The Bangladesh Today (23-01-2018)

UNITING PEOPLE EVERYDAY
TUESDAy, DHAKA, JANUARy 23, 2018, MAgH 10, 1424 BS, JAMADI-UL-AwAL 5, 1439 HIJRI
Health Minister Mohammad Nasim presented shital pati to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as
part of celebrating the UNESCO recognition to the object as Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)
of Humanity.
Photo : Star Mail
No election keeping
BNP leaders, activists
in jail: Fakhrul
DHAKA : BNp secretary
general Mirza Fakhrul Islam
Alamgir on Monday warned
that their party will not allow
the government to hold the
next general election keeping
their leaders and activists in
jail.
"Around 78,000 cases have
been filed against over 7.5 lakh
BNp leaders and activists. our
Chairperson Khaleda Zia has
also been harassed in false
cases," he said, reports UNB.
Speaking at a warm-cloth
distribution programme, the
BNp leader further said, "We
would like to clearly say no
election can be held here sending
BNp leaders and activists
to jail in those false cases. All
the cases must be withdrawn
before the polls."
Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal, the
BNp's women wing, arranged
the programme in front of the
party's Nayapaltan central
office, marking the 82nd birth
anniversary of its founder
Ziaur Rahman.
Execution of Cabinet
decisions improves
DHAKA : Some 78 percent
decisions of the
Cabinet, taken in the 4th
quarter of the last year, has
been implemented, which is
nine percent higher than
that of the same period of
the previous year, reports
UNB.
This was revealed at the
regular Cabinet meeting
held at the prime Minister's
office with prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina in the chair
on Monday.
Cabinet Division secretary
of coordination and reformation
NM Ziaul Alam
briefed reporters after the
meeting at the secretariat.
He said a total of 68 decisions
have been taken in
eight cabinet meetings from
october 1 to December 31,
2017.
"Among them 53 decisions
have been implemented
while 15 decisions are
under the implementation
process," he said.
During the corresponding
period of previous year,
68.94 percent of cabinet
decisions were implemented.
The Secretary said the
cabinet was informed about
the measures taken for the
graduation of Bangladesh
from the status of Least
Developed Country (LDC).
He said three indexes are
considered in the graduation
process from the LDCs
status and Bangladesh has
already fulfilled the necessary
conditions to come out
from the LDC status.
The three indexes are
Gross National Income
(GNI) per capita, Human
Assets Index (HAI) and
economic Vulnerability
Index (eVI). "Bangladesh's
position is very good in all
the three indexes," he
added.
A country needs at least
US$ 1,230 GNI per capita,
66 HAI and maximum 32
eVI.
Ziaul said the GNI per
capita of Bangladesh is US$
1,271, while HAI is 72.9 and
eVI is 24.8 according to the
statistics of Bangladesh
Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
As per the statistics of
CpD, GNI per capita of
Bangladesh is US$ 1,271,
while HAI is 72.8 and eVI is
25.
He said the name of
Bangladesh will be recommended
for the graduation
in the upcoming triennial
LDC review to be held in
March next.
Bangladesh will need to
sustain its achievement in
the three indexes in two
consecutive triennial
reviews for coming out from
the LDCs status.
The Bangladesh
Today
congratulates
Professor
Maksud Kamal
TBT RepoRT
editor and publisher of
The Bangladesh Today Md.
Jobaer Alam congratulated
professor Dr. ASM Maksud
Kamal on the occasion of
getting elected as a registered
graduate representative
at the Dhaka University
(DU) Senate.
earlier, the Awami
League backed Gonotantrik
oikya parishad swept the
registered graduate election
for the Dhaka
University (DU) Senate.
The panel bagged 24 out of
25 posts while the BNp
backed Jatiyatabadi
parishad got only one post.
The election was held to
elect 25 representatives to
the university senate which
is the highest policy making
body of the university.
In an interview with The
Bangladesh Today
professor Kamal remarked
that "As an elected senate
member we will work on to
transform Dhaka
University through academic
and infrastructure
development." points to be
mentioned here, Dr. Kamal
is the president of Dhaka
University Teachers
Association (DUTA), the
Dean of earth and
environmental Sciences,
the provost of Mastar Da
Surja Sen Hall and the
founding chairman of the
department of Disaster
Science and Management.
Beside this, he is an
acclaimed academician
with profound teaching
experience, a disaster risk
reduction expert and a
renowned researcher who
has published over 53
research articles in various
national and international
journals.
Editor and Publisher of The Bangladesh Today strikes a pose with the newly
elected DU senate member Professor ASM Maksud Kamal. Photo: TBT
13,400 mts rice imported from
Myanmar in 10 months: Report
DHAKA : Bangladesh has imported over
13,400 tonnes of rice from Myanmar through
the Maungtaw Trade Zone during the 10
months of the 2017-2018 fiscal year, reports
UNB.
Up to January 14, 2017-2018 FY in
Myanmar, some 13420 tonnes of rice were
exported to Bangladesh from Myanmar
becoming the largest export to Myanmar's
neighbouring country, the Global New Light
of Myanmar reports quoting unnamed officials.
The first largest export to Bangladesh is
rice, while the second one is aquatic products,
and the third follows instant foods and other
manufacturing products, such as sweets,
Thanaka, a yellowish-white cosmetic paste
made from ground bark, anti-acne cream,
blankets, shoes and coffee mix, reads the
report.
"Rice from Buthidaung is transported by
truck to Maungtaw port and exported to
Bangladesh. exports were temporarily
stopped in September. There are nearly 100
workers in that port. They can also make a
good living when a sea route to Bangladesh
returns to normalcy," said the report quoting
a rice trader.
"There are about 10 traders in Maungtaw
Town, including me. our main export to
Bangladesh is rice and palm jam, dried fish.
Ginger and cosmetics are also being exported.
A round way to the Bangladesh side is by private
rental motor boats, which takes three
days. The water way is now favorable and,
therefore, we are continuously exporting. We
transport about 2000 sacks of rice at one
time. As the market is also better, we can earn
profits," he added.
Myanmar's main exports to Bangladesh are
rice, ginger, silk, cotton, onions, fish, prawns,
dried fish, bamboo, cane, and other industrial
goods.
Imports arriving through the Maungtaw
Border Trade Zone from Bangladesh have
ceased since the violent attacks in october
2016.
The trade zones between Myanmar and
Bangladesh mostly rely on the swell and ebb
of the river, and the Kanyin Chaung trade
zone is being developed to pave way for larger
cargo vessels, according to officials.
Elbphilharmonie: A Spectacular
New Concert Hall in Hamburg
INTeReSTING NeWS
exactly one year ago, on January 11,
2017, a new concert hall opened in
Hamburg, Germany. Like a ship on dry
dock, the new glassy construction resembles
a hoisted sail and is set upon a giant
brick warehouse, surrounded on three
sides by water of Hamburg’s historic harbor.
Since the first public performance, the
elbphilharmonie has won accolades in
cultural circles because of its iconic architecture
as well as for its brilliant acoustics
and sound clarity.
The old warehouse upon which the
modern building sits was once the largest
warehouse in the port and the only one at
which ships could dock directly. The warehouse,
called Kaiserspeicher, was built in
1875 but was destroyed in the Second
World War. In 1963, the ruins were blown
up and a new warehouse was constructed
in its place. It was renamed Kaispeicher.
Until the 1990s, the Kaispeicher was used
to store cocoa, tobacco and tea.
With the rise of container traffic,
Kaispeicher lost its importance and was
eventually abandoned. In the early 2000s,
the city of Hamburg undertook a multibillion-dollar
redevelopment project of
Hamburg’s harbor, converting 19th-century
brick buildings and empty lots into
residential, office and commercial space.
The Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron
were hired to design a new concert hall on
top of the old Kaispeicher. After ten years
of development and over 850 million
euros later, the elbphilharmonie was officially
opened.
The façade of the elbphilharmonie is
made up of about a thousand curved glass
windows. The roof is undulated, rising
from the lower eastern end to its full height
of 108 meters at the tip of the peninsula. A
curved escalator from the main entrance
at the east side connects the ground floor
with an observation deck, the plaza, at the
8th floor, the top of the brick section.
Trial in Kim Jong
Nam's murder
resumes in Malaysia
SHAH ALAM : The highprofile
trial in Malaysia of two
women accused of killing the
estranged half brother of
North Korea's leader resumed
Monday after a seven-week
recess, with witnesses taking
the stand to verify the authenticity
of security camera videos
capturing the attack, reports
UNB.
Indonesia's Siti Aisyah, 25,
and Vietnam's Doan Thi
Huong, 29, are accused of
smearing VX nerve agent on
Kim Jong Nam's face in a
crowded airport terminal in
Kuala Lumpur last Feb. 13.
They pleaded not guilty to
murder charges when their
trial began oct. 2. The two are
the only suspects in custody,
though prosecutors have said
four North Koreans who fled
the country were also
involved.
prosecutors, who last year
showed the security videos to
the court, called four employees
of the airport and airport
hotel to the stand Monday to
explain how they extracted the
relevant images from the main
computer server and copied
them to discs. This was to
enable the court to accept the
videos as formal evidence.
The court heard that the
original videos in the main
server were automatically
deleted after 30 days.
prosecutor Muhamad
Iskandar Ahmad told the
court they will call four more
witnesses and that the defense
will cross examine a previous
witness, the chief police investigator,
before prosecutors
wrap up their case. So far, 29
witnesses have testified.
United Arab Emirates donated 4 pick-ups, 2 ambulances, tents and medicines for the Malaysian field
hospital which is engaged for the treatment of Rohingya refugees.
Photo : Star Mail
Facebook to roll out new feature
to help BD people need blood
DHAKA : As Bangladesh has the shortage
of safe blood like many other countries, social
networking giant Facebook is set to roll out a
new feature here on Tuesday to help people
in need of blood by connecting them directly
to blood donors, reports UNB.
Bangladesh is the second country after
India where Facebook is coming up with the
toll to make it easy for people to find blood
and bring the blood donors, blood recipients
and organisations together more efficiently.
"Starting on Tuesday, people using
Facebook in Bangladesh will be able to sign
up to be blood donors. To sign up, people can
edit their profiles to let others know that
they're willing to donate blood or visit facebook.com/donateblood,"
Facebook product
manager, health Hema Budaraju, told UNB
on Monday during an interview.
To help encourage participation, she said
they will show a message in news feed or people
can edit their profiles to sign up. "All
information will remain private and set to
only Me by default, but people can choose to
share their donor status more widely. This
feature will be available on Android, ioS and
www."
In the next few weeks, Hema said they will
make it further easier for people and organisations,
such as blood banks and hospitals, to
connect with blood donors on Facebook.
According to WHo, she said Bangladesh is
one of the 71 countries in the world which is
facing the shortage of safe blood supply.
Besides, Hema said, people in Bangladesh
have been making thousands of posts on
Facebook looking for blood donors while
more than 1400 blood donation groups
working to help blood recipients during
emergency.
Under the circumstances, the Facebook
product manager said, "We want to help people
find blood as early as possible and make
the process of getting blood easy."
She said they have launched the feature in
India in october last year and more than six
million people have already signed up as
blood donors there.
ERD informs cabinet
of preparedness for
post LDC status
DHAKA : Three prime economic
indicators suggested
Bangladesh's preparedness for
graduation as a "developing
country", discarding its status of
a "least developed" one or LDC
by 2025, the eRD said in a presentation
to the weekly cabinet
meeting, reports UNB.
prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina chaired the meeting
when the economic Relations
Division placed the report
referred to the indicators-the
per capita Gross Net Income
(GNI), Human Assets Index
and economy Vulnerability
Index (eVI) -- and said the
country was ready for its elevated
status by March 2025. "The
standard GNI of a country
should be US$ 1230 for graduating
from the LDC group
which, in case of Bangladesh, is
now US$ 1272 according to
CpD and US$ 1271 according to
the BBS," the report read.
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam, Advisory Editor: Advocate Molla Mohammad Abu Kawser, Managing, Editor: Tapash Ray Sarker, News Editor : Saiful Islam, printed at Sonali Printing Press, 2/1/A, Arambagh 167, Inner Circular Road, Eden Complex, Motijheel, Dhaka.
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