28-10-2022
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FRIDAY
DHAKA : October 28, 2022; Kartik 12, 1429 BS; Rabi-us-Sani 1, 1444 Hijri www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net Regd. No. DA~2065, Vol. 20; No.160; 12 Pages~Tk. 12.00
INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ART & CULTURE
Is UK leader Rishi
Porto advance to
‘A Father's Diary’
Sunak too rich to
knockout phase with 4-0
at Asian Film
rule in tough times?
win over Club Brugge
Fest Barcelona
Zumma
>Page 7
04:46 AM
01:30 PM
03:48 PM
05:27 PM
06:50 PM
None can chew up forex reserve,
it’s for the people : Hasina
Bangladesh a key player in
fight against climate change,
says British envoy
DHAKA : British High Commissioner
Robert Chatterton Dickson said on
Thursday that Bangladesh is playing
a key role globally to encourage high
emitting countries to cut emissions
of greenhouse gases while setting the
example as a strong resilient nation
against the impacts of climate change.
“The UK and Bangladesh partnered
closely in the run up to COP26 to raise
global ambition, and we continue to
work closely to turn commitments into
action,” he said, reports UNB.
It was great to hear fresh thinking
on mitigation, adaptation and climate
finance from experts and passionate
young people, said the British High
Commissioner to Dhaka while speaking
at a discussion in the city.
The British High Commission in
Dhaka organised the event with representatives
from the government of
Bangladesh, policymakers, NGOs, and
youth organisations on how to work
together in building momentum for
solutions to climate change in Bangladesh-one
of the most vulnerable countries
as a low-lying delta nation in the
world.
The discussion was held at the residence
of the British High Commissioner
where young climate change
activists from Bangladesh Youth Environment
Initiative (BYEI) shared their
ideas with climate experts and policy
influencers such as Waseqa Ayesha
Khan MP, Chair, Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Ministry of Power,
Energy and Mineral Resources and
DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
on Thursday said no one can chew up
forex reserve. “Many may wonder where
the forex reserve money went. Money
from forex reserve went to Payra Port,
procuring food for the people, fertiliser,
meeting the daily needs of people...
No one can chew up that money. That
is (forex reserve) for the people. We are
using that for import and other necessary
purposes,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said this while inaugurating
some development projects,
including capital dredging at Payra
Port, aiming to equip it with better facilities
for smooth operations, reports
UNB.
The Prime Minister virtually inaugurated
the development projects from
her official residence Ganabhaban.
Other inaugurated projects included
eight ships and vessels, the first
terminal, construction of a six-lane approach
road and a bridge at Payra Port.
The PM said that for the first time,
money from Bangladesh Infrastructure
Development Fund is being used.
It is being used for capital dredging of
Payra Port. “We have provided loan,
with minimum interest rate, to the
port. With one percent service charge,
they will have to give only two percent
interest rate,” she said.
The Prime Minister also stressed
that the country’s money will remain
in Bangladesh. She said that Bangladesh’s
forex reserve can be used for
infrastructure development. In this
connection, she mentioned the hassles
Bangladesh has to deal with when taking
foreign funds.
“Considering that, we have created
a fund - Bangladesh Infrastructure
Development Fund. We have created
this fund using our forex reserve money.
Using that fund, we are starting the
dredging of Payra Port,” she said.
Bangladesh’s forex reserves stood at
USD 35.98 billion as of October 19, 2022,
according to data from Bangladesh Bank.
Forex reserves were USD 46.19 billion a
year ago (October 19, 2021).
Co-Chair, Climate Parliament; Professor
Saleemul Huq, Director, International
Centre for Climate Change and
Development; Farah Kabir, Country
Director, Action Aid Bangladesh; and
Md Mahbub ur Rahman, CEO, HSBC
Bangladesh.
Organised ahead of COP27 in November,
the aim of the event was to
strengthen UK-Bangladesh cooperation
on climate change by exchanging
views and practical suggestions for action
at all levels.
The chief focus was given to views
from young people who will have
to face the harsh impacts of climate
change in the years ahead more than
anyone else.
The debate highlighted the difficulties
of transitioning to clean energy
and the costs of adaptation, particularly
among vulnerable countries like
Bangladesh.
The UK is committed to working
with Bangladesh in tackling the adverse
effects of climate change, according
to the British High Commission in
Dhaka.
The UK government is currently
supporting Bangladesh’s work on
expanding renewable energy to help
meet Bangladesh’s target of 40% of the
country’s energy from clean and renewable
sources by 2041.
Bangladesh is finalising its National
Adaptation Plan, and is calling on developed
countries to cut greenhouse
gas emissions and keep their commitment
in providing financing.
>Page 9 >Page 10
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday inaugurated capital dredging at Payra Port. Photo : PID
ACC won’t renew
Shakib’s contract as
goodwill ambassador
DHAKA : Anti-Corruption Commission
(ACC) will not consider cricketer Shakib
Al Hasan as its goodwill ambassador, reports
UNB.
“Although he is still the goodwill ambassador
as per contract, the contract will
not be renewed. He will not be part of the
upcoming International Anti-Corruption
Day programs,” Commissioner of the investigation
department of ACC, Mozammel
Haque, said. Haque was speaking to media.
According to the rules, ACC still has a
contract with him. But Shakib Al Hasan is
now considered “controversial” on various
issues. ACC does not want to associate itself
with any controversial person, Haque said.
All-rounder Shakib was made the goodwill
ambassador of the anti-corruption watchdog
to campaign against corruption in Bangladesh.
ACC made the announcement on
February 11, 2018.
‘Media a key tool
to promote safe
migration’
DHAKA : Speakers at a workshop on
Thursday said that media can play a vital
role in ensuring safe migration in a world
where unsafe migration kills people, destroys
families and drain resources. They
said migration is a national, international
and geopolitical issue responsible handling
could help people avoid irregular
migration, reports UNB.
The views came at the workshop titled
“Migration and Media” organised by International
Organisation for Migration in cooperation
with Diplomatic Correspondents
Association, Bangladesh at a city hotel.
Ambassador and Head of Delegation of
the European Union to Bangladesh Charles
Whiteley, Chief of Mission, IOM Bangladesh
Abdusattor Esoev and DCAB President
Rezaul Karim Lotus spoke at the inaugural
session moderated by former Foreign
Secretary and Senior Policy Advisor IOM
Bangladesh Shahidul Haque.
Shahidul conducted a session titled
“Global Migration Trends and Issues; Challenges
and Options for Bangladesh” while
there is another session on “Migration Diplomacy:
Bangladesh Perspective” by Foreign
Secretary Masud Bin Momen.
6:01 5:24
Nasrul Hamid now
hopes power supply
situation will
improve from Nov
DHAKA : State Minister for Power, Energy
and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid
yesterday said power supply situation
may improve from November, reports
UNB.
“We hope the power supply situation
will improve from November. I’m optimistic
and don’t want to make you pessimistic,”
he told reporters after attending
a seminar on renewable energy at Dhaka’s
Brac Inn Centre.
Earlier in August, the state minister
had said that power supply situation may
improve from September, and later again
said that load shedding would decrease
from October.
Following a national power grid failure
on October 4, 2022, electricity supply
situation deteriorated - increasing load
shedding to 5-6 hours every day.
The government started implementing
an austerity plan in July by suspending
operations of all diesel-fired power
plants to reduce fuel imports and save
foreign currency. The import of LNG
from the international spot market was
also suspended for the same purpose,
triggering frequent load shedding across
the country.
Referring to the request of businessmen
to resume LNG imports from the international
spot market and to ensure uninterrupted
gas and electricity supply to factories
at a higher price, Nasrul said the government
is assessing all the options.
“We’re working on it. Businessmen
need uninterrupted gas supply at affordable
price,” he added. He also said that
his ministry has sent a detailed proposal
to Brunei on importing LNG and is now
waiting for their response. It may take a
week more to get a response from Brunei,
he said.
Healthcare system rocked
by Corona struggles to
cope with dengue
DHAKA : With the nation’s healthcare
system still only recovering from the blow
of the Coronavirus pandemic, many hospitals
in the city including Dhaka Medical
College Hospital are struggling to provide
treatment to the rising number of dengue
patients due to a shortage of beds.
In scenes reminiscent of the country’s
worst-ever dengue outbreak in 2019,
many patients suffering from dengue
fever were seen receiving treatment on
floors and balconies as hospitals ran out
of beds to accommodate them.
Visiting various areas in the city, UNB
found a number of medical facilities including
Holy Family Hospital, Mugda
Medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh
Shishu Hospital and Institute,
Dhaka Medical College Hospital and
Kurmitola General Hospital treating patients
on the floor, as all the beds in the
respective wards have been filled with
patients being treated for the mosquito-borne
disease.
Last Sunday (Oct. 23), the number
of daily hospitalisations reported by the
Directorate General of Health Services
crossed 1000 for the first time this year,
from 922 the day before. Hospitalisations
did drop back down as the week
progressed, to reach 750 on Wednesday.
The number of infections may start to
fall in the first week of November, said
Dr Nazmul Islam, Director of the Disease
Control Department of DGHS.
BNP opened fire on demonstrators
demanding electricity : Hasan
Recently, the number of dengue patients
has increased across the country.
But the fatalities can be considerably reduced
if patients go to the doctor at the
right time, he said. He also said that dengue
has increased due to climate change.
Besides, the mosquito-borne disease has
increased this time due to the lack of
awareness also, he said. Public health expert
Dr Mohammad Abdus Sabur Khan
said that although dengue intensity usually
decreases in September, this time the
situation has reversed.
“It’s October now, but dengue is showing
no sign of retreating. It seems like
dengue will prevail till mid-November
this time,” Khan said. “Creating awareness
among the public is a must to rein in
the dengue menace. We’ve taken various
steps in this regard,” Health Minister Zahid
Maleque told UNB.
He went on to name three hospitals
- Dhaka North Corporation Hospital, a
new unit of BSMMU, and Lalkuthi Hospital
- that have been kept ready to deal
with any emergency. Many might say the
emergency is already here, especially in
light of the kind of October we have witnessed.
A total of 120 people have died of
dengue this year (as of October 26), making
it easily the second-worst outbreak of
the disease in the country’s history after
2019, when a staggering 101,354 people
were infected with the virus and 179 of
them died.
DHAKA : Information and Broadcasting
Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud yesterday
said that during the BNP regime, the government
opened fire on the demonstrators
demanding electricity at Kansat in
Chapainawabganj.
“During a movement demanding electricity
in Kansat, the BNP government
opened fire and killed people. They only
installed pillars for supplying electricity.
So, BNP has no moral right to talk about
electricity,” he said.
Hasan, also ruling Awami League
(AL) joint general secretary, said this
while exchanging views with journalists
at the Secretariat here in the afternoon.
He said BNP had inaugurated an
80-megwatt power plant at Tongi during
their regime from 2001 to 2006, which
was run only for two days and it was shutdown
subsequently.
The World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) stopped their
funding in power sector raising graft allegation
against BNP government, the
minister said, adding: “That’s why, I
would like to suggest the BNP (BNP leaders)
to see their own faces on the mirror
and to refrain from the way of confusing
the people”.
Only 40 percent people of the country
were under electricity facility before
Awami League formed the government
in 2009 and the rate was lower than that
of during BNP regime, Hasan said.
“But today cent percent people across
the country have been brought under the
power facility and our government has
reached the electricity facility all households
of remote villages,” he added.
Apart from using refrigerators and
watching televisions, the minister said,
the rural people now use air-conditions.
Mobile phones of 15 crore, electric
cars and three-wheeler-run vehicles run
through electric charge, Hasan said, adding
that at least hundreds of megawatts
of electricity are consumed there too.
RAB claimed to have recovered a sophisticated rocket launcher from a young man in Golapganj,
Sylhet. Last Tuesday night, the young man named Sheikh Ali Hossain was arrested from Rankeli
Golopar area of the upazila along with a rocket launcher.
Photo : Star Mail
Friday, OctOber 28, 2022
2
Dhaka, Tokyo to elevate bilateral
ties to 'strategic partnership'
DHAKA : Bangladesh and Japan want to
elevate the bilateral relations to 'strategic
partnership' level during Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to Japan.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit
Japan from November 29 to December 1, at
the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister
Fumio Kishida, reports UNB.
The planned visit was discussed when the
Director General of Southeast and Southwest
Asian Affairs of Japan's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs Arima Yutaka met Foreign Secretary
Masud Bin Momen in Dhaka on Thursday.
At the meeting, both sides expressed
satisfaction at the growing bilateral relations
between the two countries.
They particularly highlighted the visit of
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Japan in
May 2014, when she and the then Prime
Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe elevated the
bilateral relations between the countries to
'Comprehensive Partnership' level, and also
the visit of Shinzo Abe to Bangladesh in
September 2014, when the two countries
GD-1742/22 (5x3)
forged deeper economic partnership under
BIG-B.
Both sides expected that during PM
Hasina's upcoming visit, Bangladesh and
Japan would foster deeper economic
partnership in terms of development
cooperation, trade and investment, human
resources development, agriculture, ICT,
education, defence dialogue and exchanges,
people-to-people connectivity, repatriation of
Rohingyas, etc.
The two sides also expressed the desire to
enhance cooperation in international fora,
including on climate change, UN reforms,
disarmament and non-proliferation, etc.
Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh Ito
Naoki and Director General (East Asia and
Pacific) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also
joined the meeting.
The Director General of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Japan is on a two-day visit
to Dhaka to discuss the preparations of Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to
Japan.
Elderly man beaten to
death in Kurigram,
sister dies of shock
KURIGRAM : A 70-year-old
man was beaten to death
allegedly by his neighbour
over the cutting of a tree in
Sadar upazila of Kurigram on
Wednesday night, reports
UNB.
On the other hand, the
victim's elder sister also died
after witnessing the attack.
The deceased was identified
as Abul Kalam Azad, while
her elder sister Sakina Begum
was 75. They were residents
of Raipur village under
Kathalbari union of the
upazila.
Locals and police said that
Abul had an altercation with
his neighbour Dulal Mia over
cutting branches of a mango
tree adjacent to their house
on Wednesday afternoon.
Armed with sharp weapons
and sticks, Dulal attacked
Abul in his house around
9pm, leaving him critically
injured, they said.
He was rushed to Kurigram
General Hospital, where
doctors declared him dead on
arrival.
School teacher sent to jail
for sexual harassment of
minor in Thakurgaon
THAKURGAON : A school
teacher has been remanded in
judicial custody by a court in
Thakurgaon in connection
with the sexual harassment of
a minor student, reports
UNB.
The accused has been
identified as Tula Ram Paul,
38. SM Jahid Iqbal, officerin-charge
of Ranisankail
police station, said they
arrested the accused after the
girl's father lodged a
complaint on Wednesday.
Later, the accused was
produced in a Thakurgaon
court that sent him to judicial
custody. According to the case
statement, the teacher
allegedly harassed the girl
sexually after taking her to a
room of the school on
Tuesday morning.
GD-1741/22 (8x4)
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MÖvg kn‡ii DbœwZ
GD-1734/22 (9x4)
GD-1738/22 (10x4)
Closing ceremony of the Cultural Week-2022 of the department of Development Studies was held at
the Prof Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury Auditorium yesterday. Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic),
University of Dhaka was present as chief guest.
Photo : Courtesy
Dhaka hospitals struggle to cope
with rising dengue patients
DHAKA : Many hospitals in the city
including Dhaka Medical College
Hospital are struggling to provide
treatment to the rising number of
dengue patients due to the shortage of
beds.
In scenes reminiscent of the country's
worst-ever dengue outbreakin 2019,
many patients suffering from dengue
fever were seen receiving treatment on
the floors and balconies as hospitals ran
out of beds to accommodate them.
Visiting various areas in the city, UNB
found that hospitals including Holy
Family Hospital, Mugda Medical
College and Hospital, Bangladesh
Shishu Hospital and Institute, Dhaka
Medical College Hospital and Kurmitola
General Hospital are treating patients
on the floor, as all the beds in their
respective wards have been filled with
patients affected by the mosquito-borne
disease.
However, the number of infections
may start to fall in the first week of
November, said Dr Nazmul Islam,
Director of the Disease Control
Department of DGHS.
Recently, the number of dengue
patients has increased across the
country. But the fatalities can be
considerably reduced if patients go to
the doctor at the right time, he said.
He also said that dengue has increased
due to climate change. Besides, due to
the lack of awareness, the mosquitoborne
disease has increased this time.
A total of 120 peoplehave died of
dengue till October 26 this year. Doctors
said that children are the worst
sufferers.
"Creating awareness among the public
is a must to rein in the dengue menace.
We've taken various steps in this
regard," Health MinisterZahid
Malequetold UNB.
Dhaka North Corporation Hospital, a
new unit of BSMMU, and Lalkuthi
Hospital have been kept ready in case of
emergency, he added.
The minister said that the city
corporations and municipalities have
been urged to be vigilant about killing
mosquitoes.
If the number of mosquitoes is
reduced, the number of patients will
automatically decrease resulting in the
low pressure of dengue patients in the
hospital, the minister observed.
As the number of dengue patients is
increasing every day, hospitals are
directed to give the proper treatment to
the patients, Prof. Dr Ahmadul Kabir,
additional director general of the health
department told UNB.
"Beds and logistic support will be
provided if needed," he added.
Public health expert Dr Mohammad
Abdus Sabur Khan said that although
dengue intensity usually decreases in
September, this time the situation has
reversed.
Dhaka’s air
quality is still
‘unhealthy’
DHAKA : Dhaka's air
quality continued to be in
the 'unhealthy' zone on
Thursday.
With an air quality index
(AQI) score of 146 at
8.30am, the metropolis
ranked eighth in the list of
world cities with the worst
air quality.
An AQI between 101 and
200 is considered
'unhealthy', particularly for
sensitive groups.
Pakistan's Lahore,
India's Delhi and the
United Arab Emirates'
Dubai occupied the first
three spots in the list, with
AQI scores of 266, 167 and
162, respectively.
An AQI between 201 and
300 is said to be 'poor',
while a reading of 301 to
400 is considered
'hazardous', posing serious
health risks to residents.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is
based on five criteria
pollutants-Particulate
Matter (PM10 and PM2.5),
NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Dhaka has long been
grappling with air pollution
issues. Its air quality
usually turns unhealthy in
winter and improves
during the monsoon.
Air pollution consistently
ranks among the top risk
factors for death and
disability worldwide.
Breathing polluted air has
long been recognised as
increasing a person's
chances of developing a
heart disease, chronic
respiratory diseases, lung
infections and cancer,
according to several
studies.
As per the World Health
Organization (WHO), air
pollution kills an estimated
seven million people
worldwide every year,
largely as a result of
increased mortality from
stroke, heart disease,
chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, lung
cancer and acute
respiratory infections.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2022
3
US opens new commercial
service office in Dhaka to
boost trade ties
DHAKA : The United States on Thursday formally opened a new
commercial service office at the US Embassy, which will play an
important role in strengthening trade ties between the two
countries.
US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and
Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service
Arun Venkataraman and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter
Haas announced the opening of the office.?
"As the United States and Bangladesh celebrate 50 years of
bilateral relations, it is an opportune moment to expand upon
the strong foundation of our bilateral and commercial
relationship," said Venkataraman.
"The new Commercial Service office here in Bangladesh will
play an important role in strengthening trade ties between our
countries, and how we support US companies doing business in
such a dynamic and fast-growing economy. Trade between our
two countries accounts for an estimated $10 billion, showcasing
the vast existing and potential opportunities in this country."?
Thr US Department of Commerce will station a senior Foreign
Commercial Service officer at the US Embassy in Dhaka to
maximise US export opportunities and work collaboratively
with Bangladesh to assist US companies considering entry into
or expanding their presence in the Bangladeshi market. ?
The office will help facilitate one-on-one business counseling,
provide tailored export expertise and information on the
Bangladeshi market, and work to connect US businesses with
potential Bangladeshi partners through business matchmaking
and other services.?
The US Foreign Commercial Service is the export promotion
arm of the International Trade Administration, a bureau of the
US Department of Commerce.
The commercial service has an extensive global network
consisting of 122 offices around the world and in over 100 US
cities. The new office in Dhaka will increase the number of
international markets to 81. Across Asia, the wing will have a
presence in 19 markets, including Bangladesh.?
The International Trade Administration (ITA) at the US
Department of Commerce is the premier resource for American
companies competing in the global marketplace.
ITA has more than 2,200 employees assisting US exporters in
more than 100 US cities and 81 markets worldwide.
72 vacant seats
in JU
DHAKA : Seventy-two seats
are vacant in various
departments and faculties
even after admission from the
third merit list in the
graduation (honours)
admission test In the 2021-22
academic year of
Jahangirnagar University, .
Deputy Registrar
(Education) Abu Hasan,
Member Secretary of the
Central Admission
Management Committee
confirmed this information on
Wednesday (October 26).
Abu Hasan said, "72 seats
are vacant in almost all the
units. Students who want to
apply for this vacant seat will
apply in person from 5th to
8th November.
Admission will be taken on
the basis of the application
submitted according to the
previous merit order. In this
regard, a notice will be given
on the website of the
university after taking the final
decision today with the
permission of the VC. He also
said that the admissions
process of students seeking
admission in different quotas
in the university will be
completed on the same date.
It is to be noted that this
year, 466 seats in 'A' unit, 386
in 'B' unit, 467 in 'C' unit, 320
in 'D' unit and 250 in 'E' unit in
the admission test of 2021-22
academic year are 2 lakh 84
against a total of 1 thousand
888 seats. 1,605 applications
were submitted. In addition to
the number of seats, the
university has a quota system.
Accordingly, there are
reserved seats for freedom
fighters- 37x4, 30 for ethnic
groups, 15 for disabled.
Besides, there is a reserved
quota.
LGRD Minister Tajul Islam addressing a discussion meeting at a city hotel
yesterday.
Photo : Courtesy
On Wednesday night, October 26, 2022, the ICT Division of the Government of the People's Republic
of Bangladesh organized an "Ambassador Night" at the "Sheraton Dhaka" hotel located in Banani,
capital Dhaka.
Photo : Courtesy
‘Digital World 2022’ is going
to kick off in December
One of the biggest events of ICT sector
"Digital World 2022", will be organized
in Bangladesh upcoming December. In
continuation of the previous years, this
event will be held at the Bangabandhu
International Conference Center (BICC)
located in Agargaon Shere-Bangla
Nagar, Dhaka on 8-11 December 2022 to
inform the capabilities of digital
Bangladesh at the local and international
level. In light of this, on Wednesday
night, October 26, 2022, the ICT
Division of the Government of the
People's Republic of Bangladesh
organized an "Ambassador Night" at the
"Sheraton Dhaka" hotel located in
Banani, capital Dhaka. The government
wants to open new horizons for
attracting foreign investment as an
exporter of ICT products from Made in
Bangladesh through Digital World, a
press release said.
This Ambassador Night is organized as
an initiative to inform foreign countries
about Digital World 2022 and to invite
foreign guests. It was attended by
ambassadors from Saudi Arabia,
Maldives, Morocco, Brunei, Turkey,
Dubai, Sweden, South Korea, European
Union, Australia, Bhutan and many
more countries.
The Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul
Momen MP spoke as the chief guest at
the program. He said that Digital World
2022 will be a unique opportunity to
showcase the capabilities of Bangladesh
in the technology sector to the world. We
hope this event will give us an idea of our
capabilities and future opportunities in
the technology sector. Our people have
proved how capable they are. We had a
clear target to implement Digital
Bangladesh with the guidance of our
Prime Minister and the advice from the
ICT Adviser. The Bangladesh you see
today is the result of the visionary
leadership of our Prime Minister. If you
have a dream, we can make it happen;
Not only on paper but also in reality.
Bangladesh wants to move forward
with friendly countries in the ICT sector
Mentioning that the foreign minister
said that the Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
has given us the foreign policy of
"friendship with all, enmity with none"
and we are following it. We want you all
by our side on that journey. Finally, in his
speech, the foreign minister thanked the
representatives of the foreign countries
present at the event.
In the speech of the special guest, the
State Minister for the ICT Division
Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP said, We have
been organizing this international event
since 2011. We invite global leaders,
researchers and investors to participate
in this event. We want them to visit our
market, see our capabilities. We want to
be self-sufficient in the digital sector.
Also want to work in partnership with
other countries of the world.
The Director of Bangladesh Computer
Council Mohammad Enamul Kabir gave
a welcome speech to the event. The
program was chaired by The Executive
Director of Bangladesh Computer
Council Ranajit Kumar.
After that Sami Ahmed, Managing
Director of Startup Bangladesh Ltd.,
highlighted different aspects of the
program. BACCO Finance Secretary Md.
Aminul Hoque, BCS President Subrata
Sarkar, e-Cab President Ms. Shomi
Kaiser and BASIS President Russell T
Ahmed spoke at the program.
Among others, the Senior Secretary of
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Masud Bin
Momen and the Senior Secretary of ICT
Division N M Zeaul Alam PAA, the
ambassadors include Australia's High
Commissioner to Banglades Jeremy
Bruer, Ambassador of the Republic of
Turkey Mustafa Osman Turan, Swedish
Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexandra
Berg von Linde, Ambassador of the
Republic of Korea Lee Jang-keun,
Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to
Bangladesh Essa Youssef Essa Al
Duhailan and Ambassador and Head of
Delegation of the European Union (EU)
Charles Whiteley spoke at the program.
Dr Harun-Ur- Rashid accorded Khan
Bahadur Ahsanullah Gold Medal
TBT REPORT
Eminent Nephrologist Professor Dr
Harun-Ur- Rashid was accorded Khan
Bahadur Ahsanullah Gold Medal 2020
for his outstanding contribution to the
field of treatment service. On October
27, 2022, Thursday, the medal was
handed over to him in a ceremony held
at Dhaka Ahsania Mission Auditorium
in Dhanmondi of the capital.
National Professor AK Azad Khan
was present as the chief guest while
Dhaka Ahsania Mission President Kazi
Rafiqul Alam presided over the
program.
Prof. AK Azad Khan said, Khan
Bahadur Ahsanullah is a man of
versatile talents. He is a transient. The
contribution he has made in the
establishment of Dhaka University
needs to be focused to everyone.
He also said that Khan Bahadur
Ahsanullah was religious but he was
not a fanatic. We have a lot to learn
from his life.
Dr Harun-Ur- Rashid said, `We are
working on how to reduce the cost of
kidney dialysis and to diagnose and
cure kidney disease at its earliest stage.
Making people aware is a very difficult
task. We continue this difficult work.'
He also said that it is necessary to do
a urine and blood sugar test only after
the age of 40 years. Walk for 30
minutes every day.
Founder Vice-Chancellor of
Bangladesh Open University and
South-East University and renowned
Nuclear Scientist Professor Dr. M
Shamsher Ali, Managing Director
Kidney Foundation Hospital and
Research Institute Tini Ferdous Rashid
were discussants in the program. The
brief introduction of the gold medalist
was read by the Vice President of
Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Professor Dr.
Kazi Shariful Alam. The welcome
speech was given by the member of the
Executive Committee of Dhaka
Ahsania Mission Dr M Ehsanur
Rahman.
Since 1985, Dhaka Ahsania Mission
has been awarding the Khan Bahadur
Ahsanullah Gold Medal to a national
level personality every year to recognize
the talent and contribution of
contemporary personalities.
Eminent Nephrologist Professor Dr Harun-Ur- Rashid was accorded Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah
Gold Medal 2020 for his outstanding contribution to the field of treatment service. Photo : Courtesy
FRIdAY, OcTOBER 28, 2022
4
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Friday, October 28, 2022
Drug addiction : A major
national problem
The case of the heinous murders of a police
officer and his wife in 2013 with the
alleged involvement of their drug addicted
young daughter, must have deeply shocked
and pained all normal well meaning people in
the country. Helping in the murdering of one's
own parents has been unthinkable in our society.
But such an act also symbolizes to what
extent degradation has developed in our society
specially from the increase in the number of
users of addictive drugs.
The drug addiction habit has been growing
gradually. It is not a sudden development
under the tenures of one or two governments.
The media has been reporting the record number
of seizures of yaba tablets in recent weeks
and months. The present government was seen
battling the drug addiction challenge with some
dedication and as a result its spread could be
reasonably contained. But surely a great deal
more should be done to address this problem.
A media report-- sometime ago-- based on
information from the Department of Narcotics
Control (DNC), is concern raising. The gist of it
was that there are at least 50 lakh drug users in
Bangladesh who spend taka 50 crore on illegal
narcotics every day and 75 per cent of the users
are between 15 and 30 years of age.
The report is suggestive of the expansion in
the number of addicts. Similar statistics about
a decade ago showed the number of addicts and
their spending on their addiction to be notably
less. That the number of addicts and their
spending have increased to such proportions,
signals that Bangladesh has every reason to be
very concerned by the rising number of drug
users and its consequences for the society as a
whole.
The Chinese in the nineteenth century
were known to be weak and incapable of
resisting foreign aggressors. Among other
reasons, it emerged from the analysis of
historians that their vitality was sapped
from a very large number of China's population
falling prey to smoking opium in
that period. However, opium was introduced
there by foreigners. There is a lesson
for Bangladesh from this historical example.
Great quantities of the illegal drugs
now used in Bangladesh such as Yaba have
a foreign origin. These are smuggled from
across the borders of Myanmar and India.
These also come through sea routes in the
Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh used to be
mainly a conduit used by international
drug traffickers in the past. But now it has
become a lucrative market for users as well.
The youth in Bangladeshare faced with ruination
in many cases from their growing drug
addiction habits. They are gradually getting
crippled mentally and physically. Many of
them are already only shattered forms of their
former healthy selves and are complete liabilities
for their families and societies.
Not only this, they are found in most cases to
rely on crimes like snatching and stealing to
get money to maintain their habits. Others
resort to more serious crimes specially when
parents and others refuse to satisfy their
demand for money to be spent on addiction.
Thus, it is high time to check the drug menace
from turning worse.
Law enforcement activities need to be made
particularly effective and extraordinary efforts
will have to be made to bring to a halt the pushing
of addictive substances inside Bangladesh
as well as making them locally. Our policymakers
must recognize drug addiction as a serious
national problem to be addressed immediately
and very effectively through stepped up and far
greater scrupulous and efficient operations of
law enforcement bodies. However, the most
effective deterrence can be no other than one
forged through much greater awareness building
about the very negative consequences of
addiction, publicity campaigns, role played by
family elders and social leaders to that end.
Inclusive Education of Bangladesh: Problems & prospects
Spread Inclusive Education everywhere & be responsible people with disabilities
Inclusion means
all castes,
religions, races,
gender, abilities
learning working
together.
Inclusion means
educating
children with
disabilities in the
schools they
would attend if they did not have
disabilities. Providing services and
supports those parents and with disabilities
need in order to be in normal
settings.Inclusion is a philosophy build on
the belief that all people are equal should be
respected and valued, as an issue of basic
human rights.The benefits of inclusion are
enough, not only for special needs children
& their families, but also for all children.
When we adjust/include all in average
everything, they know/learn acceptance of
others, & they have absolute abilities. They
learn together from each other.By creating
an inclusive infrastructure it will enable
diversity in the class room with the able &
disable learning together, complimenting
each other's skills. Creating a partnership
with families is an important part of
inclusion.Benefits of inclusion for children
with disabilities are friendship skills, peer
models, problem solving skill, positive self
image & respect for others.On the other
hand community inclusion essential
because it enriches the lives of our family
members; it is stimulating addresses their
need for human interaction. It means to
skill development for potential
employment & daily living.
In a word inclusion can help to overcome
discrimination for children, family &
society. As a result children with needs
return to the mainstream of society. In this
they can contribute to the society.Inclusive
education is carried out in a common
learning environment; that is an
educational setting where students from
different backgrounds and with different
abilities learn together in a inclusive
environment.Inclusive education means
that all students attend and are welcomed
by their neighborhood schools in ageappropriate,
regular class and are
supported to learn, contribute and
participate in all aspects of the life of the
school. Inclusive education is a school
curriculum, environment that is tailored to
the needs of the students prioritizing their
rights.
It is a social/community barrier to
inclusion. Because of our negative attitude
inclusion is hindered at every level of
society, including family, society & the
state. Lack of awareness creates negative
attitudes.It is also a social/community
barrier to inclusion. Because of our
negative attitude inclusion is hindered at
every level of society, including family,
society & the state. On the other hand
negative attitude is a major obstacle in
creating social awareness.Vocational
schools do not have suitable training
systems for the disabled. There are few
vocational schools for them but there is
absolutely no opportunity to take
vocational training together. As a result
their efficiency does not increase as
expected.There is a considerable lack of
proper education, training and workshops
for teachers in our country. As a disabled
children are not getting proper services. In
other words, the services of untrained
teachers are not very useful for children.
Due to lack of flexibility in the curricula,
children with disabilities face various
obstacles in learning in the classroom. Lack
of flexible curricula according to the type of
student is a major obstacle in this field.
Entrance to school and classroom, size of
classroom, toilet, and inadequate seating
space is a hindrance to the education of
children with disabilities. Lack of adequate
space for wheelchair use is a barrier. In
some cases there is no policy & in some
cases there is a policy but it is not
implemented in practice. Here integrated
education is on paper but there is no reality.
Apart from this, the policy is being
hampered in various ways due to lack of
coordination as multiple ministries are
working in this issue.Even though our
country has a mandate for integrated
education, there is a serious shortage of
trained teachers in schools. Not only has
that, these schools also had any
environmental facilities. There is even a
shortage of materials.Decentralization of
inclusive education along with general
education has not been done equally in
Bangladesh. Although there is some
prevalence of inclusive education at the
government & private levels in the capital,
there is no provision of such education in
school at the district & UPZ levels.
Lack of communication among
professionals mainstream teachers,
management, resource staff, doctors &
others paraprofessionals. Professional ego
JInAT nASRIn
clashes. Successful strategies not shared
between teachers. Lack of understanding of
the characteristics of disabilities & its
educational implications. No formal
assessments resulting in loose labeling of
the child.
I think inclusion is not possible without
policy changing. When there is a policy
change, the media will highlight it so that
more people about it. When policies change
positively for people with disabilities,
families of people with disabilities will try
advocate for them, because then he has
evidence.
Inclusion based policy analysis is the
process of bringing into view the sources of
disadvantage that result in unequal
opportunities & outcomes for people with
disabilities, & of using the tools of public
It is a social/community barrier to inclusion. Because
of our negative attitude inclusion is hindered at every
level of society, including family, society & the state. Lack
of awareness creates negative attitudes.It is also a
social/community barrier to inclusion. Because of our
negative attitude inclusion is hindered at every level of
society, including family, society & the state.
WAKU MILLER
policy overcome these disadvantages.
Parents of persons with disabilities are
face emotional financial stress, Lack of
supports, discrimination, loss of social life
and other which result in psychological
problems, depression, and physical
exhaustion. Also in the negative attitude of
people in the society.
Parents can be given the following
support to support inclusion: Raising
awareness about inclusion, To create
awareness about the rights & capabilities
of disabled children, To make people with
disabilities aware of services & make
them easily accessible, Improving
parents-teacher relationships, Helping to
remove barriers to inclusion, Conducting
regular meetings of teachers &
administration with parents regarding
the advantages of persons with
disabilities, Provide income source of
parents, Provision of aids as required,
Bringing disabled child/person under
insurance.
I think the media has an important role to
play in raising awareness about inclusion.
Inclusion is a birth & legal right of every
disabled people. If there were no barriers to
inclusion, people with disabilities could
reflect their abilities & succeed in all fields.
Inclusion can be achieved not only through
legislation, but through concerted & sincere
efforts at all levels.
Reflection of the international &
domestic legislations acts & documents on
other aspects of inclusive education not
enough. The universal declaration of
human Rights was adopted by the U N
general assembly on 10 December, 1948. It
is a milestone document in the history of
human rights. According to this law all
human beings are born free & equal. It has
30 articles. This act has been translated 80
languages. The world conference on special
needs education was held by UNESCO
from 07-10 June.1994. The conference was
held Salamanca in Spain. The conference
on the commitment to ensure education for
all called for inclusion of children, youth &
adults with mainstream education.
Inclusive education is mainly reflected in
this conference. Here quality education is
mentioned. Bangladesh government
signed this declaration so far there is no
reflection of it. Bangladesh only some
policy, laws & action plans are made in this
regard. National policy of Bangladesh on
disability is adopted at 1995. This is first
ever national policy on disability in
Bangladesh. Inclusive education is first
mentioned here. On 10 November 2013
Social welfare Ministry of BD enacted the
Neurodevelopment Disability Protection
Trust Act. In this act establishes education
& training, establishment institutions,
determination selection criteria &
curriculum formulation, inclusion
education system, establishment of special
educational institutions has been
mentioned seriously. Despite existence of
such various international & domestic
legislations, acts & documents, its
implementation in practices in less.
Working on inclusion in the context
of Bangladesh is very difficult.
Recently, work on inclusion has started
in Bangladesh but its pace is very slow.
At present some efforts are being made
to create awareness. Although it is
urban, there is such initiative in the
village. Although there are some
inclusive schools in the cities, there is
no idea about it among the rural.
Hundred obstacles to work on
inclusion in Bangladesh. Ignorance is
the main obstacles. Due to lack of
awareness the social responsibility of
disabled people is neglected. As a
result, obstacles have to be faced in all
areas including education, treatment,
employment & transportation. There is
also considerable lack of information,
education, research & training. Still we
are optimistic. Maybe one day we will
reach certain goals, albeit slowly.
The writer is B A (Hon's) M A (History),
B SEd, M SEd.Sr. Special Educator,
BEAUTIFUL MIND, Uttara, Dhaka.
Kishida flip-flops on banning the Moonies
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio
Kishida performed an impressive flipflop
last Tuesday, stating that he
might be able to dissolve a religious
corporation after all. The previous day he
had insisted that his government lacked a
basis for initiating procedures to do that.
The religious corporation in question was
the Japanese chapter of the Family
Federation for World Peace and
Unification, generally known as the
Unification Church and widely called the
Moonies in reference to its Korean founder,
the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon.
Japan's chapter has come under renewed
scrutiny since the fatal shooting of former
prime minister Shinzo Abe on July 8. The
accused shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, has
told authorities that cult-like pressure from
the group on his mother destroyed their
family and that he shot Abe because of the
latter's connections with the group.
Yamagami's mother reportedly gave
more than 100 million yen (about
US$700,000) to the Family Federation for
World Peace and Unification. And reports
of other donations under questionable
circumstances are multiplying daily.
A hotline set up by the government in
September has received more than 1,700
complaints. The alleged misconduct
includes such acts as foisting statuettes and
other items on members for extravagant
prices in "spiritual sales" and, as with
Yamagami's mother, pressuring followers
to make huge donations.
Kishida was describing his take on
Japan's Religious Corporations Law. That
law entitles the government to revoke a
group's registration as a religious
corporation if the group has harmed the
public welfare grievously.
Courts have traditionally interpreted the
law as predicating the revocation on
criminal infringements of Japan's Penal
Code. And Kishida adhered to that
interpretation on Monday, October 17. He
was responding to a question in a meeting
of the budget committee of the Diet's lower
house. He reversed himself the next day in
a meeting of the upper house budget
committee.
The prime minister attributed the
reversal to "further study" of the law.
Kishida had realized that breaches of the
Civil Code could be sufficient grounds for
revoking a religious-corporation
registration.
Yamagami's perception of Abe as having
close ties with the Family Federation for
World Peace and Unification was well
founded. In the 1960s, Abe's grandfather
Nobusuke Kishi helped nurture the group
in Japan as an ally against communism.
Sun Myung Moon founded the
Unification Church in Seoul in 1954. The
group began operating in Japan about five
years later and received Japanese
certification as a religious corporation in
1964. Its present appellation dates from a
name change in 2015.
Kishi, an accused but unconvicted war
criminal, served as prime minister from
1957 to 1960. He later hosted the
Unification Church's Japanese
headquarters in a building next to his home
in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, a building that
had served as his official prime minister's
residence when he was in office.
In 1968, Moon launched the
International Federation for Victory over
Communism in the Republic of Korea and,
as the Kokusai Shokyo Rengo, in Japan.
The Japanese chairman was Osami
Kuboki, the head of the Japanese branch of
the Unification Church, and the honorary
chairman was Ryoichi Sasakawa, an ultrarightist
industrialist and former politician.
Sasakawa, like Kishi, was an accused but
ultimately unconvicted war criminal and
had been a co-occupant of Tokyo's Sugamo
Prison.
A hotline set up by the government in September
has received more than 1,700 complaints. The alleged
misconduct includes such acts as foisting statuettes
and other items on members for extravagant prices
in "spiritual sales" and, as with Yamagami's mother,
pressuring followers to make huge donations.
Kishi died in August 1987 at the age of 90,
and his son-in-law, Shintaro Abe, inherited
Kishi's role as the main interface between
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP) and the Unification Church. Abe
headed the Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyu Kai
(Seiwa Kai) faction in the LDP. According
to several lawmakers interviewed by the
Asahi Shimbun newspaper, he encouraged
lawmakers to accept Unification Church
support.
Shintaro Abe's son Shinzo followed him
into politics two years after his death by
winning a lower house seat in Yamaguchi
prefecture. Shinzo joined and later headed
the Seiwa Kai faction.
Like his father, he inherited the role of
LDP-Unification Church interface. Shinzo
fulfilled that role faithfully. He coordinated
support from the group for LDP
candidates, as noted, and dispatched
congratulatory messages to group
gatherings by telegram and by prerecorded
video. He appeared several times
on the cover of the Kokusai Shokyo Rengo
magazine Sekai Shiso.
Two days before the July 10, 2022, upper
house election, he was dead.
The positioning of the Family Federation
for World Peace and Unification in the
motivation of Abe's alleged killer set off a
media frenzy. Investigations by news media
and by the political parties themselves soon
outed more than 100 politicians, most of
them members of the LDP, as having ties
with the group.
Among the tainted politicians were
numerous present and past government
ministers, including former prime
ministers. That raised the question as to
what sort of quid pro quo was in play
between the LDP and the Family
Federation for World Peace and
Unification.
Media estimates of the votes cast by
member of the group range from 70,000 to
150,000. Those figures pale in comparison
with the votes wielded by another religious
group, Soka Gakkai, in recent elections. The
quasi-Buddhist Soka Gakkai claims a
membership of 8,270,000 households in
Japan, and its political arm, the Komeito
party, is the junior partner to the LDP in the
ruling coalition.
Waku Miller is a Tokyo-based writer
and translator. He is active in efforts to
end the Japanese practice of "hostage
justice," holding people accused of
crimes in extended confinement before
they have received verdicts
FRiDaY, oCToBeR 28, 2022
5
China's semiconductor breakthrough
CHe-JeN WaNg
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation
(SMIC), the largest chipmaker in China, has reportedly
achieved a major breakthrough. TechInsight, a Canadian
tech media outlet, revealed that SMIC had advanced its
technology to a quasi-7-nanometer (nm) process, which
might be a stepping stone for a true 7nm process. According
to TechInsight, SMIC products made from the quasi-7nm
process had been shipped for a year. Some media argued that
the SMIC's advancement showed that the U.S. blockade was
too little, too late, and out of date.
SMIC's most advanced chip process node successfully
made in the past was 14nm, although it has always made
strong attempts to move toward an advanced process node
(below 10nm). However, due to SMIC's inclusion on the
Entity List by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security in
December 2020, which was designed to limit SMIC's ability
to reach advanced technology nodes of 10 nanometers or
below, it has been blocked from obtaining the necessary
Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV) machines from
ASML of the Netherlands.
The use of an EUV machine is not necessary, in theory, to
make the advanced process nodes. Taiwan Semiconductor
Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the global leader in
semiconductor manufacturing, used Deep Ultraviolet
Lithography (DUV) machines in the early stage of its 7nm
volume production. But using DUV machines requires more
layers of masks, which means more times of exposure and
more complexity. This will lead to a lower yield rate and a
higher cost for each chip, making such a process
commercially inviable nowadays.
But the semiconductor industry is of a strategic importance
for China. Having the capacity to make advanced chips is
more important than the prices of these chips. It appears that
SMIC is indeed moving ahead to use this older technology to
achieve technological breakthroughs. In October 2020, it
was reported that SMIC had successfully developed "quasi-
7nm" chips with the FinFET N+1 process using DUV
machines.
TSMC's chairman, Dr. Mark Liu, said that the 7nm process
was a full node stride and a watershed in semiconductor
manufacturing. The biggest difference between the 7nm and
14nm processes is that the number of transistors per unit
area of the 7nm process increases greatly, and its energy
consumption is reduced substantially. These makes 7nm
chips far more powerful than 14nm one, yet also more
economical. For example, in 2020, the cost of a 7nm chip was
$233, which was not only lower than the $331 cost of a 16nm
chip, but also lower than the $238 cost of a 5nm chip. In
addition, the performance of NVIDIA's A100 Tensor Core
data-center processor, which uses TSMC's 7nm process,
increased by 20 times, so that the data center, which
sMiC's 7nm process advancement - despite heavy u.s. sanctions - will have major implications for
east asia.
Photo: Depositphotos
originally required 25 racks, can be reduced to a single rack.
In other words, 7nm chips not only lower the cost of
ownership, but also deliver high computing performance,
which makes AI, cloud computing, and 5G economically
viable both in business and military applications.
There is a big gap between chip consumption and chip
manufacturing in China, meaning its chip self-sufficiency
rate is low. In 2021, the size of China's semiconductor market
was about $186.5 billion, of which only $31.2 billion worth of
chips were manufactured in China, both by foreign and
domestic companies - a self-sufficiency rate of 16.7 percent.
Furthermore, only $12.3 billion worth of chips were
manufactured by China-headquartered companies,
accounting for merely 6.6 percent of domestic consumption.
To reach the goal outlined by the "Made in China 2025"
initiative, a self-sufficiency rate of 75 percent needs to be
achieved by 2030. Under such pressure, it is not difficult to
understand why China has subsidized semiconductor
companies to build factories through various policy
incentives. While there are notorious "unfinished fabs" cases
in the development of the semiconductor industry, the failure
has not caused China to retreat from its policy to fully
support semiconductor factories.
The experience of developing the electronics industry in
the past has made Chinese policy planners understand that,
even though China's semiconductor industry lags behind
foreign manufacturers in terms of its production scale and
technology, there are two effects that will urge China to
support a large number of semiconductor companies
through policies. First, a large number of Chinese
manufacturers can "eat up" the market and compress the
space for second- and third-tier wafer foundries. According
to one report, by the end of 2024, China will be leading the
world by building new 31 chip factories, surpassing 19 in
Taiwan and 12 in the United States. Since most of the 31 new
factories in China will be making mature processes nodes,
there is little impact on the leading manufacturers, such as
TSMC, Intel, and Samsung, all of which use advanced
processes. However, China's "fab sea" tactic may exert huge
pressure on other mature process manufacturers.
Given that excess inventory has emerged in some areas of
the electronics industry, and the market expects that there
will be excess production capacity in chip manufacturing
after 2023, price competition is inevitable. Foundries using
mature processes will not be able to compete with Chinese
semiconductor factories that enjoy major policy subsidies.
Some second- and third-tier foundries may have to withdraw
from the market, which will allow Chinese foundries to
dominate the mature process market.
Second, if one or two Chinese companies can stand out
among the large number of policy-supported foundries,
there is a hope that this "national champion" can compete or
even dominate the advanced process market. Lenovo in the
PC/laptop sector and Huawei and ZTE in communications
were all developed using such a model. And SMIC may be the
leading Chinese company that can compete in the
international advanced semiconductor arena and break
technology strangleholds set by the United States. The 7nm
advancement discovered by TechInsight is the best proof.
In the past, Chinese chip design companies were
sanctioned by the United States and could not use TSMC's
advanced process to launch new products. If SMIC can
extend the 7nm process to be used on other Chinese
manufacturers' products, it will allow China to accelerate its
advancement in AI, high-speed computing, and 5G etc. The
acceleration will enable China to achieve its goal of moving
from a "manufacturing giant" to a "world manufacturing
power."
We currently know very little about SMIC's 7nm
shipments, yield rates, and prices; it is not even clear
whether there are other applications. However, the
advancement of the 7nm process is expected to allow
China to make breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and
high-speed computing. In turn, that will also increase
China's economic and military threats to not only Taiwan,
but all of East Asia.
China has set goals to achieve "complete modernization"
based on "informatization," "intelligence," and
"mechanization" by the People's Liberation Army's 100th
anniversary in 2027. Breakthroughs in AI, quantum
computing, and hypersonics all require the assistance of
advanced chips. Only blocking China from acquiring EUV
machines will not prevent China from advancing in advanced
process chips, which will eventually help its military buildup.
More efforts are needed.
The United States is now trying to exert diplomatic
pressure on Japan and the Netherlands to extend the current
EUV embargo to include DUV machines. Some may argue
that isolating China will only accelerate its march to selfsufficiency.
From the past history of China's
industrialization, China's ambition will not stop until the
country dominates the entire market. Therefore, only
limiting China from obtaining EUV machines will not suit
the original purpose of keeping China from making advanced
technology nodes of 10nm or below.
Russian Navy destroyer admiral Tributs maneuvers as it prepares to dock in Manila's
south Harbor.
Photo: Bullit Marquez
Russia's new naval doctrine centering Asia
DaNiel RaKov
On July 31, Russian President Vladimir
Putin signed an updated version of the
Naval Doctrine of the Russian
Federation. This is a top-tier strategicplanning
document, elaborating
Moscow's official approach to the
maritime domain. The new edition
reflects significant changes compared to
the previous one from 2015.
It is tilted toward global confrontation
with the West, pre-eminence of the
security prism in defining national goals,
and reorientation of Russia's foreign
policy toward the Global South following
its invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin
intends to strengthen its naval combat
capabilities worldwide and announces
its higher readiness to employ military
means to further its interests in
international waters, including an
intention to increase its naval presence
on the high seas. In order to do so, the
new doctrine calls for a complete
restructuring of the shipbuilding
industry, with a qualitative scale-up in its
technological and production
capabilities, both in the military and
civilian domains.
In the energy field, the doctrine
stipulates reinvigoration of seabed
exploration and production of fossil
fuels. The 2015 text required Russia to
establish a "strategic reserve" of
geologically explored areas for future
exploration; the lack of a similar passage
in 2022 implies that Russia is going for
maximal exploitation of hydrocarbons in
the next years, probably fearful that the
climate change agenda will diminish the
future possibilities for exports.
Similar to the 2015 text, the new
doctrine divides the world into six
geographical "directions," though their
order has changed. The Arctic and the
Pacific directions, previously mentioned
in the second and third places, have been
upgraded to the first two spots, at the
expense of the Atlantic direction, now
numbered third. One of Russia's main
goals in each of these three directions is
to "ensure strategic stability" (a
euphemism for mutual nuclear
deterrence), stated in more assertive and
urgent language, compared to 2015.
The Doctrine explains that the Arctic
has turned into a region of global
military and economic competition and
lists as major goals sustaining Russia's
leading position in this region and "wide
exploitation" of its mineral reserves.
Russia intends to utilize the "Northern
Sea Route" (NSR) as its internal waters.
Thus, the resource-intensive NSR,
initially promoted by the Russians as an
alternative to the Suez Canal, has been
redirected eastwards since the war
began to expedite the export of Russian
commodities to Asia. It seems that
Russia seeks to avoid an image of being
increasingly dependent on China
following its disastrous invasion of
Ukraine. Whereas the 2015 version of
the Naval Doctrine stated that the
"development of friendly ties with China
is a key component of national maritime
policy in the Pacific direction," China is
completely absent from the current
document. Instead, there are new "key
components": lowering the threats to
Russia's national security, assuring
strategic stability in the region, and
developing friendly relations with the
countries in Asia-Pacific. It is clear from
the document that both the Arctic and
the Pacific are conceived as areas of
strategic confrontation between Russia
and the U.S. and its allies.
The downgrade of the Atlantic
direction (which also includes the Baltic,
the Black, the Mediterranean and the
Red Seas) to the third priority indicates
the Kremlin's loss of hope for any
positive engagement with the West.
Accordingly, the main Russian goal in
the Atlantic direction is to "ensure
strategic stability." Similar to the 2015
edition, the Caspian Sea is listed fourth,
the Indian Ocean direction is fifth and
Antarctica is sixth. The reference to the
Mediterranean basin (as mentioned
above, a subregion of the Atlantic region)
is updated and more detailed in relation
compared to the 2015 iteration. It was
determined, among other things, that
Russia would like to strengthen its
partnership with Syria; will ensure its
military presence in the Mediterranean
on the basis of the Russian military
outpost in Tartus (Syria); will seek to
establish additional techno-logistical
outposts in the region; will work
vigorously to ensure military-political
stability in the Middle East; and will seek
to deepen cooperation with Middle
Eastern countries.
How would Japan respond to
a Taiwan contingency?
KosuKe TaKaHasHi
While China is increasing military
pressure on Taiwan following the
controversial visit by U.S. House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi to Taipei, Japan is in a rush
to prepare for a Taiwan contingency.
Many experts disagree about how the
Japanese government should respond,
and what Japan's Self-Defense Forces
(SDF) can actually do in such a scenario.
However, given the harsh reality of its
security environment, it is becoming
evident that Japan's national
preparedness for a Taiwan emergency
has been far behind what is necessary.
It was a think tank's war games
simulation that highlighted how
vulnerable Japan's security framework
for a Taiwan crisis is. This exercise, held
in Tokyo on August 6 and 7 by the Japan
Forum for Strategic Studies, involved
lawmakers of the ruling Liberal
Democratic Party and former defense
officials.
They examined several scenarios as to
how the Japanese government should
respond as the situation progressed from
peacetime to a possible crisis in the
region. The simulation was set in August
2027, which marks the centennial of the
founding of the People's Liberation
Army. The exercise also assumed that
both a Taiwan emergency and a
contingency involving the disputed
Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, which Japan
administers but China claims, would
happen at the same time, forcing the
Japanese government to conduct a twofront
operation.
The first challenge they confronted is
how to recognize the situation. Should
any cross-strait contingency occur, the
Japanese government is supposed to
assess the status quo immediately and
place it within one of three categories: (1)
a situation "that will have an important
influence" on Japan's peace and security,
including situations that, if left without
response, could lead to a direct armed
attack on Japan; (2) a "survivalthreatening
situation," where an armed
attack against a foreign country that is in
a close relationship with Japan occurs,
which in turn poses a clear risk of
threatening Japan's survival; or (3) an
"armed attack situation and anticipated
armed attack situation," where an armed
attack against Japan has occurred or
there is an imminent and clear danger
such an attack. For example, under
Japan's Civil Protection Act only in an
"armed attack situation and anticipated
armed attack situation" can the
government demand that prefectural
and municipal governments work out
civil protection plans and allow the
central government to use the SDF to
evacuate citizens. In other words, even if
a Taiwan contingency happens, Japan's
Civil Protection Act cannot be applied if
the crisis is officially deemed an
"important influence situation" or a
"survival-threatening situation." During
the table-top exercise, it was decided that
the Taiwan emergency would be
recognized as a "survival-threatening
situation" that poses a clear threat to
Japan's survival, and that the
Senkaku/Diaoyu contingency would be
recognized as an "armed attack situation"
in which Japan was attacked.
Japanese lawmakers and former
senior officers of the SDF who attended
the table-top exercise were faced with the
question of how to safely evacuate about
100,000 Okinawans in the Sakishima
Islands, located at the southernmost end
of the Japanese archipelago, 1,500
Japanese stranded in Taiwan, and
110,000 Japanese remaining in China.
For one thing, as Morimoto Satoshi, a
former Japanese defense minister,
pointed out in an interview with The
Diplomat earlier this year, there is the
deficiency in the transport capabilities of
the SDF, which again became evident
during the simulation. Due to a lack of
SDF capabilities and capacities, the
participants found it difficult for the SDF
to defend the inhabited Senkaku Islands
and evacuate 100,000 citizens in the
Sakishima Islands at the same time. The
SDF has only about 10,000 members in
total on Japan's southwestern Nansei
Island chain, which spans about 1,200
kilometers. For another thing,
participants hesitated to deem the
Taiwan emergency and the Senkaku
contingency a "survival-threatening
situation" and an "armed attack
situation," respectively. By doing so, they
were afraid of worsening relations with
Beijing, which could negatively affect the
safety and evacuation of Japanese
citizens remaining in China. In the
simulation, incredibly it took two whole
months for the government to formally
categorize the two contingencies. As a
responsible state, Japan should protect
its citizens from anywhere at any time,
regardless of which category the
contingency falls into.
The second biggest challenge Japan
confronts in a Taiwan contingency is how
far the SDF can support U.S. forces.In the
case of a "situation that will have an
important influence" on Japan's peace
and security, the SDF is authorized to
provide logistics support for the U.S.
Armed Forces in rear areas.
In the case of an "armed attack
situation and anticipated armed attack
situation," since this is a direct attack
against Japan, Japan will no doubt fight
in the support of the U.S. troops. There is
also no obstruction to cooperation
between the SDF and U.S. Forces in this
case. The tricky one is a "survivalthreatening
situation." An important
question arises when recognizing this
situation, which is whether the U.S.
military operations are for the defense of
Japan or for the defense of Taiwan.
National preparedness for a cross-strait emergency has been far
behind what is necessary.
Photo: Hunini
According to Morimoto, under current
Japanese laws, the government can
acknowledge a survival-threatening
situation only when the U.S. Forces are
acting in defense of Japan, thus enabling
the SDF to support U.S. troops.
fRIDAY, OCTOBeR 28, 2022
6
Barishal City Mayor and Metropolitan Awami League General Secretary Serniabat Sadiq inaugurated
Haque Sporting Club at Banaripara.
Photo: S. Mizanul Islam
Barishal Mayor inaugurates Haque
Sporting Club at Banaripara
S. MIzANUL ISLAM, BANARIPARA
CORReSPONDeNT:
Barishal City Mayor and Metropolitan
Awami League General Secretary
Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah said that the
dream Padma Bridge is like the eighth
wonder to the people of the country.
Bangabandhu's daughter Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina has been
eternally grateful to the people of the
country including the southerners for
the unprecedented development she
has achieved across the country
including Padma Bridge, Payra Sea
Port, Kornphuli Tunnel, Metro Rail and
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. He said
these things in his speech as the chief
guest at the 149th birth anniversary
celebration of Sher-e-Bangla Abul
Kasem Fazlul Haque, the first Prime
Minister of undivided Bengal at
Muktagacha Press
Club celebrates
39th anniversary
M YOUSUf, MUKTAGACHA
CORReSPONDeNT:
As part of the week-long
program of the 39th
anniversary of the
Muktagacha Press Club, an
exchange meeting of
journalists was held with the
new Muktagacha Upazila
Nirbahi Officer AKM Lutfar
Rahman on Wednesday
evening. Muktagacha press
club authorities organized
this exchange meeting in the
club's own building. FMA
Salam, the president of the
press club, presided over the
program where AKM Lutfar
Rahman, the new upazila
nirbahi officer was the chief
guest. The special guest was
the officer in charge
Mahmudul Hassan. Club
members
Professor
Mahbubul Alam Ratan,
Helal Uddin Nayan,
Manonesh Das, Ferdous
Alam, M Yusuf and others
spoke under the direction of
Press Club General
Secretary M Idris Ali. Club
members, journalists from
various print and electronic
media participated in the
discussion.
Two brothers held with
10 gold bars in Benapole
BeNAPOLe: Border
Guard Bangladesh (BGB)
claimed to have
apprehended two brothers
with 10 gold bars from near
Customs House in Benapole
on Thursday, reports UNB.
The two have been
identified as Milon Hossain,
28, and his younger brother
Hiron Mian, 25, son of
Shahfiqul Islam of
Munshipur village in
Damurhuda upazila of
Chuadanga.
Lieutenant Colonel
Shahed Minhaj Siddique,
commandant of BGB-49,
said on a tip-off, their team
nabbed the duo from near
Customs House around 9am
and seized the 10 gold bars
weighing around 1.1kg.
A case has been filed
against the brothers at
Benapole Port police station
in this connection, he added.
Chakhar, Banaripara, Barishal at 7 pm
on Wednesday and the inauguration
ceremony of the newly constructed 4-
storey building of Haque Sporting Club
established by him.
Chairman of Chakhar UP and
President of Huque Sporting Club Syed
Mojibul Islam Tuku presided over the
event and Sher-e-Bangla Dowhitra AK
Faiyazul Haque Raju, District
Additional Superintendent of Police
(Finance and Administration) Md.
Shahjahan Hossain PPM, Banaripara
Municipality Mayor Advocate Subhash
Chandra Sheel, Muladi Municipality
Mayor Shafikuzzaman Rubel, Upazila
Awami League President Bir
Muktijoddha Golam Saleh Manju
Molla, General Secretary Advocate
Mawlad Hossain Sana, Journalist and
Columnist Sohel Sani, President and
former UP of ChakharChairman Khizir
Sardar and others gave speeches as
special guests. Kazi Harun-or-Rashid's
live performance was also attended by
Hemayet Uddin Serniabat Sumon,
Barishal Metropolitan Awami League
Office Secretary and District Chhatra
League President, Metropolitan Awami
League Publicity Secretary Ziaur
Rahman Zia, District Chhatra League
Vice President Oliullah Ali and Sajjad
Serniabat, Mahanagar Chatra League
convenor Rais Ahmed Manna,
Banaripara Upazila Vice Chairman
Syeda Taslima Hossain Flora, OC SM
Masud Alam Chowdhury and others.
Apart from this, the General
Secretary of Chakhar Haque Sporting
Club Shamsul Haque Sikder Santu
along with various levels of leaders of
affiliated organizations including
Awami League and Chhatra League
were present
An exchange meeting of journalists was held with the new Muktagacha
Upazila Nirbahi Officer for the 39th anniversary of the Muktagacha
Press Club.
Photo: M Yousuf
The police recovered the body of a teacher of a coaching center in the rice fields
on the roadside adjacent to Bharnia Bazar of Thakurgaon Ranishankoil
Upazila on Thursday. A woman passer-by saw a body lying on the side of the
road while taking a walk in the early hours of Thursday morning. Later they
informed the locals who informed the police.
Photo: Md. Biplob
Two fresh Covid-19 cases diagnosed
in Rangpur
RANGPUR: Two fresh Covid-19 cases were diagnosed after testing 12 new samples at the
positivity rate of 16.67 percent on Wednesday in Rangpur division.
"With the diagnosis of the two fresh cases, the total number of Covid-19 patients rose to
64,938 in the division," Acting Divisional Director (Health) Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman said
today. The number of recovered Covid-19 patients remained steady at 63,579 as no more
patients healed during the last 24 hours ending at 8 am today.
The number of casualties also remained steady at 1,293 as no new death was reported from
the division during the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, more 9,577 doses of Covid-19 jabs were
administered as the first, second and booster doses on Wednesday raising the number of
inoculated jabs to three crore 33 lakh 34 thousand and 947 doses in the division.
Among the administered Covid-19 jabs on Wednesday, 1,173 children aged 5-11 years got
the jabs as the first doses. With this, the total number of children aged 5-11 years inoculated
with the first doses of the jabs rose to 5,09,223 in the division.
One killed,
two injured in
Khulna clash
KHULNA: A 40-year-old
man was killed and two
people were injured in a
clash between two groups
over previous enmity in
Dighalia upazila of Khulna
on Thursday, reports
UNB.
The deceased was
identified as Md Asabur
Sheikh, son of Ikhtiar
Sheikh of the upazila.
Witnesses said Nur
Islam Sheikh's sons Tutul
Sheikh, Kamal Sheikh and
Shahjalal Sheikh stabbed
Asabur with lethal
weapons at their yard
around 8.45am, leaving
him critically injured.
He was rushed to Khulna
Medical College Hospital
where physicians
pronounced him dead, they
said. Kamal Sheikh and
Shahjala Sheikh, who were
injured in the clash, were
undergoing treatment at
the upazila health
complex. Ripon Kumar
Sarkar, inspector of
Dighlia police station, said
they detained six people in
connection with the
murder.Additional law
enforcers were deployed to
fend off any untoward
incident, he said adding
that no case was filed.
Teachers day
observed in
Narail
HUMAUN KABIR, NARAIL
CORReSPONDeNT:
A rally and discussion
meeting was held on the
occasion of Teacher's Day
in Narail. On Thursday
morning, the rally started
from the Kurigram Sultan
Stage square in Narail city
and ended at the district
Shilpakala Academy.
Narail Government
Victoria College Principal
Prof. Rabiul Islam
presided over the program
and District Education
Officer Sayedur Rahman
gave a welcome speech.
Deputy Commissioner
Mohammad Habibur
Rahman gave a welcome
speech.
Among others, Prof.
Shahnara Parveen,
Principal of Narail
Government Women's
College, Anwar Hussain,
Principal of Shahabad
Majidiya Kamil Madrasa,
Maniruzzaman Mallick,
Principal of Abdul High
City College, Takibur
Rahman, Principal of
Dakshin Narail Shimulia
University, Swapan
Kumar Biswas, Acting
Principal of Mirzapur
United Degree College,
Sheikh Akidul Islam,
Senior Lecturer, Ajit
Biswas, Principal Pundrik
Biswas, Super KM Afchar
Hossain spoke during the
program.
Measures taken to boost oilseed,
pulse production in Rajshahi
RAJSHAHI: Vigorous measures for
boosting production of oilseed and pulse
have been taken as the demands of the crops
have been gradually increasing in the region
for the last couple of years, reports BSS.
"We are putting in the best efforts to meet
up the local demand enhancing local
production," said Mozdar Hossain, Deputy
Director of Department of Agriculture
Extension (DAE), while addressing a
seminar here today.
He said each the local fertilizer dealer is
requested to deliver quality and high yielding
mustard seeds among 20 farmers in their
respective areas for the upcoming rabi
season with their own initiatives.
Regional Office of Agriculture Information
Services (AIS) organized the seminar titled
"Boosting Production of Rabi Crops,
including Oilseed and Pulses, without
intervention of Paddy Yield in Rajshahi
region" at its conference hall.
DAE Additional Director Shamsul Wadud,
Regional Seed Certification Officer Shamim
Ashraf, DAE Deputy Directors Dr Abdul
Motaleb, Abdul Wadud and Polash Sarker,
Principal Scientific Officer of Fruit Research
Station Dr Shafiqul Islam and AIS Regional
Officer Dr Abdullah-Hil-Kafi also addressed
the seminar disseminating their expertise on
the issue.
Dr Sayeedur Rahman, Principal Scientific
Officer of Bangladesh Agriculture Research
Institute, gave an illustration on the
enormous aspects of boosting oilseed and
pulse production in the region during his
keynote presentation.
In his remarks, Shamsul Wadud said the
farmer-level crop production can easily be
enhanced to 15 to 20 percent on an average if
they can use quality seed on their farming
fields.
The field level agricultural officials and
other staff concerned should take the
responsibility of making the farmers
competent for enhancing production of
oilseed and pulses to meet mounting
demands of those in the region.
He told the meeting that there are
enormous prospects of boosting pulse and
oilseed production in the region including its
vast Barind tract and there is a need for
concerted efforts to materialize the
potentialities.
A rally and discussion meeting was held on the occasion of Teacher's Day
in Narail.
Photo: Humaun Kabir
Rural women changing fortune thru
govt-aided IGAs in Rangpur region
RANGPUR: Despite global crises caused
by the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-
Ukraine War, many rural women are
earning well to change their fortunes
through income generating activities (IGAs)
in Rangpur region. With government
support and own initiatives, hundreds of
rural women have enhanced their capacities
in running IGAs creating jobs for
unemployed female youths and attained selfreliance.
Talking to BSS, Chairman of
Rangpur-based research organization
Northbengal Institute of Development
Studies Dr. Syed Samsuzzaman said
government supports extended to rural
women enabled them to get engaged in
various IGAs in the last 13 years. Many of
them have launched small-scale enterprises,
trade and businesses creating jobs for female
youths after getting assistance and training
from government departments and some
NGOs in Rangpur region. "Besides,
rehabilitation of homeless women under the
Asrayan project, providing training and
microcredits for IGAs, allowances and other
supports assisted them to improve
livelihoods and change fortunes," he added.
District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer of
Rangpur Md. Motahar Hossain said
successful implementation of massive social
safety-net programmes effectively helped
many rural women to improve livelihoods.
Deputy Director of the Department of
Women Affairs of Rangpur Kawser Pervin
said over 4,500 unemployed female youths
are earning well after getting training on
sewing, embroidering and other trades and
assistance from the government in the past
13 years.
Deputy Director of the Department of
Youth Development Md. Abdul Faruk
said more than 3,500 unemployed
youths, mostly women, have so far got
training and interest-free loans to
become self-reliant in Rangpur district
alone through IGAs.
Rangpur District Coordinator of 'Amar
Bari- Amar Khamar Project (ABAK) and
Palli Sanchoy Bank (PSB) Jahadul Islam said
over one lakh poor families have improved
living standards with ABAK and PSB
assistance in Rangpur district.
This is the first time Teacher's Day has been celebrated in Sirajganj's Ullapara. On the occasion of
the day, a discussion meeting and a public rally were organized. Ullapara 4 Constituency MP Tanveer
Imam gave a brief speech and inaugurated the rally. At this time, Upazila Awami League President,
General Secretary, and Organizing Secretary Mir Arifur Rahman Ujjwal, Teachers Association
President, General Secretary, officials of various departments of the upazila and teachers of various
educational institutions participated in the rally.
Photo: Badrul Alom Dulal
FRIdAy, OCTOBeR 28, 2022
7
As he makes tough decisions to stem Britain's economic crisis, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he
will "always protect the most vulnerable.
Photo : Internet
Is UK leader Rishi Sunak too
rich to rule in tough times?
LONDON : As he makes
tough decisions to stem
Britain's economic crisis,
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
says he will "always protect
the most vulnerable."
But the U.K.'s first prime
minister of color is also its
richest-ever leader - an exbanker
who once wore Prada
loafers to visit a construction
site and whose family fortune
is estimated at 730 million
pounds ($826 million).
Critics question whether
Sunak can understand the
desperation many in Britain
feel as the economy staggers
under the combined weight
of COVID-19, Brexit, the
Ukraine war and the
backfiring policies of
departed Prime Minister Liz
Truss.
Sunak, who took office
Tuesday, is considering
whether to trim state pension
and welfare benefits to help
cut billions from the
Treasury's bill. Meanwhile,
inflation has hit a 40-year
high of 10.1%, and the cost of
everyday items has gone up
even more - pasta by 60%, tea
by 46%, bread by 38% in the
past year, according to
government figures.
A bag of frozen fries went
up from 99 pence ($1.15) to
1.37 pounds ($1.61); a twoquart
jug of milk rose from
1.17 pounds ($1.35) to 1.52
($1.76) in the year to
September.
"I don't think you can
understand what normal
people go through if your
wealth is like 730 million
pounds, it's just crazy," said
Megan Hooper, a mental
health worker in London.
"You can't understand what
people who live on 20 grand a
year go through."
Hooper said it made her
"sick" that Sunak has not
promised to keep pensions
and benefits growing in line
with inflation when the
government sets out its tax
and spending plans on Nov.
17.
"I just don't really think
that there is any hope that
he's going to do anything to
help poorer people," she said.
As prime minister, Sunak
earns 164,000 pounds
($190,000) a year - five times
the average full-time U.K.
salary, but just a fraction of
his wealth.
Before he was elected to
Parliament in 2015, Sunak
worked for investment bank
Goldman Sachs and as a
hedge fund manager,
amassing an undisclosed
personal fortune. British
prime ministers are not
required to publish their tax
returns, and Sunak's
investments are held out of
sight in a blind trust while he
is in government.
The bulk of his fortune
comes through his wife,
Akshata Murty, whose
billionaire father founded
the Indian IT company
Infosys. The Sunday Times
estimated that her 0.93%
stake in the firm is worth 690
million pounds ($800
million). By most estimates,
the couple is richer than King
Charles III.
Sunak's new job comes
with an official apartment in
London's Downing Street,
but the family already has
multiple properties,
including a family house in
London, a 200-year-old
manor house in the northern
England district he
represents in Parliament and
a penthouse apartment in
Santa Monica, California.
Sunak does not flash his
wealth, but his expensive
clothes and accessories have
raised eyebrows before. The
suede Prada loafers he wore
in July sell for about $600,
and he was once
photographed at work with a
$200 "smart" coffee mug on
his desk.
Marc Stears, head of the
UCL Policy Lab at University
College London, said Sunak's
privileged adulthood has led
him into gaffes, like filling up
a borrowed car for a photo
opportunity at a gas station
and then appearing not to
know how to pay.
Report: Global crises
can speed up move
to clean energy
BENGALURU : Spiraling
energy costs caused by
various economic factors
and the Ukraine war could
be a turning point toward
cleaner energy, the
International Energy
Agency said in a report
Thursday. It found the
global demand for fossil
fuels, including coal, oil, and
natural gas, is set to peak or
plateau in the next few
decades, reports UNB.
The report looked at
scenarios based on current
policies and said that coal
use will fall back within the
next few years, natural gas
demand will reach a plateau
by the end of the decade and
rising sales of electric
vehicles mean that the need
for oil will level off in the
mid-2030s before ebbing
slightly by mid-century.
Total emissions are
currently going up each year,
but slowly.
"Energy markets and
policies have changed as a
result of Russia's invasion of
Ukraine, not just for the time
being, but for decades to
come," said the IEA's
executive director Fatih
Birol. A surge in demand
following COVID-19
pandemic restrictions lifting
and bottlenecks in supply
chains have also contributed
to soaring energy prices.
West and Russia clash over UN
probe of drone use in Ukraine
UNITED NATIONS : The U.S. and its Western
allies on the Security Council insisted Wednesday
that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has the
right to investigate if Russia has used Iranian
drones to attack civilians and power plants in
Ukraine.
They dismissed Moscow's argument that the
U.N. chief would be violating the U.N. Charter.
Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia,
who called the council meeting, argued that only
the Security Council can mandate an
investigation. He cited Article 100 of the charter,
which says the secretary-general "shall not seek or
receive instructions from any government or from
any other authority external to the organization."
U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood called
Russia's contention "simply dumbfounding" and
an attempt "to deflect attention from its own
egregious wrongdoing in Ukraine."
French Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere
accused Russia of constantly violating the U.N.
Charter "and trampling on its principles by
invading its neighbor and claiming to annex its
territories." Britain's deputy ambassador, James
Kariuki, called it "another attempt by Russia to
distract from its crimes in Ukraine, and Iran and
Russia's failure to abide by their international
obligations."
The Western envoys said the Security Council's
time is being wasted by Russia, which is engaged
in a blitz of activity at the council.
Russia called closed-door consultations
Tuesday about its unfounded allegations that
Ukraine is preparing a dirty bomb. It called
Wednesday's meeting to try to prevent the
investigation of its purported use of Iranian
drones. And it called a meeting Thursday on its
claims that secret American labs in Ukraine were
engaged in biological warfare - a charge denied by
the U.S. and Ukraine.
The U.S. and its Western allies on the Security Council insisted Wednesday
that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has the right to investigate if
Russia has used Iranian drones to attack civilians and power plants in
Ukraine.
Photo : Internet
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2022
8
Launching Ceremony of Shop Smart- 0% EMI &MoU Signing program of Modhumoti Bank Limitedwas
held on Wednesday, 26th October 2022 at Bank Head Office, Gulshan, Dhaka. Md. Shafiul Azam,
Managing Director & CEO of Modhumoti Bank Limited inaugurated the new Credit Card Product "Shop
Smart" and MoU signing program. Shahnawaj Chowdhury, DMD & Chief Operating Officer, Arab Fazlur
Rahman, DMD &Chief Risk Officer and Kamrul Hasan Khan, DMD & Chief Business Officer of the Bank,
Directors along with high officials of different business organizations were present on the ceremony.
Modhumoti Credit Card Product "Shop Smart" shall facilitate its clients to purchase designated goods
at zero cost EMI facility.
Photo : Courtesy
On the occasion of Birthday celebration of Sheikh Russel, the youngest son
of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a free thalassemia carrier
screening and awareness camp was organizedat Kurmitola General
Hospital, Dhaka. First Security Islami Bank Ltd. sponsored and Institute
for Developing Science and Health Initiatives (ideSHi)organized the program.
Thalassemia is a deadly disease that is transmitted through parents.
Thalassemia can be prevented if one thalassemia carrier does not marry
another thalassemia carrier. That why, it is important for every person
who are planning to marry to have a thalassemia test. Dr. Firdausi Qadri,
Laureate of Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021 and Lead, Institute for
Developing Science and Health Initiatives, Mr. Syed Waseque Md. Ali,
Managing Director, First Security Islami Bank Ltd., Brig. Gen. Md. Fazlul
Kabir, Mphil, MMed, MPH, Dr. Sharmin Jahan, Chief Operating Officer,
ideSHiwere present in the program.
Photo : Courtesy
Samsung Electronics
says Q3 operating
profit down 31pc
on-year
SEOUL : South Korean tech
giant Samsung Electronics
on Thursday said its thirdquarter
operating profits
were down 31.39 percent
year-on-year after a global
economic downturn hit
demand for consumer
electronics.
Earnings in its crucial
memory chips division were
down, the company said in a
statement, adding that
"demand for consumer
products remained weak".
Operating profit for July to
September 2022 fell to 10
trillion won ($7 billion),
down from 15.8 trillion won
for the same period last year,
the company said.
The results are the first
year-on-year decline in
profit in nearly three years
for Samsung Electronics, the
world's biggest smartphone
maker.
But the company said it
had seen an increase in
sales, which were up by 3.79
percent from the same
period last year to 76 trillion
won.
The world's biggest
memory-chip maker is the
flagship subsidiary of the
giant Samsung group, by far
the largest of the familycontrolled
empires known
as chaebols that dominate
business in South Korea,
Asia's fourth-largest
economy.
The conglomerate is
crucial to the country's
economic health-its overall
turnover is equivalent to a
fifth of the national gross
domestic product.
Until the second quarter of
this year, Samsung, along
with other tech companies,
significantly benefitted from
strong demand for
electronic devices-as well as
chips that power themduring
the pandemic.
Up to BDT 5,000
bonus for receiving
SWAP sales
proceeds via Nagad
Nagad and re-commerce
brand SWAP have made a
special offer for the
customers to increase the
excitement of the ongoing
T20 World Cup cricket, a
press release said.
Under a new campaign
titled 'Nagad deal-e
beshilaav' (a deal with
Nagad guarantees higher
profit), the customers will
get up to BDT 5,000 bonus
for receiving the proceeds of
sales of old stuff to SWAP
through the Nagad app.
The offer will remain valid
until November 30, 2022.
The customers will be
entitled to 13 percent or a
maximum of Tk 5,000
bonus in addition to the
price of the goods if they
receive the amount via
Nagad account.
As per the offer, the
customers will be able to sell
from home their old stuff
such as mobile phone sets,
laptop computer, tablet, and
some other products.
The Nagad customers will
also be able to benefit from
the offer more than once
upon fulfillment of its
conditions.
Lufthansa
reports healthy
profit, extending
recovery
FRANKFURT : German
airline giant Lufthansa on
Thursday reported a net
profit of 809 million euros
($814 million) in the third
quarter, as the group
extends a strong recovery
from the pandemic.
Lufthansa had made
huge losses when the
coronavirus brought
global air travel to a halt,
and had to be bailed out by
the German government
in 2020.
But a strong rebound in
demand as economies
reopen has lifted the
company's fortunes.
The net profit of 809
million from July to
September compares to a
loss of 72 million euros in
the same period a year
earlier.
CEO Carsten Spohr said
the group had "left the
pandemic behind and is
looking optimistically into
the future".
"The desire to travel, and
thus the demand for air
travel, continues
unabated."
Third quarter revenues
almost doubled year-onyear
to 10.1 billion euros.
In the third quarter,
more than 33 million
passengers flew with the
airlines of the group,
significantly higher than a
year earlier.
The group-which
includes Eurowings,
Austrian, Swiss and
Brussels Airlines-had
already announced earlier
this month it was
significantly raising its
earnings forecast for 2022
due to strong demand.
In August, Lufthansa
had reported its first net
profit since the pandemic.
Strike action by pilots
and ground staff over the
July-to-September period
cost the airline around 70
million euros, it said.
However, Lufthansa
pilots agreed last month
not to strike again until at
least the end of June next
year, after reaching a deal
with bosses on higher pay.
The group made huge
net losses of 6.7 billion
euros in 2020 and 2.2
billion euros in 2021 due
to the pandemic, but its
finances have stabilised
earlier than expected due
to a pent-up demand for
air travel.
The German government
sold its remaining stake in
Lufthansa last month,
putting the airline back in
private hands.
ECB poised for
bumper rate
hike despite
recession gloom
FRANKFURT : The European
Central Bank is expected to
roll out another super-size
rate hike Thursday to combat
runaway inflation, despite
concerns higher borrowing
costs could deepen the pain of
a looming eurozone recession.
The ECB's 25-member
governing council is likely to
lift its key interest rates by 75
basis points for the second
consecutive time, economists
say.
The Frankfurt institution is
under pressure to rein in
record-high inflation, driven
by surging food and especially
energy prices in the wake of
Russia's war in Ukraine.
Eurozone inflation stood at
just under 10 percent in
September, nearly five times
the ECB's two-percent target.
ECB president Christine
Lagarde warned recently that
inflation was "far too high"
and more action was required
to prevent price shocks from
becoming "entrenched".
Boeing reports huge
loss on defense
contract woes
NEW YORK : Aerospace
giant Boeing reported a
surprise $3.3 billion thirdquarter
loss Wednesday as
it struggled with swelling
costs on several defense
programs, including the
US presidential jet Air
Force One.
The performance woes in
defense-which also
affected the KC-46
refueling and military
transport aircraft and the
T-7A Air Force pilot
training system-reflect the
drag from supply chain
problems that have
plagued the broader
economy, as well as the
restrictive nature of
government contracts.
Investors initially took
the disappointing news in
stride, but shares fell
sharply after a conference
call in which Boeing
executives predicted a very
slow ramp-up of
commercial plane output
and expressed doubts
about resuming plane
deliveries to China anytime
soon.
Locking Boeing into
fixed-price government
contracts was unwise,
Chief Executive Dave
Calhoun acknowledged in
an interview with CNBC
that touched on the
company's troubled
execution of an Air Force
One procurement revamp
negotiated with Donald
Trump.
"The biggest, probably,
mistake on... Air Force One
was the fixed price nature
of it," Calhoun said, adding
that a "cost-incentive" type
contract would have been
better for such a project.
The difficulties in
Boeing's defense program
came as the company saw a
jump in revenues in its
commercial airplane
division following the
resumption of deliveries of
the 787 Dreamliner and an
increase in deliveries in the
737 MAX.
The aviation giant
reported a four-percent
rise in revenues to $16
billion, which also missed
analyst estimates.
On the up side, Boeing
reaffirmed it is on track for
positive free cash flow in
2022, a statement that
temporarily boosted
shares. The company also
described demand for
commercial planes as
robust in spite of worries
about the broader global
economy.
But executives offered a
cautious timetable on
ramping up commercial jet
production, noting that
engine suppliers continued
to struggle to lift output.
"I am confident that the
industry will step up, but it
will take more time than I
probably had hoped,"
Calhoun told financial
analysts. "And I suspect it
won't be until we get to the
sort of end of next year
before we can really make
sizable rate increases."
Separately, Boeing
announced that Alaska
Airlines had exercised
options for an additional
52 737 MAX planes.
The Alaska Airlines order
includes 42 of Boeing's
latest MAX plane, the 737
MAX 10, which has still not
been certified by US
authorities.
Because of a change in
Federal Aviation
Administration
certification requirements
enacted by Congress and
which takes effect in late
December, Boeing would
likely need US lawmakers
to pass new legislation.
The earlier 2020 law
required the FAA to only
certify planes equipped
with a flight crew alerting
system designed to help
pilots prioritize warnings
and advisories activated
during flight.
The alerting system in
the 737 MAX 10 shares the
traits in the earlier MAX
planes and does not meet
the new standards. Boeing
has argued the benefit of
the MAX 10's
"commonality" with earlier
versions of the jets, which
enables pilots experienced
in earlier version of the
MAX to easily transition to
the MAX 10.
Boeing executives have
expressed confidence in
winning an extension on
Capitol Hill.
The 840thmeeting of the Executive Committee (EC) of Shahjalal Islami
Bank Limited (SJIBL) held on 26th October 2022at Corporate Head Office
of the Bank by maintaining proper hygiene and social distance. The meeting
was presided over by Mr. Fakir Akhtaruzzaman, the Vice-Chairman of
the Executive Committee (EC) of the Bank. The members of the Committee
discussed various issue related to investment in different sector. Among
others the Directors of the Bank & members of Executive Committee Dr.
Anwer Hossain Khan, MP; Md. Sanaullah Shahid, Mohiuddin Ahmed,
Khandaker Sakib Ahmed and Engineer Md. Towhidur Rahman, the
Managing Director & CEO of the Bank Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, the Additional
Managing Director& CBO Abdul Aziz and the Company Secretary Md. Abul
Bashar were also present in the meeting.
Photo : Courtesy
Brugge's Hans Vanaken, right, goes up against porto's goalkeeper Diogo Costa, (second right) and
porto's otavio, (centre).
photo: Ap
Porto advance to knockout phase
with 4-0 win over Club Brugge
Top-ranked Alcaraz
cruises into Swiss
Indoors quarterfinals
SportS DeSk
Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz
eased into the quarterfinals at
the Swiss Indoors by beating
Botic van de Zandchulp 6-4, 6-
2 on Wednesday, reports UNB.
The 19-year-old Spaniard
clinched the win with his only
ace in a second-round match
where he had 20 winners and
made just nine unforced errors.
Alcaraz's serve was broken
once and he trailed 2-0 in the
second set before reeling off
six straight games against the
35th-ranked Dutchman.
Third-seeded Felix Auger-
Aliassime was on court before
Alcaraz in a first-round match
and won 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4
against Swiss wild-card entry
Marc-Andrea Huesler.
FriDAY, oCtoBer 28, 2022
9
Liverpool, Inter Milan ease into last
16 as Barcelona exit with a whimper
SportS DeSk
Liverpool booked their place in the Champions
League last 16 on Wednesday as Jurgen
Klopp's men saw off Ajax 3-0, while Inter Milan
also qualified to eliminate Barcelona who
slipped to a tame defeat by Bayern Munich,
reports UNB.
Much of the drama came elsewhere on a
breathless night of action, as Porto became the
12th team to secure a berth in the knockout
stage but Tottenham were forced to wait.
Last season's losing finalists Liverpool knew
a draw in Amsterdam would be enough to
clinch a last-16 spot for a sixth straight season.
The Reds, struggling in the Premier League
this term, weathered an early Ajax storm before
Mohamed Salah gave them a halftime lead.
Darwin Nunez, who had earlier missed an
open goal from six yards out, headed in to
double the advantage shortly after the break
and Harvey Elliott rounded off the scoring with
his second goal in as many Champions League
games. "Darwin was really angry with himself
at halftime," Liverpool left-back Andy
Robertson told BT Sport.
"I sat next to him at half-time and told him I
would put a cross in to his head for him to
score." Liverpool join Napoli in progressing
from Group A, but need a four-goal victory at
Anfield in six days' time to pip the red-hot
Italians to top spot after their 3-0 win over
Rangers.
Inter Milan romped to the win they needed to
go through and eliminate Barca from Group C,
thrashing Czechs Viktoria Plzen 4-0 at the San
Siro. Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to
score on his return from injury late on, after
Henrikh Mkhitaryan's opener and a double for
Edin Dzeko.
SportS DeSk
Porto advanced to the knockout phase of
the Champions League when they got a 4-
0 win at Group B leaders Club Brugge
yesterday while group rivals Atletico
Madrid failed to beat Bayer Leverkusen,
reports UNB.
Porto won in an early match at the Jan
Breyel Stadium to move to within one
point of Club Brugge in the standings and
were guaranteed a top-two finish when
Atletico later drew 2-2 at home to the
German club to crash out of contention.
Mehdi Taremi put Porto into a first-half
lead before their goalkeeper Diogo Costa
saved a twice-taken penalty to deny the
Belgian hosts a way back into the game
early in the second half.
Evanilson, Stephen Eustaquio, and
Taremi added three more goals in quick
succession to give Porto revenge after
they lost 4-0 at home to Club Brugge in
mid-September.
Porto could now go on and take top
place in the group as they host Atletico on
Tuesday while Club Brugge are away at
Leverkusen.
"It was a deserved victory in a very
competent game by my players," said
Porto coach Sergio Conceicao. "We were
correcting what happened to us at our
Dragao stadium."
The game brought Brugge's impressive
run to an abrupt halt, after they had won
three of their first four group games. They
had not conceded a goal in Group B
before yesterday.
They looked defensively fragile and
made mistakes as Porto swept to a
convincing third successive victory in the
group after losing their opening two
matches.
"The game started badly for us, and
after conceding a stupid goal, we found
ourselves chasing. Porto could lurk on the
counter and they have the ideal players
for that," said Brugge goalkeeper Simon
Mignolet.
"Porto was the deserved winner, we
have to accept that but we still want to
qualify as group winners," he added.
Taremi missed two good early chances
before tucking away the opener in the
33rd minute after a perfectly weighted
through ball from captain Otavio.
Brugge won a penalty three minutes
into the second half when defender David
Carmo was caught by the VAR needlessly
kicking out at Brugge defender Bruno
Mechele as Porto cleared a corner.
Costa, who had saved two successive
penalties in the Champions League,
stopped Hans Vanaken's shot but the
VAR found he had moved off his line
before the kick and a retake was ordered
by English referee Michael Oliver.
Dutch international Noa Lang was then
entrusted with the kick but Costa
repeated his heroics, making a onehanded
stop to keep his side's lead intact.
Porto then carved apart the Brugge
defence with Evanilson snapping up a
missed clearance to make it 2-0 in the
57th minute and Eustaquio added the
third three minutes later.
Taremi got his second goal of the game
in the 70th minute after being unselfishly
teed up by Otavio.
Lakers woes continue, Giannis
powers Bucks over Nets
Sports Desk
The Los Angeles Lakers'
miserable start to the season
continued on Wednesday as
the winless NBA giants
crashed to a fourth straight
defeat against the Denver
Nuggets, reports UNB.
Nikola Jokic scored 31
points and hauled down 13
rebounds in a 110-99 win for
Denver that left the Lakers
rooted to the foot of the
Western Conference
standings at 0-4.
LeBron James finished
with 19 points and Anthony
Davis 22 but it was another
frustrating night for the
Lakers, who reached halftime
tied at 54-54 before being
outscored 32-17 in a lopsided
third quarter in Denver.
The Lakers' 0-4 start to the
season matches their start to
the 2015-2016 campaign,
when the team would go on to
post the worst season in
franchise history, finishing
with a 17-65 record.
It is only the fourth time in
franchise history that the
Lakers have started a season
with a 0-4 record.
Elsewhere Wednesday,
Giannis Antetokounmpo
produced his second straight
40-point performance as the
Milwaukee Bucks maintained
their unbeaten start to the
NBA season with a 110-99
win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Antetokounmpo singlehandedly
hauled Milwaukee
back into an absorbing clash
at Fiserv Forum, scoring 17
points in a third-quarter rally
which turned a 12-point halftime
deficit into a two-point
lead.
The Greek star added 17
more points in the fourth
quarter to finish with 43 in
total as the Bucks pulled clear
to wrap up the win and
improve to 3-0.
Former NBA Most Valuable
Player Antetokounmpo
scored 44 points in his last
outing against Houston on
Saturday and has averaged 36
points per game this season.
"That was vintage Giannis,"
Bucks coach Mike
Budenholzer said. "He's had a
lot of great performances, but
that second half he did
everything, he was
phenomenal.
"We had a poor second
quarter and he came out with
a force and a determination to
put us in the right place. It's
hard to put into words how
good he was in the second
half."
Brooklyn, meanwhile, saw
head coach Steve Nash
ejected late in the third
quarter after an
uncharacteristic outburst
from the Canadian Hall of
Famer.
Nash erupted after officials
failed to call a foul on
Antetokounmpo when the
Bucks star flattened
Brooklyn's Patty Mills.
An incandescent Nash
needed to be hustled away
from the confrontation by
Nets players and coaching
staff before heading back to
the locker room.
"I was just standing up for
our guys," Nash said. "I
thought Patty took a forearm
to the throat from Giannis
right in front of the ref and I
didn't think that was fair...
What happened happened. I
said my piece on the court
and that's really all there is to
it."
Nash's ejection came at a
time when momentum had
swung back toward
Milwaukee, who recovered
after being pummeled 35-18
in the second quarter to
outscore Brooklyn 35-21 in
the third.
Brooklyn led by four points
when Nash was ejected but
Antetokounmpo took over to
lead the Bucks to a deserved
win.
Kevin Durant led the Nets
scoring with 33 points while
Kyrie Irving added 27 and
Royce O'Neale 12. Ben
Simmons finished with four
points.
Elsewhere on Wednesday,
in-form Damian Lillard
scored 22 points but hobbled
off with a right calf strain as
the Portland Trail Blazers
suffered their first loss of the
season with a 119-98 defeat to
the Miami Heat in Oregon.
In other games, Gary Trent
Jr. scored 27 points as the
Toronto Raptors handed the
Philadelphia 76ers their
fourth defeat of the season.
Joel Embiid and Tyrese
Maxey scored 31 points each
for the Sixers, but the visitors
were undone by a balanced
offensive effort from home
side Toronto who had six
players in double figures.
Pascal Siakam had 20
points with 13 assists and five
rebounds as the Raptors led
virtually from start to finish to
win 119-109.
The Sixers fell to 1-4 with
the defeat.
Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets drives against Anthony Davis of the Los
Angeles Lakers during their NBA game at Ball Arena on oct. 26, 2022 in
Denver, Colorado.
photo: Ap
FRIdAY, OcTOBER 28, 2022
10
Keya Payel embarks
on new mission
TBT REPORT
Keya Akter Payel better
known as Keya Payel is a
Bangladeshi television actress,
movie actress and model. She
is mostly popular for her
works in Bangladeshi dramas.
She has worked in a movie
Indubala as a lead actress.
The movie was released in
theatre in 2019.
Recently, her acting in
several dramas on television
and YouTube channels has
received good response.
Theater lovers see her as the
most promising actress of the
future.
This popular actress worked
in an advertisement. Its
shooting has been completed
recently.
It is known that Kaya Payal
will appear as a model in the
promotion of a product of
Jamuna Group. It was
directed by Mahadi Hasan
Shawon. He has worked
with a huge team. National
Film Award winner
Mahabub Rahman Manik
was in charge of makeup
with him. The ad was
made with set constructed
at BFDC. The scene was
shot on October 21. The ad
will be aired in various
media soon.
Regarding working in it,
Kaya Payal said, 'The fun
of working in advertising
is that there is regular
contact with the
audience.
I did so with great
interest. Apart from
that, the team of
Mahadi Hasan
Shawon is very active
and talented. We
worked with
sincerity. We hope
that the TVC will get
a good response.
Dune HBO Max announces
five new roles to its cast
The Sisterhood announces five new
additions to its cast, including The
Colony's Sarah-Sofie Boussnina and
Foundation's Chloe Lea.
The Sisterhood has cast five more
characters for HBO Max's upcoming
Dune prequel television series. Based
on Brian Herbert and Kevin J.
Anderson's novel Sisterhood of Dune,
Dune: The Sisterhood follows the
Harkonnen Sisters 10,000 years
before the events of Denis Villeneuve's
2021 film. Played by Emily Watson
and Shirley Henderson, the Sisters,
Valya and Tula Harkonnen, are
tasked with stopping threatening
forces in the Known Universe. Their
story acts as a prominent look at the
Dune series' ancient and influential
Bene Gesserit sect.
In the Dune universe, the Bene
Gesserit are a group of women with
unique abilities that influence the
events of the universe from the
shadows, acting in roles from
scientists to royalty. Dune establishes
that Jessica Atreides, mother of
protagonist Paul Atreides, is a Bene
Gesserit that sought to train her son as
the Kwisatz Haderach, a prophesied
chosen one with prescient abilities
and the only male Bene Gesserit.
Dune: The Sisterhood will be using an
ipressve cast to document the origins
of the shadowy organization,
including Game of Thrones star
Indria Varma, who will be portraying
the calculating Empress Natalya.
According to Deadline, Dune: The
Sisterhood has cast five more actors in
prominent roles for the show. Sarah-
Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Bruce-
Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham,
Aoife Hinds, and Chloe Lea were
announced as oncoming cast
members for the series, complete with
character descriptions for each of
their roles. Boussinina will portray
Princess Ynez, heir to the Golden Lion
throne, while Bruce-Franklin will play
Fremen woman Mikaela.
Cunningham, Hinds, and Lea will be
playing Sister Jen, Sister Emeline, and
Lila respectively, each character
associated with the Sisterhood School.
With Dune: Part Two still filming,
aiming for a November 3, 2023 release
date, it's likely that Dune: The Sisterhood
won't see the small screen until Frank
Herbert's original novel has been fully
adapted. While this does open the door
for possible references to the Dune films,
the story's place 10,000 years prior to
Paul's story on Arrakis means there's a
chance viewers will get a far-removed,
unique experience out of the show. Given
the expanding cast, it's likely that
audiences will catch more glimpses of the
Dune universe from perspectives that will
go unseen in the films.
Source: Collider
4th Bangladesh Film Festival
in Kolkata from 29 October
As many as 37 Bangladeshi
popular films including four
documentaries and eight short
films would be featured during
the five-day long 4th Bangladesh
Film Festival begins in Kolkata,
West Bengal, on Saturday
(October 29), reports BSS.
The four documentaries are-
Hasina-A Daughter's tale,
Badhya Bhumete Ekdin, Ekti
Desher Jonno Gaan (Song for a
country) and Modhumoti Parer
Manushti Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman.
Most of the films, which were
released in Bangladesh recently
would be screened during the
festival being organized by the
Bangladesh Deputy High
Commission, Kolkata with the
support of the ministry of
Information and Broadcasting of
the government of Bangladesh,
the Deputy high Commission
sources told BSS.
Information and Broadcasting
Minister Dr Hasan Mamud, MP,
will open the festival at Rabindra
Sadan at 4:00 pm on October 29
as the chief guest. Babul Supriyo,
Minister for Information
Technology, electronics and
tourism, will attend the function
as the guest of honour while
eminent film Director Gautam
Ghosh as special guest.
Eminent film artistes Jaya
Ahsan, Chanchal Chowdhury
and Mosharrof Karim, among
others, will join the opening
ceremony from Bangladesh film
industry, sources said.
Apart from the documentaries
and short films, 25 full-length
recently released feature films,
which have earned huge
acclamations would be screened
in Nandan-1,2,3 halls in
Rabindra Sadan till October 2.
The 25 feature films include-
Gunin, Hridita, Beauty Circus,
Hawa, Paran, Payer Tolay Mati
Nei, Paap Punno, Kalbela,
Chironjeeb Mujib, Rehana
Morium Noor, Nona Jaler
Kabbo, Raat Jaga Phool, Lal
Moroger Jhuti, Goor, Golui,
Gondi, Bishwa Sundari, Rupsha
Nadir Banke, Shuttle Train,
Moner Moto Manush Pailam Na,
Na-Dorai, Komla Rocket, Gohin,
Baluchar and Unpanchat Batas.
The eight short films are-
Dhor, Moyna, Tarnsit, Kothai
Pabo Tare, Fera, Nari Jibon,
Kagoj Khela and Aarong.
The Bangladesh film festival,
which the organisers said that it
brought people of two countries
much closer, is being held during
the four years. As many as 32
popular films from Bangladesh
were screened at the festival last
year at Nandan-1.
‘A Father's Diary’ at Asian Film Fest Barcelona
TBT REPORT
Award-winning Bangladeshi-Canadian
director Golam Mustofa's film 'A Father's
Diary' will be screened at the Asian Film
Festival Barcelona. The 10th edition of
the festival will take place at Cinemas
Girona, Phenomena, Caixa Forum and
Zumzeig in Spain from October 26 to
November 6.
'A Father's Diary' will compete under
the Official Panorama Section.
The film 'A Father's Diary' drew the
attention of int’l critics and audiences
when it had its world premiere at the
20th Dhaka Int’l Film Festival and UK
premiere at the 5th London Bengali Film
Festival. The film is based on the story of
a South Asian father who finds difficulties
when dealing with the choices of his
daughter and wife.
The film has won several awards in its
preliminary run with festivals in Canada,
USA, Singapore, and India, including the
Calcutta International Cult Film Festival
(2021) and Accolade Global Film
Competition (2021) and received an
honorable mention at the Mumbai Int’l
Film Festival. The film was also
nominated for Best Feature Film by the
2022 Wales Int’l Film Festival and
Canadian Int’l Faith and Family Film
Festival. 'A Father's Diary' is a production
of Canadian-based Banzai Multimedia
Raveena Tandon ‘punched rowdies'
who 'acted fresh' with her
Raveena Tandon was one of the most popular
Bollywood actors in the 1990s, but she had to
fight her own battles, sometimes literally. In a
2002 interview with Simi Garewal, the actor
recalled an incident when she had to "punch"
a few "rowdy men" who were acting "fresh
with her" at an award function.
Simi recalled that this was her first memory
of Raveena. Simi that they were both judges
at the MTV Awards and after the function,
Raveena was walking towards her car all
alone. "You went all alone to your car when
the function was over and these rowdies, they
came and acted fresh with you. And you beat
them up single handedly," Simi recalled.
Raveena instantly said that she "did not
beat them up" but handled the situation.
Simi insisted that the Andaz Apna Apna
actor "bashed them up." Raveena shared
that she was "in a state of shock" when the
incident happened and her instant reaction
was to punch those men. "I punched him
back. I guess self defence comes in as a
reflex, very instantly.
I had to do that," she said. Simi
remembered Raveena as the "gutsy and
unafraid" woman who was ready
to spring into action if she felt
threatened in any way.
Raveena had recently
shared on Twitter that she
was "physically harassed"
when she used travel in local
trains before she became
successful. She had written,
"Uptil 1991, I travelled like
this. And being a girl also got
physically harassed by
nameless trolls like you. Before
I started working, saw success
and earned my first car."
Raveena Tandon achieved peak
success in the 1990s with films such as
Mohra, Dilwale, Laadla, Dulhe Raja,
Aatish among many others. Raveena
made the most recent of her many
comebacks as a lead actor with the
2021 Netflix series Aranyak. She was
recently seen in KGF: Chapter 2, the
most successful Indian film of 2022.
Source : Hindustan Times
and is shot in three continents and
capturing locations in Canada, the USA,
Australia, and Bangladesh.
The principal cast of the film includes
veteran actors Afroz Khan (Bollywood),
Carmine Lacono (Canada), Nidhi Dhara
(Bollywood), Brittany Clough (Canada),
and Deepa Khandakar (Bangladesh).
H O R O s c O P E
ARIEs
Some close friends could turn you on to a new
interest or perhaps a group you might want to join.
Intellectual stimulation through those closest to
you could open the way to new plans and
innovations. You might want to try combining artistic interests
with technology, Aries, perhaps expanding your knowledge of
photography, computer graphics, or filmmaking. Success and good
fortune through such activities are strongly indicated.
TAURUs
Sudden, unexpected news could arrive
today, perhaps by mail or phone. You
could host a virtual group meeting of
some kind. A lot of exciting information
and stimulating conversation could take
place, Taurus, bringing fresh ideas that spark new
interests. Expect a very busy but productive day,
looking ahead toward the future rather than back
toward the past.
GEMINI
Short journeys in your neighborhood,
perhaps connected with a group you're
associated with, could take up a lot of
your time today, Gemini. Fascinating
and stimulating emails or calls could
arrive. Books and magazine articles could provide
information that sends you in a new direction in
some way. Write down your ideas! You will want to
remember them all.
cANcER
Technology could pave the way for you to
greatly increase your income, possibly
through new skills or investments. This is
likely to be a very positive development,
setting the stage for future financial success. Some
unusual, interesting dreams could come your way,
bringing unexpected revelations about you and your past
- and possibly your future. Write them down! They could
hold important messages for you from your higher self.
LEO
A surprising revelation, either from
within or from sources like books, the
Internet, or communications from others
could set you in an entirely new direction.
You will have an increased sense of freedom, as well as
a clearer and more progressive outlook. You might
consider some pretty heavy changes in your life, Leo,
but don't make any final decisions or arrangements
today. Wait before putting your ideas into action.
VIRGO
Discoveries made through occult sciences
such as astrology or numerology could
see you embrace some rather
revolutionary ideas about yourself, the
world, and life. You could become involved with a
group associated with metaphysical studies or take an
online class or workshop of some kind. This could
mean a new direction for you in some way, Virgo. It
might greatly enhance your life and thinking.
LIBRA
Sudden lucky breaks could come your
way today, Libra, possibly through
friends or groups with which you're
involved. A long-term goal you've been
working toward might bring unexpected but
wonderful results. Virtual group activities,
particularly those involving social or political issues,
could take up a lot of your time. This promises to be
a busy, productive day. Expect the unexpected!
scORPIO
Today you might feel the desire to break
free from your daily routine, Scorpio,
particularly regarding career matters.
You might consider developing a
business of your own, one that would give you a lot
more freedom than you currently have. This is a good
day to start looking into it. You might find that there are
more possibilities out there than you expected.
sAGITTARIUs
A sudden and unexpected opportunity
to take a journey by air could come your
way today, Sagittarius. This might be
something you've wanted for a long
time finally manifesting. Certainly, adventure is in the
air, although it might be mental adventure as much as
physical. Some information could come your way that
catapults you into a new and exciting field of interest.
This promises to be a thoroughly stimulating day.
cAPRIcORN
Technology could pave the way for you to
greatly increase your income, possibly
through new skills or investments. This is
likely to be a very positive development,
setting the stage for future financial success. Some
unusual, interesting dreams could come your way,
bringing unexpected revelations about you and your past
- and possibly your future. Write them down! They could
hold important messages for you from your higher self.
AQUARIUs
The unexpected need to take a journey
by air or spend a lot of time working
could bring about an inconvenient
separation from your partner. While the
reasons for this situation and the projected outcome
are very positive, it can cause a temporary upset in
your relationship. Don't worry about it. The upset will
pass, particularly when the desired results are
attained. Concentrate on the matter at hand.
PIscEs
Is your workplace upgrading its
equipment? Are you in the process of
increasing your technology skills?
Today's planets show that success and advancement
through technology are definitely in the offing for
you, Pisces. If you've been thinking about purchasing
a computer, do it today if you can. Whatever your
goals, you can harness current innovations to help
them along. Give it some thought!
Friday, OctOber 28, 2022
11
Campaigners demand quick amendment
to tobacco control law
DHAKA : Anti-tobacco
campaigners on Thursday
demanded the government
amend the tobacco control law
soonest to reduce casualties
and other losses incurred by its
consumption, reports UNB.
The demand came at an
GD-1736/22 (5x3)
GD-1735/22 (5x4)
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GD-1743/22 (6x4)
event on Thursday when four
journalists were awarded for
their journalistic work in
creating awareness and
influencing policies against
tobacco menace in the country.
The campaigners praised
the Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare for its move to
strengthen the tobacco control
law describing it as a timely
step.
"The draft for the
amendment must be finalised
and passed as early as
possible," said Dr A A M S
Arefin Siddique, former Vice-
Chancellor of Dhaka
University.
Dr Siddique who attended
the event as chief guest said
that the public opinion is now
largely in favour of the
amendment to the tobacco
control law.
He said many premature
deaths and burdens on the
health system can be checked
by reducing tobacco
consumption with effective
laws and regulations.
Mostafizur Rahman, Lead
Policy Advisor for Campaign
for Tobacco-Free Kids -
Bangladesh, said there is no
alternative to strengthening
tobacco control laws to build a
tobacco-free country as
envisioned by Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina.
Dr Syed Mahfuzul Haq of
the World Health
Organisation in Dhaka said he
also welcomed the
government's initiative to
amend the law.
He said the journalists have
played an effective role in
helping the policymakers
understand the necessity for
amending the law.
Professor Dr. Arup Ratan
Choudhury, President,
MANAS, said, "Authorities
must avoid getting distracted
by tobacco companies' ill
tactics and make the existing
law more in line with directives
by the Prime Minister," he
said.
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50-yr-old woman
crushed by train
in Rajshahi
RAJSHAHI : A 50-year-old
domestic help on her way to
work was crushed under the
wheels of a speeding train in
Rajshahi city early on
Thursday, reports UNB.
The deceased was
identified as Sabera Begum,
wife of late Alauddin of
Aliganj Modhypara under
Rajpara police station of the
city.
Anisuzzaman, subinspector
of Rajshahi
Railway Police Station, said
Sabera came under the
wheels of Banatala Express
as she was crossing the track
at Dhingadova Pathar
Intersection around 7am.
The body has been handed
over to the woman's family,
the police officer added.
164 Swecchasebak Dal
activists sued over clash
with police, 14 held
CHATTOGRAM : A case has
been filed against 14 named
and 150 anonymous activists
of the BNP's volunteer wing
Swecchasebak Dal for
clashing with police and
obstructing them from
performing their duties in
Chattogram.
Saddam Hossain, subinspector
of Kotwali police
station, filed the case with
the police station on
Wednesday night.
Of the accused, 14
including Chattogram South
district Swecchasebak Dal
Convener Monjur Alam
Talukder were arrested and
they were produced before a
court on Thursday, said
Zahidul Kabir, officer-in-
Charge of kotwali police
station.
On Wednesday afternoon
Swecchasebak Dal activists
and leaders locked in a clash
with police after they
allegedy obstructed them in
holding a rally at stadium at
Kazir Dewri area in the city.
Four police members and
20 Swecchasebak Dal
activists were reprotedly
injured during the clash.
Police arrested ten people
from the spot after the
incident, said police.
'Digital agriculture can
give Bangladesh's food,
nutrition security a boost'
DHAKA : Digital agriculture
can help Bangladesh boost
its productivity to secure
food and nutrition security
amid increasing challenges
of climate change and a
growing population.
Experts said this at an
event organised by the Food
and
Agriculture
Organization of the United
Nations (FAO) in
collaboration with Aspire to
Innovate (a2i) in Dhaka
Thursday, reports UNB.
Digital innovations in
agriculture, from mobile
phones and internet
connectivity for smallholder
farmers, to drones, and
more advanced technology,
have the potential to drive
agricultural transformation
in the country, they added.
Robert D Simpson, FAO
representative in
Bangladesh, said: "Digital
transformation of
agriculture is already here
and it is here to stay.
Bangladesh is just starting
on the road to adopting
digital technologies."
"Digitalisation of
agriculture will boost the
country's productivity,
helping it meet the
increasing demand for food
as the population grows, and
fulfil ambitions for increased
food exports."
At the same time as rapid
population growth, the
availability of natural
resources such as fresh
water and productive arable
land is becoming
increasingly constrained.
Urbanisation is also having
important implications for
patterns of food production
and consumption.
Digital innovations and
technologies are part of the
solution, the experts said.
GD-1737/22 (4x3)
we`ÿ r/Rb-249(2)/27/10/2022
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Friday, Dhaka : october 28, 2022; kartik 12, 1429 BS; rabi-us-Sany 1 , 1444 Hijri
the ban on fishing is going to be ended today. Fishermen are preparing to go fishing in the deep sea. the picture was
taken on thursday from the patharghata fish landing center ghat in Barguna.
photo : Star Mail
BD can increase export $18b more in EU: Study
DHAKA : Bangladesh exported US$$23
billion to 27 countries of the European
Union (EU) which can be increased $18
billion more by enhancing production
capacity and product diversification, as per
a study.
The study was conducted by Research
and Policy Integration for Development
(RAPID) with the cooperation of Friedrich-
Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh on the
titled 'Strengthening Bangladesh-EU
Trade and Economic Cooperation: Issues
and Policy Priorities.'
Sharifa Khan, Secretary, the Economic
Relations Division, Ministry of Finance,
was present in the discussion on the topic
as the chief guest.
Charles Whiteley, Ambassador and
Head of Delegation of the EU to
Bangladesh, was present as guest honor.
Dr Abdur Razzaq, Chairman RAPID
preside over the function.
ERD secretary Sharifa said the EU is a
very friend and development partner in all
environments for Bangladesh. She urged to
enhance support by providing duty-free
and quota-free access of Bangladeshi products
to EU markets after graduation.
"The EU has a lot of opportunity to
increase import of Bangladeshi products as
Bangladesh is producing diversified and
quality besides RMG," she added.
The program share the findings of the
study that looks into issues and policy
options for a renewed and transformed
trade and economic partnership with the
European Union- an indispensable trade
and development partner of Bangladesh.
The study report stated, over the past
decades, the European Union (EU) has
emerged as an indispensable trade and
development partner for Bangladesh.
The EU is by far the largest export market
as almost half of Bangladesh's merchandise
exports are destined for the EU.
Taking advantage of the Everything But
Arms (EBA) initiative- designed for providing
preferential duty-free and quota-free
Let's see how EC handles Jamaat's
registration in disguise: Anisul
DHAKA : Law Minister Anisul Huq on
Thursday said Jamaat-e-Islami's registration
as a political party is sub judice
and he will wait to see how the Election
Commission handles their appeal for
registration under a different name,
reports UNB.
"Will make a comment in this regard
after EC's step," he said replying to a
reporter's question after a training programme
organised for the sub registrars
at Judicial Administration Training
Institute in the city.
His remarks came amid reports that all
leaders of newly launched Bangladesh
Democratic Party (BDP) that sought EC's
registration belong to Jamaat and its student
front Shibir. BDP filed for registration
on Wednesday.
In 2013, the High Court declared the
registration of Jamaat-e-Islami with the
EC illegal effectively banning it from taking
part in general elections. In 2018, the
EC formally deregistered the Islamic fundamentalist
party as it failed to fulfill its
prerequisites.
However, Jamaat is still operating as a
legal political party amid calls from the
secular forces to ban it for its role in the
genocide during the Liberation War it
vehemently opposed.
Responding to another question on
Jamaat leaders' trial for war crimes the
law minister said the AL government is
determined to bring the war criminals of
1971 under justice, which is a proven
fact.
In reply to another question on the trial
of Jamaat for its role against the
Liberation War, Huq reiterated that it
requires some changes in the law and it's
under process.
"I have mentioned earlier we need
some changes in law to proceed with the
trial against Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and
we have already sent the amendment to
the Cabinet Division. Very soon we will
pass a law in this regard and begin the
trial," he added.
Government will take immediate steps
to begin the trial if it finds necessary, he
added.
market access of goods originating from the
least developed countries (LDCs)-
Bangladesh's combined exports to the EU
and UK expanded rapidly from US$2.5 billion
in 2000-01 to $25billion in 2021-21.
In value terms, more than 80 percent of
all trade preferences for Bangladesh is
obtained from European markets.
Bangladesh has been the single largest
beneficiary of EU trade preferential
schemes, the study said.
The EU is also a major source of foreign
direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh.
Between 2017 and 2021 the net FDI
flow from EU countries were $3.5 billion
accounting for about a quarter of all
such flows into Bangladesh during the
same period.
The FDI stock in Bangladesh due to the
EU is more than 12 percent of the total
stock. Bangladesh still has enormous export
potential in the EU as it is estimated that
currently only 60 percent of export potential
is utilized.
Court orders attachment
of Evaly's Shamima,
Rassel's property
DHAKA : A Dhaka court yesterday
ordered for the attachment of properties
belong to e-commerce platform Evaly's
Chairman Shamima Nasrin and its
Managing Director (MD) and her husband
Mohammad Rassel in a cheque
dishonour case.
Dhaka Additional Metropolitan
Magistrate Tofazzal Hossain passed the
order after holding hearing on petition
filed in this regard. The court also set
November 16 for submitting report in
this regard.
According to the case documents,
plaintiff Mehedi Hasan Khan ordered
different goods including three motorcycles,
worth of Taka 8.54 lakh from
Evaly on January 23, 2021, and paid the
money through mobile banking.
Though Evaly was supposed to deliver
him the goods within 45 days of ordering,
the accused failed to do that.
Evaly authorities on March 9, 2021, gave
him a cheque, which Mehedi tried to cash on
July 5. But the cheque was bounced. He later
sent the accused legal notice on October 14
and subsequently filed the case on
November 28.
Revival of graft cases
BNP leaders say it's a tactic
to derail anti-govt movement
DHAKA : While the opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has
recently been gearing up its anti-government
movement defying all sorts of obstacles,
party leaders say the government is
reviving some pending cases against the
leaders and activists with a motive to
derail the movement.
Some BNP leaders and lawyers say
authorities may send some party leaders
to jail to convey a message to the opposition
party that they would not be spared
ahead of next general election.
But the government repeatedly denied
such allegations by BNP in the past, saying
that authorities do not influence courts.
Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, a member
of BNP's Standing Committee, told
UNB that the government has become
"very nervous" over the overall social,
political and economic situation while
there is pressure from international community
to restore democracy through an
inclusive and credible election.
"The government has been failing to
stop people's participation in our rallies
despite carefully-orchestrated obstacles
against us. So, the government is desperate
to reinforce their repressive acts to suppress
us," he said.
"But it's clear from our recent successful
rallies that such a political tactic will not
work," he said.
On Tuesday, the Appellate Division of
the Supreme Court cleared the way for a
lower court to continue the trial involving
graft charges against BNP Standing
Committee Member Mirza Abbas. The
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed
the case in 2007 on charges of amassing
wealth illegally.
The trial proceedings against
Khandaker Mosharraf on charges of
siphoning off Tk 90 million are also set to
enter its final stage. The ACC filed the case
in 2014, accusing him of making money
illegally when he was the health minister
in 2001-2006.
The ACC has also started an investigation
against nine other people, including
Standing Committee members Nazrul
Islam Khan and Amir Khosru Mahmud
Chowdhury, for suspicious transactions
before the 11th parliamentary elections.
Lawyers loyal to BNP say the trial of
many cases against BNP leaders and
activists are going on with lower courts in
Dhaka and elsewhere.
BNP says around 36 lakh BNP leaders
and activists are now facing over one lakh
cases. They say the charges are politically
motivated.
Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said the
government has been trying to eliminate
BNP by resorting to killings, enforced disappearances,
politically motivated cases
and various other repressive acts for nearly
14 years.
Listless Bangladesh suffer biggest
ever defeat in T20 cricket
SportS DeSk
Bangladesh suffered their biggest ever
defeat in the T20 cricket history when
they conceded a 104-run defeat to South
Africa in their second game of the T20
World Cup at the historical Sydney
Cricket Ground on Thursday, reports
BSS.
In a crucial game, where a victory could
help them make a giant leap, the Tigers, as
it was adorably called, were shot out for
101 in just 16.3 overs after South Africa put
up a mammoth 205-5. The massive defeat
wrecked Bangladesh's run rate also.
Rillee Rossouw and fast bowler Anrich
Nortje were the wrecker-in-chief as they
scripted Bangladesh's defeat with a
marauding show. Rossouw became the
first cricketer in T20 history to hit a backto-back
century, hitting his career-best
109 off 56 which put the side in dominating
position.
Nortje also registered his career-best
bowling, with a hostile bowling show that
saw him claiming 4-10.
Nortje indeed intimidated Bangladesh
with raw pace and bounce that was too
tough to handle for the batters, who were
also shaky in their approach, a thing that
was instrumental in the side's only second
loss by 100 runs margin. The previous
biggest defeat of Bangladesh was by 102
runs against Pakistan in Karachi in 2008.
Soumya Sarkar struck two back to back
sixes in Kagiso Rabada's first over to send
the expatriate Bangladeshi, who turned
up in the stadium in abundance, in delirium.
But he was undone by the pace
when Nortje came to the attack. Nortje in
fact dismissed both of the openers
Najmul Hossain Shanto (9) and Soumya
Sarkar (15).
He later signed off his first spell, dismissing
captain Shakib Al Hasan for 1,
leaving Bangladesh 39-3. Rabada after
his expensive first over, came back
strongly to remove Afif Hossain for 1.
Spinners-Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz
Shamsi took over the charge from the
pacers and ripped through the middle
order in a gem of spin bowling.
Shamsi snapped up 3-20 while
Maharaj snared 1-24 as they conceded
just 44 runs in their eight overs.
Liton Das who was out as the eighth
batter, top-scored for the side with 31
ball-34.
South Africa's score could have been
bigger had Bangladesh not come back
strongly in the last five overs. Led by
Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh curbed the
aggression of the South African batters in
this period to take three wickets for just
34 runs.
Shakib who gave away 21 runs in his
first over, bowled two overs in the death
overs, to finally finish with 2-33.
But the damage was done before that as
Rossouw and Quinton de Kock put up a
record breaking 163 runs of just 83 balls
to pave a platform of huge total.
Final decision
on IMF loan will
come within 2
weeks:BB
DHAKA : Bangladesh Bank (BB)
Spokesperson GM Abul Kalam Azad yesterday
said the final decision on the US$4.5
billion loan from the Int’l Monetary Fund
(IMF) will come within next two weeks.
"The IMF team is visiting Bangladesh
as part of its regular programme. We
have discussed on banking and the overall
economic situation. The final decision
on the $4.5 billion loan will come within
two weeks," he said while talking to BSS.
Members of the IMF delegation on
Thursday met the central bank officials as
part of the ongoing discussions on lending
to Bangladesh.
Earlier, Bangladesh had sent a letter to
IMF seeking a loan in July to deal with
the economic crisis.Two weeks ago in a
meeting in Washington, the IMF gave
preliminary approval for the loan.
An IMF team came to Dhaka on
Wednesday (26 October) to discuss the
terms of the $4.5 billion loan.
The IMF team, led by IMF Mission
Chief to Bangladesh Rahul Anand, would
also continue the engagement with other
stakeholders during the visit.
BNP leaders indulged in
spreading politicallymotivated
falsehoods : Quader
DHAKA : Awami League general secretary
Obaidul Quader on Thursday said without
considering the critical global situation, the
BNP leaders irresponsibly are indulged in
spreading various politically-motivated
falsehoods.
In a democratic system, every opposition
party has responsibility and duty towards
the country and the people but Mirza
Fakhrul Islam and his party leaders don't
play the role of a responsible opposition and
rather continue their usual politics of lies
and confusion, he said in a statement.
"It is natural that those who could not add
even a single unit of electricity to the national
grid during their tenure would make
unwise remarks over today's crisises," he
said adding the BNP government also
opened fire on people for waging movements
to press home their demand for electricity.
Quader, also the Road Transport and
Bridges Minister, said the world is now
passing through an unexpected crisis and
the world's largest economies are also facing
a serious economic crisis.
The crises for electricity and gas have
been created alongside the price-hike of
food and other daily essentials in almost all
the countries of the world including Europe
and America. So, Bangladesh is also facing
the crisis, he said.
He said the country's people have not forgotten
that the party during its regime institutionalized
corruption by opening Hawa
Bhaban as well as turned Bangladesh into a
failed state through their anti-people policies
and looting of public funds.
The AL general secretary said the government
under the leadership of Sheikh
Hasina is making continuous efforts to offset
the crisis.
Quader urged the people of the country to
keep faith in Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh
will be able to face this crisises with the collective
efforts amid patience and responsible
behavior through specific plans taken by
Sheikh Hasina, he added.
World left BD to shelter 1m Rohingya
alone, Shahriar tells Guardian
DHAKA : Criticizing the international community
for not extending all-out support to
press Myanmar's junta to guarantee a safe
return for Rohingyas, State Minister for
Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said the world
has done "absolutely nothing" for safe repatriation
of Rohingyas.
"The world has done "absolutely nothing"
to ensure safety in Myanmar for its
persecuted Rohingya minority," a prestigious
British daily The Guardian quoted
Alam in a report published on Wednesday
as he told the newspaper.
The state minister said that Bangladesh
is sheltering more than 1 million
Rohingyas without (global) support, said
the report wrote by Kaamil Ahmed.
Alam said financial support for the
Rohingya has decreased each year and there
has been no real progress towards repatriation
in the five years since more than
700,000 fled massacres by Myanmar's military.
That wave, in August 2017, joined
approximately 300,000 people that had
already fled Myanmar because of previous
security crackdowns, he added.
The state minister said not enough
pressure had been brought to bear on
Myanmar's military junta and called for
greater international support for a genocide
case at the UN's international
courts of justice, and for a case focusing
on forced deportation at the international
criminal court.
"On the political and repatriation solution,
the world is doing absolutely nothing," Alam
was quoted in the report, which added,
"They haven't exercised all their power yet.
Up until recently they have kept on investing
in Myanmar. The growth of FDI [foreign
direct investment] in Myanmar from 2017 to
2020 was greater than that of Bangladesh.
You know, how weird is that?"
He (Alam) was skeptical of proposed sanctions
on the travel and finances of senior military
figures, saying the people in question
rarely travel. The UN humanitarian appeal
for the Rohingya refugees has received only a
third of funding required this year. Alam said
he feared even less money would be donated
next year because of rising costs globally.
Bangladesh suffered their biggest ever defeat in the t20 cricket history as they conceded a 104-run
defeat to South Africa in their second game at the historical Sydney Cricket Ground. photo: Ap