17-10-2022

MoNday, oCToBer 17, 2022

2

The families of the accused in the Nusrat murder case and the residents of Sonagazi formed a human

chain in front of the Feni Press Club at noon on Sunday and took out a procession in Feni town

demanding a judicial inquiry into the Nusrat murder case.

Photo: Kamal Uddin Bhuiyan

DMP arrests 33 for

consuming, selling

drugs in city

DHAKA : As part of the antidrug

drive in the capital,

members of the Dhaka

Metropolitan Police (DMP)

have arrested a total of 33

people on charges of selling

and consuming drugs during

last 24 hours till 6am

yesterday.

According to a release

issued by the DMP, police

conducted the operations

against the drug sellers and

consumers in different areas

under various police stations

of the capital. They also

detained a total of 33 drug

traffickers and recovered

huge drugs from their

possessions from 6am of

October 15 to 6 am,

yesterday.

Bangladeshi food products

appreciated at South Korea fair

DHAKA : South Korean and foreign

visitors expressed their keen interest in

Bangladeshi food products while visiting

the Bangladesh pavilion at the "Gwangju

Food Fair-2022" held in Gwangju, South

Korea from October 13 to 16, reports UNB.

Bangladesh exhibited its food and food

products including cookies, spice food

products, noodles, beverages, oil products

and sauces food products at the fair.

This year organisations from nine

countries including Bangladesh and South

Korea participated in the fair and

exhibited their food and food products

through 115 booths (08 foreigners and 107

Koreans).

A good number of Korean and foreign

visitors visited the pavilion of the Embassy

of Bangladesh.

Kang Gijung, Mayor of Gwangju City,

inaugurated the fair on October 13 and

visited the pavilions accompanied by other

guests, said the Embassy of Bangladesh in

Seoul on Sunday. The presentation of the

Bangladesh Pavilion was appreciated by

the organisers and visitors and created

considerable interest among them in

Bangladeshi food, said the Embassy in a

media release. At the four-day fair,

detailed information about different types

of Bangladeshi food was presented to the

visitors.

Leaflets, posters and brochures on

Bangladeshi food items were displayed

and distributed to the visitors at the fair.

This fair was an ideal opportunity to

promote Bangladeshi food to Korean and

foreign importers from different

countries. Bangladesh's participation in

the food fair is expected to enhance the

bilateral trade between Bangladesh and

Korea in the future, said the Embassy.

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On the occasion of the 61st founding anniversary of Bangladesh Agricultural Development

Corporation (BADC), a discussion meeting was held yesterday at Krishi Bhaban, the headquarters of

BADC, Dhaka. Chairman (Grade-1) of BADC, AFM Hayatullah, was present as the main discussant

in the meeting. Directors, secretaries and senior officers of BADC and representatives of various

professional organizations were present at that time.

Photo : Courtesy

Khulna Zila

Parishad polls

today

KHULnA : All preparation has

been completed to hold Khulna

Zila Parishad elections today.

three candidates are vying

for the chairman post, 28 for

the 9 general member posts

while 13 women candidates

for the three women reserved

posts. A total of 978 voters will

cast their votes through

electronic Voting Machine

(eVM) in 10 centers of nine

upazila headquarters and

Khulna Government Zila

school in the city.

executive magistrates and

members of law enforcement

agencies have already been

deployed while eVM

machines have been sent to

each voting center two days

ago, said Khulna returning

officer Md Moniruzzaman

talukder.

talukder, also the deputy

commissioner of Khulna, said

executive magistrates are

monitoring the electoral code

of conducts.

40th BCs non-cadres demand reinstatement

of previous appointment policy

dHAKA : non-cadre candidates of 40th

BCs formed a human chain today,

demanding reinstatement of previous

appointment policies of Public service

Commission and repeal of new procedure

for non-cadre appointment.

the human chain was formed at the

base of Anti-terrorism raju sculpture on

dhaka University campus at 10:30 am

today.

non-cadre candidates from different

places of the country, including students

of dhaka University, joined the human

chain expressing solidarity.

At the human chain, they made a six

point-demand. the demands are: to

repeal the new appointment policy for

non-cadres of 40th-44th BCs, to provide

all posts of 40th BCs non-cadres which

have been provided to the 36th-38th BCs

non-cadres, to appoint the highest

number of non-cadres who have been on

the waiting list, to appoint non-cadres

following the appointment policies of

34th to 38th BCs (non-cadre), and more.

the candidates said that after the

appointment of the cadre posts in the last

few BCs, PsC recommended the

appointment of the remaining candidates

as non-cadre on the basis of merit until

the results of the new BCs are published.

according to the new rules, in case of the

ongoing 40th, 41st, 43rd and 44th BCs,

the demand for vacant posts will be

reviewed and recommended for noncadre

posts.

they said that the decision to give

desired posts to the next BCs candidates

is illogical as their rights are being

undermined.

they also said that following the

process of the previous BCss, the PsC

sent letters to various ministries and

departments asking for the list of

vacant posts for recommendations for

non-cadre posts in the 40th BCs.

Meanwhile, the list of vacant posts has

arrived in PsC, which was waiting to be

published. But these posts are not

allotted for 40th BCs now.

Mohammad Musa, a candidate of

40th BCs (non-cadre), said, "the new

policy of PsC shall not be applicable for

us. Because we have given the exam,

following the then system and waited

for years. the new policy of PsC could

be applicable for 45th BCs candidate,

not for us."

Bangladesh

reports 6 more

Covid deaths,

351 cases

dHAKA : Bangladesh

reported six more Covid-19-

linked deaths and 351 fresh

cases in 24 hours till sunday

morning.

the country's total

fatalities rose to 29,401 with

the new deaths and the new

cases raised the country's

total caseload to 2,032,092,

according to the directorate

General of Health services

(dGHs).

the daily case test

positivity rate dropped to

5.86 per cent from

saturday's 7.78 per cent as

5,988 samples were tested

during the period.

the latest deceased were

three men and three women.

of them, four were from

dhaka division and one each

from Chattogram and sylhet

divisions.

the mortality rate

remained unchanged at 1.45

per cent and the recovery

rate rose to 97.13 per cent.

In september, the country

reported 40 Covid-linked

deaths and 13,251 cases.

Bangladesh registered its

highest daily caseload of

16,230 on July 28 last year

and its highest number of

fatalities of 264 on August 10

the same year.

MOnDAY, OCTOBEr 17, 2022

3

solidarity rally held in

dhaka for protesters

dying in Iran

dHAKA : Following the movement

inspired by Iran's Masha Amini death and

Hijab row, a consolidating rally has been

held in front of national Museum at the

capital's shahabagh on saturday.

the rally was held at 3:30 pm, organised

under the banner of 'nipironer Biruddhe

shahabag' where the activists and leaders

from left leaning political organisations

took part to consolidate with the protest

of Iranian women.

the rally was presided over by organiser

Akramul Hoque, activist of Gonojagoron

Mancha while it was conducted by Khan

Asaduzzaman Masum, General secretary

of Jubo Union.

Among other Cummunist Party leader

and women activist Junanu, Chatra

Union organising secretary sumaiya setu,

samajtantrik nari forum leader Monisha

Chakroborthy, writer oditi Falguni,

human rights activist Musfika Laiju,

publisher robin Ahsan and feminist

activist Fawzia Khandkar spoke at the

program.

Akramul Hoque, said, "there are two

obstacles in our society which hinders its

harmony: unequal distribution of wealth

and improper education curriculum. our

education curriculum teaches that the

men and women are not same which at

last results in disrespect of women in a

male dominant society."

"In Iran, in the name of religion,

they are killing, raping and abusing

women. the same thing is going to

happen in Bangladesh too and we

have already observed some prefixes,"

he added.

Activist and writer Fawzia Khandker

said, "It is not only against women, it is

against mankind. But we are too late to

express our consolidation with Iranian

women."

"We are not against religion but we are

against the oppression that is being made

in the name of religion or using the label

of religion which is oppressive to women.

We want to live with respect and our legal

rights. We were with this movement, we

are and we will be with them," Fawzia

said.

dr. Kaberi Gayen, Professor of Mass

communication and journalism

department of University of dhaka,

said, "the movement that is going on

in Iran is not a sudden incident. It has

a past. In Iran, women and girls were

the part of many important

movements. But with the killing of

Masha Amini, Iranian government

has shown its worst-ever behavior

toward women. At least 200 women

have been killed while participating in

the movement in Iran by the law

enforcement organisation."

day-long hybrid seminar held at BUet

digital accessibilities are getting the

attention in higher education

institutions in the past few years. While

ICt has brought many benefits to

students and faculty, it also creates

barriers and challenges for students

with disabilities due to the

inaccessibility of digital tools and

learning materials. Faculty members

play an important role in inclusive

higher education also they could

emphasize the need to train faculty and

students about digital accessibility to

achieve inclusion in higher education.

For creating awareness of digital

inclusion and accessibility among

Faculty members and students, a daylong

hybrid seminar on "digital

Accessibility Key to Promoting Inclusive

University Initiatives in Bangladesh"

was jointly conducted by the Institute of

Information and Communication

technology (IICt) of BUet with the

collaboration of Aspire to Innovate

(a2i), ICt division, Government of

Bangladesh, recently at BUet alongside

with the Zoom platform. the seminar

started with a welcome speech by Prof.

dr. rubaiyat Hossain Mondal, director,

the Institute of Information and

Communication technology, BUet.

Vashkar Bhattacharjee, who has

lifetime experiences of visual

disability, working as the national

Consultant for Accessibility in the

(a2i) Program of ICt division,

Bangladesh Government, was the

keynote speaker. He discussed the

significant obstacles and

opportunities faced by disabled

students in higher education, as well

as the active role of policymakers in

Bangladesh. He also gave a brief

overview of multimedia talking books,

accessible reading materials, an

accessible dictionary, web

accessibility, dAIsY (digital

Accessible Information system), etc.,

as well as research directions for

digital accessibility on a national scale.

In conclusion, he provided a

summary of national and

international laws and policies

pertaining to digital accessibility and

emphasized the importance of

constructing a disability innovation

lab in Bangladesh.

After the speech of the keynote

speaker, Prof. dr. saiful Islam,

Professor at IICt, BUet, concluded the

seminar by thanking all the guests,

organizers, facilitators, and

participants.

this seminar was graced by dr.

Mufti Mahmud, Associate Professor

of nottingham trent University (UK);

Prof. dr. Md. Liakot Ali, dr. Hossen

Asiful Mustafa, Associate Professor,

and dr. Md. Jarez Miah, Assistant

Professor of IICt, BUet and Manik

Mahmud, Head of social Innovation

Cluster, a2i. In the near future, BUet

and the ICt division intend to host

additional workshops and seminars

regarding digital accessibility in

Bangladesh.

the event was covered by shafak

shahriar sozol, a research Assistant of

dIVersAsIA project at BUet and M M

tariqul Huq, a young professional of a2i

program. ICt division, Bangladesh.

For creating awareness of Digital inclusion and accessibility among Faculty members and students,

a day-long hybrid seminar on "Digital Accessibility Key to Promoting Inclusive University Initiatives

in Bangladesh" was held recently.

Photo : Courtesy

A new trust fund titled "Abdullah Al-Mahmud Trust Fund" has been established at the Faculty of

Engineering and Technology of Dhaka University. Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Prof. Dr. Md.

Akhtaruzzaman presided over the function.

Photo : Courtesy

Abdullah Al-Mahmud trust

Fund established at dU

A new trust fund titled "Abdullah Al-

Mahmud trust Fund" has been

established at the Faculty of

engineering and technology of dhaka

University (dU). Vice-Chancellor of

dhaka University Prof. dr. Md.

Akhtaruzzaman presided over the

function.

Chairman of Crystal Insurance

Company Limited Abdullah Al-

Mahmud handed over a cheque for tk.

15 lac to dU treasurer Prof. Mamtaz

Uddin Ahmed on sunday at the Vice-

Chancellor's office to set up this trust

fund, a press release said.

dean of the Faculty of engineering

and technology Prof. dr. Hafiz Md.

Hasan Babu, some faculty members

and donor's family members, among

others, were present on this occasion.

out of the income of this donation

every year some financially-challenged

students of the Faculty of engineering

and technology of dU will be given

scholarship. Vice-Chancellor Prof. dr.

Md. Akhtaruzzaman thanked the

number of corona

patients gradually

decreasing in Ctg

CHAttoGrAM : the number of corona patients in Chattogram has

been decreasing gradually for the third consecutive day.

A total of six people were detected positive for Covid-19 in

Chattogram after testing 90 samples at eight Covid-19

laboratories during the last 24 hours while 23 were detected on

saturday and 29 on Friday.

According to the reports from different labs, only six people were

detected positive for the deadly virus after testing 90 samples

during the period, said dr Ilias Chowdhury, Civil surgeon of

Chattogram district.

the infection rate of the lethal virus in the district reached to 6.74

percent till this morning.

With the new infected people, the total Covid-19 patients rose to

1,29,31 in Chattogram district including the city. Among them, 94,292

persons are the residents of the port city and the rest 35,027 are the

inhabitants of different Upazilas of the district.

the number of healed patients rose to 1,27,871with the recovery of 52

more people during the time while the average recovery rate currently

stands at 99.15 percent.

With no more new deaths, the fatality toll steady at 1,362 during the

past 24 hours.

A total of 59 infected patients are now undergoing treatment at

different designated hospitals here, the sources added.

donor and hoped that this trust Fund

would play an important role to bring

the financially-challenged students

under the social safety network. He

stressed the need for strengthening

cooperation between academia and

industry to achieve sustainable

development Goals by 2030. He called

upon the industrialists of the country to

come forward with their helping hands

to promote financially-challenged

students as well as make an inclusive

society.

Procession at IU to

raise breast cancer

awareness

IU CorresPondent:

A pink procession was held at Islamic

University (IU) campus in Kushtia on

sunday, to raise public awareness about

breast cancer.

About one hundred members of the

Cancer Awareness Programme for Women

(Cap) Kushtia Zone, led by its President Md

syam Mirza and General secretary Mariam

nesa Mim, brought out the procession from

the daina Chattar on the campus.

the procession ended at the same place

after parading the main roads of the

campus. Later, a discussion meeting was

also held there.

Former president of CAP Kushtia Zone

Mohabbot Faysal, former secretary tajmin

sultana and volunteer affairs secretary

sidwanul Haque were present on the

occasion, among others.

the speakers, at the discussion,

emphasized the significance of raising

awareness regarding the early uncovering of

cancer to reduce these serious ailments.

the Cancer Awareness Programme for

Women (Cap), a voluntary organization,

started its journey on IU Campus in 2015 to

raise public awareness about breast cancer.

MONDAy, OCTOBEr 17, 2022

4

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Monday, October 17, 2022

Delusional

debt trap

T

he

political opposition to the incumbent

Awami League government in

Bangladesh is noted these days for

making sweeping allegations that under its

stewardship Bangladesh would be headed like

Sri Lanka to slide eventually into a debt trap.

Now, even a half wit should see through their

purely malicious stand in the matter. For none

with a semblance of sanity can make such

outrageously inaccurate and misleading

comparisons.

You can make comparison between two

equals or near equals. You can make

projections on their positive progress or

otherwise in the future based on careful

research of certain trends and variables. But

you cannot compare between a molehill and an

actual hill. The first one is so small physically

that you cannot compare it with the much

bigger entity.

Sri Lanka is now facing bankruptcy in the

financial and economic sense whereas

Bangladesh is sailing peacefully in placid waters

without a worry in the world. As it is the Sri

Lankan government has officially admitted very

recently that it will have to default on its

international payment obligations. This

declaration came amid a situation of curfew in

Sri Lanka's major cities as angry mobs were

seen battling police and other authorities for

supplies of food and fuel which are a trickle. Sr

Lanka has no means to import or pay for such

imported goods on emergency basis.

Sri Lanka's foreign exchange (forex) reserves

have depleted by 70 per cent to USD 2.3 billion

as of March in the past two years, thus

impacting the country's ability to pay for its

imports. It has debt payments of about USD 4

billion through the rest of the year. The

country's inflation rate is at an elevated level.

Compared to this profile of the island nation,

the view of Bangladesh is as orderly and stable

an entity as it can be. Bangladesh presently has

an 'unspent reserve' of well over 37 Billion US

Dollars which is clearly forty times more than

the pittance that Sri Lanka has at present as its

reserve. In 2021, Bangladesh agreed to give Sri

Lanka loans of at least $200 million from its

foreign exchange reserve under a currency

swap deal. This asking for a loan from

Bangladesh by Sr Lanka was exemplary of how

times have changed. The reserve position is so

precarious for Sri Lanka or its inability to make

payments in foreign currencies that it now

offers barter form of payments. For example

sending its tea to a buyer and paying with tea

and not cash.

As it is, Sr Lanka presently has some 1.2 billion

dollars left in its reserve to meet all demands for

all kinds of international debt related payments

being made on it or are about to be made

whereas it needs right away over 5 billion

dollars just to avoid being declared a bankrupt

country in the financial sense and branded a

pariah country for the same reasons.

Apart from the foreign currency reserve, the

other major macro economic indicator of a

country to get an idea about its future solvency

or not is its gross domestic product (GDP)

growth. The GDP growth in Bangladesh is

strong. International donor organizations such

as the Asian Development Bank (ADP), World

Bank (WB), International monetary Fund

(IMF), etc. have all praised Bangladesh for the

outstanding resilience of its economy or its

substantial GDP growth even amid the

challenges posed by the Corona epidemic.

With the Corona challenge much receded in

Bangladesh, its GDP growth is expected to pick

up and do much better than in recent years.

The ADP forecast of GDP growth for

Bangladesh is 6.9 per cent in 2022 and 7.1 per

cent in 2023. These are but conservative

estimates and could be far surpassed when the

tally is taken at the end of these periods. For Sri

Lanka even the best case scenario of GDP

growth is 3.1 per at most which should clearly

show how the two countries would be headed in

the short and longer terms. Bangladesh's GDP

growth would be robust or nearly thrice as that

of Sr Lanka.

Therefore, it is silly to even try and make

comparisons between Bangladesh and Sri

Lanka for the former is so resourceful and the

latter so much lacking in resources.

THE recent spate of leaked audios of

conversations among PML-N

government leaders as well as PTI

leaders is a matter of grave concern for the

right to privacy, cyber security and civilian

supremacy, and it indicates meddling in

politics by undemocratic forces.

Efforts seem to be on to man oeuvre the

political discourse with a well-thought-out

plan using private conversations between

civilian politicians. While some would argue

for the need for greater transparency and

accountability of elected leaders as well as

government officials, it is important that such

efforts be rooted in the due process of law,

which is legal and constitutional. We have

none of those.

The right to privacy is enshrined in Article

14 of the Constitution that concerns the

inviolability of the dignity of a person and the

privacy of home. The Supreme Court, on

several occasions, has outlined the red lines

regarding the interception of private

conversations through the tapping of phones

and other forms of surveillance. In the Shehla

Zia case, the Supreme Court said that the

right to life guaranteed by Article 9 of the

Constitution includes the right to protection

from encroachment on privacy and liberty. In

the Benazir Bhutto case, the Supreme Court

confirmed the surveillance of the superior

judiciary, legislators, journalists, and

government leaders as illegal, immoral and

unconstitutional, as there is no legal

justification for it. The court also stated that

the "privacy of home" in the Constitution is

not limited to a physical house but also

extended to public spaces.

In the M.D. Tahir case, the Supreme Court

affirmed that conversations over the phone

are private and intimate, and the Constitution

protects them. Similarly, in the early 1990s,

the Supreme Court in the Manzoor Ahmad

case ruled that eavesdropping, phone

tapping, and photographing something inside

the home are invasions of privacy and

unconstitutional.

There has been a deluge of opinion

emanating from Washington in the

past few days on the subject of the

decision by the OPEC+ producers' alliance

to reduce oil output by 2 million barrels a

day from November. The nature of that

opinion- ranging from intelligenceinsulting

assumptions to merely inaccurate

information - leads to the inevitable

conclusion that it is now extremely hard to

take anything said on this issue by any US

official seriously.

According to the White House's National

Security Council spokesman John Kirby,

the Saudi view of events - defined with

admirable clarity in a statement on

Thursday by the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs, which said that the oil output

decision was a consensus of the whole

alliance in the interests of global energy

market stability - is no more than "spin."

But in truth, all the "spin" is coming from

Washington, which has been on an

embarrassing spree of self-contradiction.

For example, despite all the angry

rhetoric from Democratic lawmakers who

assumed that Saudi Arabia had backed

away from its oil price commitments to

President Joe Biden, the president himself

told CNN on Wednesday that oil was

actually NOT discussed during his visit to

Scoring the Lebanon-Israel maritime deal

The headline-grabbing maritime

boundary deal announced between

Lebanon and Israel this week

produced several winners and losers.

Determining who is who is another matter.

Leaders in each country claimed victory

after US President Joe Biden unveiled the

agreement, while opposition groups on both

sides accused their own governments of

conceding national wealth. There are also

questions about the deal itself and whether

it will survive the political storms that are

coming.

So, before finalizing the score, we must

first identify what was, and remains, at

stake. The long-standing dispute was over a

maritime border serving two key purposes:

security, and delineation of the countries'

exclusive economic zones (EEZs).

On the security side, Israel clearly came

out on top. Israel will maintain control over

a line that starts 5 kilometers from the coast

and stretches into territory that Lebanon

considers its own. Lebanon tried to push

this line south, but Israel resisted,

concerned that a shift would give the

Lebanese direct access to Israel's north.

Until the early 2000s, when Israel and

Egypt began discovering gas reserves in

their territorial waters, there had been little

economic activity in the eastern

Leaking democracy

The law prohibits the kind of surveillance of

government and opposition leaders that we

are witnessing.

Apart from the rich precedents set by the

Supreme Court, the law too prohibits such

surveillance of government and opposition

leaders that we are witnessing as something

seemingly normal today. The Investigation

for Fair Trial Act, 2013, governs interception

and electronic surveillance, which is only

permissible when carried out against a

suspect involved in "anti-state or terrorist"

activity, only upon the production of a

warrant from a judge of the concerned high

court, and not allowed at the behest of the

intelligence agencies. Though these are broad

and vague terms, they certainly do not cover

elected officials who are being surveilled

currently without any warrants.

In the Justice Qazi Faez Isa case, Justice

Mansoor Ali Shah said that intelligence

agencies do not have carte blanche. The

process under the Fair Trial Act involves

notification by a law-enforcement agency of

an authorised officer - not below BPS-20 - to

make an application for the issuance of a

warrant of surveillance or interception. Then

a report has to be prepared for acquiring a

warrant of surveillance or interception as per

the Fair Trial Rules, 2013. That report has to

be presented to the head of the department

who has to approve it before it is submitted to

the relevant minister for permission to make

Saudi Arabia in July, which was rather

about US strategic interests in the whole

region. Furthermore, Tom Cotton, the

Republican senator from Arkansas,

revealed that the White House had no

objection in principle to a cut in oil output

- but merely wanted an announcement

later so as not to influence the US midterm

elections in November. That view was

indirectly confirmed by the Saudi Foreign

Ministry statement, which said the US had

been consulted about the decision and had

asked for it to be delayed for a month, but

not canceled.

So what we have here is a clear case of the

Democratic Party putting its own interests

first, dressed up as concern for both

Ukraine and the global economy; and if

that's not spin, I don't know what is.

hUSSAIN ABDUL-hUSSAIN

Mediterranean. Once gas was found,

Lebanon began conducting seismic

explorations of its own, which hinted that it

too had gas reserves that were commercially

viable.

Exploration rights to the most promising

Lebanese blocks - 4 and 9 - were awarded to

the French oil giant Total in 2018.

Total drilled Block 4, off the coast of

Beirut, in 2020, but came up dry. Total said

it would not drill Block 9, whose southern

border was disputed by Israel, without

Israel's consent - which in turn required

having Hezbollah on board. Not long ago,

Hezbollah's buy-in for a deal with Israel

would have been inconceivable. But the

free-falling Lebanese economy forced

Hezbollah to bend. Lebanon is a rentier

USAMA KhILJI

an application to the judge. The report has to

be presented to the interior minister who can

then examine the report and grant full or

partial permission, or decline the request with

a written order and recommendations. The

report then has to be presented to the

designated judge of the high court. The

warrant, if issued, is applicable for up to 60

days and can be reissued if the judge is

satisfied.

Currently though, even the ministers,

judges and government officials who are

supposed to authorise the interception are

In the M.D. Tahir case, the Supreme Court affirmed that

conversations over the phone are private and intimate, and the

Constitution protects them. Similarly, in the early 1990s, the

Supreme Court in the Manzoor Ahmad case ruled that

eavesdropping, phone tapping, and photographing something

inside the home are invasions of privacy and unconstitutional.

FAISAL J. ABBAS

caught by surprise when their private

conversations are leaked. It is shocking that

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah recently

stated that someone from within the

government offices leaked these audios for

money. There needs to be a much deeper

investigation than a casual statement.

These audio leaks also put under question

the cybersecurity of the highest offices of

government in the country. The prime

minister's is the most powerful and sensitive

post, and if his conversations are being

surveilled and leaked, it can be a major

security threat as well as cast questions over

the cybersecurity arrangements presumably

put in place by the intelligence and lawenforcement

agencies and these agencies'

competence.

Last year, the cabinet had approved an

overarching National Cybersecurity Policy,

Despite their dire warnings about the

OPEC+ decision "making no economic

sense" - in other words, that oil prices

would soar - in fact, precisely the opposite

has happened.

What genuinely makes "no economic

sense" is Biden's contention in his CNN

interview that he does not expect a

recession in the US. Perhaps the president

knows more than the 70 per cent of leading

For example, despite all the angry rhetoric from Democratic

lawmakers who assumed that Saudi Arabia had backed away

from its oil price commitments to President Joe Biden, the

president himself told CNN on Wednesday that oil was actually

NOT discussed during his visit to Saudi Arabia in July, which

was rather about US strategic interests in the whole region.

academic economists polled by the

Financial Times, who believe the US

economy will tip into a recession next year.

For real "spin," however, it is hard to beat

the assertion that in cutting oil output

Saudi Arabia is somehow supporting

Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Seriously? The same Saudi Arabia that

voted at the UN on Wednesday to

state. Oligarchs use its resources to offer

their partisans social services, including

government jobs, health care and pensions.

With the state going bankrupt, millions of

Lebanese find themselves without a social

safety net. Some have started to rely on

Hezbollah's services, which are also

stretched to breaking point. For instance,

the Great Prophet Hospital, Hezbollah's

Until the early 2000s, when Israel and Egypt began

discovering gas reserves in their territorial waters, there had

been little economic activity in the eastern Mediterranean.

Once gas was found, Lebanon began conducting seismic

explorations of its own, which hinted that it too had gas

reserves that were commercially viable.

main health-care facility in Beirut, has been

unable to cope with an ever-growing roster

of patients. The hospital can barely keep the

lights on, and medicine is in such short

supply that those who live with chronic

diseases, such as diabetes, have few options.

Lebanon has already run out of affordable

insulin. As Lebanon falls apart, Hezbollah is

being squeezed. Lebanon's Shia, from

but its effective implementation is still

awaited. In the era of hacks and spies, this is

all the more critical. Moreover, a draft Data

Protection Bill has been under discussion for

over two years now and still has not been

introduced in parliament. The government

transition should not have affected it since the

IT minister, the MQM's Amin Ul Haq, has

retained his post in cabinet.

These audio leaks also raise critical

questions regarding the current political

deadlock the country faces. Why is it that only

PML-N and PTI leaders are being targeted?

Their issues with the establishment are no

secret. This also underscores a history of

abuse of the law by intelligence agencies

meddling in politics, despite high claims to

the contrary, as well as the surveillance of

judges, politicians and government officials.

It would be prudent for political parties not

to fall for audio leaks against each other,

especially since they all tend to suffer due to

such surveillance. Rather than resorting to

opportunism, red lines need to be drawn by

political parties jointly regarding the efforts

by undemocratic forces to meddle in politics.

They seem to be shocked each day a leak

surfaces.

There also has been a strategy by political

parties, especially the PTI, to demonstrate

that audio leaks are fake. In an era where

technology can be easily used to manipulate

audios, videos and photographs, including

'deep fakes', this is an effective strategy. This

can also delegitimise such attempts.

However, it is important for there to be

technological capability on the part of civilian

law-enforcement agencies to determine the

authenticity of such evidence if collected

legally and admitted in the courts of law,

along with the accountability of those who

carry out illegal and unconstitutional

surveillance of the people's representatives.

The writer is director of Bolo Bhi, an

advocacy forum for digital rights.

US Democrats are spinning out of control

condemn Russia's annexation of Ukrainian

territory in the Donbas? The same Saudi

Arabia whose principled position earned

the gratitude of the Ukrainian ambassador

to the Kingdom? The same Saudi Arabia

that was thanked by Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelensky - in this very

newspaper - for its role in a brokering a

prisoner swap?

In the end, if Biden and other US

politicians wish to say that Saudi Arabia

is serving its own interests, or that

OPEC+ is serving the interests of the

global oil market, then that is not an

accusation - it's a compliment. The

Kingdom and the oil alliance would

merely be doing their job.

What is not their job is to help one

particular US political party to achieve

success at the ballot box, at the expense

of the stability of the global oil market.

The sky will not fall in if either house of

the US Congress changes political

hands. But if we lose control of energy

markets, the impact could be truly

terrible.

Faisal J. Abbas is the editor in chief

of Arab News.

whom it draws its support, are hurting,

while the party - and its impoverished

sponsor Iran - can do little to ease the

suffering. In the hopes of producing gas to

help mitigate Lebanon's economic disaster,

Hezbollah sued for settlement of the

maritime border issue to allow Total to dig

up Block 9. But before the party's chief,

Hassan Nasrallah, went on national

television on the eve of the deal's

announcement to metaphorically drink the

poison, he'd flown a couple of drones into

Israeli airspace in the summer, presumably

targeting Israel's Karish gas field.

Nasrallah pretended that he had put Israel

on notice: He would hit Karish if Israeli

production began before a deal with

Lebanon was reached. In other words,

Hezbollah was threatening Israel with war

to force a deal. Everyone, especially Israel,

knew Hezbollah couldn't drag Lebanon into

war in its current state. Yet Israeli officials

likely believed they could extract some

concessions from Lebanon, such as the

demarcation of borders between them, both

on land and at sea.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a

research fellow at the Foundation

for the Defense of Democracies in

Washington, DC

MOndAY, SePTeMbeR 17, 2022

5

Bolivian feminists are fighting back femicide

ThOMAS GRAhAM

In parts of La Paz, every surface

is papered with layers of

bleached and peeling posters:

adverts for events, jobs,

apartments - and missing

women. In 2021, there were at

least 108 femicides in Bolivia,

among the highest rates in

South America. Many of the

perpetrators are either never

caught, not punished or go free

soon after.

In January, fresh outrage was

prompted by the case of Richard

Choque, a serial rapist and

murderer who was given house

arrest and then continued to

commit crimes. The wave of

fury prompted by the scandal

has since driven Bolivia's

feminist collectives to

spectacular measures in an

effort to force government

action against femicides - and

the corrupt justice system that

allows them.

It started with perhaps the

biggest feminist protest seen in

El Alto, the one-time satellite

city that now flows into La Paz.

The march began outside

Choque's house in El Alto and

culminated at the courts of

justice, where activists covered

the walls with graffiti, red paint

and the names of unpunished

rapists and murderers.

"We wanted to redirect the

discourse," said María Galindo,

founder of Mujeres Creando, a

feminist collective in La Paz.

"For it not to be a discourse of

victimhood, nor a tabloid nor a

police discourse. Because what

Richard Choque shows is that

the central problem is state

corruption. This man was a

prisoner, and yet he went free."

Galindo has since proved the

sharp point of the pressure

campaign on the government.

She took to barging into state

institutions and putting civil

servants on the spot,

livestreamed on social media.

The one-liners she whipped

them with went viral on TikTok.

Then she teased a run to be

Bolivia's ombudsman - before

tearing her application up in

front of the cameras, in a

typically flamboyant outfit of

fishnet leggings, black

eyeshadow and irreverent takes

on patriotic symbols, not least a

giant crown capped with an

Andean condor.

Meanwhile, Mujeres Creando

catalogued ignored reports of

gender violence and

investigated San Pedro prison,

where Choque ought to have

been held. They found a system

of corruption, where inmates

bought privileges including

house arrest.

In response, the government

set up a commission to reevaluate

cases like Choque's,

which, though extreme, was not

unique. Twenty-one others

released to house arrest

inappropriately have since been

reincarcerated, while another

50 arrest warrants have been

issued. Eighteen judges are

facing criminal proceedings and

more than 300 of their cases are

being re-evaluated.

Such numbers come as no

surprise to activists in La Paz

and El Alto where gender

violence has been accentuated

by two factors, said writer Quya

Reyn. First, the absence of the

state, which creates insecurity.

And second, the fact that the city

draws migrants - many of them

young women - from across

Bolivia's western highlands.

These women are vulnerable

to abuse. "If you go to [the

centre], you'll find posters

looking for nannies, looking for

women to work in restaurants,"

said Reyna. "And they are

always looking for women - only

women."

"You see this with Richard

Choque," Reyna added. "He

would go on Facebook and say

Women in the city of La Paz marched in the streets against accused murderer and rapist Richard

Choque.

Photo: Sara Aliaga Ticona

that he could offer work. These

young women were murdered

looking for work."

In 2013, the government

introduced Law 348, which,

among other things, made

femicide a crime punishable by

30 years in prison - Bolivia's

maximum sentence.

The law was welcomed as

progressive legislation at the

time, and Adriana Guzmán, a

feminist activist based in El Alto,

believes the text remains

generally sound - the problem is

implementation. First, there is a

lack of resources. "Right now,

there aren't enough judges, there

aren't enough prosecutors, there

aren't enough investigators."

Then there's corruption, as

demonstrated by the case of

Choque. "The entire justice

system is corrupt - not just with

regard to crimes against

women." Guzmán notes that

this discriminates most against

the poor. There is some

scepticism that the

government's commission will

address these root problems.

Galindo, for one, views the

commission as an attempt to

deflate their pressure campaign.

"It's for the media. It's a

commission that serves to make

declarations, not effective

policies."

Meanwhile Guzmán says that

it was limited from the start,

since it is only reviewing a

fraction of gender violence

cases. "For it to really be a

historic commission, and not a

ridiculous one - because it is

ridiculous that the state has

created a commission to return

those to prison who should

already be there - the

commission needs to finish with

a proposal to reform justice and

the state."

Among Bolivia's feminists

there are varying views on how

that sort of reform will be

achieved. "The system has to be

changed with huge social

pressure," said Galindo. "And

we're building a movement to

achieve that." She believes the

campaign Mujeres Creando has

led over the last months has

strengthened their social

legitimacy: "No one can buy us.

We are incorruptible."

But Guzmán is sceptical that this

movement reaches much beyond

the urban middle classes. And the

true forces in Bolivia, says

Guzmán, are the campesino and

Indigenous organisations. "Within

them, feminism isn't a thing. There

are lots of prejudices against

feminism."

In El Alto, meanwhile,

Reyna pointed to the lack of

feminists in politics pushing

for reform. She believes

change will come when a new,

diverse generation of women

enter government and shape

it from within. "I don't want to

fight the state," said Reyna. "I

want to be the state."

Global response needed as

typhoid evades antibiotics

Clotting injections every few days allow haemophiliacs to have a relatively normal life in the west but

in the developing world the condition can mean death.

Photo: Mayur kakade

The dire condition of haemophiliacs

in the developing world

TARun GidWAni

Like the Hindu deity Krishna, I was

born with blue skin. My body bruised

at the trauma of simply being held.

And so the family arranged for a

ritual to appease the gods.

Haemophilia is a genetic blood

disorder that makes it very hard for

the body to stop bleeding. If your

haemophilia is severe like mine, you

bleed spontaneously, without an

injury or known cause. A handshake

once took me to A&E.

To stop bleeding, you need clotting

injections. In much of the developing

world, these injections are available

only to the chosen few. Multinational

corporations, such as Pfizer and

Baxter, make money selling drugs at

high prices in low-income countries.

In India, clotting injections cost

£100 or more for one (and one is

never enough). With the near

absence of a welfare state, you can

understand why my family requested

divine intervention when I was born.

It is impossible to think of a time in

India when I was not in pain.

Prolonged episodes of pain might

have been the cause of my ADHD. I

would wake up with a mouth filled

with knots of blood and a pillow

drenched in dark red. When bleeds

happened internally - such as inside

my shoulder, elbow, stomach, tongue

or other muscle - they were

unimaginably painful. I'd wail at

night; it felt as if something alive was

burning through my flesh.

Episodes would last for weeks. I've

hallucinated entire conversations

because I hadn't slept for days or had

taken too many painkillers.

Haemophilia loved my left knee. It

bled so much that it started to look

like a lollipop; the joint filled with

blood, and the thigh and calf muscles

wasted. Schoolteachers would show it

to visitors. Repeated bleeding

corroded the knee, making it hard to

move, which weakened the muscle,

making it even more vulnerable to

bleeding. You're trapped - watching

your mobility decline. If you need a

job or an admission into school, you

lie about it then leave and get another

job before they realise.

I remember one new year when a

bleed began in my ankle. My family

took turns to hold crushed ice around

the swelling as fireworks burst and

the night turned to day. They froze

my flesh so it wasn't possible to bleed.

But that was rare. It never happened

again.

In the advanced west, you don't

need miracles. Clotting injections are

free. You take them every two or three

days and go about a relatively normal

life. It's called prophylactic treatment.

This is so mainstream here in the UK

that you would come across

researchers sometimes needing to

update old literature on haemophilia

"to the post-prophylactic era".

However, only a tiny percentage of

haemophiliacs on the planet live in

that era. Most of the world is still in

the dark ages.

The suffering caused by inequities

in health also reverberates into other

injustices. For example, care that is

not provided by health services is

often provided by women. In my

case, my mother washed the

bloodstained pillowcases. She stayed

overnight to make sure I did not

move my bleeding elbow. She took

the patriarchal blame for spreading

the disease. She built up her savings

so we would have money for

emergency injections.

Once I moved to the promised land,

the NHS put me on prophylactic

treatment. I awoke to a completely

different mode of living. For the first

time, I walked more than 100 yards

without pain. The contrast was such it

made me feel guilty. My family's story

is nowhere near the tragedy that most

others face. Among urban and rural

poor in low-income countries,

haemophilia is death. The pain and

the loss of mobility prevent sufferers

from doing anything. It plunges the

entire family into overworking and

debt. The cost of treatment is beyond

their reach and the governments are

too market-friendly to care.

If this is not apartheid among

countries - and among classes within

countries - then what is it? I

remember queueing with my family

for date-expired injections that

corporations or charities had donated

to India (I had to be taken to the

queues to show them I was suffering).

Many times we left empty-handed,

always feeling emptied of dignity.

Medical interventions are social

necessities because they preserve

human agency and dignity. They are

beyond commodities to be traded for

profit or given away as charity. What

kind of a moral universe do we

inhabit that this point even needs to

be made?

Planning a trip home last year, I

asked my uncle (also a haemophiliac)

what he wanted from London. He

asked for some clotting injections.

When I met him to hand over his gift,

his mouth was filled with blood and

his tongue was swollen blue; yet, he

kept the injections aside for an

episode truly worthy of treatment.

dAnn OkOTh

The bacteria that causes typhoid fever is

becoming increasingly resistant to

common antibiotics used to treat the

disease, with resistant strains spreading to

hundreds of countries in the past three

decades, new analysis shows.

Typhoid fever is a life-threatening

infection caused by the bacterium

Salmonella Typhi (S.Typhi). It affects

between 11 and 20 million people each

year, leading to 128,000 to 161,000

deaths, according the World Health

Organization (WHO).

The study published in The Lancet

Microbe shows how resistant strains

originally from South Asia, where the

disease burden is highest, have spread to

other countries almost 200 times since

1990.

Lead author Jason Andrews, an

infectious disease specialist from Stanford

University, US, told SciDev.Net: "The

repeated acquisition of antimicrobial

resistance among S.Typhi and spread

across borders is concerning. We have

very few antibiotics left that are effective

against typhoid."

The international team of researchers,

funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates

Foundation, say their findings highlight

the need to treat drug-resistant typhoid as

a global problem.

To isolate the drug-resistant typhoid

strains, the researchers performed genome

sequencing on 3,489 S.Typhi candidates

obtained from blood samples collected

between 2014 and 2019 from people in

Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan

with confirmed cases of typhoid fever. For

comparison, they sequenced another 4,169

S.Typhi samples collected from 70

countries between 1905 and 2018.

The researchers say it is the largest ever

examination of the S. Typhi bacterium.

Using genetic analysis techniques, they

were able to show that all of the 7,658

strains studied were resistant to typical

frontline antibiotics like ampicillin,

chloramphenicol,

and

trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.

The findings show that resistant S.

Typhi strains have spread between

countries at least 197 times since 1990,

with strains that often occurred in South

Asia and South-East Asia, East and

Southern Africa spreading to countries

including the United States, the UK and

Canada.

The highly contagious disease usually

spreads via contaminated water and food

or person-to-person contact, in areas

with poor sanitation. Multidrug-resistant

(MDR) typhoid is being seen in Pakistan,

while typhoid resistant to the widely used

antibiotic azithromycin has been found

in Bangladesh, Nepal and India,

Andrews said.

"If MDR strains acquire azithromycin

resistance, we will have no effective oral

antibiotics left for treating typhoid," he

added.

Researchers also compared strains

showing resistance to macrolides and

quinolones, which are considered the

most critically important human

antibiotics.

Typhoid strains resistant to quinolones

- a class of antibiotics that act against a

wide range of disease-causing bacteria -

have risen and spread at least 94 times

since 1990, with most (97 per cent)

originating from South Asia, according to

the study.

It says strains resistant to quinolones

accounted for more than 85 per cent of

S.Typhi in Bangladesh by the early 2000s,

rising to more than 95 per cent in India,

Pakistan and Nepal by 2010.

Quinolones became the mainstay of

treatment for suspected typhoid cases in

the 1990s since they were highly effective

against the disease, says Andrews.

Mutations causing resistance to

azithromycin have emerged seven times

drug-resistant typhoid is now spreading worldwide from South Asia.

in the past 20 years according to the study,

with such strains being resistant to thirdgeneration

cephalosporin, another class of

antibiotics critically important to human

health.

"A concerning finding of our study is

that resistant strains frequently spread

and outcompete more sensitive strains

(strains more sensitive to antibiotics),"

said Andrews.

"As a result, we need not think of

typhoid as a problem in certain countries

or regions but rather a global problem that

requires a global response. That includes

funding for surveillance and typhoid

vaccines."

"One of the challenges with addressing

typhoid is lack of reliable diagnostics.

Blood cultures require sophisticated

laboratory infrastructure, are expensive,

take two to five days for results, and miss

40 per cent of cases," Andrews said.

As a consequence, many people with

fever are treated with antibiotics for

suspected typhoid, when they do not

actually have the disease, fueling drug

resistance. "Our studies suggest that

anywhere from three to 25 people receive

antibiotics for typhoid for every one

person who actually has the illness,"

Andrews said.

Peter Ofware, Kenya country director

for the global health and human rights

organisation HealthRight International,

also attributes antibiotic resistance in

Sub-Saharan Africa to poor diagnosis and

self-medication.

"Until very recently many countries in

Sub-Saharan Africa relied on the Widal

test, which often gave misleading typhoid

test results and which led to wrong

medicines being prescribed, before the

more reliable culture test was introduced,"

he said.

Self-medication, whereby people buy

antibiotics over the counter without a

doctor's prescription, has exacerbated

antibiotic resistance in the region, he says.

Photo: Alain Grillet

MONdAy, OCTOBER 17, 2022

6

Annual tent stay and initiation camp opening ceremony organized by Rahanpur yusuf Ali

Government College Rover Group was held on Sunday morning.

Photo: yahia khan Rubel

Annual rover tent stay and initiation

camp held in Gomostapur

yAHIA KHAN RUBEl, GOMOSTAPUR

CORRESPONdENT:

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Asma Khatun

called upon the Rovers to come forward

to serve the country and implement the

SDGs of the government by taking the

motto of scouting to heart. She said this

in his address as the chief guest at the

annual tent stay and initiation camp

opening ceremony organized by

Rahanpur Yusuf Ali Government

College Rover Group on Sunday

morning.

Under the chairmanship of Principal

Two held with

3,407 Yaba tablets

in Netrakona

NETRAKONA: Police in

an anti-drug drive arrested

two alleged drug peddlers

with 3,407 pieces of Yaba

tablets from Rajur Bazer

area here last night, reports

BSS.

The arrested persons were

identified as Monir Uddin,

27, son of Mohammad

Delwar of village Farangacor

under Lohagara police

station in Chattogram

district and Abul Khaiyer

Moyeen Faruk alias Rasel,

46, son of late Abdul Mukit

of village Bahircapra under

Netrakona Sadar upazila.

On a tip-off, a police team

led by Officer-in-Charge of

Netrakona Model Police

Station Khandaker Shaker

Ahmed conducted a drive at

Rajur Bazer area of Sadar

upazila and arrested the duo

with the yaba tablets worth

about Taka 17 lakh, said

Netrakona Superintendent

of Police (SP) Mohammad

Foyaz Ahmed at a press

briefing today.

A case was filed with

Netrakona Model Police

Station in this connection,

the SP added.

Road crash kills

two teenagers

in Rangpur

RANGPUR: Two teenagers

were killed in a road accident in

Sudurpara area on the local

Gorbandha road in Baro

Hazratpur union of Mithapukur

upazila in the district on

Saturday, reports BSS.

"The accident occurred

when a pickup van hit the

teenagers while they were

walking there, leaving them

dead on the spot," said

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of

Mithapukur police station

Md. Mostafizur Rahman.

The deceased were Ziam, 15,

son of Monju Miah and Ronny,

14, son of Arzoo Miah of nearby

village Ramnathpara in the

same union of Mithapukur

upazila.

"Attempts are underway to

locate the pickup van and its

driver. The bodies were

handed over to their

respective families," the OC

told.

Monirul Islam, Upazila Nirbahi Officer

Asma Khatun was present as chief

guest, Rahanpur Municipal Mayor

Matiur Rahman Khan, retired Physical

Education Teacher (Rover Leader)

Sharfuddin Ahmed as special guests.

Rahanpur Yusuf Ali Government

College rover leader Dr. Atiqur

Rahman, Harun-Or Rashid Tito,

Nachol Government College rover

leader Saiful Islam, Bangladesh Scouts

leader trainer Yahia Khan Rubel along

with college teachers and employees

were present.

The Chief Guest also said that Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina has issued a

circular to open 2 Club, Scout and

Rover units in every educational

institution of the country. For that

purpose, I have also urged to open 2

units in each educational institution in

this upazila. She also told the girl-in

rovers that they must come forward

along with the rovers.

It is to be noted that in the annual

camping and initiation camp, 8 factions

of the college are divided and

participating in their day-long

activities. Tent Jalsa is organized at

night.

The biodiversity-destroying brickyard has resurfaced on the banks of the

Halda River, the only natural fish breeding ground and fish sanctuary for

carp in the country.

Photo: Gazi Joynal Abedin

Brick kiln by Halda River

destroying river biodiversity

GAzI JOyNAl ABEdIN, RAOzAN CORRESPONdENT:

The biodiversity-destroying brickyard has

resurfaced on the banks of the Halda River,

the only natural fish breeding ground and

fish sanctuary for carp in the country, which

has been declared Bangabandhu Fisheries

Heritage. No action has been taken by

concerned department. This has rendered

the terms of the Bangabandhu Fisheries

Heritage invalid.

This Ali brick kiln is standing tall on the

eastern side of Halda River in Mokamipara

village of Noapara union of Raozan upazila.

To the north of the Chimney, soil has been

stockpiled by motor boats and dredgers

across the Halda River and in the Halda

River. Overall, it is completely ready for

making bricks.

On March 10, 2021, Chattogram District

Administrator's office, Raozan Upazila

Administration and Environment

Department conducted a coordinated

operation and this brick kiln was evicted due

to the establishment of illegal brick kiln near

Halda, destruction of biodiversity of Halda

River and lack of environmental clearance.

Within a week of the eviction, the owners

again built polluting drum chimneys and

burned bricks with wood. Now the old

chimney has been rebuilt in the same place.

This brick kiln has been rebuilt by the owner

ignoring Section 8 of the Brick Kiln Control

Act 2013 and Section 5 of the Environment

Protection Act. As the owner was not

present at the brick kiln site and could not be

contacted on the phone, no statement from

the owner was available in this regard.

Besides, on December 22, 2020, the

Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock

announced this Halda River as

'Bangabandhu Fisheries Heritage' by issuing

a notification. Among the 12 conditions for

its implementation, conditions 2, 3 and 4

state that no activity that destroys the

habitats of animals and plants shall be

carried out. All activities that may destroy or

change the natural characteristics of land

and water shall not be carried out. No

activities harmful to fish and other aquatic

life shall be carried out. Due to the

establishment of brick kilns at Halda, these

conditions are now rendered inoperative.

There are no steps being taken on the part of

the authorities concerned.

Halda researcher, professor of Zoology

Department of Chittagong University Md.

Manjurul Kibria said, not only the brick kiln

but also any industrial plant near Halda is

destroying the biodiversity of the river.

Multiple conditions of Bangabandhu

Fisheries Heritage are being violated. Fish

reproductive capacity is declining and it has

harmful effects on mother fish and dolphins.

The ecological balance of the river is being

destroyed.

Journalist S.M., a resident of Halda bank

adjacent to this brick kiln. Yusuf Uddin said,

due to these furnaces, most of the elderly

women of Mokami Para village are suffering

from breathing problems. Apart from this

disease due to brick kiln smoke, people of all

ages in this area suffer from skin and allergy

diseases for six months a year.

Grassroots people avail

scopes of improving

livelihood in Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI: Grassroots

people have been availing

scopes of improving their

living and livelihood

conditions as a result of

implementing various

demand-driven

programmes by local

government institutions,

reports BSS.

Union Parishad (UP)

has been working on

various important

activities, including

communication,

education, health, water

supply, natural resources,

agriculture, sanitation

and human resource

development, for

elevating the livelihood of

the marginalized

population.

Full-length

implementation of the timefitting

policies related to

ensuring transparency and

accountability of the smallscale

investments has

added new dimensions to

the rural livelihoods. A

total of 1,586 concrete

roads and 300 culverts

were constructed through

implementation of 1,786

projects aimed at

improving living and

livelihood conditions of

the villagers in the

district. Besides, 4,500

tube-wells and 170

submersible pumps were

installed through

implementation of 540

projects for ensuring safe

drinking water.

M SHAKHAwAT HOSSAIN, MAHAdEvPUR

CORRESPONdENT:

A public awareness raising workshop

was held on the initiative of Bangladesh

Bank Bogura branch in Mahadevpur of

Naogaon on Sunday morning. Upazila

Parishad Chairman Md Ahsan Habib

Bhodon spoke as the chief guest under

the chairmanship of Sonali Bank

Limited Principal Office Naogaon

SSC candidate drowns

in CU waterfall

JUNAEd KHAN, CU CORRESPONdENT:

An SSC candidate named Jisan drowned

while taking a bath in the fountain of

Chattogram University(CU).The fire service

personnel rescued him and took him to the

hospital, where the doctor on duty declared

him dead. Jisan has participated in the

recently completed SSC examination from

Railway Public School, Chattogram .

Jisan went missing around 12 pm on

Sunday after receiving the information, the

rescue personnel of the Fire service rescued

him and took him to CU Medical Center.

Chief Medical Officer of the Medical Center

Dr. Abu Tayeb declared Jisan dead after the

examination.

Mohammad Shahjahan, Senior Section

Officer of Hathajari Fire Service and Civil

Deputy General Manager Md

Oliuzzaman in the workshop organized

at Upazila Parishad Auditorium in

collaboration with Sonali Bank Limited

Mahadevpur branch. Principal of

Jahangirpur Government Girls School

and College Md. Nazim Uddin Miya

spoke as a special guest on this

occasion.

Under the direction of Sonali Bank

Limited Naogaon Principal Officer

Defense, said that around 12 p.m., some

local people told us that a person

drowned in the dangerous waterfall

between the two hills of the university.

Immediately we sent the primary unit of

Hathazari Fire Service. They found the

body floating 15 feet below the waterfall

around 1:00 pm. The body could not go

far because of various stones.

It is known that seven students of Railway

Public High School went to see the fountain

inside Chattogram University (CU). At one

point, when they got into the water, the

student named Jisan drowned. The missing

Jisan is reported to be this year's SSC exam

candidate.

It is said that Jisan's body has been taken

to Chattogram Medical College Hospital for

further legal action.

An SSC candidate named Jisan drowned while taking a bath in the fountain of

Chattogram University (CU) on Sunday.

Photo: Junaed Khan

Bhuapur health complex faces

shortage of beds

MASUdUl HASAN MASUd, BHUAPUR

CORRESPONdENT:

The number of patients with stomach

aches, diarrhea has increased in

Tangail's Bhuapur health complex.

Patients are receiving treatment on the

hospital floor outside the designated

beds. In addition, due to the increase in

the number of eye patients, a shortage

of eye drops has been created. Patients

have to buy drops at a higher price.

On Saturday, it was seen that patients

and their relatives were receiving

treatment in the balcony due to the

increased pressure of patients in the

50-bed hospital. However, the hospital

authorities are not able to

accommodate the patients due to

shortage of beds. It is known that the

people of Ghatail and Kalihati upazilas

along with Bhuapur upazila take

medical care at Bhuapur health

complex. This increases the pressure of

additional patients in the hospital. As a

result, the patient's pressure increases

in different seasons. However, for the

past few days, despite the beds in the

50-bed hospital being filled with

patients, patients are being treated on

the hospital's balcony. Most of the

patients are admitted to the hospital

with abdominal pain, diarrhea and

breathing problems. However,

patients are being admitted to the

hospital as there is no opportunity for

treatment at the private level in the

upazila. Apart from this, the number of

Pink Eye patients in the upazila is

increasing day by day.

Especially the students of the

educational institutions are suffering

from eye diseases. This has created a

crisis of eye drops. Khadija Begum, a

patient of Charhamjani village of

Kalihati upazila, said that two days ago

I was admitted to the hospital due to

stomach pain. However, without

getting a bed in the hospital, she had to

take treatment in the balcony. Patients

and relatives admitted to the hospital

said that there is a shortage of beds in

the hospital.

Even if the medical service is good,

you have to stay in the balcony to

receive treatment. Diarrhea patients

are also staying in the balcony

without getting a bed. Hospital nurse

Khaleda Akhter said that currently

the number of patients in the hospital

is high. Due to shortage of beds,

medical services have to be provided

in the balcony.

Resident Medical Officer (RMO) of

Bhuapur Upazila Health Complex Dr.

Enamul Haque Sohel said, "Apart from

the upazila, people from three other

upazilas come to this hospital for

treatment. Besides, the number of

patients has increased as there is

sufficient supply of medicine in the

hospital. However, due to the high

number of patients in the hospital,

medical services have to be provided in

the balcony."

A public awareness raising workshop was held on the initiative of Bangladesh Bank Bogura branch

in Mahadevpur of Naogaon on Sunday morning.

Photo: M Shakhawat Hossain

BB holds public awareness workshop

in Mahadevpur

Munira Hossain, Bangladesh Bank

Bogra Branch Director Gobind Lal

Gain and Joint Manager Md

Mamunur Rashid, Sonali Bank

Limited Mahadevpur Branch Manager

Md Mizanur Rahman and others

spoke. At this time, the speakers

highlighted various issues of

identifying fake notes. People from

different professions of upazila

participated in this workshop.

MOndAy, OctObEr 17, 2022

7

A huge fire blazed Saturday at a notorious prison where political prisoners and anti-government

activists are kept in the Iranian capital. Online videos and local media reported gunshots, as nationwide

protests entered a fifth week.

Photo : Internet

Blaze, shots heard from prison

in Iran capital amid protests

BAGHDAD : A huge fire blazed

Saturday at a notorious prison where

political prisoners and anti-government

activists are kept in the Iranian capital.

Online videos and local media reported

gunshots, as nationwide protests

entered a fifth week, reports UNB.

Iran's state-run IRNA reported there

were clashes between prisoners in one

ward and prison personnel, citing a

senior security official. The official said

prisoners set fire to a warehouse full of

prison uniforms, which caused the

blaze. He said the "rioters" were

separated from the other prisoners to

de-escalate the conflict.

The official said that the "situation is

completely under control" and that

firefighters were extinguishing the

flames. Later, Tehran prosecutor Ali

Salehi said that "peace" had returned to

the prison and that the unrest was not

related to the protests which have swept

the country for four weeks.

Footage of the blaze circulated online.

Videos showed shots ringing out as

plumes of smoke rose into the sky amid

the sound of an alarm. A protest broke

out on the street soon after, with many

chanting "Death to the Dictator!" - a

reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah

Ali Khamenei - and burning tires,

circulating videos showed.

Witnesses said that police blocked

roads and highways to Evin prison and

that at least three strong explosions

were heard coming from the area.

Traffic was heavy along major

motorways near the prison, which is in

the north of the capital, and many

people honked to show their solidarity

with protests.

Riot police were seen riding on

motorbikes toward the facility, as were

ambulances and fire strucks. Witnesses

reported that the internet was blocked

in the area.

The U.S.-based Center for Human

Rights in Iran reported that an "armed

conflict" broke out within the prison

walls. It said shots were first heard in

Ward 7 of the prison. This account could

not immediately be verified.

The prison fire occurred as protesters

intensified anti-government

demonstrations along main streets and

at universities in some cities across Iran

on Saturday. Human rights monitors

reported hundreds dead, including

children, as the movement concluded

its fourth week.

Demonstrators also chanted "Down

with the Dictator" on the streets of

Ardabil in the country's northwest.

Outside of universities in Kermanshah,

Rasht and Tehran, students rallied,

according to videos on social media. In

the city of Sanandaj, a hotspot for

demonstrations in the northern

Kurdish region, school girls chanted,

"Woman, life, freedom," down a central

street.

The protests erupted after public

outrage over the death of 22-year-old

Mahsa Amini in police custody. She was

arrested by Iran's morality police in

Tehran for violating the Islamic

Republic's strict dress code. Iran's

government insists Amini was not

mistreated in police custody, but her

family says her body showed bruises

and other signs of beating after she was

detained.

At least 233 protesters have been

killed since demonstrations swept Iran

on Sept. 17, according to U.S.-based

rights monitor HRANA. The group said

32 among the dead were below the age

of 18. Earlier, Oslo-based Iran Human

Rights estimated 201 people have been

killed.

Iranian authorities have dismissed

the unrest as a purported Western plot,

without providing evidence.

Public anger in Iran has coalesced

around Amini's death, prompting girls

and women to remove their mandatory

headscarves on the street in a show of

solidarity. Other segments of society,

including oil workers, have also joined

the movement, which has spread to at

least 19 cities, becoming one of the

greatest challenges to Iran's theocracy

since the country's 2009 Green

Movement.

China party meets to

grant Xi Jinping 5

more years in office

BEIJING : China on Sunday opened a

twice-a-decade Communist Party

conference at which leader Xi Jinping

is expected to receive a third five-year

term that breaks with recent precedent

and establishes him as arguably the

most powerful Chinese politician since

Mao Zedong. Xi is expected to issue a

lengthy address at the opening session,

but little change is foreseen in China's

strict one-party rule, intolerance of

criticism and hard-line approach

toward COVID-19 including

quarantines and travel bans. As with

most Chinese political events, little

information has been released

beforehand and the congress' outcome

will only be announced after days of

closed-door sessions.

Iran officials say

Tehran prison

blaze has been

extinguished

CAIRO : A towering blaze at

a notorious prison housing

political prisoners and antigovernment

activists in

Iran's capital injured at least

nine people but was

extinguished after several

hours and no detainees

escaped, state media said

Sunday.

Flames and smoke rising

from Tehran's Evin Prison

had been widely visible

Saturday evening, as

nationwide

antigovernment

protests

triggered by the death of a

young woman in police

custody entered a fifth week.

In online videos, gunshots

and explosions could be

heard in the area of the

prison.

State media said the fire

broke out after a fight

between prisoners, in an

apparent attempt to

distance the events there

from the ongoing protests.

Hundreds are being held at

Evin, where human rights

groups have reported

repeated abuses of

prisoners.

State TV on Sunday aired

video of the fire's aftermath,

showing scorched walls and

ceilings in a room it said was

the upper floor of a sewing

workshop at the prison.

"This fire was caused by a

fight between some

prisoners in a sewing

workshop," said Tehran

Gov. Mohsen Mansouri.

"The workshop was set up to

create jobs" for prisoners, he

said.

Bronte biopic 'Emily'

delves into imagined

author's darkness

LOS ANGELES : Was

reclusive 19th-century author

Emily Bronte inspired to write

"Wuthering Heights" after

experimenting with opium,

tattoos and a steamy affair

with the local clergyman?

Actress Emma Mackey

doesn't think so-but she

portrays Bronte doing all

those things and more in

"Emily," a new drama which

deliberately ignores the

trappings and conventions of

the traditional period biopic.

"No. I don't. But also, I don't

care!" the star, best known for

Netflix hit "Sex Education,"

told AFP.

"It's not a documentary-I

had to wrap my head around

just letting go of all the

biographical elements, and

really hold on to the fact that

this is just a story" that writerdirector

Frances O'Connor

"wanted me to tell," she said.

UK's Truss fires finance minister

as budget plan in ruins

LONDON : British Prime

Minister Liz Truss on Friday

fired her finance minister after

prolonged market turmoil,

but some Conservatives were

plotting their new leader's

own demise as her right-wing

economic agenda imploded.

Kwasi Kwarteng became the

second shortest-lived

chancellor of the exchequer in

UK political history, paying

the price after Truss's crash

programme of unfunded tax

cuts terrified the financial

markets.

Truss did little to reassure

investors and the UK

electorate at a brief news

conference-her first since

succeeding Boris Johnson on

September 6.

She insisted she had acted

"decisively" to bring about

"economic stability"-but the

pound resumed its slide on

currency markets, falling

under $1.12.

"We will get through this

storm," she said, taking only

four questions, looking

nervously around the room

and delivering terse replies.

"I want to deliver a low-tax,

high-wage, high-growth

economy," Truss added.

In France, fuel crisis frays nerves

and workers' resilience

VERSAILLES : Even close to midnight on a

school night, the tipoff was too important to

ignore: A nearby gas station had just been

resupplied, reports UNB.

So Aicha Far scooped up her 6-year-old and

set off into the night. The home carer needed to

refuel her car so she could continue looking

after the vulnerable people on the outskirts of

Paris who rely on her to keep them fed, clean

and safe. The prospect of a full tank was worth

dragging the kid out of bed for.

"I wrapped him in a blanket and put him in

the back," Far recalled on Saturday, as she

gently coaxed an older woman she looks after to

drink her breakfast hot chocolate.

Chronic fuel shortages in France sparked by

strikes and panic buying are fraying nerves and

testing both the resilience and ingenuity of

millions of French workers who depend on

their vehicles to do their jobs.

More than a quarter of gas stations

nationwide were still without one type of fuel or

more on Saturday, the French energy minister

said. In the Paris region, the number was above

a third. Motorists have sometimes lined up for

hours to refuel - not always successfully - and

Even close to midnight on a school night, the tipoff was too important to

ignore: A nearby gas station had just been resupplied. Photo : Internet

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tempers have flared.

In the town of Versailles, southwest of Paris,

41-year-old nurse Aurelie Martin is trying to eke

out the precious fuel left in her tank - and

bracing for the next time she'll have to visit the

pumps.

She is up well before dawn to give jabs,

change dressings and dispense other essential

medical care to dozens of patients each

morning.

Rather than doing little hops in her Mini from

one patient to the next, she's increasingly

scurrying on foot between them when she can,

racking up 10 kilometers (six miles) of walking

each morning to save fuel.

"I'm doing the bare minimum by car," she

said as she made her rounds on Saturday. "I

had hoped up to now that the situation would

improve, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be

getting better." The strikes have hit French

refineries and fuel depots. Strikers have

demanded higher wages from what they feel

should be their share of windfall profits

generated by high oil and gas prices amid the

global energy crisis aggravated by Russia's war

in Ukraine.

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2022

8

First int’l boarding school Haileybury

Bhaluka starts operation in Bangladesh

Prime Bank's AML & CFT Divisionorganized a day-long training and awareness program on "AML & CFT

Compliance" at a local conference hall in Dhaka City on Saturday.The program was inaugurated by Md. Nazrul

Islam, the Executive Director & Deputy Head of BFIU as the Chief guest. The program was chaired by Md. Ziaur

Rahman, DMD & CAMLCO of Prime Bank. Md. Iqbal Hossain, SEVP & Deputy CAMLCO and AnupKanti Das, SVP

& Head of Branches Distribution Network, Dhaka Region-1 & 3 of Prime Bank delivered welcome speech in the program.

A total number of 112 officials including BAMLCOs of 20 branches of Dhaka region-3 of Prime Bank participated

in the program. Syed Kamrul Islam, Additional Director of BFIU and officials of AML & CFT Division of Prime

Bank conducted the day-long sessions as Resource Persons. The program consisted of 04(four) sessions covered

various important topics related to combating money laundering and financing of terrorism. An evaluation test for

the participants was held at the end of the training program.

Photo : Courtesy

Mutual Trust Bank Limited (MTB) and Super Star Group have recently signed an agreement for Cash

Management Services at a simple ceremony held at MTB Centre, the bank's Corporate Head Office, Gulshan 1,

Dhaka 1212. Syed Mahbubur Rahman, Managing Director & CEO of MTB and Mohammad HarunAr Rashid,

Managing Director of Super Star Group signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations. Among

others, Md. Khalid Mahmood Khan, Deputy Managing Director & CBO, Mohammad MamunFaruk, Head of

WBD-1, Azam Khan, Head of Communications from MTB and Muhammad Abidur Rahman FCA, Group Chief

Financial Officer from Super Star Group along with other senior officials from both organizations were also

present at the ceremony.

Photo : Courtesy

Banshkhali Times organises month long campaign

A month-long campaign has

taken place in Banshkhali in

order to prevent a silent

epidemic like death at

alarmingly high rate due to

drowning in ponds. This very

important campaign was

organized by the Banshkhali

Times in association with

Salma-Adil Foundation.

In this congregation, the

editor of the Banshkhali

Times, Abu Obaida Arafat

delivered the opening speech.

The renowned son of the soil

of Banshkhali, Dr. Mawlana

Hafez Shoaib Rashid Makki

was present on the occasion as

the guest of honour. He is the

proud representer of

Bangladesh as the Bangla

translator of the Holy Hajj

Khutba. Along with them,

Banshkhali Upazilla

Education Officer Md. Nurul

Islam, the general secretary of

Banshkhali Sadharan

Parishad, Chattogram Md.

Ayub, the principal of

Banshkhali Girls Degree

College Shaheen Akter, and

Medical Officer of Chittagong

Medical college Dr.Asiful Huq

gave their speeches as

esteemed guests in the

congregation.

Greeting speeches were also

My Aura, a concern of Purple

Care LTD, the country's

Skincare & beauty products

brand has been selected for

Power Brands 2022 as the

"Most Promising Brand from

Bangladesh" by the White

Page International. Besides,

Arman Mahbub, the Co-

Founder at Purple Care has

been selected for 100

given by the executive editor of

the Banshkhali Times Arkanul

Islam, Head of video content

Reazul Haque Rifat. Here on

behalf of the participating

organisations in the campaign

has also expressed their

feelings in their speeches.

In the programme, the

founder of Salma-Adil

Foundation, the CFO of Topof-Mind

group, Lion MJF

Salma Adil said, "The month

long campaign about death by

drowning in ponds have taken

place which is first of its kind

in our country. I am

Inspirational Leaders of Asia

2022 from Bangladesh by

the same body. He received

both the awards from

Standing Committee

Chairperson on Education of

Indian Legislative Assembly,

Atishi Marlena Singh in New

Delhi recently.

"The Aura's mission is to

cater every aspiring woman's

astonished that the 30

organisations of Banshkhali

have worked extremely hard

and put in their heart and soul

to carry the message of this

campaign to the mass. They

have caused a positive

revolution by their call for

awareness about death of

children. Salma-Adil

Foundation is very delighted

to stand by this very important

venture by the Banshkhali

Times."

In this programme,

honorary certificates were

presented to the

needs by presenting them a

reason to celebrate their

natural beauty and health

every day through our wide

variety of products", Arman

said on the occasion.

The My Aura brand is

impacting more than four

lakh females in their daily

lives while it has grown to

become one of the fastest

representatives of 30

voluntary organisations as a

recognition of their

contribution to the campaign

by spontaneously taking part

in the month-long awareness

campaign and conducting

various awareness activities.

The honoured organisations

are Hajigaon Agrani Club,

Muktadhara 16, Haniapara

Juba

Unnayan

Sangstha,Banshkhali Bikiran

Sangstha, Ekus!ey

Foundation, Hridoye Puichori

Blood Bank, Swapnotori

Foundation, Bailchari Blood

Donation Club, Krishaker

Bazar Samajik Sangathan,

Dakkhin Chhanua Chhatra

Parishad, Chhanua Blood

Bank,Sheelkup Union Blood

Donation Club, Shekher Khil

blood bank, Baharchora

Union Blood forum, Arun

Ranga Ekota Sangha, Swapno

Kuri, Ilsha Swapnochura

Sangha, Surja Tarun Club,

Hazi Ehsan Alir Bari Ekota

Sangha, Chand Khalifar Para

Tarun Ekota Sangha,

Gondamara-Boroghona blood

bank, Ushar Alo Foundation,

Srijani Sangskritik Sangsad.

Faruk-Amin Help Carrier,

Shilkup Oikko Sangsad,

Poshchim .

‘My Aura’ selected as ‘Most Promising

Brand from Bangladesh’

growing FMCG (Fast Moving

Consumer Goods) D2C

(direct-to consumer) brands

in Bangladesh. The platform

has already reached, touched

and eventually improved the

lives of 1.5 million women's

health and well-being

through its homegrown

brands - Freyias, Divas

Secret and Acne Essentials.

Arman said, My Aura

enhances the overall life

quality of women by solving

their health and hygiene

problems, physical

transformation and

psychological wellbeing.

"Behind every product

launch, several steps of

complex data analysis are

involved, which help us

driving more logical business

decisions to offer appropriate

products to our customers

for catering their needs," he

added.

Haileybury Bhaluka is the

first international boarding

school chain, working in

franchise in Bangladesh. It is

a joint venture between Best

Holding's sister concern,

Best Services Limited and

Haileybury, one of the

leading independent schools

in the UK. The school will be

able to house up to 1000

students with outstanding

state of the art facilities for

modern learning and

education.

The school is situated on

850-acres campus within

the Dhamshur Economic

Zone, 75Kms North of

Dhaka. The school was

launched recently at the Le

Meridien Dhaka. State

Minister, Ministry of Youth

and Sports Zahid Ahsan

Russel MP, the Member of

the Parliament of

Mymensingh-11, Kazim

Uddin Ahmed, The

President of Bangladesh

Cricket Board, Nazmul

Hasan Papon MP, His

Excellency, Robert

Chatterton Dickson, British

High Commissioner to

Bangladesh and The Master

of the Haileybury UK,

Martin Collier were present

in the launching ceremony,

along with many other

distinguished guests. The

school will start its academic

program in August, 2023.

For this the admission

process shall start in

January, 2023. Zahid Ahsan

Russel, Ministry of Youth

and Sports People's

Republic of Bangladesh

Government believes

Haileybury Bhaluka is a very

significant addition because

of its uniqueness. He added,

Haileybury Bhaluka will be a

step forward in harmony

with the Prime Minister's

Vision 2041. The President

of Bangladesh Cricket

Board, Nazmul Hasan

Papon MP vows a better

future of education in

Bangladesh in coming days

in this connection. Robert

Chatterton Dickson the

honorable

high

Commissioner of the UK

said, Banghladesh

improved a lot in

education sector and will

go ahead in near future.

Haileybury Bhaluka is

going to be a part of it.

Drawing on the

Haileybury Journey Mark

smith, Director of

international partnership,

uk wishes to celebrate the

launch of Haileybury

Bhaluka as an ambition to

create a world class

international school in

Bangladesh.

‘Bangladesh can be the right place

for investment from Brunei’

DHAKA : Commerce

Minister Tipu Munshi on

Sunday urged energy-rich

Brunei to invest in

Bangladesh taking

advantage of facilities that

the country offers for the

foreign investors.

"Bangladesh can be the

right place for investment.

My request will be to invest

in Bangladesh," he said

while speaking as the chief

guest at a business meeting

with Brunei's Finance

Minister Dr Awang Haji

Mohd Amin Abdullah in a

city hotel.

Over 1,500

entrepreneurs

join Walton's

‘Meet the

Partners’

DHAKA : Over 1,500

entrepreneurs from home and

abroad joined Walton Hi-

Tech Industries' "Meet the

Partners," a conference of

electronics businessmen, at a

Cox's Bazar hotel recently.

Important discussions on

electronics business strategies

in the wake of the ongoing

post-Covid global economic

crisis were held at the

conference, according to a

media statement.

Walton's board of directors

and senior executives

provided guidance to

distributors regarding the

electronics product business

in the changing

circumstances.

The Commerce Minister

mentioned countries like

India and China where

Bangladesh has the

opportunity to export

whatever it wants apart from

its own market of 170

million people.

He also urged the Brunei

Finance Minister to remove

the discriminatory rule for

Bangladeshi immigrant

workers who have to deposit

$1600 while the amount is

only $500 for Malaysian

workers.

Highlighting some of the

major benefits provided in

Bangladesh foreign

investment policies, the

minister informed, besides

the gigantic domestic

market, investing in

Bangladesh will offer

additional access to the

Indian and Chinese market

as these two markets allow

most of the made in

Bangladesh products duty

free.

State Minister for Foreign

Affairs Md Shahriar Alam

also spoke at the meeting

chaired by President of the

Federation of Bangladesh

Chambers of Commerce and

Industry (FBCCI) Md

Jashim Uddin.

He also highlighted the

contributions

of

Bangladeshis, especially that

of the construction workers.

The State minister urged

Brunei to appoint more

Bangladeshi manpower as

Bangladesh has been

focusing more on creating

skilled manpower.

Bangladesh may offer a

dedicated economic zone for

ASEAN countries if Brunei

provides capital and

marketing assistance, he

said.

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has launched 12 days campaign on 'Maximizing

export for boosting foreign exchange reserve' on Sunday, 16 October 2022.

Muhammad Qaisar Ali, Managing Director (Current Charge) of the Bank inaugurated

the campaign as Chief Guest at virtual platform. Md. Omar Faruk Khan,

Additional Managing Director addressed the function as guest of honor. Presided

over by Md. Siddiqur Rahman, Deputy Managing Director, the program was

addressed by Mohammed Shabbir, Deputy Managing Director. Md. Rafiqul Islam,

Senior Executive Vice President addressed the welcome speech. Md. Maksudur

Rahman, G.M Gias Uddin Quader & Miftah Uddin, Senior Executive Vice Presidents

and Nazrul Islam, Senior Vice President along with Head of Zones, Head of AD

Branches and In-charges of foreign exchange department attended the function at

virtual platform.

Photo : Courtesy

Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited rendering different types of works towards environment and climate protection

and also a part of its' corporate social responsibility has been carrying out the program of tree plantation through

various branches every year. In this regard Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited has planted 25,000 fruit, forest and

medicinal trees through 100 branches of the bank between last July and September-2022. Associated with the

bank branches, nearby educational and religious institutions and other beneficiaries the trees were planted on

public and private vacant land and empty spaces on both sides of roads. Trees were distributed among students

of schools, colleges, madrasas and marginalized communities as well as to farmers. Upazila Nirbahi Officers,

Thana Education Officers, head and top local social personalities of related educational institutions and bank

officials were present in the relevant tree plantation ceremony.

Photo : Courtesy

MoNDAY, oCtoBer 17, 2022

9

Netherlands' Scott edwards bats during the Australia 2022 twenty20 World Cup cricket tournament

match between Netherlands and UAe at kardinia park, in Geelong, Australia, on Sunday. photo: Ap

Netherlands edge UAE in lowscoring

T20 World Cup thriller

Lexi Thompson wins individual title at

Aramco Team Series in New York

SportS DeSk

American star Lexi Thompson is back

in the winner's circle after holding her

nerve to take the individual title at the

Aramco Team Series - New York,

reports UNB.

The Ladies European Tour win at

Trump Golf Links Ferry Point marks

the 27-year-old World No. 4's first title

since the ShopRite LPGA Classic in

2019.

In bright and breezy conditions in

New York, Thompson held off the

challenge from world No. 6 Brooke

Henderson and Sweden's Madelene

Sagstrom on Saturday with a final

round of 69 to finish three shots clear

on eleven-under-par.

Starting the final round two shots

clear, Thompson took advantage of an

early Korda bogey to birdie her first

hole and build an early cushion that she

maintained all day. Thompson's putter

remained hot all week and four birdies

on the friendlier back nine eased her

away from a chasing pack.

"I came into today just the way I

played yesterday, just playing

aggressive golf, and being kind of fiery,"

she said.

"I hit a great shot on No. 1 to like six,

seven feet and made it, and I wanted to

play fearless golf and not play away

from pins by any means and commit to

my shots. I hit some really good ones

and I hit some iffy ones but with this

wind and everything, you have to take

the bad ones as best you can."

Thompson's win, with her brother on

her bag this week, comes off the back

off several Top 10s this year with the

hard work away from the course paying

off for the Floridian.

"I've been working extremely hard on

my game. I felt like it was a matter of

time but just wanted to play golf and

put myself in contention in the final

rounds and learn from the losses that I

had and what I needed to work on,

which I brought into today."

Brooke Henderson, making her

Aramco Team Series debut, found her

best form of the week in the final round

to make a late charge with a flurry of

late birdies on the back nine in

conditions that suited the supreme

ball-striker. The Canadian carded a

round of 68 for a tie of second on eightunder-par

with Sagstrom.

"I feel like I was just trying to make

some birdies and climb as much as I

could," said the two-time major winner.

"I was happy to shoot 4-under out

there in the wind. I feel like my game is

in a good spot, which is exciting leading

into the rest of the LPGA season in a

few weeks, and hopefully I can finish

strong because it's been a really fun

year."

Nelly Korda was bidding for back-toback

Aramco Team Series wins but

three bogeys on her front nine stalled

her progress. The World No. 4

unsurprisingly battled back, coming

home in 33 shots with three birdies for

a round of 72 and fourth place (-7).

"It was very frustrating start to the

day - very odd on the front nine, said

Korda. "I just didn't feel like myself. But

then got it going on the back nine and I

finished strong. It was a good

confidence boost. It's really nice to see

Lexi win and it's really good for golf for

her to win as well. She played really

solid golf and she's been playing really

solid golf this year. It was just around

the corner," she said.

Madelene Sagstrom was frustrated to

not get over the line today but admitted

it was nice to be back in contention in a

big tournament playing alongside

Thompson and Korda in the final

group.

"We all come out here to try and win,"

she said. "That's what the mindset was

coming in for the week. I haven't really

been in this kind of situation for a

while, so it's nice to be back. I think

every time we play with top players, it

makes you a little better. Playing with

them and being comfortable and being

in that situation is always good."

The Aramco Team Series reaches its

2022 climax next month for the final

event of the year in Jeddah at the Royal

Greens Golf & Country Club.

SportS DeSk

Bowlers led by Bas de Leede helped the

Netherlands edge out the United Arab

Emirates by three wickets in a tense lowscoring

match of the Twenty20 World

Cup on Sunday.

Skipper Scott Edwards stood

unbeaten on 16 as the Netherlands

chased down their target of 112 with one

ball to spare in the second match of the

day in Geelong.

UAE pace spearhead Junaid Siddique

returned figures of 3-24 and put the

opposition in trouble with two wickets

in the 14th over but Edwards held his

Swiatek rallies

past Pegula to

reach San

Diego final

SportS DeSk

World No 1 Iga Swiatek

emerged red hot from a

rain delay today to beat

American Jessica Pegula 4-

6, 6-2, 6-2 and reach the

San Diego Open final,

reports UNB.

Swiatek will face either

American Danielle Collins or

Croatia's Donna Vekic for

the title after their semifinal

clash was suspended

following three rain delays

and scheduled to resume

tomorrow.

Collins was two games away

from a hard-fought victory

when showers forced players

off for a final time with a 4-6,

6-4, 4-2 lead over Vekic.

Reigning US Open

champion Swiatek sprinted

out to a 4-2 lead in the first

set before Pegula roared

back, reeling off four straight

games and capturing the

first set on Swiatek's 11th

forehand error of the frame.

Rain postponed the start

of the second set by more

than an hour and the break

appeared to boost Poland's

Swiatek, who was sharper in

the second set, breaking

Pegula with a forehand

winner on the line to level

the contest at a set apiece.

In the third set, Swiatek

raced to the net to catch up

with a drop shot and sent a

backhand down the line for a

4-2 lead she would not

relinquish, improving to 4-1

lifetime against Pegula when

the American's shot landed

in the bottom of the net on

match point.

"I was leading in the first

set so I knew I had the game

to win this match but I lost

my focus in the middle of the

set," Swiatek said in an oncourt

interview.

"I didn't want to make that

mistake again so I came

back and I wanted to be

really composed and not

lose those important

moments," she said, adding

that she spent the rain delay

doing crossword puzzles.

nerve to get his team off to a win in

round one.

De Leede, an all-rounder who is a pace

bowler, led the charge with his three

wickets to keep down the UAE to 111-8.

Electing to bat, the UAE batsmen

survived the disciplined Dutch attack

albeit scoring slowly as they reached 85-

2 in 15 overs with Muhammad Waseem

making 41 before falling to pace

spearhead Fred Klaassen.

The wicket triggered a collapse as de

Leede struck three times in the 19th over as

the UAE slipped from 91-2 and managed

just 26 runs in the final five overs.

In reply, Vikramjit Singh got out for 10

but Max O'Dowd hit 23 off 18 balls to get

the team off to a quick start. Junaid

bowled O'Dowd in the sixth over and the

Netherlands suddenly lost wickets in a

heap to lose control of their modest chase.

Junaid struck twice in the space of

three balls including Tom Cooper (8)

and Roelof van der Merwe (0) and

nearly had a third when skipper

Chundangapoyil Rizwan dropped a

catch at cover.

The spill proved costly as Edwards

and Tim Pringle put on 27 runs and

sneaked home in the final over.

Leicester held by Palace, Forest sink

to bottom of the Premier League

SportS DeSk

Leicester edged off the bottom of the

Premier League despite drawing a blank

in a goalless draw with Crystal Palace on

Saturday as Nottingham Forest fell to the

foot of the table after losing 1-0 at Wolves,

reports UNB.

Fulham and Bournemouth remain in

the top half of the table after sharing the

points in a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.

Leicester's only league win this season

was a 4-0 victory against Forest earlier

this month but that proved to be a false

dawn for the 2016 champions.

The Foxes, who have the leakiest

defense in the division, were solid at the

back on Saturday but failed to capitalize

on their chances at the King Power.

"The players are fighting and running

and giving everything," said Leicester boss

Brendan Rodgers.

"I always felt after the summer market

we would have to fight our way through

the season but the players are doing that

and hopefully we will get better results as

the season goes on."

Leicester signed defender Wout Faes

from French club Reims in the closing

hours of the transfer window to replace

Chelsea-bound defender Wesley Fofana in

their only significant piece of business.

However, a record 23 new arrivals has

not helped Forest on their return to the

top flight after 23 years.

Steve Cooper's men have taken just one

point from their last seven games after

losing out in a tale of two penalties at

Molineux.

Ruben Neves scored from the spot to

move managerless Wolves out of the bottom

three before Jose Sa saved Brennan

Johnson's penalty at the other end.

Bournemouth extended their unbeaten

run to six games under caretaker boss

Gary O'Neil, but let a win slip away after

leading twice at Fulham.

Dominic Solanke slotted home the

opener from Philip Billing's cut-back after

just two minutes.

Issa Diop levelled midway through the

first half with a towering header from

Andreas Pereira's corner, but Bournemouth

retook the lead just seven minutes later

when Solanke teed up Jefferson Lerma.

Aleksandar Mitrovic had been a doubt

due to a foot injury, but Fulham's talisman

made his mark from the penalty spot to

salvage a point after he had been hauled

down inside the area by Lerma.

The heavyweight clash of the weekend

takes place on Sunday when champions

Manchester City face Liverpool at Anfield.

Leaders Arsenal are also in action on

Sunday away to Leeds.

Crystal palace's english defender Joel Ward (C) clears under pressure from Leicester

City's english midfielder Harvey Barnes (r) during the english premier League

football match at king power Stadium in Leicester, central england. photo: Ap

Rins wins Australian

MotoGP, Quartararo

crashes out

SportS DeSk

Spain's Alex Rins stormed to a

pulsating win at the

Australian MotoGP today

with world championship

leader Fabio Quartararo

crashing out to put a huge

dent in his title hopes, reports

UNB.

The Suzuki rider started

10th on the grid and finished

0.186s ahead of Spanish great

Marc Marquez who claimed

his 100th premier class

podium.

Francesco Bagnaia

narrowly came third in one of

the closest top three finishes

the sport has known to move

top of the championship

standings.

Ducati's Bagnaia started the

race just two points behind

Quartararo and now heads to

the penultimate Grand Prix of

the season in Malaysia with a

14-point advantage and a

chance to win the world title.

It could have been a bigger

gap, with the Italian leading

into the final lap at the

waterfront Phillip Island

circuit before an audacious

Rins and then Marquez

passed him.

"I'm super happy to finish

first," said an ecstatic Rins

after his fourth career

MotoGP win.

Sub-regional 49th

summer sports

competitions

begin in Rangpur

SportS DeSk

The two-day 49th Subregional

School, Madrasa and

Vocational Education Summer

Sports and Swimming

Competitions- 2022 kicked off

at Rangpur Zilla School

ground in the city on

Saturday, reports BSS.

The Rangpur Regional

School, Madrasa and Vocational

Education Sports Association

with assistance of the National

School and Madrasa Sports

Association and Directorate of

Secondary and Higher

Education is organizing the

sports competitions.

Divisional Commissioner Md.

Sabirul Islam hoisted the

national flag and formally

inaugurated the group-wise

games competitions by releasing

a balloon with a festoon and a

pigeon in the morning at the

same venue as the chief guest.

Deputy Commissioner of

Rangpur Md. Asif Ahasan

attended the function as special

guest with Rangpur Regional

Deputy Director of the

Directorate of Secondary and

Higher Secondary Education

Md. Akhteruzzaman in the

chair.

Lexi thompson has won the individual title at Aramco team Series New York. photo: Ap

Kane punishes Everton again as

Spurs keep up impressive start

SportS DeSk

Harry Kane maintained his incredible strike

rate against Everton with a penalty in his 400th

Tottenham Hotspur appearance paving the

way for a 2-0 Premier league win over Everton

yesterday, reports UNB.

Spurs were struggling to break down a

resolute Everton team who had the better

chances in the first half, but the prolific Kane

once again made the difference.

After being taken down by Everton

goalkeeper Jordan Pickford just before the

hour mark, Kane dispatched his spotkick

beyond the dive of his England team mate to

take his league tally against the Merseyside club

to 14 in 15 games.

Tottenham dominated after the break and

Kane was then involved in a flowing move that

ended with Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile

Hojbjerg wrapping up the points in the 86th

minute.

Antonio Conte's side moved to 23 points

from 10 games, level with second-placed

Manchester City who visit Liverpool on Sunday

Sierra Leone’s first women’s

football league kicks off

SportS DeSk

Sierra Leone's first professional women's football

league launched on Saturday with a match in the

northern city of Makeni, kicking off a six-month

season in which 12 clubs from across the country

will compete, reports UNB.

"We are so proud to make this history as the

first ever national women's premier league,"

Asmaa James, chairperson of the Sierra Leone

Women's Premier League Board, told AFP.

The Mena Queens of Makeni battled the

Kahunla Queens from Kenema during the

opening match on Saturday with Sierra

Leone's first lady, Fatima Bio, in attendance at

the crowded Wusum Sports Stadium in

Makeni.

"This is the first time women are participating

in our local Premier League, it's an honour that

our best footballers are from Bombali District",

Sierra Leone president Julius Maada Bio said on

Saturday during the kick-off. "Football is about

peace and cohesion. We want to see beautiful

football, all the teams are winners."

when leaders Arsenal, who have 24, travel to

Leeds United.

Everton rarely looked like getting back into

the game after going behind and have now

managed only one victory in their last 20

Premier League games against Spurs.

They are 14th with 10 points from 10 games.

As has often been the case this season, Spurs

laboured at times but proved clinical when it

mattered to maintain an impressive start to the

campaign - their best in terms of points won in

the Premier League era.

"We had to be patient," Kane, who has nine

league goals this season, told Sky Sports. "The

spaces opened up as they got tired; thankfully

we kept knocking on the door and got a couple

of chances. It was a really good win."

Wasted chances

Everton were left to rue a couple of wasted

chances in the opening period when they

managed to stifle Tottenham's attack.

First Demarai Gray raced into the box after

being picked out by Conor Coady but blazed a

shot way over the crossbar.

The 12 privately-owned clubs will compete

for a cash prize and trophy in April, James said.

She said women's football has long been

neglected in the West African nation of about

eight million people, adding that it was now time

for women to showcase their potential.

"We have engaged the girls and their parents

and also the team managers and other football

stakeholders to allow the girls to play football,"

she said.

Supporters hope the league will boost the

success of the national women's team, which

failed to qualify for the 2022 Women's Africa Cup

of Nations. But they face several key challenges,

including inadequate venues.

The national 45,000-seater stadium in

Freetown, opened in the 1980s, is currently being

renovated with support from the Chinese

government.

Then there are the logistical hurdles of crisscrossing

the country-where only about 10 percent

of the road network is paved, according to the

African Development Bank-for matches.

MONdAY, OcTOBER 17, 2022

10

Purnima joins shooting of ‘Ahare Jibon’

TBT REPORT

National Film Award-winning actress

Purnima joins shooting on Sunday for her

new film 'Ahare Jibon'.

The shooting of the film has taken place

at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport

and some places around the Haji camp.

Purnima said "Chatku Ahmed is a

senior director of our country. He is

making a film after a long and I am happy

to be a part of this film. The covid-19

pandemic had a big impact on our life and

the story of the film will be portraying that

on screen. I liked the story and believe

that the film will be appreciated by the

audience."

The film will portray some stories

during the pandemic situation. Ferdous

Ahmed will be seen playing the role of a

police officer in this film while Purnima

will be seen playing an ordinary girl

named Dola.

Dilara Hanif Purnima who is best

known by her stage name Purnima

signed up for Chatku Ahmed's

government-granted film 'Ahare Jibon'

earlier in September.

The film received 60,000,00 taka in

funding from the government.

Apart from this, Purnima's two

upcoming films 'Gaangchil' and 'Jam,'

directed by Noim Imtiaz Neyamul, are

expected to release soon.

Purnima made her film debut with 'E

Jibon Tomar Amar' in 1998. Her notable

performance includes 'Megher Por Megh'

based on the liberation war and directed

by Chashi Nazrul Islam. Purnima acted in

'Shuva', a story based on Rabindranath

Tagore's short story 'Shuvashini'.

Black Adam early reactions: The

Rock electric in DCEU role

The Black Adam social reactions are

officially pouring in as critics are

giving their impressions of Dwayne

Johnson's highly anticipated DCEU

movie.

Black Adam social reactions are

officially coming in as critics give their

thoughts on Dwayne Johnson's

DCEU film. After being cast nearly a

decade ago, Johnson is officially

making his way into the DCEU as the

DC icon Black Adam. While Warner

Bros. originally wanted Shazam! to

feature Black Adam, Johnson

persuaded the studio to let both

characters have their own standalone

films before they eventually clash on

the big screen.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra,

Black Adam focuses on Teth-Adam's

grim origin story as a Kahndaq slave

who is given godlike powers that turn

him into one of Earth's most powerful

beings. While Black Adam will be

busy taking on the DC villain Sabbac

and the criminal organization

Intergang, the anti-hero will also be

facing the Justice Society of America.

The DCEU's version of the famous

Golden Age team, which traditionally

predates the Justice League, will

feature Atom Smasher, Cyclone,

Hawkman, and Doctor Fate, who will

go after Black Adam when he starts

wreaking havoc in modern times.

Black Adam is roughly a week away

from opening in theaters worldwide,

and as usual, various members of the

press have been able to screen the film

in advance as they are now sharing

their first impressions online.

With most of the early reactions to

Black Adam being positive, it's a solid

sign for the DCEU's future. Ever since

Johnson was cast as the titular

character, the megastar has continued

to state how "the hierarchy of power

in the DC Universe" will change with

Black Adam, suggesting a new era for

the interconnected franchise.

Whether it's Black Adam fighting

Superman or the entire Justice

League, the film is clearly serving as a

game-changer for the DCEU,

especially due to the shake-ups

behind-the-scenes ever since the

Warner Bros. Discovery merger

completed earlier this year.

It will be intriguing to see how the

mainstream audience responds to

Black Adam once the film opens

worldwide. With Johnson's star

power, Black Adam is more than likely

heading for box office success, and the

DCEU certainly needs it as this is the

only film in the franchise to come out

in 2022 since Shazam: Fury of the

Gods and The Flash got pushed back

to 2023. What will be more

interesting to follow in the coming

months is whether or not the Black

Adam spinoff projects go forward, as

Johnson has continued to tease that

the first film is only the beginning of

his run in the DCEU. With only a week

left to go, the world will soon be able

to witness Black Adam and how

significant the film will be for the

DCEU's future.

Source: Collider

‘Ei Somoy’: 7 bands including Meghdol

perform for Dhaka music lovers

Music lovers in Dhaka turned out at the

series premiere of 'Ei Somoy', an

exclusive series of concerts, at the

Liberation War Museum auditorium on

Friday, reports UNB.

'Chapter One' of this series had seven

popular bands perform live - Meghdol,

Avash, Shonar Bangla Circus, Shohojia,

Shohortoli, Bangla Five and Apekkhik -

captivating the packed auditorium from

3 pm till 10 pm.

Organised by Acoustica and powered

by Metal Freak T-Shirt, the concert began

with the performances of Apekkhik.

The autumnal afternoon was then

greeted by Bangla Five, enthralling the

fans with their popular tracks including

"Left Right." Sohortoli performed their

fan-favourites after Bangla Five. Shohojia

came up next with their popular tracks

"Chhoto Pakhi," "Ma," "Jadukor" and

more.

Fans enjoyed the songs by Shonar

Bangla Circus next, known for their

unique line-up and majestic theatrical

performances. Vocalist Probar Ripon

delivered one after another hit of the

band, including "Ondho Deyal," "Ami

Valobashi Tomake," "Mrittu Utpadon

Karkhana" and more, alongside the

captivating instrumental performances

of his bandmates.

‘Black War’

to be released

on Jan 6

TBT REPORT

The much-awaited 'Black War', part 2 of

the film 'Mission Extreme', will be

released on January 6 in 2023.

Production house CopCreation

announced the release date of 'Mission

Extreme' sequel on Monday night.

Motion poster of the film was also

released at the same time.

'Black War' was supposed to be

released on Eid-ul-Fitr last year. But its

Avash with Tanzir Tuhin was up next,

covering a couple of popular tracks

including "Prithibita Naki Chhoto Hotey

Hotey" by the Indian Bangla band

Moheener Ghoraguli, alongside originals

including "Avash" and "Nishchup

Adhar."

Meghdol, the showstopper band of the

night, then took the stage and had the

crowd singing along to "Esho Amar

Shohore," "Kichhu Bishad Hok Pakhi,"

release was delayed considering the

overall situation, said a press release.

Directed by Sunny Sanwar and Faisal

"Nirban," and ended the show with their

latest track "E Hawa" from their

upcoming album 'Aluminum er Dana.'

"We did this arrangement with some

psychedelic bands for the first chapter,

and in coming days, new bands will be

added to this event," said Saikot Biswas

Tutul, coordinator of the concert. Beyond

the capital, 'Ei Somoy' will move forward

in different parts of the country, he

added.

Ahmed, popular actors Arifin Shuvoo,

Taskin Rahman, Jannatul Ferdous

Oishee, Sadia Nabila, Sumit Sengupta,

Raisul Islam Asad, Fazlur Rahman

Babu, Shatabdi Wadud, Maznun Mizan,

Shudwip Biswas, Rahed Mamun Apu,

Iresh Zaker and others will be seen

acting in the film.

About the film Arifin Shuvoo said, "I

feel relaxed after hearing the release date

of 'Black War'. I hope the film will be a

good one and the audience will also

enjoy it very much."

Alongside Bangladesh, the film will be

released in 15 countries across the world.

The first episode of 'Mission Extreme'

was released on December 3 in 2021,

apart from Bangladesh the movie was

released simultaneously in many

countries of the world.

Nargis recalls being called immature for being

authentic : ‘Couldn’t put on a game face’

Nargis Fakhri said that she

was too honest when she

started her career in

Bollywood, and people would

call her immature as she did

not put on a 'game face'.

Nargis Fakhri has said that

when she was new in the

industry, she was too authentic

and honest and was called

immature. In a recent

interview, she spoke about the

struggles she has faced to date.

Nargis made her Bollywood

debut with Imtiaz Ali's

Rockstar and was seen in a few

films like Main Tera Hero,

Madras Café, Housefull 3; she

even made her Hollywood

debut with Spy. However, she

later shifted back to the US to

be with her family. Nargis is

now set for a comeback and

has been reading a few scripts.

She also appeared at the

recently held IIFA awards in

Dubai.

Recalling her early days in

Bollywood, Nargis told

Masala, "I didn't know how to

maneuver in a new culture. I

was told that because I was so

authentic and honest in my

feelings it wasn't a good thing.

You have to interact with

people even if you're not

comfortable with them. You

have to put on a game face,

which I couldn't. I was said to

be immature." She added that

she now understands that

people have three faces - a

business face, a creative face

and the personal face."

She also said that having

worked continuously for

eight years left her with no

time to be with her family

and she felt unwell due to

stress. "Consequently, I

developed health issues.

Was I depressed? I guess

you can use the word. I was

unhappy in my situation and

was questioning myself as to

why I was still there. I took

two years off to get healthy. I

did Vipassana meditation in

the US." Nargis also said that

she did fasting to help

sharpen her senses.

Source: Hindustan Times

H O R O s c O P E

ARIEs

Expanding your mind could be of

interest today, Aries. You might decide

to plan a trip to a place you've always

wanted to visit, if possible. Or you

could decide to go back to school for an advanced

degree. Either way, you're likely to spend the day

considering the idea and doing a lot of research. At

some point you will want to get in a workout to rid

your system of some of the day's tension.

TAURUs

Generally, Taurus, you tend to be

interested in what makes everything

tick, from the human mind to the

workings of the Universe to religion.

Today that interest could be piqued by something

you read or hear. You might want to delve into a field

of interest and learn whatever you can about it. You

could have some insights that are as valid as anyone

else's, so write them down!

GEMINI

Stimulating conversations could take

place with partners of all sorts, Gemini,

from business to exercise to romantic.

Some new and useful information

could come your way that you will want to explore

further. This is a great day to execute legal papers or

enter into any kind of agreement or commitment.

It's a good time to sign up for an online class or

workshop. Make good use of the energies of the day.

cANcER

Some stimulating discussions could

take place today. Your energy is likely

to be very high, Cancer. You may want

to throw yourself into your work,

particularly if it involves paperwork. You might also

want to get in a workout, try your hand at writing, or

read about the latest discoveries concerning optimal

health. Books, magazines, and the Internet could

prove especially useful.

LEO

Today you might decide to do some

writing, Leo. This could be job related,

but it's more likely personal, either

correspondence with friends and

colleagues or creative. Some stimulating discussion

could take place with friends, romantic partners, or

children that could set your mind buzzing with new

ideas. This is a great day to attend or participate in a

solo sport.

VIRGO

Some people who share your interests

could call you today. You might want to

take a walk while on the phone with

each other, but you will probably get

into some stimulating debates. Don't be surprised if

you both talk at once! New books that you will want

to read could come to your attention. In the evening,

stream some movies on whatever subject you've

discussed.

LIBRA

Your mind will be especially quick and

active today, Libra, and you're likely to

want to spend much of the day involved

in intellectual activities like reading,

writing, or teaching. Communication with others

should be a powerful part of your day, so you will

probably spend time on the phone. You will want to

write down many of the ideas you hear. You will find

most of them interesting and want to remember them.

scORPIO

Today you might decide to tackle your

financial paperwork and get it all

done. This is a great day for that,

Scorpio, although you might be a little

too ambitious and not get as much done as you'd

like. This is a good time to make use of any writing

talent, because ideas could be coming to you thick

and fast. Expect many of letters or phone calls in

this busy and stimulating day.

sAGITTARIUs

Your mind is usually quick, agile, and

hungry for information, Sagittarius.

Today it's likely to be even more so

than usual. Your curiosity is high, and

you could go to unusual lengths to satisfy it. You

might also feel particularly energetic and want to get

in a good workout. This is a good idea. Exercise can

clear your head and give you a better perspective on

new ideas and information.

cAPRIcORN

You generally tend to be sensitive and

intuitive, Capricorn, but today you

might be even more so. Reading about

people from other places and times

might cause you to tune into their thoughts and

feelings and receive new insight into human nature.

Creative projects, particularly writing, benefit from

this. If you want to remember what you come up

with, write it down.

AQUARIUs

A virtual group meeting or social event

could bring up so many new and

interesting ideas that you may not be able

to digest them all, Aquarius. Some new

friends who share your interests might want to continue

the discussions. Your mind is especially quick today.

You could well grasp unusual concepts that usually

don't interest you. But watch your step - you might be so

preoccupied that you could have an accident.

PIscEs

A lot of paperwork might need

attention today, Pisces. You might

throw a lot of your focus and energy

into getting it all done. Stimulating conversations

with colleagues could keep your mind occupied so

you avoid boredom. You could take a walk at the end

of the day since you're apt to encounter so much

new information that you will want to clear your

head in order to absorb it all.

MONdAy, OCTOBER 17, 2022

11

TCB starts

selling essential

commodities

today

DHAKA : The state-run

Trading Corporation of

Bangladesh (TCB) will start

selling essential items across

the country today at a

subsidized rate.

Four items - sugar, lentil,

onion and soybean oil -will

be sold to one crore family

cardholders across the

country, including Dhaka,

through the designed

dealers of the TCB.

As per the latest

subsidised rate, sugar will be

sold at Tk 55 per kg while

lentil and onion will be sold

at Tk 65 and Tk 20 per kg

respectively.

Besides, soybean will be

sold at TK 110 per litre,

according to a press release

of the trading corporation.

Rickshawpuller

who set himself

on fire in city dies

DHAKA : A rickshawpuller

who set himself on fire by

pouring kerosene over a

family feud last Friday, died

while undergoing treatment

at a hospital in the capital

early Sunday.

The deceased is Shymal

Chandra Barmon, 33, a

resident of Bou Bazar area

under Hazaribagh police

station of the capital.

Sheikh Sajeeb, subinspector

of the police

station, said Shymal set fire

to his body following a brawl

with his wife at his house

around 9am Friday, leaving

himself critically injured.

He was rushed to Sheikh

Hasina National Institute of

Burn and Plastic Surgery

where the victim succumbed

to his injuries while

undergoing treatment in the

early morning, said Md

Bachhu Sheikh, in-charge

(inspector) of Dhaka

Medical College Hospital

(DMCH) Police Outpost.

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The final game of Ajmal Hossain Babu Memorial Football Tournament organized by Arifpur Adora

Club was celebrated with great enthusiasm and joy. Alhaj Afzal Hossain Raja, a distinguished social

worker of Pabna, was present as the chief guest in the final game held at Arifpur Sadar Eidgah Field

premises on October 14 under the chairmanship of Azmat Ali Biswas. Eminent journalist-columnist

Abdul Hamid Khan, former student leader, Mahamudunnabi Swapan, Tapan Haider, SI Kanthikumar

Modak, Commissioner Anwara Khatun Anu, Muhammad Nasim, Ashraf Hossain, Hannan Fakir,

Ratul Hossain Rian and others were present as special guests in the game. Photo: Abdul Hamid Khan

Iran's celebrities face reprisals

for supporting protests

BAGHDAD : Singers, actors, sports stars

- the list goes on. Iranian celebrities have

been startlingly public in their support

for the massive anti-government protests

shaking their country. And the ruling

establishment is lashing back.

Celebrities have found themselves

targeted for arrest, have had passports

confiscated and faced other harassment.

Among the most notable cases is that of

singer Shervin Hajipour, whose song

"For ..." has become an anthem for the

protest movement, which erupted Sept.

17 over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa

Amini in police custody after she was

arrested for not abiding by the Islamic

Republic's strict dress code.

The song begins with a soft melody,

then Hajipour's resonant voice starts,

"For dancing in the streets," "for the fear

we feel when we kiss ..." - listing reasons

young Iranians have posted on Twitter

for why they are taking to the streets

against the ruling theocracy.

It ends with the widely chanted slogan

that has become synonymous with the

protests: "For women, life, freedom."

Released on his Instagram page, the

song quickly went viral. Hajipour paid

the price: The 25-year-old was arrested

and held for several days before being

released on bail on Oct. 4.

Since the protests took off - and

expanded from anger at Amini's death to

a complete challenge to the 43-year-old

rule by conservative Islamic clerics - a

string of celebrities have faced reprisals,

from singers and soccer players to news

anchors.

At least seven public figures have been

detained inside the country, most of

whom were released on bail and could

face charges, according to Iranian news

outlets. Others were questioned and

released.

But their popularity has also made it

difficult to crack down too hard on them

- in contrast to protest activists whom

security forces have arrested in large

numbers. Iran has a vibrant scene of

singers and actors, as well as sports stars,

who are closely followed by the public.

Holly Dagres, an Iranian-American

non-resident fellow at the Atlantic

Council, said the attempts to intimidate

public figures were no surprise.

Mozammal Hossain

Khan passes away

DHAKA : Md Mozammal Hassain Khan,

father of Awami League (AL) Labor and

Manpower Affairs Sub-committee's

member Shofiqul Islam Shofiq, passed

away yesterday at the age of 75.

He has been suffering from old-age

complications.

He left behind his wife, two sons, one

daughter and a host of relatives and

admirers to mourn his death.

Awami League General Secretary and

Road Transport and Bridges Minister

Obaidul Quader expressed profound shock

and sorrow at the death of Md Mozammal

Hassain Khan.

In a condolence messages, Quader

prayed for eternal peace of the departed

soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the

bereaved family members.

Taxpayers to get

services in fair

environment

DHAKA : The National

Board of Revenue (NBR)

has taken preparations to

provide all types of facilities

to the taxpayers in the tax

zones like the tax fair.

Taxpayers will get taxrelated

services in the tax

zones amid the tax fair

environment throughout the

month of November.

Apart from this, tax

information and service

centres will be opened

temporarily in Secretariat,

Officers Club, Dhaka

Cantonment and Dhaka

University. Taxpayers will

get all information related to

return filing and other tax

services in tax information

and service centres.

NBR Public Relations

Officer Sayed A Momen said

NBR has already instructed

the tax authorities to create a

conducive environment for

taxpayers as the taxpayers

can go to their respective tax

zones and file their returns.

"This time there is no tax

fair. But the facilities will be

increased as the taxpayers

can go to their respective tax

zones and file their returns,"

he added.

The last date for filing

income tax returns for the

financial year 2022-23 is

November 30. If a taxpayer

wants to file a return after

this deadline, he or she

should seek time in advance.

Polls to elect president

of Indian National

Congress today

NEW DELHI : All is set to hold the polls today to elect the

president of the Indian National Congress, the grand old party of

the country.

As many as 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) have

the voting right to elect its president through direct voting from 10

am to 4 pm today. The result is likely to be declared on October 19,

local media reported. Senior party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge

and Shashi Tharoor are contesting against each other for the

presidential post as Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka

Gandhi Vadra opted out from the party's highest post. It would be

the sixth time in the party's nearly 137-year-old history that an

electoral contest would decide who would take up the mantle of

the party's president.Since Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are not contesting for the party

president's post, a non-Gandhi would be at the helm after over 24

years following today's polling.According to media reports,

Kharge is considered the firm favourite and the 'unofficial official

candidate' with a large number of senior leaders backing him

while Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change.

During the campaign, even though Tharoor has raised issues of

an uneven playing field, both candidates and the party have

maintained that the Gandhis are neutral and that there is no

"official candidate."

Lalon Shah's 132nd death

anniversary today

KUSHTIA : The 132nd death anniversary of

Fakir Lalon Shah, the most prominent figure

of country's baul tradition, will be observed

at Chheuriya in Kushtia today amid tight

security measures.

Marking the day, Lalon Academy and

Cultural Affairs Ministry have jointly

organised a three-day fair starting Monday

on the bank of the river Kaliganga at

Chheuriya, Kushtia, where Lalon's shrine is

located. Lalon devotees and enthusiasts from

across the country are expected to attend the

programme featuring discussions and

presentation of Lalon songs.

Joint General Secretary of Bangladesh

R¡vjvbx wbivcËv m‡e©v”P AMÖvwaKvi

Awami League Mahbubul Alam Hanif will

inaugurate the festival today.

With Deputy Commissioner Mohammad

Sidul Islam in the chair, the inauguration

programme will be attended by Barrister

Selim Altaf Geogre, MP, A K M Sarwar Jahan

Badsha, MP, General Secretary of Kushtia

district AL Asgar Ali, Police Super of Kushtia

Md Khairul Alam and former Vice

Chancellor of Islamic University Shahinur

Rahman. Discussion on Lalon Shah's life

and works will be held every evening and

Lalon songs will be sung by Bauls coming

from different parts of the country at the

Lalon Mancha in Chheuriya.

Fire service gets 2 more tallest ladders

to extinguish fire up to 24th floors

DHAKA : With the present government

continuous sincere efforts, the Fire Service

and Civil Defence yesterday received two

68-metre Turntable Ladders to extinguish

fire up to 24-storey buildings.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan

Kamal has formally inaugurated the poweroperated

extending ladders at the Fire

Service Headquarters yesterday morning.

After inaugurating the fire engines, the

minister said a total of five tallest ladders

will be added to the fire service, of which two

have already been added and the remaining

three will be added soon to its fleet. "The

new ladders of the fire service will be used to

operate fire and rescue activities from the

24-stoery buildings. Through this, the

government has strengthened the capacity

of the fire service department," he

said.During the devastating fire at

Bashundhara Shopping Mall in 2009, the

fire service and civil defence had only a

ladder which could go only 9-storey building

for rescue operation, Kamal said.

"Now we have brought ladder that would

be able to fight up to 24-storey buildings,

with the addition of the 68-metre-high

ladders to the fire service fleet, their

operational capacity has been expanded up

to 24th floors," he said.

6 arrested over mugging

police vehicle in Sirajganj

SIRAJGANJ : Six men were arrested in

connection with mugging a police vehicle

from Bangabandhu Bridge east connecting

highway in Sirajganj sadar upazila.

The arrestees are Yusuf Khan, 22, Wazed

Ali, 34, Abdul Latif Khan, 21, Inamul Haque

Ashik, 19, Abdul Motaleb, 26, Sohel Rana,

28.

Arifur Rahman Mandal, Superintendent of

Sirajganj police, confirmed the arrests in a

press briefing Sunday.

On October 12, a team of police members

from Sonatala police station were heading

towards Bogura from Dhaka on a microbus

after rescuing a victim.

As the vehicle reached the Koddar Mor

area around 2:30 am a group of muggers

started throwing stones at it forcing the

driver to stop by the road.

They then attacked the police members

and snatched their walkie-talkies, handcuffs,

money, gold jewelry, and mobile phones.

After two days, Abdul Khaleque Sub

Inspector of Sonatala police station filed a

case in this regard at Bangabandhu Bridge

east police station.

The arrestees will be produced before

court, said police.

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Monday, Dhaka : october 17, 2022; kartik 1, 1429 BS; rabi-ul-Awal 20 , 1444 Hijri

BNP carries out extortion in

name of rallies: Hasan

Namibia's Jan Frylinck bats against Sri Lanka during their t20 World Cup Cricket

match in Geelong, Australia.

photo: Ap

t20 World Cup opener

'Historic day' as Namibia

stun Sri Lanka

SportS DeSk

Jan Frylinck smashed 44 runs and took

two wickets as Namibia hammered Asia

Cup champions Sri Lanka by 55 runs to

cause a major upset in the opening match

of the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday,

reports BSS.

The left-handed Frylinck and JJ Smit,

who made an unbeaten 31, lifted Namibia

to 163-7 with their 69-run seventh-wicket

stand after being invited to bat first in

Geelong.

Sri Lanka were then bowled out for 108

in 19 overs with David Wiese, Frylinck,

Bernard Scholtz and Ben Shikongo taking

two wickets each in the team's first of three

opening-round matches.

The African minnows are on course for

a second straight Super 12 place after

achieving the feat on their T20 World Cup

debut last year in the United Arab

Emirates.

"Incredible journey, last year was a special

experience for us. We've started a great

win, but lot of work to do throughout this

tournament still," skipper Gerhard

Erasmus said after the stunning win.

"It's been a historic day for us. The opening

day has been quite special but we want

to kick on from here and qualify for the

Super 12 stage. We understand the bigger

picture as well."

Namibia lost their openers inside three

overs with returning fast bowler

Dushmantha Chameera getting a wicket

third ball when Michael van Lingen was

caught at deep third-man.

Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton fell to a brilliant

diving catch by wicketkeeper Kusal

Mendis after a 12-ball 20.

Stephan Baard and skipper Gerhard

Erasmus attempted to rebuild with a

FARIDPUR : Once neglected, jute sticks

have now become a cash crop as those are

being exported to different countries including

China for its growing demand in particle

board and charcoal factories.

The jute growers in the Faridpur district,

who incurred losses this season due to low

prices of fiber, are now eying to make profit

though selling jute sticks.

The farmers are expecting to earn over

Tk 130 crore this season by selling jute

sticks which were once used only as fuel of

earthen oven, making fence for houses

and in betel-nut fields.

. Atul Sarkar, deputy commissioner of

Faridpur district, said, "Carbon is produced

after burning dried jute sticks through technology.

It is used in making firecrackers, carbon

papers, ink for printers and photocopiers,

batteries for mobiles, medicine for

cleaning teeth, fertilizers and many other

things. So demand for jute sticks is growing."

During a recent visit to different parts of

the district including Saltha, Nagarkanda

and Boalmari, the UNB correspondent

found the farmers busy in drying up their

jute sticks.

A number of jute growers including Firoz

Molla, Habibur Rahman and Siraj Pramanik

stand of 41 but Sri Lanka's bowlers kept

chipping away with wickets.

Namibia slipped to 93-6 when spinner

Maheesh Theekshana got big-hitter David

Wiese caught behind for nought but

Frylinck, who hit four fours in his 28-ball

innings, and Smit had other ideas.

Fans silenced -

The pair took the attack to the opposition

with five fours and two sixes in the

final five overs.

Sri Lanka, who won the Asia Cup last

month, lost Kusal Mendis for six when his

top-edge off Wiese ballooned up to land in

the gloves of Zane Green.

Shikongo silenced the Sri Lankan fans

when he sent back Pathum Nissanka for

nine and Danushka Gunathilaka for

nought from consecutive balls.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa played out the hattrick

ball, surviving a big lbw shout.

"Once we lose three wickets in the powerplay,

we are usually out of the game,"

said skipper Dasun Shanaka.

"The plans should be simple, we need

not do anything special. We've got a good

team, it's about the process."

Frylinck, a left-arm seamer who was

named man of the match, removed

Dhananjaya de Silva as Sri Lanka slipped

to 40-4.

The left-handed Rajapaksa and

Shanaka, who made 29, attempted to put

the chase back on track with a partnership

of 34 but Scholtz broke the stand with his

left-arm spin.

Scholtz got Rajapaksa out for 20 when

he skied a shot and also sent back

Wanindu Hasaranga.

Frylinck ended captain Shanka's resistance

and the lower order soon followed to

spark joyous celebrations when Wiese

claimed the final wicket.

Jute sticks a new cash

crop for Faridpur farmers

said they are now seeing a ray of hope in jute

as they have been earning money by selling

jute sticks for the last several years and a

number of big companies are purchasing it

from them.

Currently 100 bunches of jute sticks are

being sold at Tk 500-600 which was Tk 400-

500 last year, they said.

Due to scanty rains this season, the farmers

of the district failed to rot their jute timely,

resulted in poor production and low

prices, they said.

According to the Department of

Agricultural Extension(DAE), this year, a

total of 87,475 hectares of land were brought

under jute cultivation and they also hope the

farmers would be able to sell jute sticks

worth Tk 130 crore this season.

Delwar Hossain Sheikh, a jute stick trader

of Lonkarchar in Boalmari upazila, said, "I

purchased jute sticks worth Tk 1.5 crore to Tk

2 crore and sold those to particle board factories

and like me many traders are doing the

business."

Ziaul Haque, deputy-director of the

DAE, said jute sticks worth Tk 15000 are

found from one hectare of land and this

year the farmers can recoup their losses by

selling jute sticks.

Two engineers of PGCB

to be suspended over

grid failure : Nasrul

DHAKA : State Minister for Power,

Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul

Hamid has said two engineers of the

Power Grid Company of Bangladesh

(PGCB) will be suspended over the recent

national grid failure.

"The decision will come into effect

today," he told reporters at the secretariat

on Sunday after receiving the probe report

on the incident. Action has been taken

against an assistant engineer and a sub

assistant engineer of PGCB on charge of

negligence of duty, said the state minister.

"Action will be taken against others

responsible for the incident by this week

after identifying them," he said.

On 6 October, the Power Grid

Company of Bangladesh formed a sevenmember

committee to identify the reasons

behind the national grid failure on 4

October that caused a seven-hour blackout

across most of Bangladesh. The committee

had three days to complete the

investigation and submit its report.

Barguna Rifat killing

Wife Minni seeks

High Court bail

DHAKA : Aysha Siddika Minni, who was

sentenced to death for her role in her husband

Rifat Sharif's murder, filed a petition

to the High Court, seeking bail in the murder

case, reports UNB.

Advocate Jamiul Haque Foysal filed the

petition on behalf of Minni with the HC

bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and

Justice Biswajit Debnath.

Advocate Foysal said "An appeal petition

seeking exemption from the death

penalty is under trial and that's why

another petition has been filed with the

High Court seeking her bail."

On October 6, 2020 Minni moved the

High Court challenging the subordinate

court verdict.

Minni's counsel Advocate Makkia

Fatema Islam filed the petition with the

HC bench concerned.

On September 30, 2020 Minni and five

others were sentenced to death by District

and Sessions Judge Md Asaduzzaman

over Rifat's killing in Barguna in broad

daylight in 2019.

DHAKA : Information and Broadcasting

Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud yesterday said

BNP is carrying out extortion across the

country in the name of holding rallies.

"BNP has frightened the businessmen

and extorted money from them in the

name of rally in Chattogram. They have

taken a mega project to extort money to

hold divisional rallies, including the one in

Mymensingh. Even, I heard that half of the

extortion money, which was collected in

Chattogram, has been sent to Tarique

Rahman," he said.

The minister said this to reporters at the

meeting room of his ministry at Secretariat

in the capital.

Rejecting an allegation of BNP leaders,

Hasan said, "I would like to urge BNP to

look back when the party talks about such

obstacles. BNP had carried out August 21

grenade attacks. They also carried out

attacks on the rallies of Shah AMS Kibria,

Suranjit Sengupta, Ahsanullah Master and

History won't forgive Justice

Khairul Haque for scrapping

caretaker system: Fakhrul

DHAKA : BNP Secretary General Mirza

Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday said

history will never forgive former chief justice

ABM Khairul Haque for 'unethically'

creating a ground for the Awami League to

revoke the caretaker government (CG)

system to conduct general election,

reports UNB.

Speaking at a discussion, he also said the

political and economic future of the people

of Bangladesh and their existence are

closely related to the issue of a caretaker

government.

"The parliament passed the law (revoking

the caretaker government system), but

justice ABM Khairul Haque created the

ground for it. History will never forgive

him for it. He first gave a short verdict and

later unethically gave the full verdict

changing the short version as a civilian16

months after his retirement," the BNP

leader said.

Girls' education among 5 core issues

in Bangladesh development: Study

DHAKA : Five core issues - reduction in child

mortality, increasing girls' schooling, access

to electricity, population density and an

aggressive nationwide investment in infrastructure

- have played a key role in

Bangladesh's development momentum.

This has been revealed in a research conducted

by Prime Minister's Energy Advisor

Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury and Mahir A

Rahman, a research associate at Bangladesh

Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).

The research findings titled: "Aspirational

Momentum: The Development story of

Bangladesh" were presented at a seminar,

organised by the BIDS at city hotel on

Sunday.

With BIDS Director General Binayak Sen

at Narayanganj," he added.

He said they (BNP) killed many people

through attacking on rallies of Awami

League at different parts of the country.

Even, they had taken a step by giving a permanent

barbed wire fence in front of

Awami League office so that none could go

outside during their (BNP) tenure, said

Hasan, also Awami League joint general

secretary.

But, the minister said, such incident didn't

happen during the current BNP's rallies.

He said the administration of AL government

is assisting them so BNP could organize

their rallies properly. But, police have to

be alert so that they could not carry out vandalism

and arson attacks like before, he

added.

Showing the scenarios of rallies during

the Awami League's and BNP's tenures, he

said BNP leaders are sitting on the stage

with makeup during the AL period.

Besides, grenade attacks were carried out

Sachetan Nagorik Foundation

arranged the discussion on the caretaker

government issue in the current context

of Bangladesh at a city hotel, marking

its fresh journey as a civic platform

for raising awareness among people

about their rights and the welfare of the

country.

Fakhrul welcome the new platform and

hoped it will play a proactive role in creating

awareness among people about

democracy and the independence of the

judiciary as most of its members are

involved with the legal profession.

About the necessity of the polls-time

neutral government, he said the Awami

League first came up with the demand for

a neutral interim government in 1994 and

enforced hartal (general strike) for 173

days to establish their logic that the election

could not be fair under a partisan government.

in the chair, the seminar was also addressed

by Prime Minister' Economic Advisor

Mashiur Rahman, eminent economist

DrWahidudin Mahmud, Prof Barkat-e-

Khuda and Prof Abus Sattar Mandol.

Making a joint presentation with Mahir A

Rahman on the issue, Tawfiq Elahi said the

development path of Bangladesh can be

explained by focusing on family at the core

decision-making.

He said when the family decision-making

process is linked with the aspirational

momentum of a nation this accelerates its

development process.

"This happened in Bangladesh and it

keeps us ahead of other similar nations", he

told the seminar.

the administration has imposed a 22-day ban on fishing in the Bay of Bengal.

Fishermen are passing the time by weaving nets during this idle time. the photo was

taken from Fisherighat area of Chattogram.

photo : Star Mail

on AL rallies during BNP's regime, he

added.

"Even, I was admitted to hospital for long

after sustaining sprinters injuries in the

grenade attack and I'm bearing 40 sprinters

in my body till now. And this is the difference

between the Awami League and

BNP," said Hasan.

Replying to a query over the legislation in

the House of Representatives of the US

which urges President Joe Biden to recognize

the atrocities committed by Pakistani

army during the Bangladesh's great

Liberation War in 1971 as genocide, the

minister extended thanks to the US congressmen

for introducing the legislation.

He said the government has been trying

for a long so that the United Nations recognizes

March 25 as Genocide Day. Such incident

of killing 30 lakh people and oppressing

two lakh women didn't happen anywhere

in the world after the Second World

War, he said.

Nusrat murder case

Families of victim and

killers accuse each other

of diverging case

FENI : Families of slain madrasa student

Nusrat Jahan Rafi and her convicted

killers have carried out simultaneous programs

accusing each other of trying to

divert the case in Feni.

On Sunday morning, Nusrat's brother

Mahmudul Hasan Noman arranged a

press conference at Feni Press Club,

where he said that although the court

has delivered the verdict based on sufficient

proof, certain people are spreading

rumors and falsehood to take the case to

another direction.

Meanwhile, the family members of the

16 convicts who have been sentenced to

death for killing Nusrat formed a human

chain on the Press Club premises,

demanding the re-investigation of the

case. Later, they submitted a memorandum

to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of

Feni in this regard.

Nusrat, a student of Sonagazi Islamia

Dakhil Madrasah, was found burnt at

the madrassah complex on April 6,

2019. She died four days later while

undergoing treatment at Sheikh Hasina

Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery of

Dhaka Medical College Hospital

(DMCH).

Nusrat's brother Mahmudul filed an

attempt to murder case with Sonagazi

Police Station on April 8, 2019, which was

later converted into a murder case. On

October 24, 2019, the Women and

Children Repression Prevention Tribunal

sentenced a total of 16 people to death in

connection with the murder.

Healthy dietary

habits can reduce

hypertension-related

health risks: Experts

DHAKA : Public health experts at a webinar

on Sunday said the risks of various

non-communicable diseases, including

hypertension-related heart ailments and

deaths, are increasing among the population

of Bangladesh due to lack of healthy

eating habits.

They also said unhealthy diets and lack

of adequate physical activity are responsible

for 30 percent of the world's non-communicable

and preventable diseases and

deaths, including the morbidity and mortality

caused by hypertension.

Public health experts and heart specialists

made the remarks at the webinar titled

"Eating Habits, Hypertension and Heart

Disease Risk and the Needful", organised

by research and advocacy organisation

PROGGA with support from Global

Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI),

marking the World Food Day 2022.

World Food Day is observed in

Bangladesh as elsewhere across the globe

on Sunday to highlight the millions of people

worldwide who cannot afford a healthy

diet and the need for regular access to

nutritious food. The theme for 2022 is

'Leave no one behind.'

Speaking at the webinar, Professor Dr

Md Abdul Alim, a member (Food

Industry and Production), of the

Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, said

foods containing an excessive amount of

trans fats increase the risk of hypertension.

"The trans fat regulation passed by

the government will be implemented

within the stipulated time."

17-10-2022

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