26-10-2022
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WEDNESDAY
DHAKA : October 26, 2022; Kartik 10, 1429 BS; Rabi-ul Awal 29, 1444 Hijri www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net Regd. No. DA~2065, Vol. 20; No.158; 12 Pages~Tk. 12.00
INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ART & CULTURE
Former US fighter pilot
West Ham see
who worked in China
off Bournemouth
Bobby passing
arrested in Australia
amid VAR storm
busy time
Zohr
>Page 7
Cyclone Sitrang damages Cox's Bazar Beach. Along with the destruction, the road has been
dilapidated. The beach has lost its beauty and turned into a wasteland. Photo : TBT
Not before Jan,
officials say about
IMF’s $4.5 bn
loan to BD
DHAKA : The US$4.5 billion loan Bangladesh
is seeking from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) is unlikely
to arrive before January next year,
according to officials familiar with the
negotiations.
An IMF team is due to arrive in
Dhaka on Wednesday to start formal
talks on the terms of the loan Bangladesh
has sought under the Washington-based
lender’s Resilience and Sustainability
Trust (RST), which helps
member countries ensure sustainable
growth. With Bangladesh almost certain
to get the loan for its budget support
speculations are rife on when the
disbursement will start.
Dr Ahsan H. Mansur, the executive
director of the private research institute
Policy Research Institute (PRI)
and a former official of IMF told UNB
on Tuesday, “IF the government accepts
the IMF’s conditions, then it is
possible to get the first installment of
the loan at the beginning of next year.”
But if the government shows more
sincerity in fulfilling the conditions,
then there is a chance to get the first
installment by the end of this year, he
said.
“The IMF delegation is coming to
Bangladesh. This time, they will discuss
the terms of lending. How soon
the loan will be available depends on
the team’s report,” he added.
Bangladesh Bank officials working
on IMF loan say the deal is expected to
be finalized by December and it may be
presented at the IMF’s board meeting
in January.
In this regard, Bangladesh Bank
Chief Economist Habibur Rahman
said, “The IMF delegation’s report will
be submitted to the IMF board. Then
the loan will be available.”
However, it is difficult to say when
the first installment of the loan will be
available, he said.
04:46 AM
11:48 PM
03:48 PM
05:28 PM
06:50 PM
6:00 5:25
Death count from Cyclone
Sitrang stands at 29
DHAKA : At least 29 people died in 11
districts across Bangladesh as Cyclone
Sitrang made landfall and crossed Barishal-Chattogram
coast on Monday, leaving
a trail of destruction.
According to reports reaching the
UNB desk from its correspondents in
Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Brahmanbaria,
Cumilla, Narail, Sirajganj, Bhola, Barguna,
Munshiganj, Noakhali and Gopalganj,
most of the casualties were caused
by falling trees since Monday morning
as Bangladesh experienced moderate to
heavy rain throughout the day.
In Chattogram, bodies of eight workers,
who went missing on Monday night
after a dredger sank in the Bay of Bengal,
were recovered from the sea off the coast of
Mirsarai on Tuesday. Five of the deceased
were identified as Mahmud Molla, Alamin,
Imam Molla, Abul Bashar and Tarek. They
were residents of Patuakhali district.
The sand lifting dredger—Saikat-2--
was anchored, with the eight workers on
board, in the sea around 1000 feet away
from the embankment in Bashundhara
area of the upazila. But it sank when
the storm triggered by Cyclone Sitrang
intensified around 10 pm on Monday,
said Md Kabir Hossain, officer-in-charge
(OC) of Mirsarai Police Station.
Mirsarai police and fire service divers recovered
the bodies from the sunken dredger
around 2pm on Tuesday, the OC added.
At Sitakunda in Chattogram, the body of a
seven-month-old girl child was recovered
from a shipyard in the Bay of Bengal near
Bangladesh is better than many
countries amid global crisis : Hasan
DHAKA : Information and Broadcasting
Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Tuesday
said Bangladesh’s people are living in
better condition compared to many other
countries as the government is running
the state appropriately despite the coronavirus
pandemic and ongoing global
crisis induced by war.
“We are better than many countries
since the government of Bangabandhu’s
daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
is running the country very appropriately
amid the Covid-19 pandemic and war situation
in the world,” he said.
The minister said this while speaking
as the chief guest at the Bangladesh Press
Council Award-2022 distribution ceremony
at Tatya Bhaban in the city’s Kakrail area
this evening. Citing a report of a vernacular
newspaper, he said that many people in the
United Kingdom (UK) remain starving for
several meal times nowadays, but by the
grace of the Creator, such situation is yet to
be happened in Bangladesh.
Hasan, also ruling Awami League
(AL) joint general secretary, said, “A few
months ago, everyone in the US has been
the Kadamarsul area on Tuesday morning,
said Mahbub, sub-inspector (SI) of Kumira
Naval Police. The body of the child was
swept into the shipyard by the strong tide of
the sea, he added. The body was later sent
to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital
(CMCH) morgue, the SI said.
In Cox’s Bazar, two people, including a
Myanmar national, died in Teknaf upazila
during the cyclone.
The deceased were identified as Myanmar
national Shouming, 71, a cook of a ship,
and Sohena, 9, a resident of the upazila.
Myanmar national Shouming died after
falling from the deck of the ‘Zabuaung’,
a ship carrying goods from Myanmar to
Teknaf port as the cyclone hit Bangladesh
coast last night, said United Land Port
Manager of Teknaf Land Port Md Jasim
Uddin Chowdhury. Police recovered the
body of Sohena,who went missing during
the storm, from a pond of the upazila, said
Hafizur Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC) of
Teknaf Model police station.
In Brahmanbaria, a man died and his
wifewwas injured as a tree fell on their
house during the storm in Kasba upazila
early Tuesday, said Kasba Upazila Nirbahi
Officer (UNO) Md Masud Ul Alam.
The deceased was identified as Joynal
Abedin Bhuiyan, a resident of the upazila.
In Munshiganj, a 28-year-old woman
and her four-year-old daughter were
killed when a huge tree collapsed on them
while they were asleep on Monday night at
Kanakshar village in Louhajang upazila of
the district.
asked to be economic in using electricity
through SMSs”.
Noting that Germany has never had a
single minute of blackout since the World
War II, he said after the beginning of
Ukraine war, Germany started load shedding
and power rationing. There was no
power shortfall in Australia, the minister
said, but now there is load shedding in various
places of the country, including Sydney.
“But in our country, Mirza Fakhrul
jumps at and talks about anything happened
a little, and those, who love to identify
themselves as intellectuals, appear on the
screen of television talk-shows after 12.00
midnight, creating noise for ears,” he said,
asking them to take the global context into
their account.
Citing an example, Hasan said inflation
has reached 80 percent in Turkey while
30 percent in Pakistan and 7 to 8 percent
in India.Inflation was lower in Bangladesh
before, but it has become a little higher in
the last one or two months, which was widely
criticized in media, he said, calling upon
journalists to consider the global context in
their write-ups.
>Page 9 >Page 10
Dredger sinks in
Bay during cyclone
8 bodies recovered
CHATTOGRAM : Bodies of eight workers,
who went missing after a dredger
sank in the Bay of Bengal during cyclone
on Monday night, were recovered from
the Bay off the coast of Mirsarai in Chattogram
on Tuesday.
Five of the deceased were identified
as Mahmud Molla, Alamin, Imam Molla,
Abul Bashar, Tarek of Patuakhali district.
The dredger named Saikat-2 was anchored
with the eight workers on board
around 1000 feet off the embankment
in Bashundhara area of the upazila and
sank in the sea when Sitrang hit Bangladesh
around 10 pm, said Md Kabir Hossain,
officer-in-charge (OC) of Mirsarai
police station.
Mirsarai police and fire service divers
recovered the bodies from inside of
the sunken dredger around 2pm, the OC
added. Dredger manager Rezaul Karim
said six more dredgers were kept in the
area adjacent to the embankment in
Bashundhara area. “All the other workers
moved to safer places but the eight workers
of the dredger did not come,” he said.
Cyclone impact
Dhaka commuters
suffer amid traffic
jam, waterlogging
DHAKA : Different roads in Dhaka went
under water due to heavy rains triggered
by Cyclone Sitrang, causing traffic gridlock
that left no options for commuters
but to suffer terribly.
Md Omar Faruq, a meteorologist of
Bangladesh Metrological Department,
told UNB that 255 mm rains were recorded
in 24 hours till 6am on Tuesday.
As Sitrang hit the country’s coastal areas
on Monday night, nearly all parts of
Bangladesh including the capital experienced
heavy rains and storm that uprooted
trees or killed people and disconnected
power transmission lines.
City Corporation workers were seen
removing uprooted trees from Dhaka
roads in the morning.
Office-goers and others remained
stuck on roads for hours in the morning
as traffic movement was slow due to waterlogging.
Roads and alleys were submerged by
rainwater in different areas including
Uttarkhan, Dakkhinkhan, Bhatara, Mohammadpur,
Badda, Azimpur, Demra,
Jatrabari and Jurain.
Different places from Khilkhet to Abdullahpur
remained waterlogged and the
ongoing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project
work only added to the commute woes.
Buses and private vehicles remained
stuck in a long tailback from Hotel Le
Meridien to Dhaka Airport road area as
movement was very slow from Abdullahpur
area near Tongi due to BRT project
work in the morning.
Meanwhile, the road in front of Bangladesh
Navy Headquarters remained
waterlogged in the morning- creating
another tailback for commuters heading
towards Banani from Khilkhet area
through the flyover.
Rishi Sunak becomes UK
PM, faces economic crisis
LONDON : Rishi Sunak became Britain’s third
prime minister of the year on Tuesday and
now must turn his attention to taming an economic
crisis that has left the country’s finances
in a precarious state
and millions of Britons
struggling to afford
food and energy bills.
Sunak, the U.K.’s
first leader of color,
met at Buckingham
Palace with King
Charles III, who had
just accepted the resignation
of Liz Truss. In
Britain’s constitutional
monarchy, the monarch
plays a ceremonial
role in appointing
government leaders.
Sunak - at 42 the
youngest British leader
in more than 200
years - is expected to
immediately begin appointing a Cabinet and
getting to grips with an economy sliding toward
recession. The third Conservative prime
minister this year, he will also try to unite a
governing party that is riven with divisions.
Sunak was selected as leader of the governing
Conservative Party on Monday as it
tries to stabilize the economy, and its own
plunging popularity, after the brief, disastrous
term of Liz Truss.
‘Without accountability,
political transition in Myanmar
won’t fix Rohingya issue’
DHAKA : State Minister for Foreign Affairs
Md Shahriar Alam has said that in the absence
of justice and accountability, a political
transition in Myanmar will not fix the
Rohingya issue.
“That is why, this time around, accountability
must be ensured, justice must be delivered,
and impunity must not be allowed
by the international community to ensure
the return of Rohingyas to their homeland
Myanmar,” he said.
Alam was speaking at a high-level panel
discussion, titled “5 years of the Rohingya
Crisis: Renewed Pledges towards Justice
and Sustainable Returns”, organised at the
UK Parliament by Bangladesh High Commission
in London on Monday.
The state minister said each year, under
the generous patronage of Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh spends USD
1.22 billion on food, shelter, health, education
and skills development of the Rohingyas.
The cost is increasing while international
assistance is decreasing, he observed.
After five long years of hosting Rohingyas,
it is unjust that only Bangladesh will
continue to carry this burden, he said. “We,
therefore, call upon more Commonwealth,
Hindu community celebrated Diwali, the festival of lights, in the
capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country. The picture is taken
from Kali Mandir of Ramna park yesterday. Photo : Star Mail
Rishi Sunak
Truss departed after making a public statement
outside 10 Downing St., seven weeks to
the day after she was appointed prime minister
by Queen Elizabeth II, who died two days
later. Truss offered a
defense of her low-tax
economic vision and
her brief term in office
before being driven
from the prime minister’s
official residence
for the last time.
“I am more convinced
than ever that
we need to be bold and
confront the problems
we face,” she said. She
stood by the free-market
principles of “lower
taxes” and “delivering
growth,” despite
the market mayhem
triggered by her Sept.
23 budget package.
Truss wished Sunak success as Britain continues
“to battle through a storm.”
Sunak’s top priorities will be appointing
Cabinet ministers, and preparing for a budget
statement that will set out how the government
plans to come up with billions of
pounds (dollars) to fill a fiscal hole created
by soaring inflation and a sluggish economy,
and exacerbated by Truss’ destabilizing
economic experiments.
OIC members and western countries to join
the ICJ case by the Gambia, which will expedite
the justice for Rohingyas and facilitate
their early return,” Shahriar Alam said.
The state minister commended UK’s
diplomatic leadership at the UN Security
Council as a penholder on Myanmar
and hoped to see the UK explore
all available Council tools to enforce
accountability, justice and sustainable
returns of the Rohingyas.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of
State for the Middle East, South Asia and
the United Nations at the UK FCDO, Lord
Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, paid tribute to
Bangabandhu for his lifelong struggle to establish
peace and justice and lauded Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina for showing “incredible
generosity and humanity” to host
and protecting over a million Rohingyas.
Lord Ahmad reassured that the UK,
as a long-standing friend and partner,
would continue support to Bangladesh to
find a durable solution to the persisting
Rohingya crisis.
Why Joj Mia should
not be given adequate
compensation : HC
DHAKA : The High Court on Tuesday
issued a rule asking the authorities concerned
why adequate compensation
should not be given to Md Jalal alias Joj
Mia who was wrongfully tried in August
21 grenade attack case and spent five
years in jail without committing any
crime. The court also questioned why
his wrongful arrest, arrest warrant and
imprisonment will not be declared illegal.
The HC bench of Justice Mozibur
Rahman Mia and Justice Kazi Ejarul
Haque Akondo issued the rule during a
hearing on a writ petition filed seeking Tk
10 crore as compensation for Joj Mia.
Barrister Humayun Kabir Pallab appeared
for the petitioner while Deputy
Attorney General Arobinda Kumar Roy
represented the state during the hearing.
On September 12, Supreme Court
(SC) lawyer Humayun Kabir Pallab filed
the writ petition with the High Court.
The petition also sought formation of
a committee headed by a retired judge of
the Appellate Division to identify those
who had tried Joj Mia in a false case.
weDneSDAy, OCTObeR 26, 2022
2
Due to the impact of Cyclone Sitrang in Kutubdia, there has been extensive damage to various parts
of the upazila, especially the homesteads, crops, fish and cattle outside the embankment. The worst
damage was reported in Ali Akbar Dale and Koyarible Union.
Photo: Abul Kashem
Emir of Qatar likely to visit Bangladesh
to take ties to new height
DHAKA : Emir of Qatar is
likely to visit Bangladesh after
the FIFA World Cup
tournament as he is very keen
to take the bilateral relations
with Bangladesh to a new
height.
The Emir has accepted the
invitation from the President
of Bangladesh to undertake
the visit.
Ambassador of the State of
Qatar to Bangladesh Seraya
Ali Mahdi Saeed Al Qahtani
conveyed it to Foreign
Minister AK Abdul Momen
on Tuesday.
The Ambassador handed
over the official acceptance
letter from Qatari Emir to the
Foreign Minister for onward
transmission to the President
during a meeting held at
Minister Momen's office at
the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
He handed over a replica of
the FIFA World Cup to the
Foreign Minister.
Momen expressed
satisfaction at the state of
excellent bilateral
engagements between
Bangladesh and Qatar in
various fields including
political, economic, defense,
manpower and trade.
The second Foreign Office
Consultations (FOC) in Doha
last month took up for
discussion many pertinent
issues of mutual interests
including recruitment of
manpower including doctors,
nurses, engineers, and
technicians to Qatar,
enhancing the current 'quota
of supply' of LNG to
Bangladesh, Bangladesh's
willingness to contribute to
Qatar's food security through
direct supply of food grains
and agro-products,
enhancing bilateral trade and
Qatari investment in SEZs
and Hi-tech Parks of
Bangladesh and a sustainable
solution to the Rohingya
crisis.
The Qatari Ambassador
responded that Qatar side
was satisfied at the outcome
of the FOC and both sides
were working on the
arrangement of the exchange
of high level visit between the
two countries' leadership.
Recalling his old memories
in Qatar and with Qatari
leadership, the Foreign
Minister appreciated the
socio-economic
developments that took place
in Qatar during the last two
decades and Qatar's rapid
progress in transforming
itself to a modern, developed
and forward-looking country.
The Minister also expressed
gratitude to Qatar for hosting
a large numbers of
Bangladeshi nationals in
Qatar who have been
contributing to the socioeconomic
development of the
two countries.
He stated that Bangladesh
has set up 100 Special
Economic Zones where
Qatari investors could invest
and urged the Ambassador to
explore the opportunity to
invest in various sectors
including the LNG and Power
sector.
In reply, the envoy
commended Bangladesh's
quest for development and
peace in its strides for
economic emancipation
under the capable and
courageous leadership of
Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina.
The Foreign Minister also
appreciated the Qatari
leadership for the country's
smart preparedness in
hosting the World Cup
Tournament in Doha in
coming November this year.
He expressed hope that the
two countries would engage
efforts in making the
upcoming high level visit
successful.
The envoy conveyed his
eagerness to work more
closely with Bangladesh side
in the coming days.
750 new Dengue patients
hospitalised in 24 hrs, no
death reported
DHAKA : Another 750
patients were hospitalised
with dengue in 24 hours till
Tuesday morning.
Of the new patients, 494
were admitted to different
hospitals in Dhaka and 256
outside it, according to the
Directorate General of Health
Services (DGHS).
A total of 3,416 dengue
patients, including 2,224 in
the capital, are now receiving
treatment at hospitals across
the country.
This year's death toll from
the mosquito-borne disease
in Bangladesh rose to 118 on
Monday with five more
deaths reported from Dhaka,
Khulna and Mymensingh
divisions.
With this the Dengue death
toll from Dhaka rose to 70, it
stood at four in Khulna and at
three in Mymensingh.
The dengue death toll
remained unchanged at 36 in
Chattogram division and at
five in Barishal division.
The Directorate has
recorded 32,716 dengue cases
and 29,466 recoveries so far
this year.
Nine dead and 47
wounded in attack on
south Somalia hotel
MOGADISHU : Nine people
were killed and 47 wounded
Sunday in an attack on a hotel
in Kismayo, southern
Somalia, claimed by the Al-
Shabaab Islamist group, the
region's security minister
said.
The port city is the latest to
be hit following a recent
resurgence of attacks by the
Al-Qaeda-linked group,
which has mainly targeted the
capital Mogadishu and
central Somalia.
Sunday's assault began at
12:45 pm (0945 GMT) when
a booby-trapped car rammed
the entrance of Hotel
Tawakal. It ended around
7:00 pm after the attackers
were killed by security forces.
Among the casualties were
students leaving a nearby
school, Jubaland security
minister Yusuf Hussein
Osman told reporters. All four
attackers, including the
suicide bomber.
Nat'l moon sighting
committee meets today
DHAKA : A meeting of the National Moon
Sighting Committee will be held at Islamic
Foundation (IF) conference room in Baitul
Mukarram National Mosque today on the
moon sighting of Arabic month Rabius
Sani.
State Minister for Religious Affairs
Mohammad Faridul Haque Khan will
preside over the meeting to be held at 6pm
after the Magrib prayers, said a press
release.
If the moon of the holy month of Rabius
Sani is sighted anywhere in the sky of
Bangladesh, the people concerned have
been requested to inform through the
telephone numbers 02-223381725, 02-
41050912, 02-41050916 and 02-41050917
and send fax at 02-223383397 and 02-
9555951.
Or, they can contact with the Deputy
Commissioner of the respective district or
concerned Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO).
Due to the impact of Cyclone Sitrang, the tide in the sea has increased
and water is entering the locality through the barrage on Tuesday
morning.
Photo: Shibbir Ahmed Rana
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2022
3
DU VC Prof Dr Md Akhtaruzzaman inaugurated the 5th Bangladesh Robot Olympiad 2022
yesterday.
Photo : Courtesy
Inland water transport
operations resume as
Sitrang weakens
Dhaka: Inland water
transport operations resumed
on Tuesday morning after
being suspended for around
24 hours due to inclement
weather caused by cyclone
Sitrang.
Bangladesh Inland Water
Transport authority
(BIWTa) has ordered the
resumption of vessel
operations from 9.45am as
all the riverine ports now
come under local cautionary
signal number 1, said
BIWTa public relations
officer Mobarak hossain.
On Monday, at 10am,
BIWTa suspended the
operations of vessels on all
waterways across the
country. Sitrang crossed the
Barishal-Chattogram coast
near Bhola around midnight
on Monday but weakened
rapidly into a depression by
giving precipitation.
SC clears way for holding
Bangladesh Bank aD
recruitment test
Dhaka : The appellate
Division of the Supreme Court
(SC) yesterday cleared the
way for holding Bangladesh
Bank assistant director (aD)
recruitment test, which is
scheduled to be held on
October 28.
Justice M Enayetur Rahim
of appellate Division
Chamber Judge Court
yesterday stayed the October
23 high Court order that had
put the test on hold for one
month.
attorney General aM amin
Uddin took part in the hearing
for the state, while advocate
khan Mohammad Shamim
aziz argued for the central
bank. Barrister anik R haque
moved a petition filed in this
regard.
840 people were given shelter at Bangladesh Air Force Base Cox's Bazar on
Monday when the impact of cyclone Sitrang started. Photo : ISPR
Sightsavers and BBDN launch
new project
Recently Sightsavers and Bangladesh
Business and Disability Network
(BBDN) launched a project that falls
under the Futuremakers by Standard
Chartered initiative, which will support
youth with disabilities in the labour
market by providing them with
technical skills and employability
training, career guidance and job
placements. Sightsavers and BBDN, in
association with three local
organisations of people with
disabilities, Manikganj Disabled
People's Organization to Development,
Narayanganj
SadarUpazilaProtibondhiUnnayan
Parishad and Tangail Disabled Peoples
Organization to Development, have
started delivering the 18-month long
project from July 2022 in three
districts, Manikganj, Narayanganj, and
Tangail. By working under the
framework of Futuremakers by
Standard Chartered, Sightsavers and
BBDN will support 720 women and
men with disabilities to learn new skills
and improve their chances of securing a
job or starting their own enterprises,
without needing to relocate from their
homes.
Dr. Md. Mafizur Rahman, Managing
Director of SME Foundation graced the
national launching of Futuremakers as
No flooding, major damage in Bhasan Char,
Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps: OCha
Dhaka : No flooding or major damage
has been reported so far in the Rohingya
camps in Bhasan Char and Cox's Bazar
due to cyclone "Sitrang" that made landfall
in Bangladesh, says the United Nations
Office for the Coordination of
humanitarian affairs.
Cyclone "Sitrang" made landfall in
Bangladesh on October 24 with wind
speeds reaching up to 90 kilometres per
hour, OCha said in its weekly regional
humanitarian snapshot.
The UN, Red Crescent Movement and
national and international NGOs worked
closely with district commissioners from
low-lying coastal districts to mobilize
volunteers for early warning and
evacuation.
Warnings were issued for coastal
districts and maritime activities were
halted, while more than 219,000 people
evacuated to temporary storm shelters.
Relief operations have started with the
distribution of cash and dry food from the
government, according to the OCha.
although there is no official request from
the government for system-wide
international assistance, the humanitarian
community is working on the 72-hour
needs assessment, as well as coordinating
with their respective sectorial line
ministries to identify needs to inform the
the chief guest. ardashir kabir,
President of Bangladesh Employer's
Federation was present as a special
guest. Representatives from Standard
Chartered Bangladesh, Ministry of
Labour and Employment, Bangladesh
Bank, private employing companies,
organisations of people with disabilities
(OPDs) among others attended the
event.
When compared to their peers,
youths with disabilities are much less
likely to be employed or working in
appropriate conditions. The COVID-19
pandemic has made them even more
helpless, said amrita Rejina Rozario,
Sightsavers Bangladesh Country
Director in her opening remarks.
Speaking as the chief guest Dr. Md.
Mafizur Rahman said, "SME
Foundation prioritises women and
youth entrepreneurs in our
programming, and we will tie up with
Futuremakers by Standard Chartered
to identify areas of joint collaboration
especially identifying and providing
training to youth with disabilities in the
project districts."
Futuremakers by Standard
Chartered is the Bank's global initiative
to tackle inequality by promoting
greater economic inclusion across
markets. Futuremakers supports
response.
Bangladesh is hosting more
than 1.1 million Rohingyas in Bhasan Char
and Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps.
Graft case against
Mirza abbas to
continue
Dhaka : The appellate Division of the
Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed the
application for cancellation of a graft case
filed by the aCC against BNP's Standing
Committee member and former housing
and Public Works Minister Mirza abbas.
The appellate Division led by Chief Justice
hasan Foez Siddique passed the order
yesterday, stating that there is no obstacle to
continue the case against him in the judicial
court. after completing the hearing yesterday
the appellate Division fixed yesterday for
delivering the order.
aCC assistant Director Md Shafiul
alam filed the graft case against abbas at
Ramna police station on august 16,
2007, accusing him of acquiring assets
beyond known and concealing
information of Tk 33,48,581.
Earlier on November 11, 2018, the plea to
cancel the case was dismissed by the high
Court .
disadvantaged young people, especially
girls and people with visual
impairments, to learn new skills and
improve their chances of getting a job
or starting their own business. In 2021,
Futuremakers programmes reached
more than 304,000 young people, and
more than 849,000 young people
between 2019 and mid-2022 across 43
markets.
ardashir kabir said, even before the
COVID-19 crisis, young people in
Bangladesh were vulnerable in the
labour market and faced barriers in
their transition from education to
employment. Despite increased access
to education for youth, there remains a
mismatch between the skills that the
youth possess and the talents the
businesses need.
Utpal Mallick, Project Manager at
Sightsavers presented the keynote in
the event whereas ayon Debnath
from Sightsavers made a
presentation on Labour Market
assessment study report published
by Sightsavers. Golam kibria from
BBDN moderated a panel discussion
on creating employment
opportunities for persons with
disabilities. aziza ahmed, head of
Operations at BBDN concluded the
event with the vote of thanks.
Covid-19
Bangladesh
reports another
death, 185 cases
Dhaka : Bangladesh
reported another Covid-19-
linked death and 185 fresh
cases in 24 hours till
Tuesday morning.
The new figures rose the
country's total fatalities to
29,416 the caseload to
2,034,533, according to the
Directorate General of
health Services (DGhS).
The daily case test
positivity rate rose to 5.70
per cent from Monday's 4.65
per cent as 3,246 samples
were tested during the
period. The mortality and
recovery rates remained
unchanged at 1.45 per cent
and 97.25 per cent
respectively.
In September, the country
reported 40 Covid-linked
deaths and 13,251 cases.
Bangladesh-Vietnam
direct flights may
begin this year-end
Dhaka : Vietnamese budget
airline VietJet air plans to
start direct flights between
Vietnam and Bangladesh on
the hanoi-Dhaka route from
December 2022.
Initially, the operation will
start with chartered flights,
but there is a plan to start
regular flights in phases
based on passenger
demand, said Taslim amin
Shovon, director and CEO of
InnoGlobe Travel and Tours
Limited, the Bangladeshi
partner of Victoria Tour, at
an event in the capital on
Monday.
Besides, Vietnam's tour
operator company Victoria
Tour has also announced
various travel packages,
including visa processing, at
an affordable cost for
Bangladeshi tourists.
State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman briefing
the journalists about cyclone Sitrang.
Photo : PID
Economic Ties
US Trade Show to demonstrate
commitment to support Bangladesh
Dhaka : US ambassador to
Bangladesh Peter D. haas will
inaugurate the three-day 28th US
Trade Show that will begin in the city
on Thursday demonstrating "US
commitment" to working in
partnership with Bangladesh.
The US Trade Show from October
27 to 29 will also demonstrate US
commitment to support Bangladesh's
continued growth and development,
economic diversification and
resilience to external shocks and
stressors, and support for an
economic development strategy that
adheres to the principles of broadly
shared prosperity for all.
The US Trade Show, to be held at the
Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel, will
feature leading US companies in
Bangladesh, said the organizers at a
press conference on Tuesday.
It will also include US Embassy
seminars on US visas, higher education
opportunities in the United States,
USaID's activities supporting private
sector development in Bangladesh, and
intellectual property rights.
Quader asks aL men to stand
by cyclone victims
Dhaka : awami League General Secretary
Obaidul Quader on Tuesday urged the party
leaders and workers to stand by the people
badly affected by Cyclone 'Sitrang', claiming
that the Prime Minister Sheikh hasina's
government will always remain beside the
people, reports BSS.
he made this call while speaking at a press
briefing at his Secretariat office here.
Quader, also the Road Transport and
Bridges Minister said, BNP is a party whose
leaders have honey on their mouths but
poison in their hearts.
Commenting that the BNP leaders talk
about democracy but nurtures the practice of
looting and opportunity, he said the BNP
delivers the speaking of freedom but
patronises anti-liberation and communal
forces. The aL general secretary said the
BNP talks about the people's rights to vote
but the party held a voter-less polls on
February 15 in 2006 and enlisted about 1.25
crore fake voters during their regime.
Responding to the statements of the BNP
leaders, he said the aL had waged a
movement for the caretaker government to
establish the people's rights to vote and food
but the BNP at that time opposed it.
Quader said BNP chairperson khaleda Zia
then stated that none is impartial except
children and mad, but the BNP leaders are
now demanding that caretaker government.
The US Trade Show is organized in
partnership with the american
Chamber of Commerce (amCham) in
Bangladesh and will showcase the high
quality, innovative american goods
and services U.S. businesses offer in
Bangladesh.
Over 40 exhibitors operating in
Bangladesh, including in the energy,
banking and financial services, food
and beverage sectors, and more, will
display the products and services of US
brands.
This year's Trade Show is particularly
significant because it is the first US
Trade Show in Dhaka held in person
since the start of the COVID-19
pandemic.
It also falls during the 5oth
anniversary year of US-Bangladesh
bilateral relations, said the US Embassy
in Dhaka.
The United States is ranked as the top
export destination for Bangladeshi
products, and two-way trade between
the United States and Bangladesh
totaled $10.64 billion in 2021.
During the Trade Show, the US
Claiming that the BNP has stigmatized the
caretaker government system, he said, "Why
are they going backward now. actually BNP is
not farsighted but it is backward-looking one.
Opposing blindly is the only tool of BNP".
about the BNP's take-back, the minister
said the BNP's take-back means spike of
arson terrorism and corruption by hawa
Bhaban-khuab Bhaban. "The BNP leaders
now talk about electricity and foreign
reserves. Do they have no shame?" he
questioned. Quader said those who plunged
the country into darkness during their
regime when there was constant power
shortfall, are talking about electricity .
Blaming the BNP leaders, he said the
country's people have not yet forgotten the
cheating of BNP as they were deceived by
providing poles in the name of electricity.
The aL general secretary said there is no
shortage of power generation in the country
but there is a crisis of fuel which is prevailing all
over the world. "There was not such crisis
before. The government has brought cent
percent of the country under the electricity
coverage - but the government is still making
all efforts to resolve the energy crisis," he said.
Quader said the BNP leaders are busy in
criticising the government blindly without
understanding the existing global
situation, while they talked about the
foreign reserve.
Embassy will host four informational
seminars.
On Thursday at 3:00pm, the US
agency for International Development
(USaID) will lead a discussion on
USaID in Bangladesh: Supporting
Economic Growth and Engaging the
Private Sector.
On Friday, at 3pm, US Embassy
Dhaka Consular Officers and
Education USa advisors will
provide a joint presentation on the
free consultative education services
provided by the U.S. Embassy
through its Education USa
advising Centers across
Bangladesh, as well as the student
visa application process for study
abroad in the United States.
Following this session, US Embassy
Consular Officials will discuss the
process for applying for US visas,
including business, investor, and work
visas at 4:30pm.
On Saturday, at 4:30pm, Embassy
officials will join a panel presentation
seminar on intellectual property rights'
impact on cross-border business.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter D. Haas will inaugurate the three-day 28th US Trade Show that
will begin in the city on Thursday demonstrating "US commitment" to working in partnership with
Bangladesh.
Photo : UNB
WeDneSDay, ocToBer 26, 2022
4
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Wednesday, october 26, 2022
Health threat
from diabetes
The World Diabetes Day is observed in
Bangladesh regularly or anually. This
year's Day was observed on Wednesday.
Different programmes were carried out on
the occasion such as discussion meetings,
seminars, rallies, etc. But the observance of
days such as these are more rituals. The
same do not have so much of enduring
impact at the field level where so much
should be done to build barriers against this
most disease.
Diabetes does not kill quickly. Therefore,
people feel complacent to be proactive to
stop it from finding a foothold in one's body
or to treat it with great earnestness. But both
attitude can be fatal in the medium and
longer term. First of all unregulated diabetes
can reduce human vitality, curb their contribution
to working hours. Ultimately,
patients with the affliction may turn out to
be a liability in the medical, physical and
economic sense for their families and society
as a whole. Thus, the best course is to prevent
diabetes from finding a berth in the
body and if it is already entrenched then to
keep it under firm control.
But it is worryingly noted that the number
of sufferers from diabetes have soared in
Bangladesh in recent years. It was reported
on Wednesday that there are some 8 million
identified sufferers from diabetes in
Bangladesh.
However, the real number of total sufferers
could be greater in the background of the
disease not getting detected in so many
cases. Besides cases of juvenile diabetes is
also spreading fast, something unthinkable
even a decade ago. Indeed, diabetes appears
to be the single biggest health threat in
Bangladesh nowadays. People with diabetes
are seen to be increasing faster in number
in Bangladesh compared to other major diseases.
A country like Bangladesh with its modest
national health budget and meager resources
available at individual and family levels,
needs to concentrate more on the preventive
sides of diabetes so that people do not
acquire this serious health problem in the
first place and to train up the ones who get
the disease to keep it under control. If this is
done, then the expenditure of resources on
diabetes related illnesses can be reasonable
and diabetic patients can continue to lead
useful and productive lives.
Diabetes prevention involve eating more
healthfully, becoming more physically active
and losing a few extra pounds - and it's never
too late to start. Making a few simple
changes in lifestyle now may help one to
avoid the serious health complications of
diabetes down the road, such as nerve, kidney
and heart damage.
The first rule to prevent and control diabetes
is regular physical activity. Exercise
can help one to lose weight, lower blood
sugar and to boost sensitivity to insulin
which helps to keep blood sugar within a
normal range. Research shows that aerobic
exercise can help control diabetes, but the
greatest benefit comes from a fitness programme
that includes both aerobic exercises
and exercising with weights.
Foods high in fiber include fruits, vegetables,
beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
Regular consumption of these can help to
ward off diabetes in the first place or to control
the same if already developed.
Diabetes related information in
Bangladesh require regular and focused dissemination
in the mass media more so to
create greater awareness as diabetes is posing
as a serious and spreading health concern
in the country. As it is, such publicities
are only intermittent when the media needs
to campaign on a daily basis to alert people
about the disease.
A new era of paramilitary supremacy in Iraq
The actual occupant of the post,
Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani, is a
nobody with zero parliamentary
support who is entirely beholden to those who
placed him in power. There are excellent
reasons why hundreds of thousands of Iraqis
brought Baghdad to a halt in August over Al-
Sudani's candidacy.
In 2010, when Al-Maliki was prime
minister, he appointed Al-Sudani minister of
human rights - at a time when there were no
human rights to administer. During this black
phase of Iraq's history, Al-Maliki co-opted
militia forces such as Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq, the
Mukhtar Army and the Imam Ali Brigades to
embark on bloody sectarian purges and to
assassinate journalists, activists and political
opponents. Al-Maliki weaponized the
judiciary against his enemies and purged
Sunni fighters who had risked their lives
combating terrorist groups.
As chairman of the commission for de-
Baathification, Al-Sudani assisted Al-Maliki
in purging hundreds of Sunnis and political
rivals from administrative roles. The Iraqi
Commission of Integrity estimated that $500
billion was corruptly siphoned off from the
Iraqi budget during Al-Maliki's tenure, much
of which went toward funding paramilitary
violence.
Such were the industrial-scale crimes
against human rights and interfaith
coexistence on Al-Maliki and Al-Sudani's
watch that, in 2014, Iraq disintegrated
altogether and much of the country became a
playground for the twin plagues of Daesh and
Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi militias, which took
crimes against humanity to entirely new
levels of horror and cruelty.
As prime minister, Al-Sudani (a longstanding
member of Al-Maliki's Dawa party)
will be solely accountable to Al-Maliki and his
paramilitary Hashd allies who brought Iraq
back to the brink of civil war in their dogged
Adashboard at Cape Canaveral in Florida,
USA, shows the liftoff of a rocket carrying
South Africa's first homemade
nanosatellites on January 13, 2022. (Cape
Peninsula University of Technology/Twitter)
FILE - A dashboard at Cape Canaveral in
Florida, USA, shows the liftoff of a rocket
carrying South Africa's first homemade
nanosatellites on January 13, 2022. (Cape
Peninsula University of Technology/Twitter)
What will Africa look like by 2050? Will the
present tale of missed opportunities persist? Or
will the continent become a superpower
securing a pole position in the new race to reach
new frontiers of technology and of our
imagination? Will, it, for instance, become a
leading space-faring continent?
Today's forecasts paint a dire picture of the
continent's future. Conflict. Poverty.
Unemployment. The plagues of yesterday
creep into tomorrow. On the face of it, there
appears to be little reason to expect a miracle -
a sudden awakening that could herald the rapid
transformation that Singapore and South
efforts to secure his candidacy.
A large part of the blame for this disaster for
Iraqi democracy lies at the door of Muqtada
Al-Sadr, who until recently had the single
largest bloc in parliament. Had Al-Sadr
possessed a degree of patience and political
acumen, he could have overcome the Hashd's
blocking efforts and reached an
understanding with the Kurds, Sunnis and
independents to form a government. Instead,
he threw the mother of all political tantrums,
pulled his supporters out of parliament and
allowed the Hashd to acquire most of the
seats he vacated.
It initially seemed as if Al-Sadr possessed a
winning strategy, as he flooded the Green
Zone with his supporters in a bid to block Al-
Sudani's candidature and force early
elections. However, he then staged one of the
most humiliating climbdowns in modern
political history after Tehran coerced Al-
Sadr's theological superior, Ayatollah Kadhim
Al-Haeri, into withdrawing his support.
With both Al-Sudani and Rashid such weak
and malleable figures, it is clear who is
intended to govern Iraq next.
We should not discount the extreme levels
of bad blood between Al-Maliki and the
Sadrists, which at times has escalated into
assassinations and bloodletting among each
other's foot soldiers. In July, a recording was
leaked in which Al-Maliki, among other
insults, denounced Al-Sadr as "a hateful
Zionist." Temporarily reduced to enraged
BarIa aLaMUDDIn
impotence, Al-Sadr is probably biding his
time so that his next move inflicts maximum
damage on an Al-Maliki-brokered
administration.
Blame for this debacle also lies with the
Kurdish and Sunni political factions. They
know very well that Al-Maliki and the Hashd
have hostile anti-democratic ambitions for
Iraq, but they have allowed themselves to be
divided and bought off cheaply at the cost of
Iraq's sovereignty. While the Kurdistan
Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan jostle over trivial appointments,
they risk losing Iraq altogether.
as prime minister, al-Sudani (a long-standing member
of al-Maliki's Dawa party) will be solely accountable to
al-Maliki and his paramilitary Hashd allies who brought
Iraq back to the brink of civil war in their dogged efforts
to secure his candidacy.
Korea, for instance, have gone through in the
past six decades.
Yet this pessimistic narrative has obvious
consequences. It scares investors. It
demotivates African expatriates who might
otherwise have considered returning home.
Most critically, it robs African youth of a chance
to dream of a better life right here on the
continent. All of this perpetuates a vicious cycle
where a presumption of future failures denies
Africa the opportunities and resources it needs
to truly deliver on the potential of its 1.2 billion
people - in turn reinforcing prejudices about
the continent.
In my new book, From Africa to Mars, I
counter this negative narrative. From Africa to
Mars tells the story of a technologically
advanced African continent that takes on a
seemingly impossible challenge: flying to Mars
within a decade. However, myriad challenges
arise causing the world to wonder: "Will they
make it on time?"
I sent an early version of the manuscript to a
friend based in the United Kingdom. When he
MoMo BerTranD
Former President Barham Salih was widely
seen as a trusted pair of hands. His successor,
Abdul Latif Rashid - an independent Kurd
whose main claim to fame is having once been
water resources minister - will struggle to
emerge from Salih's shadow. With both Al-
Sudani and Rashid such weak and malleable
figures, it is clear who is intended to govern
Iraq next. However, Al-Sudani is already
struggling to put together a Cabinet, amid
reports of fierce rivalry between Hashd
faction leaders over who gets to benefit from
key posts.
With the Hashd hemorrhaging popular
support over the past year, Tehran worries
about the future electability of its Iraqi
puppets. Hence, plotting is certainly already
afoot for how the next elections can be
undermined - either by preventing them
occurring at all or by seeking to dominate the
read through it, he noted that it felt somewhat
utopic. I asked him whether Iron Man or
Wonder Woman felt utopic too. He said no.
"It's Westerners. Flying cars. Lasers.
Interstellar travel. They can do all that," he said,
pausing and cocking his head before adding,
"Would you ever get on a rocket built by an
African?"
He probably meant it as a joke but his query
showed just how much the cancer of
stereotypes has metastasised. We live in a
world where tales of African genius are not just
missing, they are discouraged and
subconsciously banned.
A few years ago, I was working on a
communications campaign in Burkina Faso.
Our goal? To encourage youth in the capital,
Ouagadougou, to train for STEM careers. I
crafted a series of illustrated posters on the
outcomes of science and engineering studies.
In one poster, a child started as an electrician
and ended up as a space engineer. When I
shared the poster with colleagues, one sent a
reply that left me utterly shocked.
aftermath.
The worst fears for Iraq are being realized
and matters are set to deteriorate as militias
seek to reinforce their already unwieldy
presence at every level of this administration
in order to exact control and extract every last
corrupt dinar of public money. Outgoing
Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi had
acted as a vital bulwark against Hashd
preeminence. Over the coming weeks, watch
these militias make a bonfire of his legacy.
Yet, at this moment of apparent victory,
these Hashd militias are looking nervously
over their shoulders. To the east of Iraq, for
the past five weeks a nationwide uprising has
been gaining momentum. Tens of thousands
of brave Iranian girls and women are burning
their hijabs and calling for the downfall of the
hated ayatollahs and Revolutionary Guard
commanders who control the Hashd.
The Iraqi Hashd and all Iran's other client
militias are living on borrowed time. Maybe
not this year, but sometime soon, enough
courageous Iranians will take to the streets to
erase their hated tyrant regime once and for
all. At that moment, the Hashd, Hezbollah
and the Houthis should ensure that their bags
are packed and plane tickets purchased;
because once their Iranian masters have been
vanquished, nobody will be there to protect
them from public wrath for the damage they
have wreaked upon their respective
homelands' sovereignty, stability and identity.
Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning
journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East
and the UK. She is editor of the Media
Services Syndicate and has interviewed
numerous heads of state.
Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning
journalist and broadcaster in the Middle
East and the UK. She is editor of the Media
Services Syndicate and has interviewed
numerous heads of state.
People thought Corbyn and I would crash the pound;
The real risk was Truss and her fanatics
We knew the markets would react
sharply to us and were prepared
for that. These free-market
zealots had no plan at all
London's Evening Standard newspaper,
with the headline "Pound hits all-time low
in backlash at Kwasi tax cuts" on display
outside the Bank of England
Watching the events since the
introduction of the "Not a Budget", I have
sat with my head in my hands. You could
almost weep for the lasting consequences
of this show of arrogance, ideological
obstinacy and incompetence. People's
homes, pensions and the public services
they rely upon are all now at serious risk.
It's hard to comprehend just how badly
they misjudged the situation and how little
they prepared for taking over the highest
offices of state.
In his brilliant book The Great Crash,
1929, the economist JK Galbraith advises
that to avoid a crash in the future you
should put in place a vast range of
institutional protections, but that the most
important protection is memory.
My first Labour party conference was in
1976 in Blackpool, when the Labour
chancellor, Denis Healey, burst into
conference amid boos and cheers to
announce the acceptance of an IMF loan to
prop up the government after a run on
sterling. The conditions of the loan were
interest rate hikes, cuts in public spending
and wage controls. The effect was to see
support for the Callaghan Labour
government drain away, over the next
three years, heralding the Thatcher era.
That experience was burned into my
psyche. So, when I became shadow
chancellor, I made it clear that I would
plan for every option - including a run on
the pound - if we were elected. At the time
I was accused of making a serious faux pas,
but I wanted the markets to know that we
had a serious plan for our economy
whatever was thrown at us.
Although I thought there would be some
initial turbulence in the markets, I didn't
believe that there would be a run. I toured
the City intensively to gauge what the true
reaction to the election of the Labour party
would be. Meeting numerous asset
managers and financial advisers, I
explained that there were many things in
our programme that they may not like,
including some renationalisations and tax
rises on the wealthiest, for instance; but
they were going to happen and there was
so much more on investment that would
give them real investment opportunities.
The response I got was that although
they definitely didn't like some of our
JoHn McDonneLL
policies, as long as there was certainty and
predictability they could live with it. They
could price in our policies into their
calculations and we would be able to
establish a working relationship. As long
as there were no major surprises, they
could understand our sense of general
direction and would not sabotage our
programme.
I had a team of advisers from the City
and with experience of working with me to
plan our steps into government and our
ongoing relationship with the market. We
received a weekly briefing from a
respected investment consultancy in the
How ironic that it should be a duo of free-market fanatics, Liz
Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng, who would end up causing a run on the
pound. The 40-year neoliberal experiment has failed, and the
reaction from the markets to the last desperate attempt to save it by
Truss and Kwarteng has demonstrated that investors know it too.
City.
I also regularly met Mark Carney at the
Bank of England to brief him on our
programme and get feedback. We had a
very constructive and open working
relationship and I listened carefully to his
views. Before the elections I met with Tom
Scholar, the Treasury permanent
secretary, and his team to prepare for our
first budget and to commission the
necessary report from the Office for
Budget Responsibility. I found Scholar to
be a first-rate professional, very much in
the mould of Maurice Stonefrost, who I
worked with and served my
apprenticeship with at the Greater London
council.
How ironic that it should be a duo of freemarket
fanatics, Liz Truss and Kwasi
Kwarteng, who would end up causing a run
on the pound. The 40-year neoliberal
experiment has failed, and the reaction from
the markets to the last desperate attempt to
save it by Truss and Kwarteng has
demonstrated that investors know it too.
Unless wiser heads in the Tory party
prevail and there is a dramatic change of
course or change of personnel at the top of
this government, we face the prospect of
possibly two years of staggering from one
crisis to another with a relentless
deterioration in our economy, and the
potential for deep societal division leading
to outbreaks of large-scale protest,
perhaps even degenerating into riot.
People may not have agreed with my
aims or with Labour's programme at the
time, but I did not want anyone to be able
to accuse us of lack of preparation or
incompetence. My team and I were
genuinely ready for government.
You'll forgive me, I hope, for considering
what could have been.
John McDonnell has been the
Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington
since 1997. He was shadow
chancellor from 2015 to 2020
Will Africa send the first human to Mars?
She remarked that it was impossible for a
child in Burkina Faso to become a space
engineer. I informed her that the West African
nation was already building its first satellite,
Burkina Sat-1. Hence, there was no reason why
a Burkinabe child couldn't join the country's
nascent space programme.
Indeed, Africa's space sector is reaching new
heights. In January 2022, South Africa made
history by launching three nanosatellites that
were the first to be wholly designed and
produced on the African continent. Cocoa
farmers in Ghana will soon be able to receive
agricultural advice thanks to the SAT4Farming
initiative, a programme that leverages satellite
imagery to monitor environmental conditions
in the country. Angola's second
telecommunications satellite, Angosat-2,
launched last week.
Momo Bertrand has extensive working
experience in the United States, Europe, and
Africa. He currently serves as a Young
Professional (YP) at the World Bank.
WEDnESDay, oCtobEr 26, 2022
5
amanDa SCHuPaK
Who chooses what you eat? If your answer is "I do," you're
partly right. You may buy your own groceries and order your
own restaurant meals, but it's the food industry that
determines what is stocked on store shelves and listed on
menus.
"The institutions all around us affect food choice," said
Matthew Hayek, assistant professor of environmental studies
at New York University. Your choices are whittled down by
what's in the supermarket, your workplace or school canteen,
the restaurants in the strip mall on your way home, he said.
That means that for people who want to reduce the carbon
footprint of their diets, the greenest option isn't always on the
table. Or if it is, it isn't the most appetizing or convenient.
What we eat has an enormous environmental impact.
Scientists estimate that food production causes 35% of
planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, with meat
responsible for more than twice the pollution of fruits, grains
and greens.
In April, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) report urged world leaders, especially those in
developed countries, to support a transition to sustainable,
healthy, low-emissions diets to help mitigate the worst effects
of the climate crisis.
But the burden can't rest on individuals making personal
food choices, experts stress - producers, retailers, restaurants,
workplaces and government must help make plant-based
foods convenient, enticing and tasty.
Eating less meat is one of the most meaningful changes
people can make to curb greenhouse gas emissions, help
reduce deforestation and even decrease the risk of pandemiccausing
diseases passing from animals to humans, according
to the IPCC report.
The shifts needn't be extreme. Adopting a healthy
Mediterranean-style diet - rich in grains, vegetables, nuts and
moderate amounts of fish and poultry - could be nearly as
effective as going vegetarian or vegan, the report found. If
everyone met basic nutritional recommendations, which for
most people in developed countries means more fruit and veg
and less red meat, emissions could fall 29% by 2050,
according to one study.
"But it's hard for people to change their diets," said Caroline
Bushnell at the Good Food Institute, a non-profit that
advocates for plant-based and cultured meat.
Consumers often say they're motivated to eat more
healthily and more sustainably. But if given the choice
between a dish that's better for the planet but not especially
appetizing, and a mouth-watering, meat-heavy option, people
tend to listen to their gut, not their conscience.
It's like offering someone the choice between fries and a side
salad, Bushnell said. "Most people don't pick the side salad -
it's not really an equivalent option." GFI wants large food
manufacturers and processors to "change how the foods that
people love are made", she said. "Instead of advocating for
behavior change, we approach it from a supply side angle."
Big meat companies and consumer food brands are
Choose a climate-friendly
diets to make a difference
Scientists estimate that food production causes 35% of greenhouse gas emissions, and meat is
responsible for more than twice the pollution of plants.
Photo: Getty Images
banking on plant-based proteins and lab-grown meat to help
them respond to a growing appetite for more climate-friendly
foods and to cut their own emissions. McDonald's is testing
out the McPlant, while Burger King sells Impossible
Whoppers and its UK arm is aiming for half of its menu to be
plant-based by 2030. Ikea has promised the same in its
restaurants by 2025.
Perdue makes hybrid chicken-veggie nuggets for kids and
Tyson, which now calls itself a "protein" company, has
launched its own brand of plant-based products. Last year
JBS, the world's largest meat producer, acquired a cultivated
meat startup and plans to start selling lab-grown steaks,
sausages and hamburgers in 2024.
With more products to sell, retailers, too, need to push nonanimal
proteins. The UK's largest supermarket chain, Tesco,
for example, set a five-year goal to increase sales of plantbased
proteins by 300%.
Getting customers to put plant-based alternatives in their
shopping carts starts with placing those products next to
things they're alternative to, Bushnell said - meat-free burgers
near the ground beef, vegan cheeses among conventional
goudas and mozzarella - rather than relegating them to a
specialty section.
Placement in the refrigerated section was crucial to
bringing alternative milks mainstream. The tactic was
pioneered in the 1990s by the founder of Silk, who started
packaging his company's soy milk in traditional milk cartons
and persuading grocery stores to stock them in the dairy case.
Now cow milks mingle with a bevy of nut and grain milks and
90% of alternative milk sales come from the fridge rather than
the shelf-stable aisle.
The infiltration of alternative protein companies into
supermarket real estate has not been without pushback,
however. Several states, with pressure from farm
associations, have passed laws restricting the use of words
such as "burger", "sausage" and "hotdog" on plant-based
products, on the basis they could mislead customers. A
similar law was voted down in the EU, though the bloc still
prohibits labeling vegan products with dairy names.
"Consumers are not confused," Bushnell said. "They don't
think when they buy a plant-based hotdog it's a beef hotdog,
but they understand how to use it."
In 2020, the research non-profit the World Resources
Institute released a report looking at the most effective ways
to encourage people to eat less meat based on the psychology
of food choices. One of the strongest conclusions, the
researchers wrote, was "that decision-making around what to
eat is rarely a rational and carefully thought-through
process". People crave familiarity and are influenced by subtle
physical and linguistic cues.
The report advises those in the food industry to offer more
plant-based options, make them taste good and make them
sound good. While fried chicken is "crispy" and burgers are
"juicy", menus often describe plant-based options as
"healthy", "vegan" or "meat-free" - none of which, research
shows, makes people want to order them.
Using language to evoke flavor and mouthfeel (rather than
healthfulness or ethics) makes people substantially more
likely to order a vegetarian meal. When the cafes of UK food
retailer Sainsbury's renamed their meat-free sausage and
mashed potatoes "Cumberland spiced veggie sausage and
mash", sales shot up 76%.
Other linguistic nudges can promote veg options by
highlighting their environmental benefits. Among the most
effective messages in WRI's research were calls for people to
be part of something already happening: "90% of Americans
are making the change to eat less meat. Join this growing
movement." Or they were easy to understand comparisons:
"swapping just one meat dish for a plant-based one saves
greenhouse gas emissions that are equivalent to the energy
used to charge your phone for two years."
"Both of those are all about making an inconsequential
choice a bit more consequential," said Sophie Attwood, a
senior behavioral scientist at WRI.
It also helps, Attwood said, to put vegetable options at the
top of the menu and interspersed with, rather than segregated
from, meat dishes. Studies have found making vegetable
meals the default choice makes people many times more
likely to order them.
Companies and institutions can lower their emissions by
offering more plant-based meals. "They are the most
important changes that an organization can make. What are
you serving? What's the ratio of vegetarian to meat-based
dishes?" said Edwina Hughes, head of WRI's cool food
program, which has pledges from more than 50 organizations
to reduce the climate impact of their food by 25% by 2030.
Car tyres cause significant pollution
DamIan CarrInGton
Almost 2,000 times more
particle pollution is
produced by tyre wear than
is pumped out of the
exhausts of modern cars,
tests have shown. The tyre
particles pollute air, water
and soil and contain a wide
range of toxic organic
compounds, including
known carcinogens, the
analysts say, suggesting
tyre pollution could rapidly
become a major issue for
regulators.
Air pollution causes
millions of early deaths a
year globally. The
requirement for better
filters has meant particle
emissions from tailpipes in
developed countries are
now much lower in new
cars, with those in Europe
far below the legal limit.
However, the increasing
weight of cars means more
particles are being thrown
off by tyres as they wear on
the road.
The tests also revealed
that tyres produce more
than 1tn ultrafine particles
for each kilometre driven,
meaning particles smaller
than 23 nanometres. These
are also emitted from
exhausts and are of special
concern to health, as their
size means they can enter
organs via the bloodstream.
Particles below 23nm are
hard to measure and are
not currently regulated in
either the EU or US.
"Tyres are rapidly
eclipsing the tailpipe as a
major source of emissions
from vehicles," said Nick
Molden, at Emissions
Analytics, the leading
independent emissions
testing company that did
the research. "Tailpipes are
now so clean for pollutants
that, if you were starting
out afresh, you wouldn't
even bother regulating
them."
Molden said an initial
estimate of tyre particle
emissions prompted the
new work. "We came to a
bewildering amount of
material being released
into the environment -
300,000 tonnes of tyre
rubber in the UK and US,
just from cars and vans
every year."
There are currently no
regulations on the wear
rate of tyres and little
regulation on the chemicals
they contain. Emissions
Analytics has now
determined the chemicals
present in 250 different
types of tyres, which are
usually made from
synthetic rubber, derived
from crude oil. "There are
hundreds and hundreds of
chemicals, many of which
are carcinogenic," Molden
said. "When you multiply it
by the total wear rates, you
get to some very staggering
figures as to what's being
released."
The wear rate of different
tyre brands varied
substantially and the toxic
chemical content varied
even more, he said,
showing low-cost changes
were feasible to cut their
environmental impact.
"You could do a lot by
eliminating the most toxic
tyres," he said. "It's not
about stopping people
driving, or having to invent
completely different new
Emissions from tailpipes in developed countries are much lower in new
cars, with those in Europe far below the legal limit. Photo: Jacob King
tyres. If you could eliminate
the worst half, and maybe
bring them in line with the
best in class, you can make
a massive difference. But at
the moment, there's no
regulatory tool, there's no
surveillance."
The tests of tyre wear
were done on 14 different
brands using a Mercedes C-
Class driven normally on
the road, with some tested
over their full lifetime.
High-precision scales
measured the weight lost
by the tyres and a sampling
system that collects
particles behind the tyres
while driving assessed the
mass, number and size of
particles, down to 6nm.
The real-world exhaust
emissions were measured
across four petrol SUVs, the
most popular new cars
today, using models from
2019 and 2020.
Used tyres produced 36
milligrams of particles each
kilometre, 1,850 times
higher than the 0.02
mg/km average from the
exhausts. A very aggressive
- though legal - driving style
sent particle emissions
soaring, to 5,760 mg/km.
Far more small particles
are produced by the tyres
than large ones. This
means that while the vast
majority of the particles by
number are small enough
to become airborne and
contribute to air pollution,
these represent only 11% of
the particles by weight.
Nonetheless, tyres still
produce hundreds of times
more airborne particles by
weight than the exhausts.
The average weight of all
cars has been increasing.
But there has been
particular debate over
whether battery electric
vehicles (BEVs), which are
heavier than conventional
cars and can have greater
wheel torque, may lead to
more tyre particles being
produced. Molden said it
would depend on driving
style, with gentle EV drivers
producing fewer particles
than fossil-fuelled cars
driven badly, though on
average he expected
slightly higher tyre particles
from BEVs.
Dr James Tate, at the
University of Leeds'
Institute for Transport
Studies in the UK, said the
tyre test results were
credible. "But it is very
important to note that
BEVs are becoming lighter
very fast," he said. "By
2024-25 we expect BEVs
and [fossil-fuelled] city cars
will have comparable
weights. Only high-end,
large BEVs with high
capacity batteries will
weigh more."
Other recent research has
suggested tyre particles are
a major source of the
microplastics polluting the
oceans. A specific chemical
used in tyres has been
linked to salmon deaths in
the US and California
proposed a ban this month.
"The US is more
advanced in their thinking
about [the impacts of tyre
particles]," said Molden.
"The European Union is
behind the curve. Overall,
it's early days, but this
could be a big issue."
rICHa Syal
Blankets of thick gritty haze
and ominous orange skies
since early April have sent
thousands to hospitals and
resulted in at least four deaths
in Iraq and in Syria.
The apocalyptic scenes have
affected everyone. Hospitals
in Syria have been on standby
for residents unable to
breathe. Iraq forced schools
and offices to close in some
provinces, and on 16 May
declared a state of emergency.
In the Gulf states, flights were
halted in Kuwait, and both
Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates issued dust
storm alerts.
"The increasing frequency
of dust storms means more
problems, more loss of life
and property, and more
destruction," said Nasim
Hossein Hamzeh, a
researcher specialising in
dust projects at the Air and
Climate Technology
Company in Iran.
Dust and sand storms are
an
atmospheric
phenomenon, representing
one of the most severe, if
underrated, natural hazards
in dry regions. In the Middle
East, they frequently cover
arid and semi-arid land,
typically in late spring and
summer. This year has been
especially severe, experts say.
They have come far earlier
than normal, and are
spreading across a much
wider area.
"It is very concerning. Dust
Dust storms devastating
the Middle East
storms do not just impact one
country or specific location in
the world and can have farreaching
consequences
globally," said Muge Akpinar-
Elci, dean of the school of
public health at the University
of Nevada.
Dust particles can travel
thousands of kilometres. All
that is needed to trigger a
storm is wind, a source of dust
where there is little to no
vegetation, and dry
conditions. One of the most
common routes in the region
is when strong north-westerly
winds, known as shamal,
push cold air through the dry
and sandy soil areas of Iraq,
picking up dust between the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers,
and carrying it along to the
Arabian peninsula. This year,
the storms stretched to Saudi
Arabia over other Gulf states,
as well as cloaking parts of
Jordan.
Northern Iraq has been
particularly exposed,
witnessing a sandstorm
nearly every week since
March. In May, Issa al-
Fayyad, the director general
of the technical department
for the Ministry of
Environment, said the
country faced an average of
272 dust storms a year. He
predicts that it will grow to
300 days of dust a year by
2050, and warns that climate
change is the key factor in the
increase.
Mohammed Mahmoud, the
director of the climate and
water programme at the
Middle East Institute, warns,
similarly, that the once rare
occurrence will only be more
frequent as the climate crisis
increases aridity and warms
the already dry region, while
altering weather patterns to
create more storms.
"Just look to the sky. If the
visual of dark orange
apocalyptic skies isn't
enough, it's the net impact of
these multiple dust storms
happening in rapid order," he
said.
Riyadh, the capital of Saudi
Arabia, has been in dust
storms for more than 35 days
in the first four months of
2022, while the highest
number of days with dust
storms in the past four years
was 48 days in 2019,
according to the Royal
Commission for Riyadh City.
For Manna Alwadei at the
department of environmental
health at the Imam
Abdulrahman Bin Faisal
Heavy dust storm advances towards the shore in Kuwait City on 23 may.
University in Saudi Arabia,
"this year could be one of the
worst for Saudi Arabia, as
they occur more frequently
than before".
The consequences are
relentless. Alwadei's own father
was hospitalised due to asthma
exacerbated by the storms.
Impacts range from respiratory
illness to reducing crop yields
to lowering property values to
steering foreign workers away
from polluted places.
According to the United
Nations, dust storms cost the
region's economy $13bn
(£10.3bn) a year.
Given that storms can carry
harmful pollutants, exposure
to sandstorms can cause a
myriad of health problems. A
series of storms in May sent at
least 5,000 people in Iraq to
the hospital with breathing
issues, and led to the death of
one, the health ministry
spokesperson Seif al-Badr
said. Three others had died in
the eastern Syrian province of
Deir ez-Zor, the Associated
Press reported.
"The impact of dust storms
exceeds regional and
continental boundaries," said
Akpinar. "So this is not
somebody else's problem, this
is everyone's problem."
Photo: noufal Ibrahim
WeDNeSDAy, OCTOBeR 26, 2022
6
Digital certificates and smart ID cards have been distributed among valiant Freedom Fighters, at
Adamdighi, Bogura.
Photo: Soikat Khan
One more Covid-19
patient dies in Rangpur
RANGPUR:
One more
Covid-19 patient died during
the last 24 hours ending at 8
am today in Rangpur
division, reports BSS.
Health officials said the
new Covid-19 related
casualty was reported from
Dinajpur district raising the
total number of fatalities to
1,293 in the division.
Meanwhile, one fresh
Covid-19 case was diagnosed
after testing 17 samples at
the 5.88 positivity rate on
Monday. "With the diagnosis
of one new case, the total
number of Covid-19 patients
rose to 64,937 in the division,"
Divisional Director (Health,
In-charge) Dr Md Habibur
Rahman said. The total
number of recovered Covid-
19 patients remained steady
at 63,579 as no more
infected patients healed
during the last 24 hours in
the division.
At the same time, more
4,203 doses of Covid-19 jabs
were administered as the
first, second and booster
doses on Monday raising the
number of inoculated
vaccines to three crore 33
lakh 18 thousand and 981
doses in the division.
"Among the total
administered Covid-19 jabs
so far, 1,41,64,600 doses
were inoculated as the first
doses, 1,32,55,870 as the
second doses and 58,98,511
as the booster doses," Dr
Rahman said.
Man held with
2.15-Kg heroin
in Rajshahi
RAJSHAHI:
Members of
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
in an anti-crime drive
detained an alleged drug
peddler with 2.15 kilograms of
heroin from a village in the
district last night, reports BSS.
The detainee was
identified as Mamun Mian,
35, son of Tunu Mian in
Baroghoria Bazar area
under Sadar upazila in
Chapainawabganj district,
RAB sources said yesterday
morning. On a tip-off, a
team of the elite force
conducted a raid in Abhoya
Kamarpara village under
Godagari upazila at around
8:30 pm and held him with
the contraband item.
The person along with the
seized goods was handed
over to Godagari Model
Police Station with a case.
3 members of a family
killed in Cumilla
CUMILLA: Three
members of a family were
killed after a tree fell on them
during the storm in
Nangalkot upazila of the
district last night, upazila
nirbahi officer (UNO) Md.
Raihan Mehbub confirmed
to BSS.
The deceased were
identified as Nizam Uddin,
28, his wife Sathi Akhter, 24,
and daughter Liza, 4.
The UNO said the tree fell
on a house at Hesakhal village
of the upazila around 9pm,
leaving the three members of
the house seriously injured.
Village police members forms
human chain in Joypurhat
MASRAKUL ALOM, JOyPURHAT CORReSPONDeNT:
The village police members organized a
human chain program in Joypurhat as a
central program to demand the
nationalization of the job of the law and
order-maintaining village police force of the
Union Parishad under the Ministry of Local
Government. Around 300 village police of all
union parishads of the district participated in
an hour-long human chain in front of the
office of the district commissioner on
Tuesday afternoon.
Bangladesh Village Police Force
Employees Union Joypurhat District Branch
President Elias Hossain, Vice President
Ruhul Amin, General Secretary Delowar
Hossain, Joint General Secretary Saiful
Islam, Organizing Secretary Dilip Kumar
and Women Affairs Secretary Rasheda
Begum and other leaders spoke during the
human chain movement.
The speakers in the human chain said that
the village police are recognized employees
of the republic. The members of the village
police engaged in law and order
maintenance at the marginal village level
perform 24-hour duty in about 70 types of
work under the government's instructions.
But we are deprived of fair value according to
labor.
A Daffadar of village police gets a salary
of only 7 thousand taka, and a Mahalladar
gets 6 thousand 500 taka. Local
Government Ministry bears 50 percent of
this salary and Union Parishad bears 50
percent from its own income. Among
these, even if we get the 50% from the
government in time, we do not get the
other 50% in time. We are living really
abysmal life due to the price hike in daily
amenities and our salary being due.
That's why we are demanding the
nationalization of our job to the government.
Under the leadership of the president of
Bangladesh Village Police Forces Workers
Association Joypurhat Branch, Elias
Hossain, a manuscript was given to Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina through District
Commissioner MD Shariful Islam.
The village police members organized a human chain program in Joypurhat as a
central program to demand the nationalization of their job. Photo: Masrakul Alom
Sunamganj Deputy Commissioner Md. Jahangir Hossain inspected the land
and houses provided as a gift from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the
landless and homeless families in the Adar Bazar area of Sunamganj Sadar
Upazila yesterday. Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Salma Parveen, Assistant
Commissioner Mohan Minji, Rangarchar UP Chairman Abdul Hai and other
dignitaries of the area were present in the inspection. Photo: AK Milon
Three including cops killed in Tangail road accident
TANGAIL: Two police constables and an accused of a case were killed and two others
injured when a microbus hit a truck from behind in Madhupur upazila of the district on
Monday night, reports BSS.
The deceased were identified as constables Nurul Islam and Sohel Rana of Narayanpur
Police Outpost in Jamalpur Sadar upazila and accused Lalan Mia. The accident occurred
on the Tangail-Jamalpur highway in Golabari area of the upazila around 8:30pm when the
policemen were returning to Jamalpur with accused Lalan after conducting his DNA test
in Dhaka, said sub-inspector (SI) of Madhupur Police Station Morshed Alam. Two died on
the spot, he said. The injured were taken to Madhupur Upazila Health Complex where
accused Lalan succumbed to his injuries. Seriously injured sub-inspector Azizul Islam and
the driver have been sent to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital for better treatment,
he added.
Freedom
Fighters get
smart ID cards
SOIKAT KHAN, ADAMDIgHI
CORReSPONDeNT:
Digital certificates and smart
ID cards have been
distributed among the best
children of the nation,
valiant Freedom Fighters, at
Adamdighi, Bogura. At 11
o'clock on Tuesday, digital
certificates and smart ID
cards were distributed
among 254 valiant Freedom
Fighters at Upazila Parishad
premises.
Digital certificates have
also been distributed
among 173 heirs of the
deceased freedom fighters.
Under the chairmanship of
Upazila Nirbahi Officer
Tuktuk Talukdar, Awami
League President and
Upazila Parishad
Chairman Sirajul Islam
Khan Raju officially
handed over these digital
certificates and smart ID
cards to the valiant
Freedom Fighters as the
Chief Guest.
Member of Bogura Zilla
Parishad and President of
Upazila Mahila Awami
League Manju Ara Begum,
Police Station Officer-in-
Charge (OC) Rezaul Karim
Reza, Vice President of
Upazila Awami League Abu
Reza Khan, Upazila Former
Commander Abdul Hamid,
Former Deputy Commander
Abir Uddin Khan,
Chatiangram Union Council
Chairman Abdul Haque Abu
were present in the
program.
Dredger capsized
during Sitrang
PATUAKHALI: Bodies of
eight workers, who went
missing after a dredger
sank in the Bay of Bengal as
Cyclone Sitrang hit the
coastal districts Monday
night, were recovered from
the Bay off the coast of
Mirsarai in Chattogram on
Tuesday, reports UNB.
Five of the deceased were
identified as Mahmud Molla,
Alamin, Imam Molla, Abul
Bashar and Tarek. They all
are from Patuakhali district.
The sand lifting dredger
(Saikat-2) was anchored,
with the eight workers on
board, in the sea around
1000 feet away from the
embankment
in
Bashundhora area of the
upazila and sank in the sea
during the storm triggered
by Cyclone Sitrang around
10 pm last night, Md Kabir
Hossain, officer-in-charge
(OC) of Mirsarai Police
Station, said.
Mirsarai police and fire
service divers recovered the
bodies from the sunken
dredger around 2pm, the
OC added. Dredger manager
Rezaul Karim said six more
dredgers were kept in the
area adjacent to the
embankment
in
Bashundhara area. "All the
other workers managed to
evacuate to a safe place
following the cyclone, but
the eight workers of the
dredger Saikat-2 did not
return."
Owner gets back his stolen
Smartphone
MAMUN MOLLA, CHUADANgA CORReSPONDeNT:
The police recovered the stolen mobile
phone of a young man in a smart operation
of Jibannagar police station through the allout
efforts of Chuadanga District
Superintendent of Police Abdullah Al
Mamun. Samrat (18), son of Sohag of
Dangapara under Jibannagar municipality,
went to work as a mason in Karpasdanga on
September 18, when his newly purchased
mobile phone was stolen. After searching in
different places, the mobile phone was not
found.
In such a situation, a general diary was
made on the matter after taking notice of the
Jibannagar Police Station. No. 902 dated
18/09/2022 Eng. In light of this, the matter
came to the attention of Chuadanga District
Police Superintendent of Police Mr.
Abdullah Al Mamun. He gave the
responsibility to Mr. Abdul Khalek and SI
Sajjad, Officer-in-charge of Jibannagar
police station, to solve it seriously. SI Sajjad
was able to recover the mobile phone with
the help of cyber crime team and
information technology of the district police.
Later, when Samrat, the owner of the stolen
mobile phone was shown the phone in the
light of GD, he identified it as his mobile
phone. At this time, in the presence of Mr.
Abdul Khalek, Officer-in-Charge of
Jibannagar Police Station, OC Investigation,
SI Sajjad and other officers, the mobile
phone was handed over to the owner.
The owner and his family members
expressed their sincere gratitude to the
Superintendent of Police.
Abdullah Al Mamun as the District
Superintendent of Police in Chuadanga has
earned a place of trust in the hearts of the
people by accomplishing several
achievements.
Notable among these are uncovering the
mystery of the murder of a sensational
businessman and his wife in Alamdanga, rearresting
the accused who escaped from the
court with handcuffs, arresting smugglers
with gold bars and recovering hundreds of
stolen mobile phones and returning them to
their rightful owners, including effective role
in suppressing drug terrorism and various
crimes in the district. He continues to be a
proud police officer.
Rightful owner Samrat gets back his stolen smarphone by the help of SI
Abdullah Al Mamun.
Photo: Mamun Molla
One arrested for raping a
70 year old woman
MASUDUL HASAN MASUD, BHUAPUR CORReSPONDeNT:
In Tangail's Bhuapur, a 70-year-old woman
was raped by a neighbor who called her for
work and held her hands and face in the
cowshed saying that her wife was not at
home. In this incident, on Monday morning,
Abdur Rashid, the brother of the old woman,
filed a rape case against the accused against
a person named
Ibrahim (45) at the
Bhuapur police station.
Police arrested him
later in the afternoon.
Earlier on October 13 in
Gabsara Union of
Upazila, the incident
took place in Jamura's
remote pasture area of
Megharpatal village.
The accused is the
son of Ibrahim Ashar
Ali. He is the father of
one son and one
daughter. According to
the complaint, the
accused Ibrahim came to the woman's house
at 9 am on October 13 and said that his wife
was not at home. Later, when he went home,
Ibrahim asked her to sweep the cow dung
and yard. The old woman was sweeping the
barn after cleaning the cows. At one point,
Ibrahim entered the cowhouse, threw her on
the ground, held her hands and face and
forcibly raped her. Later he threw her out of
the house. On his way out of there to his
house, she met a neighbor woman on the
road and informed him about the incident.
Then she went home and told her son's wife
the details of the incident.
Her brother Rashid informed the
community leader and the matabbars about
this. Later, instead of trying to mediate in a
domestic manner, they quarreled. The
victim's family did not get
justice in the arbitration.
The nephew of the old
woman Abu said that the
village arbitration was held
5 days after Ibrahim's
family was informed. The
arbitrators did not settle
and agreed to sit another
day. Ibrahim's family,
being brilliant, managed
the Matabbars. Confirming
this fact, local UP member
Alam Sheikh said, after
hearing the unfortunate
incident, I ask the victim's
family to take legal recourse
and I am assisting them as a public
representative.
In this regard, Bhuapur police station
officer-in-charge (OC) Mohammad Faridul
Islam said that the accused person Ibrahim
was arrested and sent to Tangail court after
getting the initial facts of the incident. And
the woman has been sent to Tangail General
Hospital for medical examination.
Bodies of eight workers, who went missing after a dredger sank in the Bay of Bengal were recovered
from the Bay off the coast of Mirsarai in Chattogram on Tuesday.
Photo: UNB
WedneSdAy, OCTObeR 26, 2022
7
Australia has arrested a former US Marine Corps fighter pilot following a request from Washington, officials in Canberra said Tuesday, as
Western governments scrambled to investigate reports that China has been poaching retired military personnel.
Photo : Internet
11 children killed in
school fire outbreak
in central Uganda
KAMPALA : Eleven children
were killed Tuesday in a
school fire outbreak in the
central Ugandan district of
Mukono, police said.
A police statement issued
here said the tragic incident
occurred at Salama School
of the Blind at about 1 a.m.
local time.
"The cause of the fire is
currently unknown but so
far 11 deaths as a result of the
fire have been confirmed
while six are in critical
conditions and admitted at
Herona Hospital in Kisoga,"
the statement said.
School fires are common
in Ugandan schools. The last
fire was in January when
four children died in a fire
outbreak in a school in
Kampala, Uganda's capital.
In 2018, at least nine
students were killed in a fire
that broke out at a high
school in central Uganda.
Before the 2018 incident,
another fatal school fire
happened in 2008, killing 19
pupils at Budo Junior
School in the Wakiso district
in the central region.
Meta confirms
WhatsApp outage,
working to restore
service
PARIS : US tech giant Meta
confirmed a global outage
was affecting its messaging
service WhatsApp on
Tuesday and said it was
working to restore the app
"as quickly as possible".
"We're aware that some
people are currently having
trouble sending messages
and we're working to
restore WhatsApp for
everyone as quickly as
possible," a Meta
spokesman told AFP.
Problems with the hugely
popular service were
reported by monitoring site
Downdetector and user
complaints on social media
on Tuesday morning.
Downdetector said
thousands of WhatsApp
users had been reporting
problems since 0717 GMT,
with a sharp spike
appearing on its dedicated
chart covering the past 24
hours.
Social media users said
they were unable "I think all
of us will have to
acknowledge that the Brits
have done something very
rare in the world, to place a
member of a visible
minority in the most
powerful office," he said.to
connect to the app or send
messages.
WhatsApp's parent
company Meta suffered an
unprecedented major
outage last year.
Former US fighter pilot who
worked in China arrested in
Australia
SYDNEY : Australia has arrested a former
US Marine Corps fighter pilot following a
request from Washington, officials in
Canberra said Tuesday, as Western
governments scrambled to investigate
reports that China has been poaching retired
military personnel, reports BSS.
Daniel Edmund Duggan appeared in court
in New South Wales on Friday, judicial
records show.
"An individual was arrested on 21 October
2022 pursuant to a request from the United
States of America for their provisional
arrest," the Australian attorney general's
department said in a statement.
"As the matter is before the courts, it would
not be appropriate to comment further."
Duggan is scheduled to appear in court
again in November.
Under a treaty with Australia, the United
States has 60 days following the arrest to
apply for Duggan's extradition.
Duggan ran a business called Top Gun
Australia, which billed itself as the country's
"premier adventure flight company".
On the company's web page, Duggan
described himself as a "former US Marine
Corps officer of over 12 years".
"As a highly trained fighter pilot, he flew
harrier jump jets off of aircraft carriers
tactically around the globe," the website
read.
Duggan has also worked in China.
Australia launched an investigation last
week into what its defence minister called
disturbing reports that China has been hiring
retired Western air force pilots to train its
military.
The British government has said it will take
"decisive steps" to stop Beijing from
headhunting former pilots after local media
reported more than 30 had accepted offers
worth upwards of o240,000 ($273,750) to
train China's air force.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday rebuilding Ukraine was a
"generational task" that must start immediately, even as Russia's invasion
rages on.
Photo : Internet
Rebuilding Ukraine a
'generational task' that
begins now: Scholz
BERLIN : German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
said on Tuesday rebuilding Ukraine was a
"generational task" that must start
immediately, even as Russia's invasion rages
on.
"What is at stake here is nothing less than
creating a new Marshall Plan for the 21st
century-a generational task that must begin
now," Scholz said as he opened an
international reconstruction conference for
Ukraine in Berlin.
Scholz said that rebuilding Ukraine
marked a "challenge for generations" but one
that also provided a chance to modernise its
infrastructure.
The task is "one that will require the
combined strength of the entire
international community but it is also an
opportunity for generations to come if we get
it right", he said.
Speaking at the same event, European
Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen
called the scale of destruction in the warravaged
country "staggering", with the
World Bank estimating the toll of the
damage at 350 billion euros ($345 billion).
"This is for sure more than one country or
one union can provide alone," she said. "We
need all hands on deck."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
was also addressing the one-day conference
hosted by the German government, via video
link.
He appealed to international supporters to
cover his country's $38-billion budget hole
for 2023, saying such assistance was
essential if Ukraine is to get back on its feet.
"At this very conference we need to make a
decision on assistance to cover the next
year's budget deficit for Ukraine," he said.
Biden calls Sunak rise
to UK prime minister
'groundbreaking'
WASHINGTON : President
Joe Biden called the choice
of Rishi Sunak as Britain's
first non-white prime
minister "groundbreaking"
Monday and the White
House said he'd reach out
in the near future to
congratulate the new
leader.
"It's pretty astounding, a
groundbreaking milestone
and it matters," Biden said
at a White House
celebration of the Indian
Diwali festival.
The White House said
that Biden was following
protocol by not calling and
officially
congratulating
Sunak, who is of Indian
descent, until he meets
with King Charles III on
Tuesday to get the goahead
to form a
government.
"President Biden looks
forward to speaking with...
Sunak in the upcoming
days and to our continued
close cooperation with the
United Kingdom," Press
Secretary Karine Jean-
Pierre said.
30 dead in Papua
New Guinea island
violence: police
PORT MORESBY : Thirty
people have been killed
and several more have
been injured in a wave of
intercommunal violence
on Papua New Guinea's
remote Trobriand Islands,
police said Tuesday.
The long-simmering
dispute between two local
football teams on sparsely
policed Kiriwina Island
first flared earlier this year
in the wake of the
country's general election,
Provincial Police
Commander Peter Barkie
told AFP.
When residents of three
villages stormed a
government office
Monday, police and "even
church elders could not
contain the fight and we
recorded 30 deaths and
several many injured", he
said.
Barkie said things "got
out of hand" after the
recent "destruction of food
gardens".
Additional forces are
now being sent from the
mainland.
The Trobriand Islands
are a group of low-lying
atolls in the South Pacific,
known for their ornate
coral gardens that produce
bananas, yams and taro.
In recent years, they
have struggled with a
growing population and
changing climate, which
has made harvests more
difficult.
Video games could improve
kids' brains: study
WASHINGTON : Parents often worry about
the harmful impacts of video games on their
children, from mental health and social
problems to missing out on exercise.
But a large new US study published in
JAMA Network Open on Monday indicates
there may also be cognitive benefits
associated with the popular pastime.
Lead author Bader Chaarani, an assistant
professor of psychiatry at the University of
Vermont, told AFP he was naturally drawn
to the topic as a keen gamer himself with
expertise in neuroimagery.
Prior research had focused on detrimental
effects, linking gaming with depression and
increased aggression.
These studies were however limited by
their relatively small number of
participants, particularly those involving
brain imaging, said Charaani.
For the new research, Chaarani and
colleagues analyzed data from the large and
ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive
Development (ABCD) Study, which is
funded by the National Institutes of Health.
They looked at survey answers, cognitive
test results, and brain images from around
2,000 nine- and ten-year-olds, who were
separated into two groups: those who never
played games, and those who played for
three hours or more a day.
This threshold was chosen as it exceeds
the American Academy of Pediatrics screen
time guidelines of one or two hours of video
games for older children.
Each group was assessed in two tasks.
The first involved seeing arrows pointing
left or right, with the children asked to
press left or right as fast as they could.
They were also told to not press anything
if they saw a "stop" signal, to measure how
well they could control their impulses.
In the second task, they were shown
people's faces, and then asked if a
subsequent picture shown later on matched
or not, in a test of their working memory.
After using statistical methods to control
for variables that could skew results, such
as parental income, IQ, and mental health
symptoms, the team found the video
gamers performed consistently better on
both tasks.
As they performed the tasks, the children's
brains were scanned using functional
magnetic resonance risks by using
concessional financing from its managed
trust funds comprising a loan of up to $20
million from the Australian Climate Finance
Partnership funded by the Australian
Government (ACFP); a loan of up to $5
million from the Clean Technology Fund
(CTF); and a grant of up to $3 million from
the Climate Innovation and Development
Fund, funded by Goldman Sachs and
Bloomberg imaging (fMRI). Video gamers'
brains showed more activity in regions
associated with attention and memory.
"The results raise the intriguing possibility
that video gaming may provide a cognitive
training experience with measurable
neurocognitive effects," the authors
concluded in their paper.
Right now it's not possible to know
whether better cognitive performance
drives more gaming, or is its result, said
Chaarani.
Singapore announced Tuesday it aims to achieve carbon neutrality by
2050, giving a firm date for the first time, and will look at using hydrogen
as a major power source.
Photo : Internet
Singapore targets net zero by
2050, eyes hydrogen power
SINGAPORE : Singapore announced
Tuesday it aims to achieve carbon neutrality
by 2050, giving a firm date for the first time,
and will look at using hydrogen as a major
power source.
The city-state targets for carbon emissions
to peak in 2030 at 60 million tonnes, a
reduction of five million tonnes from the
previous goal, Deputy Prime Minister
Lawrence Wong said.
The Southeast Asian nation also has plans
to look at developing low carbon hydrogen as
a major power supply in the long term.
"If technology continues to advance, we
foresee that hydrogen can supply up to half
of our power needs by 2050, alongside
domestic renewable energy sources and
electricity imports," Wong said at an
industry conference.
He added that Singapore would
experiment with key hydrogen technologies
to see how it can be implemented on a large
scale.
"We do not have the land for large solar or
wind farms, or fast flowing rivers for hydroelectric
power," said Wong, the country's
prime minister in waiting.
Green hydrogen is in sharp focus as
governments seek to slash carbon emissions
amid global warming and to safeguard
energy supplies hit by the invasion of
Ukraine by oil and gas producer Russia.
But the "hydrogen economy" has not fully
kicked into gear awaiting significant uptake
from high-polluting sectors like steel and
aviation.
"Many hydrogen technologies are still
under development, and a global supply
chain has yet to be established," the
Singapore government said in a statement.
"Nevertheless, there has been strong
interest internationally from the public and
private sectors to accelerate the
development," it added.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said
the low-lying island nation is especially
vulnerable to rising sea levels and defending
it from the threat is "existential".
India's Modi congratulates incoming
UK PM Rishi Sunak
NEW DELHI : Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi congratulated incoming
British premier Rishi Sunak on Monday on
winning the contest to become the leader of
Britain's Conservatives.
Sunak, 42, is the first British Asian to
become prime minister. He is married to an
Indian, Akshata Murty, the daughter of the
co-founder of IT giant Infosys.
"Warmest congratulations @RishiSunak !
As you become UK PM, I look forward to
working closely together on global issues,
and implementing Roadmap 2030," Modi
tweeted, referring to a plan for deepening
ties in trade and other areas.
He added: "Special Diwali wishes to the
'living bridge' of UK Indians, as we transform
our historic ties into a modern partnership."
Diwali is the Hindu festival being
celebrated on Monday. The "living bridge"
refers to ties between Indians in India and
people of Indian origin in other countries.
Sunak was born in Southampton, England.
His parents were born in east Africa and his
grandfathers were from pre-independence
Punjab in northern British India.
Indian newspapers have been closely
following Sunak's leadership bid, in the same
way as when Indian-origin figures-like
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella- become high
achievers abroad.
Alongside coverage of India's victory over
Pakistan at the cricket World Cup, front
pages on Monday reported that the "Indian
origin" Sunak was the frontrunner to replace
Liz Truss.
The prospect of someone with Indian roots
becoming prime minister of Britain-India's
colonial master until 75 years ago-also
enthused Indians on social media.
Shashi Tharoor, an opposition Indian
lawmaker and a fierce critic of British
colonialism, tweeted on Monday that Sunak
winning would be a welcome achievement.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2022
8
Chattogram AOTS Alumni Society (CAAS) organized a program on the occasion of '50 years of
Bangladesh-Japan Diplomatic Relations' at Radisson Blu Hotel, Chittagong on October 22, 2022. Ito
Naoki, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh was present in the program as the chief guest and Ali
Hussain Akbar Ali, Chairman of BSRM was present as the special guest. Professor Dr. Md. Salim Uddin,
FCA, FCMA, Chairman, Executive Committee of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited and Professor of
Accounting Department, University of Chittagong presented an article titled "Contribution of Japan in
sustainable development of Bangladesh". Dr. Salim said that Japan played a vital role in attaining the
independence and post-independence development of Bangladesh. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman visited Japan and took various steps for development of bilateral relationship. He elaborated
the role of Japanese Embassy, JICA, JBIC, JETRO in increasing the record amount of Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) in various sectors including infrastructure development and industrialization of
Bangladesh. Even after the Holey Artisan attack, Bangladesh-Japan bilateral relations remained warm.
It proves that Japan is a real friend of Bangladesh. Presided over by Engineer A U M Jubair, the program
was also addressed by Ichiguchi Tomohide, Chief Representative, JICA Bangladesh, Yuji Ando,
Country Representative of JETRO and Dr. AKM Moazzem Hossain, Advisor of AOTS. Photo : Courtesy
Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) opened its 177th branch at Domar, Nilphamari recently. Dr. Md.
Mahbub Ul Alam, Chairman of SIBL, was present as chief guest while Zafar Alam, Managing Director
and CEO of the Bank, presided over the program. Among others, Md. Shamsul Hoque, Deputy
Managing Director, Salim Reza, Panel Mayor of Domar Pourasava, Md. Shahriar Khan, Head of
Rajshahi Zone, Md. Moniruzzaman, Head of Marketing and Brand Communication and Saif Al-Amin,
Head of BC & GBD, bank officers, local businessmen, journalists, and dignitaries were also present at
the event. Manager of Domar Branch Md. Kabirul Islam expressed thanks & gratitude at the end of
the program.
Photo : Courtesy
NSU students to benefit from
MoU with Nagad
Mobile financial service of the
Post Office Nagad and leading
educational institution
North-South University will
operate a series of
programmes under a
memorandum
of
understanding (MoU) for the
benefits of the university's
students, a press release said.
The MoU was signed by
NagadFounder and
Managing Director Tanvir A
Mishuk and NSU Vice-
Chancellor Professor Atiqul
Islam at the NSU campus on
Tuesday.
As per the MoU, the NSU
students will be able to know
about internship and working
opportunities at Nagad.They
will also get the opportunity
to work jointly with Nagad in
preparing their thesis papers
that would include pragmatic
research.
Nagad Limited, too,will
carry out different
programmes and hold job
fairs on the NSU campus and
the university will publish
those news items on its
websites and social media
platforms and share with
different clubs of the
university.
Nagad and the university
will conduct leadership
training and research to
contribute to women
empowerment and gender
equity and build industryacademiapartnership.
Under
the deal, the two parties will
offer leadership certificate
programme and jointly work
to prepare its curriculum and
accomplish the overall task.
Nagad Executive Director
Maruful IslamJhalak,
Mohammad Aminul Haque,
Nagad's Chief Business
Officer Sheikh Aminur
Rahman, Chief Sales Officer
Md Shihab Uddin
Chowdhury, Director at HR
and Administration
department Shaharear
Sayeed, Solution and
Implementation Division
head ShovanSamaddarand
high officials from
Nagadwere present at the
signing ceremony.
Pro Vice-Chancellor of
North South University
Professor Dr. Ismail Hossain,
Professor Dr. Mohammad
Khasro Miah, Director of
Public Relations Jamil
Ahmed and Job Counsellor
from the Career and
Placement Centre Sadia
Sultana were also present
there.
About the MoU, Vice-
Chancellor of North South
UniversityProfessor Atiqul
Islam said, "Our students are
working all across the world
with dignity. I feel delighted
after listening that all the
Nagad higher management
personnel are alumni of
North South University. We
hope that this MoU will help
our present students and they
will be benefited from the
agreement. In future, we can
provide some other facilities
to our students with such
initiatives."
Nagad's Founder and
Managing Director Tanvir
AMishuk said,"As a former
student of North-South
University, I have a moral
responsibility to the
university. This MoU is part
of that commitment. Nagad
has been working for the
development and progress of
educational institutions as
reflected in the outcomes of
Nagad's efforts."
Many NSU students have
been working at Nagad from
the very beginning of its
journey and a number of high
officials of Nagad are alumni
of the university.
North-South University is
one of two Bangladeshi
higher educational
institutions that have been
recognised in Times High
Education World University
ranking recently. Nagad has
also been awarded as one of
the fastest-growingdigital
financial service companies.
It is expected that the
signing of MoU between the
two reputed organisations
will benefit both the
university students and
Nagad.
Bdjobs Job
fair kicks off
Thursday in
Khulna
DHAKA : Bdjobs.com is
going to organize a Job Fair
in Khulna on Thursday in
order to recruit 1,000
manpower.
The job fair will start at the
gymnasium hall adjacent to
Khulna District Stadium 9
am and will continue till 5
pm, said Mr. Prokash Roy
Chowdhury, Director of
Bdjobs.com in a press
briefing in the capital on
Tuesday.
He said, "The reality of our
job market is that even
though there are thousands
of unemployed job seekers
in the country, the
companies are not able to
hire the required manpower.
To solve this problem
bdjobs.com has been trying
to bring job aspirants and
employers under one roof
for the last 15 years by
organizing this job fair."
Prokash Chowdhury also
said that so far 18 thousand
job aspirants have registered
online and 22 to 25
thousand job aspirants are
expected to participate in
this fair.
On October 27 from 9 am
to 5 pm job aspirants can
submit the application form
at the stalls of the
participating companies.To
participate in the fair, job
aspirants have to register
online
at
www.bdjobs.com/jobfair.
Mosaddiq bin Kamal,
Mazharul Islam Manju,
Helal Uddin and
coordinator of the fair
Mohammad Ali Feroze were
also present at the press
briefing.
German business
morale slips
ahead of 'difficult
winter'
FRANKFURT : Business
confidence in Germany
weakened again in October, a
key survey said Tuesday, as
the country hurtles towards a
recession on the back of high
inflation and a raging energy
crisis.
The Ifo institute's monthly
confidence barometer, based
on a survey of about 9,000
companies, fell for a fifth
consecutive month to reach
84.3 points, down from 84.4
points in September.
The business mood
"continues to be grim", Ifo
president Clemens Fuest said
in a statement. "The German
economy is facing a difficult
winter."
German inflation hit a
record of 10 percent in
September, fuelled by higher
energy prices after Russia
halted gas flows through the
crucial Nord Stream 1 pipeline
amid tensions over the war in
Ukraine.
The German government
now expects Europe's biggest
economy to shrink by 0.4
percent in 2023, and the Ifo
survey is the latest in a series
of economic indicators
showing a gloomy outlook.
"Companies and
households are increasingly
suffering under higher energy
invoices and ongoing high
inflation, adjusting
consumption
and
investments," said ING
economist Carsten Brzeski.
DHAKA : The Bangladesh Garment
Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA) signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU)
with the Korea Federation of Textile
Industries (KOFOTI) to promote trade
and investment, particularly in the
apparel and textile industries, of the two
countries.
The MoU includes more cooperation
in the areas of exchange of information
and discussion of trade issues between
Bangladesh and South Korea.
The collaboration also seeks to
promote direct or joint venture
Evaly’s ‘Dhonnobad Utsab’
on 28 October
E-commerce company Evaly
is going to start its business
activities with a new
initiative. At the beginning
of the new journey, the
organization is going to
organize a 'Dhonnobad
Utsab' to express gratitude
to millions of Evaly
customers, merchants and
well-wishers across the
country, a press release said.
This 'Dhonnobad Utsab'
will start on October 28 at 10
pm on Evaly platform.
In this festival, customers
can buy the products of
famous and big brands of the
country from Evaly. There
are products From mobiles,
electronics, computer
accessories, home appliances
to lifestyle products like
clothes and shoes.
Brands like Walton,
Jamuna, Artisan, O'Code,
Viomi, Samsung, iPhone,
One Plus, Vivo are present
through these products.
Pick and Pay, Cash on
Delivery and Cash Before
Delivery; one can now shop
from Evaly using completely
risk-free methods from any of
these three payment modes.
Customers will also
receive a "star" for each
successful order delivered
when shopping from Evaly.
Evaly will give amazing
offers from time to time for
shopping at special discount
using earned stars.
Shamima Nasreen, cofounder
and current board
member of Evaly, calling for
a successful Dhonnobad
Utsab, said, "We strongly
believe that with time we will
be able to repay our past
debts." Evaly is now a brand
that is infused with the
passion and emotion of this
nation.
We now have two
independent directors; one
from e-cab and one from
commerce ministry. So now we
are under more responsibility
and accountability than ever
before.
Shamima also said, "we
have already said that from
now on we will no longer sell
products at a loss. But Evaly's
customers can't buy products
at attractive prices, that's not
it. We believe that by utilizing
the infrastructure of digital
Bangladesh and selling
products profitably using e-
commerce, we can give
customers the 'best price'
compared to the traditional
market. We are committed to
providing quality products at
comparatively affordable
prices. We will give utmost
importance to quick delivery
and customer service.
Shamima Nasreen also
said, "We are working
towards making Evaly the
most investment friendly e-
commerce. We are working
to deliver all previous orders.
We will work towards the
goal of contributing to the
prosperity of the country's
GDP, elimination of
unemployment and creation
of new entrepreneurs by
advancing this potential
sector with the help of Evaly.
We look forward to the
speedy release of our former
CEO Mohammad Rassel to
accelerate our momentum
and strengthen Evaly.
Bangladeshi company to
invest US$ 31.75 million
in Chattogram EPZ
Bangladeshi company M/s. Pacific
Attires Limited is going to set up a highend
garments manufacturing industry in
Chattogram Export Processing Zone
(CEPZ). This company will invest US$
31.75 million where 4994 Bangladeshi
nationals will get employment
opportunities.
Pacific Attires will produce annually
18.72 million pcs of Men/Women's
Formal Suits, Jackets, Coats, Dress Pants,
Casual Wear, Boys/Girls Casual Wear.
Mentionable, Pacific Attires Limited is a
sister concern of Pacific Jeans Group. This
group has 8 operational units in
Chattogram EPZ where around 31
thousand workers are working, a press
release said
Ali Reza Mazid, Member (Investment
Promotion) of BEPZA and Syed
investments from South Korea to
Bangladesh in non-cotton textiles, highend
garment items, woven textiles and
garments, skills development and
innovation. BGMEA President
Faruque Hassan and KOFOTI
Chairman Sang Woon Lee inked the
MoU in South Korea's Seoul Monday.
"South Korea is one of the emerging
markets for Bangladesh in the East
Asian region. As we have identified
innovation, diversification and
technological up-gradation as the key
strategic priorities for our future
growth, a collaboration between
Mohammed Tanvir, Managing Director of
Pacific Attires Limited signed an
agreement to this effect on behalf of their
respective organizations yesterday at
BEPZA Complex, Dhaka. The Executive
Chairman of BEPZA Major General Abul
Kalam Mohammad Ziaur Rahman, ndc,
psc witnessed the agreement signing
ceremony.
Among others, Member (Engineering)
Mohammad Faruque Alam, Executive
Director (Administration) Md. Zakir
Hossain Chowdhury, Executive Director
(Public Relations) Nazma Binte Alamgir,
Executive Director (Investment
Promotion) Md. Tanvir Hossain and
Executive Director (Enterprise Services)
Md. Khorshid Alam were present during
the signing ceremony.
BGMEA signs MoU with KOFOTI
to promote trade, investment
Bangladesh and South Korea is crucial,"
Faruque said.
BGMEA Vice-President Shahidullah
Azim, Director Asif Ashraf, Korea
Trade-Investment Promotion Agency
Director General Jong Won Kim, Korea
Fashion Industry Association Vice-
President Kim Sung Chan, KOFOTI
Executive Vice-Chairman Soyoung
JOO, Korea Textile Trade Association
General Director Jung-kee Lee, DBL
Group Managing Director of MA
Jabbar and Hams Group Managing
Director Md Shafiqur Rahman were
also present.
kurt Zouma leads the celebrations after scoring West Ham's first goal.
West Ham see off Bournemouth amid VAR storm
SportS DeSk
West Ham United defender Kurt
Zouma's headed goal and a Said
Benrahma penalty in stoppage-time
sealed a 2-0 win over Bournemouth in a
scrappy Premier League tussle that was
marked by VAR controversy at the
London Stadium today, reports UNB.
Frenchman Zouma glanced the ball in
from close range on the stroke of halftime
after a goalmouth scramble with the
effort being allowed after a VAR check
despite a suspicion of handball by his
defensive partner Thilo Kehrer in the
melee.
There was precious little else for either
set of fans to get excited about as West
Ham held onto their lead despite some
nervy moments as Bournemouth finished
strongly.
The Hammers could breathe more
easily when Jordan Zemura was harshly
penalised for handball after another VAR
check went against the visitors and
Benrahma thumped in his first goal of the
season past substitute goalkeeper Mark
Travers.
Bournemouth could feel justifiably
'I am not retired':
Serena says
chances of a
return ‘very high’
SportS DeSk
Serena Williams yesterday
said she has not retired
from tennis and that the
chances of her returning
are "very high" after she
previously indicated that
she would step away from
the sport after last month's
US Open, reports UNB.
"I am not retired,"
Williams said at a
conference in San
Francisco while promoting
her investment company,
Serena Ventures.
"The chances (of a
return) are very high. You
can come to my house, I
have a court."
Williams, 41, said she
was "evolving away from
tennis" in an essay in
August and, while she did
not confirm the US Open
as her farewell event, she
was given lavish tributes
before each match in New
York and waved an
emotional goodbye after
losing in the third round.
The 23-time Grand Slam
champion, who took the
tennis world by storm as a
teenager and is considered
by many as the greatest of
all time, said not preparing
for a tournament after the
US Open did not feel
natural to her.
"I still haven't really
thought
about
(retirement)," Williams
said.
"But I did wake up the
other day and go on the
court and (considered) for
the first time in my life that
I'm not playing for a
competition, and it felt
really weird.
"It was like the first day of
the rest of my life and I'm
enjoying it, but I'm still
trying to find that balance."
frustrated that decisions went against
them but West Ham took advantage to
claim a fifth home win in succession in all
competitions to move up seven places in
the congested table from 17th to 10th with
14 points.
Bournemouth are 14th with 13 points
from 12 games.
The main talking point was the impact
of VAR in both goals and Bournemouth's
caretaker manager Gary O'Neil was so
angry about the first one that he was
booked for comments made to the
officials at halftime.
West Ham got their noses in front in
the 45th minute as Zouma nodded home
from in front of goal but the ball had been
propelled forward by Kehrer's hands
seconds earlier.
After a check by VAR it was deemed
that the accidental handball had not
directly led to the goal.
"There was a foul in the build-up and
it's a blatant handball, his hands move
towards the ball and change the flight of
it," O'Neil said.
"I'm not surprised because it's getting
ridiculous. We've had 10 VAR checks
photo: Ap
since I took charge and not one has gone
our way."
First half injuries
Bournemouth were not helped by
injuries during the first half to striker
Dominic Solanke and goalkeeper Neto,
who made one great save to tip over
Aaron Cresswell's shot.
West Ham were unable to make the
game safe, however, until another
contentious decision went their way.
Attempting to block a cross, a sliding
Zemura inadvertently blocked the ball
with his arm from close range.
Initially referee David Coote did not
award a penalty but after being asked to
check the VAR screen he changed his
mind.
Bournemouth did not really offer much
in the way of attacking threat and, while
West Ham had some breaks, manager
David Moyes said his side deserved the
points. "I thought we were good for
periods, I didn't think we were as good in
the final third," Moyes said.
"I think our performance deserved
more than a scruffy setpiece goal and a
penalty."
Simmons out as West
Indies coach after T20
World Cup exit
SportS DeSk
West Indies head coach Phil Simmons will
leave his post after the upcoming Test series
with Australia in the wake of the team's
disastrous Twenty20 World Cup campaign,
Cricket West Indies said Monday, reports BSS.
A statement from CWI said Simmons would
step down after overseeing the West Indies'
two-Test series against Australia, which gets
under way in Perth on November 30.
The announcement follows the West Indies'
humiliating first round exit from the T20
World Cup, which was sealed after a ninewicket
thrashing by Ireland in Hobart on
Friday. The team also suffered an
embarrassing loss to Scotland.
In a statement released by the CWI,
Simmons said that while the T20 debacle had
been "disappointing and heart-wrenching", he
had already been considering his position for
"some time".
"This is not a knee-jerk reaction, but a move
I have been considering for some time and now
is the time to make public that I will step down
as West Indies head coach at the end of the Test
series against Australia," said Simmons.
"It is earlier than hoped for, but I will now
focus my energies in Australia on continuing to
build on the excellent progress the Test team
has made," he added.
Simmons led the West Indies to victory in the
2016 T20 World Cup in India, and then
returned as coach for a second stint in 2019.
CWI President Ricky Skerritt thanked
Simmons for his contribution.
"Phil is a proud West Indian, with high ideals
and has never lacked motivation in guiding our
younger players on and off the field of play,"
Skerritt said.
"He brought valuable experience and
stability at a very important period of
transformation, including the most challenging
environment of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We wish him all the best in his future
endeavors."
Skerritt on Saturday vowed to carry out a
"thorough post-mortem" on "all aspects" of the
World Cup debacle.
"I am deeply disappointed with the
performance results of our team in Australia
and I appreciate the sense of utter frustration
that is being experienced by many," Skerritt
said.
Serena Williams is considered by many as the greatest women's tennis player
of all time.
photo: Ap
'Forget the controversies
and focus on football' at
Qatar World Cup,
says Zidane
SportS DeSk
French World Cup-winning
hero Zinedine Zidane said
Monday it was "time to forget
the controversies and focus on
the football" at the upcoming
World Cup in Qatar, despite
calls to boycott the
tournament over the Gulf
state's rights record and
treatment of migrant workers,
reports BSS.
"I hope France have a great
tournament but I don't know
yet if I will go to Qatar,"
former Real Madrid coach
Zidane, 50, said as he
attended the unveiling of his
own wax figure at the Musee
Grevin in Paris.
When asked about the
World Cup, which will begin
on November 20 after more
than a decade of controversy
since Qatar was named as
host, Zidane said the focus
should now be on the sport
"for all those fans who just
want to watch the football".
"In any case, it doesn't
matter what we say, it will
never be enough, or true or
the right thing to say," added
Zidane, who was
accompanied by his parents,
his wife and children.
Zidane, who helped lead
France to glory at the 1998
World Cup on home soil, was
an ambassador for Qatar's
successful bid to stage the
tournament.
When the tiny country was
named as host by FIFA in
2010 he declared himself
"very pleased" with the
decision.
No complacency
against Ireland,
says England
skipper Buttler
SportS DeSk
Captain Jos Buttler warned
his strongly fancied England
side on Tuesday they risk
getting "hurt" if they
underestimate Ireland at the
Twenty20 World Cup,
reports BSS.
England launched their title
charge by beating
Afghanistan by five wickets in
Perth on Saturday, with their
bowling and fielding
outstanding.
Sam Curran was the star
with an incredible 5-10 -- the
first England bowler to take
five wickets in a T20I.
In contrast Ireland, who
came through the preliminary
round, were thrashed by nine
wickets by Sri Lanka in
Hobart.
Despite the apparent gulf in
class-England are ranked
world number two and
Ireland 12 -- there will be no
complacency with only the
top two from the six-team
group progressing to the
semi-finals.
"We give them great
respect, we expect a really
tough game," Buttler said
ahead of Wednesday's clash
at Melbourne Cricket
Ground.
"We'll prepare well, we'll try
and turn up on the day and
assess conditions, see what's
in front of us, try and use our
talent as best we can on the
day to put pressure on them,
and try and win the game."
With Group 1 games to
come against defending
champions Australia, last
year's beaten finalists New
Zealand and 2014 winners Sri
Lanka, there could be a
temptation to rest players or
rotate bowlers.
But Buttler was adamant it
was important to field the
best team possible and avoid
any mishaps.
"In such a short
tournament, in must-win
games pretty much every
time, we try and get our best
team on... the best team on
the day due to conditions,
opposition," he said.
"Any time you take things
for granted or you don't
respect the opposition is
when you can get hurt.
WeDneSDAY, octoBer 26, 2022
9
Teams announced for
2022 LIV Golf Team
Championship in Miami
SportS DeSk
LIV Golf has announced the 12-team, 48-
player field set to tee off for its eighth and
final event of the year, reports UNB.
The 2022 LIV Golf Team Championship
will take place from Oct. 28 to 30 at Trump
National Doral Golf Club in Miami.
The iconic Blue Monster course will
stage the seeded three-day, knock-out
tournament featuring both match play and
stroke play, delivering the excitement of
head-to-head competition as teams
compete for a historic $50 million purse.
The strong field will feature four former
world No. 1s, seven top-ranked players
within their nations, 12 major champions
with a combined 22 majors won, 13
Olympians, and 14 different countries
represented.
The top 36 players in the LIV Golf
Invitational Series Individual Standings
(minimum four events played) qualify for
the Team Championship, with league
commitments and captains' selections
making up the remainder of the field.
LIV Golf chief executive officer and
commissioner, Greg Norman, said: "LIV
Golf has revived the sport in record time
during our beta-test season.
"Players are celebrating the team format
which is bringing new energy and
audiences to golf that the game deserves.
"It's fitting that we tie a bow on this
historic year with a dramatic and
innovative team championship that will
propel us into a team-focused league from
2023 onward."
For the LIV Golf Invitational Series
Team Standings, points were awarded to
teams based on their finish at each
tournament, with values ranging from 32
Brooks koepka celebrate winning the LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah
team competition. photo: Ap
Formula E to make South
Africa debut in Season 9
of World Championship
SportS DeSk
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is set to race
in Cape Town, South Africa for the first time on Feb. 25
following approval at the FIA World Motor Sport Council
meeting, reports UNB.
Cape Town joins Hyderabad, India, and Sao Paulo, Brazil,
as new cities scheduled to hold races in Season 9 of the ABB
FIA Formula E World Championship, which opens in
Mexico City on Jan. 14 next year.
Alberto Longo, co-founder and chief championship officer
of Formula E, said: "We are excited to announce Cape Town
as a new destination for our series in Season 9.
"Our local partners are working incredibly hard to bring an
ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race to the city
and we cannot wait to see the futuristic Gen3 race cars
competing against the iconic natural backdrop of Table
Mountain."
In further updates to the provisional Season 9 calendar,
Berlin will now host a double-header race weekend on April
22 and 23 while the two races previously announced for
Seoul have been removed from the calendar. Locations for
rounds 10 and 13 in the 17-race season are being finalised and
will be announced at a later date.
"Renovation work at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, the
venue for our first races in South Korea earlier this year,
means we cannot return to the same location next season as
originally planned and so we are exploring other options in
South Korea to replace this venue.
"We are also in active discussions with more world cities
and venues to host an event on the other date without a
confirmed location," Longo added.
Season 9 marks the beginning of the Gen3 era in Formula
E. The third generation of race car in the championship, the
Gen3, is the fastest, lightest, most powerful and efficient
electric race car ever built.
points (first place) to nought (ninth to
12th).
Following the seventh and final regular
season event, team standings determined
seeds one to 12 for the Team
Championship. Top-seeded four Aces GC
(152 points), second seed Crushers GC
(96), third seed Fireballs GC (93), and
fourth seed Stinger GC (72) earned a bye
and automatically advance to Saturday's
semi-finals.
The remaining highest-ranked teams,
starting with the fifth-seeded Smash GC,
led by captain and four-time major winner
Brooks Koepka, will select their opponents
for Friday's quarterfinal matchups. These
selections will be announced on Oct. 26 at
a live press conference at Doral featuring
the team captains for seeds five to 12.
That morning, players will learn their
opponents for Friday's singles matches
and foursomes matches. Captains will be
matched up against one another and all 32
players will compete simultaneously in a
shotgun start.
Following competition on Friday, team
captains for the top four seeds and
captains for the four quarterfinal match
winners will convene and select their
opponents for Saturday's semi-final
round, with the highest-ranked teams
selecting their opponents.
On Sunday, the 16 players from the four
semi-final winners will compete in a
shotgun-start round of stroke play. Players
will compete in twosomes, team captains
will play together, and all scores will count
toward a team's cumulative score.
At the end of Sunday's round, the team
with the lowest score is the LIV Golf
Invitational Series Team Champion.
Pre-World
Cup schedule
is 'crazy,' says
Azpilicueta
SportS DeSk
Chelsea defender Cesar
Azpilicueta said the number
of games being crammed
into the schedule ahead of
the World Cup next month
is "crazy" and that player
welfare is being jeopardized,
reports UNB.
Azpilicueta's teammate
N'Golo Kante has been ruled
out of the World Cup after
undergoing an operation on
a hamstring injury, while
Reece James is in a race to
be fit for the tournament
after injuring his knee.
Chelsea have three league
fixtures, two Champions
League games and a League
Cup tie before the World
Cup in Qatar begins on Nov
20. "It's difficult and it's sad
because as players you want
to go to the World Cup, but
we have this schedule where
we have to play for our club
and do our best," Azpilicueta
told reporters today.
"We are fighting a lot for
player welfare because the
schedule is crazy.
Sometimes we have to
consider everything and I
think we are in
conversations with Fifa. It's
difficult because I
understand that the fans
want to see football.
WEdNEsdAY, OcTOBER 26, 2022
10
Black Adam was nearly rated R, but
Dwayne Johnson's movie being PG-13
prevents a future problem for the DCEU,
especially before a Superman fight.
Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam nearly
had an R-rating, but its official PG-13
rating prevents future DCEU problems.
The debut of The Rock's anti-hero brings
expectations of him helping usher in a
new era for the shared universe. It seems
that this nearly included another more
adult DCEU movie, as Black Adam
originally received an R-rating from the
MPAA due to the movie's high violence.
The DCEU has made R-rated movies
before, including recently with The
Suicide Squad. However, going back to
this more mature rating would have
been a big mistake, as it would have
created a major problem for Black
Adam's future.
Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam nearly
had an R-rating, but its official PG-13
rating prevents future DCEU problems.
Bobby passing
busy time
TBT REPORT
Eamin Haque Bobby,
better known as Bobby,
is a Bangladeshi film
actress and film
producer. She made her
acting debut in Khoj:
The Search. Bobby is
passing busy time with
movie work. In the
meantime, she has
finished shooting and
dubbing for Shamim
Ahmed Roni's 'Abar Tora
Manush Ho', Saikat Nasir's
'Paap' and Rashid Palash's
'Moyurakkhi'.
He said that the shooting of
the poster for the movie 'Paap'
and 'Moyurakkhi' will be done
in the meantime.
Meanwhile, she will work in
three films of Kolkata-based
filmmaker MN Raj. But
Bobby said that everything
is not finalized yet. Jeet
from Kolkata will star opposite
to Bobby in one of these movies,
Ankush in another. The actress
had signed a contract long ago
for another movie named 'Life is
Beautiful'. Although the shooting
is planned to start at the end of
November this year, the date has
not been finalized yet.
Meanwhile, Bobby has also
worked on OTT platforms. She
got a lot of praise when she came
for the promotion of the movie
called 'Surovi'. She is also
interested in working through
this medium if she gets a good
story and character.
Regarding the current
busyness, Bobby said, 'Work was
stopped for a long time due to
Covid. Now I have started
working in full swing. The stories
and characters of all the movies I
have completed are amazing. I
really enjoyed shooting. I hope
the audience will like the movies
when they are released.
Black Adam’s rating prevents
future DCEU problem
The debut of The Rock's anti-hero brings
expectations of him helping usher in a
new era for the shared universe. It seems
that this nearly included another more
adult DCEU movie, as Black Adam
originally received an R-rating from the
MPAA due to the movie's high violence.
The DCEU has made R-rated movies
before, including recently with The
Suicide Squad. However, going back to
this more mature rating would have
been a big mistake, as it would have
created a major problem for Black
Adam's future.
The potential R-rated Black Adam
movie would also hurt the future fight
between The Rock's Black Adam and
Henry Cavill's Superman. There is
almost no scenario imaginable where
Superman stars in an R-rated movie, so
the Black Adam fight would have to
come in a PG-13 movie. Since his
violence is what almost gave Black Adam
an R-rating, there is a suggestion his
fighting would have to change then when
going against Superman. Toning down
Black Adam's violence and strength
when he goes up against his most
powerful opponent would not make any
sense, though. Superman deserves Black
Adam's full strength as shown in the
movies. Now instead of having to figure
out creative ways to explain Black
Adam's scaled-down violence, the
Superman fight can proceed as normal.
The Rock continues to tease his desire to
fight Henry Cavill, but no official
announcement has been made.
Audiences are most likely to see Black
Adam and Superman fight in Black
Adam 2 or the latest attempt to make
Man of Steel 2. Either DCEU movie
should retain a PG-13 rating and allow
the heavyweight DC characters to square
off in an epic blockbuster setting without
worry about how Black Adam's violence
stacks up to a prior R-rated appearance.
Source: Collider
Asif records maiden
untitled duet with
Kabir Suman
TBT REPORT
Popular Bangladeshi singer Asif Akbar
has lent his voice along with renowned
Indian singer Kabir Suman for the first
time in a duet song. The song was
recorded on Sunday night and will soon
be released on YouTube.
Previously, Asif provided vocals for six
songs written and composed by Suman.
The most recent one was a single titled,
'Ekushey February er Daak', in
celebration of International Mother
Language Day. The track was released
on February this year.
The song was written and composed
by renowned musician Kabir Suman,
and arranged by Ujjal Sinha.
The lyrics of the song go as, 'Asif
Ekhon Ekannoy, Kabir Cholche
Tiyattur, Cholte Cholte Raat Furoy, Raat
Perolei Ashbe Bhor.'
"Kabir Suman doesn't care about any
doubts as he is a legendary singer, Kabir
Suman. I consider myself lucky to have
had the chance to work with him. This
will remain a milestone in my career,"
said Asif. "Kabir Suman wanted me to
sing a duet with him. I was so full of joy
as I saw his excitement while singing the
song. I think I might have done
something good in life for which I got
this chance as a reward. I am going
towards success gradually by the grace
of the Almighty," he added.
The music arrangement of the song
Music is my dream: SD Sagar
TBT REPORT
Since childhood, I dreamed of
becoming a musician. I have always
been a dreamer of music, now doing
music as well as composing. Rather
than singing I am doing the melody
and composition of other people's
songs. These words are by SD Sagar, a
popular vocalist and composer of the
time. The musician shared his dreams
and reality with The Bangladesh
Today.
Born and brought up in Tazumuddin
Thana of Bhola district, this artist
started singing at the age of 14/15
years. Sagar first learned singing from
his elder sister and close relative and
local music teacher Saikat.
Later, he learned music at Barishal
Tansen Sangeet School and
Chhayanaut in Dhaka. He also
completed a three-year advanced
music course at the Indira Gandhi
Cultural Center (Indian High
Commission). Along with singing,
Sagar obtained a B.Sc. Engineer
(Electro Mechanical) degree. But now
Jacqueline not cooperating with
investigation in con man case
Enforcement Directorate (ED) informs the court that Jacqueline
Fernandez allegedly tried to flee India. Jacqueline Fernandez has been
making headlines for her personal life after she was named in the
chargesheet filed by Enforcement Directorate in conman Sukesh
Chandrasekhar's Rs. 200 cr extortion and money laundering
case. On Saturday, Jacqueline was summoned by Delhi's Patiala
House Court in the connection with Rs 200 crore extortion case
as her interim protection bail got extended till November 10.
Now, Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the court that the
Kick actress allegedly tried to flee India.
According to PTI, the ED alleged Jacqueline has not been
cooperating with the investigators. The actress reportedly
wanted to leave India, but she could not do so as her name
was on the lookout circular (LOC). "Jacqueline is no
ordinary person but a Bollywood actress with huge financial
resources and hence high stature and influence," said the
ED said in the court document. Further, the agency
said that when Jacqueline was made to sit face-to-face
with other accused in the case and presented with
evidence, the actress refused to cooperate and
showed behaviour that was not helpful to the
investigation.
Nora Fatehi was also questioned by the Delhi
Police EOW (Economic Offences Wing) in
connection with Rs. 200 crore money laundering case
this popular man said that music is his
profession and addiction.
In 2014, SD Sagar made his way into
the music industry with the song
"Premer Ghuri" written and composed
by him. The music of the song was
composed by Waheed Shaheen. Sagar
and Sonia of Close-up One lend their
voices. The song was released in the
market through the album Aral.
The album had a total of five original
songs; Sagar also featured Nirjhar,
Konal, Farabi and Brishti as co-artists.
The album was released under the CD
Choice banner.
After the success of the mixed album
in the year 2015, Sagar released a solo
album titled Samshay under the
banner of CD Choice. So far, about a
hundred original songs in SD Sagar's
voice have been released on various
platforms. Some of these songs have
gained popularity.
Popular songs include Bolna Tui
Bolna, Cholo Priya Cholo, Tor Chokay
Porlo Chok, and many more songs.
In addition to the audio market, SD
Sagar also played the playback of the
has been done by Uzzal Sinha. The song
will be released on the YouTube channel
of ARB Entertainment.
Kabir Suman recently performed in
Dhaka after 13 years at the event 'Kabir
Suman Live in Dhaka' which took place
at the Engineer's Institute. The concerts
were set to mark the 30-year
anniversary of Kabir Suman's popular
album 'Tomake Chai'. He arrived in
Dhaka on October 13 and performed on
October 15, 18, and 21. Not just the
performances, but also sharing his views
and thoughts in between the songs
film, among which the song of the film
Bajey Selay has been released. The title
of the song is Tor Chokay Porlay
Chokh, where the tune and music was
composed by Ahmed Humayun.
linked to jailed conman Sukesh
Chandrashekhar. Besides this, Nikki Tamboli
and Chahatt Khanna's names have also
cropped up in the case. The EOW had also
questioned Jacqueline's stylist Leepakshi
Ellawadi.
Meanwhile, on the work front,
Jacqueline was last seen in Attack:
Part 1 alongside John Abraham,
Rakul Preet Singh, Prakash Raj,
and Ratna Pathak Shah in the
lead. Recently, she also made
a special appearance in the
Kannada film Vikrant
Rona's song Ra Rakkamma.
Currently, she is awaiting
the release of Ram Setu,
which is scheduled to
release on 25 October 2022.
It will also feature Akshay
Kumar and Nushrratt
Bharuccha in key roles.
Apart from this, the
Bachchhan Paandey actress
will also feature in Rohit
Shetty's Cirkus alongside
Ranveer Singh, Pooja Hegde,
and Varun Sharma, which
is scheduled to release on
23 December 2022.
Source: Hindustan
Times
H O R O s c O P E
ARIEs
Your head should be quite clear today,
Aries, and your witty comments will
be met with appreciation and
laughter. Your smile will delight
everyone you encounter. Don't be afraid to let your
feelings out to those who need to hear them. Focus
your energy on the ones you love. Your heart is
warm and generous, so share it with other people
today.
TAURUs
Don't worry about probing too deeply
today, Taurus. Trust people more than
you normally would. You will find that
things go much more smoothly if you
approach them from a neutral or positive and not
accusatory position. Listen to the people you care about
the most. They're trying to convey important
information. You might not want to hear it now, but in
the long run, it's in everyone's best interests that you do.
GEMINI
You might consider taking a short trip
today, Gemini. Perhaps you need to get
out of the house and go across town.
Whatever it is, introduce your brain to a
new reality. It's time to expand and explore. You itch
to see new places and experience new things, either
physically or mentally. Perhaps a religious sanctuary
or quiet place in grove of trees is what you need in
order to quench this inner thirst.
cANcER
Your mind might be stimulated today,
Cancer, so stay alert and open to new
information. If you feel tired, take a
short nap. It's better to operate at top
speed and full capacity than go through your day
only half present. Don't rely on external stimulants
like caffeine to pick you up. These things will
deceive your body and do damage to your nervous
system.
LEO
Communication is flowing smoothly
today, Leo, so take advantage of this
and get the word out. It's important
for you to make connections with
other people now. Run with your instincts and
feel free to enter into debates. Your words and
tone of voice are very convincing. You could sell
anything to anyone today.
VIRGO
Don't let fear of failure or fear of
success hold you back, Virgo. Even
though you may feel a natural
tendency to want to shrink into the
background and take the easiest route, you might
be sacrificing your true purpose when you do.
Become the leader instead of following the leader.
Rid yourself of all fear and take control of your
destiny.
LIBRA
Powerful thoughts are running
through your brain. You will find that
this information can be transforming,
Libra. The key is to learn from others
and incorporate opposing viewpoints into your state
of mind. Don't automatically disregard the opinion
of another just because it contradicts your own
beliefs. Teamwork is the name of the game on a day
like today.
scORPIO
Information coming your way today
might be unreliable, Scorpio. It could be
hard for you to take a solid hold on the
messages you get. Keep in mind that
there are important answers waiting to be heard. These
answers will come to you when you least expect them.
Keep your mind open to new possibilities and the path
will open up and become clear. Don't compromise your
consciousness with abusive substances.
sAGITTARIUs
Be careful about being manipulated by
another person today, Sagittarius. It's
possible that someone is putting words
in your mouth in order to get you to act
a certain way. Don't fall into this trap. Be your own
person and think for yourself. Your mind is
susceptible and vulnerable now. Use your eyes and
ears as a filter and don't let people unload their
garbage on you.
cAPRIcORN
Information you receive today may get
you stirred up, Capricorn. Remember
that it takes two to start an argument.
You play an equal part in any
disagreement. If you want to promote peace and
harmony, your words and body language must
show this. If peace and harmony aren't your
ultimate goal, you may need to look inside yourself
to explore the reasons why.
AQUARIUs
There's a great deal of power to your
words today, Aquarius, so be careful
how you use them. You may end up
manipulating another's choices if you
aren't careful with your conduct. Make sure you give
others the freedom and empowerment to decide
things for themselves. Be open and honest about all
the facts that might influence their decisions in any
way.
PIscEs
Answers may not be crystal clear
today, Pisces. They probably won't be
laid out in a neat and organized
manner. Get out in the open air and join friends
for a long bike ride. Fly a kite or feel the wind blow
through your hair on top of a mountain peak. The
answer is flowing through the air around you.
Stop looking down at the ground for the
information you seek.
WeDNeSDAy, OCTObeR 26, 2022
11
Inaugural ceremony of the month-long campaign program of Dhaka Ahsania Mission on Tuesday on
the occasion of 'National Road Safety Day-2022' and 'World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic
Victims-2022'.
Photo : Courtesy
Six Palestinians
killed in Israeli
raids in West Bank
NABLUS : Six Palestinians
were killed and nearly 20
others injured early Tuesday
in sweeping raids by Israeli
forces in the occupied West
Bank, the Palestinian Health
Ministry said. Israeli Prime
Minister Yair Lapid said that
Wadih Al Houh, a militant
leader of a new coalition of
Palestinian fighters dubbed
"The Lions' Den", had been
among those killed in the
northern West Bank city of
Nablus.
The Palestinian health
ministry initially reported
three dead and 19 wounded,
three of them seriously, shot
"by Israeli fire in Nablus".
Later statements said that
two more Palestinians had
died in Nablus, while
another Palestinian was also
killed in overnight clashes
near Ramallah'Lion's Den'",
describing it as a
"headquarters and a
workshop for making
weapons" of the militants.
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Ethiopia rivals gear up for
South Africa peace talks
NAIROBI : Negotiators from the Ethiopian
government and Tigrayan rebel authorities
were readying Monday for peace talks in South
Africa aimed at finding a peaceful solution to
the brutal two-year war.
The African Union-led negotiations have
been flagged to start Monday, after a surge in
fighting that has triggered alarm in the
international community.
Kindeya Gebrehiwot, a spokesman for the
rebel authorities in Tigray, announced their
delegation's arrival in South Africa in a tweet
late Sunday.
"Pressing: immediate cessation of hostilities,
unfettered humanitarian access & withdrawal
of Eritrean forces. There can't be a military
solution!" he added.
Addis Ababa said in a statement its
delegation had left for South Africa on Monday
morning, adding: "The government of
Ethiopia views the talks as an opportunity to
peacefully resolve the conflict and consolidate
the improvement of the situation on the
ground."But it also said its forces "have
continued taking control of major urban
centres in the past few days", without
identifying them.Last week, the government
vowed to take control of airports and other
federal sites in Tigray from the rebels as
Ethiopian and Eritrean troops seized towns in
the region including the strategic city of Shire,
sending civilians fleeing.
Fighting resumed in August, shattering a
five-month truce, and has seen the return of
the Eritrean army in support of Ethiopian
forces and their regional allies.
In two years, the conflict in Africa's second
most populous country has left millions in
need of humanitarian aid, and according to the
United States, as many as half a million dead.
The South African government itself has not
confirmed the talks or disclosed a venue.
Abiy, who sent troops into Tigray in
November 2020 promising a quick victory
over the northern region's dissident leaders in
the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF),
had said Thursday the war "would end and
peace will prevail".
"Ethiopia will be peaceful, we will not
continue fighting indefinitely," said Abiy, who
won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his
rapprochment with Eritrea.
International calls for a ceasefire and a
withdrawal of Eritrean troops have grown
since the AU failed earlier this month to bring
the warring sides to the negotiating table.
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DAM demands prompt
implementation of
Road Transport Act
Everyone must come
forward to implement the
Road Safety Act. Prompt
dissemination and
implementation of rules and
regulations of RTA-2018 is
required for proper
enforcement of the law.
Speakers said this at the
inaugural ceremony of the
month-long campaign
program of Dhaka Ahsania
Mission on Tuesday on the
occasion of 'National Road
Safety Day-2022' and
'World Day of
Remembrance for Road
Traffic Victims-2022', a
press release said
A B M Amin Ullah Nuri,
Secretary of Road Transport
and Highways Division, was
present as the chief guest in
the program while Director
of Dhaka Ahsania Mission-
Health and Wash Sector
Iqbal Masud presided over.
Chairman of Bangladesh
Road Transport Authority,
Nur Mohammad
Mazumder, Executive
Director of Dhaka Transport
Coordination Authority,
Sabiha Parveen and
Bangladesh Country
Coordinator of Global
Health Advocacy Incubator,
Shariful Alam were present
as special guests as well.
Sharmeen Rahman,
Project Coordinator, Road
Safety Project of Dhaka
Ahsania Mission said,
according to the World
Health Organization, about
25 thousand people die in
road accidents in
Bangladesh every year.
Death and injuries from
road crash could be reduced
to a great extent by taking
specific measures. One of
which is to emphasize on
prompt formulation of rules.
She also said that free
health camp and eye
examination for the drivers,
Candle Lit Ceremony to
remember the victims of
Road Crashes, and
motorcycle rally are the
main events of the monthlong
Road Safety campaign
program of Dhaka Ahsania
Mission.
Post-Diwali Delhi
wakes to toxic
firecracker smog
NEW DELHI : New Delhi
woke to toxic smog on
Tuesday after Diwali
revellers defied a
firecracker ban and risked
jail to celebrate the annual
Hindu festival.
According
to
international monitoring
company IQAir, harmful
PM 2.5 particles surged to
350 on the air quality
index-more than three
times the reading a day
earlier.
The reading for the
particulates-so tiny they
can penetrate deep into the
lungs and enter the
bloodstream-is more than
23 times the recommended
daily maximum set by the
World Health Organization.
The PM 2.5 reading had
eased to around 145 by
mid-morning, still nearly 10
times the WHO limit.
A report by IQAir in 2020
found that 22 of the world's
30 most polluted cities were
in India.
New Delhi imposed a ban
on the sale and use of
firecrackers last month and
announced that those
flouting the ban could face
up to six months in jail.
Many of the Indian
capital's roughly 20 million
residents were still able to
get hold of firecrackers,
setting them alight into the
early hours.
However, broadcaster
NDTV reported that Delhi's
pollution levels after
Monday's Diwali
celebrations year were the
lowest in four years. The
festival fell relatively early
this year in mild weather.
Delhi chief minister
Arvind Kejriwal said
residents were "working
hard" and that there had
been encouraging results.
Russia's defense chief warns
of 'dirty bomb' provocation
KYIV, UKRAINE : Russia's defense chief
alleged Sunday that Ukraine was preparing a
"provocation" involving a radioactive device,
a stark claim that was strongly rejected by
U.S., British and Ukrainian officials amid
soaring tensions as Moscow struggles to
stem Ukrainian advances in the south.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
made the allegations in phone calls with his
counterparts from the United States, Britain,
France and Turkey, reports UNB.
Russia's defense ministry said Shoigu
Farmers of Faridpur's Saltha and Nagarkanda upazilas have suffered heavy losses
due to Cyclone Sitrang. About 20,000 hectares of ripe Rupa Aman paddy fields
have been submerged due to continuous rains. Photo: Md. Shofiqul Islam
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voiced concern about "possible Ukrainian
provocations involving a 'dirty bomb,'" a
device that uses explosives to scatter
radioactive waste. It doesn't have the
devastating effect of a nuclear explosion, but
could expose broad areas to radioactive
contamination. Russian authorities
repeatedly have made allegations that
Ukraine could detonate a dirty bomb in a
false flag attack and blame it on Moscow.
Ukrainian authorities, in turn, have accused
the Kremlin of hatching such a plan.
Wednesday, Dhaka : october 26, 2022; kartik 10, 1429 BS; rabi-ul-Awal 29 , 1444 Hijri
Newly appointed
Nepalese
Ambassador
Ghanshyam
Bhandari met
prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina
at her official
residence-
Ganabhaban
on tuesday.
photo : pID
80 lakh people remain
without electricity,
says Nasrul Hamid
DHAKA : State Minister for Power,
Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul
Hamid said on Tuesday that some 80
lakh (8 million) consumers remained
without electricity across the country
after Cyclone Sitrang hit Bangladesh.
"Of this, some 60 lakh (6 million) are
under the Bangladesh Rural
Electrification Board (BREB) and the remaining
consumers are of other organisations
like Nesco and WZPDCO,"he told
reporters at his ministry on Tuesday.
He noted that power supply to 70 percent
of the affected areas will be possible
to restore by Tuesday evening while the
rest 30 percent will get electricity by
Wednesday afternoon. Currently, the
total power consumers are 4.8 crore (48
million) across the country.
Nasrul Hamid said the power supply
was disrupted mainly by the falling of
trees on the transmission and distribution
lines. He said that many electric
poles were uprooted by the cyclone
that caused blackout in many areas.
The state minister, however, said the
total damage was not calculated yet. "It
will take some more time to get a complete
picture of the damages", he said.
T20 World Cup
Australia beat
Sri Lanka by
7 wickets
SportS DeSk
Defending champions Australia beat
Sri Lanka by seven wickets in T20
World Cup, reports UNB.
Earlier, Charith Asalanka's 38 not
out off 25 balls helped Sri Lanka put up
a fighting 157 for six against Australia
in the T20 World Cup here on
Tuesday.
Defending champions Australia produced
a disciplined bowling effort for
the majority of the innings before
Asalanka propped up the total on a
quick pitch.
The last four overs yielded 46 runs
for Sri Lanka including a 20-run final
over from Pat Cummins.
The left-handed Asalanka launched
into Cummins in the 20th over, hitting
a sublime straight six besides a pull for
a boundary. Chamika Karunaratne
gave Asalanka good support with an
unbeaten 14 off seven balls.
Australia need to win this game following
their loss to New Zealand.
Early on, the Sri Lankan innings
could never get the momentum after
Australia put them into bat.
After Kusal Mendis fell cheaply,
Pathum Nissanka (40 off 45 balls) and
Dhananjaya de Silva (26 off 23) shared
a steady 69-run stand off 58 balls before
regular fall of wickets derailed the
Sri Lankan innings.
De Silva fell to a brilliant running
catch in the deep from David Warner,
who was a livewire on the field, leaving
Sri Lanka at 75 for two in the 12th over.
Nissanka attempted a suicidal single
to throw away his wicket and it was followed
by a flurry of wickets to leave the
Asia Cup winners struggling at 120 for
six. All the Australian frontline pacers-
Josh Hazlewood, Cummins and
Mitchell Starc-picked up a wicket each.
Cummins' final over effort spoilt his
overall figures.
Nepal will export up to 50
MW electricity to Bangladesh
for now, envoy tells PM
DHAKA : Nepal will initially send 40-50
MW electricity to Bangladesh but promised
to supply more after a big power project
being implemented in the Himalayan
nation will be completed, newly appointed
Nepalese Ambassador Ghanshyam
Bhandari said on Tuesday.
PM's press secretary Ihsanul Karim told
reporters that the diplomat made the
comment when he met Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina at her official residence-
Ganabhaban on Tuesday. The Nepalese
envoy said that his country is currently
implementing a mega power plant project.
"After completing that project Nepal
will be able to export more electricity to
Bangladesh," Karim quoted the
Ambassador as saying.
Bangladesh is eager to buy 500MW
electricity from 900MW Upper Karnali
hydropower project, which will be developed
by India's GMR Group.
Ghanshyam Bhandari also expressed
his country's interest to use Banglabandh
Land Port of Bangladesh for trading as
Anisul emphasizes regulatory
authority for tax lawyers
this port is located nearer than Burimari
port. He Appreciated Bangladesh's cooperation
towards Nepal, saying that many
Nepalese students study in Bangladesh for
higher degrees.
Sheikh Hasina congratulated the
newly appointed ambassador and
assured of cooperation during this
term in Bangladesh. She recalled
Nepal's support to Bangladesh during
its Liberation War in 1971 with arms
and ammunition to the Freedom
Fighters, which she said was very
much important for the country.
She emphasised on Bangladesh's connectivity
among the countries in the
region, especially with Nepal, Bhutan and
India. She also said that stronger bilateral
trade between Bangladesh and Nepal was
very important.
The Prime Minister recalled the recent
visit of Nepalese President in Bangladesh
during Mujib Borsho programme, saying
it added impetus to the bilateral relations
of the two countries.
DHAKA : Law, Justice and Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Anisul Huq yesterday laid
emphasis on a strong regulatory authority
for tax lawyers as they (lawyers) have an
important role in revenue collection.
"Honest and efficient tax lawyers are
working as an assisting force in the country's
revenue collection. If they continue to
work with honesty and efficiency, on one
side the revenue collection will go up, and
the respect and importance of their profession
will also increase. But we need a
strong regulatory authority for them," he
said.
The minister said this in a meeting with
the leaders of Bangladesh Tax Lawyers'
Association (BTLA) at the ministry conference
room, an official release said.
Anisul Huq at the meeting advised them
to increase the standard of their regulatory
agency. He also assured them about giving
standard books and notes for the
library of Bangladesh Tax Lawyers'
Association.
Law and Justice Division Secretary Md
Golam Sarwer, BTLA president Md
Sohrab Uddin, secretary general Md
Khorshed Alam, former presidents Syed
Iqbal Mostafa and AKM Azizur Rahman,
Dhaka Taxes Bar Association president
Abu Amzad, general secretary Md Zakaria
Khan and former social welfare secretary
Md Mamunur Rashid were present at the
meeting, among others.
Australia's captain Aaron Finch (left) bump fists with teammate David Warner
during the ICC men's twenty20 World Cup cricket match against Sri Lanka at
the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, UAe.
photo: Ap
Cyclone Sitrang
Two villages flooded
in Bagerhat as
dam collapses
BAGERHAT : Two villages under Sadar upazila
were flooded as a flood protection dam along the
Bhairab River collapsed due to the heavy pressure
of tidal surge, rendering several hundred people
of Machidanga and Polghat villages marooned.
Besides, 1200 thatched houses were damaged
and a number of trees have been uprooted during
the storm. A vast tract of Sharankhola, Morelganj,
Rampal and Mongla upazilas were also inundated
due to the tidal surge caused by the cyclonic
storm Sitrang.
Those who have taken shelter at the 344
cyclone centers are now returning to their respective
houses on Tuesday.
Due to the tidal surge, 1000 fisheries enclosures
and 800 ponds of different areas have been
washed away, incurring a loss of Tk 2 crore, said
District Fisheries Officer ASM Russel.
Azizur Rahman, deputy director of Department
of Agriculture Extension (DAE), said 1,385
hectares of land have been affected by the storm.
Seven ponds of the Sundarbans were also
affected by the cyclone Sitrang as the saline water
entered into the pond.
Sheikh Russel, a resident of Majhidanga village
said they are living under ankle-to-knee deep
water and they have no place to cook food.
He also demanded a sustainable dam along the
river bank.
Deputy Commissioner of Bagerhat District
Azizur Rahman, said a number of trees were
uprooted and 1200 thatched houses were damaged
in the district.
Heavy rains and wind triggered by Cyclone Sitrang uprooted trees in many parts of
Dhaka. the cyclone also felled utility poles.
photo : tBt
Govt is taking steps to check
lead pollution: minister
DHAKA : Environment, Forest
and Climate Change Minister Md
Shahab Uddin yesterday said the
government is taking initiatives to
protect people from lead pollution.
"The Department of
Environment (DoE) frequently
conducts drives against illegal
battery manufacturing and recycling
activities. However, only
enforcement may not bring the
desired results rather we need
massive awareness," he told a
seminar.
The seminar titled 'Lead poisoning
in Bangladesh: Research
Evidence for Urgent Action' was
held at Sonargaon Hotel in the
capital, organised by the
Directorate General of Health
Service and UNICEF.
Speaking as the chief guest,
Shahab Uddin said people should
know that 'Lead' is a silent killer
as it affects almost all body parts.
He said the neurological toxicity
of lead is inflicting permanent and
devastating damage to young children's
body and brain development.
The environment minister
urged media, civil society, NGOs
to play an important role in making
people aware of adverse
effects of lead pollution.
He said lead free fuel is being
4 lakh coastal people took
refuge at Ashrayan homes
during Sitrang : PMO
DHAKA : Some 4 lakh people
across Bangladesh's vast coast
did not require going to cyclone
shelters as Cyclone Sitrang hit
the country on Monday thanks
to the disaster-resilient houses
under the Ashrayan-2 project.
Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina gifted those houses to
the landless people.
They took refuge in 61, 378
Ashrayan houses, which were
distributed among the landless
and homeless families in the 19
coastal districts in four phases
over the last two years.
During the Cyclone Sitrang,
tens of thousands of neighbours
also took shelter in the semipucca
houses, said officials at
the Prime Minister's Office
(PMO).
The disaster-resilient houses
also helped reduce the extent of
damage of domestic animals
and other property during the
cyclonic storm.
According to the PMO's monitoring
cell, a total of 219,690
used in vehicles due to initiatives
taken by the government.
The government has incorporated
the lead emission standard
for industrial discharges in the
Environmental Conservation
Rules, 1997, he said.
About 85 percent of the total
global lead use is found at battery
factories while lead use in paints
and spices is also a great concern,
Shahab Uddin said.
He said the government first
issued an SRO in 2006 and again
in 2021, emphasising the environmental
clearance for safe disposal
of lead acid battery, environmentally
sound recycling, and duties
and responsibilities of battery
breakers, distributors, dealers
and importers.
Director General of National
Consumer Rights Protection
Directorate AHM Safikuzzaman,
Additional Secretary of Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare
Nilufar Nazneen, Executive
Director of ICDDR,B Dr Shams El
Arifin and UNICEF Bangladesh
Representative Sheldon Yate
spoke at the seminar with
Director of Health Department Dr
Aminul Islam in the chair.
Representatives of various
ministries, departments, NGOs
and development partners were
present.
people and 45,442 cattle were
evacuated to the cyclone shelters
in the 19 coastal districts
during the cyclone. But there
are 7,490 shelters with total
capacity of nearly 43 lakh people
in the coastal areas.
The Ashrayan project is a
housing scheme of the Prime
Minister's Office, which is being
implemented with an objective
to build homes for the homeless
and displaced people throughout
the country.
Under the project, 6,941
houses were distributed in
Patuakhali district, while 4,834
in Barishal, 2,600 in Barguna,
1,842 in Jhalakathi, 4,867 in
Pirojpur, 3,529 in Bhola, 2,662
in Shariatpur, 3,805 in
Gopalganj, 2,794 in Bagerhat,
829 in Narail, 3,950 in Khulna,
2,153 in Jashore, 2,906 in
Satkhira, 1,659 in Feni, 3,688 in
Noakhali, 3,228 in Lakshmipur,
408 in Chandpur, 5,043 in
Chattogram and 3,640 in Cox's
Bazar.
Generator stator
installed at unit
2 of Rooppur
Power Plant
DHAKA : A generator stator was installed in the
turbine hall of unit two of the under-construction
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).
According to a message received, the installation
works have been completed by the specialists
of the VdMU Branch, part of the Rosatom
Engineering Division.
"The stator converts mechanical energy generated
by the rotation of the turbine into electrical
energy. Besides, it is the heaviest element
among the power unit equipped with a weight of
over 440 tones.
That is why the installation of the Generator
Stator into the designated position is extremely
important. Its successful completion makes
possible installation of the main equipment of
the turbine hall", said Alexei Deriy, Vice
President of ASE and Director of the Rooppur
NPP Construction Project.
He said the two power units of Rooppur NPP
to useTZV-1200-2 turbine generators developed
and manufactured by Power Machines,
Russia.
The Rooppur NPP with two generation 3+
VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of
2400 MW is being constructed under the
Russian design. The Russian VVER-1200 reactors
have been functioning in two power units of
Novovoronezh NPP, Russia, which is the reference
project of Rooppur NPP. This reactor fully
complies with all international safety requirements.
Rosatom State Corporation Engineering
Division is the general designer and contractor
of Rooppur NPP. The company ranks first in the
world in terms of order portfolio and the number
of NPPs constructed simultaneously across
the world.