13-05-2022

FrIdAy

DhAkA: May 13, 2022; Baishakh 30, 1429 BS; Shawal 11,1443 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.20; N o. 12; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

InternAtIonAl

Biden co-hosting 2nd

COVID summit as

world's resolve falters

>Page 7

Savar Tannery Estate

Guideline to be

prepared over

plot allocation

DHAKA : The government will prepare

a complete guideline over plot

allocation in the BSCIC Tannery

Industrial Estate in Savar. Industries

Secretary Zakia Sultana asked the officials

concerned to draft the guideline

during exchanging views with stakeholders

at the tannery estate on

Thursday, said a PID handout.

She stressed the need for using surface

water instead of underground water and

finding out a sustainable method to reuse

the water used in the industrial estate.

The secretary asked the representative

of the Department of Environment to collect

water samples from the effluent treatment

plant at least once a month and send

a report to the authorities concerned.

Chairman of Bangladesh Small and

Cottage Industries (BSCIC) Mahbubor

Rahman and representatives of

Bangladesh Tannery Association were

present. Later, the industries secretary

planted saplings in the tannery area.

Dhaka seeks more

int'l support for NAP

implementation

DHAKA : Environment, Forest and

Climate Change Minister Md Shahab

Uddin has urged the international community

to provide more support to

Bangladesh for successful implementation

of its National Adaptation Plan

(NAP) 2022.

He made the call while speaking at the

Ministerial Meeting titled 'Local Climate

Adaptive Living Facility' organised by the

UNCDF in Brussels, Belgium, on

Wednesday, according to a message

received here on Thursday.

The minister said the United Nations

Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and

Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility

(LoCAL) may provide technical support

to explore innovative financing instruments,

such as scaling up insurance, climate

bond, strengthening capital market,

blended climate finance based on publicprivate

partnership where public finances

can catalyze.

He said they may also help explore

other innovative approaches as well.

The environment minister said the government

is currently spending around 6

percent to 7 percent of the country's annual

budget for climate change adaptation.

More than 75 percent of this amount is

financed from domestic sources, he said,

adding that the adaptation financing

needs will increase with the increase of

frequency of extreme events.

"By 2050, our adaptation costs of tropical

cyclones and storm surges are estimated

at US$ 55.17 billion. Annual recurrent

expenditure will be US$ 112 million. Cost

of inland monsoon is estimated to be US$

26.71 billion and recurrent yearly spending

will require US$ 54 million," Shahab

Uddin said.

He said such high expenditure induced

by climate change will affect the country's

allocation for welfare, income generation

and poverty reduction programmes.

Shahab Uddin said implementation of

Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 will cost US$

23.23 billion dollars.

Zumma

03:55 AM

01:30 PM

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sports

Atletico seal Champions

League qualification

after win over Elche

>Page 9

a court yesterday sentenced Destiny Group President

Harun-ur-Rashid to four years and managing Director

Rafiqul amin to 12 years of imprisonment. Photo : TBT

Harun gets 4-year, Rafiqul

12 in Destiny scam case

DHAKA : A court yesterday sentenced

Destiny Group President Harun-Ur-

Rashid to four years and Managing

Director Rafiqul Amin to 12 years of

imprisonment for allegedly embezzling

Taka 1,861crore through Destiny

Multipurpose Cooperative Society

Limited, reports BSS.

The tribunal also fined Rafiqul

Taka 200 crore and Harun Taka 1.50

crore, in default, to suffer six-month

more in jail.

The court also awarded Destiny

Chairman Mohammad Hosain with

10 years in jail and imposed a fine of

Taka 50 lakh, in default, to suffer one

year more imprisonment. Judge

Sheikh Nazmul Alam of Dhaka fourth

Special Judge Court handed down the

verdict yesterday. The rest of the

accused have been sentenced to 5 to

10 years of imprisonment as well as

fine. Among 46 accused of the case, 39

are absconding.

Of the accused, Destiny Chairman

Mohammad Hossain and MD Rafiqul

Amin are in prison at the moment.

Lieutenant General (retd) Harun-Ar-

Rashid, Mrs Jasmine Akhter (Milon),

Ziaul Haque Mollah and Saiful Islam

Rubel are on bail.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)

on July 31, 2012, filed two cases under

Money Laundering Prevention Act with

the capital's Kalabagan Police Station.

The anti-graft body on May 4, 2014,

filed charge-sheet in the two cases for

embezzling Taka 4,119.24 crore.

In one case, 46 people were accused

of misappropriating Taka 1,861 crore

under the cover of Destiny

Multipurpose Cooperative Project

while 19 people were accused of embezzling

more than Taka 2,257 crore

through Destiny Tree Plantation

(DTPL).

The court on August 24, 2016 framed

charges in the two cases.

Tk 1,000 cr scheme gets

huge response from

cinema hall owners

DHAKA : Information and

Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan

Mahmud on Thursday held a fruitful

view-exchange with cinema hall

owners on proper utilization and

facilities of the government's Taka

1,000 crore refinance scheme for

construction of new cinema halls

and renovation.

The ministry arranged the meeting

at Tathya Bhaban in the city's

Kakrail area while over 100 cinema

hall owners and entrepreneurs from

across the country joined it, said a

press release.

After the discussion while

addressing as the chief guest, Hasan

expressed his optimism that it is

possible to open several hundred

cinema halls across the country

within one and half or two years

through constructing Cineplex and

cinema halls at every district and

upazila by getting soft loan facilities

from the scheme.

"We want our film industry will

take place in world arena," he said.

Describing film as a huge part of

culture, the minister said film or

expansion of cinema halls is conducive

to protect society from

derailment.

He said film industry can plan a

significant role in saving young generation

from drug addiction and

militancy.

During the meeting, cinema hall

owners described the formation of

Taka 1,000 crore refinance scheme

as a groundbreaking step in reviving

the country's film industry.

Bangladesh Film Exhibitors'

Association (BFEA) chief advisor

Sudipta Kumar Das underscored

the need for enhancing standard

and number of films for reviving

cinema halls.

Information and Broadcasting

Secretary Md Makbul Hossain

chaired the meeting while additional

secretary Faruq Ahmed, BFEA

general secretary Awlad Hossain,

Film Development Corporation

Managing Director Nuzhat Yasmin,

Film Censor Board Vice-Chairman

Muhammad Saifullah, representatives

of Bangladesh Bank and Sonali

Bank, Rupali Bank, Janata Bank,

UCB Bank, Meghna Bank, BDBL

and Union Bank joined it.

On approval of the Prime

Minister, Information and

Broadcasting Ministry requested

Bangladesh Bank to form a special

scheme for Taka 1,000 crore in

February and March last year.

In view of the request, Bangladesh

Bank formed the scheme and issued

two notifications asking all scheduled

banks to provide maximum

Taka 10 crore loan in constructing

new Cineplex or cinema halls and

maximum Taka 5 crore in renovating

halls to each owner and entrepreneur.

The repayment period of the

loans will be eight years. Interest

rate is 5 percent for metropolitan

area and 4.5 percent for outside of

metropolis.

Road crashes claim

376 lives during

Eid holidays : RSF

DHAKA : As many as 376 lives were lost

while 1500 people were injured in 283

road accidents across the country during

Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, according to a report,

reports UNB.

Road Safety Foundation (RSF), an organisation

that campaigns for safer roads, on

Thursday revealed this information in a new

report on accidents on Bangladesh's roads

from April 25 to May 8.

Besides, at least five people were killed

and two others injured while two went

missing in seven waterways accidents.

Ninteen people killed and three others

injured in 17 train accidents during the

period.

The report was prepared based on accident

reports carried by nine national

dailies, seven online news portals and electronic

media.

Of the total deceased, 38 were women

and 51 were children.

A total of 156 people were killed in 128

accidents involving motorbikes, which

accounted for 41.48 per cent of the total

deaths.

According to the RSF findings, at least

54 pedestrians were killed in road accidents,

which accounted for 14.36 percent

of the total deaths.

Some 49 drivers and their assistants

were also subjected to road fatalities and

that is 13 per cent of the total deaths.

Of the total accidents, 132 accidents

occurred on the national highways, 87 on

regional highways and 41 on rural roads

and 23 on city roads, the report said.

Govt bars govt officials

from overseas travel

until further notice

DHAKA : The government has put on

hold all kinds of overseas travel of its officials

until further notice due to the current

global crisis and to help post-Covid

economic recovery, reports UNB.

The Finance Ministry issued a notification

in this regard on Thursday.

All kinds of exposure visit, study tour,

visits under APA and innovation along

with overseas travel to attend seminars

and workshops have been indefinitely

postponed, said the notice. This restriction

will be applicable for all officials

under the operational and the development

budget with immediate effect.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa

Kamal on Wednesday said the prime

minister has issued directives against

frequent foreign trips of the government

officials unless these are very exclusive or

essential from a strategic point of view.

Frequent overseas tours by government

officials often raised many eye

brows.

Arts & Culture

Moushumi, Shabnam

interested to act

together again

>Page 10

Sri Lanka crisis

Gotabaya Rajapaksa appoints

veteran politician as PM

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa

has appointed a new prime minister as he

tries to defuse protests over his handling of a

severe economic crisis. Senior opposition

MP Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in to

lead a proposed cross-party government.

The move came after the president ignored

calls to resign, and vowed to restore order in

a national address.

Nine people have been killed and 200

injured in unrest since his brother

resigned as prime minister on Monday.

During his nationwide address, Mr

Rajapaksa said he would appoint a new

prime minister who commanded the

majority of support in parliament, as well

as a new cabinet.

Mr Wickremesinghe has been on Sri

Lanka's political scene for decades - this

will be his sixth stint as prime minister,

although he's never seen out a full term.

He is seen as being close to the

Rajapaksas, and experts believe he has

been chosen because he would be likely to

guarantee their security and any safe passage

they might request.

But he does not currently command

much support within the opposition or

among the public. A nationwide curfew

that shut shops, businesses and offices was

lifted for a few hours on Thursday morning,

but reimposed in the afternoon. Sri

Lanka's economy is in freefall and people

are desperate as basic items like food and

fuel run out or become unaffordable.

In Colombo residents started lining up

outside petrol stations even before the curfew

was lifted. More vehicles could be seen

on the roads as people rushed out to buy

essentials.

News that Ranil Wickremesinghe is the

new prime minister has been largely met

with dismay and disbelief in Sri Lanka.

Mr Wickremesinghe, once a skilled tactician,

has seen his public appeal steadily

plummet over the years. In the last election,

his once ruling United National Party

managed to scrape together just one parliamentary

seat, leaving him its sole representative

in parliament.

One major reason for that has been his

perceived closeness to the Rajapaksa family

despite being in the opposition. Many

people believe he helped shield them

when they lost power in 2015 - his

appointment now is seen as a way for the

president to defy protesters' demands that

he quit.

Oil market will to be normal

soon: Tipu Munshi

Safiqul iSlam (Jami)

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said, "If

oil prices continue to fall in the international

market, it will have an impact on our market

as well." As a result, it took time to pay for the

oil and distribute it. Apart from this, some

unscrupulous traders hid previous price. I

think within two or three days the oil market

will be normal. The minister was talking to

reporters after a ceremony at a hotel in the

capital on Thursday. Meanwhile, the

Bangladesh Competition Commission has

filed a case against eight edible oil refining

companies in the country. The commission

filed the case on Wednesday in the national

interest. A case has been filed against these 8

companies under sections 15 and 15 (2) of

the Competition Commission Act.

'Traders demand to stop the campaign of

the Consumer Rights Protection

Department', what is your comment on this?

Responding to a question, the minister said,

"We think we will continue to operate in the

market till they start supplying properly."

Replying to a question, the minister said,

"We are working on everything." We are

hopeful that we will be able to import oil

through Trading Corporation of Bangladesh

(TCB) from June.

Responding to a question on the FBCCI's

decision to withdraw tariffs on oil imports,

the minister said the National Board of

Revenue (NBR) is the office to reduce taxes

on everything. We can only give letters. In

term of our letter, they have reduced it by 10

percent. Now VAT is 5 percent. We will give

the letter to reduce it.

"We will continue what we have given to

one crore families," he added. If our traders

do what they regularly import, then there

should be a problem. We have increased the

price by 38 TK. But I did not do it in the

month of Ramadan thinking of the people.

The FBCCI said to look at the price for 15

consecutive days. We see every month.

The Commerce Minister said that at the

moment I am selling oil from India at a

reduced price of 13-14 TK. We are selling

from Pakistan for less than 36 TK. Nepal's

price is the same. If it does not decrease in

the international market, it will not be possible

for us to reduce. 90 percent of our

dependence is still on foreign countries.

Cyclone asani first turned into a deep depression and then normal. However, torrential

rain witnessed in the capital on Thursday. The picture is taken from Kamrangichar area

of Buriganga river.

Photo : Star mail

friDAY, MAY 13, 2022

2

Bangladesh's fate will

never be like Sri

Lanka's: Abed Ali

S M Akash, Chattogram Bureau

Professor Mohammad Abed Ali, Secretary

General of the SAARC Human Rights

Foundation and Chairman of the Election

Monitoring Forum, the largest

international human rights organization

in South Asia, said in a keynote address at

a reception in the Maldives, "Bangladesh

is moving forward in tandem with the

developed world. Bangladesh's current

economy is more prosperous than ever.

As long as millions of remittance earners

are working on foreign soil, Bangladesh

will move forward. Bangladesh condition

will never be like Sri Lanka's."

Professor Abed Ali made the remarks at

a reception hosted by the Expatriate

Social Workers Association Maldives at a

local restaurant on Wednesday, May 11, in

the presence of Zakir Hossain, President

of Expatriate Social Workers Association

Maldives and SAARC human rights

Representative of Maldives.

High Commissioner of Bangladesh in

Maldives Rear Admiral S.M. Abul Kalam

Azad, Special Representative of SAARC

Human Rights Foundation Maldives and

former President of Maldives

Employment Tribunal Amjad Mostafa,

Vice Chairman of Maldives Election

Commission Ismail Habib, Central Co-

President of SAARC Human Rights

Foundation Mizanur Rahman Majumder,

Central Director of SAARC, Distinguished

writer and columnist Dr. Muhammad

Masum Chowdhury.

Mohammad Sohail Rana (CIP),

Chairman, Global Rich Group, Maldives,

Dulal Hossain, Chairman, Maldives View

Construction, Md. Kamrul Islam, esteem

businessman Rabiul Alam, vice-president

of the Expatriate Social Workers

Association, Mahmudul Hasan and

Shahidul Islam, general secretaries,

Mashudul Islam Masud, organizing

secretary, Monir Hossain, finance

secretary and Al Amin, among others,

were present at the event.

Sadhan for

working together

to ensure safe food

DHAKA : Food Minister

Sadhan Chandra

Majumder yesterday called

upon the organizations

engaged in ensuring safe

food to work together to

implement the vision of the

government.

"I urge all the

organizations engaged in

ensuring safe food to work

under the same roof aiming

to implement the vision of

the government," he said.

The minister made the

call while virtually

addressing the 6th meeting

of the Food Management

Advisory Council here, a

press release said.

The food minister said a

prosperous golden Bengal

should be built under the

leadership of Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina

imbued with the ideology

of Father of Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman.

He called upon the

concerned people to turn

the new generation into a

talented one by ensuring

safe food free from

adulteration.

Mayor of Dhaka South

City Corporation (DSCC)

Barrister Sheikh Fazle

Noor Taposh, Dhaka North

City Corporation (DNCC)

Mayor Md Atiqul Islam,

Food Secretary Mosammat

Nazmanara Khanum,

Cabinet Secretary

(Reforms

and

Coordination) Md Samsul

Arefin, Bangladesh Safe

Food Authority (BSFA)

Chairman Md Abdul

Qayum Sarker and Director

General (DG) of

Bangladesh Standard and

Testing Institution (BSTI)

Dr Md Nazrul Anwar also

spoke on the occasion,

among others.

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FrIDAY, MAY 13, 2022

3

Rights group urges UN Security Council to

impose binding arms embargo on Myanmar

A special lecture on 'Inclusive Education' was held at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban of

Dhaka University. Vice-Chancellor of DU Prof. Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman presided over the function.

University of Dhaka and Alliance Francaise, Dhaka jointly organized this event. Photo : Courtesy

A Special Lecture on ‘Inclusive

Education’ held at DU

A special lecture on 'Inclusive

Education' was held yesterday at Nabab

Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban

of Dhaka University (DU). Vice-

Chancellor of DU Prof. Dr. Md.

Akhtaruzzaman presided over the

function.University of Dhaka and

Alliance Francaise, Dhaka jointly

organized this event.

President of 'Libraries Without

Boarders' Prof. Dr. Patrick Weil

delivered the lecture on 'Inclusive

Education' while Director of Alliance

FrancaiseMr. Francois Grosjean gave

vote of thanks. Director of DU Institute

of Education and Research (IER) Prof.

Dr. Md. Abdul Halim delivered welcome

speech.

Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor

Prof. Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman stressed

the need for ensuring inclusive

education to achieve Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs). Father of

the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh

MujiburRahman had formulated

national education policy for making an

inclusive society, he mentioned.

Bangladesh has made tremendous

progress in achieving target of inclusive

education under the dynamic leadership

of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he

added. He called upon all concerned to

On the occasion of 42nd Home Coming Day of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Dhaka Mohanagar Uttar

Juba League organized an extended meeting at Bangabandhu Avenue yesterday. Photo : Courtesy

SC lawyers to get

new building:

SCBA secretary

DHAKA : Supreme Court Bar

Association (SCBA) secretary

Advocate Md Abdun Nur

Dulal said a new building will

be built for the lawyers of the

apex court.

"Chief Justice Hasan Foez

Siddique has visited our office

and given his consent in this

regard," the newly elected

secretary said after assuming

office yesterday.

Dulal said the result of the

recently held election of SCBA

was declared on April 27 and

the new committee took time

of 14 days after that to hold

annual general meeting

(AGM). After the passing of 14

days, today the new

committee assumed office

through AGM.

"We had promised to build

a new building for the

Supreme Court lawyers in our

election manifesto, and we

have already started our work

in this regard. The chief

justice visited our office on

May 11 and exchanged views

with the lawyer leaders there.

He gave his verbal permission

and also visited the place

where the building would be

built," the SCBA secretary

further said.

Reaching urban facilities

to villages stressed

RAJSHAHI : Reaching the

urban facilities to the

villages can be the best way

of substantial and

sustainable reduction of

influx of people to urban

areas from villages.

Many of the rural people

are seen migrating to

urban areas in search of

work, food and shelter as

well as getting a better life

every year. So, utmost

emphasis should be on

ensuring urban amenities

to the villagers collectively

as the present government

under the prudent and

visionary leadership of

Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina is pledged to do the

same.

The observations came at

a daylong regional

workshop styled "Amar

Gram Amar Shohor"

hosted by the Regional

Public Administration

Training Centre (RPATC)

at its conference hall here

today. Around 60 district

and upazila level officials

from different line

departments and other

stakeholders joined the

workshop.

Member Directing Staff

of BPATC, Savar, Abu

Momtaz Saaduddin

Ahmed addressed the

opening ceremony as chief

guest; while another

Member Directing Staff

Baby Rani karmakar spoke

as special guest with

RPATC Deputy Director

Parvez Raihan in the chair.

RPATC Assistant

Director Abdullahel Baki

moderated the discussion,

while Executive Magistrate

Imranul Haque gave an

illustration on the issue

during his keynote

presentation. In his

remarks, Saaduddin

Ahmed urged the

participants to put in their

level best efforts to

supplement the

government endeavor of

reaching the urban

privileges to the rural

people to improve their

work together for ensuring inclusive

education in the country.

Prof. Dr. Patrick Weil emphasized on

ensuring access to education for all

including under privileged and

marginalized communities around the

world.

It may be mentioned that

LibrariesWithoutBoarders (LWB) is a

charitable organization based in France

which provides access to information

and education for all. This organization

has developed an innovative technology

to build digital learning platform in

more than 50 countries including

Bangladesh.

living and livelihood

conditions.

He told the meeting that

the present government

led by Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina has been

working relentlessly to

uplift the socio-economic

condition of the villagers

through ensuring them

with requisite facilities.

In the workshop, the

participants were

acquainted with Amar

Gram Amar Shohor

besides enabling them to

understand and realize its

importance.

They were also sensitized

and given knowledge to

contribute towards

achieving the main

objectives of Amar Gram

Amar Shohor. In group

discussions, the

participants also devised

ways and means on how to

attain the cherished goal

that will also support the

sustainable development

goals.

DHAKA : The United Nations

Security Council should

urgently convene an open

session on Myanmar and pass

a binding resolution on the

situation in the country,

Fortify Rights said on

Thursday.

A Security Council

resolution on Myanmar

should impose a global arms

embargo on the military, refer

the situation in the country to

the International Criminal

Court, and impose targeted

sanctions, it said. Nine highlevel

representatives from

member states of the

Association of Southeast

Asian Nations (ASEAN) are

scheduled to meet U.S.

President Joe Biden on May

12 and 13 during a special

summit in Washington D.C.,

where the regional bloc's

response to the crisis in

Myanmar will be discussed.

"ASEAN and its consensus

have failed," said Matthew

Quader for

valuing tested

AL leaders

FARIDPUR : Awami League

General Secretary Obaidul

Quader yesterday stressed the

need for valuing the tested

leaders and said the

opportunists would not be

available during any crisis of

the party, reports BSS.

"We have to value the tested

AL leaders as the opportunist

leaders will not be found in

the party during its bad time,"

he told the inaugural session

of Faridpur district Awami

League's triennial council,

joining virtually from his

official residence in Dhaka.

The council was held on

Govt Rajendra College

premises at about 11.30 am.

Quader, also the road

transport and bridges

minister, said those who

siphoned off money abroad,

identified terrorists and

extortionists and drug traders

should not be allowed in the

party.

He said Bangladesh

achieved tremendous

development in the last 13

years under the bold

leadership of Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina.

"But, the BNP leaders do

not see any development or

achievement of the country.

They can see only the

darkness of night in the broad

daylight," the AL general

secretary said.

He said the AL must survive

to protect the country's

democracy, economic

solvency and development.

People should vote for AL

again to keep the party in

power for continuation of the

country's development, he

added.

About the politics of the

BNP, Quader said the

country's people think that

top-to-bottom leaders of the

BNP, including its secretary

general Mirza Fakhrul Islam

Alamgir, should resign from

the party because of their

failures.

Highlighting the progress of

ongoing mega projects, he

said the Padma Multipurpose

Bridge will be inaugurated in

June.

"And then we will think of

constructing the second

Padma bridge at Daulotdia-

Paturia point," he added.

Chaired by president of

Faridpur district AL advocate

Subal Chandra Saha, the

meeting was attended, among

others, by AL presidium

members Kazi Zafarullah, Dr

Abdur Razzaque, Shajahan

Khan, Lt Colonel (rtd) Faruk

Khan, Abdur Rahman and

advocate Jahangir Kabir

Nanak, joint general secretary

AFM Bahauddin Nasim,

organising secretaries Mirza

Azam, BM Mozammel Haque

and SM Kamal Hossain,

publicity and publication

secretary Dr Abdus Sobhan

Golap and secretary of

Faridpur district AL Syed

Masud Hossain.

Smith, Chief Executive Officer

at Fortify Rights, a rights

group which primarily works

to ensure human rights.

"The Security Council has a

responsibility to act. The flow

of arms and money to the

junta must be stopped, and

the Security Council is the key

international body with a

mandate to make that

happen," he said

In April 2021, ASEAN

leaders reached a "Five-Point

Consensus" with the

Myanmar military, aimed at

putting the nation back on a

path to peace following the

February 2021 military coup

d'etat led by Myanmar Senior

General Min Aung Hlaing.

The Myanmar junta has

flouted the agreement while

committing mass atrocity

crimes. The U.K. is the U.N.

Security

Council's

"penholder" on Myanmar and

should table a Chapter VII

resolution mandating an arms

250 students of Green University have been awarded VC and DINS certificates

for achieving meritorious results in academic examinations. The certificate

was awarded for the Spring-2021 semester through an event held

on the online platform Zoom on Wednesday.

Photo : Courtesy

BGMEA urges Aldi to source more

high-end apparel from Bangladesh

DHAKA : The Bangladesh

Government Manufacturers

and Exporters Association

(BGMEA) has called upon

Aldi, a Germany based

international retailer, to

source more diversified

high-end garment products

from the country.

President Faruque Hassan

urged Aldi to strengthen its

partnership

with

Bangladeshi suppliers in

building their capacities in

manufacturing apparel

products that have greater

demand in the international

market.

He made the call when a

delegation of Aldi paid a visit

to him in Dhaka Wednesday.

The delegation included

Denise Hochreiter-

embargo and referral to the

ICC, and President Biden

should use the occasion of the

Special Summit to obtain

ASEAN's support for such a

move, Fortify Rights said.

Chapter VII of the U.N.

Charter enables the Security

Council to take coercive action

with respect to threats to

international peace and

security; Chapter VII

resolutions are binding on all

U.N. member states.

The Myanmar military is

responsible for genocide,

crimes against humanity, and

war crimes and has long

posed a threat to international

peace and security, said the

rights body.

Since launching a coup

d'etat on February 1, 2021, the

Myanmar army and police

have reportedly killed more

than 1,800 people and

detained more than 13,640.

President Biden should also

encourage ASEAN member

Hamberger, managing

director for global sourcing,

Anke Ehlers, managing

director for corporate

responsibility international,

Katharina Wortmann,

director of corporate

responsibility international,

SM Nurul Azam, director of

corporate responsibility, Md

Hasan-Uz-Zaman, senior

manager, corporate

responsibility, Aldi South

Group.

BGMEA Vice-President

Miran Ali and Director

Abdullah Hil Rakib were also

present.

During the meeting,

Faruque said Bangladesh

has earned global

recognition and accolades as

a safe, sustainable and

states to engage the National

Unity Government of

Myanmar, as recommended

by Malaysian Foreign

Minister Saifuddin Abdullah,

said Fortify Rights.

Thailand should be urged to

stop returning refugees to

Myanmar and to authorize

cross-border humanitarian

aid, it said.

The U.S. Government and

ASEAN should also ensure

that humanitarian aid to

Myanmar is not directed

through the military junta,

said Fortify Rights.

"The Myanmar junta is

destabilizing the entire region,

and ASEAN is at risk of losing

all credibility for failing to take

decisive action," said Matthew

Smith.

"All governments have a

responsibility to protect the

people of Myanmar from

mass atrocities and that

includes members of the

Security Council."

No Covid-19 death reported

in 24 hours, 51 new cases

DHAKA : Bangladesh yesterday reported

zero Covid-19 death in the past 24 hours

while it recorded 51 coronavirus positive

cases during the same period.

"Bangladesh reported 0.89 percent Covid-

19 positive cases as 5,736 samples were

tested in the last 24 hours," Directorate

General of Health Services (DGHS) sources

said. During the past 24 hours, the combined

figure of coronavirus infection in Dhaka city

and upazilas of the district is 43 while no

Covid-19 death was reported during the

period.

The official tally showed that the virus

killed 29,127 people and infected 19,52,939,

so far, the statement added.

The recovery count rose to 18,98,603 after

another 291 patients were discharged from

the dedicated hospitals during the past one

day.

From the beginning of the pandemic,

97.22 percent Covid-19 patients recovered

among the infected people while 1.49

percent died, the DGHS statistics showed.

Among the 29,127 fatalities, 12,796

occurred in Dhaka division, 5,863 in

Chattogram, 2,142 in Rajshahi, 3,718 in

Khulna, 982 in Barishal, 1,327 in Sylhet,

1,417 in Rangpur and 880 in Mymensingh

divisions.

ethical apparel sourcing hub.

To retain its fame and

competitiveness, the apparel

industry of the country has

given priority to product

diversification, especially to

non-cotton and high-end

product segments, and

innovation in product

development and process

optimisation, he added.

The BGMEA president

also requested the Aldi

delegation to share

encouraging stories of

Bangladesh's garment

industry with relevant

international stakeholders.

Aldi, an international

retailer with over 10,000

stores around the world, has

long been sourcing garments

from Bangladesh.


4

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Friday, May 13, 2022

Retention of human

resources

Like a parrot every government in Bangladesh has harped on the

theme of developing human resources for economic growth and

development. But nothing is said about the other side of the issue

: the crucial 'retention' of the made human resources for the country's

own use.

In some countries which have been declared already as failed states

like Somali and Sudan with a hopeless future and where even the basics

of survival are found to be in very short supply for well educated or

trained persons, the migration of educated and professionally qualified

persons from them in search of a better life and opportunities may be

justified.

But for well educated professionals in Bangladesh, this country is not

such a wasteland. It offers them-at least in start up cases like junior

doctors and engineers-not so much perks and privileges but gradually

these professionals can expect better income and higher living

standards. Certainly, many of them can point to less job satisfaction or

working conditions and less stimulations at their places of employment.

But all of these things are not very great hurdles to absolutely

demotivate them about Bangladesh and create in their minds the

longings and a sense of desperation to seek employment abroad.

While comparatively less income, non recognition of merit and

insufficient opportunities for research and other things, are usually

cited as the propellers that drive out well educated Bangladeshis and

professionals with the expectation of higher income abroad, the real

reason is transparent greed and self-seeking and the utter lack of any

decent values. We may live in a world where exhortations such as ' ask

not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your

country', such words uttered by one of America's most remembered

President, John F Kennedy, may no more inspire, but surely patriotism

continues to be a factor behind national strength and a sought after

quality even in this age of globalisation

These educated Bangladeshis will not be able to hide their lack of

character and values in most cases in betraying their country in the

most foul manner. They get government subsidized education in many

cases to acquire technical or professional qualifications but instead of

repaying what the get at the taxpayers' expense, they most heartlessly

and insensitively decide to stab their country in the back by settling

abroad and serving foreign masters. The state and the people make

great sacrifices for their education and upkeep but get nothing in return.

Many of them jeer at their countrymen from their overseas homes as

slobs without a future. But their consciences which they do not possess

in the first place, are never pricked by a thought of their criminality in

cheating and betraying the cause of their motherland.

But look at the sharp contrast between these so called educated and

talented Bangladeshis and the great number of Bangladeshis of

uneducated, little educated or humble rural origin who are going abroad

in large number to do menial jobs in most cases. They are a helpful lot

who go abroad with the sole purpose of aiding their families. The

monies they unfailingly send home cushion the country's foreign

exchange reserve, help in the consumption needs of the families they

leave behind or in the education and upbringing of dependents, get

invested in small enterprises and businesses and in the buying of real

properties. Besides, these humble people return home at the end of their

employment with their accumulated earnings.

Thus, the lifestyle and activities of these relatively non affluent ,

uneducated or little educated people, are very approvable because they

help out with employment, bring resources into the country and aid in

the alleviation of poverty at the individual and family levels. The

resources they acquire are generally invested in the country and stays in

it. Nothing can be more useful or patriotic for the country than such

behavior.

What behavior do we see from the well educated professionals or

students from the middle and upper classes who go abroad ? In most

cases of immigration, they sever all ties with the country. As the family

members leave in most cases with immigration, there is no need to send

money back to Bangladesh. Nor is there any intention to do so. On the

plea of the uncertain investment climate in Bangladesh, most of them

also do not attempt any investment of their resources here.

The students who go abroad on completing their education behave

the same like the immigrants. They take up jobs in the foreign countries

and at a later stage are seen bringing their parents and other

dependents into those countries and doing everything to end their

relationship conclusively with Bangladesh. Finally even family homes in

Dhaka and at other places are sold and the money obtained, thus, are

transferred overseas through the illegitimate hundi system from which

the country gains nothing.

So, the moot question is whether such behavior should continue to be

overlooked or casually responded ? If not, then what should be done

about it . According to a recent report in a national daily, the flight of

human resources from Bangladesh has acquired alarming

proportions. Every year about 4 thousand information technologists,

doctors, engineers, teachers, researchers, accountants, etc., are leaving

Bangladesh as immigrants.

The state and the taxpayers had done much for their education and

career but they would be lost forever by the country. Bangladesh would

get ultimately no services or resources from them and increasing

hazards will be faced to fill up their empty ranks here and countrymen

will suffer from yet further reduced services delivery to them from the

thinning number of the professionals to discharge these services.

Of course, government should recognize and do whatever it can

within its limitations such as giving them enhanced salaries, funding for

research and other facilities at work places, to motivate them to remain

in the country. But this writer for one, does not believe that more income

or facilities is the reason for their leaving. It is mainly the very

unpatriotic and very uncaring attitude and complete lack of a sense of

responsibility to the country, which are fueling the brain drain.

Time is more than ripe to make a list of the professionals in the

country and regulate their foreign employment and settlement. At

least, every professional on passing out from a government subsidized

study center, should be required to sign a bond that he or she would stay

and work in the country for a minimum of 10-15 years.

Hard attempts must be made to bring back teachers and others who

left their publicly run institutions with scholarships to foreign

organizations but are overstaying. They should be made to suffer

appropriate penalties for dereliction of their duties.

Of course government can have a policy of producing in its

educational institutions and training centers a 'surplus' of skilled

manpower for overseas jobs after carefully ascertaining the demand in

each sector locally. The surplus can then be sent out under a policy of

exporting skilled persons to earn more. Bur without creating this

surplus first but recklessly sending out en masse the skilled workers

means creating their fatal dearth for home employment and its

consequent adverse results.

Why Bangladesh is being called a 'donor country' now?

The subject of 'why Bangladesh is being

called a 'donor country now' has been

raised. Bangladesh celebrates its 51th

year as a sovereign nation in South Asia in

2022. It inherited a devastated economy and

a fully destroyed infrastructure after a fullfledged

independence war. Bangladesh's

phenomenal economic growth and

achievements were discussed globally as it

commemorated its 51th founding

anniversary. Bangladesh, on the other hand,

inherited a shaky economy when it was

founded in 1971. Bangladesh was been

described as a "bottomless basket" by US

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.Many

economists and world leaders regarded it as

a hopeless economic disaster. Nobody

thought it could make it as an independent

country economically. The phoenix

emerging from the ashes has amazed and

charmed the world today.

Medical support to Sri Lanka

At a simple ceremony held at the State

Guest House Padma in Dhaka this week, the

government of Bangladesh gave muchneeded

medical supplies to the people of Sri

Lanka at the request of the Sri Lankan

government. The emergency medical

supplies provided have a total value of BDT

200 million ($ 2.32 million).

Bangladesh's recent medical and financial

aid to Sri Lanka improves the country's

image and standing. Bangladesh was once a

"bottomless hole" in need of aid. It is now

both a donor and a lender. It demonstrates

how all South Asian countries can rise from

the ashes.

Bangladesh has the honor of standing by

Sri Lanka in every way it can during times of

distress as a friend and neighbor.

In this regard, a ceremony was organized

on Thursday at the State Guest House,

during which Foreign Minister Dr. A.K.

Abdul Momen and Health Minister Zahid

Maleque presented Prof Sudharshan D.S.

Seneviratne with a few cartons of

pharmaceuticals as a gesture.

Bangladesh has not been seen as a source

of financial aid to other countries in the past.

But, during the last two decades, the country

has effectively transformed from a poor

country to the economic powerhouse it is

today, but Dhaka had to travel a long way to

get there. The country routinely

outperformed India and Pakistan in terms

of exports, particularly in the clothing

New EU-China strategy made in Washington

In a pretty surprising move, on

September 16, the European Parliament

published a resolution on a new EU-

China strategy. This 18-page document,

which mentions "China" more tha 160

times, was released immediately after US

President Joe Biden, along with his faithful

Anglo-Saxon brethren from Australia

(Prime Minister Scott Morrison) and Britain

(Prime Minister Boris Johnson), struck a

new Cold War-like deal, commonly known

as "AUKUS." Why surprising?

What both developments have in

common is that they aim to boost Western

powers' presence in the Indo-Pacific region

in an effort to counter China's rise.

Setting the stage for 'la grande gaffe'

Either someone was really quick and

prepared the EU resolution overnight

(which is impossible), or it was already

waiting in the queue to be spectacularly,

with theatrical dramaturgy, announced once

the main perpetrators of the anti-China

foray finished their leadership bit so that

Europe could go ahead and follow.

"We must survive on our own, as others

do," the EU's foreign-policy chief Josep

Borrell said during the announcement of the

bloc's grand strategy for the Indo-Pacific

region, recalling French President

Emmanuel Macron's "strategic autonomy"

mantra.

Borrell also referred to the Naval Group's

loss of a US$40 billion contract canceled by

Prime Minister Morrison favoring nuclearpowered

submarines built with US knowhow.

"I understand the extent to which the

French government must be disappointed,"

the diplomat concluded.

The EU's chairman, Charles Michel,

further asserted that AUKUS "demonstrates

the need for a common EU approach in a

region of strategic interest."

So what exactly is the EU's "strategic

interest" in the Indo-Pacific region, and

what "common approach" does it want to

embrace to achieve it?

Reviving Yellow Peril narrative

"China is asserting a stronger global role

both as an economic power and as foreignpolicy

actor, which poses serious political,

economic, security and technological

challenges to the EU, which in turn has

significant and long-lasting consequences

for the world order, and poses serious

threats to rules-based multilateralism and

core democratic values," we can read under

Point B of the resolution.

The Point C of the document expresses

regret over China's one-party system and

the Communist Party of China's

commitment to Marxism-Leninism, which,

allegedly, precludes it from embracing

industry. The country is hailed as a South

Asian development model, similar to South

Korea, China, and Vietnam, all of which

have prospered thanks to export-led

economic strategies. As a result, its economy

has literally pulled itself up by the bootstraps

and will be the fastest growing in South Asia

by 2020. Now the country is being called 'a

donor country'.

Amazing story

How is it that Bangladesh continues to

astonish us? Exports, social advancement,

and economic foresight, according to

economists, are some of the reasons behind

this. Three other aspects must be

considered: sympathy, economic

diplomacy, and political will.

When Bangladesh offered Colombo $200

million in aid, the Sri Lankan media

remarked, "If Dhaka can be self-sufficient,

why can't we?"

Bangladesh gave Sudan 65 crore taka in

June to relieve the IMF's debt burden. The

IMF loaned the government Rs 510,000

crore taka. The country's economic situation

was so severe that it was unable to service its

debt.The government of Bangladesh thinks

that the investment will help Sudan battle

poverty.

Financial support to Sudan, Somalia, and

Sri Lanka

Somalia, another African country,

received more than 80 million takas from

Bangladesh.

This was also for the purpose of repaying

an IMF loan.

Sudan is a debt-ridden and impoverished

country.

Bangladesh has stated that it will assist Sri

Lanka in every way feasible to help the

island nation overcome its greatest

economic crisis since independence in 1948.

Bangladesh promised humanitarian

assistance to the Afghan people in

December 2021, while also expressing

"democratic values such as individual

freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of

religion," as it takes place in more civilized

parts of the world like Europe and the US.

The core part of the resolution relates to

the recommendation provided to the vicepresident

of the commission / high

representative of the Union for Foreign

Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) and the

Council on the importance of developing "a

more assertive, comprehensive and

consistent EU-China strategy that unites all

Member States and shapes relations with

China in the interest of the EU as a whole,"

which can be found under Article 1 (a).

Each pillar is rich in multiple articles, so I

will pay attention only to the most important

ones.

While it has to be admitted that some of

the pillars do have merit in advocating for

much-needed cooperation on "preventing

Afghanistan from becoming a new terrorist

base and discouraging North Korea from

continuing its nuclear program," or tackling

issues like the environment and climate

change, the economic recovery after the

pandemic, and the fight against global

health crises, it has to be admitted that the

overall tone is highly condescending, not to

say neocolonial.

Divide et impera 2.0

Among several complaints and

outrageous demands, we can see the

ongoing pattern of applying what Antony

Anghie, a professor at the National

University of Singapore Faculty of Law and

secretary general of the Asian Society of

International Law, calls the "dynamic of

difference."

In this case, we are dealing with the

"difference" between civilized democratic

European values and non-European

communist authoritarian values, with

human rights being portrayed as the crux of

the matter.

While human rights are the most precious

reward being obtained by the formally

colonized world during the ongoing struggle

with the Western colonial powers, in this

document, according to Oxford University

political theorist Jeanne Morefield's article

"When neoliberalism hijacked human

FuMIKo YAMADA

ADrIEL KASonTA

serious worry about the country's economic

and humanitarian problems.

Food and medical aid have been

announced by the country.

Bangladesh has previously demonstrated

its humanitarian ideals by cordially

welcoming about 1.1 million Myanmarese

Rohingya refugees.

Despite several diplomatic efforts, the

repatriation of Rohingyas has taken a long

time.

Taking in refugees

Despite the significant strain on the

economy, food management, limited

In this regard, a ceremony was organized on Thursday at

the State Guest House, during which Foreign Minister Dr.

A.K. Abdul Momen and Health Minister Zahid Maleque

presented Prof Sudharshan D.S. Seneviratne with a few

cartons of pharmaceuticals as a gesture.

resources, and other situations, Bangladesh

continues to generously welcome the

world's largest and expanding refugee

community.The question now is: if

Bangladesh can be self-sufficient, a donor, a

lender, and a South Asian economic miracle,

why can't others? Bangladesh can teach

South Asia a lot.

Bangladesh's transitionsfrom

internationalbeggar country to a donor

country

Leadership, creativity, planning, and

ownership are some aspects that helped

Bangladesh turn from an "international

beggar" to an "economically vibrant

country.Bangladeshi people have innovative

and creative skills, as evidenced by increased

garment exports, overseas remittances,

population control, higher literacy rates,

poverty alleviation, and women

empowerment.Bangladesh's administration

is focused on the economy, governance, and

social and human development.

The world has been surprised by this tiny

country's meteoric rise and economic

progress. Economists and political leaders

around the world are astonished, and this

remarkable progress and development

strategy is now being closely monitored.

Some countries are considering

implementing the Bangladesh development

rights" published in Jacobin magazine on

May 1, 2020, they serve as "a weapon to be

used against anti-colonial projects" like, for

example, the Belt and Road Initiative.

It is worth mentioning that Brussels

perceives the BRI as a "threat stemming

from China," among other initiatives like the

"dual circulation strategy, 14th Five Year

Plan, and Made in China 2025, China

Standards 2035 and 16+1 policies, including

The Point C of the document expresses regret over China's one-party system

and the Communist Party of China's commitment to Marxism-Leninism,

which, allegedly, precludes it from embracing "democratic values such as

individual freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of religion," as it takes

place in more civilized parts of the world like Europe and the uS.

its military modernization and capacity

buildup" - as we can read under Article 22 of

the resolution.

"We want to create links and not

dependencies," said Commission President

Ursula von der Leyen while promoting the

"Global Gateway" project aimed at

competing with the BRI. "We want to create

links and not dependencies," she continued

with a jab aimed at Beijing.

"We are good at financing roads. But it

does not make sense for Europe to build a

perfect road between a Chinese-owned

copper mine and a Chinese-owned harbor.

We have to get smarter when it comes to

these kinds of investments," von der Leyen

concluded, adding that priority would be

given to connectivity endeavors expected to

be discussed at a regional summit next

February.

Her comments fit the narrative of an

ongoing smear campaign accusing China of

practicing "debt-trap diplomacy," which for

those familiar with the subject is nothing

more than a "meme" invented by Indian

propaganda in 2017, as Deborah Bräutigam,

the Bernard L Schwartz Professor in

International Political Economy and

director of the China Africa Research

Initiative at Johns Hopkins University's

School of Advanced International Studies

(SAIS), argues in an article published in the

journal Area Development and Policy on

December 9, 2019.

To put it simply, "The Chinese 'debt trap'

is a myth," as an op-ed in The Atlantic

magazine co-authored by Bräutigam with

Meg Rithmire, F Warren McFarlan

Associate Professor at Harvard Business

School, puts it.

Human rights and convenient double

standard

model in their own countries.Many of the

world's best economists have now urged all

developing countries to adopt and

implement the Bangladesh model for

economic growth, advancement, and

development.

Covid-19 aid to India, Indonesia

On Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's

orders, the Bangladesh government sent the

delivery of medicines to Indonesia in its fight

against the Covid-19 outbreak in

2021.Bangladesh is one of the 40 countries

that has supplied Covid relief aid to India

twice as the country fights the second wave

of the tsunami.

Prior to these aids to India and Sri Lanka,

Bangladesh has been seen to stand with

other countries in providing humanitarian

support.

Bangladesh is committed to treating its

neighbors with respect and reaching out to

those who require assistance. Bangladesh

has begun to display its economic progress

and utilize it to forge deeper ties with

neighbors, from giving India with Covid

relief goods to extending financial aid to Sri

Lanka in its hour of distress.

Announcing humanitarian aid for Afghan

people

During the 17th Extraordinary Session of

the Organization of Islamic Cooperation

(OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers on

Afghanistan, held in Pakistan in 2021,

Bangladesh announced the relief packages.

Prabir De, a professor at the Research and

Information System for Developing

Countries (RIS), has remarked that

"Bangladesh is the new Royal Bengal Tiger

of Asia" in reference to Bangladesh's

emergence as a donor state. John Rozario,

India based researcher said that

Bangladesh's transitions from aid seeker to

aid provider is really praiseworthy! Thus,

Bangladesh's transitions from international

aid seeker to a donor country is governance

lessons for others.

The author, Fumiko Yamada specializes

in 'Bangladesh Affairs'. She is a research

fellow in 'Bangladesh Studies' at the

'University of Melbourne', Australia. She is

a graduate of South Asian Studies,

University of Toronto, Canada. She can be

contacted at fuyamada14@gmail.com

Moving further with its weaponization of

human rights, the entity that

"underdeveloped Africa" in the first place, to

recall Walter Rodney's famous book of the

same title, the resolution also calls for "the

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

to launch independent legal investigations

into alleged genocide, alleged crimes against

humanity and human-rights violations,

including forced-labor programs taking

place in several regions in China," namely

Xinjiang.

While the White Savior complex visibly

emanates from almost every point of this

neocolonial resolution, Europe, which

pledges to seek a separate trade deal with

Taiwan, wants to meddle in Hong Kong's

internal affairs (a clear departure from the

"one China" policy) and deploy (no matter

how cynical that may sound, bearing in

mind its naval potential) more ships in the

South China Sea to keep the rising non-

Caucasian power in check, demands from

China to put "the principle of reciprocity at

its core" when it comes to their bilateral

trade and investment relationship.

But this "Western political concept … is a

non-starter," to quote a Hong Kong-based

private investor from France, David

Baverez, whom I interviewed for Asia Times

in March.

"If I am Chinese, how can you offer me

reciprocity when I open to you a market of

1.4 billion consumers?" Baverez asked.

Doomsday Clock is still ticking

Despite allegedly seeking "strategic

autonomy" grandeur, the EU insists on a

policy "to develop and promote an

ambitious and dynamic trans-Atlantic

relationship with the US government, based

on our shared history, values and interests,

in the framework of a Transatlantic

Dialogue on China."

What that means in practice is that

Brussels not only wishes to align its foreign

policy toward Beijing with that of the US in

an attempt to support its quest to maintain

global hegemony but, in doing so,

dangerously exaggerates any potential

threat that may emanate from China and its

political system.

Being driven by trade and economic

motives, Europe tries to justify Western

expansion and its alleged moral dominance

by starting a new "civilizing mission," yet

this time aimed at the Chinese communist

barbarians, whose wealth is so tempting but

whose mere existence is despised.

Adriel Kasonta is a London-based foreign

affairs analyst and commentator, and

founder of AK Consultancy. You can follow

him on Twitter @Adriel_Kasonta

FRIdAY, mAY 13, 2022

5

uzAIR sATTAR

The most challenging problem the United States faces in

executing its foreign policy goals in Pakistan is anti-

Americanism. The ouster of former Prime Minister Imran

Khan following a vote of no confidence reinvigorates this

perennial challenge.

Khan is rallying his supporters over a new slogan,

"Imported Government Na Manzoor" (translation: rejected),

after alleging that the United States spearheaded a conspiracy

to remove him from office. His accusation of regime change

has been refuted by Pakistan's National Security Committee

(NSC), the country's highest bipartisan civil-military forum.

The NSC stated that a U.S. official's "undiplomatic language"

at a lunch amounted to "blatant interference" but concluded

that "there has been no conspiracy."

Yet, in an era where alternative facts are as good as true, this

does not matter to Imran Khan or his supporters. His

narrative is merely a symptom and not a cause of anti-

Americanism in Pakistan. There may be a temptation to

dismiss conspiracy claims as resurgences of repeated tropes

in Pakistani politics. However, this avoids confronting why

Khan can effortlessly tap into anti-American sentiments and

dynamics that in turn impact Pakistani politics and its foreign

policy.

Anti-Americanism sells in Pakistan. A Gallup poll revealed

that "only" one-third of Pakistanis (36 percent) believed the

foreign conspiracy claim. The same poll, however, showed

that more than two-thirds of Pakistanis (72 percent) thought

the United States was an enemy rather than a friend of

Pakistan. This figure has remained relatively consistent over

the past two decades. Two-thirds of Pakistanis today are

under 30 and have lived through the strongest waves of anti-

Americanism in Pakistan since 1990.

The United States and Pakistan have well-known laundry

lists of foreign policy grievances. When Pakistan airs these

grievances, Washington's establishment often dismisses

them as "familiar tropes." Whether or not Washington wants

to believe these grievances are legitimate, its passivity

increases anti-American sentiment in Pakistan. This, in turn,

makes it increasingly difficult for the U.S. to achieve its

foreign policy objectives. While the relationship has been

historically predicated on security asks, moving toward nontraditional

security collaboration may be the only structural

approach to mitigate anti-Americanism in Pakistan.

Anti-Americanism is not exclusive to Pakistan but takes a

unique form in the country. Radical anti-Americanism, anticapitalism,

and poor people-to-people relations are not the

major factors.

Radical anti-Americanism has erupted in minuscule

pockets in Pakistan but remains an anomaly in the 75-year

relationship. There is also no mainstream fiscal ideological

debate in Pakistan, which keeps Islamabad tied to the

Washington Consensus. While new leftist parties have added

invaluable dimensions to socioeconomic debate, they still

have a long way to go before uprooting centrist groupthink

and historic economic alignments.

Instead, liberal and sovereign-nationalist critiques remain

salient because of the United States' securitized engagement

with Pakistan and its foreign policy goals. Liberal anti-

Americanism critiques relate to Washington upholding

values for domestic audiences but dismissing them abroad.

Sovereign-nationalist critiques concern the impingement of

sovereignty - both directly, such as military intervention, and

indirectly, through coercive diplomacy.

Imran Khan is the latest in a long line of politicians to

exploit anti-Americanism for political survival. WikiLeaks

revealed that Pakistan's civilian leadership (some of whom

Anti-Americanism in Pakistan

supporters of ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf burn a representation of u.s flag.

Photo: muhammad sajjad

are now back in office) privately supported U.S. drone strikes

in Pakistan (2008-2018) but lied about their stance publicly.

This created an impression that the United States was playing

a double game in Pakistan. In addition to fueling the fire,

Khan has added another dimension to the phenomenon.

During the initial no-confidence vote, the deputy speaker of

Parliament, a Khan loyalist, justified dismissing the vote by

declaring all opposition members disloyal under Article 6 of

the constitution for allegedly working with the United States.

The term "traitor" has provided unending currency in

Pakistan. While military officials seem to remain immune, when

applied to critical politicians, journalists, and civilians, the

"diagnosis" is a cue to begin "self-treatment" through selfcensorship.

Not doing so can have severe consequences. Today,

advocates for maintaining or improving Pakistan-U.S. relations

represent a collective group at risk of being sent to "Traitorville,"

whose proverbial boundaries expand as Khan's false narrative

gathers steam. This is hampering a meaningful debate in

Pakistan about its relationship with all superpowers.

Washington's relative non-engagement with Pakistan's civilian

government and society has not helped either.

Pakistan and the United States have a state-to-state

relationship predicated on two primary issues: war and

terrorism. In that context, the United States has directly

engaged with the military and not civilian governments to

achieve its security objectives. This has undermined

Pakistan's post-colonial democratic institutionalization and

represents a structural faultline in the relationship.

The United States has taken advantage of indigenous

military coups by perpetuating dictatorships that have lasted

almost half of Pakistan's political life. None of the four U.S.-

supported dictators would have survived for as long as they

did without the United States' backing. Washington's modus

operandi has not changed following Pakistan's transition to

procedural democracy in 2008.

The Pakistan Army's top brass has been the primary

benefactor in this equation, receiving military hardware,

technology, and economic support in return for

counterterrorism operations and helping fight two wars in

Afghanistan. These were wars which the Pakistani people had

nothing to do with. Recognizing this nuance is critical for

Washington to achieve its foreign policy goals in Pakistan,

even if the will to do so remains elusive.

Over 220 million Pakistanis, of whom two-thirds are under

30, have lived through the most vociferous waves of anti-

Americanism, sparked by the Pressler sanctions (1990-2001)

and the War on Terror (2001-?). Pakistanis have had to

reconcile Washington's military-centric engagement with

their changed lives. It is unfortunate that Pakistan's ongoing

sacrifices in the War on Terror - 80,000 killed on the street,

at weddings, in their houses, in school, at checkpoints, on

their way to work, and in places of worship, not to mention

economic losses - fall on deaf ears in Washington. By

choosing to fixate on the United States' engagement with the

military's top brass, Washington overlooks the consequences

of its approach to Pakistanis' lived experience. This active

choice increases anti-Americanism in Pakistan.

I grew up during the War on Terror. Like many Pakistanis,

I heard Washington's calls for Pakistan to "do more" to fight

terrorism. This was puzzling to me as a student since most

Pakistanis I know were directly or indirectly impacted by

terrorism. In just one of many examples, after the school

massacre in Peshawar in 2014 - when the Pakistani Taliban

killed 132 students and 17 staff members - the government

permanently increased security measures across educational

institutions, which inadvertently made kindergartens,

schools, and colleges a vessel for policing and fear.

My schoolmates and I were rigorously searched as we

entered our newly erected, prison-length school walls topped

with layers of barbed wire. Instead of going to class, we

rendezvoused at the school ground for daily morning terror

prevention drills. Watching four government-mandated

snipers slowly patrolling roof corners as we completed the

drill, I thought I had a clear idea of who the enemy was - as I

imagine the snipers did too. But when told we weren't doing

enough against terrorism, I began questioning who the

enemy might be.

Washington's "do more" ask may have been geared toward

Rawalpindi and not even related to the Pakistani Taliban.

Still, the public drumming at every seeming opportunity felt

like a ploy to humiliate Pakistanis for something they had no

control over - and indeed suffered from daily. I felt that

empathy was lacking.

Imran Khan taps into some of these dynamics as he

galvanizes his supporters on trumped-up charges of regime

change. On the one hand, he functionalizes simmering

sentiments stemming from a lack of historical reckoning. On

the other hand, his narrative successfully distracts voters

from domestic structural fault lines and veils the factor of his

questionable decision-making as a cause for his ousting.

Pakistani anti-Americanism structurally stems from a

military-first, people-second engagement approach.

However, this prism remains less relevant for the future. The

United States has placed India's strategic interests above

Pakistan's because of a newfound common adversary.

Washington ignored Pakistan's decade-long cautionary

advice on Afghanistan, which is now home to the worst

humanitarian crisis in the world. There is a real chance that

the United States will see Pakistan through red-tinted glasses

as it gears up for great power competition with China.

Instead of fighting these changing dynamics and Pakistan's

changed geostrategic alignments, the Pakistan-U.S.

relationship should move away from military-centrism and

instead focus on new opportunities to tackle non-traditional

security threats, such as climate change and geoeconomics.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have also provided a litmus

test for this thesis. As of April 28, 2022, the United States had

donated the most vaccines to Pakistan through its global

distribution program. It is bemusing how few Pakistanis

know about this. There is no replacement for on-ground

engagement in civil society and public diplomacy. Other

countries have demonstrated the benefits of direct

engagement after stepping outside embassy walls or hushed

military conference rooms.

Moving from traditional security to non-traditional security

collaboration will also make it more conducive for the United

States to meaningfully work with democratic governments

instead of direct engagement with the military. It would

reflect at least a surface-level appearance that the United

States still considers democracy in Pakistan as something

worth enabling rather than undermining. Doing so will create

space for civilian leaders-who have mics and pulpits that

military officials do not-to debate Pakistan's relationship with

all superpowers.

Upholding the business-as-normal approach will not only

perpetuate anti-Americanism but could give rise to different

forms of the phenomenon not substantively seen in Pakistan

to date, with dangerous downstream consequences. Engaging

with Pakistan's democratic institutions, changing prisms of

cooperation, and reckoning with Pakistanis' fundamentally

altered lived experience after the War on Terror represent

perhaps the only opportunities to mitigate anti-Americanism

in Pakistan.

Is Moon Jae-In South Korea's Merkel?

ThomAs ChAn

When South Korean

President Moon Jae-In took

office in May 2017, the Asian

edition of TIME magazine

hailed him as "the negotiator."

Moon's five-year tenure did

hold true to this name in a

way, as his presidency was

peppered with negotiations

and compromises with

Pyongyang and Beijing. Yet

tensions between Seoul and

Tokyo remain high as

historical strife between the

two states persist, much to the

dismay of U.S. decisionmakers

who anticipated

cooperation between the

Asian allies to push back on

China's ambitions in the Asia-

Pacific. More recently,

Russia's invasion of Ukraine

and the subsequent

international sanctions

against Moscow have left

South Korean business

interests uneasy, and North

Korea's ongoing missile tests

since January 2022 serve as a

reminder that Moon failed to

keep Pyongyang at bay.

Moon's term ends on May

9, and his economic and

foreign policies are up for

scrutiny. Like Germany's

long-time Chancellor Angela

Merkel, he has defined his

country's foreign policy as one

cornered into appeasement in

terms of economics and

energy. As a result, both

countries have their hands

tied at a time when

assertiveness is most needed.

Moon and Merkel share the

same traits of appeasement.

Moon's attempts to end North

Korea's nuclear and missile

development through

engagement took up most of

his five years of diplomacy.

Since the inter-Korea

summits in 2018, Moon has

continuously appealed to

Pyongyang for peace on the

Korean Peninsula, sometimes

with economic incentives. But

North Korea's hostile actions

intensified after the failed

North Korea-U.S. summit in

Hanoi in February 2019.

Pyongyang declared to further

advance its weapons

technology during the 8th

Party Congress in January

2021 and closed

communication channels

with Seoul and Washington.

Moon was flustered when

North Korea demolished the

inter-Korea joint liaison office

in June 2020. After

expressing "regrets and

warnings," he continued to

call for dialogue, including

offering two end-of-war

declarations at a United

Nations. Although Kim Jong

Un said inter-Korea ties could

improve in recent letters

exchanged with Moon, his

statement rings hollow as he

later vowed to "further

strengthen" North Korea's

nuclear arsenal.

Pyongyang launched seven

missile tests in January 2022,

consisting of the latest

hypersonic, short-range, and

intermediate-range ballistic

missiles. It further extended

its provocations by allegedly

launching an intercontinental

ballistic missile and a

platform for delivering tactical

nuclear weapons during

continued testing in March

and April.

When dealing with the

simmering China-U.S.

competition, the Moon

administration adopted

"strategic ambiguity" as the

core of its policy. It was not

south Korean President moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook.

Photo: lee Jin-man

hesitant about hedging its

alliance with the United States

by establishing close

relationships with China.

Back in his speech at the

Beijing University in 2017,

Moon went as far as stating

that "China is a country high

as a mountain, and even

though South Korea is a 'small

country,' it would be honored

to share the 'China dream.'"

He has also kept silent upon

Beijing's controversial policies

on Hong Kong and alleged

abuses in Xinjiang.

Moon's cautious China

policy came from three main

factors - trade, sanctions, and

North Korea. South Korea's

economy is highly dependent

on China, as about 25 percent

of its total exports are sent to

the Chinese market. Hence,

South Korea's economic

vulnerability to China creates

a persistent fear of damaging

such economic benefits

should the government in

Seoul displease an

increasingly sensitive Beijing.

South Korea's vulnerability

was made clear when China

imposed unofficial economic

sanctions on South Korea

starting in 2017. Beijing

targeted South Korean

industries after Seoul deployed

the U.S. Terminal High-

Altitude Area Defense

(THAAD) missile defense

system in July 2016. Beijing

views THAAD as a direct

security threat, despite

reassurances from South

Korean and the U.S. that

deployment was only aimed at

defending against the North

Korean missile threat. After

THAAD deployment, China

prohibited imports of South

Korean cultural products, such

as movies and dramas, and

informally banned Chinese

nationals' tourism in South

Korea. The economic cost

amounted to a 18.7 trillion

Korean won ($15.7 billion) loss

for the South Korean tourism

industry alone.

JAmes GuIld

The last several months have

been a wild ride for

Indonesia's palm oil sector,

culminating last week in a

blanket ban on exports of both

crude palm oil and its refined

products, such as cooking oil.

Right up until the end the

government sent a flurry of

mixed messages, walking

back its initial plan by saying

that exports of crude palm oil

would be allowed before

reversing itself again at the

last minute.

Indonesia is the world's

largest supplier of palm oil, so

depriving global markets of

the commodity is a big deal. It

will, among other things,

effect the cost of basic goods

like cooking oil at a time when

food prices are already being

squeezed. Trade partners will

not be pleased. So why did

Indonesia take this

extraordinary step?

The simple answer is that

it's about prices. According to

the Indonesian Palm Oil

Association, local production

of crude palm oil fell in 2021

compared to 2020, even as

global demand surged. When

demand increases and supply

falls or remains constant, all

else being equal, prices will

rise. And that is exactly what

has happened. In April 2020,

a ton of Indonesian crude

palm oil was fetching around

$545 on the European

market. Two years later, that

jumped to $1,700.

This has been good for

exporters, and for Indonesia's

current account. As I wrote

last week, booming global

demand for commodities

that Indonesia has in

abundance, such as coal and

palm oil, has reversed a

persistent current account

deficit and placed the rupiah

in a relatively solid position

as the U.S. Federal Reserve

begins raising interest rates

this year. It's also drummed

up increased revenue for the

Ministry of Finance.

But a roaring commodity

export market presents a kind

of paradox, because while it

Why Indonesia banned

palm oil exports

A view of a palm oil plantation in Bogor, Indonesia. Photo: Achmad Rabin Taim

benefits exporters and the

current account, the

Indonesian government does

not want domestic consumers

to pay the global market price

for these commodities. A key

priority for the government is

to ensure that the price of

staple goods - such as

gasoline, electricity, rice, and

cooking oil - remains stable

and affordable. Certain types

of gasoline have already seen a

(quite modest) price hike, and

the government is especially

sensitive right now to further

inflationary pressures.

The problem is that this

creates dueling incentives for

key actors. The political

interests of the state in

keeping domestic prices low is

at odds with the commercial

interests of palm oil producers

and exporters, who want to

sell as much palm oil as they

can at the highest price the

market will support.

Something has to give, and

clearly the government

believes that palm oil

companies chasing export

profits is diverting supply

away from the domestic

market where profit margins

are lower. This has caused the

price of cooking oil to surge,

and shortages and hoarding

were widely reported earlier

this year.

To bring the price down, the

government first tried some

regulatory fixes such as export

quotas, domestic market

obligations, and price ceilings

for cooking oil. Investigations

have been launched into palm

oil executives and trade

officials. But these have been

rushed and confusing. They

did not bring the price down

fast enough and with the

Lebaran holiday approaching,

when millions gather to

celebrate the end of Ramadan,

the government felt it needed

to be seen taking more decisive

action and finally announced a

blanket export ban.

Whether this will actually

have the desired (or any)

effect, on the price of cooking

oil in Indonesia is almost

irrelevant since I doubt the

ban will be in place for long.

More fundamentally, this is

meant to send a message

about the power of the state to

discipline markets when it's in

the national interest to do so.

It echoes actions taken earlier

this year, when coal exports

were banned to ensure a

sufficient supply was available

for domestic power plants at

below market prices.

As I wrote at the time, that

was also primarily about

sending a message, which is

that the Indonesian economy

is pro-market - but only up to

a point. When commercial

interests are at odds with the

political and national interests

of the state, the state will

intervene to protect these

interests. Each time they do

this there is a risk of

overplaying their hand, as

trade partners and investors

will not look on these actions

kindly, especially when

demand for these

commodities is not so hot

anymore.

But for now Indonesia

controls the raw supply of

things like coal and palm oil

which are in high demand, so

their reach can extend pretty

far when they want to send a

message. And that message -

that the domestic market

needs to be supplied first and

at affordable prices, even if it

forces exporters to leave

profits on the table - is coming

through loud and clear.

FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2022

6

A colorful rally and discussion meeting was held at Mirzaganj of Patuakhali district yesterday on the

occasion of International Nurses Day.

Photo : Uttam Golder Natun

24,833 more

doses Covid-19

jabs administered

in Rangpur

RANGPUR : More 24,833

doses of Covid-19 jabs were

administered on Wednesday

raising the number of

inoculated vaccines to two

crore 78 lakh 36 thousand

and 370 doses in Rangpur

division.

Health officials said,

among the 24,833 doses of

the jabs inoculated on

Wednesday, 710 were

administered as the first

doses, 6,156 as the second

doses and 17,967 as the

booster doses.

"Till Wednesday, a total of

1,35,26,010 people got the

first doses of Covid-19 jabs,

and of them, 1,27,80,701 got

the second doses and

15,29,659 got the booster

doses," Divisional Director

(Health) Dr. Abu Md.

Zakirul Islam told BSS.

Meanwhile, the number of

Covid-19 infected patients

rose to 64,140 in the division

as one fresh positive case

was diagnosed after testing

43 new samples on

Wednesday.

The number of healed

Covid-19 patients remained

steady at 62,782 in the

division where no new

patients recovered during

the last 24 hours ending at 8

am on Thursday.

"Besides, the number of

casualties remained steady

at 1,284 in the division as no

new death was reported

during the last 24 hours in

the division," Dr. Islam

added.

1 tourist drowns,

another missing

in Karnaphuli

River

RANGAMATI : A tourist

drowned and another went

missing in the Karnaphuli

River of Rangamati on

Wednesday.

The deceased was

identified as 19-year-old

Lokesh Vaidya, son of Apu

Vaidya of Shakpura village

in Boalkhali upazila of

Chattogram district. He was

a first-year-student of

Chattogram Islamia College.

The missing tourist was

his friend Apurba Saha, 18,

resident of Chattogram

Sadarghat area.

The Navy diving team

based in Kaptai recovered

the body of Lokesh after a

two-hour effort in the

evening. Efforts are on to

recover Apurba's body, said

Navy sources.

According to the

deceased's friends, around 3

pm, six friends went down to

take a bath in the

Karnaphuli and started

drowning due to the river's

strong current.

Fighting against the

current, three of them

managed to swim ashore

and another was rescued by

Fire Service members, two

friends went missing.

On information, a fourmember

naval diving team

led by Lt. Commander

Faizul Islam Mandal and Lt.

Commander Selim Reza

started searching for the

missing tourist in the Sita

Ghat area at 4:39 pm and

recovered Lokesh's body.

Apurba however couldn't be

found till filing of this report

past midnight.

Lalmonirhat lynching: 38 surrender,

sent to judicial custody

LALMONIRHAT : A court

here has remanded in

judicial custody 38 men

accused of lynching a man

for allegedly discerating the

holy Quran last year.

Lalmonirhat senior

judicial amli court-3 judge

Joynal Abedin sent the

accused to judicial custody,

turning down their bail

pleas, when they

surrendered before the court

on Wednesday.

Lalmonirhat court

inspector Md Musa said the

38 men, accused of lynching

the man, attacking cops and

vandalising the Burimari

Union Parishad building in

Patgram upazila, were on

the run for a long time.

On October 29 last year, a

mob lynched Sahidunnabi

Jewel, 50, a former librarian

of Rangpur Cantonment

Public School and College,

and burnt his body in the

upazila accusing him of

"disrespecting the Quran".

Police have so far arrested

50 people in connection with

the crime. Besides, 12 more

accused have voluntarily

surrendered before the

court. Some of the accused

are also out on bail.

Jewel came to Burimari in

the afternoon on October 29

last year with Sultan Zubair

Abdar. After offering Asr

prayer at the central

mosque, he went to get a

Quran from a shelf, said

Sumonta Kumar Mohonto,

officer-in-charge of Patgram

Police Station.

As he was trying to take

one out, a number of

Quranic and Hadith books

fell at his feet, leading to an

argument between him and

the Muezzin. Locals took

Jewel and Sultan to the

Union Parishad office

adjacent to the mosque as

the argument escalated.

A rumour was spread in

the market and nearby

village that the two men

were arrested for

"disrespecting the Quran" by

the time, according to police

and locals.

At one stage, a group of

people swooped on the

Union Parishad office. They

broke open the door and

beat Jewel to death on the

spot.

The mob did not stop

there. It dragged the body to

the Patgram-Burimari

highway and set it afire. The

people also demonstrated in

the area.

On information, police,

Border Guard Bangladesh

(BGB) and firefighters

rushed to the spot but failed

to control the situation.

Police also fired 17 shots in

the air to disperse the mob.

Ten policemen, including

the OC, were injured as the

mob kept hurling brick

chips.

Activity to collect boro paddy directly from farmers through Krishak App

has been launched in Narail yesterday. Photo : Humayun Kabir Rintu

Expand farming of zinc-enriched

Bangabandhu dhan100: Experts

KURIGRAM : Experts at a

farmers' field day program

have stressed on expanding

cultivation of zinc-enriched

Bangabandhu dhan100 rice

and popularising its

consumption to improve

nutritional status of common

people.

The event was arranged for

harvesting the disease

tolerant, pest attack resistant

and fine variety Bangabandhu

dhan100 rice at Arjundara

village in Ulipur upazila here

on Wednesday, said a press

release.

On the occasion, farmer

Mizanur Rahman of the

village got 6.41 tonnes yield

rate of paddy after harvesting

Bangabandhu dhan100 rice

on his 3.06 acres of exhibition

plot.

With the Department of

Agricultural Extension (DAE)

assistance, Natun Zibon

Rochi (NAZIR) organised the

event under Integrated Food

System Approach to Build

Nutrition Security (IFS)

project of HarvestPlus

Bangladesh funded by the

Government of Canada.

HarvestPlus is part of the

Consultative Group on

International Agricultural

Research Program on

Agriculture for Nutrition and

Health and is based at

International Food Policy

Research Institute.

HarvestPlus is improving

nutrition and public health by

developing and promoting

biofortified food crops rich in

vitamins and minerals

alongside providing global

leadership on biofortification

evidence and technology.

Additional Director of DAE

for Rangpur region Md.

Emdad Hossain Sheikh

attended the program as chief

guest with Executive Director

of NAZIR, Lalmonirhat Nurul

Haque Sarkar in the chair.

Agriculture Research and

Development Officer of

HarvestPlus Bangladesh Md.

Ruhul Amin Mondol

moderated the function.

Country Manager of

HarvestPlus Bangladesh Dr.

Md. Khairul Bashar, Deputy

Director of DAE, Kurigram

Md. Abdur Rashid, Deputy

Director (Seed Marketing) of

BADC, Rangpur Md.

Asaduzzaman Khan and

Senior Scientific Officer and

Head of BRRI's Rangpur

Regional Station Md. Rakibul

Hasan attended as special

guests.

IFS project Coordinator

Md. Mozibar Rahman in his

welcome speech said zinc is an

essential micronutrient for

the human body which is

required in small amounts but

daily.

"Available sources of zinc

are meat, fish, milk and egg

which are not easily

unaffordable by the poor. Zinc

rice could be a sustainable and

cost-effective solution to meet

daily zinc requirements," he

said.

Rakibul Hasan said

Bangladesh is the world's first

country that developed zinc

rice. Bangabandhu dhan100

rice is popular like the

premier Naijarshail rice

variety.

Asaduzzaman Khan said

zinc is very important for

human health, especially

children and women.

Dr. Khairul Bashar said one

in every three people globally

suffers from hidden hunger

and malnutrition and women

and children are especially

vulnerable.

Zinc-enriched rice like other

biofortified crops facilitated

by HarvestPlus is developed

through conventional nongenetically

modified organism

plant breeding methods.

"Bio-fortified crops are high

yielding that farmers desire,"

he said, adding that

consumption of biofortified

zinc rice like Bangabandhu

dhan100 increases immunity

of the human body.

RMU pioneers expanding medical

education in northern region

RAJSHAHI : Rajshahi Medical

University (RMU) is playing a

pioneering role in expanding medical

education in the region arranging

competent and devoted workforces as

it has already achieved academic

excellence to a greater extent.

Around 12,000 students are being

admitted to 80 medical, nursing, dental

colleges and other institutions under

RMU's jurisdiction every year as its

registrar office has been implementing

all the scheduled works competently,

sources said.

RMU vice-chancellor (VC) Prof A ZM

Mostaque Hossain said they are

forwarding their development project

works hastily, hoping that the project

will be approved within this month.

Infrastructure development work will

start soon after approval of the project

that will contribute a lot to establishing

the university on a permanent site, he

said.

Examiners, invigilators and other

staff concerned are highly satisfied as

they were given payments of their longlasting

dues by dint of experienced

leadership in accounts section as

college inspection related works were

also updated, he also said.

As the new university, Prof Hossain

said utmost emphasis was given on

appointing experienced and competent

persons in different vital posts to run all

the administrative and academic

activities smoothly.

In terms of contractual

appointments, transparency and

accountability were fully ensured and

as a result of contractual recruitments,

dynamism has been infused into

Titas disconnects

8,000 more

illegal gas lines

in N’ganj

NARAYANGANJ : Titas Gas

Transmission and

Distribution Company

disconnected another 8,000

illegal gas connections in

Bandar upazila of

Narayanganj on Tuesday.

A mobile court led by

Fatema Tuz Zohra, executive

magistrate and assistant

commissioner (AC-land),

conducted two separate drives

in Gukuldasher Bag and

Ispahani Bazar area of

Dhamgarh union.

Titas also removed around

nine kilometres of illegal

pipelines and seized a huge

amount of risers during the

drives.

So far, 12,000 illegal gas

lines have been disconnected

in Bandar upazila.

Earlier, 4,000 illegal gas

connections

were

disconnected at two spots of

Kuripara and Bage Jannat

Masjid Road of the upazila.

Suruj Alam, deputy general

manager of Titas regional

marketing department in

Sonargaon, said the largest

natural gas distributor in the

country snapped around

30,000 illegal gas connections

in three phases.

Jubo Jote politician

killed in Kushtia

KUSHTIA : A local leader of

the Jatiya Jubo Jote was

hacked to death allegedly by

assailants in Daulatpur

upazila of Kushtia in the small

hours of Thursday.

The deceased was identified

as Mahbub Khan Salam, 35,

general secretary of Jatiya

Jubo Jote and son of Alauddin

of Amdah village in the

upazila.

Jabed Hassan, officer-incharge

of Doulatpur Police

Station, said Salam was

brought to Kushtia General

Hospital around 10.20pm in a

serious condition, and he died

at 1.20am. "The body bore

several stab injury marks,"

said the OC.

An eyewitness, identified as

Mamun, who was

accompanying the victim, told

cops that a group of armed

men suddenly attacked them

near Allahrdarga Boyan

intersection at night.

"Mamun also suffered

minor injuries in the attack.

Efforts are on to nab the

perpetrators of the crime," the

OC said.

operational activities of the university,

he added.

Apart from this, appointments were

made in line with the decision of

syndicate and allocation along with

following the approved rules of the

university grants commission in this

regard.

"We have already formulated a draft

project proposal (DPP) and sent it to

the Planning Commission for approval

in ECNEC," said Prof Hossain, while

talking to BSS exclusively at his office

here on Wednesday afternoon.

He categorically said they are

carrying out the examination activities

accurately. Even the academic activities

were not hampered significantly during

the period of Covid-19 pandemic, he

added.

As a result of experienced and

competent leadership in the office of

controller of examinations, the RMU

has advanced by around one year

compared to the contemporary

universities.

Prof Hossain vowed to build the

medical university as a center of

excellence in medical education and

research.

A competent and experienced

administration has been formed with

the committed teachers and

professionals for operating

administrative and academic activities

successfully, he said.

This is the high time to generate

skilled and competent workforces in

the health sector to cope with the

Covid-19 like pandemic situations, he

went on saying.

"I want to establish the RMU as a

unique institution increasing the

number of health experts," he added.

A site of 68 acres of land in Shilinda

area of Rajshahi city has been selected

for establishing own campus of the

university and there will be a 1,200-bed

modern hospital with the university.

A nursing institute will also be

established on the campus for creating

skilled nurses, Prof Hossain said.

He added that all the existing public

and private medical colleges, dental

colleges, nursing colleges and institute

of health technology in Rajshahi,

Rangpur and Khulna divisions were

brought under the jurisdiction of RMU.

There are 74 affiliated institutions,

including 13 government and 13 nongovernment

medical colleges, two

government and five non-government

dental colleges, six government and 31

non-government nursing colleges, one

government and two non-government

institutes of health technology and

Hamdard Unani Medical College and

Hospital under the university.

The RMU has been conducting

MBBS, BDS, BSc in Nursing, BSc in

Physiotherapy and Bachelor of Unani

Medicine and Surgery (BUMS) courses

since the 2017-18 academic session

successfully.

All activities including data entry,

students' registration and form fill-up

for examination are being executed

digitally through rmu.edu.bd website

from anywhere and anytime.

"We have plan of launching postgraduate

courses, including PhD,

under the existing eight faculties of the

university as soon as possible." Prof

Hossain added.

Salma Khatun (24), a resident of in Jashore has been allegedly killed in India

recently. Police arrested her husband in this connection. Photo : Shahid Joy

Six to die for killing minor

in Cox’s Bazar

COX'S BAZAR : A court in Cox's Bazar has sentenced six people

to death for abducting and killing a seven-year-old boy in 2011.

Cox's Bazar district and sessions judge Md Ismail handed

down the punishment on Wednesday after holding the six guilty

of the crime. However, two other accused in the case have been

acquitted "for lack of evidence".

The convicts are Sumon Ali, 26, son of Aftab Ali, Yeasin alias

Raihan, 29, son of Shamsul Haque, Yeakub, 34, son of Aslam

Mia, Ishak alias Kalu, 31, son of Atlongi Hossain, Saidul

Hossain, 47, son of Abdur Rahim, and Nazrul Islam, 28, son of

Nabi Hossain. Of them Saidul, Ishak and Nazrul were tried in

absentia. Those acquitted are Mohibulla, 45, son of Abdul Jalil,

and Didar Mia, son of Zafar Ahmed. According to the

prosecution, Sumon, who worked for the boy's father-Md

Abdullah of Teknaf upazila-had hatched the plot to abduct the

child for ransom.

On September 6, 2011, the convicts picked up the boy-

Waliullah-from near his house. But when the boy raised an

alarm, the convicts slit his throat and dumped the body near his

house. On September 9, 2011, Waliullah's father lodged a

complaint against 4-5 people with Teknaf Police. The cops later

registered a murder case.

On December 30, 2012, the investigating officer in the case

submitted a chargesheet against five people. The case was later

handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

On August 25, 2017, CID officers submitted a supplementary

chargesheet against eight people.

50-yr-old killed

over family feud

in Barishal

BARISHAL : A 50-year-old

woman was hacked to death

allegedly by her daughter-in-law

over a family feud in Kathalia

village of Barishal's Bakerganj

upazila on Wednesday night,

reports UNB.

The deceased was identified

as Nazneen Begum, wife of

Hanif Hawladar of the village.

Alauddin Milon, officer-incharge

of Bakerganj Police

Station, said Laboni Akter and

her mother-in-law lived in

their village house "while

Nazneen's two sons stay and

work in Dhaka".

Around 10.30pm, Ujjal, the

elder son of Nazneen, made a

phone call to his mother. As

no one received the call, Ujjal

requested his uncle Kalam

Hawladar to visit their house.

When Kalam reached the

house, he found Nazneen

lying in a pool of blood.

Bangladesh Nurses Association, Noakhali brought out a colorful rally and

paraded different roads Maijdee, Noakhali yesterday on the occasion of

International Nurses Day.

Photo : Manik Bhuiyan


7

President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to O'Connor Farms, Wednesday,

May 11, 2022, in Kankakee, Ill. Biden visited the farm to discuss food supply

and prices as a result of Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Photo: AP

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Biden co-hosting 2nd COVID summit

as world's resolve falters

WASHINGTON : President Joe Biden

will appeal for a renewed international

commitment to attacking COVID-19 as

he convenes the second global COVID-

19 summit at a time when faltering

resolve at home jeopardizes that global

response, reports UNB.

Eight months after he used the first

such summit to announce an ambitious

pledge to donate 1.2 billion vaccine

doses to the world, the urgency of the

U.S. and other nations to respond has

waned.

Momentum on vaccinations and

treatments has faded even as new,

more infectious variants rise and

billions across the globe remain

unprotected. Congress has refused to

meet Biden's request to provide

another $22.5 billion in what he has

called critically needed aid funding.

The White House said Biden will

address the opening of the virtual

summit Thursday morning with

prerecorded remarks and will make the

case that addressing COVID-19 "must

remain an international priority." The

U.S. is co-hosting the summit along

with Germany, Indonesia, Senegal and

Belize.

The U.S. has shipped nearly 540

million vaccine doses to more than 110

countries and territories, according to

the State Department - by far more

than any other donor nation.

After the delivery of more than 1

billion vaccines to the developing

Ukraine shuts off Russian pipeline

amid talk of annexation

ZAPORIZHZHIA: Ukraine

shut down a pipeline

Wednesday that carries

Russian natural gas to homes

and industries in Western

Europe, while a Kremlininstalled

official in a southern

region seized by Russian

troops said the area will ask

Moscow to annex it, reports

UNB.

The immediate effect of the

energy cutoff is likely to be

limited, in part because Russia

can divert the gas to another

pipeline and because Europe

relies on a variety of suppliers.

But it marked the first time

since the start of the war that

Ukraine disrupted the flow

westward of one of Moscow's

most lucrative exports.

Meanwhile, the talk of

annexation in Kherson - and

Russia's apparent willingness

to consider such a request -

raised the possibility that the

Kremlin will seek to break off

another piece of Ukraine as it

tries to salvage an invasion

gone awry. Russia annexed

Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula

in 2014.

"The city of Kherson is

Russia," Kirill Stremousov,

deputy head of the Kherson

regional administration

installed by Moscow, told

Russia's RIA Novosti news

agency. He said regional

officials want Russian

world, the problem is no longer that

there aren't enough shots, but a lack of

logistical support to get doses into

arms. According to government data,

more than 680 million donated vaccine

doses have been left unused in

developing countries because they were

set to expire soon and couldn't be

administered quickly enough. As of

March, 32 poorer countries had used

fewer than half of the COVID-19

vaccines they were sent.

U.S. assistance to promote and

facilitate vaccinations overseas dried

up earlier this year, and Biden has

requested about $5 billion for the effort

through the rest of the year.

"We have tens of millions of

unclaimed doses because countries lack

the resources to build out their cold

chains, which basically is the

refrigeration systems; to fight

disinformation; and to hire

vaccinators," White House press

secretary Jen Psaki said this week. She

added that the summit is "going to be

an opportunity to elevate the fact that

we need additional funding to continue

to be a part of this effort around the

world."

"We're going to continue to fight for

more funding here," Psaki said. "But we

will continue to press other countries to

do more to help the world make

progress as well."

Congress has balked at the price tag

for COVID-19 relief and has thus far

President Vladimir Putin to

make Kherson a "proper

region" of Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry

Peskov said that it would be

"up to the residents of the

Kherson region" to make such

a request, and that any move

to annex territory would

would have to be closely

evaluated by experts to make

sure its legal basis is

"absolutely clear."

Russia has repeatedly used

annexation or recognition of

breakaway republics as tactics

in recent years to gain pieces of

fellow former Soviet republics

Ukraine and Georgia. Russia

annexed Crimea in 2014 after

holding a referendum on the

peninsula over whether it

wanted to become part of

Russia.

Kherson, a Black Sea port of

roughly 300,000, provides

access to fresh water for

neighboring Crimea and is

seen a gateway to wider

Russian control over southern

Ukraine. It was captured early

in the war, becoming

Ukraine's first major city to

fall.

GD-886/22 (6x3)

refused to take up the package because

of political opposition to the impending

end of pandemic-era migration

restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Even after a consensus for virus

funding briefly emerged in March,

lawmakers decided to strip out the

global aid funding and solely focus the

assistance on shoring up U.S. supplies

of vaccine booster shots and

therapeutics.

Biden has warned that without

Congress acting, the U.S. could lose out

on access to the next generation of

vaccines and treatments, and that the

nation won't have enough supply of

booster doses or the antiviral drug

Paxlovid for later this year. He's also

sounding the alarm that more variants

will spring up if the U.S. and the world

don't do more to contain the virus

globally. "To beat the pandemic here,

we need to beat it everywhere," Biden

said last September during the first

global summit.

The virus has killed more than

995,000 people in the U.S. and at least

6.2 million globally, according to

figures kept by the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention and the World

Health Organization. Demand for

COVID-19 vaccines has dropped in

some countries as infections and

deaths have declined globally in recent

months, particularly as the omicron

variant has proved to be less severe

than earlier versions of the disease.

Dhaka Water Supply & Sewerage Authority (DWASA)

Invitation for e-Tenders

Passengers injured as

plane leaves runway in

western China

BEIJING : A Chinese

passenger jet left the runway

upon takeoff and caught fire

in western China on

Thursday morning, and

several people were injured,

reports UNB.

Tibet Airlines said it

happened at 8:09 a.m. (0009

GMT) as the flight to the city

of Nyingchi in the Tibetan

Autonomous Region was

preparing to take off from the

western city of Chongqing.

The Airbus A319-115 jet

had 113 passengers and nine

flight crew onboard, all of

whom were safely evacuated

with some taken to a hospital

with minor injuries, the

airline said in an statement.

The plane itself had fire

damage, it said.

"In the process of taking

off, the flight crew discovered

an abnormality with the

aircraft and stopped the

takeoff, after which the

aircraft left the runway," the

statement said.

The incident follows the

crash of a Chinese Eastern

Boeing 737-800 in

southeastern China on

March 21 in which all 132

people on board were killed.

That accident, in which the

plane went into a sudden

nosedive and slammed into

the ground in a mountainous

area, remains under

investigation.

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FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2022

8

The 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Prime Bank Limited was held virtually on Thursday at in the presence

of 293 shareholders, Board of Directors, Independent Scrutinizer, auditors, observers, and high officials of the

Bank. The meeting was chaired by Tanjil Chowdhury, Chairman of the Bank, where, amongst others, Executive

Committee Chairman Zaeem Ahmed, Audit Committee Chairman Anwaruddin Chowdhury FCA, Risk

Management Committee Chairman Dr. Sharif M. N. U. Bhuiyan, former Chairman Azam J Chowdhury, and the

Managing Director and CEO Hassan O. Rashid were present during the meeting. The shareholders approved a

17.50% cash dividend for the year 2021 along with adoption of Director's Report & Audited Financials, appointment

and reappointment of directors, statutory auditor, and compliance auditor.

Photo : Courtesy

Huawei recognized

as a 2022 Gartner

Peer Insights

Customers' Choice

Huawei has recently been

recognized as a 2022

Gartner Peer Insights

Customers' Choice for WAN

Edge Infrastructure,

receiving this distinction for

the third consecutive year.

Huawei SD-WAN is also

named the "Customers'

Choice" in three categories:

Midsize Enterprise,

Asia/Pacific, Europe, the

Middle East, and Africa

(EMEA), in the Voice of the

Customer report, a press

release said.

As of December 31, 2021,

customers across various

industries, such as finance,

manufacturing, and

services,

had

comprehensively reviewed

WAN edge infrastructure

products and solutions from

multiple vendors in terms of

product functionality,

deployment, O&M, and

service support. According

to the Voice of the Customer

report, Huawei SD-WAN

received a total of 102

reviews and an overall rating

of 4.9/5 stars from

customers across industries

around the globe.

For the first time, Gartner,

an Information Technology

research and consultancy

company, has categorized

WAN edge infrastructure

vendors into four quadrants

based on User Interest and

Adoption, and Overall

Rating. Huawei received a

100% score in Willingness to

Recommend and scored the

highest overall rating of

4.9/5 stars.

Disney profit slips but streaming

TV subscribers jump

SAN FRANCISCO : Disney

on Wednesday said its profit

slipped in the recently ended

quarter but its television

streaming service and parks

were booming.

The entertainment giant

reported net income of $470

million, just over half of the

$912 million profit it made in

the same period a year

earlier, reports BSS.

But park attendance that

had fallen due to the

pandemic rebounded and

the Disney+ television

streaming service gained 7.9

million subscribers to 137.7

million. When adding in

subscriptions to Disney's

streaming services Hulu and

ESPN, the overall number

tops 205 million.

"Our strong results in the

second quarter, including

fantastic performance at our

domestic parks and

continued growth of our

streaming services once

again proved that we are in a

league of our own," said Walt

Disney Company chief

executive Bob Chapek.

He told analysts Disney is

open to raising its streaming

service subscription price in

the future, but has no specific

plans. Disney+ is pursuing a

version of the service that

would be supported by

advertising, Chapek said.

Disney+ gained more

subscribers than analysts

had expected, in stark

contrast to a dive in

subscriber numbers reported

by rival Netflix in the first

quarter of this year.

A drop of just 200,000

users-less than 0.1 percent of

the total Netflix customer

base-caused shares in the

Silicon Valley firm to plunge

and prompted a shareholder

to file a lawsuit accusing the

streaming television titan of

not making it clear that

subscriber numbers were in

peril.

"Disney+ has been taking

Netflix out at the knees," tech

analyst Rob Enderle of

Enderle Group told AFP.

"Kids have always chased

their content, and for parents

it has been a no-brainer to

get their service."

About half of Disney+

subscribers are families with

children, executives said on

the earnings call.

Disney stopped licensing

its coveted content to Netflix

to make it exclusive to its

own streaming service, and

said it planned to stick with

the tactic when it comes to

rivals in the market.

Walton releases CPU liquid coolers

Walton Digi-Tech Industries

Limited is well known for

producing various PC

hardware and accessories.

The Bangladeshi tech-giant

has now released two models

of attractively designed CPU

liquid coolers in the market.

Made on copper based plastic

body, the liquid coolers have

aluminum radiators with

multiple fans that ensure

perfect cooling performance,

a press release said.

Walton computer division

sources said that the coolers

modeled as WLC120B and

WLC240B are released on the

market under the 'arc'

packaging name. Priced at Tk.

5,850 and Tk. 8,550

respectively, customers can

purchase the products from

any Walton Plaza, distributor

showroom, IT and Computer

showrooms, or E-plaza across

the country.

Engineer Liakat Ali, Deputy

Managing Director of Walton

Digi-Tech Industries Limited,

said that Walton is

successfully producing and

supplying state-of-the-art

world standard products

according to the demands of

customers. Central

Processing Unit (CPU) is the

main part of a computer.

Commonly used air coolers

can't provide perfect cooling

for which Walton has

released the liquid coolers

considering the needs of

customers. Users will get

perfect cooling experience

with the Walton liquid

coolers. These accessories will

ensure best performance of

desktop computers.

Touhidur Rahman Rad,

Chief Business Officer of

Walton Computer Products,

said that the liquid cooling

system is used as radiator for

processor. This system

absorbs heat from the

processor and cool down the

processor making the

computer more effective.

He said that Walton liquid

coolers are specially designed

to ensure best possible

performance with digital

lighting series radiator and

cooling fans. Fans produced

with precise Aero-Dynamic

ensure less nose level while

the 100% sealed liquid

coolers can easily be installed.

Customers are getting two

years of service warranty on

Walton's arc liquid coolers.

SSLCOMMERZ

appoints

Chowdhury

AHM Lutful

Huda as the

new CEO

Chowdhury AHM Lutful

Huda has been appointed as

Chief Executive Officer of

SSLCOMMERZ Limited.

Previously, he served as

CEO at Abdul Monem

Group (Coca-Cola), Rangs

Motors Limited, and Partex

Star Group.

In years prior to his role as

CEO at the above mentioned

reputed firms, he assumed

high-ranking roles at various

multinational firms

including Managing

Director at Insight

Management Consulting

FZE (Dubai, UAE); General

Manager at DITRA

(Sharjah, UAE); Managing

Director at Reckitt Benckiser

Limited; Executive Director

of Trade Marketing &

Distribution (Seoul, South

Korea), Marketing Director

(Jakarta, Indonesia), Head

of Trade Marketing &

Distribution, Area Value for

Money Brand Manager

(Nairobi, Kenya), Head of

Brand Marketing (Harare,

Zimbabwe), and other roles

at British American Tobacco

(BAT).

With Bachelor of Business

Administration (BBA) in

Strategic Management and

International Marketing from

University of North Texas

(Denton, Texas), Lutful also

received certifications and

professional training on

business, leadership, product

development, functional

marketing from INSEAD

France, IMD Switzerland,

Oliver Wright, Leadership

Trust of UK, and reputed

organizations alike.

With an enormous wealth

of experience under his belt,

we are elated and confident

that, Chowdhury will add

significant value to

SSLCOMMERZ and steer

our firm towards greater

success.

SSLCOMMERZ is the first

and largest payment

gateway aggregator in

Bangladesh and a pioneer in

the FinTech industry since

2010. Licensed as a PSO by

Bangladesh Bank, they serve

over 5000+ online

businesses and connected to

100,000+ retail shops by

offering best-in-class digital

payment solutions enabling

them to extend their

payment acceptance across

different channels- physical,

web or mobile.

UK economic

growth slows

in first quarter

LONDON : Britain's

economy grew at a slower

pace in the first quarter

compared with the final

three months of last year as

the country battled soaring

inflation, official data

showed Thursday.

The economy grew 0.8

percent in the January-

March period compared

with expansion of 1.3

percent in the fourth quarter

of last year, the Office for

National Statistics said in a

statement.

After solid output in

January, the UK economy

posted zero growth the

following month and

contracted by 0.1 percent in

March, ONS data showed.

It comes after the Bank of

England last week warned

that Britain risks falling into

recession with UK inflation

expected to top 10 percent, a

four-decade high, by the end

of the year.

Tiffanybd.com by Regal’s

Couture presents new Dr.

Alvin Skincare product lines

Tiffanybd.com by Regal's

Couture (Tiffanybd.com) has

unveiled Dr. Alvin's new

Whitening Facial Set and

Rejuvenating Set no-5 in the

Bangladesh market for Acne

Solution, Melasma Solution,

Skin Glowing and spotless

clean skincare products. Model

and actress Samira Khan Mahi

inaugurated the two new

products officially at an event

held at the company's

Gulshan-1 office recently.

The company's officials

informed that Regal Arman

owner of "Tiffanybd.com by

Regal's Couture & Paese

Cosmetics" and Quazi Qumrul

Islam Owner of "Banthai

Barber & Beauty Salon, Both

company signed a contract

with the Dr. Alvin Skincare

company" A.R.M. Skin

Essentials Corp." at its head

office in Philippines in 2019 for

the first time as official

distributor in Bangladesh

History. Customer can watch

all Dr. Alvin Authentic

guideline Videos on

Tiffanybd.com FB page &

YouTube

channel.Tiffanybd.com then

shared a sub-distribution of

these products in Bangladesh

with the owner Mahinoor

Simran's online shop "Chic by

Choice". Tiffanybd.com is also

an authorized distributor of

Thailand's "Gosen Professional

Hair Care" and European

Color Cosmetics "Paese

Cosmetics".

Tiffanybd.com's Facebook

page and website

(www.tiffanybd.com) offer

Hair care, skincare, all beauty

services, All beauty machines,

all hair iron, hair extensions,

nail and eyelash extensions,

and pedicure-manicure

products.

In addition, Tiffanybd.com

hosts a variety of beauty service

and salon service courses every

two months under the

supervision of Quazi Qamrul

Islam, an internationally

recognized Hair and Beauty

expert, to train people

interested in Beauty related

services.

realme 9 - First Smartphone Powered

by ISOCELL HM6 Image Sensor will

officially launch in Bangladesh

Youth favorite brand smartphone brand

realme, will launch the realme 9 4G on May

22nd. It is the first 108MP ProLight Camera

in the realme 9 4G, powered by Samsung

ISOCELL HM6. The realme number series is

popular with young people worldwide

because it provides a premium imaging

experience that exceeds expectations from

start to finish. realme 8 was one of the few

smartphones to feature a 64MP camera.

With realme 9, they are ready to bring forth

a breakthrough.

The latest NonaPixel Plus technology,

upgraded from the traditional 3Sum-3Avg

solution to an unprecedented 9Sum readout

solution, brings superb brightness to photos

taken by realme 9. In practice, the 9Sum

Pixel Binning solution from NonaPixel Plus

technology improves the overall light intake

by 123% compared to the Samsung

FRANKFURT : German

industrial conglomerate

Siemens said Thursday its

profits were cut nearly in half

in the second quarter as the

group announced it would

wind down its operations in

Russia.

Siemens, which runs its

business year from October to

September, said in a

statement that net profit fell

to 1.2 billion euros ($1.3

billion) in the period from

January to March, from 2.4

billion in the same period last

year.

Sanctions imposed on

Russia following the invasion

of Ukraine has cut Siemens'

earnings by around 600

million euros as the German

giant-which makes products

ranging from trains to factory

equipment-wrote down the

value of its business in the

region.

Siemens said its transport

division, including rail service

and maintenance, was

particularly hard hit.

The group said it had begun

the wind down of "all

industrial business activities"

in Russia.

As Siemens has been active

in the market for nearly 170

years, "this was not an easy

decision," said chief executive

Roland Busch.

Siemens had already halted

its business in Russia at the

beginning of March, following

the start of the war.

Despite the conflict and the

lingering impact of the

ISOCELL HM2 image sensor. Moreover,

after the actual photo comparison, realme

finds that the low-light photo shot on realme

9 is significantly brighter with better color

reproduction.

In a bid to provide users with a highquality

photo experience, realme 9 utilizes

the HM6 sensor's in-sensor ultra-zoom

technology with a merging algorithm to

create a beautiful zoomed-in shot to get

closer to the details and compose photos the

way they want it. Apart from a power camera

the device will also have 90Hz Super

AMOLED Display and will come powerpacked

with a 6nm Snapdragon 680

Processor.

On May 22nd realme will also officially

launch the realme C35 as well which is

expected to be the most beautiful phone of

2022 till now.

Siemens profits down as

it plans Russia exit

coronavirus pandemic, the

group said revenues

increased to 17 billion euros

from 14.7 billion euros in the

same quarter last year.

Siemens's "ongoing

mitigation of supply chain

challenges allow us to look

confidently into the second

half of our fiscal year," said

chief financial officer Ralf

Thomas.

The Munich-based

conglomerate confirmed its

full-year outlook, targeting

growth in revenue of between

six and eight percent.

The projection was based

on the expectation that

disruptions from the

coronavirus and strained

supply chains "will not

worsen", it said.

FRIdAY, MAY 13, 2022

9

Atletico Madrid secured qualification for the Champions League on Wednesday as a 2-0 victory away

at Elche guaranteed their place in La Liga's top four.

Photo : Internet

Atletico seal Champions League qualification

after win over Elche

MADRID : Atletico Madrid secured

qualification for the Champions

League on Wednesday as a 2-0

victory away at Elche guaranteed

their place in La Liga's top four.

Matheus Cunha and Rodrigo De

Paul were both on target as Atletico

pulled six points clear of Real Betis

in fifth, with two games left to play.

Atletico also have the superior headto-head

record over Betis.

Sevilla, though, failed to make sure

of their top-four spot as the team's

poor end to the season had earlier

continued with a goalless draw at

home to struggling Mallorca.

Atletico look likely now to finish

third and although the defence of

their league title has been hugely

disappointing - they are 14 points

behind Real Madrid - Diego

Simeone's side have at least avoided

missing out on the Champions

League, which for a while seemed a

very real possibility.

"I'm happy for the players," said

Simeone. "It's been an up and down

season, with a Champions League

when we competed very well and a

La Liga where we haven't been able

to maintain our consistency.

"It's not what we imagined but we

have achieved the objective - the

Champions League for another year,

which is very important for the

club."

In December, Atletico lost four

league games in a row for the first

time ever under Simeone, before

defeat by Levante, who sat bottom of

the table, prompted crisis talks

between coach and players in

February.

But five consecutive victories in

March proved crucial and while

there has been another dip in recent

weeks, Atletico have done just

enough to seal Champions League

qualification for a 10th consecutive

year.

Cunha gave Atleti the lead in the

28th minute as Antoine Griezmann

picked out Renan Lodi's run down

the left and Cunha was in the right

place to divert in the cross to the

near post.

The visitors made it two shortly after

the hour, De Paul finishing off a

superb move after a slick exchange

with Lodi, who had again broken

through the Elche defence.

Atletico play at home on Sunday to

Sevilla, whose stalemate against

Mallorca at the Ramon Sanchez

Pizjuan should only delay their

qualification given they sit five

points clear of Betis, with two games

left to play.

Sevilla will need only one more point

to guarantee they finish ahead of

Betis, as they also have the better

head-to-head with their city rivals.

But Julen Lopetegui's side do have

two tricky last games, with Sunday's

trip to the Wanda Metropolitano

coming before a final match at home

to Athletic Bilbao.

And even if they get over the line,

Sevilla are ending what was once a

promising campaign with a

whimper, after just three wins now

in their last 12 in all competitions.

There were whistles from the home

fans while Mallorca were hardly

satisfied with a draw either. They

stay 18th, two points adrift of safety,

with Cadiz ahead of them playing a

game in hand away at Real Sociedad

on Thursday.

Sevilla had the better chances

overall but Mallorca were far from

overwhelmed and could have taken

the lead on the break when Vedat

Muriqi's header had to be clawed

away by Bono.

Anthony Martial went close for

Sevilla in the second half but their

best chance came in injury-time as

Youssef En-Nesyri connected well

with a header, only for Mallorca

goalkeeper Manolo Reina to make

an excellent save.

Bangladesh

hockey team

emerge group

champions

Agrani Bank Limited

SC notch win in BCL

DHAKA : Agrani Bank

Limited Sporting Club, came

from behind, beat

Fakirerpool Young Men's

Club by 3-2 goals in the

Bashundhara

Group

Bangladesh Championship

League (BCL) held on

Wednesday at Birshreshtha

Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad

Mostafa Kamal Stadium in

the city's Kamalapur.

In the day's match, Musa

put Fakirerpool ahead in the

15th minute while Sabbir

restored the parity for

Agrani Bank in the 37th

minute of the match.

After the breather,

Fakirerpool again took the

lead when Shanto scored the

second goal in the 80th

minute of the match.

Shanto of Fakirerpool

however made the hara-kiri

as he scored a suicidal goal

in the dying moment of the

match.

Bangladesh win

three silver medals,

one bronze last day

DHAKA : Bangladesh archery

team failed to fulfill the

expectation as the archers

won three more silver and one

bronze medal on the fourth

and last day of the Asia Cup

World Ranking tournament

stage-2 that concluded on

Wednesday in Sulaymaniyah,

Iraq. In the day's recurve

women's team event,

Bangladesh archery team

featuring Nasrin Akter, Diya

Siddique and Beauty Roy won

silver after losing to superior

India by 4-5 set points in the

final.

While in the recurve men's

team event, Bangladesh

archery team featuring

Ruman Sana, Mohammad

Hakim Ahmed Rubel and

Abdur Rahman Alif secured

silver after losing to India by 1-

5 set points in the final.

In the recure men's

individual event, ace archer

Ruman Sana failed to fulfill

the expectation as he lost to his

Indian rival Mrinal Chouhan

by 2-6 sets points in the final

and had to content with silver.

While in the women's

individual event, promising

archer Diya Siddique won

bronze medal after beating

her compatriot Beauty Roy by

7-1 set points in the bronze

deciding match.

Haaland will make Man City even

more prolific, says Guardiola

WOLVERHAMPTON : Erling Haaland's

arrival at Manchester City will make the

English champions an even more ruthless

attacking force, said Pep Guardiola after

seeing his side thrash Wolves 5-1 on

Wednesday.

Haaland's o51 million ($63 million, 60

million euro) signing ends City's search for a

recognised striker to replace the departed

Sergio Aguero.

However, there was little need for a

forward at Molineux as Kevin De Bruyne

scored four goals, including a hat-trick inside

24 minutes.

Raheem Sterling rounded off the scoring

as City took their tally in the last five Premier

League games to 22 goals.

Guardiola, though, was still not satisfied by

a number of missed chances with goal

difference potentially still a decisive factor in

the title race.

City are three points clear of Liverpool at

the top of the table and seven goals better off

with two games to go.

"Definitely he could help us score more,"

said Guardiola when asked how many his

side would have scored with Haaland up

front.

"Big congratulations to the club. It

is a signing for the next years. We are

very pleased he decided to come to

join us.

"Next season we will work together, we will

help him to settle quickly in Manchester. I'm

sure he is going to adapt quickly to the way

we want to play."

Erling Haaland's arrival at Manchester City will make the English champions

an even more ruthless attacking force, said Pep Guardiola after seeing his side

thrash Wolves 5-1 on Wednesday.

Photo : Internet

We want to bring maiden Olympic medal for

Bangladesh through gymnastics: Mamun

DHAKA : Bangladesh Gymnastics

Federation's (BGF) president Sheikh

Bashir Ahmed Mamun was one of those

85 sports personalities who received

prestigious national sports award.

In presence (virtual) of Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina those 85 sports

personalities received the award for their

outstanding contribution in country's

sports.

Mamun, a dedicated sports organizer

was over the moon after receiving

highest title of the sports, stating that he

is happy and proud of what he had

achieved.

Although Mamun started his national

level career as a cricket organizer, he

later took charge of the BGF. He is

currently serving the federation as its

president. He is also acting as the vice

president of the Bangladesh Olympic

Association (BOA).

In an exclusive interview with BSS,

Mamun expressed his determination to

bring the first Olympic medal for

Bangladesh through gymnastics.

As expected Bangladesh national hockey team emerged Pool B champions

in the Asian Games qualifier when the edged past Singapore by a solitary

goal held on Thursday in Bangkok, Thailand.

Photo : Internet

GD-890/22 (6 x 3)

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DHAKA : As expected

Bangladesh national hockey

team emerged Pool B

champions in the Asian

Games qualifier when the

edged past Singapore by a

solitary goal held on

Thursday in Bangkok,

Thailand.

In the day's match,

Rakibul Hasan scored the

all-important goal for

Bangladesh hockey team,

who earlier confirmed their

spot of semifinal beating Sri

Lanka in their second

match. Bangladesh took the

lead in the second quarter

through a field goal and the

boys in red and green

maintained it till the final

whistle.

Singapore, however,

created some scoring

opportunities but failed to

convert any of those into

goal.

Earlier, Bangladesh got off

to a winning start in the

tournament as they beat

Indonesia by 3-1 goals in

their pool B opening match

and confirmed their Asian

Games participation after

defeating Sri Lanka also by

the same identical margin in

the tournament's second

match.

Bangladesh hockey team:

Biplob Kujur, Abu Sayeed

Nippon, Khorshedur

Rahman, Farhd Ahmed

Shitul, Ashraful Islam,

Sohanur Rahman Sabuz,

Mehedi Hasan, Rezaul

Karim Babu, Sarwar

Hossain, Roman Sarkar,

Naim Uddin, Fazle Hossain

Rabbi, Prince Lal Samanta,

Rasel Mahmud Jimmy,

Milon Hossain, Rakibul

Hasan, Arshad Hossain and

Pushkor Khisha Mimo.

GD-885/22 (8 X 4)

FRIdAY, MAY 13, 2022

10

Moushumi,

Shabnam

interested to act

together again

TBT REPORT

Legendary film actress Shabnam and

popular actress Moushumi worked

together in Kazi Hayat directed movie

Ammajan, which was released on

June 25 in 1999. But later they did not

get the opportunity to share the silver

screen together. In fact, after

Ammajan, Shabnam did not act in any

other movie. According to this veteran

actress, she has keen interest to act in

original story based movie till now.

But Moushumi is continuing acting in

the big screen.

Moushumi informed that few days

ago, she has returned to Bangladesh

from USA. After returns, she has

Deepika on her journey

to become global star

Deepika Padukone is truly on her journey to become a global

star. After winning hearts in Bollywood, the actress even

stepped into Hollywood with xXx: Return of Xander Cage in

2017. Back in August last year, she announced yet another

international project that will also witness her production

house backing it. But what about diversity in the West? DP

isn't exactly convinced that it's truly there.

For the unversed, Deepika is all set to be seen in a crosscultural

romantic comedy. It is developed by Eros STX Global

Corporations' division STXfilms and her Ka productions will

be co-producing it. After 'xXx' with Vin Diesel, many expected

Padukone to be seen in many more Hollywood projects but

unfortunately, that did not happen for a while now!

In the latest interaction with Vogue, Deepika Padukone has

called out the diversity in Hollywood. "Right now, the

conversation around diversity in Hollywood is surface-level.

The minute you have a Black or Asian actor, it's considered

'diverse casting'. But we have a long way to go before we start

seeing substantial change. I feel like 80 per cent of the people

A prequel to coming-of-age

supernatural horror film 'IT' is in

development at HBO Max.

According to 'Variety', the series,

currently called 'Welcome to Derry',

will begin in the 1960s in the time

leading up to the events of 'It: Part

One', the 2017 film based on the

Stephen King horror novel.

The story of the IT prequel series is

become busy with acting again. While

asking Shabnam regarding acting in

movie, she said, "I want to do acting. I

have already passed 22 years without

acting in any movie. In the meantime, I

couldn't get the opportunity to act in

any movie. Though I am not physically

well but still now I have keen interest

for acting. I am an actress. So, my thirst

for acting will remain before my death.

Moushumi is a good actress and also a

good human being. She can talk

sweetly. She acted with me in a movie

Ammajan. When she finds me she

shows huge respect to me and talks with

me so politely which really impress me.

If we get the opportunity to work with

‘IT’ prequel series in

development at HBO Max

also said to include the origin story

of Pennywise the Clown.

Andy Muschietti, who directed 'IT:

Part One' and 2019's 'It: Part Two', is

attached to executive produce the

series along with Barbara Muschietti

and Jason Fuchs.

According to sources, Muschiettis

and Fuchs developed the story for

the show with Fuchs writing the

her again I will surely do it."

Moushumi shared her feelings by this

way, "Few days ago, Shabnam went to

Pakistan. She acted in a TV series there.

She was presented so nicely in that

series which I watched her on the TV

screen. In our country, she passes lazy

days now. We should utilize such a

legendary actress like her in our movies.

I got the opportunity to work with

Shabnam in a movie. But I learned

many things from her while working in

that movie. I always feel thrill when I

am accompanied by her. It is no doubt

she is a renowned actress and a good

human being. I always pray for her as

she remains well."

in charge are still looking at inclusive casting as a box to be

ticked. No doubt, there are some who are genuinely interested

in turning the tide, but they are getting it quite wrong. It's a

learning process and I hope it's an earnest one," she said.

Meanwhile, Deepika Padukone was last seen in Shakun

Batra directorial 'Gehraiyaan'. The actress has a choc-o-bloc

schedule ahead with projects like The Intern remake,

'Pathaan' alongside Shah Rukh Khan & John Abraham,

'Project K' alongside Prabhas, and 'Fighter' with Hrithik

Roshan amongst others. Source: Hindustan Times

script. Andy would also direct the

first episode should the project go to

series. the writers' room is now

open. Warner Bros. Television is the

studio behind the project, with WB

having produced the two films.

Should the project go forward, it

would be the latest example of HBO

Max building a series component

into an existing WB film franchise.

Colin Farrell is set to reprise the

role of The Penguin from 'The

Batman' in a limited series for the

streamer, although a planned series

about the Gotham PD (and Arkham

Asylum) has stalled in development.

There is also a series in the works

about the Bene Gesserit from

"Dune" in the works at the streamer,

among several other film-based

projects.

The two new 'It' films collectively

grossed over $1.1 billion at the global

box office upon their release, with

the first film taking place 27 years

after the events of the first with a

new adult cast taking over from the

kids in part one.

'It' was previously adapted into a

two-part miniseries for ABC back in

1990, featuring Tim Curry's iconic

performance as Pennywise.

Source: Collider

Actress Warina in Oyshee's music video

TBT REPORT

Popular singer Oyshee

Fatima Tuz Zahra's new song

'Garir Mechanic' has been

released on the occasion of

Eid-ul-Fitr. Bollywood actress

Warina Hussain featured in

the music video of the song as

model.

The song is written and

composed by Kaushik

Hossain Taposh and the

music video is produced and

styled by Farzana Munni.

Directed by Adil Sheikh of

Bollywood, the music video

was shot in Mumbai

About the song, Oyshee

said, "I'm very much exited

about 'Garir Mechanic'. The

song as well as its music

arrangement is very beautiful.

And the music video of the

track is really amazing.

Warina has lip-synced so well

TBT REPORT

The pandemic has disrupted our lives

mostly in an unsettling way but we

can't deny that every dark cloud has a

silver lining. If you'd not been into

entrepreneurial endeavors then

perhaps you have unnoticeably gone

past many inspiring stories that

changed people's life. You're allowed to

frown in wonder so let's take a stroll

into such a stimulating tale of Nusrat

Jahan Sonia. Maybe you've responded

to many wedding bells of cousins and

friends in this long academic pause and

beheld beautiful brides in their

mesmerizing looks. Maybe you were

dumbfounded seeing your beautiful

cousin's mehendi makeover. Who

knows that might be from Nusrat

jahan's expertise.

Nusrat had kicked off her mehndi

makeover expedition out of passion in

2014 disregarding the economic

purpose but soon she discerned the

demand and moment of her beautiful

artworks over skins. She then made no

mistake to launch her social media

page which is known as' Nusrat

Mehendi and Fashion Buzzz'. And

guess what? Her makeovers stirred a

buzz amongst youth and old that

resulted in opening up a shop in

fortune shopping mall, named as '

Stylish Collection'. Starting it as a

pastime now she thrives as a mehendi

makeover artist which is seemingly

worthy of appreciation.

Her impressive makeover is now

popular for bridal mehendi, non bridal

mehndi, and for many other

perspectives. Talking about her journey

she lets us know that it hadn't been facile

being where she is today. She divulged

that she'd done so many successful

events throughout her passionate

journey. She has worked in so many

bridal makeovers, mehndi fairs, mehndi

events and even in national trade fairs!

She has left her outwitted touch of class

wherever she went on. Nusrat not only

did the contracted random jobs but also

did feature some celebrities who had

gilded their hands and toes coming

across her. It surely adds value and

muse to her passion.

Nusrat's facebook page has bagged

26k+ likes and substantial audiences

from time to time that now is soaring

high like a mountain. She is well

mannered and respects her audience's

choices that makes her a wonderful

soul too.

Perceiving the augmented demand

from the customers Nusrat now also

sells some complementary items like

eucalyptus oils, mehndi powders etc.

that it seems like she sang the

song, not me. Despite being a

non-Bengali, the way she gave

expressions along with a

Bengali song is amazing."

"I'm really lucky to working

on such a dream project.

Hopefully, the audience will

enjoy the song', she added.

Under the banner of TM

Records, 'Garir Mechanic'

was published on their

Facebook page and YouTube

channel on May 3. Earlier,

Oyshee's 'Dustu Polapain' was

released under TM Record,

featuring another Bollywood

actress Sunny Leone.

Nusrat Jahan Sonia

glorying with her own

creation with Mehendi

She now takes orders and contracts

through social media and mobile.

Some of her biggest events got tagged

in westin which was occasioned for

'Women's day'. She also had an event in

le meridian which was due to '

Valentine's day'. Nusrat surely has set

her path right to the course of success

someday! All the big events that she'd

been working on definitely substantiate

her caliber and credence.

We are as enchanted as you're right

now hearing more about her. We'll let

you slide into another astonishment

that all her work is single handedly

done by her. This illustrates the

unthinkable patience that she harbors

in herself! These artworks take quite a

long time to be done with.

Asking about what she told us, she

likes to do it by herself as an epitome of

dedication and love for the passion she

inherits! Nusrat's tenacity and

fascination for her budding mehndi

business instills an ardor towards the

like-minded people for standing up

their grounds. Nusrat aims to be a

global face hanging onto her

enthusiasm someday. She wishes to be

a famed mehendi artist around the

world and wants to work overseas.

H O R O s c O P E

ARIEs

Today your intellectual and

expressive abilities should receive a

boost from the planets. It's an

excellent time to organize your thoughts about

presenting a project to a possible collaborator,

engage in trade, or write. In terms of your

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

latest events, certain aspects of which are still

partially misunderstood.

TAURUs

Overall, the forecast for today is fairly

good. The aspects seem to favor figuring

out the meaning of all that's transpired

over the past several weeks. It's an

opportunity for you to take a leisurely look at the

distance you've covered moving toward your goals.

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

get together with friends and discuss the latest events

with them?

GEMINI

Have you felt somewhat lost for the past

few days? The fog may lift today and

enable you to situate yourself at last.

You're probably eager to settle a

question that has nagged at you and interfered with

your judgment. However, you should be patient,

especially if it has to do with emotional matters. Try

to understand, but don't take immediate action.

You'll be more objective beginning tomorrow.

cANcER

You may have been feeling somewhat

disillusioned. Perhaps you lost sight of

your goals or misplaced your faith in

yourself. You'll feel some relief

beginning today. This is an opportunity to end what

has been a somewhat apathetic and moody phase

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

meditation. As you can imagine, this new phase will

be much more fulfilling!

LEO

You might be tempted to settle certain

matters by radical means. The

visionary part of you means you're

painfully aware of the world's wrongs.

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

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

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

have an emotional question to resolve, it would be

better to wait a few days before making a decision.

VIRGO

Today will be fairly calm in terms of

outside events, but your inner world is

likely to be in a rush of activity. Today you

wish you could find the solution to your

heartaches as well as your career predicaments. You'd

like to achieve some supreme understanding of the

events that took place over the past month. First you

must force your brain to slow down. Haste makes

waste, as you know!

LIBRA

You have a lot of thinking to do about

your professional goals, Libra. You'll go

over the elements to see if there isn't

some way to approach things differently.

Are there new paths you could try or ways to improve

things? Your mind will go a thousand miles a minute

today. Those who spend time with you may be totally

exhausted by the end of the day because of all the

questions you ask!

scORPIO

You just can't do everything at once,

Scorpio. How do you expect to reduce

your stress and recuperate while at

the same time continue to be a

superstar performer in every area of your life?

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

you're likely to deplete your reserves even further.

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

little break.

sAGITTARIUs

This is a good moment to adapt your logic

and reason to reality, Sagittarius. If you

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

intellectual problems. Everyone knows that you find new

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

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

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

us living here in the real world.

cAPRIcORN

It's going to be a little difficult talking

to you today, Capricorn. You, who can

be easily influenced by others, will be

listening to and criticizing everything

that people say. Nothing emotional or vague is

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

an extremely fine filter that lets in only what you

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

Don't show off too much!

AQUARIUs

Have you been reviewing your family

history lately, Aquarius? Of special

interest is your cultural background.

What educational, social, and religious

environment were you born into? What are its

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

them now or are those views different from the ones

you hold? These are interesting avenues of thought

for you today.

PIscEs

It's time to elevate your sense of self,

Pisces. You're just as good as anyone

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

problem is that you're very sensitive

about having an ego. Even though you know

everyone does, you punish yourself for its existence!

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

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

What are you worrying about?

fRiDAY, MAY 13, 2022

11

MCC aims to resolve traffic

congestion in the city

Md. Ali Ahsan Raj, Mymensingh

Mymensingh City Corporation (MCC) has

taken five important decisions at the initial

stage to reduce traffic congestion in

Mymensingh. If the decisions are

implemented, the city dwellers will get relief

from traffic jams. These decisions were taken

at a discussion meeting with stakeholders to

reduce traffic congestion at the Shaheed

Shahabuddin Auditorium of the City

Corporation on Thursday. The decisions are:

No CNG will be allowed inside the city from

13 May. From May 21, vehicles carrying

bricks, sand and other goods will not be

allowed inside the city from 8 am to 8 pm.

From the first June, 7,000 licensed easybikes

will be run in two phases.

Necessary steps will be taken to relocate the

Trishal bus stand in the heart of the city to

Maskanda and mobile court activities will be

intensified to prevent construction materials

from being placed on the road, clearing

sidewalks and evicting illegal structures on

the road. President of the meeting

Mymensingh City Corporation Mayor Md.

Ikramul Haque Titu said, "We want to be a

traffic free city. Traffic congestion has

increased in this city for many reasons, but it

has to be eliminated at any cost. The mayor

also requested the Roads and Urban

Development Department to take necessary

steps for widening of roads from the bridge to

Kewatkhali, widening of inner city roads and

construction of flyovers or overpasses at

railway crossings."

Chief Executive Officer of MCC Md. Yusuf

Ali, Deputy Commissioner of Mymensingh

Mohammad Enamul Haque, Secretary of

MCC Rajib Kumar Sarkar, Additional

Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Md.

Aminur Rahman, Executive Engineer of

Roads Department Md. Wahiduzzaman,

General Secretary of Press Club Babul

Hossain, BRTA officials, Traffic Inspector

Abu Nasser Md. Zahir, Chamber of

Commerce and Industry Senior Co-President

Shankar Saha, District Bus Owners

Association President Mumtaz Uddin Manta,

Secretary Somnath Saha, Battery Driven

Auto Owners Association President Rakibul

Islam Shahin, Auto Leaders Association

President Dilip Sarkar was present.

Land ministry

to hold 'Land

Service Week-

2022' from

June 19

DHAKA : The 'Land

Service Week-2022' will

begin across the country

on June 19 aiming to

bring dynamism in land

management and make

people aware of their

rights to land.

Land Minister

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury

will inaugurate the 'Land

Service Week-2022' at

Osmani Memorial

Auditorium in the capital

on June 19, said an

official release.

As part of the service

week, the ministry will

organise different

programmes from May 19

to 23 in the eight

divisions and 64 districts

and 507 upazila or circle

land offices across the

country with the theme

"Vumi Office a Na Ashe-e

Digital Vumi Seba

Grohon" (Receiving

digital land services

without coming to the

land office).

"Land service through

dialing 16122 of call

centre" and "Land service

by post" are given utmost

importance in this year

services.

As part of the Land

Service Week, "Land

Development Tax Fair"

will be held at district,

upazila, municipality and

union parishad levels.

During the fair, people

will be encouraged to

take digital land services,

including e-mutation

process, e-mutation

service and payment of

land development tax.

67 individuals, organisations get

BB remittance award

DHAKA : Sixty seven individuals and

organisations yesterday received the

"Bangladesh Bank Remittance Award-

2019-20" for sending home the highest

amount of remittance, investing bonds

and playing a vital role in receiving the

remittance.Finance Minister AHM

Mustafa Kamal handed over the

awards at a function at the Krishibid

Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in the

city.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor

Fazle Kabir, Financial Institutions

Division Secretary Sheikh Mohammad

Salimullah and Secretary of the

Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas

Employment Ministry Dr Ahmed

Muniruh Salehin attended the function

as special guests while BB Deputy

Governor Abu Farah Md Naser

delivered the welcome speech.In his

speech, Kamal said Bangladesh has

Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Local Government Engineering Department

Office of the Upazila Engineer

Upazila: Thakurgaon Sadar

Dbœq‡bi MYZš¿

District : Thakurgaon


www.lged.gov.bd

Reference No : 46.02.9494.000.14.001.21-253 Date : 11.05.2022

e-Tender Notice-8/2021-22

become a role model of development in

the world and expatriates of the

country are playing a vital role in this

regard."We are moving forward. We

can build hunger and poverty free

Bangladesh by 2030 and we will be

developed country in 2031. We will be

strong developed country by 2041," he

added. He urged the expatriates to send

money through legal channel for being

part of the country's development.

189

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GD-880/22 (10x4)

GD-883/22 (9x4)

Friday, Dhaka: May 13, 2022; Baishakh 30, 1429 BS; Shawal 11, 1443 hijri

Madison event evocative of

Concert for Bangladesh:Joy

DHAKA : Commemorating the historic

1971-Concert for Bangladesh, the ICT

Ministry organized, at the same Madison

Square Garden, another concert, evoking

the precedence of 'melody for humanity' set

by the world's all-time best musicians, said

Prime Minister's ICT Advisor Sajeeb Wazed

Joy, reports UNB.

Sharing the vibe of the concert, Joy, who

was singing and cheering as part of the

crowd, wrote from his verified Facebook

account, "This weekend I relived that

moment as we paid tribute to that melodyfor-humanity

event through another concert

on the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh"

Reminiscing the unforgettable lyric by

George Harrison on war-torn Bangladesh,

'My friend came to me/ With sadness in his

eyes/ He told me that he wanted help/

Before his country dies', he wrote, "Beatles'

star George Harrison didn't just write and

compose the song but also went on to think

about doing something that might help the

people of Bangladesh, a victim of one of history's

worst genocides. He reached out to

maestros like Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton,

who also agreed to drum up support for the

cause. Rest is history. Concert for

Mango harvesting

in Rajshahi to

begin today

RAJSHAHI : Mango harvesting of the

current season is going to start from

today everywhere in the district to ensure

the natural ripening of the seasonal delicious

fruit.

Farmers can harvest the local and

indigenous varieties from Friday, while

Gopalbhog from May 20, Ranipachhand

and Lakhna from May 25 and Himsagar

or Khirshapat from May 28.

They can also harvest Langra from

June 6, Amropali and Fazly from June

15, Ashwina and BARI Aam-4 from July

10, Gormati from July 15 and Ilamati

from August 20.

The District Administration has fixed

the date in a meeting held at the conference

hall of Deputy Commissioner (DC).

Additional DCs Shariful Haque and

Kolyan Chowdhury and Deputy Director

of the Department of Agricultural

Extension Mozdar Hossain, among others,

addressed the meeting.

The meeting was told that there are

mango orchards on 18,515 hectares of

land in the district and the target has

been fixed to produce around 2.15 lakh

tonnes of mango this year.

The district administration has issued

notices fixing the dates for harvesting different

varieties of mangoes.

ADC Shariful Haque said the district

administration will remain vigilant

against harvesting and marketing of

immature mango.

Law enforcing agencies and upazila

administrations were already given

instruction to this end.

He also said there will be adequate

measures to make the transportation

and marketing of mango successful.

5 cops suspended

for assaulting

journos in

Chattogram

CHATTOGRAM : Five policemen

including an assistant sub-inspector of

Chattogram Highway Police have been

suspended allegedly for physically

assaulting two journalists when they

were taking videos of 'extortion' by

police members from different vehicles,

reports UNB.

The accused policemen are - Assistant

Sub-Inspector Masud Rana and

Constables Lokman Hossain, Aman, Md.

Karim and Md. Zaheer of Sitakunda-

Terrial police outpost. They have been

attached to Cumilla region, said Md

Abdullah, inspector of Kumira highway

police outpost on Thursday.

Earlier, the accused were taking money

illegally from a passenger bus and a

sand-carrying drum truck on Dhaka-

Chattogram highway at 11:30 pm on

Tuesday. At that time, two local journalists-

MK Monir and Farhan Siddique -

were physically assaulted by the cops

while they were recording videos of the

scene on their mobile phones.

The action was taken instantly against

those police personnel when the matter

came to light, said the inspector.

Bangladesh set the precedence of helping a

victim-of-war nation through a concert."

"Whenever I watch it on YouTube, it

takes me back to a golden moment - George

Harrison singing the song Bangladesh, Bob

Prime Minister's ICT Advisor Sajeeb Wazed Joy

Dylan rendering 'How many roads a man

must walk down', and Pundit Ravi Shankar

playing his fingers on his sitar like a storm.

They are sharing the same stage!" he added.

"The dream for Bangladesh, as the

world's all-time greatest rock stars and

musical masters had seen, came true as the

war-torn country back in 1971 is now an

epitome of sustained progress and development.

From the engineering masterpiece

Padma Bridge to the technological feat

Bangabandhu Satellite, Bangladesh has

made inspiring history. Still, no success

story goes unchallenged by a few people

with wrong intentions," he mentioned.

Calling upon the country's people to

stand vigilant against the peddlers of religion

and supporters of war criminals, he

said, "We must be careful so that the ghosts

of war criminals cannot bring the dark

chapters back."

Joy said they must show zero tolerance to

the peddlers of religion.

"We must stand united on our promise

for Golden Bengal on this Golden Jubilee.

Let's sing Harrison's Bangladesh together

once more and let the world hear it. This

time the promise on this Golden Jubilee is

to build Golden Bangla, the dream of the

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman."

Scorpions rocked the stage on Sunday

while Bangladeshi band Chirkutt appeared

there as a guest performer.

Dhaka seeks Seoul's

"extra initiative" for

Rohingya repatriation

DHAKA : Foreign Minister AK

Abdul Momen has sought South

Korea's "extra initiative" and a

"pro-active" action for expediting

Rohingya repatriation, noting that

they have some leverages on

Myanmar.

"This would be a real achievement

if you can help us in repatriation

of these Rohingya people to

their homeland," he said while

addressing a seminar on

Bangladesh-South Korea relations

at the Foreign Service Academy.

South Korean Ambassador to

Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun and

Bangladesh Ambassador to South

Korea Delwar Hossain joined as

special guests at the seminar titled

"50 Years of Korea-Bangladesh

Relations: Trends and Directions"

chaired by Dhaka University Prof

Dr Delwar Hossain.

Momen said South Korea, one of

the largest investors in Myanmar,

maintains a very good relationship

with the ASEAN nation.

He requested the South Korean

government to take an "extra initiative"

and a "pro-active" action so

that the displaced Rohingya people

can return to their homes in

Myanmar. "You have some leverages

on Myanmar and therefore I

request you to use that leverage."

Bangladesh is now hosting over

1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar

camps and Bhasan Char on humanitarian

grounds.

Rooftop gardening in Bogura.

"Myanmar is our neighbour, they

are not our enemy," Momen said,

adding that they have a history of

persecuting their people

(Rohingyas) and forcing them out

of their country.

In the past, repatriation of the

Rohingyas took place on a number

of occasions through dialogue and

discussion, he said.

"This time the number is too high.

I hope with your (South Korea) support

they will take back their people

because you are a good friend of

Myanmar," said the foreign minister.

He also thanked the South

Korean government for the humanitarian

support for the displaced

people from Myanmar now temporarily

sheltered in Bangladesh.

On the bilateral front, Bangladesh

and South Korea vowed to work

together for a better and promising

future making the best use of the

opportunities that the two countries

offer.

The two countries want to collaborate

more than before amid

emerging global challenges as 50

years of bilateral relations between

Bangladesh and South Korea will

officially be celebrated next year.

The Embassy of the Republic of

Korea, the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs of Bangladesh and the East

Asia Study Center of the University

of Dhaka jointly organized the seminar.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen handed over a research paper to South Korean Ambassador to

Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun on the occasion of 50 years of Korea-Bangladesh Relationship. Photo : Star Mail

69,000 packets

adulterated Orsaline

seized in Chattogram

CHATTOGRAM : Police in separate

drives have seized around 69,000 packets

of Orsalines from Hajarigoli and

Andarkilla wholesale market and arrested

a man in this connection, reports UNB.

The arrestee is Sujan Kanti Sikder, 42,

son of late Nirmal Sikder of Moddhom

Sonaichhari under Sitakund upazila of the

district. He runs a pharmacy named

Sikder Medical Hall at Islam Market in

front of Baro Auliya Mazar. He has been

sent to the court on Thursday, police said.

Chemist and Druggist Samity helped to

recover the huge amount of Orsaline, the

liquid formulation made by mixing salts

for diarrhoea patients, kept in 172 cartons.

Zahidul Kabir, officer-in-charge of

Kotwali police station, said police along

with the leaders of Chemist and Druggist

Samity and SMC Company's representative

Monwar Hossain, conducted drives in

two separate places in the port city on

Wednesday and arrested Sujan and seized

the adulterated Orsaline.

HAAB announces private Hajj

package for 2022, Minimum

cost fixed at 4,63,000

DHAKA : Hajj Agencies Association of

Bangladesh(HAAB) has announced package

for performing hajj under private management

this year. M Shahadat Hossain,

president of HAAB, announced the package

at a program in the city on Thursday.

The minimum cost for each pilgrim has

been fixed at Tk 4,63,000 excluding the cost

sacrificial animals. The private Hajj agencies

will be able to announce their own special

packages but it won't be lower than the minimum

general package announced by

HAAB. This year, a total of 57,856 pilgrims

will be able to perform Hajj from Bangladesh

and of them 53,585 will travel under private

management. The minimum cost under

government management has been fixed at

Tk 4,62, 150 this year which is over Tk 1 lakh

more than 2020.

Photo : TBT

32 Additional DIGs

promoted to DIG

DHAKA : The government has promoted

32 Additional Deputy Inspector General of

Police to the rank of Deputy Inspector

General (DIG). Public Security Division of

the Home Ministry on Wednesday night

issued a gazette notification signed by

Deputy Secretary Dhananjay Kumar Das

in this regard.

The Home Ministry has given the promotion

to these police officials upon a recommendation

by the Superior Selection

Board (SSB).

According to the ministry notification,

the newly promoted officers are-

Additional DIG and Commanding

Officer(CO) of RAB-4 Md Mozammel

Haque, Additional DIG and CO RAB-10

Mahfuzur Rahman, Additional DIG of the

Police eadquarters Md Rezaul Haque,

Joint Commissioner of the Dhaka

Metropolitan Police (DMP) Md Monir

Hossain, Additional DIG Anti-

Terrorism(ATU) Md Moniruzzaman,

Additional DIG Highway Police Md

Mizanur Rahman, Additional

Commissioner (Current Change) of Traffic

Division of the DMP Md Munibur

Rahman, Additional Commissioner

Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP)

Poritosh Ghosh, Additional DIG Rajshahi

Range Joydeb Kumar Bhadra, Additional

DIG Police Headquarters Kazi Zia Uddin,

Additional DIG of the Police Bureau of

Investigation (PBI) Golam Rauf Khan,

Additional Commissioner (Current

Change) of DMP and Chief of the Counter-

Terrorism and Transnational Crime

(CTTC) Md Asaduzzaman, Joint

Commissioners of the DMP Detective

Branch(DB) Md Mahbub Alam,

Additional DIG and Director of the RAB

Sheikh Mohammad Rezaul Haider, Joint

Commissioner of the DMP Shamima

Begum, Additional DIG ATU Salma

Begum, Joint Commissioner of the DMP

Miraz Uddin Ahmed, Additional DIG

Barisal Range AKM Ehsan Ullah,

Additional DIG Rangpur Range Shah Md

Shafiur Rahman, Additional DIG River

Police Mollah Nazrul Islam, Additional

DIG of the Police Headquarters S M

Mustak Ahmed Khan, Additional DIG

Dhaka Range Jhehadul Kabir, Additional

Commissioner of the DMP Moinul

Haque, Joint Commissioner of the DMP

Elias Sharif, Additional DIG Dhaka Range

Nure Alam Mina, Additional DIG

Mymensingh Range Shah Abir Hossain,

Additional DIG and Director RAB Jamil

Hassan, Additional DIG Dhaka Range Md

Mahbubur Rahman, Additional DIG

Chottagram Range Md Saiful Islam, Joint

Commissioner (Traffic Division) of the

DMP Syed Nurul Islam, Joint

Commissioner (Crime) of the DMP Md

Anisur Rahman and Joint Commissioner

of the DB Md Harun-or-Rashid.

The Ministry has also instructed the

newly promoted officers to join to the

Senior Secretary of the Public Security

Division directly or through e-mail immediately.

Rooftop gardening gains

popularity in Bogura

AzhAR ALI

The house owners of Bogura have started

reaping the benefits of gardening on the

roof of the house. From flowers, fruits,

cactus and even medicinal plants to vegetable

gardens, they are meeting the

needs of the family. Roof gardens have

been set up in more than a hundred

houses in Bogura. Many of them are also

starting their income by building roof

gardens commercially.

It is known that a number of young

entrepreneurs have resorted to gardening

since they did not stay at home during

the Coronavirus. Many have found

success in building roof gardens during

the Covid-19 period. Many of them later

became commercially viable when the

roof garden began to generate income.

Abu Saeed Arun of Shibbati area of

Bogura city said that he started gardening

as a hobby even before the time of Covid-19.

First start with flowering plants. After starting

with a few flowers on his roof, Aeun has

more than two hundred different flowering

plants and vegetable seedlings on his roof.

Later he leaned towards bonsai.

The garden was named Bogura Bonsai

Study. He makes bonsai with his family and

sell the plants on the roof. He also said that

he sells trees for 30 to 40 thousand taka

every month by making different flower

saplings.

Alhaj Latiful Karim of Naruli Dakshin

Para in Bogura city said that all the rare

flower seedlings are now available in the

Bogura nursery.

He has collected gardens of different

kinds of flowers and fruits from the nursery

and built a garden. He planted twin

and Arabic date palm saplings on his

roof. The family gets two days off with the

harvest they get from the vegetable garden.

And since the planting of the fig

trees and Arabic date palms, ordinary

people have occasionally flocked to the

roof to see it.

Tanjim Tarbiat Nitu, in the Matidali area

of Bogura city, said he first planted a flower

garden on the roof of his house. When flowers

come to the tree, many people show

interest in buying pictures of saplings and

flowers through social media.

At first the two started selling saplings. As

demand grew, he launched a page called

Tree World. There is more demand. Now

he has started a nursery called Tree World

with a few bighas of land next to his house.

From there he now regularly sells various

fruit and vegetable seedlings.

Abdur Razzak Tipu, a resident of the old

market area of Bogura's Dupchanchia upazila,

said he started a roof garden in 2001 as a

hobby. Now its roof is filled with all kinds of

pastures. From the roof garden he cultivates

vegetables according to the season.

Cultivated vegetables are meeting the needs

of the family. Some people also buy different

flowering plants as per their need.

13-05-2022

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