of DU Development Studies

Department.

National moon

sighting committee

meets today

DHAKA : A meeting of the

National Moon Sighting

Committee will be held today

to fix the date of the holy

Ashura, after reviewing

reports on appearance of the

moon of the month of

Muharram of 1444 Hijri.

The meeting will be held at

the conference room of

Islamic Foundation (IF) at

Baitul Mukarram National

Mosque at 7.15 pm with

State Minister for Religious

Affairs Md Faridul Haque

Khan in the chair, said a

press release.

If the moon of the holy

month of Muharram is

sighted anywhere in the sky

of Bangladesh, the

concerned people have been

requested to inform dialing

the telephone numbers - 02-

223381725, 02-41050912,

02-41050916 and 02-

41050917 or through the fax

numbers -02-223383397

and 02-9555951 or inform

concerned deputy

commissioner (DC) or

upazila nirbahi officer

(UNO), the release added.

Govt working sincerely to preserve

biodiversity of country: Minister

DHAKA : Environment, Forest and Climate

Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin today said

that Bangladesh National Herbarium (BNH)

under the ministry is conducting survey of

plant-species activities with the aim of

preserving the country's forests and

biodiversity.

"The results obtained from the plant-survey

conducted through the current project will play

an important role in the country's botanical

education and research, sustainable

management and use of plant diversity,

identification of endangered plant-species and

their protection and formulation of national

biodiversity conservation strategies and action

plans and in achieving SDG goals," he said.

The minister was speaking virtually at a

workshop of the plant species survey project of

Barishal and Sylhet division held at Bangladesh

Hepatitis vaccination program was formally opened at Mirpur Ahsania

Mission Cancer Hospital yesterday on the occasion of World Hepatitis Day.

On Thursday, the closing and prize giving

ceremony of 1st National Research Project

Contest-2022was held at Bijoy Auditorium of

Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP).

The contest was organized by BUP Research

Society Club run by the Department of English

under Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

(FASS). The contest started on 22 July 2022

with the aim ofencouraging the potential young

minds to utilize their researching capabilities to

represent Bangladesh globally and for

innovating new knowledge that would

contribute to the development of the country.

BUP ViceChancellor Major General Md

Mahbub-ul Alam, ndc, afwc, psc, MPhil, PhD

graced the occasion as the Chief Guestand

handed over prizes among the winners.

In the contest, 24 research teams from 11

renowned universities took part. These teams

put forward their research paper on different

topics. The topics were related toGender and

Culture Studies, Geopolitics and Human

Rights, Green Technology and Blue Economy,

Environment and Global Situation,

Bangabandhu and Liberation War,

Journalism, Media, and Film Studies. In the

final round of the competition,the team from

Department of Public Administrationof BUP

National Herbarium in the city's Mirpur area as

the chief guest from his official residence.

Besides, all these information will be useful

for the convention on Biological Diversity,

convention on international trade in

endangered species of wild fauna and flora and

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, he added.

Secretary of the ministry Dr Farhina Ahmed

presided over the workshop.

Additional Secretary to the Ministry of

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Md

Mizanul Haque Chowdhury, Director of

National Herbarium Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik,

Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) of Forest

Department Md Amir Hosain Chowdhury,

Survey of Vascular Flora of Barishal and Sylhet

Divisions (SVFBS) Project Director Dr Sardar

Nasir Uddin attended it, among others.

Prize giving ceremony of

‘1st Nat’l Research Project

Contest-2022’ held at BUP

became champion, the team from Department

of English of BUP became first runner-up, the

team from BRAC University and JatiyaKabi

Kazi Nazrul Islam Universityjointly became the

second runners-up.

The Chief Guest at the beginning of his

speech highlighted the importance of research

in discovering new knowledge and disseminate

those for the development of mankind. He

thanked the concerned faculty and Research

Society Club for organizing such a wonderful

competition for the first time in Bangladesh.

He congratulated the winning teamsand all the

participants of the competition and assured of

holding bigger competition than this in future

to inspire young researchers of Bangladesh. He

also handed over prizes among the winners

and took group photo with all your researchers

who participated in the competition.

Among others, BUP Pro-Vice

ChancellorProfessor Dr. Khondoker

Mokaddem Hossain, Brigadier General

Mohammad Shamsul Arefin, ndc, psc, Dean,

FASS, BUP High Officials, BUP Research

Society Moderator and Chairman of the

Department of English Dr. Md. Mohoshin

Reza, faculty members and students were

present at the programme.

DHAKA : Speakers at a roundtable

have said Bangladesh remains in a good

position with workable human resources,

food production and geographical

location but laid emphasis on enhancing

energy exploration along with a

diversified policy for conventional and

renewable.

But despite these advantages, the

country has fallen backward in the last

one and half a decade in its own energy

exploration due to lack of a sustainable

policy, they said.

The experts raised the issues at the

roundtable titled "A World in Turmoil:

The Fallout from the Ukraine Conflict"

jointly organized by Cosmos Foundation

and Bangladesh Institute of Peace and

Security Studies (BIPSS) at a city hotel on

Wednesday.

Chairman of Cosmos Foundation

Enayetullah Khan and President of

BIPSS Major General (Retd) ANM

Muniruzzaman moderated the

discussion.

Former foreign secretary Md Touhid

Hossain, assistant professor, department

of international relations, Bangladesh

University of Professional (BUP) Umme

Salma Tarin and assistant professor,

department of economics, East West

University Parvez Karim Abbasi spoke as

panelists.

Enayetullah Khan said Bangladesh has

to enhance its energy exploration along

with a diversified policy for conventional

and renewable sectors' capacity growth.

"If Bangladesh cannot expand gas

extraction from domestic sources within

a short time, there would be a great

concern for foreign exchange reserves for

big payment on oil-gas imports, " he

added.

Bangladesh's agriculture sector will be

affected by the Russia-Ukraine war as a

big portion of fertilizer imports from

Russia and Belarus was closed due to the

turmoil, said Khan, adding that

Bangladesh as an emerging nation can

stay on its own ground without taking

sides.

Besides, the Rooppur nuclear power

Recently, a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) has

been signed between

Faridpur municipality and

Dhaka Ahsania Mission

(DAM) at the conference hall

of the municipality under the

"Promoting Urban Climate

Change Resilience in Selected

Asian Cities-Development of

Pilot Activities and

Development Support

Project, Phase-2".

Faridpur municipality

Mayor Amitabe Bose and

DAM Executive Director Md.

Shajedul Qayyum Dulal

signed in the MoU on behalf

of their respective

organization. Chief Executive

Officer (CEO) of Faridpur

Municipality Md. Shahjahan

Miah and Executive Engineer

Md. Shamsul Alam, Oxfam

representative Dabaraj Dey,

Joint Director of Dhaka

Ahsania Mission Md.

Jahangir Alam and others

municipality and DAM

official persons were present

at that time.

With the funding of

UCCRTF under Asian

Development Bank and

support of Oxfam, Dhaka

Ahsania Mission is

implementing the 'Promoting

Urban Climate Change

Resilience in Selected Asian

plant, a project of 2400MW of electricity

generation from atomic energy, has also

fallen into uncertainty because of the

Ukraine turmoil.

"A weakened Russian capacity to

continue its commitment will have

significant negative ramifications for our

energy and power availability in the

future," Khan said.

He said Russia and Ukraine account for

nearly one-third of the world's wheat

supplies, and the disruption in global

grain supplies caused by the war has

affected food security in emerging

economies such as Bangladesh, due to

both higher prices and supply issues.

Khan said the Ukraine conflict has led

to sharp rises in worldwide fuel and food

prices, increasing the risk of higher

inflation, energy security anxieties and

reduced growth.

He said the continuing conflict will

have disastrous consequences for the

entire global economy, as well as for

Bangladesh.

Khan said fiscal policies may need to be

adjusted to bring down food inflation and

subsidies on fertilizer must be carefully

restructured or reformed to make them

more sustainable.

Most importantly, he said the

diplomatic and political capabilities must

be supportive of international efforts to

bring this disastrous conflict to a close

and world's social peace is restored.

"I fear that the whole world's social

peace is in danger," Khan said, adding

that unregulated on-line content is

spreading disinformation and

propaganda that have amplified political

divisions worldwide.

Maj Gen Muniruzzaman said the

Ukraine turmoil has created a security

and energy concern in the world, and

when it would end, none can predict it

now.

"We primarily identified three

dimensions of Ukraine turmoil- food,

energy, and finance, as the countries of

the world are entirely connected with

each other, so every country is affected by

the consequences of the war,"

Cities-Development of Pilot

Activities and Development

Support Project, Phase-2' at

Faridpur Municipality.

The project strives to

contribute to a climateresilient

urban future

through community-led

resilience-building initiatives.

Through this project

Community Resilient Plan

(CRP) has been produced

prioritizing problems and the

potential solutions to reduce

the impact of climateinduced

disasters. Hence

after, three community-led

projects (CLP) have been

planned to implement, which

are referred to as 3

components. The three

components

are

Improvement of community-

Based Solid Waste

Muniruzzaman said.

He said the exchange rate has been

soaring by Tk 8 to 10 in 24 hours recently,

which also creates a concern for

Bangladesh to manage its trading and

finance.

Muniruzzaman said they see a new role

being played by China, which is

completely in a manner that it balances

both sides.

But, he added, it is becoming extremely

difficult for smaller countries and middle

powers to navigate in this territory where

one is compelled to choose sides.

The analyst said a dimension of impact,

which is extremely important, is

humanitarian. "And we see an emergence

of a new humanitarian crisis in the world,

both in terms of displacement from the

Ukraine conflict in terms of the food

crisis, inflation and cost of living."

He said they are very uncertain now

how quickly the grains can be released

from Ukraine while the international

wheat market is skyrocketing.

Muniruzzaman said there is a looming

international food crisis. "So these are

very serious issues to ponder on."

Touhid Hossain said Bangladesh has to

remain in the middle point considering

the sensitivity of current global situation

and favoring any particular country will

be a satirical mistake. "We cannot afford

to take any side, plain and simple."

"The world never remains peaceful as a

whole, as we witnessed several wars in

the world during the last half a century

from Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan

and other areas where war was

happening within the country from local

or foreign invention," said the former

foreign secretary.

Bangladesh has to fix policy keeping in

mind its reliable business partnership as

the turmoil would be continued for a long

time, Touhid said.

Umme Salma, speaking on strategic

issues, said the world is being polarized

among different big powers;

Bangladesh needs a smart strategy and

partnership keeping in consideration

the security and financial benefits.

MoU singed between Faridpur

Municipality and DAM

Management System,

Establishment of Resilience

Livelihoods Training Centre

for Sustainable Economy of

the Community with Skill

Development at Ward-09

and Construction of Climate

Resilience Park at ward

number 5 and 6.

The project duration is

April 2022 to October

2022.

Recently, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between

Faridpur municipality and Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) at the conference

hall of the municipality.

Photo : Courtesy

On Thursday, the closing and prize giving ceremony of 1st National Research Project Contest-2022was

held at Bijoy Auditorium of Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP).

Photo : Courtesy

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2022

4

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Friday, July 29, 2022

A perspective on

population growth

T

he

latest data say that Bangladesh

population now stands at 16.50 crore

which means that after counting the

death rate a significant number has been

added to the total population since the last

census. The data notes a slight fall in the

growth rate but the same is no assurance

that the population growth rate would be

kept bridled in the near future.

Bangladesh is the seventh most populous

country in the world but has only about

55,000 square miles of land territories to

sustain a vast population which is already

well above 160 million and seems likely to

swell to some 180 million in another two

decades at its current rate of growth. Policy

planners claim that its annul population

growth rate has fallen from above 3 per

cent in the past to some 1.48 per cent

recently. But the official claim is doubted

and even if it is accepted, the vision of a far

bigger population in the near future is a

mind boggling one.

Some over optimistic people maintain

that the country's vast population can be

tuned into human resources and can form

lucrative markets for local and foreign

producers in the future. But hard boiled

realists say that the country's huge

population is already a liability for it and

this situation could turn worse in the

future. They say Bangladesh is already

overpopulated by any assessment or

definition. Already, the existing size of the

population and its growth have created

crisis like situations in sectors of housing,

employment, health, etc. The crises are

going to be deeper in the near future and

could shatter socio-political and economic

stability the country has at present.

Therefore, the population growth rate

needs to be brought down, substantially, at

an early date. The population growth rate

in Bangladesh will not be brought down to

zero level like in the Scandinavian

countries. There would be encountered

strong social and cultural barriers against

such initiatives. But it can be tried to

effectively bring it below one per cent in a

decade from now if the same goal is

earnestly pursued. This decrease in growth

will mean a manageable population by the

middle of the present century.

But the official population programmes in

the rural areas where over 80 per cent of

Bangladeshis have their existence, are

seen to be shot through with corruption,

inefficiency, lethargy and all other ills.

Family planning visitors under the

programme hardly do their job ; they may

make some casual visits at long intervals

without doing their work with motivation

and sincerity. In most cases, there are no

publicities of the same and people remain

unaware of what things are on offer for

adopting sterility or permanent birth

control. The cash awards for conducting

vasectomy on men and women are found

misappropriated in many cases while on

paper they maintain fake records of

persons who were operated as well as their

getting of the awards.

Clearly therefore, a very strong case exists

to revamp the official population control

programmes to achieve much better

results.

Some economists talk about population

dividends or the presence of a youthful and

relatively more productive workforce. But

statistics on training or making of the

young ones more assets than liabilities are

not reliable. Besides, in the Bangladesh

population specially older persons are

rapidly increasing in number but they

would be counted as net liabilities in the

longer run. Therefore, there is every

imperative to control population growth

and keep the population size at a

sustainable level in the mid term and

longer term.

As temperatures surge upward

shattering records and lives with an

alarming consistency, it is jawdropping

to just take stock of the phalanxes

of climate-change deniers.

Most species on this planet may reach the

level of extinction before some of these

diehard, cultist, fact-denying, science

skeptics smell the coffee.

Being a skeptic is one thing and perfectly

acceptable. Challenging the research and

insisting on evidence is responsible. It is

legitimate to question how serious the crisis

is, how fast the world has to act, how much

time is left to deal with it, and what steps

should be taken first.

Many were latecomers to the gravity of

the challenge life on Earth faces, not least in

the Middle East. Yet even in the

hydrocarbon rich states, that may be

considered to have so much to lose on this

front, tackling the environment and manmade

climate change has become a top

priority.

It is also understandable why many

simply do not wish to face the reality. It is

tough. It is hard to get one's head around

the challenge in front of us all. The

attractions of wanting to believe the

climate-change deniers are clear.

What is not acceptable, and is frankly

extremely dangerous, is the head in the

boiling sand approach of the climate

change denial movement. This is a debatefree

zone. It is akin to a religious belief that

the climate has not altered one jot and

those who say it has, are either grand

conspirators or their victims. As too often

nowadays, science and expertise are

derided and dismissed.

Worse still, are those who knowingly

trumpet pseudoscience and dangerous

conspiracies. Alarmingly many of those

who parroted dangerous coronavirus

pandemic conspiracy theories are also in

the climate change conspiracy camp.

Sadly, the most serious challenge is in the

US, where largely far right groups try to

The Third World's poor are suffering the

spillover effects of the Ukraine war.

Image: Twitter

Populations in Western countries are

angry. Western elites, who are supposed to

lead their societies in the right direction, are

instead leading them in the wrong direction

on Ukraine. There is a wiser course of

action.

This wiser course of action is based on a

simple principle - that the perfect is the

enemy of the good. G7 countries should

accept imperfect solutions that will make

their people happier. That will also help the

billions of poor people in the Third World

who are suffering from higher food and

energy prices.

Moral priority has to be given to the

sufferings of the poor - the bottom 10-20% of

the world's population.

The greatest American political philosopher

of recent times, John Rawls, emphasized that

the justest society was the one that took care

of the bottom 10%.

As he outlined in his seminal work, A

Theory of Justice, any social or economic

inequalities, if they are to satisfy the principles

of justice, "are to be to the greatest benefit of

the least-advantaged members of society."

The global poor are suffering today for three

main reasons. The massive post-Covid-19

stimulus packages, especially in the United

States, have unleashed global inflation.

Financial Times economist Martin Wolf

recently wrote that "the combination of fiscal

and monetary policies implemented in 2020

and 2021 ignited an inflationary fire."

The illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine,

followed by massive sanctions on Russia, has

led to a huge spike in energy and food prices.

Despite these sanctions, the EU has paid

more money for Russian gas.

The shadowy economics of ISIS' resurgence in Syria

Despite Islamic State's (ISIS') territorial

defeat in Syria more than two years

ago, the group has continued to

terrorize people, particularly in the northeast.

In June, ISIS sleeper cells were linked to 18

attacks and 16 deaths, on par with ISIS-linked

violence in May, when 14 died in 26 attacks.

The group's survival is due, in part, to its

ability to extort business owners to finance its

operations and regrow its networks.

For months, ISIS has been using the threat

of violence to operate extensive protection

rackets in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor

governorates. The inability of local authorities

to provide sufficient protection from ISIS has

left many people with no choice but to pay.

More important, fear of retaliation from

both ISIS and the Syrian Democratic Forces

(SDF) has allowed these extortion activities to

go largely undetected, making it more difficult

to counter. Unless the conditions that enable

ISIS to finance itself are addressed, the

Countering climate change

undermine the science. One survey, in

2008, showed that in America, 92 percent

of climate-skeptical materials were linked

to conservative think tanks. While

Democrats have tended to become more

concerned about climate change, the

Republican party is still dominated by

climate-change skeptics.

Members of the credible scientific

community are clear. The

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change determined that, "since systematic

scientific assessments began in the 1970s,

the influence of human activity on the

warming of the climate system has evolved

from theory to established fact."

The science shows that climate change is

not just happening but getting worse.

Which begs the question what such

delusional headbangers think is

happening? Do they have to wait until all

the ice sheets, and glaciers have

disappeared? Given that, according to

NASA, Greenland lost an average of 279

billion tons of ice per year between 1993

and 2019, they may not have to wait long.

Such attitudes represent a serious threat to

our existence and have to be faced down.

Climate change kills. It destroys homes

and livelihoods. It will get worse and will

only be halted with systematic and

determined global action.

When record temperatures are broken

once again in Europe, they just say this is

fake or quite natural. They think the same

when learning nearly half the continent is

Talk to Russia to save the world’s poor

Since the war began on February 24, 2022,

Europe has paid more than US$60 billion for

Russian oil and gas, while complaining that

India and China were buying too much

Russian oil.

This led to the now famous quip from the

Indian Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam

Jaishankar, who said "our total purchases for

the month would be less than what Europe

does in an afternoon."

The Omicron strain of Covid-19 has broken

through the defenses of China's zero-Covid

policy. This led to massive shutdowns,

including lockdowns in Shanghai since March

2022. Since China is the factory of the world,

these have also contributed to global inflation.

What is the rational response? To find a

perfect solution? Or to accept an imperfect

solution that alleviates the suffering of many

people, including the people of Ukraine and

the large number of poor people in the world?

The West has been pushing for a perfect

solution. The rest of the world would prefer to

decrease their suffering with an imperfect

solution.

What is the perfect solution? It is what the

West is pursuing in Ukraine - the total

withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.

No compromise. If the West could

accomplish this, it should go for it. But the

prospects of achieving this perfect solution in

group's survival will almost certainly be

guaranteed.

ISIS is reliant on its extensive knowledge of

local communities to identify targets and

determine the amount of tribute. The group

typically flags professionals (such as doctors

and pharmacists) and business owners

(including prominent farmers, shepherds,

shop owners, traders and investors) who are

considered well off. In a series of interviews

that I conducted in recent months, those

affected told me that ISIS uses a wellinformed

human-intelligence network to

track targets and estimate their income.

The scale and frequency of these forced

payments varies. Some of the group's victims

said they paid between US$700 and $1,500

annually, while investors overseeing oilfields

in eastern Deir Ezzor reportedly pay more

than $5,000 per well per month (or 10-20%

of the well's monthly profits).

Once targets are selected, ISIS uses various

CHRIS DOYLE

KISHORE MAHBUBANI

HAID HAID

facing drought this summer. The huge

numbers of wildfires across Europe and

elsewhere are just part of the natural cycle,

though clearly, they are not given their

increased frequency and intensity.

Wildfires are getting more ferocious

every year not least due to drier winters and

longer, hotter summers. They have even

broken out in Scandinavia and recently, in

Members of the credible scientific community are clear. The

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change determined that, "since

systematic scientific assessments began in the 1970s, the influence of

human activity on the warming of the climate system has evolved

from theory to established fact." The science shows that climate

change is not just happening but getting worse.

southern England, where temperatures

tipped over 40 degrees Celsius for the first

time in recorded history. Rail lines are

buckling in the heat. Wildfires destroyed 41

homes around London.

Paris recorded temperatures of more

than 40 degrees Celsius for only the third

time since recordings began in 1873. In

Greece, officials said that since the fire

season commenced on May 1, they had

tackled more than 2,500 fires. According to

the World Health Organization, this year

alone, "we have already witnessed more

than 1,700 needless deaths in the present

heatwave in Spain and Portugal alone."

Major cities suffering from heat stress

will have to adapt. Early warning systems

are needed. Urban construction will have to

change. Rather than treat heatwaves as

emergencies many countries will have to

plan for them as standard, not rare, events.

This is the future. In the hotter countries

of the Middle East, extreme heat may

render areas uninhabitable. Look at the

dust storms in Iraq. In countries such as

Britain, the population will have to adapt

their housing and lifestyles to cope with

Ukraine are zero.

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-

General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said "the war in

Ukraine has created immense human

suffering, but it has also damaged the global

economy at a critical juncture. Its impact will

be felt around the world, particularly in lowincome

countries, where food accounts for a

large fraction of household spending …

Smaller supplies and higher prices for food

mean that the world's poor could be forced to

do without."

The first step is to call for an immediate

The first step is to call for an immediate ceasefire. Hundreds die

each day that the war continues. If Ukraine is going to feed the

world again in 2023, it needs to get fertilizer so its farmers can

start planting in 2022. More food in 2023 equals less suffering

for the global poor.

ceasefire. Hundreds die each day that the war

continues. If Ukraine is going to feed the

world again in 2023, it needs to get fertilizer

so its farmers can start planting in 2022.

More food in 2023 equals less suffering for

the global poor.

The second step is to start talking to Russia.

There should be two levels of talks. The first

should be between Ukraine and Russia. The

second should be between the West and

Russia. Ukrainian lives would be saved and

the whole world would breathe a sigh of relief.

Then comes the hard slog. Given the huge

chasm between Western and Russian

positions on Ukraine, there will be no

immediate long-term solution. But we're

more likely to get one if talks begin, especially

if we can get more countries in the world to

methods to communicate demands. Victims

told me that the group relies primarily on

messaging applications, particularly

WhatsApp, which uses end-to-end encryption

and provides ISIS affiliates with anonymity.

But ISIS also delivers written notices

stamped with the group's logo to the homes of

its targets, an intimidation tactic that is

arguably more effective.

Regardless of how people are coerced,

ransom demands typically include the name

of the target, the required amount in US

dollar denominations, and where the

payment should be dropped. The messages

also contain clear and explicit warnings to

deliver the money quickly and discreetly to

avoid punishment.

Failure to comply has resulted in ISIS

attacks on businesses, kidnappings, and

targeted killings. In January, ISIS reportedly

destroyed several oil wells when those in

charge refused to pay. Nonetheless, there

temperatures the country is not used to. At

the same time severe flooding in Europe is

also an immense risk.

How serious is this climate-change denial

movement? It is hard to charge. A recent

opinion poll in Britain showed that 70

percent of people believed climate change

was the cause of the recent heatwave, but 17

percent claimed it was unrelated. Even if

some of that 17 percent were skeptics, not

denialists, it is worryingly high.

A major public education program is

required. Climate change should be taught

at schools or at least incorporated

significantly into the curriculum.

The media too can play its role. Gone

should be the days of false balance between

eminent scientists and heavily paid climate

denying lobbyists. Broadcasters and editors

should abstain from marketing images of

fun and children splashing in the water in

the sun during a heatwave as if this was all

normal and lovely.

What is not acceptable, and is frankly

extremely dangerous, is the head in the

boiling sand approach of the climate

change denial movement.

All of this leads up to the next COP

climate conference in the Egyptian resort

city of Sharm El-Sheikh, in November.

Many excuses for inaction may be made

citing the global financial crisis and the

Russian invasion of Ukraine. It should not

be a choice. Investment into countering

climate change is too vital to be subject to

the fate of the financial markets. The

funding must be ringfenced. The impact of

climate change cannot be left to the side to

wait for another day.

Speaking at the recent Petersberg

Climate Dialogue in Berlin, the UN

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said:

"We have a choice. Collective action or

collective suicide. It is in our hands."

Chris Doyle is director of the Council for

Arab-British Understanding, in London.

Twitter: @Doylech

talk to Russia.

It would be a huge strategic mistake by the

West to get Indonesia, as the host of the G20

meeting on November 15-16, to disinvite

Russian President Vladimir Putin from the

meeting. It would be an even bigger mistake

for the West to boycott the G20 summit if

Putin should attend.

There is one statistic that every Western

leader should memorize and repeat each

night before going to sleep - the West only

comprises 12% of the world's population.

If Putin comes to Jakarta in November

2022, as he should, he will hear the views of

the West and he will hear the views of the rest.

Putin is not likely to listen to the West since

there is zero trust between Russia and the

West. But he will listen to the rest, so the West

is stabbing itself in the foot by calling for Putin

to be disinvited.

A woman uses an oil lamp at her home

without electricity in Pliken village,

Pekalongan, Central Java, Indonesia. Photo

AFP Forum via NurPhoto / Pradita Utana

The West is pushing for Putin to be

excluded because it is pushing for the perfect

solution of trying to defeat Russia. But that is

a solution that will never come about.

The West should listen to Indonesia and

other non-Western members of the G20 and

try to find some kind of compromise solution

for Ukraine. Such a solution will save the lives

of Ukrainians and it will alleviate the suffering

of the hundreds of millions of poor people in

the world.

In short, the pragmatic solution is also the

ethical solution.

Kishore Mahbubani, a veteran diplomat, is

a distinguished fellow at the Asia Research

Institute at the National University of

Singapore.

seems to be wide latitude in how Islamic State

enacts its retribution for non-compliance and

is dependent on the personality of the ISIS

commander and the profile of the targeted

individual. For example, not all ISIS targets

are able to pay, and victims told me that the

group leaves room for negotiation.

A doctor in rural Deir Ezzor said he received

a WhatsApp message from a foreign number

demanding payment of $1,200. Attached to

the message was a photo of an invoice

stamped with the ISIS logo with details on

where to send the cash. But when the doctor

replied that he was internally displaced and

treats patients who cannot afford medical

care, the ISIS operative agreed to reduce the

fee to $800.

Haid Haid is a Syrian columnist and a

consulting associate fellow of Chatham

House's Middle East and North Africa

program.

FriDAY, JulY 29, 2022

5

JoShuA KurlANtzicK

In the past four years, China's

global image, which had been

positive or at least neutral in

many parts of the globe for the prior two decades, has

deteriorated extensively. This deterioration has occurred not

only among leading democracies such as the United States and

Japan, with whom China already had prickly relations, but also

among developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe.

China enjoyed positive relations with states in these regions

between the 1990s and late 2010s. In some parts of the world,

China now has its worst public image in many decades.

From more favorable perceptions between the 1990s and mid-

2010s, Beijing's public image and overall soft power now have

bottomed out, even as it has boosted its foreign assistance

through the Belt and Road Initiative; billions spent on state

television, radio, and other mass communication; and a wide

range of efforts to expand its cultural diplomacy, visitor

programs for foreigners, and scholarships for students to attend

university in China.

The scale of China's negative public image today is staggering.

A 2021 Pew study of public in seventeen different countries,

including the United States, found that "unfavorable views of

China are … at or near historic highs. Large majorities in most of

the advanced economies surveyed have broadly negative views

of China."

There is no one reason for China's plummeting global image.

It stems from a combination of poor diplomacy, the increasing

use of economic coercion, its failing soft power efforts, and its

growing ties to Russia, among other factors.

In recent years, China has shifted from more modest

diplomacy rooted in Deng Xiaoping's post-Tiananmen maxim

for China to seem humble and bide its time, to its current form

of aggressive, often belligerent, diplomacy. This new diplomatic

approach, combined with the growing use of state economic

coercion against countries and foreign and domestic Chinese

multinationals, certainly plays a central role in rising negative

sentiments.

There were some signs of China's growing belligerence before

the Xi era began in 2012-13, but overtly aggressive diplomacy

has blossomed under his leadership. In 2010, Chinese Foreign

Minister Yang Jiechi unleashed a diatribe at Southeast Asian

leaders at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

summit in Hanoi, providing a preview of the new approach

Beijing intended to take. As Xi has consolidated power

domestically, eliminating potential opponents and ending

consensus authoritarianism for what is now essentially one-man

rule, he demonstrated, via speeches and actions, that he wanted

China to reclaim its status as a dominant regional and global

power and to promote its model to the world. He openly voiced

nationalist sentiments and, unlike leaders since the early Mao

period, promoted a Chinese model of development. With Xi

leading the way, Chinese diplomacy shifted dramatically toward

the types of statements that Yang had made back in 2010; under

Xi, some of the most vitriolic diplomats have moved up quickly

through the foreign ministry, showing other Chinese diplomats

that acting this way is an avenue to promotion. Other ministers

and ambassadors, inculcated in China's increasingly

nationalistic domestic politics and following Xi's example, began

regularly venting prickly, nationalist, bombastic rhetoric at

Is Pakistan the next Sri Lanka?

SEBAStiAN

MuhAMMAD AKBAr NotEzAi

Hambantota in southern Sri

Lanka housed ousted

President Gotabaya

Rajapaksa following the

recent crisis, until he was

forced to flee the country

entirely. That continues a

trend of the city, and

especially its strategic deepsea

port, being in the news for

all the wrong reasons. In 2017,

when Sri Lanka found itself

struggling to make debt

repayments on time, it sold a

99-year lease of the port to the

Chinese company that had

constructed it for some quick

cash. Many analysts and

writers penned articles

pointing to Hambantota as

Exhibit A in the theory that

China deliberately plunges

developing countries into a

"dept trap" by offering loans

to finance extravagant

infrastructure projects.

Similarly, many analysts

and writers who warned the

same fate might befall

Pakistan, where Chinese

authorities have been heavily

involved in investment

projects, particularly under

the China-Pakistan Economic

Corridor (CPEC) since 2015.

Like Sri Lanka's Hambantota,

the Chinese have been heavily

investing in Gwadar, the

deep-sea port in Pakistan's

China’s poor global image is undermining its strategic goals

southwestern Balochistan

province that serves as the

epicenter of CPEC in Pakistan.

Hence, the news about

Hambantota port rang alarm

bells in the corridors of power

in Pakistan. Some feared that

if Chinese influence further

increased in Gwadar, it might

follow the example of the Sri

Lankan port, for all the wrong

reasons.

Today, the current political

and economic situation has

worsened tremendously in Sri

Lanka, culminating in the

country defaulting on its debt

payments. Amid shortages of

basic necessities, Sri Lankans

have erupted in mass protests.

And the crisis is unlikely to be

resolved soon, even though

the protesters have forced

Rajapaksa to quit. He was

replaced by Prime Minister

Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is

also unpopular with the

masses and seen as a symbol

of the political status quo.

Once again, Pakistan

(among other developing

countries) has come under

discussion in light of the

worsening situation in Sri

Lanka, with questions as to

whether the country may fall

down the same dark path.

Undoubtedly, Pakistan, too,

has a shambling economy,

now going from bad to worse

in the wake of political

uncertainty. There is gross

unemployment, while the

inflation rate has skyrocketed.

Among other things, The

News, an English national

daily in Pakistan, reported

recently that the value of the

Pakistani rupee versus the

U.S. dollar has worsened

more than 4,100 percent,

from just 4.76 rupees per U.S.

dollar 50 years ago, in May

1972, to a whopping 200

rupees per dollar on May 18,

2022. The depreciation of the

Pakistani rupee against the

U.S. dollar continues its

downward slide, and it stands

at 225 per dollar at the time of

writing, further compounding

the country's economic

miseries amid dwindling

foreign exchange reserves.

Like Sri Lanka, Pakistan has

welcomed Chinese

investments to support its

Pakistani rickshaw drivers chant slogans during a protest against the recent

increase in petrol prices, Friday, June 3, 2022. Photo: K.M. chaudary

From Europe and North America to the Global South, trust in Beijing has rapidly deteriorated over the

past few years.

foreign states.

In 2018, for instance, as the journalist Peter Martin chronicled

in his book "China's Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior

Diplomacy," at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit

in Papua New Guinea, four Chinese diplomats reportedly tried

to physically push their way past guards and into the house of

Papua New Guinea's foreign minister. They were apparently

trying to enlist help in changing the joint communique that

usually results from the summit, which contained a line about

unfair trading practices. Eventually, no joint communique was

released, but the incident showed the aggression of some

Chinese diplomats.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic and now the war in

Ukraine, China's increasingly bold diplomats have verbally

attacked foreign countries and spread disinformation about the

origins of COVID-19, the U.S. response to the pandemic, and

numerous other topics. In recent months, they also have spread

Russian disinformation about the Ukraine war, while domestic

Chinese media outlets suggest that Russia is the real victim. This

signifies a further step in Chinese diplomats' use of

disinformation, one in which Beijing acts to amplify the

falsehoods of another major authoritarian power - one with

whom it has become extremely close. China's role in pushing

Russian disinformation online is critical to the spreading of these

ailing economy. This is why

some analysts argue that

heavy Chinese investments in

Pakistan pushed the country

to the brink of economic

collapse. But that narrative is

an exaggeration: Most of

Pakistan's problems,

especially its economic

problems, are the creation of

its own mismanagement, lack

of planning, political

uncertainty, and, above all,

the deteriorating relations

with neighboring countries

that have had traditionally

good relations with Pakistan.

A case in point is the recent

government of former Prime

Minister Imran Khan, which

came to power in 2018,

allegedly with the backing of

powerful

security

establishment. During his

tenure, which came to an

abrupt end in April 2022

through a no-confidence

motion in the parliament,

Pakistan's relations with both

Saudi Arabia and Turkey

deteriorated. Traditionally

close friends of Pakistan, these

two countries have previously

supported Pakistan in times of

need. Meanwhile, China, an

all-weather friend of Pakistan,

remained dissatisfied with

progress on CPEC projects,

which slowed down under

Khan's rule. Thus as Pakistan's

economic crisis began to sink

in, Islamabad's friends were

less disposed than usual to

provide a bail out.

Perhaps most notably,

Pakistan's ties with the United

States plummeted.

Washington remained furious

over Pakistan's role in

supporting the Taliban in

Afghanistan, to the extent that

U.S. President Joe Biden did

not call Khan after becoming

president. The downward

slide did not stop there. Khan

went one step further and

visited Russia in February

2022, a move bound to anger

the U.S. - it happened to be

the very day Moscow began its

invasion of Ukraine.

When he was ousted by a

no-confidence vote in

parliament, Khan further

blamed the U.S. for his

downfall. In the media and

public gatherings, he claimed

he was the target of a U.S.

conspiracy to remove him

from office. Khan's strategy

was to whip up anti-U.S.

sentiments in Pakistan in

order to gain votes and to woo

his political opponents - and it

worked. In the recent byelections

in Punjab, the most

populous province in the

country, his party clinched a

majority of seats, thanks to his

fiery speeches and the

upsurge of inflation that

began during his own rule.

Photo: AP

falsehoods: many Russian outlets are being censored or banned

by governments and tech platforms, but China's outlets are not.

At the same time, China has become increasingly blatant about

its use of economic coercion against countries that criticize its

foreign and domestic policies. Beijing has used coercion against

dozens of states and multinational companies that take critical

stances on issues Beijing views as essential, including Taiwan, the

South China Sea, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang, or that critique Xi's

leadership or demand investigations into the origins of COVID-

19 or push China to change its disastrous zero-COVID approach.

Australia provides an important example of China's attempted

economic coercion. Following Australia's stated desire for a

more transparent investigation into the origins of COVID-19, as

well as the prior Morrison government's critiques of China's

rights abuses, China retaliated with tariffs on a range of

Australian exports, including barley. It also created non-tariff

barriers to other products such as timber and coal, as the Lowy

Institute has noted. China is Australia's biggest trading partner,

so Beijing could have assumed that this economic coercion

would force Canberra to return to a more accommodating

approach. Beijing's rising authoritarianism, its current isolation

from the world, and its increasingly monomaniacal focus on Xi

Jinping's campaign to restructure China's economy, pursue

zero-COVID, solidify his third term, and entrench his rule, are

also hurting China's image. China's authoritarianism -

StrANGio

August 1 marks 18 months

since the military's seizure of

power in Myanmar. The

period since has seen the

country descend into

economic dysfunction,

political chaos, and renewed

conflict. Myanmar is

currently in the grip of a

nationwide struggle, a multifronted

civil war between the

military junta led by Senior

Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and a

raft of opponents, including

ethnic armed groups,

civilian militias known as

People's Defense Forces,

and the National Unity

Government (NUG) that

was set up by opponents of

the military administration

last April.

Duwa Lashi La, a Kachin

lawyer and politician who

serves as the acting

president of the NUG, has

played a central role in

coordinating the anti-coup

resistance. Last September,

he announced the launching

of a "revolt against the rule

of the military terrorists led

by Min Aung Hlaing in every

corner of the country."

In this interview

conducted remotely from an

undisclosed location inside

Myanmar, Duwa Lashi La

spoke to Sebastian Strangio,

The Diplomat's Southeast

Asia Editor, about the

challenges of capturing

international attention and

concern, the changing

contours of Myanmar's

ethnic relations since the

coup, and the NUG's

approach to relations with

China. The interview has

been lightly edited for length

and clarity.

First, I feel great sadness

and concern for the people

of Ukraine, who deserve all

the international attention

and support they've

received. I have saluted

them in support several

times, as it is an unlawful

invasion and attempted

occupation. Our U.N.

permanent representative

has co-sponsored a

resolution at the General

Assembly in support of

Ukraine. Second, although

all contexts are unique, the

people of Myanmar are still

suffering grave war crimes

and human rights violations

committed by a criminal

military that seeks to

Duwa Lashi La on the state

of Myanmar's resistance

Duwa lashi la, the acting president of Myanmar's opposition National unity

Government, inspects a People's Defense Force emplacement at a frontline

camp.

unlawfully occupy our

country. Our people have

been bravely defending

themselves. We are

witnessing the genocidal

military in Myanmar

committing similar

atrocities and crimes against

the entire Myanmar

population for one and half

years. The lives and

freedoms of our people are

at stake. The people want to

live in peace with equality

and democracy. The military

is using extreme violence,

including atrocity crimes, to

continue to suppress,

causing suffering.

There are many

challenges, and the military

is targeting civilians with

horrendous violence. I'm

always saddened to hear the

story of how the military is

tormenting people and

destroying villages

throughout the country. On

the other hand, it is clear

that the people's resistance

has made impressive

progress in a short period of

time. The military cannot

win. On the 5th of May, 2021

we started forming the

People's Defense Force,

particularly in Hong Kong,

where repression has been

more widely exposed because

of the city's media base - has

proven a factor in Beijing's

deteriorating image in the world's democracies.

Meanwhile, China's zero-COVID strategy has virtually cut the

country off from foreigners and is hurting its soft power efforts.

It has curtailed many of the student and visitor programs for

foreigners that once helped boost its image abroad, particularly

in developing states. There also has been a sharp drop in

outbound Chinese tourists who had served as important peopleto-people

contacts with the world (and major sources of revenue

for many countries in Europe, Asia, and other regions).

Beyond visitor and student programs, and outbound tourism,

China's other soft power tools are also failing compared to their

performance in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Beijing has tried to

modernize China Global Television Network (CGTN), Xinhua,

and China Radio International (CRI), its major state outlets, as

well as China Daily, its major global English-language print

outlet. It sought, at least until recent years, to make these outlets

relatively reputable. With Al Jazeera as a kind of model, Chinese

state outlets hired respected local journalists and reporters from

major global outlets. Beijing also boosted its state media's

presence on Facebook and other social media.

In the early 2010s, it seemed like some of those brands, such

as CGTN, had the potential to challenge channels such as CNN

and the BBC, at the very least in developing regions where

outlets like CGTN often focused their resources. Yet other than

Xinhua, which has the potential to become a global news leader

and major soft power tool, most of these state outlets have failed

to achieve high levels of viewership or listenership. Sarah Cook

of Freedom House, who has closely studied Chinese media in the

United States, believes that CGTN's actual viewership numbers

in the U.S. lag behind even those of New Tang Dynasty TV, an

independent Chinese-language station available in far fewer U.S.

households. A comprehensive study of CGTN-Español, CGTN's

Spanish-language channel, by Peilei Ye and Luis A. Albornoz,

suggests that the network's "audience and visibility was still low."

The continuing climate of self-censorship at CGTN, which has

only gotten worse as the war in Ukraine has polarized the world

and seemed to make the Chinese leadership more paranoid,

further threatens to undermine whatever credibility remains.

To be sure, China's deteriorating global image will never fully

negate its ability to wield vast military and economic power in its

own neighborhood or further abroad. China is already the

dominant economic power in Asia, especially given the U.S.

government's refusal to join Asia-Pacific trade deals or make any

binding concessions to Asian states in the Biden

administration's proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

In the Taiwan Strait, China is increasingly shifting the balance of

power and using land reclamation and a range of other tactics to

move toward militarily dominating the South China Sea. Its

deteriorating public image, statist economics, and isolation are

not going to fully stop its continued economic rise, its military

modernization, or Xi Jinping's consolidation of power at home.

China's increasingly skillful use of "sharp power" will likely also

remain unaffected. Even if China's popularity were to fall even

further, it still would possess all of these economic, trade,

strategic, and military tools.

called the PDF, with a policy

to follow a military code of

conduct and international

humanitarian law.

Within a year, we achieved

significant successes on the

military and administrative

fronts. Together with our

allies, the resistance forces

control more than 50 percent

of Myanmar territory. Due to

increasing integration with

the ethnic resistance

organizations, called EROs,

and strong support from the

people, the territory that we

hold and control is growing

week by week. For example,

in Chin State and Sagaing

and Magwe regions, the

PDFs and allies are denying

access to the junta forces and

inflicting heavy losses. In

Sagaing and northern

Magwe, traditional

strongholds of the military,

more than 80 percent of

rural areas, and the

transportation infrastructure

are under PDF control.

The people of Myanmar

completely reject the junta.

Although the military does

have capabilities and bombs

villages and IDP camps,

including with jets supplied

Photo: collected

by Russia, our People's

Defense Forces are gaining

in strength with the people's

support. More than 10,000

of the junta's security forces

either defected to us or

deserted, and the junta is

struggling to find new

recruits. And the military

junta is depleting their

manpower and losing the

ground war.

While some people accuse

us of being the same as the

Myanmar military, we are

different. Most of the people

we encounter in our actions

are the people who are

destroying our policy…

those people are like spies of

the military. That's all

destroying our job, that's

why the people don't like

[this], so they counterattack…

But we must tell

them not to ignore

international law. We must

take care and warn

[collaborators], don't

disturb our people's will…

It's a reasonable number

[those killed by resistance

fighters], compared with the

military atrocities and killing

of the people.

Friday, july 29, 2022

6

Seminar and workshop on physics education and research was held at barisal university on

thursday.

photo: Courtesy

Seminar and workshop on physics

education and research held at BU

Seminar and workshop on physics

education and research have been held

at Barisal University. Bangladesh

Physical Society and Barisal University

Department of Physics organized this

day-long workshop on Thursday at

Jibanananda Das Conference Hall of

the University from morning.

Chairman of Bangladesh Accreditation

Council and President of Bangladesh

Physical Society Professor Dr.

Mesbahuddin Ahmed was the chief

guest. Under the chairmanship of

Barisal University Vice-Chancellor

Professor Dr. Md. Sadequl Arefin, the

special guest of the program was the

treasurer of the university, Mohammad

Badruzzaman Bhuiyan, General

Secretary of Bangladesh Physical

Society, Mohammad Nazrul Islam

Khan and the chairman of the physics

department of the university, Md.

Khorshed Alam. During the speech of

the chief guest Dr. Mesbahuddin

RAB arrests 2 pirates

with indigenous

weapons in Banshkhali

Shibbir ahmed, banShKhali

CorreSpondent:

RAB-7 arrested two 'pirates'

with two one-shot guns in

Chattogram's Banshkhali.

The arrested are Md. Abdul

Halim Prakash Bachchu

(38) son of deceased Nurul

Afchar of Khudukkhali

village of upazila and son of

Sonai father's house Md.

Abdus Salam of upazila,

Sagar (42).

On Thursday at 5:30 in the

morning, they were arrested

on tip-off from Khudukkhali

area of Chanua UP. The

matter was confirmed by

RAB-7 Senior Assistant

Director (Public Relations)

Nurul Abchar.

He said, 'On Wednesday

morning, two pirates were

arrested in Khudukkhali of

Chanua UP in Banshkhali

upazila. Two one-shot guns

were recovered from them.

He also said that they

controlled the fishing

business in the sea area and

other businesses in the

surrounding area with this

weapon.

It is known that there is 1

case against Abdul Halim

among those arrested in

Banshkhali police station.

He also said that they have

been handed over to the

concerned police station.

Two motorcyclists

killed in road accident

in Gopalganj

GOPALGANJ: Two

motorcyclists have been

killed and another injured in

a triangular collision among

a truck, a bus and the

motorcycle under Kashiani

Upazila here in the small

hours of yesterday, reports

BSS.

The deceased were

identified as Mofiz Molla,

22, and Maruf Molla, 18.

Both were the residents of

Gopalganj Sadar Upazila.

They were heading towards

Gopalganj town from

Kashiani.

Ahmed said, quality education should

be emphasized in all fields. Because

quality education changes people and

drives them towards improvement.

And there is no substitute for research

to achieve quality education. Education

without research is of no use at all. The

way Bangladesh is progressing in all

fields today is the result of quality

education. Today, the world is moving

towards the 4th industrial revolution.

There is no way we can avoid it. It

should be remembered that there is no

alternative to acquiring quality

education and its proper application in

order to keep pace with the developed

world. A total of 13 papers on physics

education and research were presented

in this day-long workshop. Reputed

physicists from various universities,

distinguished researchers, Dean of Arts

and Humanities Faculty of Barisal

University, leaders of teachers'

associations, faculty and students

participated in the event. The program

was conducted by Assistant Professor

of Physics Department of Barisal

University, Mohammad Mahfuz Alam.

Man killed in lightening

strike in Chhatak

SYLHET: A man died after he was

struck by a thunderbolt at Bubrapur

village in Chhatak Upazila of

Sunamganj district yesterday morning,

reports BSS.

The deceased was identified as Joino

Uddin, 52, hailed from the village.

Local people said the man was struck

by the thunderbolt at around 6 am

while working in crop's field outside his

home during rain. Joino Uddin died on

the spot.

Chhatak Upazila Nirbahi Officer

Mamunur Rahman confirmed the

situation.

rab-7 arrested 2 pirates with indigenous weapons in banshkhali on

thursday.

photo: Shibbir ahmed

Two get life term after 20

years of gang rape

RANGPUR: A court here today sentenced

two accused to life term rigorous

imprisonment in the case of kidnapping and

gang rape of a teenage girl in Mithapukur

upazila of the district 20 years ago, reports

BSS.

At the same time, the court fined the

convicts Taka one lakh each, or in default, to

undergo one more year in prison.

Judge of the Women and Children

Repression Prevention Tribunal of Rangpur

Md. Mostafa Kamal handed down the

sentence in presence of the convicts this

noon.

The convicts are Rafiqul Islam and Shah

Alam of village Muradpur in Mithapukur

upazila of the district.

Prosecution said the victim girl of the

same village of Muradpur went to her elder

sister's house in the nearby area on May 14,

2002. At around 8 pm on the day, the victim

went to bring water from a tube well outside

her sister's house when the accused forcibly

abducted the girl and gang-raped her in a

nearby paddy field

The local people came forward on her

screams when the accused fled from the

spot.

The victim's father went to the

Mithapukur police station to file a case on

the next day, but failed to file the case in this

connection. Later, he filed a case in the court

when the Judge directed the Officer-in-

Charge of Mithapukur police station to

record the case and take necessary

measures.

Accordingly, the police investigated the

incident after the case and subsequently,

submitted a charge sheet against the

accused to the court on June 30, 2002.

After examining eight witnesses and other

evidences of the case, the court sentenced

the two accused to life imprisonment and

fined them Taka one lakh each.

2 killed in

lightning strike

in Meherpur

MEHERPUR: Two people were killed and

two others injured as they were struck by

separate thunder bolts at Gangni upazila

here yesterday afternoon, reports BSS.

The deceased were identified as Akram

Hossain, 65, hailed from Haravanga

village and Jahangir Alam, 54, an

inhabitant of Kazipur village in the

upazila.

Akram and Jahangir were struck by the

thunderbolts when they were working in

crop fields during rain. They died on the

way to Gangni Upazila Health Complex,

said Gangni Upazila Parishad Chairman

M A Khalek.

Bangladesh's agriculture

will be transformed into

profitable, dignified:

Razzaque

RAJSHAHI: Agriculture

Minister Dr Muhammad

Abdur Razzaque, MP, said

the coming agriculture of

the country will be

transformed into profitable

and dignified with more

investment, reports BSS.

"We are working

relentlessly for substantial

and sustainable promotion

of farm mechanization to

boost production through

bringing a quality change in

this potential sector," he

said while addressing the

plenary session of a daylong

workshop here today as the

chief guest.

Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) of the

United Nations and the

Department of Agriculture

Extension (DAE) jointly

organized the workshop

titled "Investment for

Agriculture Transformation

in Bangladesh" at Hotel

Grand Riverview in

Rajshahi city.

Human Chain formed in

Sunamganj demanding

aK milon, Sunamganj

CorreSpondent:

Fishery and livestock

farmers of Sunamganj have

demanded rehabilitation.

They formed a human chain

on Municipal city's traffic

point on Thursday. During

this movement, the farmers

said that the chickens of the

poultry farm died in the

flood, cows, goats, sheep

died, the shed of the farm

was broken by the strong

current and waves of the

flood, and the fish of the fish

farm were washed away. The

farm is the only source of

livelihood of the poor

farmers in floods. Many

farmers have huge bank loan

liabilities and informal debt.

In the present reality it is

impossible to pay off debts

and start a new farm.

The rehabilitation farmers

demanded rehabilitation

loans, government

incentives for small and

marginal farmers,

rescheduling of bank loans,

bringing fisheries and

livestock sector under

insurance in consideration

of future risks, and

government management of

projects for the

rehabilitation of fisheries

and livestock sectors in

Sunamganj district..

20,000 meters of

net seized from

Halda River

CHATTOGRAM: A team of

Sadarght River Police in a

drive seized 20,000 meters

of current net from

different areas of Halda

River under Raozan

upazila here yesterday

morning, reports BSS.

The team led by Officerin-Charge

of Sadarght

River Police ABM Mizanur

Rahman conducted the

drive in Noapara,

Chiyachar and north

Mohora areas of Halda

River and seized the net.

Man sentenced to death for killing

child after rape in Jashore

JASHORE: A court here today sentenced a

man to death in a case filed over killing a

child after rape in Chaugachha upazila of

the district in 2018, reports BSS.

The Women and Children Repression

Prevention Tribunal-2, District and Sessions

Judge Nilufar Shirin handed over the verdict

yesterday afternoon.

The convicted was identified as Tajibur

Rahman, 50, a resident of Fakirabad area of

the upazila. The court also fined him Taka

one lakh.

Advocate Mostafizur Rahman Mukul,

Special Public Prosecutor (PP) of Jashore

Women and Children Repression

Prevention Tribunal, confirmed the matter

to BSS.

According to the details of the case, in

the afternoon of June 22, 2018, Sharmila,

a third class student, daughter of Hafizur

Rahman Kalu, a resident of Fakirabad area

Fishery and livestock farmers association of Sunamganj formed a human

chain demanding rehabilitation on thursday.

photo: aK milon

a group of dacoits attacked and hacked two people in narayanganj on thursday.

of Chaugachha Upazila, went to pick

mangoes in the mango garden of her

neighbor Taimur Hossain Khan. She did

not return home even after evening, the

family members searched for her. On the

evening of June 26, they came to know

that a rotting body was lying in the mango

garden of Zaman Mridha of the

neighboring Hakimpur village. The

relatives went there and identified her

body.

Hafizur Rahman Kalu, the father of victim

filed a murder case against Tajibur Rahman

with Chaugachha police station on June 27,

2018. Tajibur Rahman confessed to killing

Sharmila after raping her. Later, police

submitted charge-sheet before the court

against him.

After examining 14 witnesses, the court

found him guilty and handed down the

verdict yesterday.

Weeklong tree fair begins in Lakshmipur

LAKSHMIPUR: A weeklong tree fair began

on the premises of the district stadium in

the district town yesterday morning, reports

BSS.

The theme of this year is 'Brikhaprane

Prokriti-Protibesh, Agami Projanmer Teksai

Bangladesh'.

District Administration and Forest

Department jointly arranged the fair that was

inaugurated by the Deputy Commissioner

(DC) Md. Anwar Hossain Akand as the chief

guest. On the occasion of the day, a colorful

rally was brought out from the premises of

the district stadium and ended at the Zila

Shilpakala Academy. After the rally, a

discussion meeting was also held at the Zila

Shilpakala Academy Auditorium today with

Divisional Forest Officer

Farid Miah in the chair.

(Noakhali) Md

Dacoits hacked mother

and son in Araihazar

Sajahan Kabir, narayanganj CorreSpondent:

A group of dacoits attacked the house of

Ziauddin, a day laborer in Singarpur village

of Araihazar Fatepur Union of Narayanganj

and seriously injured two persons with sharp

weapons. The incident happened on

Wednesday. Householder Ziauddin's wife

Zakia Akhter (40) and her son Rakib Mia

(20) were injured in the incident. Rakib Mia

is under treatment at Dhaka Medical College

Hospital in a state of stupor.

Injured housewife Zakia Akhtar said, at

that time her husband Ziauddin came out of

the house to go to the washroom. As soon as

he came out, he fell in front of a group of 15-

20 armed dacoits stationed near the house.

Then the dacoits took him hostage and

Superintendent of Police Dr. A. H. M.

Kamruzzaman, Additional District

Commissioner (General) Mohammad Noor

Alam, Mayor of Lakshmipur Municipality

Mozammel Haider Masum Bhuiyan,

Assistant Conservator of Forests Department

Firoz Alam, District Education Officer Md.

Abdul Matin, among others, were present on

the occasion. The speakers underscored the

need for planting more trees at the

homesteads and open spaces to protect the

environment from its degradation and to save

the country from catastrophe of climatechange

side by side mitigating the nutritional

and wood demand.

A total of 100 stalls with seedlings of

various species of fruit, forest and medicinal

plants have been set up on the fair premises.

The tree fair will continue till next August 3.

started beating him. Hearing his screams,

when Zakia Akhtar and her son Rakib Mia

came out of the house, the dacoits brutally

attacked them with sharp knives and took off

a gold chain weighing about 1 vori from

Zakia Akhtar's neck. After that, the dacoits

left the victims on the spot with serious

injuries. It has been seen from the scene of

the incident that there is a crowd of local

people in the affected house. They

demanded justice for this incident.

In this regard, the housekeeper said that he

will file a complaint at the Ziauddin police

station. However, at the time of writing this

report, no written complaint has been given

to the police station, Azizul Haque

Howladar, OC of Araihazar Police Station

said.

photo: Sajahan Kabir.

friDAy, JUly 29, 2022

7

Abortion bans set to take effect this week in Wyoming and North Dakota were temporarily blocked Wednesday

by judges in those states amid lawsuits arguing that the bans violate their state constitutions. Photo : AP

Courts block abortion bans

in Wyoming, North Dakota

CHEYENNE : Abortion bans set to take

effect this week in Wyoming and North

Dakota were temporarily blocked

Wednesday by judges in those states

amid lawsuits arguing that the bans

violate their state constitutions.

A judge in Wyoming sided with a

firebombed women's health clinic and

others who argued the ban would harm

health care workers and their patients,

while a North Dakota judge sided with

the state's only abortion clinic, Red River

Women's Clinic in Fargo.

The Wyoming law was set to take

effect Wednesday. The North Dakota

law was set to take effect Thursday.

Meanwhile, West Virginia lawmakers

moved ahead with a ban amid protests

and dozens speaking against the

measure.

During hours of debate leading up to

the 69-23 vote in the Republicandominated

House of Delegates in West

Virginia, the sound of screams and

chants from protesters standing outside

the chamber rang through the room.

"Face us," the crowd yelled.

The latest court action in North

Dakota and Wyoming put them among

several states including Kentucky,

Louisiana and Utah where judges have

temporarily blocked implementation of

"trigger laws" while lawsuits play out.

Attorneys arguing before Teton

County District Judge Melissa Owens, in

Jackson, Wyoming, disagreed over

whether the state constitution provided

a right to abortion that would nullify the

state's abortion "trigger" law that took

effect Wednesday. Owens proved most

sympathetic, though, with arguments

that the ban left pregnant patients with

dangerous complications and their

doctors in a difficult position as they

balanced serious medical risks against

the possibility of prosecution.

"That is a possible irreparable injury to

the plaintiffs. They are left with no

guidance," Owens said. Several states

including Wyoming recently passed

abortion "trigger" bans should the U.S.

Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade,

which happened June 24. The U.S.

Supreme Court formally issued its

judgment Tuesday.

After a more than three-week review,

Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, last

week gave the go-ahead for the

Wyoming abortion ban he signed into

law in March to take effect Wednesday

but it is instead on hold after the ruling.

The Wyoming law would outlaw

abortions except in cases of rape or

incest or to protect the mother's life or

health, not including psychological

conditions.

Wildfires in Germany,

Czechia threatening

tourist region

BERLIN : A large wildfire on

the German-Czech border is

spreading and threatening

to destroy a forested

national park popular with

tourists.

The fire in the region

called Bohemian

Switzerland on the Czech

side and the Saxon

Switzerland national park

on the German side, which

started on the weekend, had

seemed to be under control,

but spread again early

Thursday, German news

agency dpa reported.

Hundreds of firefighters

on both sides of the border

and with help from

neighboring Poland and

Slovakia were battling the

flames, while local

authorities warned tourists

to stay away.

About 250 hectares of

forest are currently burning

and eight firefighting

helicopters were helping to

douse the flames, dpa

reported.

Another large forest fire in

the Elbe-Elster district in the

eastern German state of

Brandenburg also flared up

again on Wednesday

evening, local authorities

said.

Germany's minister for

agriculture said Wednesday

night the government would

help battle the fires and

praised those already

working to extinguish them.

Germany's army has sent

several military helicopters

to both fires to support local

units.

"The emergency forces are

already doing a great job

here," Cem Ozdemir said.

The fight against the fire in

Brandenburg has been

further complicated because

some areas are

contaminated with World

War II ammunition and can

only be extinguished from

the air by helicopters. It is

US economy likely

grew modestly, if

at all, last quarter

WASHINGTON : After

going backward from

January through March,

the U.S. economy probably

didn't do much better in the

spring.

On Thursday morning,

the government will reveal

just how weak economic

growth was in the April-

June quarter - and perhaps

offer clues about whether

the United States may be

approaching a recession.

The report comes at a

critical time: On

Wednesday, the Federal

Reserve raised its

benchmark interest rate by

a sizable three-quarters of a

point for a second straight

time in its push to conquer

the worst inflation outbreak

in four decades. The Fed is

aiming for a notoriously

difficult "soft landing": An

economic slowdown that

manages to rein in

rocketing prices without

triggering a recession.

Forecasters surveyed by

the data firm FactSet have

estimated that the nation's

gross domestic product -

the broadest measure of

economic output - eked out

a tepid annual gain of 0.8%

last quarter. Modest as it

would be, that would

amount to a sharp

improvement over the

economy's 1.6% contraction

in the January-March

quarter.

Still, quarterly growth

that sluggish would

represent a drastic

weakening from the 5.7%

growth the economy

achieved last year. That was

the fastest calendar-year

expansion since 1984,

reflecting how vigorously

the economy roared back

from the brief but brutal

pandemic recession of

2020.

Some economists fear

that GDP actually shrank

again from April through

June, delivering the backto-back

negative quarters

that constitute an informal

definition of recession.

Kim threatens to use nukes amid

tensions with US, S. Korea

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA : North Korean

leader Kim Jong Un warned he's ready to use

his nuclear weapons in potential military

conflicts with the United States and South

Korea, state media said Thursday, as he

unleashed fiery rhetoric against rivals he says

are pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink

of war.

Kim's speech to war veterans on the 69th

anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean

War were apparently meant to boost internal

unity in the impoverished country suffering

pandemic-related economic difficulties. North

Korea will likely intensify its threats against the

United States and South Korea as the allies

prepare to expand summertime exercises the

North views as an invasion rehearsal, some

observers say.

"Our armed forces are completely prepared

to respond to any crisis, and our country's

nuclear war deterrent is also ready to mobilize

its absolute power dutifully, exactly and swiftly

in accordance with its mission," Kim said in

Wednesday's speech, according to the official

Korean Central News Agency. He accused the

United States of "demonizing" North Korea to

justify its hostile policies. He said U.S.-South

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned he's ready to use his nuclear

weapons in potential military conflicts with the United States and South

Korea, state media said Thursday, as he unleashed fiery rhetoric against rivals

he says are pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war. Photo : AP

US not yet in recession

and 4 other takeaways

from the Fed

WASHINGTON : Jerome

Powell delivered a tough

message at the start of a

news conference

Wednesday: Inflation is way

too high, and the Federal

Reserve is laser-focused on

taming it with higher

borrowing costs.

Yet despite his resolute

words, the Fed chair also

said for the first time that the

central bank's actions are

already having an effect on

the economy in ways that

could slow the worst

inflation the nation has

endured in four decades.

With the Fed's benchmark

interest rate now at a level

that's believed to neither

stimulate nor restrain

growth.

cvwb-98/2022-2023

GD-1300/22 (7x3)

Korea military drills show the U.S.'s "double

standards" and "gangster-like" aspects because

it brands North Korea's routine military

activities - an apparent reference to its missile

tests - as provocations or threats.

Kim also called new South Korean President

Yoon Suk Yeol "a confrontation maniac" who's

gone further than past South Korean leaders

and said Yoon's conservative government was

led by "gangsters." Since taking office in May,

the Yoon government has moved to strengthen

Seoul's military alliance with the United States

and bolster its capacity to neutralize North

Korean nuclear threats including a preemptive

strike capability. "Talking about military action

against our nation, which possess absolute

weapons that they fear the most, is

preposterous and is very dangerous suicidal

action," Kim said. "Such a dangerous attempt

will be immediately punished by our powerful

strength and the Yoon Suk Yeol government

and his military will be annihilated." This year,

Kim has been increasingly threatening its

rivals with his advancing nuclear program in

what some foreign experts say is an attempt to

wrest outside concessions and achieve greater

domestic unity.

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2022

8

First Security Islami Bank Limited provided house construction materials and financial assistance to the

flood affected people of Ulipur Upazilla, Kurigram. Mohammad Rezaul Karim, Deputy Commissioner of

Kurigram was present as the Chief Guest in the program organized in this regard at DC office, Kurigram

on 27 July 2022 and Md. Rezaul Islam, Zonal Head of the Bank's Rajshahi Zone was present as the Special

Guest.Among others, Md. Shafiqul Islam, Manager of Ulipur Branch, Sish Md. Abu Hanifa, Manager of

Rangpur Branch of First Security Islami Bank Ltd. along with other officials were present in the occasion.

Photo: Courtesy

European

equities climb

after Fed hike

LONDON : European stock

markets advanced at the

open on Thursday, as

investors digested another

hefty US interest rate hike to

combat decades-high

inflation, and amid a flood

of corporate earnings,

reports BSS.

London's benchmark

FTSE 100 index climbed 0.3

percent to 7,368.81 points in

initial deals.

Frankfurt's DAX index

added 0.4 percent to

13,215.34 points and the

Paris CAC 40 rose by 0.5

percent to 6,290.48.

The US Federal Reserve

lifted US interest rates by

0.75 percentage points, in

line with expectations, in a

bid to tackle runaway

inflation.

There is a growing

concern that the sharp rise

in rates is bearing down on

the world's top economy

and could send it into a

painful recession.

All eyes are now on the

release of second-quarter

growth data later Thursday.

After a 1.6-percent

contraction in the previous

three months, another

negative reading would put

the economy into a

technical recession.

US GDP data due

with all eyes on

possible recession

WASHINGTON: The

United States is set to

release key data on

economic growth Thursday

and global investors are

watching closely as the

world's largest economy

flirts with recession-while

President Joe Biden walks a

political tightrope, reports

BSS.

Though Biden says he is

confident the US economy

is not suffering a downturn,

a report showing a second

consecutive quarter of

negative growth-meeting

one of the common

definitions of a recessionwould

increase fears of a

wider downturn.

Biden's critics would seize

on such a report as proof of

the veteran Democrat's

mismanagement of the

economy.

With crucial midterm

elections just over three

months away, the stakes

could not be higher, and the

Biden administration has

spent the past week talking

up the positive signs in the

US economy, including job

growth and solid consumer

spending.

It would be highly unusual

for an economy still adding

jobs at a rapid pace, and

with near record-low

unemployment, to fall into

recession.

The consensus forecast

among analysts is for an

annualized 0.5 percent

increase in the gross

domestic product in the

second quarter, after a 1.6

percent decline in the first

three months of the year.

Tokyo stocks open higher

extending US gains

TOKYO : Tokyo stocks opened higher on

Thursday, extending rallies on Wall Street

after the US Federal Reserve announced a

large interest rate hike, reports BSS.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up

0.75 percent, or 209.14 points, at 27,924.89

in early trade, while the broader Topix index

advanced 0.42 percent, or 8.24 points, to

1,953.99. The Federal Reserve on

Wednesday again raised the benchmark

interest rate by three-quarters of a

percentage point in its ongoing battle to

tamp down raging price pressures that are

squeezing Americans.

While the Fed noted signs that the US

economy is slowing, it signalled plans to

continue to increase borrowing costs-and

Fed Chair Jerome Powell made it clear an

even bigger rate hike is possible.

However, Powell also said he did not

believe the US economy was in a recession,

and that he thinks the country can avoid one

while aggressively battling inflation.

"Japanese shares are seen starting with

gains following US rallies," Toshiyuki

Kanayama, senior market analyst of Monex,

said in a commentary. "In the US market,

buy-orders emerged after Fed Chair Powell's

comments... prompted speculation that the

speed of rate hikes would slow," he said.

The dollar also pulled back against its

major peers in a sign the Fed's stance was

seen as less hawkish than expected.

In Asia, the dollar fetched 136.26 yen

against 136.51 yen in New York and 136.93

yen in late Tokyo hours on Wednesday.

In Tokyo, Mitsubishi Motors soared 11.36

percent to 490 yen after it revised up fullyear

earnings forecast and reported that

first-quarter net profit expanded more than

six times year-on-year.

Nissan was up 2.22 percent at 520.7 yen

ahead of its earnings report due after market

close. Toyota was down 0.41 percent at 2,160

yen. Among others, Sony Group rallied 0.73

percent to 11,745 yen, shipping firm Mitsui

O.S.K. Lines added 0.42 percent to 3,565

yen, and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing was

up 0.79 percent at 79,200 yen.

Asia's richest woman loses half her wealth

in China property crisis BEIJING, July 28,

2022 (BSS/AFP) - Asia's wealthiest woman

lost more than half her fortune over the past

year as China's real estate sector was rocked

by a cash crunch, a billionaire index showed

Thursday, reports BSS.

Yang Huiyan, a majority shareholder in

Chinese property giant Country Garden, saw

her net worth plunge by more than 52

percent to $11.3 billion from $23.7 billion a

year ago, according to the Bloomberg

Billionaires Index. Yang's fortune took a

major hit on Wednesday when the

Guangdong-based Country Garden's Hong

Kong-listed shares fell 15 percent after the

company announced it would sell new

shares to raise cash.

Yang inherited her wealth when her father-

Country Garden founder Yang Guoqiangtransferred

his shares to her in 2005,

according to state media.

She became Asia's richest woman two

years later after the developer's initial public

offering in Hong Kong.

But she is now barely holding onto that

title, with chemical fibres tycoon Fan

Hongwei a close runner-up with a net worth

of $11.2 billion on Thursday.

A Business Review Meeting-2022 was held at Training Institute of

Karmasangsthan Bank's Head Office on 28th July 2022 organized by Branch

Control Department. Md. Nurul Amin, chairman of the board of directors of

the bank and former senior secretary of the People's Republic of Bangladesh,

was present as the chief guest. Managing Director Shirin Akhter, General

Manager Goutam Saha, Meher Sultana were present as the special guest. The

discussion was held with the aim of reviewing the business of the previous

financial year and determining the plan of action for the current financial year

2022-2023 while General Manager Mahmuda Yasmin preside over the meeting.

All the Divisional DGM's, head of audit and regional managers of the bank

participated in the meeting. On this occasion, all Deputy General Managers of

the Head Office were present.

Photo: Courtesy

Asian markets track post-Fed surge

on Wall St, but caution urged

HONG KONG : Asian markets rose

Thursday following a surge on Wall Street

fuelled by hopes that the Federal Reserve

could slow its pace of inflation-fighting

interest rate hikes, reports BSS.

The dollar also struggled to bounce back

from a sell-off-sitting at a three-week low

against the yen-that came in response to

comments by bank chief Jerome Powell

suggesting its next super-sized increase

could be its last.

However, analysts cautioned that the

initial joy, which sent New York's three main

indexes soaring, could be short-lived as the

global economy continued to face several

headwinds and inflation would not likely

come down quickly.

As expected, the Fed lifted borrowing costs

75 basis points to a range of 2.25-2.5 percent,

close to the neutral level it considers neither

stimulating nor slowing economic growth.

Forecasts have rates going as high as 3.8

percent in 2023 as the bank tries to control

runaway inflation.

There is a growing concern that the sharp

rise in rates is bearing down on the world's

top economy and could send it into

recession.

Google and Kantar jointly released the "Kantar

BrandZ Chinese Global Brand Builders 2022

TOP 50" list, with realme

Google and Kantar jointly released the

"Kantar BrandZ Chinese Global Brand

Builders 2022 TOP 50" list, with realme,

a technological and trendsetting brand,

appearing on the list for the first time

and also winning the Special Award

"Best Newcomer for Balanced Growth".

realme is the youngest brand among the

TOP 50 list, a press release said.

Founded in August 2018, realme has

surpassed global sales volume of

100million just within 3 years, which

made it become the fastest emerging

smartphone brand to achieve this, and

became the TOP 6 smartphone brand in

the world in 2021. For realme, the list

means that realme has realized the shift

from a rising star to a brand with global

influence, and is preferred by young

people around the world.

Sky Li, founder and CEO of realme,

said that realme is a technology brand

for global youth. For the past 4 years,

realme sprawled laterally into market,

bringing high quality products with leapforward

performance and trendsetting

design to young users from 61 markets

globally. In next phases, realme will dive

into strategic markets to be more

influential.

BrandZ Chinese Global Brand

Builders Top 50 is based on the survey of

more than 1 million users in 11 countries

and the comprehensive analysis of the

brand power score that is calculated

based on consumer survey data and

search data. It is a scale to measure the

international influence of Chinese

brands and has the authority and

credibility in the world. According to the

report, realme is the youngest brand

among the Top 50 list.

realme's Brand Power grew by 20%

compared with last year in the 11

surveyed markets, the growth rate is

70% in the 7 surveyed developed

markets. In this year's list, realme,

established less than four years, made its

Chattogram South, Sylhet & Rangpur Zone of Islami Bank Bangladesh

Limited organized half yearly Business Development Conference on July

26, 2022 on virtual platform. Mohammed Monirul Moula, Managing

Director & CEO of the Bank addressed the conference as chief guest.

Muhammad Qaisar Ali & Md. Omar Faruk Khan, Additional Managing

Directors, J Q M Habibullah, FCS, Md. Mostafizur Rahman Siddiquee & Md.

Nayer Azam, Deputy Managing Directors, Md. Siddiqur Rahman,

Mohammad Jamal Uddin Mazumder, Engr. A F M Kamaluddin,

Mohammed Shabbir, Md. Mahboob Alam, Mohammod Ullah, Mizanur

Rahman & Md. Maksudur Rahman, Senior Executive Vice Presidents, Abu

Sayed Md. Idris, Sikder Md. Shehabuddin, Md. Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan,

Ahmed Zubayerul Huq, Meah Md. Barkat Ullah & Miftah Uddin, Executive

Vice Presidents attended the program. Branch incumbents, Investment incharges

and Foreign Exchange in-charges of the branches under the Zones

attended the conference.

Photo: Courtesy

Nestle upgrades forecasts after strong first-half

ZURICH : Swiss food giant Nestle said

Thursday it would raise its full-year sales

forecast after price increases and cost-cutting

contributed to a strong performance in the first

six months of 2022, reports BSS.

"In the first half of the year, we delivered

strong organic growth," chief executive Mark

Schneider said in a statement.

"Our local teams implemented price increases

in a responsible manner. Volume and product

mix were resilient. "We limited the impact of

unprecedented inflationary pressures and

supply chain constraints... through disciplined

cost control and operational efficiencies,"

Schneider said.

Nestle said it booked group sales of 45.6 billion

Swiss francs ($48 billion) in the period from

January to June, an increase of 9.2 percent over

the same period a year earlier. At the same time,

net profit declined by 11.7 percent to 5.2 billion

francs as a result of one-off charges, higher taxes

and asset writedowns, the statement said.

On the basis of its first-half performance,

Nestle said it was now pencilling in full-year

sales growth of seven to eight percent, compared

with a previous forecast of five percent.

first debut with a brand power score of

294, ranking TOP13 in the Consumer

Electronics Category. This year, the

developed markets accounts for 50% of

realme's Brand Power.

The influence of emerging markets is

extensive, and the brand power of

developed markets is evident.

In recent years, realme's global

market share continues to grow, and its

product sales continue to rise. In the

first quarter of 2022, realme grew 13%

globally year-on-year, bucking the

trend in 14 markets. In some European

markets, such as Spain, Greece and

Czech Republic, the market share has

entered the TOP5, with an overall

growth rate of 177%. The south and

southeast Asia market has a good

performance, with India taking 16% of

the market share and entering the

TOP3 this year. South America, Middle

Asia and other markets have made

breakthroughs, with TOP5 market

share in the Morocco, Peru, Egypt and

other countries. realme brand has its

own DNA of globalization since its

establishment, and has an integrated

layout of multi-level, multi-circle and

globalization. In the future, realme will

continue to deepen its global layout

and gradually grow into a technological

and trendsetting brand with global

influence.

Ford profits rise

on strong Q2

sales, pricing

NEW YORK : Ford shares

zoomed higher Wednesday

as the US auto giant

reported increased secondquarter

profits on a surge in

auto sales that more than

offset the hit from higher

costs, reports BSS.

The Michigan company

had already disclosed a jump

in second-quarter US auto

sales that bucked the

declines reported at other

carmakers amid the ongoing

semiconductor shortage.

But on Wednesday Ford

also confirmed its 2022

profit targets, pointing to

continued strong vehicle

pricing as dealerships

contend with tight product

inventories.

Profits for the quarter

ending June 30 rose 19

percent to $667 million on a

50 percent surge in revenues

to $40.2 billion.

Vehicle demand "is-and is

expected to remain-strong,"

said Chief Financial Officer

John Lawler, while adding

that the pricing conditions

remained "dynamic."

Ford said it continued to

face cost pressures, with $4

billion in headwinds in 2022

related to higher prices for

metals and other

commodities.

The company also raised

its estimate for "other"

inflationary pressures to $3

billion for the year, up $1

billion from the prior

forecast.

Companies have been

contending with broadbased

inflation.

"50th Board of Directors and 69th Bi-monthly meeting of Primary Dealers Bangladesh Limited (PDBL)"

organized by Mercantile Bank Limited in Hotel Purbani of Dilkusha was held yesterday.Chairman of

PDBL Md. Ataur Rahman Prodhan, CEO & Managing Director of Sonali Bank Limited presided the meeting.

Md. Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, Managing Director & CEO of Mercantile Bank Ltd., Mohammad

Shams-Ul Islam, MD & CEO of Agrani Bank Ltd., Mohammed Rabiul Hossain, MD & CEO of Uttara Bank

Ltd., Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, MD & CEO of South Bangla Agriculture & Commerce Bank Ltd., attended the

meeting. Mati Ul Hasan, AMD & CRO of Mercantile Bank, Head of Treasury and dealers of different PD

banks were also present in the meeting.

Photo: Courtesy

FriDAY, julY 29, 2022

9

Reusser wins women's Tour de France

fourth stage, Vos retains lead

Germany's Alexandra popp celebrates scoring her second goal against France in a 2-1 win in

their euro 2022 semi-final on Wednesday. photo: Ap

Prolific Popp sends Germany into

Euro 2022 final against England

SportS DeSk

Germany captain Alexandra Popp said

she is savouring a starring role at Euro

2022 all the more following years of

injury struggles after scoring twice

beat France 2-1 in Wednesday's semifinal,

reports BSS.

Popp's side will face hosts England

in front of an expected record crowd

for a women's Euro match of 87,000 at

Wembley on Sunday.

Just making it to the Euro was a

success for the Wolfsburg striker after

missing the two previous European

Championships through injury.

The 31-year-old battled back from

two knee surgeries in the past 15

months to make the tournament and

has exploded in England with six goals

in five games.

"I am enjoying these moments a lot

more. I enjoy football a lot more," said

Popp after setting a new record by

becoming the first woman to score in

five consecutive women's Euro

matches.

Asia Cup moved

out of crisis-hit

Sri Lanka to UAE

SportS DeSk

The Asia Cup Twenty20

tournament will be staged

in the United Arab

Emirates after the

tournament was moved

from Sri Lanka due to

political turmoil in the

island nation, the Asian

Cricket Council said

Wednesday, reports UNB.

Sri Lanka has witnessed

months of food and fuel

shortages, blackouts and

runaway inflation in the

wake of its worst financial

crisis on record.

"Considering the

prevailing situation in Sri

Lanka, the ACC after

extensive deliberation has

unanimously concluded that

it would be appropriate to

relocate the tournament

from Sri Lanka to UAE,"

said an ACC statement.

Sri Lanka recently hosted

Australia in a bilateral series

and is currently playing

Pakistan in the second Test

at Galle.

"We were really looking

forward to hosting our Asian

neighbors in Sri Lanka for

the much-anticipated Asia

Cup," SLC president

Shammi Silva said.

"While I fully stand by the

ACC's decision to shift the

Asia Cup to UAE

considering the current

context and magnitude of

the event, Sri Lanka cricket

will work closely with the

ACC and the Emirates

Cricket Board to ensure that

we still have an exciting

edition of the Asia Cup"

The six-team Asia Cup,

last held in 2018 as a 50-

over tournament, will be

played in the T20 format

between August 27 and

September 11.

The UAE, Kuwait,

Singapore and Hong Kong

will play the qualifying

round of matches.

The winner of the

qualifiers will join

heavyweights Sri Lanka,

India, Pakistan, Afghanistan

and Bangladesh in the main

draw.

"It doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it

before, but it became a bit pedestrian.

Now to have the moments on the

pitch, I really value that a lot.

"It makes it very special to be here

with such a performance individually,

but also as a team being so successful."

Popp's double also took her level

with England's Beth Mead on six goals

in the battle for the Golden Boot,

matching the record for a single

women's European Championship

held by Inka Grings from Euro 2009.

That tournament ended in a German

rout over England in the final and Die

Nationalelf will be hoping for a repeat

as they aim to upset the hosts.

"England versus Germany is a

classic," said German boss Martina

Voss-Tecklenburg.

"We will play at Wembley in front of

80 or 90,000 people. Most will be

supporting England but we accept the

challenge. It will be a incredible final."

In contrast to Germany's pedigree as

eight-time winners of the women's

Euro, France were in the last four for

the first time.

Les Bleues were left to regret a series

of missed chances early in the second

half as they lacked a clinical goalscorer

without the injured Marie-Antoinette

Katoto.

"Unfortunately we weren't efficient

tonight," said France coach Corinne

Diacre. "We weren't able to hone in on

the goalscoring chances we had."

Popp gave France a warning of what

was to come when her powerful freekick

from the edge of the area was

brilliantly clawed away by Pauline

Peyraud-Magnin.

The French goalkeeper was helpless

five minutes before half-time when

Svenja Huth's cross picked out Popp,

who smashed home a volley into the

roof of the net.

However, the lead lasted just five

minutes in unfortunate circumstances

for German goalkeeper Merle Frohms.

Kadidiatou Diani's fierce strike from

outside the box came crashing off the

post into the back of the Wolfsburg

stopper and into her own net.

Commonwealth Games set for

glitzy launch in Birmingham

SportS DeSk

More than 5,000 athletes are primed for

action in the English city of Birmingham

from Friday at a Commonwealth Games

lacking several track and field stars but still

boasting elite performers, reports UNB.

Competitors from 72 nations and

territories - many of which are former

British colonies - will be vying for medals in

19 sports over a jampacked 11 days in the

Midlands. Away from the marquee

athletics and swimming events, women's

Twenty20 cricket makes its debut and 3x3

basketball will feature for the first time

while sedate lawn bowls is a fixture.

There is an integrated para sports

program in some events. The Games, held

every four years, are often criticized as a

quirky sporting relic but will be launched in

style at Thursday's opening ceremony,

headlined by 1980s pop band Duran

Duran, formed in Birmingham.

Sporting powerhouse Australia have

topped the medals table at every Games

since 1990 except in 2014, when England

finished top in Glasgow - the last time the

event was held on British soil.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern

Ireland compete as separate teams during

the Commonwealths rather than as a

combined British outfit.

In the pool, Emma McKeon, Ariarne

Titmus, Kaylee McKeown and teenage

sensation Mollie O'Callaghan will lead the

charge for a star-studded Australian team.

Double Olympic champion Titmus, 21,

opted out of the recent world

championships in Budapest to keep herself

fresh for Birmingham.

"I am so excited and I think we've got a

great team going in. It's insane the depth

we have," said the Commonwealth Games

400 meters and 800m freestyle champion.

McKeon, 28, who won seven medals -

including four golds - at last year's

Olympics in Tokyo, boasts a phenomenal

Commonwealth Games record, with eight

gold and four bronze medals in two

appearances. Headlining for England will

be breaststroke superstar Adam Peaty,

who missed the recent world

championships with a foot injury.

"I feel really good in myself, I feel really

good in my fitness," he told Sky Sports.

"But now it's all about getting that cash out

of the bank and seeing where I'm at."

He said he was relishing competing in

front of home fans.

"I was born in the Midlands, probably die

in the Midlands, it's my home."

The Commonwealth Games comes hot

on the heels of the world athletics

championships in Eugene, Oregon, which

only finished on Sunday.

The worlds were rescheduled from last

year after the coronavirus pandemic forced

a delay to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but

that has created a headache for athletes in

a crowded schedule.

More than 5,000 athletes from 72 nations and territories will be vying for

medals in 19 sports over a jampacked 11 days during the Commonwealth

Games.

photo: Ap

SportS DeSk

Swiss rider Marlen Reusser won the

women's Tour de France fourth stage

on Wednesday as Dutchwoman

Marianne Vos retained the overall

leader's yellow jersey in fifth place,

reports UNB.

Team SD Worx's Reusser, 30, broke

away with 15km left after four gravel

sections in the Champagne wine region

with Evita Muzic in second place and

Belarusian Alena Amialiusik in third.

"I think here in this Tour every day is

hard, at least for me," former doctor

Reusser told Eurosport.

"This stage suited the kind of rider I

am with these gravel sections.

"The team had a plan to do a hard

race and not let it come down to an easy

finale. We just said attack and one

would go. I was lucky it was me," she

added.

The 35-year-old Vos, who took over

the yellow jersey with victory in stage

two on Monday keeps a 16sec

advantage over her closest rivals in

Italian Silvia Persico and Pole

Katarzyna Niewiadoma.

Harden, 76ers

make it official

on 2-year, $68

million deal

SportS DeSk

James Harden decided to

grow his beard and shear his

annual salary in Philadelphia,

reports UNB.

Harden signed a deal worth

slightly over $68 million,

paying him about $33 million

this season with a $35 million

player option for the 2023-24

season.

Harden, though, will make

about $14.5 million less this

coming season than he could

have earned under his

previous deal.

Harden had a $47.4 million

option for this coming season

that he declined last month,

saying he wanted to give the

76ers flexibility to improve

their roster and compete for a

championship.

"This is where I want to be.

This is where I want to win, and

I think we have the pieces to

accomplish that goal," Harden

said Wednesday. "From my

first day with the 76ers

organization, the team and the

fans have helped me feel at

home here in Philadelphia. I'm

excited to build off of last

season and I can't wait to get

out on the court with the guys

and start this journey."

Daryl Morey, team

president of basketball

operations, posted a photo on

Instagram of him posing

alongside Harden as the 10-

time All-Star guard known as

"The Beard" signed his

contract. "Now this looks like

a job for we, " Morey wrote.

Harden's plans have been

clear since Philadelphia's

season ended: He was

committed to staying with

the 76ers and committed to

help them get better.

Hefty fines for selling or

exchanging WC tickets

without FIFA permission

SportS DeSk

A fine of up to QR250,000

(around $69,000) will be

imposed on anyone who

issues, sells, resells, or

exchanges World Cup tickets

without FIFA permission,

Qatar's Ministry of Justice has

tweeted, reports UNB.

The penalty comes under

Law No. (10) 2021 regarding

Qatar's measures to host the

World Cup 2022 in November.

FIFA has reiterated the ban

on ticket transfers on its

website: "Tickets that have been

impermissibly transferred are

not valid and may be cancelled

at any time without notice."

The reasons for the

restrictions include match

security, consumer protection,

avoidance of counterfeit

tickets, and protection of a fair

pricing scheme.

FIFA said if someone

could not attend a match,

they could put their tickets

up for resale on its official

resale platform.

Spanish veteran Mavi Garcia lost

more than 1min 30sec in the general

standings after issues on the uneven

surface which included crashing with

a team car as riders suffered

numerous punctures but Vos and her

fellow Jumbo-Visma riders survived

unscathed.

"We spent a lot of energy to stay in

front and you had to really fight for a

position before the gravel sections and

the climbs as well," Vos told reporters.

"We weren't very concerned, we had

to stay in front and stay out of trouble.

We did, so I'm happy about that," she

added.

This is the longest edition of the

women's Tour, after Amaury Sports

Organization, who run the men's race,

started with a one-stage event in 2014.

During the dust-filled gravel sections,

which passed through the worldrenowned

vineyards in eastern France,

the likes of Tuesday's stage winner

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and yellow jersey

contender Niewiadoma suffered

punctures before rejoining the peloton.

With 15km to go, Reusser, European

road time-trial champion, made an

attack from a big leading bunch as the

riders returned to normal roads.

Niewiadoma's Canyon-SRAM teammate

Amialiusik, racing as a neutral

rider after Russia's invasion of Ukraine

earlier this year, then followed the

Swiss as the group broke up.

Frenchwoman Muzic, aged just 23,

completed the breakaway.

Reusser claimed the three-second

bonus atop Cote des Bergers with less

than 10km to go and was first over the

final climb of the day on Cote du Val

Perdu, with 5km left. She dominated

the closing stages and pointed at her

team name on her dust-covered jersey

then held her arms wide open as she

crossed the finish line in Bar-sur-Aube.

Thursday's fifth stage is a flat

175.6km ride from Bar-le-Duc

eastwards to Saint-Die-des-Vosges

near the German border.

The eight-day race finishes on

Sunday on La Super Planche des Belles

Filles, where two-time winner Tadej

Pogacar claimed stage victory during

the men's Tour earlier this month.

team SD Worx's Swiss rider Marlen reusser celebrates as she

crosses the finish line to win the 4th stage of the new edition of the

Women's tour de France cycling race, 126,8 km between troyes and

Bar-sur-Aube, eastern France.

photo: Ap

US basketball star Griner

testifies at Russia drug trial

SportS DeSk

American basketball star

Brittney Griner testified

Wednesday at her drug

trial in Russia that a

language interpreter

provided during her

questioning translated

only a fraction of what was

said, reports UNB.

And officials instructed

her to sign documents

without providing an

explanation, she said.

Griner was arrested at a

Moscow airport in

February.

She

acknowledged in court

earlier this month that she

had vape cartridges

containing cannabis oil

when she arrived in Russia

but contends she had no

criminal intent and the

cartridges ended up in her

luggage inadvertently.

During her testimony,

the Phoenix Mercury

standout described

making a grueling 13-hour

flight to Moscow from

Arizona while recovering

from COVID-19.

Griner said she still does

not know how the

cannabis oil for which she

had a doctor's

recommendation ended

up in her bag but

explained she had packed

in haste while under great

stress.

She recalled how her

luggage was checked upon

her Feb. 17 arrival in

Moscow and getting pulled

aside after inspectors

found the cartridges.

Along with the

interpreter provided an

incomplete translation,

Griner said she was

offered neither an

explanation of her rights

nor access to lawyers and

was instructed to sign

documents without

receiving an explanation of

what they implied.

After hours of

proceedings she did not

understand, she was

allowed to hand over her

personal belongings to a

lawyer before being led

away in handcuffs, Griner

said. She said she received

only a cursory translation

of the allegations at her

during a Feb. 19 hearing

where a court sanctioned

her arrest.

Griner faces up to 10

years in prison if convicted

of transporting drugs. Her

trial started July 1. and the

five previous court

sessions so far were short,

some lasting only about an

hour.

It is unclear how long the

trial will last, but a court

has authorized Griner's

detention until Dec. 20.

She went to Russia to play

for a Russian team in the

WNBA's off-season.

Luis Suarez signs short-term deal

to rejoin boyhood club Nacional

SportS DeSk

Luis Suarez has signed a

short-term contract to rejoin

his boyhood club Nacional in

Uruguay ahead of the World

Cup in Qatar, the club's

president said on Wednesday,

reports UNB.

Suarez revealed on social

media on Tuesday that he had

a preliminary agreement to

return to the outfit where he

started his career and on

Wednesday, Nacional

president Jose Fuentes told

Sport 890 radio station that

the 35-year-old star has

signed a five-month contract.

Suarez and the club

president both said on

Tuesday that some details still

needed to be ironed out but

Fuentes told Sport 890: "It's

already done, it's already

resolved."

The former Liverpool and

Barcelona star is Uruguay's

all-time top goalscorer and set

to compete at his fourth

World Cup later this year.

Fuentes said Suarez should

arrive in Uruguay this

weekend and could make his

debut as early as Tuesday in

the Copa Sudamericana -

South America's equivalent to

the Europa League - against

Brazilians Atletico

Goianiense.

The president said Suarez

had received several other

offers "but he told me that he

had decided to come to

Nacional."

Suarez was believed to be

intent on remaining in Europe

but was looking for a club that

could guarantee him first

team football in the buildup to

the World Cup, due to kick-off

on Nov. 21.

Three clubs in Turkey and

one in Italy were reported to

be after the high profile

forward, while there were also

said to be offers from Major

League Soccer and River Plate

in Argentina.

But fans of Nacional had

flooded social media with a

massive campaign to convince

the prodigal son to return.

FRIdAY, JULY 29 2022

10

Mithila to start shooting for her

new movie in October

TBT REPORT

Rafiath Rashid Mithila is

a popular model, small

screen actress, anchor

and writer of the country.

The artiste, who made

her silver screen debut

with the movie

'Omanush', will be seen

acting in a children's

movie

titled

'Nuliachhorir Shonar

Pahar'.

The movie is an

adaptation of the popular

children's novel of the

same name, authored by

noted journalist and

human rights activist

Shahriar Kabir.

The government

funded film is being

directed by Lubna

Sharmin.

Mithila will start

shooting for the movie in

October next. She said, "I

will stand before the

camera for the shooting

of 'Nuliachhorir Shonar

Pahar' in October. The

story of the film is really

to my liking. I hope we

will complete the

shooting with utmost

care."

Rafiath Rashid Mithila

is a Bangladeshi actress,

singer, model, and

development worker.

She is currently the head

of the Early Childhood

D e v e l o p m e n t

programme in BRAC.

Mithila started her

modeling career in 2002

with the cultural and

fashion shows of fashion

house Neelanjana Palli.

On the work front she

has completed the

shooting of Giasuddin

Selim-directed film 'Kajol

Rekha' recently. Mithila

starrer two Tollywood

films 'Maya' and

Nitishastra are waiting

for release dates.

Liam thrashes Zayn, mocks

Gigi's old tweets

Drama is brewing in H-

town. Liam Payne is

opening up about his

One Direction member

Zyan Malik and has

mocked Gigi Hadid's old

tweet where she

defended her ex. Ever

since Malik left the boy

band, things have been

sour between the former

group. Now, the singer

has opened up about the

Pillowtalk singer.

Recently, the Strip

That Down singer made

the headlines after

allegations of him

cheating on his ex-fiance

Maya Henry with his

new girlfriend, Aliana

Mawla spread. These

rumours surfaced after

photos of Liam and

Aliana went viral, and

Henry asked to stop

spreading photos of "my

fiancé wrapped around

another woman."

However, Aliana

Mawla denied breaking

up Liam Payne and his

ex-fiance's relationship.

Now, the singer is hitting

the headlines after

opening up about his

relationship with former

One Direction member

Zayn Malik. In the latest

episode of the

Impaulsive with Logan

Paul podcast, Liam

discussed Malik's feud

with Logan's brother

Jake Paul in 2020 and

mocked Gigi Hadid,

calling him respectful

back then.

Liam Payne said,

"Before we go too deep

into this, there's many

many reasons why I

dislike Zayn, and

there's many reasons

why I'll always always

be on his side." Then

Logan Paul mentioned

the feud and how Gigi

Hadid called Jack Paul

"irrelevant." "She

tweeted something

about getting yourself a

respectful man or

something," Liam said.

"That one didn't age

very well," he added.

For the unversed, in

September last year,

allegations of Zayn

striking Gigi's mother,

Yolanda Hadid, spread

through the internet like

wildfire. It was also said

that the Dusk Till Dawn

singer shoved Yolanda

into a dresser and called

her a "f**king Dutch

sl*t."

Source: Collider

Earbuds named after Habib Wahid

TBT REPORT

Popular singer, composer and

music director Habib Wahid has

been active in music industry for

long time. He has been entertaining

the audience by his exceptional

voice and he has many hit numbers

to his credit. Apart from recording

songs in his own voice, he is also

continuously composing music for

other artistes.

Recently, Habib has launched

headphones named after him to get

closer to the fans. The name of this

new Earbuds is 'HW-15'. Qinetic

March Limited has launched the

product in collaboration with Habib.

Habib Wahid is very excited about

this new musical product. He said, "I

have been making music for almost

two decades. Though, it is my

profession, but the passion behind

doing it with concentration for so

long is my emotion. During this long

time, many people have made many

offers to me. But nothing ever

‘Operation Sundarbans’ to

release at Cox Bazar today

TBT REPORT

National award winner actor Siam Ahmed and popular actress

Nusraat Faria starrer much-awaited film titled 'Operation

Sundarbans', directed by Dhaka Attack' famed director

Dipankar Dipon to launch the trailer of the film at the world's

largest beach, Cox's Bazar on July 29. The news was confirmed

by the film's production company. Inspector General of Police

(IGP) Dr Benazir Ahmed will attend the event as the chief guest.

Besides, RAB Director General Chowdhury Abdullah Al-

Mamun will be a special guest. According to a notice, sent from

RAB informed that the event will be held at Labani Beach.

The cast and crew of the film will be present at the trailer

launch event and will also perform live with film songs there.

Besides, before the trailer launch event, the stars will participate

in the campaign of 'Operation Sundarbans' at different places of

Cox's Bazar city, hotel restaurants and beach.

Earlier, this month the released date was announced which is

September 30. Although, the film was supposed to release on

the occasion of Eid-Ul-Azha. However, at the last moment the

distribution company Shapla Media decided not to release it.

The film is based on the life of the people living in, around

Sundarbans (the largest mangrove forest in the world) and the

everyday struggles of them, how they deal with the situation and

how the land can be protected from the robbers. It will also

focus the success story of the operation by Rapid Action

Battalion (RAB) forces to make the Sundarbans pirate-free.

The film is produced by the RAB welfare Co-operative Society

Limited and produced by Three Wheelers Limited with the help

of local and foreign crews and latest technology and VFX.

happened. But this time, I liked the

idea of Qinetic March. I am a man of

music in my heart and soul, so what

better way to start than this? I hope

my fans can enjoy their favourite

songs better with these headphones."

Qinetic Music released a new song

titled 'Beni Khule' in the voice of

Habib Wahid and Muza on July 21.

The lyrics of the song have been

written by Fauzia Sultana and Muza.

Fuad Almuqtadir, Russell Ali and

Muza have composed and arranged

the music of the track.

It is a multi-star-studded film starring National Award winner

actor Siam Ahmed and popular actress Nusraat Faria as the lead

protagonists of the film, while Taskeen Rahman will be seen in

an important role. Apart from them it will also feature Riaz

Ahmed, Ziaul Roshan, Manoj Pramanik, Fahmida Sabina, Dipu

Imam, Ehsanur Rahman and Kolkata's popular actress

Darshana Banik among others.

Sonakshi Sinha to star in ‘Nikita Roy and The Book of Darkness’

Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha is

all set to star in her brother, Kussh S

Sinha's directorial venture titled

'Nikita Roy and The Book of

Darkness'.

Besides sharing the exciting news,

she also dropped a spooky poster.

"I'm looking forward to sharing

screen space with the dynamic and

Paresh Rawal and Suhail Nayyar,"

the actress said in the caption.

Talking about the film, Sonakshi

said, "Kussh and I wanted to

collaborate for the right kind of

project. Finally, we found something

that we both liked and were excited

about."

However about his sister, Kussh,

said, "Sonakshi is a talented actor. I

have always admired her for doing

films that she entirely believed in. I

have seen her grow as an actor and

her journey in cinema. Now, I am

going to be a part of it, too."

Revealing how Kussh got her to sign

on for his film, he said, "When I

found this script, I asked Sonakshi to

take a look at it. We both felt drawn to

the subject and that's when we

decided to take the plunge and work

together. I am looking forward to

working with talented artistes such as

Paresh Rawal ji, Sonakshi and Suhail

Nayyar. It's also a fabulous

opportunity for my team at Kratos

Entertainment to collaborate with

Nicky Bhagnani and Vicky Bhagnani.

They've been our friends for years

and this project is a natural extension

of that relationship. It's a complete

win-win for all of us."

Although the plot has been kept

under wraps but 'Nikita Roy and The

Book of Darkness' is slated for a 2023

release. Source: Bollywood Hangama.

H O R O s c O P E

ARIEs

Today your intellectual and

expressive abilities should receive a

boost from the planets. It's an

excellent time to organize your thoughts about

presenting a project to a possible collaborator,

engage in trade, or write. In terms of your

private life, it's also a good time to examine the

latest events, certain aspects of which are still

partially misunderstood.

TAURUs

Overall, the forecast for today is fairly

good. The aspects seem to favor figuring

out the meaning of all that's transpired

over the past several weeks. It's an

opportunity for you to take a leisurely look at the

distance you've covered moving toward your goals.

Since it's an auspicious day for social activities, why not

get together with friends and discuss the latest events

with them?

GEMINI

Have you felt somewhat lost for the past

few days? The fog may lift today and

enable you to situate yourself at last.

You're probably eager to settle a

question that has nagged at you and interfered with

your judgment. However, you should be patient,

especially if it has to do with emotional matters. Try

to understand, but don't take immediate action.

You'll be more objective beginning tomorrow.

cANcER

You may have been feeling somewhat

disillusioned. Perhaps you lost sight of

your goals or misplaced your faith in

yourself. You'll feel some relief

beginning today. This is an opportunity to end what

has been a somewhat apathetic and moody phase

and begin a new one that's based on work and

meditation. As you can imagine, this new phase will

be much more fulfilling!

LEO

You might be tempted to settle certain

matters by radical means. The

visionary part of you means you're

painfully aware of the world's wrongs.

You see no reason not to take action to correct them.

But the forces in play are so powerful that you can't

expect to institute a new order in one day. If you

have an emotional question to resolve, it would be

better to wait a few days before making a decision.

VIRGO

Today will be fairly calm in terms of

outside events, but your inner world is

likely to be in a rush of activity. Today you

wish you could find the solution to your

heartaches as well as your career predicaments. You'd

like to achieve some supreme understanding of the

events that took place over the past month. First you

must force your brain to slow down. Haste makes

waste, as you know!

LIBRA

You have a lot of thinking to do about

your professional goals, Libra. You'll go

over the elements to see if there isn't

some way to approach things differently.

Are there new paths you could try or ways to improve

things? Your mind will go a thousand miles a minute

today. Those who spend time with you may be totally

exhausted by the end of the day because of all the

questions you ask!

scORPIO

You just can't do everything at once,

Scorpio. How do you expect to reduce

your stress and recuperate while at

the same time continue to be a

superstar performer in every area of your life?

Don't pressure yourself to perform today. If you do,

you're likely to deplete your reserves even further.

Take it easy, rest, and relax! You've earned this

little break.

sAGITTARIUs

This is a good moment to adapt your logic

and reason to reality, Sagittarius. If you

don't, you're going to run into some

intellectual problems. Everyone knows that you find new

ideas plentiful, but unless you have plans to be a novelist,

link your thinking to reality. The "pie in the sky" thinking

that you engage in isn't particularly useful to the rest of

us living here in the real world.

cAPRIcORN

It's going to be a little difficult talking

to you today, Capricorn. You, who can

be easily influenced by others, will be

listening to and criticizing everything

that people say. Nothing emotional or vague is

going to get into your head. It's as if you've installed

an extremely fine filter that lets in only what you

allow. You're going to appear to be a real expert.

Don't show off too much!

AQUARIUs

Have you been reviewing your family

history lately, Aquarius? Of special

interest is your cultural background.

What educational, social, and religious

environment were you born into? What are its

values? In the end, do you feel a strong affinity with

them now or are those views different from the ones

you hold? These are interesting avenues of thought

for you today.

PIscEs

It's time to elevate your sense of self,

Pisces. You're just as good as anyone

else, so why don't you believe it? The

problem is that you're very sensitive

about having an ego. Even though you know

everyone does, you punish yourself for its existence!

This is a noble idea, but it doesn't do you any good.

You'll never be perfect and neither will anyone else.

What are you worrying about?

FRIDAy, JULy 29, 2022

11

LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam addressing a conference titled 'Stakeholders

Conference on Local Governance : Progress, Learning and Way Forward' at

Bangabandhu International Conference Center yesterday. Photo : PID

Speaker leaves for UK to attend

parliamentary workshop

DHAKA : Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Dr

Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury left yesterday

morning for the United Kingdom to

participate in the "Fifteenth Workshop of

Parliamentary Scholars and

Parliamentarians" scheduled to begin on

Saturday.

A Bangladesh parliamentary delegation

led by the Speaker left Hazrat Shahjalal

International Airport here at 10.15am

yesterday, an official release said.

During the visit, the speaker will

participate in the

two-day workshop co-sponsored by the

Inter-Parliamentary Union and the

Centre for Legislative Studies of the

University of Hull, to be held at Wroxton

College, Oxfordshire, the United

Kingdom.

She will attend the 73rd birth

anniversary ceremony of martyred

Captain Sheikh Kamal at the initiative of

Bangladesh High Commission in London

as the chief guest.

Dr Chaudhury is also expected to

participate in meetings with the current

and former secretary generals of CPA,

meetings with MPs and Lords of the

United Kingdom, meetings at the Royal

Geographical Society and International

Institute for Strategic Studies, the release

added.

After wrapping up her visit to the

GD-1303/22 (5x3)

United Kingdom, the Speaker will leave

for New York on August 6, to participate

in a few meetings with UN Women,

UNICEF, UNDP, UNOPS under the

initiative of the Permanent Mission of

Bangladesh to the United Nations.

The Speaker is scheduled to return

home on August 18.

College student 'ends

life' in Chuadanga

CHUADANGA : A 17-year-old college

student allegedly ended his life by

consuming poison over his parents' refusal

to buy him a bike in Chuadanga.

The deceased was identified as Sabbir

Hossain, a resident of Sadar upazila of the

district. He was a Class XII student of

Chuadanga Government College.

Family sources said Sabbir consumed

poison on Wednesday night as his parents

didn't buy him a bike despite his repeated

pleas over the past few days.

Later, he was rushed to Chuadanga Sadar

Hospital where he died during treatment

around 11pm, said Mahabbur Rahman,

officer-in-charge of Chuadanga Sadar police

station.

The body has been kept in the hospital

morgue for an autopsy, he added.

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64 more dengue

patients hospitalised

in 24 hrs

DHAKA : Sixty-four more

dengue patients were

hospitalised across the

country in 24 hours till

Thursday morning,

according to the Directorate

General of Health Services

(DGHS).

Among them, 58 patients

were hospitalised in Dhaka

while the remaining six in

other places, it said.

As many as 311 dengue

patients including 241 in the

capital are now receiving

treatment at hospitals across

the country.

On Tuesday, this year's

death toll from the mosquitoborne

viral disease rose to

eight with another death

reported from Cox's Bazar.

Among the deaths, five were

reported from Cox's Bazar

while three from Dhaka. On

June 21, the DGHS reported

the first death of the season

from the viral disease.

Air quality remains

'moderate' in Dhaka

DHAKA : Dhaka's air quality continues to be in the

'moderate' zone, all thanks to intermittent monsoon

showers, reports UNB.

With an air quality index (AQI) score of 50 at 9.30 am

on Thursday, the metropolis ranked 47th in the list of

world cities with the worst air quality. Pakistan's Lahore,

Iran's Tehran and Chile's Santiago occupied the first

three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 161, 148 and 127

respectively.

An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered 'moderate'

with an acceptable air quality. However, there may be a

moderate health concern for a very small number of

people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.

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,

Social Advancement Through Unity (SATU)-a non government organization

in Tangail distributed cheques of scholarship among poor and meritorious

students on Thursday.

Photo : Nasir Uddin

Man smashes

head of infant

girl in Khulna

KHULNA : A man smashed

the head of his infant girl on

the floor of their house in a fit

of rage during a quarrel with

his family members in

Dumuria upazila of Khulna

on Thursday morning, police

said.

The deceased was identified

as Tamima, daughter of Md

Ujjal of Cluster village of the

upazila. The baby was just

two-and-a-half months-old.

Sheikh Koni Mia, officer-incharge

of Dumuria police

station, said Ujjal had an

altercation with his family

members while the baby was

in his lap. At one stage, he

threw the baby to the ground

out of anger, leaving her

seriously injured.

The family members

immediately rushed the baby

to Upazila Health Complex

and later to Khulna Medical

College and Hospital

(KMCH), where she was

declared dead on arrival.

1007

CO, SO2 and Ozone. Dhaka has long been grappling with

air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy

during winter and improves during monsoon.

With the advent of winter, the city's air quality starts

deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of

pollutant particles from construction works, 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 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.

GD-1302/22 (5x4)

GD-1301/22 (10x4)

Friday, Dhaka : July 29, 2022; Srabon 14, 1429 BS; Zilhaj 29 , 1443 Hijri

Bangladesh Bank raises farm loan

disbursement target by 8.88pc

DHAKA : Bangladesh Bank (BB) has

raised the agriculture and rural loan

disbursement target by 8.88 percent to

Taka 30,911 crore for the current 2022-

23 financial year (FY23).

The disbursement target for the immediate

past 2021-22 financial year

(FY22) was Taka 28,391 crore, said a

BB press release issued.

Considering the increased demand

of agricultural and rural credit, disbursement

target for the state owned

and specialized commercial banks has

been fixed at Taka 11,758.00 crore

while the private and foreign commercial

banks at Taka 19,153.00 crore.

In the previous financial year (2021-

22), all the scheduled commercial

banks disbursed agricultural and rural

credit of Taka 28,834.21 crore Taka

against the target of 28,391.00 crore

Taka, which is approximately 101.56

percent of the fixed target.

The agricultural and rural credits

were disbursed among 33, 04,811

persons in total, of which 17, 97,052

DHAKA : Detectives of the Dhaka Metropolitan

Police (DMP) in a drive have

arrested the mastermind of the gang

with huge counterfeit currencies and fake

money-making equipments from a flat

in House No-11 of Chand Udyan Housing

Area under Mohammadpur Police

Station. Mohammad Harun-Or-Rashid,

the chief of Detective Branch (DB) of

the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP),

told newsmen that they arrested Md Humayan

Kabir, mastermind of the gang

last night.

Counterfeit currency, worth about

Taka 16 lakh, one laptop used for making

fake note, one printer, one laminating

women borrowers have received

Taka 10,829.39 crore. Beside this, 24,

99,945 small and marginal farmers

have received around Taka 20,182.30

crore from different banks. Moreover,

Taka 19.59 crore was disbursed among

4,073 farmers of char, haor and less

developed areas of the country.

Agriculture is one of the driving

forces of Bangladesh’s economy. The

importance of agriculture is being

seen more and more in the wake of the

Covid pandemic and the recent global

situation. Therefore, Bangladesh Bank

is always trying to help the agriculture

sector through necessary financing.

Besides these, to achieve the government’s

three prime objectives of

sustainable development goals (SDGs)

- eradication of poverty, ensure safe

and nutritious food and ensuring good

health and well-being - Bangladesh

Bank on Thursday published the annual

Agricultural and Rural Credit Policy

and Program for the financial year

2022-2023 for mobilizing plenty of

Govt presents low population

to show high per capita

income : Fakhrul

DHAKA : BNP Secretary General Mirza

Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday

alleged that the government has kept

the population low in the country in

the just-published ‘6th Population and

Housing Census 2022’ only to show high

per capita income, reports UNB.

“The country’s population is presented

lower (than the actual figure) to show

high per capita income. We usually calculate

18 crore people in our country. But

it’ll be helpful to show much more per

capita income if the population is counted

16 crore,” he said. The BNP Secretary

General made the remarks at a press

conference at the party chairperson’s

Gulshan office in Gulshan reacting to the

preliminary results of the census.

He also said the planning minister

himself admitted that the census calculation

was not correct. “The data was not

collected properly by going from house

to house.” Earlier on Wednesday, the

provisional data of the ‘6th census was

revealed by the Bangladesh Bureau of

Statistics (BBS).

According to the preliminary report of

the population and household census, the

county’s total population is 16,51,58,616,

with a 1.22 per cent growth rate in place

of the previous 1.37 per cent.

Fakhrul said a national population

census should be conducted properly by

collecting authentic information from every

house.

“But the government is misleading

and deceiving people with incorrect information.

The entire government is

based on deception. It is a totally fake

government,” he observed.

Fake note-making factory

seized, owner held

machine, one kauta pasting gum, three

money-making dices, two bundles of foil

paper, two packets of paper for money-making,

one cutter and two mobile

sets from the house.

The DB head said they have been doing

this illegal business for long. They use

to make Taka 60 lakh every month. He

said these fake notes are being spread

across the country through 4-5 control

groups. Factory owner gets Taka 10,000

for every Taka 100,000 fake.

An accused of four fake money-making

cases, another case was filed with the

Special Powers Act at Mohammadpur

Police Station in this connection.

credit in the rural area.

To ensure the food security of the

people and to develop a sustainable agricultural

credit system, there are some

new inclusions in the current agricultural

credit policy.

These are inclusion of Credit Norms

for rearing Duck under the poultry

subsector; inclusion of credit norms

for cultivating Chia Seed, Teen Fruit,

Sugarbit; inclusion of credit norms for

cultivating Vietnamese Hybrid Coconut,

Coffee and Sweet Corn; inclusion

of credit norms for cultivating Sea

Weed; inclusion of credit norms for

cultivating Lobster under the fisheries

subsector; inclusion of group loan disbursement

for providing agricultural

Credit to a bunch of farmers at a time

easily and increased credit limit per

acre for crop cultivation.

The Agricultural and Rural Credit

Policy and Program for the FY 2022-

2023 published by Bangladesh Bank

will be helpful for the banks for financing

the agricultural sector.

Six Khulna men to

die for war crimes

KHULNA : The International Crimes

Tribunal (ICT) Thursday sentenced

six Khulna men to death for their involvement

in crimes against humanity

during the 1971 Liberation War.

The three-member tribunal, led by

Justice Mohamamd Shahinur Islam,

handed down the punishment to the

six—Amzad Hossain Hawladar, Sahar

Ali Sardar, Atier Rahman, Motasim

Billah, Kamal Uddin Goldar and

Nazrul Islam—after holding them

guilty. Of them, Narzul was tried in

absentia. Public prosecutors Haidar

Ali and Mokhlesur Rahman Badal

represented the state, while advocates

Abdus Sattar Paloan and Hazi

MH Tamim appeared for the six.

Prosecutor Mokhlesur said, “We are

satisfied with the judgment.”

Bus driver remanded

over molestation of

female passenger

DHAKA : A court on Thursday placed

a driver of a bus of Bikash Paribahan

on one-day remand in a case lodged

over alleged molestation of a female

passenger on the moving vehicle.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate

Syed Mostafa Reza Noor passed the

order, placing accused Md Mahbubur

Rahman on one-day remand as police

produced him before the court

and pleaded for five-day remand.

Earlier on July 27, police arrested

Mahbubur from Balur Math area of

Turag thana and also seized his bus

later.

The victim was molested on the

moving bus on July 24 as she boarded

the bus at around 8.40pm at

Dhanmandi to go Azimpur. As she

was feeling drowsy, around 9.10

pm, she realized someone touching

her inappropriately and came to her

sense promptly.

Detectives of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) in a drive have arrested the mastermind of the gang with

huge counterfeit currencies and fake money-making equipments from a flat in House No-11 of Chand Udyan

Housing Area under Mohammadpur Police Station.

Photo : Star Mail

Director General of Bangladesh Coast Guard, Rear Admiral Ashraful Hoq Chowdhury, ndu, afwc, psc, on

behalf of the Bangladesh Coast Guard, handed over a cheque of one day’s salary of all the members of the

Coast Guard to the Prime Minister for dealing with floods and disasters.

Photo: Courtesy

Petrobangla to get Tk 2000 cr

from GDF to import LNG

Smokeless tobacco control needs tougher

modified law - Anti-Tobacco Agency

Pinky Akter

‘

Bata bhore pan dibo gal vore kheo, babur

chokhe ghum nei ghum dia jeyo’

The mothers of rural Bengal used to

use a rhyme that is still popular when

putting their children to sleep.

From this rhythm, it can be understood

that the tendency of women to

consume betel leaf is high, which has

not decreased yet. Amena Begum, a

70-year-old resident of Mohammadpur

in the capital, has been using betel

leaf with Hakimpuri Zorda for more

than 40 years. Currently, due to health

reasons, the doctor advises him to give

up this habit, but he is unable to give

up her bad habit. This elderly woman

refuses to accept the fact that Zorda is

smokeless tobacco.

There is no health awareness and

anti-tobacco campaign about the harm

of smokeless tobacco like Gul, Saadapata,

Zorda. There is no such obligation

in the existing law. And so day

by day its use and damage is increasing.

As smokeless tobacco is cheap

and readily available among women,

especially rural poor and uneducated

DHAKA : The Finance Ministry has

given its consent to provide Tk 2000

crore to the Petrobangla from Gas

Development Fund (GDF) to import

liquefied natural gas (LNG).

An official order, a copy of it obtained

by UNB, reveals that as per

proposal of the Energy Division, the

Finance Ministry agreed to provide

the fund as loan to the state-owned

Petrobangla.

The approval from the Finance

Ministry came against the backdrop

of the severe fund crisis the Petrobangla

has been facing following

the excessive price hike of gas in the

international market as a fall out of

the Russia-Ukraine war. The price of

LNG has crossed US$39 per MMBtu

from below US$10 after the Russia-Ukraine

war began on 24 February

2022.

About the Finance Ministry’s approval,

Consumers Association of

Bangladesh (CAB) CAB Vice President

M Shamsul Alam said this is an

indication that the government is in

a serious crisis in dealing with the

energy sector. Recently the Energy

Division announced its decision not

to import any LNG from the international

spot market because of the

price hike.

As a result, it has to go for reducing

power generation from gas-fired

plants that forced the power entities

to resort to planned load shedding.

However, it continued importing

LNG from Oman and Qatar under

long term contracts where price is

fixed, but varies to some extent on

different conditions.

Now, it’s not clear whether Petrobangla

will use the new fund to resume

import of LNG from the spot

market or utilise it to import gas

from long-term suppliers.

The Gas Development Fund

(GDF) was created by the order of

the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory

Commission (BERC) a few years

back to allow the Pertrobangla to receive

additional money with gas bills

from the consumers to use the fund

for gas exploration in the country.

The BERC also created some other

funds by the consumers’ additional

money and the regulator is highly

against the use of such funds for any

other purpose than gas sector development.

But all operation of such funds

was taken up by the Energy Division.

But the Petrobangla used some of the

funds for different other purposes

while deposited to the government

exchequer as per a Finance Ministry

order. The BERC is against the

operation and control of the Energy

Division on such funds.

The BERC in June directed stateowned

Petrobangla to return a total

of Tk 12,227.44 crore to its two original

funds-the energy security fund

(ESF) and the Gas Development

Fund (GDF). The energy regulator’s

latest directive which came as the

BERC Order No-2022/7, in detail,

was released on June 27 and uploaded

on its website on the same day.

As per the BERC Verdict, the

Petrobangla has to return Tk 9227.44

crore to ESF Fund and Tk 3000 crore

with interest to the GDF fund which

the organization had taken away and

used for different purposes.

women are most addicted to it. Many

of those who consume smokeless tobacco

do not know how harmful it is or

what problems it can cause to the body.

The Prime Minister has announced

that Bangladesh will become a tobacco-free

country within 2040. This decision

has been taken considering the

health risks of tobacco. But when we

talk about the health risks of tobacco,

cigarettes come to our mind first. But

Gul, Sadapata can cause serious health

complications. Maybe even death. This

is the claim of health professionals.

In this regard, Dr. Arup Ratan

Chowdhury said, ZORDA or SADA

Pata directly attacks the cells in the oral

cavity, which can lead to various complex

diseases of the mouth, including

cancer, and the most alarming thing

is that women’s reproductive health is

also at mortal risk due to tobacco consumption.

Tobacco also poses many health

risks for women. Adverse effects on premenstrual

syndrome symptoms. Studies

have shown that smoking increases

the duration of periods such as cramps

by 50%. The problem lasts two or three

People will not

respond to BNP’s

movement called

thru ‘remote

control’: Quader

DHAKA : Awami League (AL) General

Secretary and Road Transport

and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader

yesterday said the country’s people

will not respond to the movement

called by BNP using ‘remote control’.

He made the remark while speaking

at the triennial conference of the

AL units of Ward No. 14 and 22 of

Dhaka South City through videoconferencing

from his official residence

here.

Quader urged BNP acting chairman

Tarique Rahman, who is staying

in London, to return home and call a

movement against the government if

he has the courage.

Mentioning that the BNP leaders

get upset when the country remains

in a good state, he asked them to

keep faith in the people and participate

in elections.

The state power will change only

through elections, he added.

Responding to an allegation of the

BNP leaders that there is no democracy

in the country, the AL general

secretary said finally the BNP leaders

will join the elections to protect their

existence and the party as well.

AL organising secretary Mirza

Azam, Dhaka South City Corporation

(DSCC) mayor Barrister Sheikh

Fazle Noor Tapos, Dhaka South City

AL president Abu Ahmed Mannafi,

its general secretary Humayun Kabir

and Nurul Amin Ruhul, MP, among

others, spoke at the conference with

Hazaribagh Thana AL acting president

Haji Mohammad Salim Ahmed

in the chair.

days in women who smoke compared

to women who do not smoke. It reaches

the body through inhalation during

smoking. Some of these chemicals have

been found to be very dangerous for

female smokers. This affects their reproductive

health. These chemicals not

only decrease the chance of ovulation,

but they also decrease the movement of

the egg through the fallopian tubes to

the uterus. Due to which the fetus develops

outside the uterus. This is called

an ectopic pregnancy. Such conditions

can prove fatal to the fetus.

Doctors say that tobacco affects the

health of women more than men. In

this regard, Dr. Shekh Md Mahabubs

Sobhan of National heart Foundation

Hospital & Research institute said that

women’s reproductive health is the

most affected by tobacco consumption.

Smokeless tobacco is just as harmful as

smoked tobacco. Low birth weight babies,

miscarriages, abortions, and even

complications in newborns. He even

said that there is a fear of being affected

by uterine cancer and breast cancer by

consuming this tobacco.

>(Conted. on page-2)

29-07-2022

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