04-11-2022

FrIDaY

Dhaka : November 4, 2022; Kartik 19, 1429 BS; Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1444 Hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.20; N o. 166; 12 Pages~Tk.12.00

InternatIonal

Biden implores voters

to save democracy

from lies, violence

>Page 7

New gas field found

in Bhola

DHAKA : State Minister for Power,

Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul

Hamid on Thursday announced a new

structure of 239 billion cubic feet (BCF) of

natural gas from the exploration well No-

Togbi-1 under Bhola gas field, reports

UNB.

"But this will take one-and-a-half to two

years to start producing gas from the well

and supply it to the national gas network",

he told reporters while sharing the "good

news" at a press briefing at his ministry

conference room on Thursday.

"We need to build some necessary infrastructures

including a processing plant to

get this gas available for consumption", he

added.

"This is good news of relief amid ongoing

gas crisis... this well can produce 20

million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) over

30-31 years", he said.

He noted that the entire gas will have

the value of Tk 8000 crore considering the

average retail price of the local gas.

Nasrul informed that two more wells

will be drilled in Shahbazpurupazila in

Bhola gas field while Petrobangla has a

plan to drill 46 wells across the country

through Bapex, Sylhet Gas field Company

Limited and Bangladesh Gas Fields

Company Limited (BGFCL).

The US energy company Chevron will

also conduct drillings in its extended area

of the Bibiyana gas field.

"We hope, once these 46 wells will be

drilled, some 600-700 MMCFD gas will

be added to the national gas grid by 2025",

he said adding that in the meantime some

gas fields will decline production by 200

MMCFD.

Currently, the state minister said that

the country's daily gas production is 2,300

MMCFD from different gas fields against

a demand of 3,400 MMCFD. Alongside

the local gas production, some 400

MMCFD gas is being imported under

long-term contract.

Highest single-day deaths witnessed this year

Dengue claims

nine more death

Bangladesh witnessed the death of nine

more dengue patients in 24 hours till

Thursday morning, the official death toll

from the disease this year rose to 161.

This is the highest death toll from

dengue in a day this year. Of the deceased,

six were from Dhaka, raising the fatalities

in the division to 100, two were from

Rajshahi division raising the death toll to

six and another was from Chattogram taking

the death toll to 41. The death toll

remained unchanged at six each in Khulna

and Barishal, at four in Mymensingh division.

During this time, 882, more patients,

including 498 in Dhaka city, were hospitalised

with the mosquito-borne disease,

according to the Directorate General of

Health Services (DGHS).

A total of 3,676 dengue patients, including

2,276 in the capital, are now receiving

treatment at hospitals across the country.

DGHS has recorded 40, 983 dengue

cases and 37,146 recoveries so far this year.

Even before the country's healthcare system

has been able to fully recover from the

blow of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is being

hit hard by a recurrence of an outbreak of

dengue, the disease that is endemic to

Bangladesh.

Zumma

04:39 AM

11:55 PM

04:04 PM

05:45 PM

07:52 PM

5:51 5:41

Destroying

cropland,

brick kiln is

being built

rampantly in

Thakurgaon.

Photo : Star Mail

sports

Man City beat Sevilla

with teenager Lewis

stealing the spotlight

>Page 9

NBR counting losses for

rampant tax evasion

DHAKA : Despite taking VAT registration,

around 22 percent of companies are not

submitting their VAT returns.

A large number of individuals are also

remaining out of the tax network despite

having taxable income.

A total of 26 lakh people or 52.41 percent

of the taxpayers did not submit their

income tax returns in the last fiscal year.

Of the 50 lakh Taxpayers Identification

Number (TIN) holders, some 24 lakh submitted

their income tax returns during last

fiscal year, reports UNB.

As a result, the National Board of

Revenue is missing a large amount of revenue.

Though the companies are taking VAT

for products or services from customers

they are not submitting money to the government

exchequer.

The visiting IMF officials have advised

the NBR to increase revenue collection in

different forms.

Economists and sector insiders have

repeatedly suggested reforming the country's

revenue sector in a way that the tax

ratio in the GDP would grow as per the

volume of the economy.

In south Asia Bangladesh is the lowest

tax-GDP ratio. A 2016 World Bank report

said that the South Asian tax GDP ratio is

19.1 percent in Nepal, 16 percent in

Bhutan, 12 percent in India, 9.9 percent in

Afghanistan, 9.1 percent in the Maldive

while in Bangladesh it is 8.8 percent. In

2017 Bangladesh's position in tax GDP

ratio slid to 7.6.

While official data portrays the burgeoning

growth of Bangladesh's economy, tax

collection shows an almost opposite trend.

The tax collection as a percentage of

GDP has been stuck at around 7.6 percent

in 2017, the lowest in South Asia and one

of the lowest in the world.

This prompts economists to question

the disconnect since revenue receipts

should increase in line with the expansion

of the economy.

Dr Muhammad Abdul Mazid, former

NBR chairman, told UNB that large companies

might be avoiding VAT through

different ways that the NBR cannot detect

owing to a lack of capacity.

He suggested enhancing the capacity of

revenue officials, along with ensuring good

governance in the revenue sector so that

people encourage paying taxes in a hasslefree

environment.

DrAhsan H Mansur, executive director

at Policy Research Institute (PRI), said

businesses could not fully make a turnaround

from the pandemic-induced losses

in FY2022 because of an economic slowdown

to some extent, which led to lower

growth in VAT collection from large companies.

Commenting on the poor collection

from the banking sector, he said banks are

now going through a bad patch with a

slump in profitability.

Mansur also suggested reforming the

total VAT and tax sector to grow the revenue

collection from domestic sources, in

line with global standards, he said.

Pakistan's ex-PM Imran Khan

wounded in gun attack

A gunman opened fire Thursday at a

campaign truck carrying Pakistan's

former Prime Minister Imran

Khan, wounding him slightly in

the leg and killing one of his supporters,

his party and police said.

Nine others were also wounded,

reports BBC

The identity of the gunman, who

was arrested at the scene, was not

immediately known. No group has

claimed responsibility for the

shooting.

The attack raised new concerns

about growing political instability

in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation with a

massive population of 225 million people.

Since his ouster in a no-confidence vote in

Parliament in April, Khan has mobilized

mass rallies across the country, where he

has whipped up crowds with claims that

he was a victim of a conspiracy by his successor,

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif,

and the United States. Both the new premier

and Washington have denied such

allegations. Pakistan has a decades-long

history of political assassinations, including

that of Benazir Bhutto, the first democratically

elected female leader of a

Muslim country, in 2007. The attack on

the Khan convoy happened in the

Wazirabad district in

the eastern Punjab

province where the former

cricket star turned

Islamist politician was

traveling in a large convoy

of trucks and cars

heading towards the

capital, Islamabad. The

convoy is part of his

campaign aimed at

Imran Khan forcing the government

to hold early elections.

Among the wounded was Faisal Javed, a

lawmaker from Tehreek-e-Insaf. In a

video statement, with blood staining his

clothes, Javed said Khan's protest march

to Islamabad would not stop.

District police officer Ghazanfar Ali said

one person was killed and nine others

were wounded in the attack. Interior

Minister RanaSanaullah Khan condemned

the attack. FawadChaudhry, a

senior leader from Khan's party, told the

supporters surrounding Khan's truck that

the attack was an attempt on the life of the

country's former premier.

art & culture

Ananta Jalil learning

martial arts for his

next movie

>Page 10

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid tribute to the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at 32 Dhanmondi in the capital on Thursday morning on the occasion of

Jail Killing Day.

Photo : Star Mail

US firms keen to explore

renewable energy in

Bangladesh: Haas

NARAYANGANJ : United States (US)

Ambassador Peter Hass on Thursday said

the American companies are very interested

to explore clean and renewable energies

opportunities in Bangladesh while

Washington DC has been providing support

to them in this regard, reports BSS.

"We (the US government) will be here

and our companies will be here, and we as

a government do anything to support

them," he said.

The envoy was talking with reporters

after visiting the under-construction

Summit Meghnaghat II Power Plant and

Summit Bibiyana Power Plant in the district.

The ambassador said the US companies

here are not only emphasizing traditional

energy areas like power generation or

exploration of gas fields but also looking

for exploring sources of renewable energy.

Besides, the envoy, said the American

companies are interested in deep-sea

exploration of gas.

"American companies are looking for

the possibilities, they are looking at what

data available and what the opportunities

are, and I am pretty confident that if anyone

thinks there is enough gas there to

make profit, they will do it," he said.

The envoy said US companies are keen

in partnering with Bangladeshi companies

to provide investment to help

Bangladesh become a developed country

by 2041.

"We have from the Trade Show last

week, where US companies are very eager

to come to Bangladesh and to partner with

Bangladeshi companies to provide investment

here to be able to help Bangladesh,

make the transition, meet the goal of

becoming a developed country by 2041,"

he said.

However, Hass said, like other

investors, the US companies also want

assurance of stability, rule of law, lack of

corruption and ability to take the profits.

"So I don't think the American companies

look for anything else (in Bangladesh)

that other investors look for," he said.

Khaleda will be sent back to jail

if BNP crosses limit: PM

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

on Thursday said if BNP does excesses,

its chairperson Khaleda Zia will be sent

back to jail.

"We've given her (Khaleda) scope to

stay in her house, suspending her sentence

on humanitarian grounds. If BNP

does excesses, we will send her back to

jail," she said.

The premier was addressing a discussion

arranged by Bangladesh Awami League at

Bangabandhu International Conference

Centre here on the occasion of the Jail

Killing Day, reports UNB.

AL general secretary Obaidul Quader

delivered the welcome speech while AL

presidium members Sheikh Fazlul Karim

Selim, Engr. Mosharraf Hossain and

Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya Bir

Bikram, AL central committee member

ParvinZamanKalpana, martyred Syed

Nazrul Islam's daughter DrSyedaZakia

Noor Lipi, and Dhaka South and North

City AL presidents Abu Ahmed Monnafi

and Sheikh Bazlur Rahman spoke at the

event.

AL publicity and publication secretary

AbdusSobhanGolap, MP, and his

deputy Aminul Islam moderated the

discussion.

The day is observed to remember four

national leaders Syed Nazrul Islam,

Tajuddin Ahmed, Captain M Mansur Ali

and AHM Quamruzzaman who were

assassinated inside Dhaka Central Jail on

November 3 in 1975.

The massacre happened barely three

months after anti-liberation elements

assassinated Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman and most of his family members

on August 15, 1975.

Jail Killing Day observed

DHAKA : The Jail Killing Day, the second

disgraceful incident in the country after

the brutal assassination of Father of the

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh

MujiburRahman and most of his family

members on August 15 in 1975, was

observed with due respect on Thursday,

reports BSS.

On November 3 in 1975, four national

leaders and heroes of the country's

Liberation War-Syed Nazrul Islam,

Tajuddin Ahmad, Captain Mansur Ali and

AHM Quamruzzaman-were assassinated

inside the Dhaka Central Jail.

The four leaders played a key role in

forming the Mujibnagar government in

exile, that led the Liberation War in 1971,

with Syed Nazrul Islam as the acting president,

Tajuddin Ahmad as the prime minister,

Mansur Ali as the finance minister

and AHM Qamruzzaman as the home,

relief and rehabilitation minister.

The nation remembered the four

national leaders, who were also the great

heroes of the Liberation War in 1971, with

due respect.

Different political parties including the

ruling Awami League (AL) chalked out

programme to observe the mournful day

across the country.

The AL's programme included keeping

the national and party flags at half-mast at

party's Bangabandhu Avenue Central

Office and BangabandhuBhaban as well

as unit offices across the country at the

down.

Wearing of black badges and hoisting of

black flag were also included in the programme.

AL leaders placed wreaths at the

portrait of Bangabandhu at

BangabandhuBhaban in Dhanmondi at

7am. Wreaths were also placed at the

graves of Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin

Ahmad, Mansur Ali at Banani graveyard

around 7.30am while fateha, milad-mahfil

and munajat were also offered there.

Paying floral wreaths, offering fateha,

milad-mahfil and munajat were arranged

at the grave of national leader Shaheed

AHM Qamruzzaman in Rajshahi.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid rich

tributes to Bangabandhu and four national

leaders marking the Jail Killing Day.

In showing respect to the memory of the

Father of the Nation and the four national

leaders, the premier placed wreaths at the

portrait of Bangabandhu in front of

Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at

Dhanmondi Road No 32 on Thursday

morning.

Sheikh Hasina first laid a wreath as the

prime minister at the portrait of

Bangabandhu around 7 am.

After placing the wreath, she stood in

solemn silence there for some time as a

mark of profound respect to the memories

of Bangabandhu and the four national

leaders.

Flanked by central leaders of the party,

Sheikh Hasina also placed another wreath

as the president of Awami League (AL) at

the portrait of Bangabandhu.

Later, the leaders and workers of AL's

associate bodies, including AwamiJubo

League, Chhatra League, MohilaAwami

League, Sramik League, Krishak League,

JuboMohila League and Swechchasebok

League, as well as other socio-cultural

organizations also paid homage to

Bangabandhu and four national leaders

by placing wreaths at the portrait of the

Father of the Nation on the occasion.

The premier later went to the Banani

Graveyard and paid rich tributes to martyrs

of the August 15 and November 3,

1975 massacres.

Flanked by senior leaders of the party,

Sheikh Hasina placed wreaths as the president

of Awami League (AL) at the Banani

Graveyard. The prime minister also sprinkled

flower petals on the graves of the martyrs

of the August 15 and November 3 of

1975 massacres. AL arranged a discussion

at Bangabandhu International Conference

Centre (BICC) in the city at 3pm.

Awami League President and Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the discussion.

friDAy, noVeMber 4, 2022

2

Joypurhat district Awami League observed Jail Killing Day. Various programs including black flag

hoisting were held on the occasion.

Photo : Masrakul Alam

11 BNP men

remanded over attack

on Justice Manik

DHAKA : A court yesterday

placed 11 leaders and activists of

BNP on two-day remand each

in a case lodged over the alleged

attack on former Supreme

Court judge AHM Shamsuddin

Chowdhury Manik.

The remanded accused are-

Maksudur Rahman Sumit, Md

Sakhawat Hossain Khan, Md

Robin Khan, Md Sagor, Md

Jasim Uddin Bhuiyan, Md

Harun Ur Rashid, Motiur

Rahman, Shamim Rahman,

Jamal Hossain, Ariful Islam

and Abu Taher.

Dhaka Metropolitan

Magistrate Devdas Chandra

Adhikari passed the order as

police produced the accused

before the court and pleaded to

place them on five-day remand

each.

After six years, UN climate

summit returns to Africa

MOMBASA : The U.N. climate summit is back in

Africa after six years and four consecutive

Europe-based conferences, reports UNB.

The 27th annual Conference of the Parties of

the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate

Change - better known as COP27 - will be held in

the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt and

begins next week. It's been branded as the

"African COP", with officials and activists hoping

the conference's location will mean the

continent's interests are better represented in

climate negotiations.

Hosts Egypt say the meeting represents a

unique opportunity for Africa to align climate

change goals with the continent's other aims, like

improving living standards and making

countries more resilient to weather extremes.

Organizers expect over 40,000 participants, the

highest number ever for a climate summit on the

continent.

Ever since the conference's first iteration in

Berlin in 1995, the U.N. climate summit

continues to rotate annually among the five U.N.

classified regions: Africa, Asia, Latin America

and the Caribbean, central and eastern Europe,

and western Europe. It's the fifth time that an

African nation has held the U.N. climate summit,

with Morocco, South Africa and Kenya all

serving as former hosts.

The first African summit, held in Marrakech in

2001, passed landmark accords on climate

funding and made other key decisions on land

use and forestry. The following three meetings

on the continent had some success on issues like

adapting to climate change, technology and

sowing the seeds for the Paris Agreement in 2015

years earlier. Marrakech is also the last African

city to host the event, having hosted a second

COP in 2016, that aimed to implement some of

the Paris goals.

The Paris Agreement, considered a major

success of the U.N. climate summits, saw nations

agree to limit warming to "well below" 2 degrees

Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), with an aim of

ICSB council

meets finance

secretary

DHAKA : The newly-elected

council members of the

Institute of Chartered

Secretaries of Bangladesh

(ICSB), led by its President

Mohammad Asad Ullah,

called on Fatima Yasmin,

senior secretary of Ministry

of Finance, at her secretariat

office yesterday

On behalf of the council,

the ICSB President

introduced the newly-elected

office bearers' and council

members to the Secretary

and apprised her of various

activities that ICSB

undertook for professional

development as well as its

future plans, said a press

release here.

The Finance Secretary gave

a patient hearing to various

activities of the Institute and

appreciated the role of ICSB

towards the development as

well as promoting the

chartered secretaries

profession in the country.

She also assured her

continued support to the

ICSB.

The council members

hoped that her continued

support and guidance would

help the institute to move

forward to achieve its

objectives.

Senior Vice-President of

the Council Mohammad

Nurul Alam, its vicepresident

AKM Mushfiqur

Rahman, member Oli Kamal

and Secretary and Chief

Executive Officer of the

Institute Md Zakir Hossain

were present at the meeting.

Pope presses Muslim dialogue

in first papal visit to Bahrain

VATICAN CITY : Pope Francis is bringing his

message of dialogue with the Muslim world to the

kingdom of Bahrain, where the Sunni-led government

is hosting an interfaith conference on East-

West coexistence even as it stands accused of discriminating

against the country's Shiite majority.

Human rights groups and relatives of Shiite

activists on death row have urged Francis to use

his visit, which begins Thursday, to call for an end

to the death penalty and political repression in

Bahrain. But it's not clear if Francis will publicly

embarrass his hosts during his four-day visit, the

first of any pontiff to the island nation in the Persian

Gulf, reports UNB.

Francis has long touted dialogue as an instrument

of peace and believes a show of interfaith

harmony is needed, especially now given Russia's

war in Ukraine and regional conflicts, such as in

Yemen. On the eve of the trip, Francis asked for

prayers so that the trip will promote "the cause of

brotherhood and of peace, of which our times are

in extreme and urgent need."

The visit is Francis' second to a Gulf Arab country,

following his 2019 landmark trip to Abu

Dhabi, where he signed a document promoting

Catholic-Muslim fraternity with a leading Sunni

cleric, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb. Al-Tayeb is the

grand imam of Al-Azhar, the seat of Sunni learning

in Cairo. Francis followed that with a 2021 visit

to Iraq, where he was received by Grand Ayatollah

Ali al-Sistani, one of the world's pre-eminent

Shiite clerics. Francis will meet again this week in

Bahrain with al-Tayeb, as well as other prominent

figures in the interfaith field who are expected to

attend the conference, which is similar to one hosted

last month by Kazakhstan that Francis and el-

Tayeb also attended. Members of the regional

Muslim Council of Elders, the spiritual leader of

the world's Orthodox Christians, Patriarch

Bartholomew, a representative from the Russian

Orthodox Church and rabbis from the United

States are all expected, according to the Bahrain

program. The trip will also allow Francis to minister

to Bahrain's Catholic community, which numbers

around 80,000 in a country of around 1.5

million. Most are workers hailing from the Philippines

and India, though trip organizers expect pilgrims

from Saudi Arabia.

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GD-1772/22 (11x5)

GD-1777/22 (9x3)

FRIDAY, NOvEMBER 4, 2022

3

Sharing meeting on "Sustainable Solid Waste Management: Stakeholder Engagement, Lessons and

Way Forward" was held at LD Hall of Jatiya Sangsad yesterday.

Photo : Courtesy

researchers for taking public interest into

consideration for sustainable waste management

tBt report

professionals and researchers at a view

exchange meeting on Wednesday,

underlined the need to ensure

sustainable waste management in the

country taking public interest into

consideration.

Decomposing waste has made urban

life very dangerous. Marginalized

people suffer the most due to poor

management of solid waste, they

observed. the speakers further said the

waste management should be

programme based and not project

based. sustainable waste management

should be ensured by participation of

all stakeholders and none should be left

out.

In collaboration with UsAID and

Counterpart International, the sharing

meeting on "sustainable solid Waste

Management:

stakeholder

engagement, Lessons and Way

Forward" was jointly organised by

Dusthya shasthya Kendra (DsK),

BArCIK, Coalition for Urban poor

(CUp) and Insights at LD Hall of Jatiya

sangsad. DsK executive director Dr

Dibalok singha presided over the

function while sanjida Jahan Ashrafi

made the keynote presentation.

taking part (virtually) in the meeting

as the chief guest, Minister for Local

Government, rural Development and

Cooperatives Md tajul Islam said

industrialization is increasing along

with development of the country. thus,

IU BCL observes

Jail Killing Day

IU CorresponDent

the Islamic University unit of

Bangladesh Chhatra League

observed Jail Killing Day to

mark the assassination of

four national leaders inside

Dhaka Central Jail, on

thursday with due

solemnity.

Marking the day, More

than two hundred leaders

and activists of the BCL IU

unit, led by its president

Faisal siddike Arafat,

brought out a procession,

wearing of black badges

from the party's tent around

12:00pm. the procession

ended in front of the

university's Mrittunjoyee

Mujib mural after parading

the main roads of the

campus.

Later, IU BCL leaders paid

tributes to Father of the

nation Bangabandhu

sheikh Mujibur rahman

including the four national

leaders who were killed on

this day way back in 1975.

Fateha and Doa Munajat

were also offered, marking

the day.

Among others, IU BCL unit

activists tonmoy saha tony,

Munshi Kamrul Hasan Anik,

Boni Amin, Muzahidul Islam

and Mridul rabbi were

present here.

on november 3, 1975, the

four national leaders and

heroes of the country's

Liberation War, acting

president syed nazrul

Islam, prime minister

tajuddin Ahmad, finance

minister Captain Mansur Ali

and the relief and

rehabilitation minister AHM

Quamruzzaman were

assassinated inside Dhaka

Central Jail.

waste is also generated even at the

union level.

He said the government has taken

initiatives for proper waste

management. Besides, initiatives have

been taken to implement waste

management policies in the city. Union

level waste collection will be started

from now.

the LGrD Minister said that

fertilizer and electricity can be

produced from waste.

"We will work on that now. Many

organizations are working with us.

they will invest and we will supply

them with waste. It will increase the

production of fertilizer and electricity,"

he added.

Chairman of parliamentary standing

Committee on the MInistry of

environment, Forest and Climate

Change saber Hossain Chowdhury said

when no one thought about waste

management in post-independence

Bangladesh, Bangabandhu sheikh

Mujibur rahman thought about it.

He regretted that there is no shortage

of laws in the country but we cannot

enforce the law properly. Likewise, he

said, effective initiatives should be

taken to implement waste

management policies.

Chowdhury expressed his hope that it

will be possible to ensure proper waste

management with the joint efforts of

all.

professor. Ijaz Hossain said that the

solid waste management rules-2021

have been passed recently to achieve

the goal of solid waste management in

the country.

Although several groundbreaking

steps have been taken in the

regulations, overall there is no clear

idea of what strategy or action plan the

government has set for solid waste

management.

According to estimates made in the

2014 waste database, the total waste

generated in 2025 will be 47 thousand

tons. If this trend continues, solid waste

generation will exceed 57 thousand

tons in 2030 and 77 thousand tons in

2040.

It was also said in the meeting that 50

percent of the city's waste is not being

collected. As a result, these wastes are

causing pollution in the city. Lowincome

people suffer especially due to

the waste dumped in the slums.

Besides, a large amount of methane is

released from the landfills around

Dhaka. It is 100 times more harmful

than carbon dioxide. so we have to

think about the landfill concept in

waste management.

the sharing meeting was also

addressed, among others, by UsAID

representative Kristin McCrae, Chief

executive officer of Dhaka north City

Corporation, Md selim reza, Chief of

party of CpI Mainuddin Ahmed, poba

Chairman Abu naser Khan, ward

councillor shikha Chakrawarty,

Aminur rosul and executive director of

CUp Khondaker rebeka san Yat.

The Islamic University unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League observed Jail

Killing Day to mark the assassination of four national leaders inside Dhaka

Central Jail, on Thursday with due solemnity.

Photo : Courtesy

Jail killing the worst chapter

in Bangladesh history: Atiqul

DHAKA : Mayor of Dhaka north City

Corporation (DnCC) Md Atiqul Islam

yesterday cited the jail killing conspiracy as

one of the atrocious chapters in the history

of Bangladesh.

"they (the four leaders) led the nation

standing in the front-line during the Great

War of Liberation. the same persons were

brutally killed after being confined in a

highly guarded place by the conspirators,"

Atiqul said while talking to newsmen, after

paying homage to the four national leaders

in city's Banani graveyard, said a release.

"the plot to take Bangladesh towards an

unwanted journey took its final form, by

this disreputable incident," he added.

the DnCC Mayor strongly demanded the

capital punishment of the murderers and

confiscation of their movable and

immovable property, added the release.

earlier, the Mayor paid rich tributes to

the martyrs of the Jail Killing incident by

placing floral wreaths at their graves. He

also offered a special dua and took part in

Fatiha recitation.

on november 3 in 1975, four national

leaders and heroes of the country's

Liberation War-syed nazrul Islam,

tajuddin Ahmad, Captain Mansur Ali and

AHM Quamruzzaman-were assassinated

inside the Dhaka Central Jail.

the four leaders played a key role in

forming the Mujibnagar government in

exile, that led the Liberation War in

1971, with syed nazrul Islam as the

acting president, tajuddin Ahmad as

the prime minister, Mansur Ali as the

finance minister and AHM

Qamruzzaman as the home, relief and

rehabilitation minister.

Workshop for DU

teachers held

Quality Assurance (QA) wing

of Institutional Quality

Assurance Cell (IQAC-DU),

University of Dhaka organized

a workshop amongst the

teachers on "programme self

Assessment" at the

Conference room of IQAC-

DU for the second phase on

thursday, a press release said.

professor Dr. sabita

rezwana rahman (Director,

IQAC-DU) presided over the

Workshop and spoke on

"role of IQAC in

coordinating skill,

knowledge and competence

in higher education in the

University of Dhaka".

professor Dr. syed shahrier

rahman (Additional

Director, QA, IQAC-DU)

spoke on "programme self

Assessment: procedure and

report Writing". professor

Dr. A.t.M. shamsuzzoha

(Additional Director, etL,

IQAC-DU) anchored the

workshop and spoke on

"Importance of self

Assessment" in the session.

It may be mentioned that

according to the advice of the

University Grants Commission

(UGC) and Bangladesh

Accreditation Council (BAC),

IQAC organises series of

workshops, special talks

successfully throughout the

year on a regular basis for the

faculty members and officers

of the University of Dhaka

for achieving Quality Higher

education.

Govt to procure fertilizer, 55

lakh litres of soybean oil

DHAKA : the government yesterday

approved separate proposals for procuring

fertilizer, 55 lakh litres of soybean oil and

8,000 metric tons of lentil to meet the

growing demand of the country.

the approvals came from the 32nd

meeting of the Cabinet Committee on

Government purchase (CCGp) in this year

held yesterday virtually with Finance

Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair.

Briefing reporters after the meeting

virtually, Cabinet Division Additional

secretary sayeed Mahbub Khan said that the

day's meeting approved a total of 17

proposals.

He informed that following a proposal

from the Ministry of Industries, the

Bangladesh Chemical Industries

Corporation (BCIC) would procure some

25,000 metric tons of rock phosphate from

M/s Desh trading Corporation (main

supplier: M/s Zentrade, FZe, the UAe) with

taka 88.76 crore. the price of per ton

phosphate would be $334.77 from the

previous rate of $380.

Mahbub said that the BCIC would procure

some 30,000 metric tons of bulk granular

fertilizer from Muntajat, Qatar under the 9th

lot under state-level agreement with around

taka 198.62 crore with the price of per ton

fertilizer costing $626.67 down from the

previous price of $632.

the BCIC would purchase another 30,000

metric tons of bulk granular fertilizer under

the 3rd lot from Fertiglobe Distribution

Limited, UAe with around taka 198.62

crore and another consignment of 30,000

metric tons of bulk granular fertilizer under

the 4th lot from Fertiglobe Distribution

Limited, UAe with around taka 198.62

crore. Besides, Mahbub informed that the

Bangladesh Agricultural Development

Corporation (BADC) under the Ministry of

Agriculture would procure some 25,000

metric tons of tsp form a tunisian company

with around taka 148.65 crore. per ton

fertilizer would cost $562.5 against the

previous price of $704.25.

the Cabinet Division Additional secretary

said that the state-run trading Corporation

of Bangladesh (tCB) would procure some

8,000 metric tons of lentil with around taka

68.78 crore where per ton lentil would cost

$859. the price of per KG lentil would be

taka 85.99.

the tCB would also procure some 55 lakh

litres of soybean oil with around taka 89.61

crore with per litre soybean oil costing taka

162.94 from the previous price of taka

171.85.

Following a proposal from the Ministry of

Housing and public Works, the works under

the package number WD-1, WD-2 and WD-

4 under the project for establishing

Bangabandhu sheikh Mujibur rahman

novotheatre, rangpur has been awarded to

the M.g. Jamal and Company Ltd with

around taka 121.18 crore.

Besides, the meeting approved a proposal

from the road transport and Highways

Division under which the package number

Wp-01 under the project for upgrading

Kumargaon-Badaghat-Airport road into

four-lane would be implemented by spectra

engineers Ltd with around taka 439.64

crore.

Apart from this, the meeting gave nod to a

proposal for appointing egis India

Consulting engineers pvt Ltd as consultant

with around taka 111.44 crore for the

Upgradation of Mongla port project to be

implemented by the Mongla port Authority.

Quality Assurance (QA) wing of Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC-DU), University of Dhaka

organized a workshop amongst the teachers on "Programme Self Assessment" at the Conference

Room of IQAC-DU for the second phase on Thursday.

Photo : Courtesy

Govt approves proposal to increase

signatory firms for procuring LnG

DHAKA : the government yesterday

approved a proposal in principle for

increasing the number of signatory firms

under the Master sale and purchase

Agreement (MspG) for procuring LnG

from the spot market.

Under the proposal moved by the

petrobangla under the energy and

Mineral resources Division, MspA will

be signed with eight more firms.

these are: LnG Japan Corporation,

Japan; socar trading UK Ltd.; posCo

International Corporation, Korea; Qatar

energy trading LLC; Inpex

Corporation, Japan; pavilion energy

trading & supply pte Ltd. singapore;

petroChina International pte Ltd.

singapore; and ptt International

trading pte Ltd, singapore.

the approval came from the 24th

meeting of the Cabinet Committee on

economic Affairs (CCeA) in this year

held yesterday virtually with Finance

Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the

chair.

Briefing reporters after the meeting

virtually, Cabinet Division Additional

secretary sayeed Mahbub Khan said

that the day's CCeA meeting approved a

total of two proposals. He said that the

government has such kind of MspA with

16 firms and with the latest approval the

number of such firms under MspA

would increase to 24 to make the LnG

procurement process more competitive.

Mahbub also informed that the

meeting approved another proposal in

principle from the Ministry of Liberation

War Affairs for procuring the necessary

services under the Direct procurement

Method (DpM) for holding various

programmes to implement the

unfinished events and other

programmes marking the golden jubilee

of country's independence.

Officials welcomed the newly appointed Information and Broadcasting Secretary Humayun Kabir

Khandakar yesterday.

Photo : PID

fridAy, NovEMBEr 4, 2022

4

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

friday, November 4, 2022

Jail killing Day

The nation mourned with a heavy heart

on the occasion of the observance of

the Jail Killing Day on Thursday. The

most brutal assassination of Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and members of his

family on August 1975 will remain forever

etched in the consciousness of all right

thinking Bangladeshis as the blackest and

most shameful period in the history of this

nation.

But the deeply shocking incidents of mid

August 1975 were followed by no less

savageries only three months later in

November of that year when four national

leaders-Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin

Ahmed, Mansur Ali and Kamaruzzaman --

were stealthily and mercilessly slain in

Dhaka Central Jail in the small hours by the

most heartless assailants. They were working

for the coup makers that toppled the

government and decided on this bloody

method of getting rid forever their potential

political opponents.

But the slain leaders were among the

highly respected and worthy sons of the

country. They contributed to the

organisation of the liberation struggle for

Bangladesh in foreign soil by acting in their

capacities as highest ranking leaders of the

Bangladesh government in exile in 1971.

Prior to the independence of the country,

they made the contribution of a life-time to

rouse Bangladeshis for nationhood. From

the 1952 glorious language movement that

created the first impulse towards

independent Bangladesh to struggling

against various autocratic governments for

the realisation of the rightful dues of

Bangladesh, for democracy, for spreading

the spirit of Bengali nationalism and for

finally risking their everything in the final

phase of the struggle for Bangladesh and

leading the Bangladesh government in exile

with great ability and dedication, the

deceased four leaders deserve to be

remembered and respected by Bangladeshis

of all generations as national leaders.

Needless to say, the killing of these four

leaders in utterly helpless conditions when

they should have felt specially protected for

being safely in the custody of the jail house,

constitutes a barbarity of matchless

proportion and the most unacceptable and

worst violation of human rights.

Bangladeshis since then have traveled a long

way towards democracy and in securing

basic rights of countrymen. Let us hope that

they will succeed in firmly consolidating

their democracy and human rights so that

the face of the nation never gets blackened

again from such abominable slaying.

Although the killers were protected by

political developments for years, the train of

events slowly but gradually turned against

them. First, under the incumbent

government, the killers of the Bangabandhu

were successfully convicted and four of them

were hanged for their crimes in 2010. There

were some 15 persons in the squad of killers

who were responsible in varying degrees for

the killing of the four leaders in jail who were

also directly involved in the assassination of

members of the first family. After the

hanging of four of them in 2010, eleven of

them were sentenced in different degrees

ranging from the death penalty to long term

rigorous imprisonment. But they are

absconding and are known to be in foreign

countries.

It becomes an obligation on the part of the

Bangladesh government or whosoever

comes to power next, to complete extradition

treaties with these countries at the soonest

(if these are not in place) and arrange for the

immediate extradition of these convicted

ones to Bangladesh to face justice.

Only finally dispensing justice in relation to

these absconding killers will mean that in

future persons with similar heinous

mentality will be deterred from indulging

afresh in such ghastly crimes. And

democracy, human rights and rule of law will

be strengthened.

Israel's farcical elections and fictional democracy

Israel's powerful military and booming

economy are undeniable facts, but its

much-celebrated democracy is utter

fiction.

Israel claims to be a Jewish and

democratic state. In fact, it is neither. It

boasts of being "the state of the Jewish

people" everywhere, when less than half of

the world's Jews live in the country. Today,

Israel rules over 15 million people between

the Jordan River and the Mediterranean

Sea, half of whom are not Jews; most can't

vote in Israel.

Israel does not even recognise

"Israeliness" as a nationality and rejects the

liberal democratic concept of a "state of all

its citizens". Instead, the Jewish state

recognises two strata of people: Jews who

are entitled to full rights and Palestinians

who must be content with fewer or no rights.

These Palestinians are grudgingly tolerated

as second-class citizens, occupied and

repressed as colonial subjects, or are kept

away as undesirable refugees, whose

inalienable right to return would destroy the

"Jewish state".

And if that's not enough to raise eyebrows,

consider the fact that there is no consensus

in the "Jewish state" as to "who is a Jew".

Orthodox, Reform and secular Jews have

different - even conflicting - interpretations

of Jewishness. It is a religious question that

is dependent on power politics, as this old

Israeli satirical sketch illustrates quite well.

Nevertheless, the legal and political

rationale in apartheid colonial Israel

privileges the Jews living on all territories

between the River and the Sea in all

important spheres of life, including

citizenship, housing, land rights, language,

culture, mobility, and so on.

In that way, Israel/Palestine is no different

from apartheid South Africa, where

privileged whites also enjoyed a degree of

communitarian democracy. But Western

hypocritical elites, who refer to "the one and

only democracy in the Middle East", never

spoke of "the only democracy in Africa".

Tomato, tomahto. To compensate for the

lack of true democracy, Israel holds

elections - spectacular elections. The more

THE news of the death of a fellow

journalist when it first reached us on

Monday last was our own, private

loss: the loss of those few in a large country

who earn their living from this profession

called journalism or media, for only we are

aware of the challenges and risks we face,

regardless of the side we may or may not

pick. Good or bad journalism, partisan or

objective, nothing can guarantee safety. But

still, compared to threats, beatings, loss of a

job, Arshad Sharif's death was the

unkindest cut of all.

Within hours of this news, it was clear

that this was not going to be a choti si

kahani (short story) concerning only us.

The heavens themselves blazed forth his

death, to paraphrase Shakespeare, and for

an entire week, it seemed as if the already

fraught political situation was made all the

more volatile by the news from Kenya.

Perhaps, someone more knowledgeable

can explain in the coming days the

outpouring of grief which seemed to cross

cities, professions and distances. People

travelled to Islamabad for his funeral,

which according to some accounts was one

of the biggest ever held at Faisal Mosque,

where men and women gathered to say

namaz. And the slogans raised there that

day belonged not to any party, but to an

angry populace, most of whom were

unfamiliar to Arshad's friends and family.

By turning up there, they made it clear that

they, too, had a claim on him. But

elsewhere, politics was reaching a

crescendo.

Imran Khan chose the same week to

announce his long march and on the day of

the funeral itself came an even bigger

surprise - a press conference addressed by

the DG ISI. It was a first by all accounts. For

despite the central and high-profile role of

The warning lights are blinking on the

dashboard of the world economy.

Germany has slashed its economic

outlook for the next two years, predicting

negative growth in 2022. Britain is also

forecasting contractions as it struggles to

stay on top of skyrocketing bond yields.

Inflation in the US is at a four-decade high,

and the Federal Reserve's aggressive

interest-rate increases are exporting

monetary pain far and wide.

As European economies begin a gradual

slide into recession, all eyes are now turning

to Asia. The world's most populous

continent has established itself as an

economic linchpin, sheltered from the worst

elections it holds, the crueller and more

fragmented they become. As I wrote after

the last election, "personal ambition trumps

politics, and politicking outweighs ideology"

in today's Israel.

The fragmentation gives the country an

allure of plurality and diversity, especially in

contrast to the first three decades of the

Israeli state, when Labour predictably won

every election. But in recent years, the Right

has become as dominant as Labour was,

albeit with more screaming, slights and

slurs.

Cruelty has become Israel's national sport.

Indeed, "Israel's politics is crueller than

most", according to Benjamin Netanyahu.

He should know; he's the champ. Cruelty

comes in two strands: political vitriol and

racist violence. Both flare up like fireworks

with each election season, which comes as

often as spring or summer these days.

It is no surprise then, that as the

November 1 election approached, the fifth in

four years, the country's political discourse

turned poisonous. Where Israel's racist

leaders fall short on political disagreement,

they make up for it in personal insults and

character assassination. "Scum of the

human race", "pathological liar", "assassin",

and "fascist" are some of the milder

language animating Israel's electoral

spectacle.

Even accusations of Nazism and anti-

Semitism have been hurled again and again

by fanatics from the religious and secular

camps. It is these types of accusations the

Netanyahu camp whipped up in the mid-

1990s that led to the assassination of then

MArwAN BisHArA

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin for daring to

advance the peace process without a clear

Jewish majority in the Knesset.

Crude racism against the Palestinians is as

certain to accompany the election season as

winter cold and summer heat. But there is

an exception to the rule - if or when

Palestinians betray their conscience in

return for table crumbs; these "good Arabs"

are appreciated like the house slave, Stephen

Warren, in Quentin Tarantino's film Django

Unchained.

Cruel violence is likewise predictable

during election season as we have witnessed

in the past. In a ritualistic projection of

machoism and bravado, Israel has

bombarded the besieged Gaza, invaded and

Cruelty has become israel's national sport. indeed,

"israel's politics is crueller than most", according to

Benjamin Netanyahu. He should know; he's the

champ. Cruelty comes in two strands: political vitriol

and racist violence. Both flare up like fireworks with

each election season, which comes as often as spring

or summer these days.

economic ramifications of the crisis created

by Russia's invasion of Ukraine by its

booming labor market, abundant mineral

and energy resources, and technological

innovations.

But confidence in the institutions of

capitalism is being steadily eroded in many

Asian countries, where multinational

behemoths have engorged themselves on

the continent's plentiful assets for years,

leaving environmental damage, poverty,

and lawsuits in their wake.

Such behavior lays a time bomb in global

supply chains, imperiling not only local ways

of life and ecosystems, but indirectly

threatening the whole global economy by

THEo NorMANToN

re-invaded Palestinian towns and refugee

camps in the occupied West Bank, killed and

imprisoned thousands of Palestinian

civilians, destroyed countless homes, and

terrorised an entire people under the pretext

of combatting terrorism.

And so, a year after Netanyahu's minions

took over from him, their coalition

government has proved just as bad, if not

worse. Naftali Bennett and Avigdor

Lieberman, who in the past served as

Netanyahu's chiefs of staff, Gideon Sa'ar,

who was his cabinet secretary, and Yair

Lapid and Benny Gantz, who were ministers

in his cabinet, have repeated Netanyahu's

crimes and follies in the occupied

Palestinian territories.

The apples do not fall far from the tree.

Their government bombarded Gaza,

reinvaded West Bank cities, expanded illegal

settlements and blocked all paths to a

Shock and awe

most of our previous ISI heads, no one can

remember one ever addressing a press

conference. And this from someone, who

has had his images removed from pictures

which had to be released publicly.

The historic press conference continues

to be discussed days after it was held.

The intel chief and the DG ISPR spoke in

detail about Imran Khan, the PTI

government's removal and their denial of

the foreign conspiracy of regime change.

Shock and awe aside, the historic press

conference continues to be discussed days

after it was held.

But it was not just an extraordinary press

conference; one may be allowed to say it

appeared to be a defensive one. For what

else could one call it when two senior

officials face the cameras after three days of

what appeared to be a widespread outburst

at the death of a journalist. And it came just

an hour or so before his funeral.

That it was felt necessary for such a

formal and official response to the

allegations surrounding Arshad Sharif's

death suggests there was some concern

about what was being said - that he had left

because of falling out with the

establishment. After all, in our difficult

past, there have been tragic deaths of

journalists and allegations too.

But this time around, the establishment's

ArifA Noor

reaction was unprecedented. It has been

said that the sombre interaction on

Thursday afternoon was carried out to not

just communicate with Pakistanis but also

their own. And that it needed to be done

publicly. Indeed, for the head of the spy

agency to say he kept his men out of the

inquiry commission to ensure its

independence in itself said much about the

institution's concern over existing

perceptions.

This is further reinforced by the fact that on Thursday itself, the

military's press conference was followed by multiple press conferences

by government officials but not a single one of them was memorable. No

one remembers even the identity of the ministers who spoke on

Thursday but the presser is still being discussed.

This is not to say that the rest of the

conference was any less newsworthy, for it

was a back and forth on the tense political

situation, while those speaking kept

declaring their distance from the mess. This

included the long march, the regime

change theory as well as the issue of the

chief's extension.

But the biggest loser of this afternoon was

undoubtedly the government. That the

security establishment had to come out and

refute Imran Khan's regime change story is

basically an admission that the government

of 13 parties was unable to do this. It will

now be hard to refute the conclusion that

the government did not succeed in

countering Khan's bayania (narrative) and

the men in uniform had to do it themselves

after six months of letting the parties

handle it.

This is further reinforced by the fact that

sowing mistrust and resentment toward

globalization, the countries they represent,

and even capitalism itself.

If the coming economic crisis has an

upside, it will be the opportunity it affords us

to pause and assess the strengths and

failures of the established modus operandi.

With any luck, 2022 will be remembered as

the year that multinationals in Asia began to

compromise on profits in the name of

sustainability.

Multinationals behaving badly in Asia is

nothing new. They established themselves

as the 17th century, when the Dutch East

India Trading Company was formed as the

world's first joint-stock company. It soon

negotiated settlement.

The "moderate" Gantz, who bragged

about flattening whole residential

neighbourhoods in Gaza when he was the

military chief of staff, was at it again in 2021,

overseeing more devastation, this time as

Israeli minister of defence. Most recently, he

nominated an illegal settler as the new

military chief of staff.

No surprise then, that "the prince of

darkness and hate", Benjamin Netanyahu is

expected to win a sixth term as prime

minister, despite his indictment for breach

of trust, accepting bribes, and fraud. If he

does, Netanyahu is sure to form a "national

immunity government" that ensures he

stays out of prison. His alliance with farright

parties, like Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma

Yehudit (Jewish Strength), might also try to

weaken the supreme court and the judiciary

by subjugating them to its parliamentary

majority. Former Prime Minister Ehud

Barak has recently condemned the "unholy

alliance between Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir

and the messianic racists" as the "true threat

to the State of Israel", and predicted that its

victory may usher "a period of darkness".

Cruel, perhaps, but merited.

To be sure, Netanyahu has repeatedly

slated Barak and worse. In his recently

published autobiographical monstrosity,

Bibi, the spinner-in-chief trashes many if

not most of his predecessors, successors,

and former partners and interlocutors. The

book's 736 pages are full of lies, half-truths,

and hyperboles, as well as conceit, selfimportance

and delusion, but I will leave

that matter for another day.

Such is the dreadful state of "Israeli

democracy" today. Far right fanatics and

bloody generals dominate the absolute

majority of seats in the Israeli parliament

and compete for the seats of the terribly

shrinking Left. The more elections Israel

holds the less democratic and more despotic

it becomes towards the Palestinians, alas.

Marwan Bishara is an author who writes

extensively on global politics and is widely

regarded as a leading authority on US

foreign policy, the Middle East and

international strategic affairs.

on Thursday itself, the military's press

conference was followed by multiple press

conferences by government officials but not

a single one of them was memorable. No

one remembers even the identity of the

ministers who spoke on Thursday but the

presser is still being discussed.

There is another aspect to this also. The

officers spoke frankly about past politics

and 'mistakes', which is being interpreted

as the institution's decision to support

Khan during the 2018 election. And with

this context, which was also highlighted

during the question-and-answer session,

their recounting of the story about how

Imran Khan was willing to offer an

unlimited extension to the army chief in

exchange for staying in power may do more

than just reflect on the former prime

minister.

For his supporters and others, this will

simply reinforce the messaging of the PTI

that the vote of no-confidence was not

simply an organic, democratic move

planned and carried out by the PDM

parties. And that it was somehow linked to

the institution itself.

This perception has become news due to

the press conference of Thursday. Not just

because of what was said but because of the

government itself which is also constantly

talking about the appointment. When

Imran Khan says he doesn't want the

government to appoint the army chief and

the prime minister responds by saying he

will consult no one on the appointment of

the army chief, they are both creating a link

between the political situation at the

moment and the appointment. And so did

the press conference on Thursday.

The writer is a journalist.

Time for multinationals to change their record on Asia

began vying with other colonial businesses

in Asia, such as the British East India

Company, with both engaging in a moral

race to the bottom and carving out corporate

fiefdoms in the name of their governments.

These companies were actively involved in

the slave trade, shipping millions of Africans

around the world for the purposes of trade

or unpaid labor. India and Indonesia both

became hubs in this egregious market, and

locals were systematically enslaved and put

to work in inhumane conditions in service of

the companies' profits.

Theo Normanton is the Moscow

correspondent for bne IntelliNews.

FrIDAY, NOvEMBEr 4, 2022

5

India-Iran ties are set for a new direction

Rajeev Agarwal

Iran's Foreign Minister Dr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was

on an official visit to India from June 8 to 10, during which

he held talks with Dr. S. Jaishankar, the Indian external

affairs minister. This was his first visit to India since

assuming office in August 2021 and comes at a crucial

juncture amid geopolitical churn not only in the region but

across the globe.

Amir-Abdollahian also called on Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi, a privilege not accorded to all visiting

foreign ministers. Tweeting on the meeting, Modi

highlighted how "relations have mutually benefitted both the

countries and have promoted regional security and

prosperity."

The official statement released by the Ministry of External

Affairs highlighted the exchange of views on important issues

like the Iran nuclear deal, the Ukraine conflict, and the

situation in Afghanistan. India "appreciated the role of Iran

in facilitating India's medical assistance to Afghanistan,

including supply of COVID-19 vaccines to Afghan nationals

residing in Iran." In addition, all bilateral issues including

cooperation in the field of regional connectivity and the

progress made at the Chabahar port were reviewed. Exuding

confidence at the outcome of the visit, the Iranian foreign

minister said that "preparing a roadmap for strategic

cooperation between Iran and India can regulate long-term

relations and protect it from the impact of destructive

factors."

India and Iran share close historical ties from the times of

Persian Empire and Indian kingdoms. Iran is an important

nation in India's neighborhood and in fact, the two countries

shared a border until India's partition and independence in

1947. Iran is also important to India as it provides an

alternate route of connectivity to Afghanistan and Central

Asian republics, in the absence of permission for India to use

the land route through Pakistan.

ndia-Iran relations have, however, witnessed ups and

down over the decades, mostly owing to factors that go

beyond strictly bilateral issues, like the stoppage of oil

imports from Iran after May 2019 owing to U.S. sanctions

following the revocation of the Iran nuclear deal, India's close

relations with Israel, and Iran's ties with China, including

signing a 25-year strategic partnership agreement. There are

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-

Abdollahian in New Delhi, India, June 8, 2022.

Photo: Twitter

other sticky issues, too, like Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen

launching drone attacks against Saudi Arabia and UAE, both

close partners to India, or Iran's statement on the Modi

government's abrogation of Article 370 of Indian

Constitution, which gave special status to Kashmir. Iran on

its end has not taken kindly to India succumbing to

international pressure of sanctions on Iran. However, both

countries have tried to keep their engagement above such

occurrences and maintain a cordial trajectory of bilateral ties.

Despite the rather subdued engagement with Iran, there

are a number of areas of convergence and enhanced

engagement for India to consider. Afghanistan presents one

such opportunity. The Taliban government has largely been

isolated since it took over Kabul in August 2021. Iran was one

of the few countries that did not withdraw its embassy from

Kabul and has continued to keep its channels of

communication open with the Taliban. India, on the other

hand, was quick to wind up its embassy in Kabul but has now

indicated that it is keen to reopen its embassy in some form

shortly. A delegation from India met the Taliban foreign

minister in Kabul on June 2. Iran and India have

collaborated already in the past on Afghanistan and Iran's

role as a viable direct land route to Afghanistan is

undisputable. India and Iran have the potential to forge a

common and effective policy of engagement with

Afghanistan in the future.

The Iran nuclear deal, which is at a stage of impasse, offers

the next opportunity for convergence between India and

Iran. Eight rounds of talks in Vienna since April 2021 have

not yielded any positive results. Any hopes of an early

resolution were dashed by the recent announcement by the

IAEA on June 6 that it had adopted a resolution formally

criticizing Iran for a lack of cooperation. The resolution was

supported by the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany and

opposed by Russia and China. On the same day, the Terrorist

Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), a group of countries led

by the U.S. and Gulf nations, sanctioned three individuals

associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-

Qods Force (IRGC-QF). It may be recalled that the

designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization is one of

the major sticking points between the United States and Iran

on the nuclear deal.

No nuclear deal means no lifting of economic sanctions on

Iran and no crude oil exports from Iran. India, which has

stressed exercising its strategic autonomy while importing oil

from Russia amid sanctions on Russia due to its war with

Ukraine, could explore a similar decision point in Iran,

opening up a huge potential for trade and cooperation.

The rebalancing taking shape in the West Asian region too

offers great potential to strengthen India-Iran ties. For a long

time, India's growing ties with the Gulf countries, especially

Saudi Arabia and the UAE were seen as a "zero sum game"

pitted against their rivalry with Iran. Things are, however,

changing in the region rapidly.

The reluctance of the United States to remain actively

engaged in the Middle East has also made the nations in the

region think about alternatives. In a move that could indicate

breaking away from the U.S. dominance in the region Saudi

Arabia and the UAE, despite being key allies of the United

States in the region, have declined requests by Washington to

scale up oil production in the wake of Russia's war on

Ukraine, in order to lower the global price of crude oil.

On the other hand, sponsored by Iraq, Iran and Saudi

Arabia have held their fifth round of talks recently and seem

positive about reconciliation. The ceasefire in Yemen,

announced during Ramadan this year, is holding and Rashad

Al-Alimi, chairman of the newly established Yemeni

presidential council, is hopeful about finding a peaceful

solution to Yemen's seven-year war and humanitarian crisis.

The UAE and Qatar have held good talks with Iran. Iranian

President Ebrahim Raisi has already visited Qatar and Oman

this year. Syria and Iraq are slowly consolidating and are

positively disposed toward Iran.

Taiwan's KMT looks to

boost ties with US

KMT Chair Eric Chu gives an address at the Brookings Institution in

Washington, D.C., June 6, 2022.

Photo: Facebook

HIrO Fu

"We are here. We are back,"

said Eric Chu, the chairman of

Taiwan's largest opposition

party, the Kuomintang (KMT),

in a speech given to U.S.-based

party members during a

banquet in northern California

on Thursday, June 3.

"The KMT's pro-American

stance has never changed

since the founding of the party.

The KMT is not only friendly

with the U.S., but is more

capable of communication and

coordination on cross-strait

relations to avoid war," Chu

said.

While the KMT has long

been criticized as a party stuck

in the past, the chairman's 12-

day trip to the U.S has leaned

heavily - but selectively - into

the party's history to highlight

the themes of consistency and

American-friendliness.

The main purpose of Chu's

U.S. trip was to attend the

plaque-unveiling ceremony at

the KMT's reopened liaison

office in Washington, but

critics across the aisle have

called the trip one of

"amending" the party's soured

relations with the U.S. after

years of pushing an anti-

American line.

The KMT's role in backing a

2021 referendum against

ractopamine pork imports,

largely from the U.S., has often

been cited as clear evidence of

the party's distrust of the

country. Coupled with the

KMT's many instances of close

association with the Chinese

Communist Party (CCP), the

pro-China and anti-America

label has stuck.

n response to the criticism,

Chu pointed fingers back at the

ruling Democratic Progressive

Party (DPP), rebuking the

party's "yearslong smear

campaign" against the KMT in

Washington, D.C. The KMT

shut down its Washington

office in 2008, when it re-took

the presidency; the DPP,

meanwhile, opened its own

office in the U.S. capital in

2013.

According to KMT Vice

Chairman Andrew Hsia, who

is also part of the delegation,

Chu's mission includes

demonstrating commitment

to U.S. ties and dispelling lies

that "the party is anti-

American" by stepping up

communication with U.S.

politicians, local media, and

think tanks.

Regardless of what the party

claims, the pro-Chinese and

anti-American label has been

one that the KMT has

struggled to shake. This was

most evident in 2020, when

President Tsai Ing-wen's

landslide reelection was

interpreted as Taiwanese

taking a stand against pressure

from Beijing.

Using the media and official

platforms provided to him

now as the opposition party

chairman, Chu repeatedly

stresses that the KMT has been

consistently pro-democracy,

pro-America, and prostability.

Despite all the talk of

consistency, there has been a

notable shift in the party's

messaging on this trip.

Touching down in San

Francisco on the morning of

June 3, the KMT delegation

first paid respect to the Dr. Sun

Yat-sen Memorial Hall of San

Francisco. This was a selective

and symbolic start to the

party's trip in the U.S.

During an interview, Chu

highlighted the KMT founder's

deep connections to the U.S.,

where Sun spent years

fundraising for the revolution

against the Chinese Qing

empire. Chu even compared

the similarities between Sun's

political philosophy of the

"Three Principles of the People

(san min zhu yi)" and U.S.

President Abraham Lincoln's

notion of "government of the

people, by the people, for the

people" from the Gettysburg

Address.

These references to the

KMT's origins are intended to

highlight the party's history of

supporting democracy and

standing up to

authoritarianism, and later the

CCP, both of which align with

U.S. interests.

Similarly, Chu has

repeatedly used phrases such

as "since the beginning" and

"consistently" in speeches and

interviews to describe the

party's attitude toward the

U.S.

"We are a pro-U.S. party -

forever." Chu said in his

speech at the Brookings

Institution on June 6, "we are

not the so-called anti-U.S.

party. That is totally wrong."

Chu began his speech by

describing the many changes

in the international

environment during what he

calls "turbulent times." From

the rise of populism and

Brexit, the China-U.S. trade

war under the Trump

administration, to the more

recent COVID-19 pandemic

and Russian invasion of

Ukraine, what has not

changed, as Chu claims, is the

KMT's pro-U.S. stance.

According to the chairman's

speech, the KMT has not only

been pro-U.S. and supportive

of democracy and peace, but

has been deeply

misunderstood after being

mischaracterized by the media

and other political players.

Of course, the narrative

pitched by Chu runs contrary

to the many instances in which

the KMT has acted

inconsistently with the values

of its founder. Most notably

missing from Chu's cherrypicked

history lesson on the

party is 30 years of martial law

under the KMT regime in

Taiwan during the White

Terror.

Similarly swept under the

rug are the KMT's party

members who closely

associate themselves with the

CCP and support the cause of

"reunification." Recently,

former KMT chair Hung Hsiuchu

visited Xinjiang and

praised China's "antiterrorism"

efforts in the

region.

The party leadership could

attempt to dismiss its pro-

Chinese members as mere

outliers, but the reverse could

as easily be true - pro-

American members may be in

the minority. Despite Chu's

attempt to set the record

straight, his grasp on the party

can be tenuous at times, which

is only further complicated by

his hopes to maintain

communication and

coordination with China.

The single, consistent

narrative the KMT puts

forward is simply too good to

be true. Even with the best

intentions, the KMT cannot

undo its complex history in

Taiwan. However, the party's

inconsistent past does not

necessarily inform its future.

The KMT delegation

members, apart from Chu,

Hsia, and Head of

International Affairs

Alexander Huang, average an

age of under 40, a significant

deviation from the KMT's past

image of an aging party.

Will China-Nepal railway

see the light of hope?

BISWAS BArAl

The story starts in

December 1975, during the

trip to China of U.S.

President Gerald Ford. As

first reported in the BBC,

Ford and his secretary of

state, Henry Kissinger, were

talking to Deng Xiaoping,

the vice premier of China.

With his trip coming shortly

after India's annexation of

the Kingdom of Sikkim,

Ford asked Deng if India

would now look to invade

Nepal.

Assuring the American

duo that China is doing all it

can to prevent such an

eventuality, Deng added,

"…but what we can do is

quite limited. Perhaps

things will get better when

our railroad into Tibet is

accomplished."

China seems to have

understood the strategic

value of a trans-border

railway to Nepal, by way of

Tibet, even back then. But

the idea of that extended

Chinese rail-line was put on

hold until China was better

equipped to take up such an

ambitious enterprise.

That seems to have been

the Chinese calculation, at

least. But the trans-border

railway entered public

debate in Nepal only in 2016

when Nepali Prime Minister

K.P. Oli visited China to sign

the historic Trade and

Transit Treaty.

There was no agreement

on a cross-border railway at

the time. Yet the historic

2016 treaty did allow Nepal

to use Chinese territory for

third-country trade. India

had at the time blockaded

Nepal - for the third time -

when Kathmandu refused

to heed Indian concerns

over the new charter the

land-locked country was

drafting. The treaty with

China, Nepalis were made to

believe, would be a

guarantee against another

blockade from their fickle

southern neighbor.

Of course, a trade and

transit agreement is of little

use unless there is

infrastructure to actually

transport Nepali goods to

China and beyond.

When Oli again visited

China in 2018 after being reelected

prime minister, the

two sides hammered out an

MOU on "Cooperation for

Railway Connectivity"

under China's Belt and Road

Initiative.

The next stop in the

China-Nepal railway plan

was Chinese President Xi

Jinping's 2019 visit to Nepal,

when there was yet another

agreement on a feasibility

study, "which will lay an

important foundation to

launching the construction

of the Cross-Border

Railway."

It was during this trip that

Xi also promised to

transform Nepal "from a

land-locked country to a

land-linked country."

But, again, there was little

progress. The COVID-19

pandemic played spoilsport

as bilateral engagements

came to a near-halt. Another

cause for the delay was a

change of guard in

Kathmandu in May 2021

when Nepal's Supreme

Court effectively booted Oli

out of power and installed

Sher Bahadur Deuba of the

Nepali Congress in his place.

While the Oli-led Nepal

Communist Party, which

had come into being partly

at China's behest, was

openly Sinophilic, the new

prime minister from a

different party chose to inch

closer to the West and India.

Deuba let it be known that

Nepal was not interested in

building the railway with

Chinese loans - but he was

game if China was prepared

to fund the project through

grants.

The Deuba government

also successfully pushed the

American MCC compact

through the Nepali

parliament, much to the

chagrin of China, which saw

the agreement as a part of

the U.S. Indo-Pacific

Strategy intended to curb

China's rise.

Chinese Foreign Minister

Wang Yi then rushed to

Nepal to feel Deuba's pulse

at the end of March 2022.

China agreed to help with a

"technical study" of the

railway.

Whether one supports the

project or not, extending the

Golmud-Lhasa-Shigatse

railway into Nepal will not

be easy, under any

government. There are still

doubts over its technical

feasibility, its ability to

carefully navigate the fragile

ecology and rugged terrains

of the Himalayas, and its

huge cost (around $5

billion).

Rupak Sapkota, ex-deputy

director at the Institute of

Foreign Affairs under

Nepal's foreign ministry and

a China hand, refuses to

believe there has been no

progress on the railway. The

pre-feasibility study has

been completed, he pointed

out, and the feasibility study

Xi outlined in his 2019

Nepal visit could soon be

underway.

But will the Chinese build

the rail line using grants? It

is not that they cannot do so,

Sapkota said of the railway,

90 percent of which will be

bridges and tunnels. "But

they worry about the

precedent it will set in their

dealings with other

infrastructure-hungry

countries in the region," he

added.

This is only one part of the

calculation, however.

Beijing could still agree to a

railway deal favorable to

Nepal, considering the

project's strategic value as

China's "gateway into South

Asia."

Sapkota sees Xi's

statement about making

Nepal a land-linked country

as meaningful. Coming from

the Chinese president, it was

a loaded statement, "an

indication of the strong

Chinese commitment to

connecting with Nepal," he

said.

Perhaps as a sign of this

commitment, in August

2021, China started working

on the 70-kilometer stretch

that will extend the Golmud-

Lhasa-Shigatse railway to

Kerung on the China-Nepal

border. After its completion,

Kathmandu will be just 100

kilometers away.

The railway's arrival in

Kerung will itself be a gamechanger,

said Nischchal

Nath Pandey, director of the

Kathmandu-based Center

for South Asian Studies

think tank. "But what

happens when the rail

touches the Nepali border?

We have to build a station, a

customs point. Where is the

planning?"

In such a state of chaos,

Pandey argued, the idea of

extending the railway to

Kathmandu is like "trying to

run before you learn to

walk."

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Nepal's then-Prime

Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.

Photo: AP

FRIdAy, NoveMBeR 4, 2022

6

Raujan (Chittagong): A joyous procession on the occasion of Planning Student Convention-2022 for

the first time in the country.

Photo: Gazi Joynal Abedin

CUET holds Planning Student

Convention-2022

GAzI JoyNAL ABedIN, RAozAN CoRReSPoNdeNT:

The 2-day Planning Student

Convention-2022 has started at

Chattogram University of Engineering

and Technology (CUET) for the first

time in the country with the

participation of 7 public universities.

On November 3 in the Central

Auditorium of the University the

convention was held in a joint initiative

of the Department of Urban and

Regional Planning (URP) of CUET and

Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP).

The chief guest at the opening

ceremony of the convention was the

vice chancellor of CUET Mohammad

Rafiqul Alam.

He said, "There is no alternative to

sustainable development planning in a

densely populated country like

Free eye camp

held in Debiganj

PANCHAGARH: A daylong

free eye camp was held

on the premises of Green

Residential Model School

and College in Debiganj

upazila of the district

yesterday, reports BSS.

Debiganj Upazila Parishad

and Dinajpur Gousil Azom

BNSB Eye Hospital have

jointly organized the eye

camp with the help of

Andheri Hilfe Bonn

(Germany).

Upazila Nirbahi Officer

(UNO) of Debiganj Md.

Golam Ferdous inaugurated

the eye camp as the chief

guest.

Municipality Mayor Abu

Bakkar Siddik, Eye camp

arrangement committee

member and panel

chairman of upazila

parishad Babul Hussein

Sarker were present.

About 500 hundred poor

eye patient were given free

eye treatment after

examining their eye. Of

them, 80 poor patients

underwent cataract

operation.

A total of seven doctors led

by Dr Fahomida Nasmin

conducted the camp.

Jail killing Day

observed in Jamalpur

JAMALPUR: Jail Killing

Day was observed in the

district in a befitting manner

yesterday, reports BSS.

On November 3 in 1975,

four national leaders and

heroes of the country's

Liberation War -- Syed

Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin

Ahmad, Captain Mansur Ali

and AHM Quamruzzaman--

were assassinated inside the

Dhaka Central Jail.

District Awami League

took out various

programmes including

hoisting flags, placing floral

wreaths and discussion

meeting to mark the day.

The Awami League hoisted

national, party and black flags

at half-mast on the party

office premises in Bakultola

area in the town.

It was followed by paying

homage by placing wreaths at

the portrait of Bangabandhu

and four leaders.

Bangladesh. Without sustainable and

innovative planning, no development

will be successful. In the current reality,

that development must also be

environmentally friendly. Bangladesh

is now moving from Digital Bangladesh

to Smart Bangladesh. Our universities

are working towards the

implementation of Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina's vision "Village will be a

city". Our young planners need to focus

on research and innovation."

President of Bangladesh Institute of

Planners (BIP) Mohammad Fazle Reza

Sumon presided over and URP

Assistant Professor ATM Shahjahan

moderated the convention where

Commodore Mohammad Nurul

Abshar (NGP, NDC, PSC), Chairman of

Cox's Bazar Development Authority

(NGP, NDC, PSC), Dean of

Architecture and Planning Faculty of

CUET Dr. Mohammad Kamrul Hasan,

convening planner of the convention

organizing committee, Prof. Dr. M.

Shafiq-ur-Rahman were present as

special guests.

CUET City and Regional Planning

Department Head Professor Dr.

Muhammad Rashidul Hasan gave

welcome speech.

Prior to the seminar at 9:30 am, the

opening day was heralded by the flying

of the dove as a symbol of peace and a

joyous rally in front of the

administrative building of CUET. The

rally proceeded from the

Administration Building to the Civil

Engineering Building and ended at the

URP Building. Students, teachers and

officials of different universities along

with invited guests participated in it.

The court ordered life imprisonment to 5 defendants in the three rape

cases in Sunamganj.

Photo: AK Milon

5 people sentenced to life

imprisonment in Sunamganj

AK MILoN, SUNAMGANJ CoRReSPoNdeNT:

The court ordered life imprisonment to 5

defendants in the three rape cases in

Sunamganj. Judge Zakir Hossain of

Sunamganj Women and Children Torture

Prevention Tribunal gave this verdict on

Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, in 2012,

the court sentenced 4 people to life

imprisonment in the sensational case of

mass rape in the shrine area of "Shah Arefin

Shah" in Tahirpur of the district and

spreading the video on the Internet. Besides,

Judge Zakir Hossain ordered life

imprisonment to another person in the case

of kidnapping and raping a girl child in

Chhatak. Meanwhile, the court sentenced

the bus driver Shaheed to 5 years

imprisonment for saving the life of the girl

after jumping from the bus during the

attempted rape of a college girl in a moving

bus in Dirai. Lawyers for the defendants

claimed that the verdict was unfair. Nantu

Roy, the public prosecutor of the Women

and Child Abuse Prevention Tribunal, said

they were happy with the verdict.

In Tahirpur upazila of Sunamganj, the second RAMSAR site and protected

wetland known as Mother Fisheries, Tanguar Haor, banned konazal and

China duari nets worth about 10 lakh 10 thousand taka was seized by the

mobile court in the operation.

Photo: Jahangir Alom Bhuiya

Tributes paid to

four slain national

leaders in Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI: People of all

walks of life including

different political parties,

educational institutions,

corporate bodies and sociocultural

organizations here

today paid glowing tributes

to the four slain national

leaders on the occasion of

the Jail Killing Day, reports

BSS.

Marking the day, huge

wreaths were placed on the

grave of Shaheed AHM

Kamaruzzaman, one of the

four national leaders, in

city's Kadirganj family

graveyard besides

garlanding of portraits of

Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman and four

national leaders at Awami

League's party office.

Rajshahi City Corporation

(RCC) observed the Jail

Killing Day paying rich

tribute to the four national

leaders, assassinated inside

the Dhaka Central Jail on

this day in 1975.

Several mourning rallies

were brought out and

marched toward the grave of

Shaheed

AHM

Kamaruzzaman to pay

homage to the national

leader.

City Mayor and Presidium

Member of Bangladesh

Awami League AHM

Khairuzzaman Liton, eldest

son of Shaheed AHM

Kamaruzzaman, along with

his office colleagues and

employees placed wreaths

on the grave and offered

prayers there.

A blood donation

programme was also held at

the city bhaban premises

followed by a discussion and

doa mahfil.

After Zuhr prayers, milad

and doa mahfil was held at

Sonamasjid Jame Mosque

and city bhaban wakita

mosque and other ward level

mosques.

City and district units of

Bangladesh Awami League

and its associate bodies

observed the day through

various programmes and

paid rich homage to the

martyred.

BNP leaders

gathering in Barishal

for upcoming rally

Md SHAH JALAL, BARISHAL

CoRReSPoNdeNT:

On the occasion of the

November 5 rally of BNP in

Barishal, BNP workers have

started coming to Barishal

from other districts of

Barishal through different

means, especially since

Bhola area of Barishal

division is a riverside area,

many leaders and activists

are coming to Barishal by

road by boat. On the other

hand, construction of stage

is going on in a part of

Bangabandhu Udyan. And

all the work is supervised by

the activists. The work of

installing banners, festoons,

panaflux on the surrounding

roads including the rally

ground is going on in full

swing. The central leaders

say that there will be no

benefit by stopping the

transport; the activists have

already taken up their

position in Barishal city.

Along with that, if

necessary, the leaders and

activists will come by seatrawlers

and bicycles on the

road, and if there is a

problem with that, they will

come on foot. BNP leaders

said that after getting the

permission for the rally, they

started the ground

preparation work by visiting

the rally venue on Tuesday.

The work of preparing the

BNP stage at the rally venue

started from Wednesday

afternoon. And BNP leaders

are taking care of these

works from present.

Besides, preparatory

meetings are being held at

the gathering place from

time to time. Leaders and

activists are traveling there

from different places on

motorcycles and on foot.

BU observes Jail killing day

On the occasion of Jail killing day, a

discussion meeting has been organized

under the initiative of Barishal University

Teachers Association. The discussion

meeting was held on November 3, 2022 in

the Kirtankhola auditorium of the university.

The chief guest was the Vice-Chancellor of

Barishal University, Professor Dr. Md.

Sadequl Arefin.

President of the Barishal University

Teachers Association and Associate

Professor of the Marketing Department Md.

Abdul Qayyum chaired the meeting and

Treasurer of Barishal University

Mohammad Badruzzaman Bhuiyan and

Dean of Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Professor Dr. Mohsinuddin were present as

special guests. In the speech of the chief

guest, the Vice Chancellor said, the four

national leaders were very honest, simple,

trustworthy, prudent and far-sighted.

He exhorted all, including the young

generation, to follow these qualities of a

national leader. In the meeting, among

others, Associate Professor of

Mathematics and Vice-President of the

Teachers' Association Dr. Bijan Krishna

Saha, Associate Professor, Department of

English, Bangabandhu Hall's Provost and

Teacher's Committee Member Md. Arif

Hossain, Assistant Professor of Geology

and Mining Department, Shere Bangla

Hall's Provost and Teacher's Committee

Member Abu Zafor Mia and Barishal

University Officers' Association General

secretary Abu Hasan.

Editor-in-Chief of the Teachers'

Association and Associate Professor of the

Department of History Mohammad Abdul

Baten Chowdhury, the leaders of the

teachers' committee of the university along

with the teachers, officers and employees

were present in the discussion meeting

conducted by.

A discussion meeting has been organized under the initiative of Barishal

University Teachers Association on Thursday.

Photo: Courtesy

BNP leader Salimullah Lavloo's

burial completed

ARAFAT AL-AMIN, MATLAB CoRReSPoNdeNT:

Fatepur West Union BNP General Secretary

Salimullah Lavlu of Chandpur's Matlab

Uttar Upazila has been buried after the

funeral. On Thursday, people of all walks of

life participated in the funeral prayer in the

premises of Mojaddediya High School

adjacent to Mandartali Bazar. After the

funeral prayers, the leaders of Matlab Uttar

Upazila BNP paid tribute with flowers. After

the funeral prayers, Salimullah Lavlu's body

was buried in the social cemetery.

Thousands of leaders and activists came to

pay their last respects to this popular leader

of Union BNP.

Member of the Central Executive

Committee of Bangladesh Nationalist Party

(BNP) Dr. Alhaj Jalal Uddin and Tanveer

Huda, son of former Minister of State for

Establishment Nurul Huda, participated in

the funeral prayers and expressed their

deepest condolences to the bereaved family.

Matlab Uttar Upazila BNP President Adv.

participated in the funeral prayer. Fazlul

Haque Sarkar Hannan, General Secretary

Nurul Haque Jitu, Former General Secretary

Alamgir Sarkar, Chhengarchar Municipal

BNP General Secretary Jahangir Pradhan,

BNP Leader SM Jahangir Alam Pradhan,

Upazila BNP Organizing Secretary Mian

Manjur Amin Swapan, Upazila Juba Dal

President Khairul Hasan Benu, General

Secretary Rashed Zaman Tipu, Jubo Dal

leader Faisal Ahmed Sohail, Jubo Dal leader

Noman Hossain, Jubo Dal leader Momin

Sarkar, Upazila Chhatra Dal president Nurul

Huda Faizi, Chhatra Dal leader Joynal

Patwari and hundreds of activists.

Someone killed him and left him on the

side of the road of his house in the night of

November 1. Later on the morning of

November 2, a van driver named Jahangir

Alam saw the body and called out. Later

Matlab North police station recovered his

frozen body and sent it for postmortem.

Later on Thursday, November 3, after the

funeral, the burial was completed.

Meanwhile, his wife, children and relatives

are almost mad after losing Salimullah

Lavloo prematurely. His death has cast a

shadow of mourning on all levels in the area.

Mandartali and the surrounding area

seemed to be paralyzed.

Fatepur West Union BNP General Secretary Salimullah Lavlu of Chandpur's

Matlab Uttar Upazila has been buried after the funeral. Photo: Arafat al-Amin

on the occasion of the November 5 rally of BNP in Barishal, BNP workers

have started coming to Barishal.

Photo: Md Shah Jalal

FrIdAy, noveMBer 4, 2022

7

The FBI has arrested two alleged members of the far-right anti-government group the Boogaloo Boys, with authorities increasingly

concerned about the potential for violence in the leadup to next week's midterm elections.

Photo : Internet

2 alleged 'boogaloo' members

arrested in Michigan and Ohio

DETROIT : The FBI has arrested two

alleged members of the far-right antigovernment

group the Boogaloo

Boys, with authorities increasingly

concerned about the potential for

violence in the leadup to next week's

midterm elections, reports UNB.

Timothy Teagan appeared

Wednesday in federal court in Detroit

on charges of being a drug user in

possession of firearms and

ammunition, and giving a false

statement in connection with the

acquisition of a firearm, according to

an unsealed federal complaint.

Meanwhile, the FBI said in a

criminal complaint filed Monday that

there was enough evidence to charge

Aron McKillips, of Sandusky, Ohio,

GD-1775/22 (5x3)

with illegal possession of a machine

gun and the interstate

communication of threats. It says

McKillips is a member of the

Boogaloo Boys and is believed to be in

a paramilitary group called the Sons

of Liberty.

The timing of the law enforcement

action is notable in part because it

comes just days before the midterm

elections. After the FBI searched his

home last month, Teagan told

documentarian Ford Fischer that

federal agents questioned him

specifically about potential violence

being planned ahead of the election.

"They were very, very particular

about questions involving anything

going on with the election," he said.

Warning that democracy itself is in peril, President Joe Biden called on

Americans Wednesday night to use their ballots in next week's midterm

elections to stand up against lies, violence and dangerous "ultra MAGA"

election disruptors who are trying to "succeed where they failed" in subverting

the 2020 elections.

Photo : Internet

538 02

"They were asking if I knew of any

violent plans or any violent

tendencies that could come forth

about the election. ... They were

asking if we had any plans to go to

polls armed."

Election workers have increasingly

been targeted by threats and

harassment since the 2020 election,

and it's gotten worse in recent weeks -

five people have already been charged

with intimidation.

Nationally, elections officials are

concerned about a flood of conspiracy

theorists signing up to work as poll

watchers, with some groups that have

trafficked in lies about the 2020

election recruiting and training

watchers.

Biden implores voters

to save democracy

from lies, violence

WASHINGTON : Warning

that democracy itself is in

peril, President Joe Biden

called on Americans

Wednesday night to use

their ballots in next week's

midterm elections to stand

up against lies, violence and

dangerous "ultra MAGA"

election disruptors who are

trying to "succeed where

they failed" in subverting the

2020 elections, reports

UNB.

This is no time to stand

aside, he declared. "Silence

is complicity."

After weeks of reassuring

talk about America's

economy and inflation,

Biden turned to a darker,

more urgent message,

declaring in the final days of

midterm election voting that

the nation's system of

governance is under threat

from former President

Donald Trump's electiondenying

lies and the violence

Biden said they inspire.

The president singled out

"ultra MAGA" Republicans -

a reference to Trump's

"Make America Great

Again" slogan - calling them

a minority but "driving

force" of the Republican

Party.

Pointing in particular to

last Friday's attack on House

Speaker Nancy Pelosi's

husband, Biden said that

Trump's false claims about a

stolen election have "fueled

the dangerous rise of

political violence and voter

intimidation over the past

two years."

"There's an alarming rise

in the number of people in

this country condoning

political violence or simply

remaining silent," Biden

added. "In our bones we

know democracy is at risk,

but we also know this: It's in

our power to preserve our

democracy."

The president's speech -

focused squarely on the rite

of voting and the counting of

that vote - amounted to a

plea for Americans to step

back from the inflamed

rhetoric that has heightened.

Powerball prize up to

$1.5 billion, 3rd-largest

ever in US

DES MOINES : The bad

news is that no one won

Wednesday night's huge $1.2

billion Powerball jackpot.

The good news is that

means the prize has grown

even larger to $1.5 billion

ahead of the next drawing

Saturday night. That is the

third-largest lottery prize in

U.S. history.

The numbers drawn

Wednesday night were: 2, 11,

22, 35, 60 and the red

powerball 23.

No one has won the top

Powerball prize since Aug. 3,

making for 39 consecutive

drawings without anyone

matching all six numbers.

What's behind three

months of lottery futility? It's

simple math. The odds of

winning the jackpot are an

abysmal 1 in 292.2 million.

It is because of those long

odds that the grand prize has

grown so large.

The new $1.5 billion prize is

actually for winners who opt

for an annuity, paid out

annually over 29 years.

Nearly all winners choose

cash, which for Saturday's

drawing would be $745.9

million.

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Norway brings climate

ambitions in line with EU

OSLO : Norway, the largest oil producer in

Western Europe, on Thursday announced it

intended to cut 1990 emissions levels "at least

55 percent" by 2030, in line with EU goals,

reports BSS.

Just days before the COP27 climate

conference in Egypt, the announcement is in

line with commitments made by the centreleft

coalition government when it took power

in 2021.

While not a member of the European

Union, the Scandinavian country's new target

brings Oslo in line with the overall target set by

the 27-member bloc. Oslo also announced

that it would present climate plans each year

going forward.

Norway's climate target was previously to

reduce emissions by between 50 and 55

percent of 1990 levels.

"This sends a strong signal to other

countries, and we hope that more will up their

targets," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store

said on Thursday.

Store's Labour Party and its ally, the Centre

Party, rule out dismantling the oil sector,

which is a major part of the national

we`ÿ r/Rb-262(2)/3/11/22

GD-1774/22 (6x3)

economy.

The war in Ukraine and the reduction in

Russian exports have seen Norway become

the leading gas supplier to Britain and the

European Union.

"The demand for fossil fuel energy will fall

and renewable energy production must

increase. This has to go hand in hand," Store

told a news conference.

He stressed that the planet would still need

oil in years to come and argued it was "not a

bad thing that some of it comes from the

Norwegian continental shelf, which has the

lowest emissions."

Last week, the United Nations said current

country climate pledges leave the world on

track to heat by as much as 2.6 degrees Celsius

this century, warning that emissions must fall

45 percent this decade to limit disastrous

global warming.

A day earlier, the UN's climate change

agency had said governments were doing

"nowhere near" enough to keep global heating

to 1.5C and would steer a world already

wracked by increasing floods, heatwaves and

storms towards "catastrophic" warming.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2022

8

First Security Islami Bank Ltd. inauguratedTakerhat Branch as its 201stBranchat J K Complex,

Pallibidyut Office Road, Takerhat Bazar, Takerhat, Rajoir, Madaripuron 03November 2022with a

view to providing shariah based banking services to its clients.Syed Waseque Md Ali, Managing

Directorof the Bankinaugurated the branch. Among others, Md. Masudur Rahman Shah,Deputy

Managing Director, Divisional Heads of Head Office,Md. AbdurRouf, Zonal Head of Barishal, Sheikh

FazlulHaqueBabu, RajoirUpazilla Vice Chairman,Nazma Rashid, Mayor, RajoirPourashova,Anowar

Hossain Shaikh, Manager of Takerhat Branchalong with local elites were present in the occasion. A

DoaMahfil was organized in this regard.

Photo : Courtesy

The 349thmeeting of the Board of Directors of ShahjalalIslami Bank Limited (SJIBL) held recentlyat

Corporate Head Office of the Bank by maintaining proper hygiene and social distance.On the

other hand, a few number of Directors of the Bank participated in this meeting through digital platform

(with a Video Conference). The meeting was presided over by the Chairman of the Board of

Directors Mohammed Younus.The Board approved a number of investment proposal and reviewed

various issue related to policy of the Bank. Among others the Vice-Chairman of the Board Mohiuddin

Ahmed, Directors Dr. Anwer Hossain Khan, Md. Sanaullah Shahid, Abdul Karim, Md. Abdul Barek,

Abdul Halim, Khandaker Sakib Ahmed, Engineer Md. Towhidur Rahman, Md. Nasir Uddin Khan,

Md. Moshiur Rahman Chamak, Jabun Nahar and Fakir Mashrikuzzaman; Independent Director

Ekramul Haque, the Managing Director & CEO Mosleh Uddin Ahmed and the Company Secretary of

the Bank Md. Abul Bashar were also present in the meeting.

Photo : Courtesy

Building climate resilience through the Lens of water

At a roundtable organised by

WaterAid, representatives

from the climate and water

sector actors urged proper

attention to address climate

impacts on water and Water

Sanitation and hygiene

(WASH). WaterAid also

launched its upcoming flagship

initiative titled the "Resilient

Water Accelerator" The

roundtable was held today at

Sonargaon hotel today.

Road to COP27 speakers

highlighted the need for world

to act now to protect

communities from the impacts

of climate change. Yet progress

is too slow. The 'low-regrets'

adaptation solutions proposed

by the Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change

(IPCC) - such as water,

sanitation and hygiene

(WASH) services - will make

vulnerable communities more

resilient. WASH services will

reduce vulnerability to climate

impacts, and help close the gap

on gender, education,

prosperity and health

inequalities: all of which are

needed for community and

individual resilience. However,

these adaptation solutions need

financing, but to date, this has

been insufficient across the

world. The IPCC identifies

providing water and sanitation

services as one of the most

effective measures to reduce

climate-vulnerability in the

near-term and as a 'low-regrets'

adaptation measure. The

analysis also shows

geographical inequality of

WASH allocation remains

significant, where cities and

towns have received the highest

percentage of the allocated

funding compared to rural,

char, hilly, and coastal areas in

previous years.

Malik Fida, Managing

Director, CEGIS, stated, "Plans

which are guiding the vision of

Bangladesh in adaptive

measures to tackle climate

change needs sectoral

collaboration, direct linkages

and knowledge with on ground

reality. It is the collective

responsibility of sector actors to

sensitize this process and focus

on locally led adaptive

programmes that centers

people and community.

Ensuring these mechanisms

will aid direct impact in the

society".

Dr. Fazle Rabbi Sadeque

Ahmed, PKSF, mentioned,

"Water has to get the highest

priority, future project needs to

align with national strategies,

priority must given to

governances, framework and

infrastructures needs to change

in such a manner that caters to

drinking water. Climate finance

is becoming a debt burden for

countries and we must focus on

grant based finance,"

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited inaugurated its 391st branch at Chunarughat in Habigonj on

Thursday, 3 November 2022. Mohammed Monirul Moula, Managing Director & CEO of the bank

inaugurated the Branch as chief guest. Md. Omar Faruk Khan, Additional Managing Director of the

bank, Abdul Kadir Laskar, Chairman of Chunarughat Upazila Parishad, Mohammed Saiful Alam,

Mayor of Chunarughat Pourasava attended the program as special guest & Md. Maksudur Rahman,

Head of Development Wing addressed the welcome speech. Presided over by Muhammad Nurul

Hoq, Head of Sylhet Zone, Abu Sadat Moudud Ahmad, Head of Chunarughat Branch thanked the

audience. Md. Fazlur Rahman, journalist, Siddiqur Rahman & Hridoy Roy, business persons & Mst.

Toyeba Khatun, school teacher addresssed on behalf of the customers. Executives & employees of

the bank, clients, well wishers and local elites were present on the occasion. Photo : Courtesy

IBBL opens

Sarail branch in

Brahmanbaria

DHAKA : Islami Bank

Bangladesh inaugurated its

390th branch at Sarail in

Brahmanbaria Wednesday.

Mohammed Monirul

Moula, managing director

and chief executive officer of

the bank, inaugurated the

branch as chief guest,

according to a media

statement.

Islami Bank is a joint

venture public limited

company engaged in

commercial banking business

based on Islamic shariah.

Established in 1983 as the

first Islamic bank in southeast

Asia, it is listed on the Dhaka

Stock Exchange and

Chittagong Stock Exchange.

Bangladesh Bank

re-fixes transactions

hours from 10

am-3:30 pm

DHAKA : Bangladesh Bank

on Thursday announced

new transactions hours and

office timing for bankers

with effect from November

15.

According to the new

circular of department of

Off-site Supervision of the

central bank, banking

transactions hours have

been set from 10 am to 3.30

pm while the banks' office

hours from 10 am to 5 pm

from Sunday to Thursday.

Bankers' existing office

timing is from 10 am to

4pm.

Bank of England set

for biggest rate hike

in 33 years

LONDON : The Bank of

England is widely expected

to hike its key interest rate

on Thursday by the biggest

amount since 1989 as it

bids to cool sky-high

British inflation.

Following a regular

meeting, the BoE is seen

lifting borrowing costs by

0.75 percentage points to

three percent, according to

market consensus, which

would be the highest level

since the 2008 global

financial crisis, reports

BSS.

Some analysts, however,

are predicting a rise of one

percentage point, also a 33-

year high.

The move would mirror

aggressive rate-tightening

by central banks worldwide

as economies battle the

highest prices in decades.

The US Federal Reserve

on Wednesday announced

a fourth consecutive hike of

0.75 percentage points,

taking its benchmark

lending rate to 3.75-4.0

percent.

While calling further

interest rate increases

"appropriate" to tamp

down inflation, the Fed

also opened the door to

smaller hikes.

The BoE decision at 1200

GMT is set to add to a costof-living

crisis for millions

of Britons as hikes by

central banks see retail

lenders push up the rate of

interest on their own loans.

Repayments on UK

mortgages have surged in

recent weeks also after the

debt-fuelled budget of

previous British prime

minister Liz Truss spooked

markets, forcing her to

resign and triggering

emergency buying of UK

government bonds by the

BoE.

Her successor Rishi

Sunak has attempted to

bring calm to markets by

hinting at tax rises in a

fresh budget on November

17, even if such a move

further harms Britain's

economy.

"I think everyone knows

we do face a challenging

economic outlook and

difficult decisions will need

to be made," Sunak, a

former UK finance

minister, told parliament

on Wednesday.

British annual inflation

stands above 10 percent,

the highest level in 40

years, on soaring food

prices and energy bills.

Alongside its rate call, the

BoE will give its latest

inflation and growth

forecasts, with analysts

indicating that the UK

economy may already be in

recession.

"The BoE is expected to

hike its interest rate by no

more than 75 basis points,

on conviction that the

Sunak government would

opt for some fiscal

austerity, and nothing too

crazy to wreak havoc,

again," forecast Swissquote

analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.

As the Covid-19

pandemic began in early

2020, the BoE slashed its

key interest rate to a

record-low 0.1 percent and

also pumped massive sums

of new cash into the

economy.

The Bank of England

started raising rates last

December and another

hike Thursday would be

the eighth increase in a

row.

Ruth Gregory, senior UK

economist at Capital

Economics, predicts that

the BoE will raise its

interest rate by one

percentage point on

Thursday and by the same

amount in December.

"If we are right that

domestic inflation will be

sticky, it may mean that the

Bank of England ultimately

has to act more

aggressively further

ahead," she added.

Mercantile Bank Limited inaugurated 'Matikata Uposhakha' in Dhaka and 'Panchagarh Upashakha'

in North Bengal region of the country yesterday to provide easy banking services to the customers.

Bank's Chairman Morshed Alam M.P., launched the uposhakhas on virtual platform as the chief

guest by cutting ribbon in a ceremony arranged at the Head Office of the bank. Md. Quamrul Islam

Chowdhury, Managing Director & CEO of the bank delivered his welcome speech. A. S. M. Feroz

Alam, Vice Chairman; M. Amanullah, Chairman, Risk Management Committee; Al-Haj Akram

Hossain (Humayun), Alhaj Mosharref Hossain and M. A. Khan Belal, Directors of the bank were

present as the special guests. Mati Ul Hasan, AMD, Adil Raihan, Shamim Ahmed and Hasne Alam,

DMDs, Tapash Chandra Paul, PhD, CFO of the bank, Shah Md. Sohel Khurshid, SEVP and Abu

Asghar G. Haruni, Company Secretary of the bank, Khan Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman, MD of Online

Group, Hazi Hanif, invited guests, valued customers, two HOBs of controlling branch of the

uposhakhas, in-charges of the uposhakhas along with senior executives of the bank were connected

virtually in the opening ceremony. The Zonal Heads, HOBs and In-charges of the upashakhas were

also connected virtually.

Photo : Courtesy

Air Astra receives approval for

commercial operations

Air Astra has received the Air

Operator Certificate (AOC)

from the Civil Aviation

Authority of Bangladesh

(CAAB) on 3rd November,

2022 through a ceremony

held at the Flight Standard &

Regulations offices of the

authority. The AOC (No. 27) is

the final approval from the

regulatory authority allowing

the airline to begin

commercial flight operations.

The AOC was handed over by

Air Commodore Shah Kawsar

Ahmed Choudhury, Member

(Flight Standards &

Regulations), CAAB to Imran

Asif, Chief Executive Officer &

Accountable Manager, Air

Astra, a press release said.

At the ceremony, Air

Commodore Shah Kawsar

Ahmed Choudhury welcomed

Air Astra to the industry to

contribute to the GDP of the

country through safe &

efficient flight operations

across the country. He also

thanked Air Astra for its

consistent compliance with

the regulations of CAAB

leading to its certification

within one year since

application, and the first

passenger airline AOC issued

since 2014.

The CEO of Air Astra

thanked the authority for its

continued support and

guidance helping the airline to

comply with all regulations

and achieve the AOC. He

reassured the authority that

the airline shall always

endeavor to act absolutely

professionally through its

team of industry-leading

professionals and always

adhere to all regulations -

especially ones pertinent to

safety.

Air Astra has already taken

delivery of 2x ATR 72-600

aircraft at Dhaka and further

2x aircraft are scheduled to be

delivered within 2022. The

French-built aircraft is the

most modern turboprop in the

world today with excellent

industry reliability, configured

to carry 70 passengers in a

comfortable, quiet cabin.

Following the achievement

of the AOC, the airline shall

soon make official flight

schedule announcements for

commercial operations.

FriDAY, NoveMber 4, 2022

9

Manchester City's rico Lewis (right) celebrates with a teammate after scoring his side's first goal during the match

against Sevilla.

photo: Ap

Man City beat Sevilla with teenager

Lewis stealing the spotlight

SportS DeSk

Manchester City teenager Rico Lewis

marked his first senior start with his

maiden goal for the club to spark a

comeback in a 3-1 defeat of Sevilla to

complete their unbeaten Champions

League group campaign yesterday,

reports UNB.

With the prolific Erling Haaland absent

as he recovers from injury, Argentine

striker Julian Alvarez impressed with a

goal and two assists and Riyad Mahrez

was also on the scoresheet.

The night, however, belonged to Lewis.

City were confirmed as Group G

winners and Sevilla assured of third spot,

and Pep Guardiola made seven changes

to his starting line-up with 17-year-old

right back Lewis seizing his opportunity

at the Etihad Stadium.

Rafa Mir gave Sevilla the lead in the

31st minute with a pinpoint header past

City reserve keeper Stefan Ortega and the

hosts struggled to make much impression

against the Spanish side.

Guardiola took off Jack Grealish at

halftime and sent on Rodri and City were

a different proposition as they extended

their unbeaten home run in the

Champions League to 23 games.

Lewis, joined in the starting side by 20-

year-old Cole Palmer, levelled in the 52nd

minute when he ran on to a slide rule pass

by Alvarez and lashed a right-footed shot

into the net past keeper Yassine Bounou.

Lewis, aged 17 years and 346 days,

became the youngest player to score on

his first Champions League start,

breaking the record held by Karim

Benzema who was 17 years and 352 days

when he scored for Olympique Lyonnais.

"What a goal. He's a fantastic player, so

intelligent. He understands everything.

He made a fantastic goal and played

really well," Guardiola said.

"In the first half, the guys tried. Second

half was better, really good goals. I'm

happy for everyone."

Alvarez, who started his fourth

successive Champions League game, was

arguably City's best player.

The 22-year-old former River Plate

player produced a composed finish to put

City ahead in the 73rd minute, taking the

ball around Bounou and firing high into

the net after being played in by a sublime

pass from substitute Kevin de Bruyne.

With City dominating, Mahrez sealed

the victory with a clinical finish after

another assist by Alvarez.

City won the group with 14 points and

Borussia Dortmund also going through to

the last 16 as runners-up on nine.

Javier outstanding as Astros no-hit

Phillies in 5-0 World Series win

Sports Desk

Cristian Javier led Houston pitchers

in an unprecedented World Series

combined no-hitter Wednesday as the

Astros beat Philadelphia 5-0 to level

Major League Baseball's championship

showcase, reports UNB.

Javier threw six innings without

surrendering a hit and relief pitchers

Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan

Pressly kept the door firmly closed as

the Astros knotted the best-of-seven

title series at two games apiece.

One day after the Phillies belted a

World Series record-equalling five

home runs in a 7-0 game three victory,

Javier's fastball flummoxed the host

hitters. The 25-year-old Dominican

struck out nine and walked two in a

dominant performance.

Abreu struck out all three he faced in

the seventh inning and Montero retired

the side in the eighth before Pressly

worked around a one-out walk as he

delivered the final three outs in the

ninth.

The only other no-hitter in the 118-

year history of the World Series was

Don Larsen's perfect game for the New

York Yankees against the Brooklyn

Dodgers in 1956.

"That's crazy, man," said Astros

catcher Christian Vazquez. "We play for

this and making it that special is even

better."

Astros manager Dusty Baker said

Javier had delivered an "electric"

performance from the mound.

"He threw the ball up, down, and that

shows you that the best pitch in

baseball is still the well-located

fastball," Baker said. "He was calm,

cool. "Man, it's a strange series-they hit

five home runs yesterday and then no

hits today." The Houston hurlers were

backed by a five-run outburst in the

fifth that was keyed by Alex Bregman's

bases-loaded two-run double.

Chas McCormick led off the inning

with a ground ball single off Phillies

starter Aaron Nola.

Jose Altuve looped a single to left

field and Jeremy Pena hit a sharp single

to left off a breaking ball Nola hung

over the plate to load the bases.

That spelled the end of Nola's night,

Jose Alvarado taking over on the

mound with three on and none out.

Offensive surge

He plunked Yordan Alvarez with his

very first pitch and Houston had their

first run of the night.

Bregman followed with a two-run

double to right field. Kyle Tucker's

sacrifice fly to center scored Alvarez as

Bregman advanced to third then scored

on Yuli Gurriel's single to left field.

Alvarado finally closed out the inning

by striking out Vazquez and Aledmys

Diaz. Javier-who had struck out J.T.

Realmuto, Bryce Harper and Nick

Castellanos in order in the bottom of

the fourth-followed up the Astros'

offensive surge by retiring the next six

batters he faced.

Of his 97 pitches, Javier threw 70

fastballs, and Vazquez said it was a

pitch that could always be counted

upon.

"It's I think the best fastball I've ever

seen," the catcher said in an on-field

television interview. "You can call it

whoever is in the batter's box and it's

going to be awesome. It's going to be

effective and it's going to do the job."

The victory means that after game

five in Philadelphia on Thursday, the

Astros will return to Houston for game

six on Saturday and a potential game

seven on Sunday.

Cristian Javier of the Houston Astros delivers a pitch against the philadelphia phillies.

photo: Ap

Nadal stunned by Paul in opening

match at Paris Masters

SportS DeSk

Rafael Nadal crashed out of the Paris

Masters in the second round on

Wednesday after losing in three sets to

American Tommy Paul, boosting

Carlos Alcaraz's hopes of finishing the

year as world number one, reports

UNB.

Nadal, who received a bye as second

seed, was playing his first singles match

in two months after spending time at

home in Mallorca with his wife and

newborn son.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion

shook off an early break in the opening

set by winning five of the next six

games.

But Paul recovered from dropping

serve in the third game of the second

set to win a tie-break, having failed to

convert a set point with Nadal serving

at 4-5. The Spaniard's lack of match

practice told as Paul dominated the

final set, breaking three times to seal

the biggest win of his career.

"I had the match (in my hands) in

that second set with a set and break. I

played a terrible game there. I didn't

deserve the victory playing that bad in

that key moment," said Nadal.

Nadal is a 14-time French Open

champion but has never won the title at

Bercy.

"A lot of things have been going on

the last couple of months, without a

doubt. But we are always ready to find

Williamson wants

to hit top gear with

T20 World Cup

semi-final in sight

SportS DeSk

New Zealand captain Kane

Williamson said Thursday he

was staying patient and

working to hit top gear as the

Black Caps look to clinch a

Twenty20 World Cup semifinal

berth against Ireland,

reports BSS.

New Zealand are in pole

position on net run rate in

Group 1 but level on points

with England and Australia

with one game remaining,

meaning victory against

Ireland in Adelaide should

guarantee a semi-final spot.

Williamson is one of the

world's leading batsmen in

Test cricket, but has often

struggled with the demands of

the shorter format where he

bats at the key number three

position.

He has struggled to convert

starts into bigger scores or to

accelerate, with his strike rate

at a modest 122.51 runs per

100 balls.

He was at the crease for

almost 13 overs, taking 40

balls and 57 minutes to make

40 on Tuesday as New

Zealand failed to chase down

180 to beat England.

"You're always wanting to

get better, and cricket is a

pretty fickle game by its

nature," Williamson told

reporters.

"You sort of do go through

different periods where

there's better rhythm and

then other times where you're

working harder and you're

trying to make sure that

you're making a valuable

contribution.

"So that's the focus... and

staying a little bit patient with

it, as well.

The game forever

challenges us."

Williamson's 23 in 23 balls

in his team's opening win

against hosts Australia

contrasted with teammate

Devon Conway's 92 off 58

balls as New Zealand smacked

200 in their 20 overs.

He scratched around for

eight off 13 balls in the

previous match against Sri

Lanka.

"With the bat, there's a

number of, I guess, phases or

gears to go through," he said.

"I definitely want to keep

touching on those third and

fourth gears where you are

exploring some different areas

of the ground."

Other New Zealand

batsmen have stepped up,

with Glenn Phillips hitting

104 off 64 balls against Sri

Lanka in Sydney to rescue the

team from 15-3 and a 36-ball

62 against England in

Brisbane.

excuses. At the end, it's always the

same. You play well, you win; you don't,

you lose," he added.

Nadal said he expected to compete at

the Tour finals in Turin from

November 13-20.

"If nothing happens, I hope to be

there. I'm excited about playing, even if

it hasn't been the perfect couple of

months for me."

Paul goes on to play Pablo Carreno

Busta for a place in the quarter-finals.

Alcaraz, the reigning US Open

champion, will play Grigor Dimitrov in

the last 16 after defeating Japan's

Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4, 6-4.

The 19-year-old smacked 30 winners

including nine aces despite a heavilytaped

left knee, an issue he had

downplayed on Monday.

"I tried to find my best level. I think I

played really well. I don't think about

the pressure of being world number

one," said Alcaraz.

The Spaniard was presented with the

world number one trophy earlier in the

week, having become the youngest

player to top the ATP rankings in

September.

"I felt number one before getting the

trophy, but of course with the trophy, is

amazing. It was amazing feeling when I

had the trophy in my hands."

Alcaraz admitted there is a target on

his back now as the world's top-ranked

player.

"Probably the difference, the way the

players play against me, probably I felt

that difference, but not too much," he

said.

"I would say the players play better or

more aggressive with me."

Nadal's loss means Alcaraz will end

the season as the top-ranked player if

he takes home the trophy on Sunday.

Nadal's early exit was preceded by

that of Daniil Medvedev, the 2020

Paris champion and 2021 runner-up

who was knocked out by Australia's

Alex de Minaur 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.

De Minaur, who had not previously

beaten a top-five player, will now face

US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe,

who eased past Jack Draper 6-3, 7-5.

Felix Auger-Aliassime qualified for

the season-ending Tour finals for the

first time, with Andrey Rublev

completing the tournament's eightman

field after Taylor Fritz and Hubert

Hurkacz both lost.

Auger-Aliassime began his bid for a

fourth title in four weeks by battling

back from the brink to beat Mikael

Ymer in three hours and 30 minutes.

The Canadian eighth seed scraped

through 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) to

extend his winning streak to 14

matches.

Auger-Aliassime saved two break

points at 1-4 in the second set just as

Ymer looked poised to end his

unbeaten run.

rafael Nadal congratulates tommy paul at the end of their second round

match in the paris Masters.

photo: Ap

AC Milan, Leipzig take

final last-16 places as

PSG lose top spot

SportS DeSk

AC Milan reached the

Champions League knock-out

stage for the first time in nine

years on Wednesday with a 4-

0 victory over Salzburg, while

RB Leipzig also qualified by

thrashing Shakhtar Donetsk,

reports UNB.

Paris Saint-Germain will be

the team group winners want

to avoid in Monday's last-16

draw after missing out on top

spot in Group H despite a 2-1

win at Juventus, as Benfica

hammered Maccabi Haifa 6-1

to snatch first place on total

away goals.

Seven-time European

champions Milan knew a

point would be enough to

send them into the last 16 for

the first time since the 2013-

14 season after a group-stage

exit last term.

"These kinds of nights is

what we wish for," Milan

coach Stefano Pioli told Sky

Sport. "We wanted to show we

improved compared to last

season in the Champions

League. We're ambitious now,

so let's see what happens

next."

Pioli's side eased any nerves

at the San Siro inside 14

minutes as Olivier Giroud

headed home. Milan's return

to the knockouts was all but

confirmed less than a minute

after half-time when Giroud

headed the ball across goal for

Rade Krunic to nod past

Philipp Kohn in the Salzburg

goal.

Giroud added his second

before the hour mark,

allowing the home fans the

opportunity to celebrate for

the remainder of the match

and Junior Messias added

further gloss to the scoreline

in added time.

Milan qualified from Group

E in second place behind

Chelsea, who came from

behind to beat Dinamo

Zagreb 2-1 at Stamford Bridge

with goals from Raheem

Sterling and debutant Denis

Zakaria.

Leipzig also only needed to

avoid defeat to go through

against Ukrainians Shakhtar

in Warsaw.

Shakhtar, playing their

home matches in Poland and

having seen most of their

foreign players leave due to

Russia's invasion of Ukraine,

had stunned Leipzig 4-1 in

their Group F opener.

But the Bundesliga side

were too strong after

Christopher Nkunku's early

strike left Shakhtar with a

mountain to climb.

Andre Silva and Dominik

Szoboszlai netted in the

second period and Dani

Olmo's shot was deflected into

his own net by Valeriy Bondar

to wrap up a 4-0 win.

"I'm really proud of the

team. We didn't start well in

this Champions League

campaign, but we put in a

solid performance today and

are really happy to be

through," Leipzig forward

Emil Forsberg told DAZN.

Holders Real Madrid

secured first place in the

group by hammering Scottish

champions Celtic 5-1 at the

Santiago Bernabeu.

Luka Modric and Rodrygo

both scored penalties

awarded for handball in the

opening stages, before Real

goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois

saved Josip Juranovic's spotkick.

Second-half goals from

Marco Asensio, Vinicius

Junior and Fede Valverde

completed the rout despite

Jota's late consolation for

Celtic who finished bottom.

Karim Benzema also made

his return from injury as a

substitute to complete a good

night for Carlo Ancelotti's

men.

Benfica snatch first from

PSG

PSG lost top spot in Group

H despite Nuno Mendes'

69th-minute winner in Turin

as Benfica scored five goals in

the second half at Maccabi.

Kylian Mbappe's brilliant

individual effort put PSG in

front, before Leonardo

Bonucci dragged alreadyeliminated

Juventus level.

Mendes scored only a

minute after coming off the

bench, but late drama in Israel

saw PSG slip to second.

Possible last-16 opponents

for the Qatari-owned club

include 14-time champions

Real Madrid, Manchester

City, Bayern Munich, Chelsea

and in-form Napoli.

"It doesn't matter, we

qualified... We'll watch the

draw and we'll play to win,"

Mbappe told RMC Sport.

Three goals in 14 minutes in

the second half gave Benfica

hope of matching PSG's goal

difference and pipping them

on away goals.

It appeared as though the

Portuguese would come up

two short, but Henrique

Araujo scored in the 88th

minute and Joao Mario struck

in injury time to complete the

job.

FRIdAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2022

10

Ananta Jalil learning martial

arts for his next movie

TBT REPORT

Popular Dhallywood actor Ananta

Jalil is now learning martial arts for

his next movie 'Kill Him' where he will

be seen in a fight against another

Dhallywood action hero Rubel. Hence

his effort to present himself properly

on the screen.

Talking to the media, Ananta Jalil

said that he is preparing himself for

the movie 'Kill Him'. For this, he is

learning "martial arts" and

"bodybuilding" for this movie.

"I am preparing for the movie 'Kill

Him'. I started bodybuilding more

strongly. Practicing martial arts -

since it's an action movie. Besides, our

action movie master Rubel Bhai is in

it. You know Rubel Bhai is the king of

martial arts. There will definitely be

action with him in the movie. So I am

preparing for that," said Ananta Jalil.

In response to a query from

reporters about the movie 'Netri-The

Leader', Ananta Jalil replied that his

character in this movie will not be

harmed since he is playing the role of

a bodyguard to Barsha, who is playing

the role of 'Netri'. "My job is to save

her," he said.

Noted that the shooting of the

H O R O s c O P E

movie 'Kill Him' directed by Md. Iqbal

will start soon. Ananta-Barsha star

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.

'Netri-The Leader' is awaiting release.

Barsha will be seen in the leading role.

Critics call it the best Marvel film

since Avengers Endgame

Marvel Studios' next tentpole film

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set

to hit the theatres in just over two

weeks' time. The film had its world

premiere this Wednesday in the US

where film stars, the film's team, as well

as select journalists watched the film.

And while the review embargo is still

on, the first reactions from those who

watched the film are here, and they are

unanimously positive.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is

part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

and the direct sequel to 2018's Black

Panther. The difference here is that it

features a new actor taking over the

mantle of the superhero, following the

death of Chadwick Boseman in 2020,

who played the titular role in the first

film. The story follows how Wakanda

mourns the loss of T'Challa and faces a

new threat in Namor.

The first reactions to the film indicate

that it is likely to be one of the finest

MCU films in recent times, with most

critics labelling it everything from

'fantastic' to 'powerful'. Sean O'Connell

of Cinema Blend called it a cathartic

film and called it, "an emotional movie

about loss, legacy and healing. The story

is intimate, but vast with global power

struggles and palace intrigue. Tenoch

Huerta's Namor is a FORCE, better

than I hoped." Ashley Saunders of

Comic Book Resources liked how the

film honours Chadwick and T'Challa.

"It's EMOTIONAL, POWERFUL, &

BEAUTIFUL. Tenoch is brilliant,

immediately grabbing your attention.

Welcome to the MCU Namor. Riri is

fun w/ Peter Parker like energy. Action,

Phase 4 tie-ins, & some surprises. Loved

it," she wrote.

Many critics went as far as to call it

one of the best MCU films ever. Samuel

Leggett Jr of Critics Choice tweeted,

"WakandaForever is easily the best

Marvel film since Avengers: Endgame.

The scope, the camera work, the acting,

and the raw emotions on and off screen

can be felt throughout! This is the

Marvel I've missed! I had one word in

my heart all night; "WOW...'"

There was equal amount of praise for

the film's villain-Namor, played by

Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta. Both the

actor and the character are making their

MCU debut with Wakanda Forever.

"The intro of Namor was incredible, the

story bittersweet and packed with

emotionally charged twists," wrote

Travis Hospon from Punch Drunk

Critics. Black Panther Wakanda

Forever is directed by Ryan Coogler and

stars Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright,

Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, Lupita

Nyong'o, Martin Freeman, apart from

Tenoch. The film releases in theatres on

November 11. Source: Collider

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.

Warfaze releases

new song ‘Maya’

TBT REPORT

Popular Bangladeshi band

Warfaze releases new song

'Maya' after a long break.

Written and composed by

Warfaze vocalist Palash Noor,

the song has been produced

by Sheikh Monirul Alam Tipu

and Samir Hafiz.

The song 'Maya' is about

the journey of a person's life.

It highlighted the thoughts,

consciousness and feelings of

a person.

The song is now available

TBT REPORT

The 15th solo art exhibition

titled '(Non) hierarchical

Order of Forms' by Abhijit

Chowdhury, will begin today

(Friday) at the La Galerie of

Alliance Francaise de

Dhaka, Dhanmondi in the

capital.

The opening ceremony of

the exhibition will be held on

the gallery premises on

Friday at 5pm. The

Federation of Bangladesh

Chambers of Commerce and

Industry (FBCCI) president

Md. Jashim Uddin will

attend the event as the chief

guest, while actor and artist

Afzal Hossain will be present

as the special guest.

Abhijit Chowdhury is

known as a fine and

promising artist in

Bangladesh. Abhijit's

on Gaan app. The band

released the song on October

31. Anyone can enjoy the song

by purchasing it Tk50 BDT

only.

The band is planning to

release another new song

very soon.

Warfaze was formed in 6

June 1984 and since then the

band had numerous line-up

changes. The band has

released seven studio albums,

one compilation album, and

several singles till date.

Solo art exhibition of Abhijit begins today

greatest source of

inspiration is nature. He

takes all kinds of elements

from nature with great care

and understanding through

his artistic perception, and

then he arranges those

pleasingly in his painting.

His creations are of

abstract expressionism

where perceptions and

feelings like joy, despair,

sorrow, hope, dream,

imagination, love, hate Etc.

Exist. He wants to prove

through his creations that

art is nothing but

(humanized science) as well

as a means of addressing

humanity.

The exhibition will be

open to all every Monday to

Saturday from 3:00pm to

9:00pm, until November 12

and will be closed on

Sunday.

Rambha thanks fans for love and

support after car accident

Rambha, who also worked in regional cinema, recently met with a car

accident in Canada. She suffered minor injuries, but her daughter

Sasha was admitted to the hospital. On Tuesday, the actor shared

pictures from the accident spot and asked her fans to pray for

her family. Now, she has provided a health update for her fans

on social media.

Rambha conducted an Instagram Live in which she thanked

everybody who prayed for her daughter. She said that they have

all recovered from the accident, and are now back at home.

Rambha lives in Canada with her husband and three children.

In the video, the Judwaa actor said, "To all my fans, friends

and family members who all prayed for our speedy

recovery and our safety, I thank you from the bottom of

my heart. My kids and I are safe now. Please keep

praying for us. I am overwhelmed by the love and

support I am getting from you all. I have no words to

express my happiness and joy that you all support me.

My children are safe, especially my daughter Sasha is

also safe. We all came back to our house. Thank you, I

love you all."

While reading fan comments during the live

session, Rambha also expressed her happiness at

still being remembered. She said, "I am so happy

that you all remember me and love me the same."

Rambha quit acting in 2010 after marrying Canadabased

businessman Indhran Pathmanathan and

moved to Toronto.

Rambha has been a popular face in Indian cinema. She has

films like Judwaa, co-starring Salman Khan and Karisma

Kapoor, Aa Okkati Adakku, Sargam, Jaani Dushman: Ek

Anokhi Kahani and Gharwali Baharwali among others, to her

credit.

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.

Former Bollywood actor

Source: Hindustan Times

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, novemBeR 4, 2022

11

AWS announces availability of AWS

Outposts rack service in Bangladesh

TBT Report

AWS Outposts rack can now be

shipped and installed at data centers

and on-premises locations in

Bangladesh.

AWS Outposts rack, a part of the

AWS Outposts family, is a fully

managed service that extends AWS

infrastructure, AWS services, APIs, and

tools to virtually any data center or colocation

space for a truly consistent

hybrid experience. AWS Outposts rack

is ideal for workloads that require low

latency access to on-premises systems,

local data processing, and migration of

applications with local system

interdependencies. Outposts rack can

also help meet data residency

requirements.

With the availability of Outposts rack

in Bangladesh, you can use AWS

services to run your workloads and data

in country in your on-premises

facilities and connect to your nearest

AWS Region for management and

operations.

To learn more about Outposts rack,

read the product overview and user

guide. For the most updated list of

AWS Regions where Outposts rack is

supported, check out the Outposts rack

FAQs page.

"We are excited to bring AWS

Outposts rack to customers in

Bangladesh, which allows our local

customers to focus on developing

offerings that enhance customer

experiences, and improve business

performance, while leaving the

responsibility of managing the

infrastructure to us," said Puneet

Chandok, president of Commercial

Business, AWS India and South Asia at

AISPL. "AWS Outposts rack allows

customers to process data locally, and

will help to unleash more innovation

across industries by supporting low

latency applications such as highquality

and multiplayer gaming

experiences, manufacturing execution

systems, or medical diagnostics. We are

committed to working with

organizations in Bangladesh and our

AWS Partners to help local businesses

grow and drive economic productivity

in Bangladesh."

"We are excited about the AWS

Outposts launch in Bangladesh. In

Bangladesh, we strive to provide the

power of upcoming digital

transformation, enabling everyone to

improve more their lives, build

societies and secure a better future for

all, moving towards a developed and a

Smart Bangladesh by 2041. AWS

Outposts rack will allow us to use cloud

services and tools to build new network

services with a high degree of

digitalization, analytics, using the same

AWS tools we use today," said NM

Zeaul Alam, senior secretary,

UN Security Council denies Russia

call for bio weapons probe

UNITED NATIONS : The U.N. Security Council

on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected

Russia's attempt to establish a commission to

investigate its unfounded claims that Ukraine

and the United States are carrying out "military

biological" activities that violate the convention

prohibiting the use of biological weapons.

Russia only got support from China in the vote

on its resolution, with the U.S., Britain and

France voting "no" and the 10 other council

nations abstaining. The resolution was not

approved because it failed to get the minimum

nine "yes" votes required for adoption.

The 2-3-10 vote reflected the council's

continuing opposition and skepticism about

Russia's actions since its Feb. 24 invasion of

Ukraine. The council has been paralyzed from

taking any action against Russia's military

offensive because of Russia's veto power.

Russia circulated the draft resolution and a

310-page document to council members last

week alleging that military biological activity is

taking place at biological laboratories in Ukraine

with support from the U.S. Defense

Department.

Russia's deputy ambassador Dmitry

Polyansky said after the vote that his

government was "extremely disappointed" that

the council did not respond positively to its

request to establish a commission. Its proposed

resolution called for the Security Council's 15

members to carry out the investigation of

Russia's complaint, as allowed under Article VI

of the biological weapons convention.

Information and Communication

Technology Division, Bangladesh

"5G is the latest telecom technology

designed to significantly speed up and

improve the responsiveness of wireless

networks. Cloud native 5G platforms

allow a wide range of private and public

infrastructure options. Building

telecom 5G Core on an AWS Outposts

rack infrastructure will make it possible

to use AWS technologies in Bangladesh

at on-premises sites to fulfil the

demands of both commercial and

consumer clients." said Shyam Sunder

Sikder, chairman, Bangladesh

Telecommunication Regulatory

Commission (BTRC)

"AWS Outposts rack will help us to

address the needs of our customers that

would like to run workloads onpremises

while still being able to

leverage essential AWS technologies to

modernize their business processes

and services. AWS Outposts rack will

allow us to use cloud services and tools

to build new network services enabling

success and innovation for our

customers in Bangladesh." said Dr. Asif

Naimur Rashid, chief business officer,

Grameenphone Limited

"We are pleased to continue our

collaboration with AWS and are excited

about the launch of AWS Outposts rack

in Bangladesh. Our reliable and

resilient co-location services with AWS

will provide a cost-effective way of

securely hosting customer's workloads

on AWS Outposts infrastructure within

Bangladesh," said Syed Almas Kabir,

managing director, MetroNet

Bangladesh Limited.

Australian police offer

$633,000 reward for

Indian suspect

CANBERRA : Australian

police offered a 1 million

Australian dollar ($633,000)

reward on Thursday for

information on the

whereabouts of an Indian

national who is suspected of

murdering a woman on a

tropical beach four years ago

before returning to his

homeland.

Queensland state police

officers who speak Hindi and

Punjabi are waiting in an

office in Cairns to be contacted

from India via WhatsApp or

online about where Rajwinder

Singh, 38, can be found,

Detective Inspector Sonia

Smith said.

Singh was a nurse working

at Innisfail, south of Cairns,

when the body of 24-year-old

Toyah Cordingley was found

on Wangetti Beach on

Monday, Oct. 22, 2018.

She had gone to the beach,

north of Cairns, to walk her

dog the day before.

Singh flew from Cairns to

Sydney the day Cordingley's

body was found and left for

India the following day, police

said.

The reward is the largest in

Queensland's history and

unique in that it does not seek

a clue that solves a crime and

leads to a successful

prosecution. Instead, the

money is offered for

information that leads only to

a suspect's location and arrest.

Police Minister Mark Ryan

approved the reward and was

confident people knew where

Singh could be found.

"We know that people know

this person, they know where

this person is and we're asking

those people to do the right

thing," Ryan said.

"Now, there is a million

reasons for a billion eyes

around the world to help us

deliver justice for Toyah," he

added.

Deputy

Police

Commissioner Tracy

Lindford said detectives

believed Singh remained in

India. She appealed for

witnesses among India's

population of 1.4 billion

people to come forward.

Tri-annual conference of Rangpur District Jubo League will be held on next Saturday.The central

committee of Jubo League held a press conference at Rangpur Zila School ground on Thursday to

inform the overall preparations for the conference.

Photo : Azam Parvez

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Friday, Dhaka : November 4, 2022; Kartik 19, 1429 BS; Rabi-us-Sani 8 , 1444 Hijri

Although brinjal is available at local market for twelve months, now is the time to cultivate

brinjal as a winter vegetable. As the environment is favorable, the farmers are very inclined

towards brinjal cultivation. The picture is taken yesterday from Sariakandi Amtali area of

Bogura district.

Photo : Sangit Roy Bappy

BNP is the main mastermind

of politics of killing: Quader

DHAKA : Awami League General

Secretary Obaidul Quader yesterday said

BNP is the main mastermind of the politics

of killing, terrorism and intrigue in the

country but the killing and terrorism must

be stopped forever under the leadership of

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

"The main master of the politics of

killing is the BNP. They are the ones who

killed Bangabandhu, four national leaders

in prison and AL leaders and workers by

throwing grenades on August 21 in 2004,"

he said, reports BSS.

Quader, also the Road Transport and

Bridges Minister, made the remarks while

talking to reporters after paying tributes to

the portrait of Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh MujiburRahman at

Dhanmondi-32 here.

"We cherish the values of the Liberation

War in our spirit. For this, democracy

must be institutionalised in politics and

the politics of killing must be stopped forever

under the leadership of Sheikh

Hasina. This fight is going on," he said.

Terming the August 15 carnage of 1975

the most brutal killing in the world history,

the AL general secretary said

Bangabandhu's daughters - Sheikh

Hasina and Sheikh Rehana - escaped the

killing as they were abroad.

The killing of the four national leaders in

prison was continuation of the August 15

carnage, he said, adding that as a result of

continuation of the politics of killing, 23

fresh lives were bled on Bangabandhu

Avenue in an anti-terrorist rally in 2004.

BNP's ill politics

should be stopped:

Hasan

DHAKA : Information and Broadcasting

Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud yesterday

said BNP's ill politics should be stopped to

get rid of confronting politics forever from

Bangladesh, otherwise it won't be possible

to eliminate the politics of collision,

reports BSS.

He said ZiaurRahman was involved in

Bangabandhu killing on August 15 and jail

killing on November 3 in 1975.

Zia and his wife Begum Khaleda Zia had

chosen the path of killings and conflicts to

keep intact their power, he added.

The minister told the newsmen after

paying rich tributes to the graves of August

15 martyrs and the national four leaders at

Banani in the capital this morning marking

the Jail Killing Day.

A miladmahfil and special munazat

were also offered there.

Hasan said the worst killing in history

was orchestrated on this day in 1975. The

four national leaders were brutally killed

in the Dhaka Central Jail, he said, adding

they (the four leaders) didn't betray with

Bangabandhu.

He said it is regrettably true that the

killing literally took place in the hand of

ZiaurRahman as Zia was then in fact in

power. Zia was not only involved in the

killing of Bangabandhu, he was also

involved in the November 3 killing, said

Hasan, also Awami League joint general

secretary. He said Zia had started the politics

of killings and he killed armed forces

officials without any trial. Zia had

extremely violated the human rights in the

country, he added.

Bangladesh, Vietnam eye

$2 billion trade in 2023

DHAKA : Vietnamese Ambassador to

Bangladesh Pham Viet Chien has

expressed optimism that the bilateral

trade between the two countries will reach

$2 billion mark in 2023 when the two

countries will celebrate 50 years of diplomatic

relations, reports UNB.

In the first nine months of 2022 calendar

year, the bilateral trade turnover

between the two countries has reached

$1.1 billion and it is expected to reach $1.5

billion by end of December.

"If this trend keeps continuing, I hope

that trade between the two countries will

reach $2 billion in 2023," Ambassador

Chien told UNB in an interview, terming

the economic relations between the two

countries "robust".

Responding to a question, the

Vietnamese envoy said he has always

encouraged Bangladeshi businesses to

promote more Bangladeshi goods and

services to the Vietnamese people so that

Bangladesh can export more products to

the Vietnam market. "I think there is a lot

of potential to further boost the economic

relations between the two countries - from

manufacturing industry to agriculture," he

said seeking more cooperation with each

other as economic cooperation is one of

the most significant features of the bilateral

relations between the two countries.

The two countries want to maintain a

high economic growth and keep moving

towards realising the targets to be upper

middle-income countries in 2030 and

then developed and high-income countries

in the early 2040s, living up to the

dreams of the two founding fathers:

Bangabandhu Sheikh MujiburRahman

and Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh.

"One of the significant pieces of evidence

is that complementary cooperation

between the two countries can help each

other to realise and implement the development

strategy of each country," said the

Vietnamese envoy.

The bilateral trade between the two

countries now is in favour of Vietnam, said

the Ambassador.

BNP rally in Barishal

Commuters suffer as launch,

speedboat services suspended

BARISHAL : Launch and speedboat services

have been suspended in Barisahl district,

causing suffering to commuter.

Speedboat movement was halted on

Wednesday evening while launch on

Thursday morning amid BNP's allegation

that launch owners went on the sudden

strike as per the government's directive

ahead of the Bangladesh Nationalist

Party's (BNP) divisional rally slated for

November 5.

KabirHossain, inspector of river security

and traffic management department of

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport

Authority (BIWTA), said local people carried

out an attack on a launch named

'Awlad' and the launch owners enforced

the strike protesting the incident, reports

UNB.

The launch and speedboat services will

remain halted till November 5, he said.

However, the launch services on

Mehendiganj and MajuChowdhuryrhaat

routes remained undisrupted, he said.

No launches on Barishal-Bhola route

have left Barishal River Port and DC ghat

since morning.

However, the launch and speedboat

owners did not disclose any reason behind

the strike.

SaifulMridha, a launch passenger said "I

have come to the launch ghat to go to

Bhola in the morning but I did not find any

launche and speedboat operating since

morning."

The UNB correspondent found a number

of passengers waiting at Bheduriaghat

in Bhola for speedboat.

Earlier, three-wheeler drivers in

Barishal called a strike on November 4

and 5 demanding the authorities concerned

allow three-wheelers to operate on

the highway. The strike has coincided

with the upcoming rally of the BNP while

bus owners in the district have announced

a similar strike on the same dates.

The rally in Barishal will be the 5th one

by the BNP at the divisional level as four

others were held in Chattogram,

Mymensingh, Khulna, and Rangpur.

Fortified rice to be made available

DHAKA : Food Minister Sadhan Chandra

Majumder yesterday said fortified rice will

be made available through launching massive

campaign to address malnutrition

problem of the people.

"Fortified rice is one of the most effective

means to address micronutrient deficiencies

and improve nutritional status of the

people in the country," he told the inaugural

function of launching fortified rice as a

commercially product in Bangladesh at a

city hotel, reports BSS. Chairman of

Parliamentary Standing Committee on

the Food ministry DipankarTalukdar, MP,

Secretary of Coordination and Reforms of

Cabinet Division MdAtiurRahmanAtik

and Resident Representative and Country

Director of the World Food Programme

(WEP) Dom Scalpelli, senior officials and

leading nutritionists, among others

addressed the function.The minister said

mill owners across the country are polishing

rice, which is eventually destroying

food values of rice.

RCC election on

December 27

DHAKA : Rangpur City Corporation election

will be held on December 27. The

election schedule was finalised at a meeting

of the Election Commission (EC) with

Chief Election Commissioner

KaziHabibulAwal in the chair at the

Election Commission Secretariat on

Thursday, reports BSS.

EC Secretary Md Jahangir Alam

announced the schedule after the meeting.

He said the Commission has also decided

to use electronic voting machines

(EVMs) and CCTV cameras in the election.

The balloting will start at 8.30 am and

continue till 4.30 pm without any break.

The election to the city corporation was

held on December 21, 2017. The first

meeting was held on February 19, 2017.

The tenure will end after five years of the

first meeting.

The meeting also held an elaborate discussion

on different local government

elections and by-elections in vacant posts.

It also decided to hold elections to five

municipalities and a number of union

parishads on December 29.

The five municipalities are-Bagha,

Rajshahi, Birol, Dinajpur, Boda,

Panchagarh, Alfadanga, Faridpur and

Banpara, Natore.

Increase supervision in

case investigation: Police

HQ to field officers

DHAKA : Police headquarters has given

instruction to field level police officers to

bring criminals under the law, through

increased supervision in case investigation.

The instruction was given from the

monthly crime review meeting held at the

police headquarters on Thursday, reports

UNB.

Additional IGP (Crime and Operations)

Md. Atiqul Islam, who presided over the

meeting, gave the instruction.

All metropolitan police commissioners,

tange DIGs and district superintendents

of police (SPs) participated virtually in the

meeting. DIG (Crime Management) YM

BelalurRahman, DIG (Operations)

MdHaider Ali Khan and related officers

were present at the police headquarters.

AIG (Crime Analysis) Sunanda Roy presented

statistics regarding the overall

crime situation of the country in the

month of September 2022 such as robbery,

murder, rape, gender violence,

recovery of drugs and weapons, unnatural

deaths etc.

HSC Exam

Police ban public movement

within 200 yards of Centers

DHAKA : Dhaka Metropolitan Police

(DMP) has imposed a ban on the movement

of anyone except Higher Secondary

School Certificate (HSC) students and

exam officials, within 200 yards of test

centres in the capital.

The DMP announced the new step in a

statement Thursday. The HSC and equivalent

exams are scheduled to begin on

November 6. More than 12.03 lakh students

are expected to sit for the exams at

2,649 centres, from 9,181 institutions

under 11 educational boards.

The public will be completely barred

from travelling within 200 yards of test

centres to ensure "proper and lawful"

exams, according to DMP Commissioner

KhandkerGulamFaruq.

Action will be taken if

any vandalism or public

sufferings seen: Kamal

DHAKA : Law enforcing agencies will perform

their duties if anyone causes public

sufferings in the name of protests by

blocking roads and vandalism, said Home

Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on

Thursday.

The Home Minister referred to a recent

statement by Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina that any party can hold their activities

peacefully and there is no objection

from the government, reports UNB.

But, the minister said, action will be

taken if there is any vandalism or public

sufferings.

"The Prime Minister believes that if the

political activities are conducted normally,

parties will hold meetings and talk about

their demands. Our government does not

intend to obstruct and are not obstructing

such activities," the minister said.

The minister made the remarks as he

talked to journalists in a dialogue organised

by Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters

Forum (BSRF) at the secretariat on

Thursday.

He said that in case of any violent act,

cases will be filed as a normal procedure.

"Yesterday, a former justice's car was

vandalised and he filed a case following

the normal procedure. There is no need to

find the smell of politics here," said the

minister.

When asked if old political cases are

being reopened against the opposition

leaders, he said, "There is a backlog of

cases that need to be disposed of. We cannot

keep old cases pending for decades, so

nothing is being done here."

He said Awami League has always

believed a party has to come to power

through the people's mandate, and if any

kind of untoward incident occurs or there

are attempts to do so, the security forces

will act.

Int'l community must act with

fund and solutions to help most

vulnerable nations

DHAKA : Climate expert Prof Dr

SaleemulHuq says that the international

community must act and support the

worst affected and least responsible

nations with "funding and solutions" to

deal with climate change impacts, reports

UNB.

Climate change unequally impacts vulnerable

nations and indiscriminately creates

global crises causing chaos, new

poverty and violation of human rights.

"COP27 must make good on this agenda,"

said Prof Saleemul, Chair of the

Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) expert

advisory group, speaking at a report

launching event on Wednesday.

The flagship report entitled "Climate

Vulnerability Monitor, 3rd edition: A

Planet on Fire", commissioned by the CVF

and the Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group

of Ministers of Finance of the CVF presented

stark proof that climate change

impacts generate loss and damage, globally

creating crises for society, human health

and development.

Prof Saleemul said the Climate

Vulnerability Monitor provides them with

the anatomy of the loss and damage the

world now lives with because of decades of

insufficient climate inaction by rich, powerful

and responsible countries.

He said the detailed impact data and

evidence presented by the CVM3 provides

sobering reading on just how bad the situation

already is, and how much worse it

will become with fast rising global health

risks, extreme heat events, and economic

shocks, to name a few.

"Loss and damage have become the

biggest risk to global prosperity in the

present age," Prof Saleemul quoted as saying

in a message received from Accra,

Ghana.

Disclosing comprehensive new data on

the impact of climate change, the report

also highlighted the asymmetric consequences

for society which deepen global

inequalities with poorer and more vulnerable

nations the hardest hit.

Ban Ki-moon, Chairman of the Board of

Global Center on Adaptation and 8th UN

secretary-general, said with this third edition

"CVM" they see clearly just how much

humanity finds itself at the crossroads.

Sadly, we have become a "Planet on Fire",

as the report's title highlights.

"If we do not act now, by the end of

the century, millions of lives would be

lost every single year because of

scorching heat," said the former UN

secretary general.

Suspended DIG

Mizanur terminated

over graft case

DHAKA : Suspended Deputy

Inspector General (DIG) of police

MizanurRahman, who is now in jail

over a corruption case, has been

fired from the service on Thursday.

The home ministry on Thursday

issued a notification, signed by its

Senior Secretary MdAminul Islam

Khan, saying that his termination

will be counted from February 23,

2022 when the High Court sentenced

Mizan to three-year in

prison, reports BSS.

According to the notification, a

charge sheet was filed on June 6,

2019 against MizanurRahman

(Additional Commissioner of Police

DMP, suspended and attached to

the Directorate of Police) on multiple

charges including the

Prevention of Money Laundering

Act -2012.

This order has been issued in public

interest, added the notification.

Pakistan kept their slim Twenty20 World Cup hopes alive with a 33-run win over South Africa in a rain-affected

Group 2 clash at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.In the picture, Babar Azam's reaction after his side beat

the proteas by 33 runs at the SCG.

Photo : ICC

04-11-2022

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