06-11-2022

INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ART & CULTURE

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SUNdAy, NOveMBeR 6, 2022

2

Man held with over

2.5 lakh Dirham at

Ctg airport

CHATTOGRAM : National

Security Intelligence and

Customs Intelligence

Authority have detained a

Sharjah-bound passenger

with over 2.5 lakh Dirham at

Shah Amanat International

Airport in Chattogram on

Saturday.

The detainee was

Mohammad Ali, of Satkania

upazila in the district.

He was supposed to fly to

Sharjah of the United Arab

Emirates by an Air Arabia

aircraft in the morning.

Bashir Ahmed, additional

director general of customs

intelligence and investigation

authority, said a team of the

NSI and Customs Intelligence

jointly conducted a drive at

the airport around 6.30am.

Mohammad Ali was

detained with foreign

currency worth over Tk 73

lakh during the drive; he said

adding that the detainee

visited several countries six

times in the current year.

During

primary

interrogation, the detainee

confessed to his involvement

in money launderingr, the

customs officer said.

A case will be filed against

him at the Patenga police

station in this connection, he

added.

Ansar men

deployed to guard

Bangabandhu

mural near BNP

rally venue

BARISHAL : The local

administration has deployed

60 Ansar members to guard

the mural of Father of the

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman, installed at

Bangabandhu Udyan, near

the venue where BNP is

holding its Barishal divisional

rally yesterday, reports UNB.

The 60 Ansar members in

three shifts will perform their

duties. Already a barricade

has been erected surrounding

the mural and restriction was

also imposed on public

entrance from Thursday

evening.

Jashim Uddin, Platoon

commander of Ansar and

VDP, said as per the directives

of the deputy commissioner

they are guarding the mural.

BNP is holding its fifth

divisional rally at

Bangabandhu Udyan in

Barishal today.

Several thousand leaders

and activists of BNP and its

associate bodies from

different districts under the

divisions are in the city to join

the rally.

RAB-7 arrested a youth named Alamgir Hossain Hridoy (28) with two weapons in Chattogram's

Banshkhali. The arrested accused is the son of Mofizul Ahmed of the Upazila. Photo: Shibbir Ahmed Rana

IGP promises stern action against

anyone breaking the law

DHAKA : Inspector General of Police

(IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-

Mamun on Saturday served a stern

warning against anyone tries to

deteriorate the law-and-order

situation.

"Police have been dealing with any

crime including militancy, terrorism

and drugs with a 'zero tolerance'

policy. If anyone tries to worsen the

law-and-order situation, appropriate

action will be taken against him," he

said.

The IGP came up with remarks

while talking to reporters in Sylhet on

Saturday.

In response to a question from the

journalists, the IGP said that the

police have an obligation to perform

their duties as per the instructions of

the Election Commission during the

election period. "During the election,

the police will perform their duties

according to the rules and regulations

of the Election Commission," he said.

In response to another question

regarding drugs, the IGP said that

drugs are a social problem. Police

operations against drugs are

continuing. Most of the detainees in

the jail are on drug charges. He hoped

that, with the joint efforts of all, the

drug problem would be solved.

On problems faced by expatriates,

the IGP noted that remittances are

earned by the country through

expatriates. A desk has already been

set up in the Police headquarters for

the welfare of the expatriates, with

hotline numbers which remain open

round the clock.

"We have been giving assistance to

Police arrested four drug dealers with 24 pieces of ampoules and 700 grams of

cannabis in Bogura's Adamdighi. On Saturday, a case was filed against them

under the Narcotics Act and sent to the court. Photo: Saif Hasan Khan

Pelosi makes first public remarks

since husband's assault

SAN FRANSISCO : House

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in her

first public appearance since the

brutal attack on her husband,

rallied grassroots activists

Friday, saying the midterm

elections for control of Congress

are a fight for democracy and

"very winnable."

"People say to me, 'What can I

do to make you feel better?' I

say: 'Vote!'" Pelosi told those on

the call.

"I believe that this race is very

winnable," Pelosi said.

Her voice cracked at times as

she said of her husband's

recovery, "It's going to be a long

haul."

Pelosi thanked those on a

video call for the outpouring of

support for Paul Pelosi, 82, who

suffered a fractured skull and

other injuries after an intruder

broke into their San Francisco

home late last week and

bludgeoned him with a

hammer in what authorities say

was an intentional and political

attack.

The Democratic leader spoke

in the early morning from

California, where her husband

was released from the hospital

late Thursday, her voice

breaking throughout the

lengthy but upbeat address.

"What we are doing is not

only to win an election, but this

is to strengthen our

democracy," Pelosi said. "There

is no question that our

democracy is on the ballot."

The speaker's comments

come as Democrats are facing a

stiff fight for control of Congress

in the midterm elections

Tuesday, as energized

Republicans are working to flip

the House and Senate and end

Democratic hold on

Washington.

David DePape, 42, is being

held without bail on state

charges of attempted murder,

burglary and elder abuse.

DePape's public defender,

Adam Lipson.

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Powerball prize up to

$1.5 billion, 3rd-largest

ever in US

DES MOINES : The bad news

is that no one won

Wednesday night's huge $1.2

billion Powerball jackpot.

The good news is that

means the prize has grown

even larger to $1.5 billion

ahead of the next drawing

Saturday night. That is the

third-largest lottery prize in

U.S. history.

The numbers drawn

Wednesday night were: 2, 11,

22, 35, 60 and the red

powerball 23.

No one has won the top

Powerball prize since Aug. 3,

making for 39 consecutive

drawings without anyone

matching all six numbers.

What's behind three

months of lottery futility? It's

simple math.

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expatriates when they contact us with

any problem. Besides, the relatives of

the expatriates are also provided with

services even if they contact through

the National Emergency Service

number 999," the IGP said.

Later IGP sat in a special welfare

meeting with the members of Sylhet

Range, Sylhet District Police, Sylhet

Metropolitan Police and all the police

units based in Sylhet as the chief

guest.

Meanwhile, the IGP also

inaugurated the third and fourth

floors of the Sylhet Divisional Police

Hospital building and Shaheed Police

Inspector Chowdhury Mohammad

Abu Kaichar BPM building.

He planted saplings of Krishna

Chura and Satkara trees in Sylhet

Police Lines.

GD-1779/22 (10x4)

Caritas transplant 4.33

lakh tree saplings in

Rajshahi barind

RAJSHAHI: Rajshahi Regional office of

Caritas Bangladesh has, so far, transplanted

around 4.33 lakh saplings of fruit and forest

trees side by side with various other works of

improving living and livelihood conditions of

people in the region, including its vast Barind

tract, reports BSS.

The transplanted trees have already started

contributing a lot towards reducing carbon

emission at a substantial level and that is very

important to face the adverse impacts of

climate change in the Barind tract.

These were revealed in the opening

ceremony of a daylong golden jubilee

celebration arranged at the regional office

premises in the city today.

The celebration also showcased various

types of development and promotional

activities which are being implemented for

welfare of the target groups of people,

particularly the marginalized and ethnic

minority people.

Fazley Hossain Badsha, MP, attended and

addressed the ceremony as chief guest, while

Bishop Gervas Rosario spoke as guest of

honour with Devid Hembrom, Regional

Director of Caritas Bangladesh, in the chair.

Reverent Fathers Farandi Marandi and

William Mormu also spoke as special guests.

In his remarks, lawmaker Badsha said the

caritas has been working for expanding

standard and life skill development education

side by side with substantial and sustainable

development of agriculture, food and

nutrition.

It has also been implementing various other

activities, including aid to the distressed

people, education stipend, distribution of

domestic animals, high yielding crop

promotion and tree plantation, for uplifting

the grassroots farmers during the last 50 years.

He also urged the organization to extend the

promotional activities more so that the

marginalized farmers can uplift them after

deriving total benefits of those.

The meeting inform that 27,265 people

were given life-skill development education

through 779 learning centres for adult people,

while 17,107 other children through 316

schools.

Besides, 8,365 schools dropped out youths,

widow and divorcee were imparted technical

and vocational education and 5,526 of them

got employment.

Apart from this, 1,780 street children, 1,422

elderly people, 444 drug-addicts and 1.056

people with special needs were rehabilitated

with need-based training and support.

Discussion on 'Bangladesh

Constitution' held at DU

DHAKA : A discussion on 'Bangladesh

Constitution' was held yesterday on Dhaka

University campus marking the 50 years of

adopting the constitution of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust

and Banglar Pathshala Foundation jointly

organised the discussion at Dhaka University's

RC Majumder Auditorium.

Advocate of the Supreme Court Dr Kazi

Jahed Iqbal and Ahmed Javed of DU

Economics department presented two

separate key note speech in the discussion

which was held in three segments including a

panel discussion.

Retired justice of Bangladesh Supreme

Court Justice Krishna Debnath presided over

the 1st session of the discussion while Justice

Naima Haider chaired the panel discussion.

Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Advisor

Dr Mashiur Rahman, Supreme Court

Advocate Dr Shahdeen Malik, Editor of Daily

Ittefaq Tasmima Hossain, IID CEO Syeed

Ahamed and Advocate Sara Hosain, among

others, addressed the discussion.

1936 05

SUNDAY, NovEMBER 6, 2022

3

Successful cooperatives imperative

to eradicate curse of poverty

RAJSHAHI : Successful cooperatives

can be the best way of improving living

and livelihood conditions of people

everywhere in the society both in urban

and rural areas.

Utmost emphasis should be given on

infusing dynamism into the cooperative

activities as it's very much effective

towards freeing the nation from the

curse of poverty and hunger.

Administrative officials and others

concerned came up with the

observation while addressing a postrally

discussion yesterday calling for

finding effective ways and means to

attain strength and prosperity in every

sphere of national life and for making

the cooperatives movement a total

success.

Divisional and district

administrations and Department of

Cooperatives jointly organised the

discussion at Shilpakala Academy

Auditorium in the city to mark the 51st

DU suspends student for

'harassing' female private

university student

DHAKA : Dhaka University authorities have

suspended a student, also an activist of

Bangladesh Chhatra League, allegedly for

harassing a female student on Tuesday in front

of Raju sculptor memorial on the university

campus.

The suspended student is Najmul Alam, a

residential student of Masterda Surja Sen Hall

and postgraduate student of Institute of Social

Welfare and Research of Dhaka University. He

is also an activist of Master Da Surja Sen hall

Chhatra League.

"Najmul has been suspended for his

misbehaviour with a student of a private

university on the night of November 1," said a

DU press release.

He has been asked to respond within next

seven days explaining why he should not be

expelled from university.

The student allegedly slapped and harassed

a girl, who is a law student of Brac University,

on the campus during the early hours on

Tuesday.

But the DU student contradicted and

accused the girl of assaulting him.

Najmul said the girl was filming floating

people who were asleep on footpath.

He said that he stopped along with a friend

as he was returning on a bike to the university

dormitory when he saw the girl and her

friends.

He said he asked why the girl and her friends

National Cooperatives Day-2022.

The theme of the day this year is

'Philosophy of Bangabandhu,

Development in Cooperatives'.

Commissioner of Rajshahi division

GSM Zafarullah addressed the

discussion as chief guest, while Deputy

Commissioner Abdul Jalil was in the

chair.

Additional Deputy Inspector General

of Police Rashdul Hassan and

Additional Commissioner of Rajshahi

Metropolitan Police Bijoy Basak spoke

as special guests, while Joint-registrar

of the department of cooperatives

Abdul Mazid welcomed the

participants.

District Cooperatives Officer Saidur

Rahman and two cooperative leaders

Mijanur Rahman and Ayesha Islam

also spoke.

Commissioner Zafarullah stressed the

need for strengthening the cooperatives

movement everywhere in the society,

were filming the floating people without their

permission.

An altercation broke out, prompting the girl

to slap Najmul, he said. Najmul also retaliated

and slapped the girl back.

In a video posted online it was seen that the

girl using abusive words and slapping the boy.

According to an audio recorded by a witness

some details have come out.

"After my birthday celebration, I was

standing in front of the sculpture with my

friends and taking pictures. At that time two

boys stopped their bike and started

questioning us using bad words against me.

They teased me and slapped me when I

protested," the girl was heard in the audio.

Najmul told UNB that the girl also used

abusive words when he questioned their

presence on the campus during early hours on

Tuesday.

He said they were filming the people who

were asleep on the footpaths and attires of the

floating people were not in order.

"When I asked why the girl was taking

pictures of the people without their consent,

she said her father has the ability to buy the

entire DU campus multiple times," he added.

"When I took my mobile phone to record her

abusive words, she again insulted me," he said.

"At one point she slapped me, and I slapped

her in return," he said. The girl filed a

complaint with the Proctor's office on Tuesday.

mentioning that cooperatives can play a

big role in the country's development.

He added that if the cooperatives'

movement can be carried out properly,

then the country will develop faster to

materialise the spirit of the War of

Liberation and ensure social security.

The chief guest also emphasized the

importance of training youths to be

good human resources to potentially

end unemployment in the region.

He, however, said rural people have

started reaping enormous benefits from

cooperative activities to enhance

productivity in every sector to cut

poverty and achieve self-reliance.

On the occasion, some of the

cooperative men and women were

given prizes for their laudable

contribution in the field of promoting

cooperatives.

The discussion was followed by

cultural functions performed by local

artists.

Ansar men deployed

to guard

Bangabandhu mural

near BNP rally venue

BARISHAL : The local

administration has deployed

60 Ansar members to guard

the mural of Father of the

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman, installed at

Bangabandhu Udyan, near

the venue where BNP is

holding its Barishal divisional

rally yesterday.

The 60 Ansar members in

three shifts will perform their

duties. Already a barricade

has been erected surrounding

the mural and restriction was

also imposed on public

entrance from Thursday

evening.

Jashim Uddin, Platoon

commander of Ansar and

VDP, said as per the directives

of the deputy commissioner

they are guarding the mural.

BNP is holding its fifth

divisional rally at

Bangabandhu Udyan in

Barishal yesterday.

Several thousand leaders

and activists of BNP and its

associate bodies from

different districts under the

divisions are in the city to join

the rally.

Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque addressing a meeting at Madhupur upazila parishad

auditorium on the occasion of National Cooperatives Day.

Photo : PID

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud addressing the at the debut program

newly elected members of Bangladesh Cine-Journalist Association.

Photo : PID

Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka and Bangladesh Law Association organized a day-long 'Law

Carrier Festival' at the faculty premises yesterday.

Photo : Courtesy

Dr. Nehreen Majed, Associate Professor of Asia Pacific University along with the participants of

'Agile Education Framework' organized by Human Resource Development Institute (HRDI) of

Daffodil International University in collaboration with Agile in Education, USA. Photo : Courtesy

Bangladesh Embassy in

Washington DC observes

'National Constitution Day'

WASHINGTON : The Bangladesh

Embassy in Washington DC on Friday

observed 'National Constitution Day' in a

befitting manner.

On this day in 1972, the Constitution of the

People's Republic of Bangladesh was

adopted by the Constituent Assembly of

Bangladesh, and it came into effect on

December 16 in the same year.

The Embassy arranged a program at the

Bangabandhu auditorium in the afternoon

to commemorate the historic day.

The program began with placing of floral

wreaths at the bust of Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by

Bangladesh ambassador to the United

States Muhammad Imran. Officials and

employees of the embassy were present at

that time.

Then the messages from the President and

the Prime Minister were read out by

Minister (Consular) Mohammad Habibur

Rahman and Counsellor (Political-III)

Shamima Yeasmin Smrite.

30th central

council of

BCL on Dec 3

DHAKA : The 30th central

council of Bangladesh

Chhatra League, the

students' wing of the ruling

Awami League, will be held

on December 3.

The decision was taken at

a meeting of Awami

League's

Local

Government Public

Representative

Nomination Board with its

President and Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina in

the chair.

Awami League joint

general secretary AFM

Bahauddin Nasim

disclosed the information

to journalists.

National council of

Bangladesh Awami Mohila

League will be held on

November 26 while Jubo

Mohila League's national

council on December 9.

Later, a discussion session was held

highlighting the significance of the day.

Taking part in the discussion, Ambassador

Muhammad Imran described 'National

Constitution Day' as a historic day for the

Bengali nation and highlighted its

importance.

He paid tributes to Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and

said the greatest Bangalee of all time

presented the long-awaited Constitution to

the newly-independent nation within only 11

months of independence.

Ambassador Imran urged all to work

unitedly under the leadership of Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina to build a hungerand-poverty-free

developed and prosperous

Bangladesh being imbued with the spirit of

the great War of Liberation and the ideology

of Bangabandhu.

Minister (Economic) Md. Mahadee

Hassan also took part in the discussion,

while Counsellor Mohammad

Moniruzzaman conducted the programme.

Bangladesh reports zero

Covid-19 death for two

consecutive days

DHAKA : Bangladesh on

Saturday recorded zero

Covid-19 death for

consecutive days while it

reported 37 coronavirus

positive cases.

"Bangladesh reported 1.96

percent Covid-19 positive

cases as 1,892 samples were

tested during the last 24

hours," a daily statement of

the Directorate General of

Health Services (DGHS)

said.

In the past 24 hours, the

combined figure of

coronavirus infection in

Dhaka district and the

capital is 30 while zero

Covid-19 death was reported

during the period.

The official tally showed

that the virus killed a total of

29,425 people and infected

20,35,782 so far, the

statement added.

The recovery count rose to

19,82,312 after another 198

patients were discharged

from the dedicated hospitals

during the last 24 hours.

From the beginning of the

pandemic, 97.37 percent

Covid-19 patients recovered

among the infected people

while 1.45 percent died, the

DGHS statistics showed.

Among the 29,425

fatalities, 12,943 occurred in

Dhaka, 5,902 in

Chattogram, 2,160 in

Rajshahi, 3,735 in Khulna,

993 in Barishal, 1,354 in

Sylhet, 1,429 in Rangpur

and 909 in Mymensingh

divisions.

Workshop on

'Agile Education

Framework' held

at DIU

Daffodil International

University (DIU) organized a

special workshop entitled

'Agile Education Framework'

for teachers to conduct

classes in an agile learning

environment for students.

Human Resource

Development Institute

(HRDI) of the university

organized this special

workshop in collaboration

with Agile in Education USA.

The workshop was

conducted by Dr. Nehreen

Majed, Associate Professor of

Asia Pacific University, a

press release said.

HRDI organizes regular

teacher training for DIU

teachers to ensure quality

education for the next

generation; which helps to

harmonize the current

education system and the

students. Bringing the

learning medium to life

increases the motivation for

students to learn and

changes the culture of

learning. Organizers believe

that improving classroom

teaching methods and

creating a psychologically

happy learning environment

for students will

revolutionize our current

education system. That's why

the 'Agile Framework' expert

and trainer Dr. Nehreen

Majed was invited to conduct

this special workshop.

Dr. Nehreen gave a clear

idea about how and in what

manner the classroom can be

managed by changing our

traditional teaching

methods. The 2 hours of

workshop highlights the

various aspects of serving

students in other cultures

and advanced systems of the

world, not limited to the

classroom.

Heads of departments,

professors and other

teachers of various

departments of the

university also participated

in this workshop

spontaneously. They

themselves expressed their

interest in making the

students humane and

efficient manpower by using

this educational method.

SUNdAy, NOvEMbER 6, 2022

4

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Sunday, November 6, 2022

For sustainable

building of coastal

embankments

S

peakers

at a online discussion last year demanded an

immediate allocation of Tk 400 crore to build and repair

coastal embankments damaged by cyclones. They also asked

the government to ensure Tk12,000 crore in allocations each fiscal

year to build and maintain sustainable embankments in coastal

areas. The online discussion titled "Save Embankments and Save

Economic Activity of Coastal People Through National Budget

2020-21" was jointly organised by Coast Trust - a nongovernmental

organisation - and Campaign for Sustainable Rural

Livelihood - a national network of individuals, organisations and

institutions. Chairman of Polli Karma Sohayak Foundation Qazi

Kholiquzzaman presided over the function while Rezaul Karim

Chowdhury, executive director of Coast Trust, moderated it.

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of Standing Committee on

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, noted

economist Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman, lawmaker Akhtaruzzaman

Babu, and Dhaka University Professor Dr Mahbuba Nasrin spoke,

among others, at the occasion.

Qazi Kholiquzzaman said a special budgetary allocation is a must

to recover the losses of the coastal people. Otherwise, many will lose

their employment and the areas will become prone to endemic

poverty. An immediate survey should be conducted in this regard,

he added. He also recommended that the government prioritise the

construction of coastal embankments led by local government

bodies. How relevant these recommendations have been are amply

seen from the latest ruinous impact of the latest cyclone Iash in our

coastal areas.

According to Coast Trust research, about 150 kilometres of

Bangladesh's 5,757 kilometres of coastal embankments were

affected by super cyclone Amphan . The latest cyclone Sitrang only

added to the devastations. Saber Hossain Chowdhury said in that

discussion that the Water Development Board should work in

cooperation with local bodies to face any natural disaster.

Simultaneously, transparency should be ensured and a long-term

plan is appreciated in this respect, he added.

Dr Mahbuba Nasrin emphasised the importance of planting

trees in and outside embankments to protect them against natural

disasters. Chairman of Koyra sadar union of Khulna Md Humayun

Kabir said no new embankments have been built in the union

recently. The existing embankments are poorly repaired every year

and the area is at-risk during each natural disaster. Some ring

embankments have been built with the help of local people but they

are not strong enough, he added.

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said the government needs to follow

the Sri Lankan model, i.e, coastal afforestation on both sides of

embankments. This could be beneficial for both embankments

plus riverine and brackish water fisheries resources. Hashem

Mohajon, chairman of Char Kukri Mukri union in Char Fasson

upazila under Bhola, said the budget for building embankments

should be open. Additionally, more allocations are needed to build

a sustainable embankment.

Bhavotosh Mondol, chairman of a union of Shyamnagar upazila

in Satkhira, said the Water Development Board builds namesake

embankments. They seem not to be responsible to anyone.

Lawmaker Akhtaruzzaman Babu said there is no study on our

embankments. A technical study is a must for sustainable

embankments across Bangladesh.

The speakers also demanded local governments be given the

mandate and budget for embankment construction and

maintenance - while the Water Development Board will provide

design, monitoring and technical support. The army should be

deployed immediately to reconstruct the embankments in worstaffected

areas . Additionally, plans should be made to construct

embankments on remote islands where poor people live and are

exposed to disasters, they said.

We believe there is merit in the call of the experts urging the

government to protect the vast multitude of people living in coastal

areas by providing regular budgetary allocation for embankment

under the local government. The experts, participating in a virtual

conference also called upon the government to allocate at least Tk

12,000 crore per year for embankment construction, repair and

maintenance.

Every year there is accretion of sediments adding to our land

mass in the delta region. And demographic pressure compels

people to seek newer pastures here. Coastal areas are susceptible to

cyclones and surges that wreak severe damage to both land and

homestead. Cyclones cause major damage to the coastal

embankment washing away parts and inflicting cracks or breaches

in many other points through which sea water enter inside the

embankment, inundating dwellings of thousands of people.

It is not that the government is not alive to the problem. It has

several coastal embankment projects under various

nomenclatures. There was the Coastal Embankment Project (CEP)

implemented during the 1960s and early 1970. And following the

two severe cyclones, SIDR and AILA, that hit the coastal zone with

devastating effect, the Coastal Embankment Improvement Project,

and under it various other schemes, were formulated with

international financing.

But the problem is that the long network of embankments,

running into hundreds of miles, seldom stands a storm surge fully.

The standard of work and of course poor quality of construction

materials combine to render these protection measures brittle.

There is need to construct newer embankments every year, apart

from regular and durable repair and maintenance.

Storms and storm surges are things we have to live with. The

problem has been compounded even more by the climate change

phenomenon which lays the vast swathe of the coast vulnerable to

submersion permanently. And these embankments suffer damage

not only due to natural causes but by human activity also.

We believe that there is logic in the suggestion that the allocation

be made to the local government. That would make repair work

easier to manage and oversee, and the reaction to damage can be

quicker than what we have seen in the recent past. The post-

Amphan scenario and now the post Sitrang one are cases in point.

Coastal embankments require regular repair and maintenance,

and thus incremental funding, under this head specifically. To this

need should be there high priority action starting from the

upcoming budget of 2022-23.

Myanmar military junta's 'Nuclear capability dream'

brings disaster in South and Southeast Asia

Since the coup in 2021, some regions of the

country, mainly the Northwest and

Southeast, have sunk into turmoil, turning

Myanmar into a war zone. The world has been

shocked by the military junta's airstrikes, like the

one on a school in Depayin Township on

September 16 that killed 7 innocent

schoolchildren. On the grounds that the school

is a bastion of the resistance, the military has

imprisoned the attack survivors. According to

accounts, almost 2,000 individuals, regardless

of age, gender, or disability, who had been

accused of affiliation to pro-democracy parties,

have perished in battles and other deadly

incidents since the military takeover.

An estimated 20,000 public buildings,

including housing, temples, and schools, have

been destroyed. Unfortunately, because exact

figures are difficult to verify, these data

significantly underestimate the level of violence

and destruction. Nevertheless, this aids in

comprehending the country's ongoing

humanitarian crisis and the danger it poses to

the regional order.

The UN requested that countries stop selling

weaponry to Myanmar in order to decrease the

damage that violence was causing to the

country and the wider region; however, this plea

went unanswered. China and Russia, who have

continued to provide the majority of Myanmar's

weapons, ammo, and planes after the coup, are

the country's two main arms suppliers by far.

Myanmar has signed an agreement with Russia

for the cooperation in atomic energy, further

solidifying their relationship.

The military's long-held desire to possess

nuclear energy to produce electricity, as they

have asserted, will hopefully be realized by this

agreement. It will also be utilized for medical

and scientific research. Analysts have expressed

fear that the military may utilize it to develop

nuclear weapons, though. If this worry proves to

be accurate, it could lead to significant problems

on a global scale. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation

Treaty (NPT), a binding international

agreement that completely outlaws nuclear

weapons, should be recognized as Myanmar is a

signatory.

According to a documentary made in June by

an opposition group, Myanmar (Burma) has

begun taking first measures toward building

nuclear weapons. Sai Thein Win, a former

Representatives of more than 190

countries (including 100 heads of state)

are descending on Sharm El Sheikh this

weekend for the UN's COP27 climate

conference. But progress since last year's

breakthrough agreements at COP26 in Glasgow

has been painfully slow.

The United Nations Environment Program's

recent Emissions Gap Report paints a sobering

picture, reporting that only 0.5 billion metric

tons have been cut from the 17-billion-ton

annual carbon-dioxide deficit that must be

closed by 2030 if we are to limit global warming

to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.

As global economies look to accelerate their

rollout of electric vehicles and low-carbon

infrastructure, senior figures from both

industry and governments have voiced

concerns that resource shortfalls could hinder

KAMAl UddIN MAZUMdER

officer in the Myanmar army, provided

information for the documentary by the

Democratic Voice of Burma. Win claimed to be

the deputy manager of specialized machine tool

firms involved in the production of ballistic

missiles and nuclear weapons in Myanmar.

After a sequence of interactions that

increased under the current junta and its

military predecessor, Russia assisted the

Southeast Asian nation's two-decade-long road

toward nuclear capability.

Many believe this is the first step in a plan to

use nuclear energy for military objectives,

including the production of nuclear weapons,

despite the present regime's insistence that it

will be used for peaceful purposes in Myanmar,

which has been plagued by persistent electricity

shortages.

The country also signed the Nuclear Weapons

Treaty in 2018, but has not yet ratified it. Given

the Junta's recent contempt for international

law, it is difficult to predict whether or not they

will continue to uphold these treaties.

The junta's long-term pursuit of nuclear

weapons is highlighted by a deal struck by the

military administration in Myanmar and the

state-owned nuclear energy business of Russia to

jointly assess the construction of a small reactor in

the Southeast Asian nation, analysts said.

The junta's long-term pursuit of nuclear

weapons is highlighted by a deal struck by the

military administration in Myanmar and the

state-owned nuclear energy business of Russia to

jointly assess the construction of a small reactor in

the Southeast Asian nation, analysts said.

The "roadmap for cooperation upon its own

citizn" was signed by Myo Thein Kyaw, the

regime's minister of science and technology,

Thuang Han, the minister of electricity, and

Alexey Likhachev, the head of Russia's State

Atomic Energy Corporation, while they were all

in Vladivostok for the Eastern Economic Forum

from September 5 to 8. Senior Gen. Min Aung

Hlaing, the head of the Junta, oversaw the

contract's signature.

The "roadmap for cooperation upon its own

citizn" was signed by Myo Thein Kyaw, the

regime's minister of science and technology,

Thuang Han, the minister of electricity, and

Alexey Likhachev, the head of Russia's State

Atomic Energy Corporation, while they were all

The UN requested that countries stop selling weaponry to Myanmar in

order to decrease the damage that violence was causing to the country and

the wider region; however, this plea went unanswered. China and Russia,

who have continued to provide the majority of Myanmar's weapons,

ammo, and planes after the coup, are the country's two main arms

suppliers by far. Myanmar has signed an agreement with Russia for the

cooperation in atomic energy, further solidifying their relationship.

the green transition.

One metal that will be crucial in this respect is

copper. Its high conductivity makes it the

optimal choice for the wiring, foil, and cables

inside electrical systems. No feasible substitutes

currently exist, so the production of copper will

need to increase drastically to supply this

transition from a carbon-intensive energy

system to a mineral-intensive one.

Eighty percent of copper's uses are linked to

its property as a conductor, so it follows that the

push to electrify our lifestyle will also lead to a

surge in the demand for copper.

Indeed, a study by S&P Global finds that by

2050, "transition-related applications are

expected to boost overall copper demand to

about 50 million metric tons from the current

25 million." Global sales of electric vehicles

(EVs) have already grown threefold in the last

SINEM CENGIZ

THEO NORMANTON

in Vladivostok for the Eastern Economic Forum

from September 5 to 8. Senior Gen. Min Aung

Hlaing, the head of the Junta, oversaw the

contract's signature.

The regional forums haven't done much to

curb the ongoing violence, much to the dismay

of many. The current state of affairs necessitates

the creation of fresh strategies that will more

successfully contribute to taming the chaos that

could further destabilize the area.

The neighboring countries that share a border

with Myanmar are unhappy with the current

state of affairs for two reasons: first, the

encroachment of air space, as the Junta's

constant airstrikes and the firing of shells into

their territory have injured a few Thai and

Bangladeshi citizens in addition to destroying

property, and they have filed a complaint

against these incidents.

While the latter confirmed that numerous

mortar shells had been fired into Bangladeshi

territory, the Junta attempted to shift the blame

from itself to insurgent organizations. However,

the Bangladeshi government emphasized that

Myanmar was in charge of limiting violence

COP, copper, and the green transition

three years. By 2025, they are expected to

account for roughly a quarter of the global car

market. This type of vehicle can use more than

three times as much copper as a car with an

internal-combustion engine.

Renewable energy installations are even more

copper-intensive. An offshore wind farm uses

around five times the amount of copper per

megawatt needed for hydrocarbon-fueled power

plants. Solar facilities, meanwhile, require more

than twice as much copper as conventional power

plants. The significance of this fact will not be lost

on the European Union legislators who have

decided to bring forward the target of doubling

European solar capacity from 2030 to 2025. The

race to secure copper is on.

All of these factors are likely to lead to a

historic copper deficit as consumption spikes. If

supply continues at the pace of current recycling

within its borders. For the security of

neighboring nations, the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs reaffirmed its "zero tolerance stance" on

terrorism.

Similar challenges are being faced by the Thai

side as well. SAC fighter jets reportedly crossed

three 5-kilometer lines into Thai land in July

2022, according to Thai residents. The peasants

living on the Thai side of the river felt panic and

insecurity as a result of this. The invasion of

fighter jets and weaponry from Myanmar into

Thai territory was reportedly met with reports

of visibly irate Thai soldiers, but the Thai

government has opted to downplay the incident

because Myanmar has now apologized.

If Myanmar persists in pursuing its longcherished

nuclear goals, Southeast Asia will

always be at risk. The military regime would

undoubtedly deploy the weaponry against

insurgents and numerous ethnic rivals. Not

only that, but the Myanmar junta's idiocy would

make the entire Southeast Asian region

unstable and violent. The aggressiveness of

Myanmar would be increasing daily. The best

illustration of this is the recent escalation of

border tensions between Bangladesh and

Myanmar. The military in Myanmar is so

ruthless and vicious that it has been attacking its

own citizens with airstrikes. As a result, the

military of Myanmar poses a greater threat

from nuclear weapons than North Korea itself.

The Protocol to the SEANWFZ Treaty is

violated by Myanmar's behavior. Regardless of

the reality, it is a fact that nuclear Myanmar isn't

inthe interests of China, India, or any of the

neighboring nations. Another nuclear power close

to their border is unaffordable. Other nations in

the region would undoubtedly feel unsafe. In the

long run, a direct nuclear threat from Myanmar

would destabilize the entire area. There must be

an arms race in the area if nuclear deterrence is

effective. All regional participants would feel

uneasy as a result of Myanmar's risky ambition.

The West should work with all the neighboring

nations and ASEAN to put pressure on Myanmar

to abandon its plans to develop nuclear weapons.

They must adopt similar measures to those taken

in the Iran case, North Korean case, or else the

world would face another nuclear menace.

The writer is Researcher and Security

Analyst Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Climate change: conflict multiplier or diplomacy trigger?

For the next two years, two countries in the

Middle East and North Africa region will

host the annual UN climate change

conferences. Egypt will host COP27 this month

and the UAE is due to host COP28 next

November. The world's most prominent

climate change summits will allow countries in

the region to highlight their climate challenges,

shed light on the importance of multilateralism

to restore the MENA ecosystem, and focus on

the geopolitical factors related to climate

diplomacy.

This is not the first time that MENA

countries have hosted the climate change

conferences. Previous annual forums were

held in Morocco in 2001 and 2016, and in

Qatar in 2012. However, no serious action

has been taken since then regarding climaterelated

problems. This is due to several

factors, including a lack of serious awareness

among people in the region about the severity

of the issue; lack of a proper scientific

research relevant to this region; lack of

seriousness among governments downplaying

the effects of climate change; and, most

importantly, a lack of cooperation among

countries in the region when it comes to solving

their common and most dangerous future

problems: climate-related migration, and food

and water scarcity.

Despite the fact that MENA is vulnerable to

drought, flood, fire, food and water insecurity,

this region has been a relatively small actor at

the global climate change diplomacy table.

However, as threats to food, water and health

become a part of national security, countries in

the region have started to place climate change

at the center of their policy implementations

and take a more active role in the global arena in

regards to climate diplomacy.

In particular, the consequences of Russia's

invasion of Ukraine on food and energy security

has exacerbated the importance of multilateral

cooperation on climate-related problems.

Shocks to the global food supply chain caused

by the Russia-Ukraine war have again

highlighted the MENA region's food-security

challenges, as well as the importance of food

security.

The MENA region has struggled with water

challenges and extreme temperatures for

years. Growing population and conflicts have

turned the spotlight on these challenges with

greater urgency. Aisha Al-Sarihi, a Gulf

scholar specializing in climate change-related

problems, argues that the Arab uprisings that

swept the MENA region were linked to

climate change. She believes that protests in

Tunisia in 2011 were the result of drought

that affected food prices and led to conflict.

Thus, she links climate change to the national

security and stability of states, suggesting

governments integrate climate change into

their policy implementation strategies.

As threats to food, water and health become a

part of national security, countries in the region

have started to place climate change at the

center of their policy implementations

Climate-related problems, such as water

scarcity, have also been a source of conflict

between neighboring countries in the region,

including Turkiye, Iran, Iraq and Syria, which

Turkiye also faces challenges in management and development of

water resources, while working on maintaining water quality, and

is expected to become a water-stressed country by 2030. Population

growth and economic development are the two most serious

challenges in regards to water, energy and food security.

view the issue from a national security

perspective. Transboundary water plays a

critical role in sustainable development of these

countries and, thus, induces huge potential

risks and benefits associated with development.

Iraq is the most vulnerable of these countries

to the effects of climate change, including water

and food insecurity. Iraq may be oil rich, but it

is plagued by poverty after decades of war. The

same applies to Syria. Falling water levels in the

Tigris and Euphrates rivers are a huge concern

for Syria and Iraq, which are both engulfed by

instability with no end in sight.

Turkiye also faces challenges in management

and development of water resources, while

working on maintaining water quality, and is

expected to become a water-stressed country by

2030. Population growth and economic

development are the two most serious

challenges in regards to water, energy and food

security.

In the past, the transboundary water issue has

even brought Turkiye and its neighbors to the

brink of crisis, yet there is still no mutual

understanding on this issue. These countries

are now at the brink of climate disaster. Mutual

cooperation is no longer a matter of bargaining,

but a necessity for survival. Scarcity of water and

food is a serious threat to national security, as

much as conventional threats. In recent years,

several agreements on climate change have

been inked among countries in the region, such

as the UAE, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, which

are also committed to reaching net-zero

emissions in the next 25 to 40 years.

Therefore, Egypt's hosting of COP27 this year

comes at a critical juncture. It not only shifts the

center of gravity in climate diplomacy to the

MENA region, but also offers countries in this

region the chance to play key roles in climate

change adaptation and mitigation. It will also

allow countries such as Turkiye, Iraq and Iran to

focus more on their common climate-related

problems and turn the water issue from a

source of tension to a tool of cooperation.

Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in

Turkiye's relations with the Middle East. Twitter: @SinemCngz

and exploration projects, this demand simply

cannot not be met.

As things stand, the market output of copper

is around 25 million metric tons a year.

Consultancy Wood Mackenzie recently

published a report forecasting that 9.7 million

tons of extra annual supply will be needed over

the next decade from projects that have not yet

been approved (this amount is equal to almost a

third of current refined-copper consumption).

"The outcome of our end-use modeling

reveals that the likelihood of delivering the

copper required to meet future demand shifts

from challenging in our base case to improbable

in our AET-1.5 (accelerated energy transition)

scenario," the Wood Mackenzie report finds. "In

AET-1.5, low-carbon copper demand over the

next 20 years would be equivalent to 60% of the

current market size."

sunDAy, novembeR 6, 2022

5

Celsius Network: cCrypto firm revealsposts

$1.2b deficit in bankruptcy filing

Rob DAvies

The cryptocurrency

platform Celsius Network

was left with a $1.2bn (£1bn)

deficit after suffering from a

digital version of an oldfashioned

"run on the bank",

according to its bankruptcy

filing in the US.

Blaming a combination of

its own poor decisions, a

global "cryptopocalypse"

and unfavourable media

coverage, the company filed

for Chapter 11 - a US process

that allows companies to

trade while restructuring

their finances.

Celsius froze customer

funds last month as

investors raced to withdraw

their assets, amid a crash

that saw the value of

cryptocurrencies tumble

worldwide.

The filing revealed that the

company has $4.3bn of

assets, set against liabilities

of $5.5bn, of which $4.7bn is

owed to its users, who

numbered 1.7 million as of

this month.

In a 61-page document, its

chief executive, Alex

Mashinsky, admitted the

company had "made what,

in hindsight, proved to be

certain poor asset

deployment decisions".

These included giving

35,000 of the digital

currency Ether to a company

called StakeHound, which

then lost them due to an

alleged error by a third

company storing the assets,

Fireblocks. StakeHound last

month issued a suit in Tel

Aviv against the Israel-based

firm for negligence, which

Fireblocks denies.

Celsius also borrowed

from a private lender

between 2019 and 2021,

only to find when it tried to

repay the money that the

lender was unable to return

the collateral that Celsius

had put up to secure the

funds.

The cryptocurrency

platform, which was valued

at $3bn at one point last

year, is owed $439m by the

lender, $361m of it in cash

and the remainder in

bitcoin.

Weakened by missteps

such as these, Celsius said it

had been putting plans in

place earlier this year that it

believed would have

"succeeded in the near

future" if the market had not

tanked.

Instead, it says in the

filing, it was tipped over the

edge by a global

"cryptopocalypse" as the

value of digital assets

crumbled in response to

"unanticipated" events such

as Covid-19 and the war in

Ukraine.

The resulting "crypto

winter" led to high-profile

casualties in the sector, such

as the collapse of so-called

"stablecoin" terra, Celsius

said, fuelling a broader selloff.

As panicked investors

rushed to withdraw their

funds, the company said it

was hit by an "unexpected

and rapid 'run on the bank'".

The effect was exacerbated,

it claimed, by "misleading"

statements in social and

traditional media.

Celsius said that filing for

Chapter 11 would "provide a

breathing spell for the

debtors to negotiate and

implement a plan that will

maximise the value of its

business and generate

meaningful recoveries to our

stakeholders as quickly as

possible."

Mashinsky indicated that

its recovery plan could

involve using bitcoin

generated by its crypto

mining operation to plug the

shortfall in its crypto assets.

celsius network has $4.3bn of assets, set against liabilities of $5.5bn. Photograph: Rafael

henrique/soPA images/ReX/shutterstock

Buying a smartphone for cheap

sAmuel gibbs

Prices for the same model

regularly fluctuate between

retailers.

While

manufacturers typically only

sell their phones at the

recommended retail price,

third-party retailers can

discount them depending on

stock levels and age, so shop

around and check multiple

price comparison tools such

as Google Shopping, Kelkoo,

PriceRunner or Price Spy.

Beware of deals that look

particularly cheap as they may

not be UK models or not sold

from the UK, which can have

an impact on the warranty or

after-sales support.

Paying for a phone upfront

usually works out the

cheapest way of owning it over

the long term, but not always.

Just-released models may be

cheaper if bought on a

contract with a phone

operator, particularly if it is

running a deal or if it includes

other services, such as Spotify

or Netflix, at a discount.

It is worth doing the

calculations based on the total

cost over the length of the plan

versus the cost of the phone

outright plus that of an

equivalent, cheaper sim-only

deal. Bear in mind that if you

break the phone you will still

be paying for it every month

until your contract ends.

Buying a phone at the right

time of the year can mean big

savings. Bargains can usually

be had in the traditional sales

such as Black Friday,

Christmas and Boxing Day,

around Easter and during the

back to school period in the

run-up to September.

But

individual

manufacturers also discount

their smartphones at different

times depending on their

yearly release cycles of new

devices. Some manufacturers,

including Samsung and

Google, offer discounts and

free gifts with very early

preorders for their new

phones before release, which

can be worthwhile.

Samsung typically releases

its top-of-the-range S-series

smartphones in January,

which are then discounted in

summer sales. Apple's

iPhones are rarely deeply

discounted but tend to be

cheapest in August in the runup

to the release of a new

version in September, with

savings of up to £150

depending on the model,

according to data from the

price-tracking site

CamelCamelCamel.

Trading in your old phone is

an excellent way of recouping

some of its value or getting a

discount on a new model.

Apple and Samsung offer up

to £470 off their new phones

and Google up to £676

depending on the model,

brand and condition of the

phone you trade in.

Alternatively, you can sell

your phone to a refurbisher

for cash. There are a number

of retailers that buy old tech

including phones on the high

street and online, including

CeX, MusicMagpie,

Envirofone and many others.

Mobile operators including

EE, Giffgaff, O2, Three,

Vodafone and others also buy

used phones, as do Carphone

Warehouse and other phone

retailers.

Comparison sites can help

you find the best price. They

include SellMyMobile,

Compare and Recycle and

Compare My Mobile. And as

with buying a new phone,

timing matters for trade-in if

you want to maximise your

return.

"We are predicting that

across the iPhone 13 and

iPhone 12 range the price will

depreciate by about 22%

between now and the launch

of a new model in October

Apple's iPhone se (2022) is particularly good value, offering the firm's top

chip, 5g and more than six years of software support. Photo: samuel gibbs

2022," says Denise Timmis,

the brand manager for

Envirofone. "That means

trade-in values up to £157 less

for the iPhone 13 Pro Max and

up to £125 for iPhone 12 Pro."

If your phone is in good

condition and you are

prepared to do a bit of work,

you could get more money

selling it privately on eBay or

other marketplaces. Check

recently sold prices on the

sites to see how much similar

phones are going for.

This isn't just better for the

planet, it can be great for your

wallet, too. Recent data from

Giffgaff showed that you can

save about 50kg of carbon and

£200 on average by buying

refurbished compared with

new. While the biggest

bargains can be had on older

devices, top recent models can

frequently be found

refurbished from both

manufacturers and third

parties after about six months

from release. They typically

cost £50-100 less than RRP.

"At a time when lots of

people are really feeling the

rising cost of living,

refurbished devices can be a

great option," says Ash

Schofield, the Giffgaff chief

executive. "You still get that

new phone feeling, without

breaking the bank. Our

research shows that while a

number of people see refurb

tech as a viable option, quite a

few are still missing out on the

savings."

There are plenty of places to

buy refurbished models.

Those straight from the

manufacturer are often the

best being fully reconditioned

to as-new standards, but most

phone or tech shops, mobile

operators and specialist

refurbishers sell models in

varying conditions and prices

from nearly new to worn but

still functional.

The newest models are the

most expensive, so buying a

phone a year or two old, either

new or refurbished can save

your a packet - but only if you

choose the right model.

A phone screen displays the Twitter logo

Twitter experiences longest

global outage in years

AleX heRn

Twitter experienced one of

the site's longest outages for

years, with the social network

completely unavailable to

users around the globe on

web and mobile for almost an

hour.

According

to

Downdetector.co.uk, which

tracks site outages, the service

became unavailable at

12:55pm UK time, and stayed

off for 45 minutes. The site

appears to have failed

globally, with outages

reported in the UK, US and

Europe.

Technology DesK

A massive leak of

confidential internal

documents about Uber has

cast new light on the

strategies the cab-hailing

company took to reach the

top of its game. Goodbye

"fake it till you make it",

hello "break it till you make

it" - the rules, the law, and

anything else that stands in

your way.

There is an awful lot here.

There's political wheeling

and dealing, of course: Peter

Mandelson helped Uber

reach the Russian elite;

Emmanuel Macron, theneconomy

minister, helped

with the French. The former

EU digital chief helped with

the Dutch. Documents also

suggest that George

Osborne, meanwhile, "was a

private supporter of the US

company's efforts to grow its

business in the UK, just as

the

company

simultaneously positioned

itself to avoid future UK

taxes."

While it was buddying up

with politicians, the

company was also building

infrastructure to avoid the

legal ramifications of its

launches - which often came

several years before the

company would eventually

be permitted to operate. A

"kill switch", built into its

systems, let the company

lock out local offices from its

corporate network,

preventing secrets being

seized in police raids.

And there's also the fallout

of its aggressive tactics. As

protests against Uber raged

around the world, the

company's own drivers were

put in harms' way: one

report, during aggressive

protests in western Europe,

put the number of injured

drivers at 18 in a day, with

"three relatively serious

cases involving taxi violence

including one badly

damaged car and two

beaten-up drivers". The

response of co-founder and

then-chief executive, Travis

Kalanick, is "startlingly

frank", write the Guardian's

Felicity Lawrence and Jon

Henley, and focused on the

company's battle with the

French government: "'If we

have 50,000 riders they

won't and can't do anything,'

he wrote. 'I think it's worth

it. Violence guarantee[s]

success. And these guys

The outage was the longest

and most severe in years.

Although Twitter was

notorious for collapsing

under heavy load in its early

days, with older users fondly

recalling the "fail whale" error

message that appeared when

the service was over capacity,

it has not had a multi-hour

outage since 2016, when it

was unaccessible for two and

a half hours.

Since then, the site's

importance to global politics

and culture has grown, and a

long-lasting outage could

even have had a material

effect on the Conservative

must be resisted, no? Agreed

that right place and time

must be thought out.'"

Kalanick's spokesperson

"questioned the authenticity

of some documents", the

reporters say, and that

Kalanick "never suggested

that Uber should take

advantage of violence at the

expense of driver safety" and

any suggestion that he was

involved in such activity

would be completely false.

Uber's response has been

to shift as much of the blame

as possible on to Kalanick,

who left the company under

a cloud in 2017. "Five years

ago, those mistakes

culminated in one of the

most infamous reckonings

in the history of corporate

America. That reckoning led

to an enormous amount of

public scrutiny, a number of

high-profile lawsuits,

multiple government

investigations, and the

termination of several senior

executives," the company

said in a statement. "It's also

exactly why Uber hired a

new CEO, Dara

Khosrowshahi, who was

tasked with transforming

every aspect of how Uber

operates."

To call the 2017 removal of

Kalanick a reckoning serves

to obscure the fact that Uber

has never really had to look

head-on at the tactics that

earned it its place in the

world. As tech analyst

Benedict Evans put it:

"Uber's public, avowed

strategy was to launch where

party's leadership election,

where runners and riders

have been trading barbs since

Boris Johnson announced his

resignation last week.

Unlike other major recent

outages, the problem was

limited to Twitter itself, and

no major infrastructural layer

of the internet seems to have

been affected. Last year, an

outage at "content

distribution network" Fastly

took down a broad swathe of

the internet, including the

Guardian, for almost an hour.

That was triggered, Fastly

said, by a single user updating

their settings, triggering a

the service was [more or

less] illegal and bully

politicians into approving it,

rather than lobbying first, on

the theory that lobbying

wold [sic] fail unless you'd

already shown people the

service."

The fall of Theranos

prompted hand-wringing

about the tech industry's

tendency to fake it til you

make it. Where is the line

between making bold

promises and misleading

investors? The legal saga

that followed the collapse of

that biotech company has

revealed that the answer is,

at least, "somewhere before

'running labs filled with fake

machines that don't work'".

But if Theranos had actually

invented the machines it

said it was working on, then

the early years would have

been written off as mere

stumbles, not as fraud.

But the fall of the old Uber

did little to halt the rise of

the company, and didn't

prompt the same

questioning about whether

"break it till you make it" was

itself a questionable

approach. Just like

Theranos, the company isn't

alone in taking that

approach. If the rules stop

your company from

growing, complying with

them is only one option:

another option is break

them, then grow so fast that

when the punishment does

come, it's trivial compared to

the advantage you gained.

Uber's defence was always

Photo: olivier Douliery

cascading error that

ultimately shutdown 85% of

the sites that rely on its

infrastructure to stay online.

Twitter declined to

comment on the outage, but

pointed the Guardian to a

tweet which reads: "Some of

you are having issues

accessing Twitter and we're

working to get it back up and

running for everyone. Thanks

for sticking with us."

On the site's own status

dashboard, the social network

and all related services were

wrongly marked as

"operational" throughout the

outage.

TechScape: Uber's easy ride is over

Where is the line between making bold promises and misleading

investors?

Photo: Andrew Kelly

that, even if it was breaking

the rules, the rules were

wrong. Taxi legislation was

built for a different age, the

company would argue in

cities around the world, and

needed to be rewritten to

allow for nimble firms like

itself. But Kalanick's insight

was that the argument was

much more likely to succeed

if the nimble firm was

already popular and widely

used, rather than a simple

paper-lobbying procedure.

And so the tactic was born:

enter a market, grow

rapidly, then fight to

retroactively legalise your

business.

There were more

conventional aggressive

business practices

alongside: in October 2014,

for example, the business

was subsidising driver wages

in Berlin by almost five

times as much as customers

were paying. "Uber burned

through cash to 'buy

revenue', in the phrase of the

presentation. At the same

meeting a senior manager

gave a talk about 'burning

the burn' - that is, cutting

subsidies." Buying revenue

wasn't just about securing

repeat customers who would

stick with the company even

as price slowly rose; it was

also about buying passionate

users who would write to

local politicians to campaign

for continued access to their

cheap taxis, even while the

company was making plans

to remove the subsidy.

SUNDAy, NOvEMBER 6, 2022

6

A colorful rally and discussion meeting was held on the occasion of the 51st National Cooperative

Day in Rangunia on Saturday.

Photo: Jaglul Huda

National Cooperative Day

observed in Rangunia

Jaglul Huda, Rangunia

Correspondent : A colorful rally

and discussion meeting was held on

the occasion of the 51st National

Cooperative Day celebration jointly

organized by Rangunia Upazila

Administration and Cooperative

Department of Chattogram. On

Saturday morning, the rally started

from the premises of the Upazila

Parishad and ended by circling

3,400 yaba

tablets seized in

C'nawabganj

CHAPAINAWABGANJ:

Members of Border Guard

Bangladesh (BGB) seized

3,400 pieces of contraband

yaba tablet from Shibganj

upazila frontier area of the

district early yesterday

morning, reports BSS.

On a tip-off, a BGB patrol

team from Sonamasjid

Border outpost conducted a

raid in Pirojpur frontier area

of the upazila around 1.00

am and recovered the yaba

tablets in an abandoned

condition, BGB sources said.

Inaugural class of

novice rovers held at

Pabna Edward College

Abdul Hamid Khan,

Pabna Correspondent :

Inaugural class of Rover

Scouts from Government

Edward College was held

with great enthusiasm.

Edward College Principal

Professor Dr. Humayun

Kabir Majumdar was the

chief guest at the inaugural

class of newly admitted

Rover Companions for the

academic year 2021-2022 at

the Edward College Rover

Scout Den on 1st November.

Editor of College Rover

Professor Belal Hossain

presided over the occasion

where Edward College

Teacher Council Editor Dr.

Md. Aminul Haque, Head of

Department of Sociology Dr.

Shaukat Ali Khan, District

Commissioner Md. Ashraf

Ali, General Editor of

Bangladesh Poribesh

Andolon (BAPA) Pabna

District

Branch,

Distinguished Journalist -

Columnist Abdul Hamid

Khan, RSL Md Nurul Alam,

RSL Mahfuzul Bari, RSL

Asmaul Husna were present

as special guests. RSL Md

Robiul Karim, physical

education teacher of Edward

College, conducted the

program as a whole.

In the speech of the chief

guest, the president of

Pabna Rover Scout Group

and the principal of Edward

College, Professor Dr.

Humayun Kabir Majumdar

said, those who are rover

scouts are the golden

soldiers of the future. Rovers

will make the people as

efficient as they will be the

leaders of the society and the

country through the work.

The chief guest mentioned

that the trained force was an

alternative to build

Bangabandhu's

Bangla.

Sonar

various roads. Later, Upazila Nirbahi

Officer (UNO) Ataul Gani Osmani

presided over the meeting held at

Upazila Auditorium. Upazila

Parishad chairman Swajan Kumar

Talukder was the chief guest. Upazila

Cooperative Officer Dibakar Das

Manna gave a welcome speech.

Upazila Agriculture Extension

Officer Ruhul Amin, Social Service

Officer Muhammad Hasan, Rural

Electricity DGM Jewel Das,

Journalist Masud Nasir, Dreamland

Cooperative Society President Jishu

Prasad Chowdhury, Begum

Fazilatunnesa Mujib Women

Cooperative Society Vice President

Meenakshi Barua and others spoke at

the occasion. At the end, the leaders

of the successful co-operative

societies were presented with a

memento.

Jashore's Cyber Crime Investigation Cell (CCIC) has recovered 40 lost

mobile phones, TK 1.5 lakh from mobile apps Nagad and Bkash and 6

hacked Facebook IDs.

Photo: Shahid Joy

Jashore CCIC recovers

phones, money

Shahid Joy, Jashore Correspondent:

Jashore's Cyber Crime Investigation Cell

(CCIC) has recovered 40 lost mobile phones,

TK 1.5 lakh from mobile apps Nagad and

Bkash and 6 hacked Facebook IDs. Besides,

6 missing persons have been rescued. This

morning, the mobile phone recovered from

the real owner has been returned. Cell Head

Additional Superintendent of Police B Circle

Mukit Sarkar handed over these in the police

office conference room.

Since last year, the cell started working on

social media to prevent harassment of

women in cyberspace including various

misleading posts, comments, image

uploads, rumours, Bkash cheating. If a

woman is a victim of fraud or harassment in

cyberspace, in this case even the name and

address of the complainant are kept

anonymous during investigation. They also

started providing assistance to victims by

recovering Social media hacked IDs. The

victim of the missing GD root has been

recovered in various police stations of the

district and handed over to the family

through the police of the concerned police

stations.

Investigation Cell Head Additional

Superintendent of Police Mukit Sarkar said

that if any woman is a victim of fraud or

harassment in cyberspace, they should

report it. The purpose of this cell is to

provide legal assistance to organized crime

on social media and to make the general

public more aware of its use. At the same

time their works include identifying the

culprits and bringing them under the law.

The cell has already started showing success

in tactical investigations and operations.

The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the

police has started working on the basis of

case complaints and general diaries.

Inaugural class of Rover Scouts from Government Edward College was

held with great enthusiasm.

Photo: Abdul Hamid Khan

Two killed in

Gopalganj

road accident

GOPALGANJ: Two

persons were killed in a road

accident on the Dhaka-

Khulna highway in

Paikkandi Fakirpara area

under Sadar upazila of the

district last evening, reports

BSS.

The deceased were

identified as Niamul Haque

Sikdar, 28, son of Nurul

Haque Sikder, resident of

Khatiagarh village in Sadar

upazila and his brother-inlaw

Mostain Mollah, 17, son

of Amjad Ali Mollah,

resident of Mathla village in

Sadar upazila.

Mostain Mollah was a

student of class ten at

Mathla High School.

Police and locals said that

Niamul Haque Sikdar was

going to Mathla village from

Khatiagarh on a motorcycle

with his brother-in-law

Mostain, on the way a

Khulna-bound passenger

bus of 'Falguni Paribahan'

from Dhaka hit them

coming from the opposite

direction in the area around

6.30pm, leaving them dead

on the spot. Sub-inspector

(SI) Sirajul Islam of

Bhatiapara Highway Police

in Kashiani confirmed it.

Police recovered the

bodies from the spot and

handed over to their family

members, added the SI.

Youth held with

2.51 lakh Dirhams

at Ctg airport

CHATTOGRAM : The

Customs Intelligence in

association with the

National Security

Intelligence (NSI) detained a

Sharjah-bound young

passenger with foreign

currency worth about

2,51,790 Dirhams at Shah

Amanat International

Airport here yesterday

morning, reports BSS.

The value of the said

amount of Dirham is worth

about Taka 73,15,179,

sources said.

The detained passenger

was identified as

Mohammad Ali, 31, hailed

from Chadaha union of

Afzalnagar village under

Satkania upazila of the

district.

A team of the Customs

Intelligence in cooperation

with the NSI conducted a

drive at the airport at

6.30am and recovered

2,51,790 Dirhams from a

Sharjah-bound passenger

Mohammad Ali, a passenger

of Flight Air Arabia, who

hide the foreign currency in

his shoulder bag.

Besides, a total of six

mobile phone sets were also

recovered from the detained

out going passenger. This

passenger made a total of six

international trips through

this airport within in this

year.

Housewife

stabbed, burnt to

death in Narail

NARAIL: A 22-year-old

housewife was stabbed and

burnt to death by her

husband over his

extramarital relationships in

Narail Sadar on Friday,

reports UNB.

The deceased is Achhiya

Begum, 22, wife of Rony

Sheikh, 26, of Saratala

village under Sadar upazila

of the district.

Police and locals said Rony

got married to Achhiya

around four years back with

consent of family but later he

maintained extramarital

relationships with other

girls.

The couple having a minor

son used to quarrel with

each other over the issue

often, they said.

Similarly on Friday noon,

an argument broke out

between them over the issue

and Rony stabbed her with

sharp weapons and left the

house after setting her on

fire.Noticing smoke from the

house, neighbours rushed to

the house and found her

dead and burnt.

Bangladesh Udichi

Shilpigosthi celebrates

its 54th anniversary

Anwar Hossain, Nabinagar Correspondent

: The 54th anniversary of

Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigosthi was celebrated

in Nabinagar Upazila of Brahmanbaria.

On Saturday in Nabinagar Upazila Press

Club Auditorium under the chairmanship of

Upazila Udichi Shilpigosthi President Head

Teacher Azaharul Islam and management of

General Secretary Journalist Sanjay Saha, the

headmaster of Ibrahimpur High School Zakir

Hossain, Upazila JaSod Convener Safiqul

Islam, Communist Party President Md Ishaq,

Upazila Udichi Shilpigosthi Senior Vice President

and Head Teacher Amirul Islam,

Konikara High School Assistant Headmaster

Shiv Shankar Chakraborty, Upazila Udichi

Shilpigosthi Vice President Rakib Uddin

Nayan, Assistant General Secretary and

Nabinagar Women's College Assistant Professor

Anjan Nag, Journalist Shyama Prasad

Chakraborty, Upazila Udichi Shilpigosthi

Treasurer Nabinagar Ichchamayi Pilot Girls

High School Teacher Swarasathi Barman,

Cultural Editor Vocalist Ajay Mukharjee,

Member Titon Das, vocalist Madhav Dev,

cultural personality Sirajul Islam, journalist

and painter Sanjay Sheel gave a speech at the

discussion meeting.

At this time, the speakers highlighted the

contribution of Udichi's cultural workers in

the battlefield of 1971 and in the construction

of non-communal Bangladesh. The speakers

also expressed hope that the activities of the

Udichi Shilpigosthi will continue for the

rights of the exploited people against

exploitation and capitalism.

In the event, the 54th foundation anniversary

cake was cut in the presence of artists,

artisans, civil society and organization members

of Udichi Shilpigosthi.

The 54th anniversary of Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigosthi was celebrated in

Nabinagar Upazila of Brahmanbaria.

Photo: Anwar Hossain

DAB provides free medical

care in Barishal

Zihad Rana, Barishal Correspondent:

People are being given free medicine from a

camp of BNP doctors' organization DAB,

next to the Bells Park rally. In addition, DAB

leaders said that all types of primary treatment

are available.

In charge of the camp, DAB's central committee's

campaign secretary Dr. Md. Rakibuzzaman

said that many people have been

staying at the gathering place for the past few

days. Many of them have died due to lack of

water. Many of them suffer from gastric

problems.

Many people have sore throats from chanting.

Many people got foot pain after walking

from far away to reach the gathering place.

Besides, many people are tired in intense

heat. All kinds of medicines are being given

to them. Besides, he said that there is a first

aid system for any kind of injury or attack.

People are being given free medicine from a camp of BNP doctors' organization

DAB.

Photo: Zihad Rana

51st National Cooperative Day

observed in Netrakona

NETRAKONA : The 51st National

Cooperative Day-2022 was observed here

today in a befitting manner, reports BSS.


'Philosophy of Bangabandhu, development in

cooperatives'.

To mark the day, Netrakona district

administration and district cooperative

department jointly brought out a colorful

rally in the district town here in the morning.

A large number of people including

government officials, public representatives

and members of different cooperative

societies and organizations attended the rally

which, after parading different roads of the

town, ended in front of the local Public Hall.

A discussion meeting was also held at the

Public Hall under the auspices of the district

administration and district cooperative

department.

Netrakona Deputy Commissioner (DC)

Anjana Khan Mojlish addressed the meeting

as chief guest while Deputy Director of Local

Government Department Zia Ahmed Sumon

was in the chair.

The meeting was addressed, among

others, by police super Netrakona

Mohammad Foyaz Ahmed, mayor of

Netrakona municipality Nazrul Islam Khan,

additional deputy commissioner (general)

Monir Hussain, upazila nirbahi officer

(UNO) of Netrakona sader upazila

Mahmuda Akter and valiant freedom fighter

Nurul Amin.

DC Anjana Khan Mojlish said the

cooperative activities can play an important

role in steering the nation towards progress

and prosperity.

"So, all of us should make concerted efforts

to strengthen the cooperative movement

everywhere in society for building up the

country as a developed 'Sonar Bangla' as

dreamt by father of the nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman" she said.

sUNDAY, NOvEMBER 6, 2022

7

Russian soldiers are forcing Ukrainian civilians from their apartments in the occupied capital of the Kherson region and moving

in themselves, a resident said Friday as the southern city became a growing focus of war in Ukraine. Photo : Internet

Russian soldiers enter Kherson

homes, dig in for urban war

KYIV, UKRAINE : Russian soldiers are

forcing Ukrainian civilians from their

apartments in the occupied capital of

the Kherson region and moving in

themselves, a resident said Friday as

the southern city became a growing

focus of war in Ukraine.

His account of soldiers spreading

throughout the city of Kherson

suggested that Russia could be

preparing for intense urban warfare in

anticipation of Ukrainian advances.

Russia-installed authorities in

Kherson continued to urge civilians to

leave the city, which lies on the western

bank of the Dnieper River and has been

cut off from supplies and food by

Ukrainian bombardment.

Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of

the region's Kremlin-appointed

administration, reiterated calls for

civilians to depart for the other bank of

the river. Stremousov said Thursday

that Russian forces might soon

withdraw from Kherson city. On

Friday, he said the statement was

merely an attempt to encourage

evacuations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr

Zelenskyy has suggested the Russians

were feigning a pullout from Kherson

in order to lure the Ukrainian army into

an entrenched battle. Zelenskyy called

attempts to convince civilians to move

Iran admits

sending Russia

drones

TEHRAN : Iran admitted for

the first time on Saturday

that it has sent drones to

Russia, but insisted they

were supplied to its ally

before the Russian invasion

of Ukraine.

"We supplied Russia with

a limited number of drones

months before the war in

Ukraine," Foreign Minister

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

said, quoted by the official

news agency IRNA.

Ukraine and its Western

allies have accused Russia of

using Iranian-made drones

in recent weeks to carry out

attacks in Ukraine. Tehran

has repeatedly denied these

claims.

Iran has repeatedly denied

that it has been supplying

arms to Russia for use in the

Ukraine war.

"In a telephone

conversation with the

Ukrainian foreign minister

last week, we agreed that if

there was evidence (of

Moscow's use of Iranian

drones), he would provide it

to us," Amir-Abdollahian

said.

"If the Ukrainian side

keeps its promise, we can

discuss this issue in the

coming days and we will

take into account their

evidence," he added.

The Iranian foreign

minister again denied his

country had supplied

missiles to Russia, calling

the accusations "completely

false".

deeper into Russian-controlled

territory "theater."

A Kherson resident told The

Associated Press that Russian soldiers

were installing themselves in vacated

apartments. Russian military

personnel were going door to door,

checking property deeds and forcing

tenants to leave immediately if they

can't prove ownership of apartments,

he said.

"They're forcing city residents to

evacuate, and then Russian soldiers

move into freed-up apartments across

all of Kherson," the resident, who spoke

on condition that only his first name -

Konstantin - was used for security

reasons. "It is obvious that they are

preparing for fighting the Ukrainian

army in the city."

Hospitals and clinics were not serving

patients in Kherson, where residents

also reported problems with food

supplies.

"There are almost no deliveries of

food into the city, the residents are

using their own stocks and are queuing

to the few shops that are still open,"

Konstantin said.

Ukrainian military analyst Oleh

Zhdanov told the AP that as part of its

counteroffensive to reclaim the

Kherson region, the Ukrainian army

cut off the western bank of the Dnieper

from supplies of weapons and food by

shelling main transportation routes

and ruining bridges across the river.

"The Russians understand the

danger of transport routes being

blocked and have practically put up

with the fact that they will have to

retreat from the right bank of the

Dnieper," Zhdanov said. "But the

Russian troops are not prepared to

leave Kherson peacefully and are

preparing for battles within the city.

They're deploying the mobilized

reservists there and new tactical

battalion groups."

According to Zhdanov, the Ukrainian

army has a significant advantage over

the Russians in aviation and artillery on

the right bank, which means that they

could shell the city of Kherson and

avoid a head-on clash.

"Kyiv is taking its time because the

Russian resources in Kherson are

evaporating, and they're getting weaker

by the day, which allows the Ukrainians

to accumulate forces for the main

strike," Zhdanov said.

Russian forces seized Kherson city

soon after invading Ukraine in late

February. Russia illegally annexed the

Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and

Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine in late

September and subsequently declared

martial law in the four provinces.

A close ally of former President Donald Trump who has said he was present

as Trump declassified broad categories of materials has appeared

before a federal grand jury after being given immunity for his testimony,

according to a person familiar with the matter.

Photo : Internet

AP source: Trump ally appears

before Mar-a-Lago grand jury

WASHINGTON : A close ally of former

President Donald Trump who has said he

was present as Trump declassified broad

categories of materials has appeared before

a federal grand jury after being given

immunity for his testimony, according to a

person familiar with the matter.

Kash Patel testified Thursday after the

Justice Department granted him immunity

from prosecution and after a federal judge in

Washington entered a sealed order to that

effect.

He had invoked his Fifth Amendment

right against self-incrimination during an

earlier appearance before the grand jury,

but the Justice Department - in an apparent

acknowledgment of his importance as a

witness - later granted him a limited form of

immunity that protects him from having his

testimony used against him.

In a statement Friday issued through a

spokesperson, Patel made clear that his

appearance was not voluntary and denied

that he had reached any sort of immunity

"deal" with the Justice Department.

"Rather, his testimony was compelled

over his objection through the only legal

means available to the government - a grant

of limited immunity," the statement said.

It was not immediately clear Friday what

Patel told the grand jury.

The Justice Department is conducting a

criminal investigation into the discovery of

top-secret records seized in an FBI search of

Trump's Florida property, Mar-a-Lago, on

Aug. 8.

13 dead in cafe

fire in Russian

city of Kostroma

MOSCOW : Thirteen people

have been killed in a fire

pvernight at a cafe in the

Russian city of Kostroma,

local authorities said

Saturday, reports BSS.

"According to preliminary

information, 13 people fell

victim to the fire," local

governor Sergei Sitnikov

said on Telegram.

Russian news agencies

reported that 250 people

were evacuated from the

building when it caught fire

at night in the city around

300 kilometres (180 miles)

northeast of Moscow.

Sitnikov said that the blaze

at the cafe, called "Poligon",

was put out at around 07:30

am (0430 GMT).

At least five other people

were injured, he said, but

they did not need to be

hospitalised.

Local emergency services

said they received reports of

the fire at around 02:00 am,

and that the blaze had

spread out over 3,500

square meters.

K-pop band's Indonesia

concert halted after 30

faint in crush

SOUTH TANGERANG : K-

pop band NCT 127 was

forced to end their first

concert in Indonesia early

after 30 people fainted in a

crush, police said.

Indonesia is still reeling

after more than 130 people,

including over 40 children,

died in a stadium stampede

last month-one of the

deadliest disasters in

football history.

Police spokesperson

Endra Zulpan said late on

Friday that the concert near

the capital Jakarta had been

going for around two hours

when fans started surging

forward to get closer to the

stage.

"Because of it, 30 people

fainted. To prevent other

incidents, we decided to stop

the concert at 9.20 PM

(1420 GMT)," Zulpan said,

adding that the collapsed

fans had recovered.

Just before the crush, the

boyband had been handing

out freebies to fans, 19-yearold

concertgoer Syifa Aulia

told AFP.

She said fans in the back

had pushed toward the stage

until the barricade fences

collapsed.

"We are disappointed by

those fans. We were warned

to not push each other, even

by the NCT 127 members,

but they were so selfish. Just

for good footage, they

ignored other's safety," she

said.

Police have allowed the

second day of NCT 127's

concert to go ahead on

Saturday, but banned

distribution of goodies to

fans and required stricter

measures to separate fans

and performers.

Amidst recession fears, Biden

has to convince Americans job

gains mean better days ahead

WASHINGTON : President Joe Biden has

notched an envious record on jobs, with 10.3

million gained during his tenure. But voters in

Tuesday's midterm elections are far more

focused on inflation hovering near 40-year

highs.

That's left the president trying to convince

the public that the job gains mean better days

are ahead, even as fears of a recession build.

Presidents have long trusted that voters

would reward them for strong economic

growth, but inflation has thrown a monkey

wrench into the already difficult probability of

Democrats' retaining control of the House and

Senate.

Economic anxieties have compounded as

the Federal Reserve has repeatedly hiked its

benchmark interest rates to lower inflation and

possibly raise unemployment. Mortgage costs

have shot upwards, while the S and P 500 stock

index has dropped more than 20% so far this

year as the world braces for a possible

downturn.

Biden is asking voters to look beyond the

current financial pain, saying that what

matters are the job gains that he believes his

policies are fostering. The government

reported Friday that employers added 261,000

jobs in October as the unemployment rate

bumped up to 3.7%.

Roughly 740,000 manufacturing jobs have

been added since the start of Biden's

presidency, a figure that the president says will

keep rising because of his funding for

infrastructure projects, the production of

computer chips and the switch to clean energy

sources.

"America is reasserting itself - it's as simple

as that," Biden said in a Friday speech. "We

also know folks are still struggling with

inflation. It's our number one priority."

Yet the president is also warning that a

Republican majority in Congress could make

inflation worse by seeking to undo his

programs and treating payments on the

federal debt as a bargaining chip instead of an

obligation to honor.

Elon Musk arrives at Baron Investment Conference at the Metropolitan Opera

House, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, in New York. Employees are bracing for widespread

layoffs at Twitter as Musk overhauls the social platform. Photo : AP

Twitter slashes its staff

as Musk era takes hold

on platform

WASHINGTON : Twitter began widespread

layoffs Friday as new owner Elon Musk

overhauls the company, raising grave

concerns about chaos enveloping the social

media platform and its ability to fight

disinformation just days ahead of the U.S.

midterm elections.

The speed and size of the cuts also opened

Musk and Twitter to lawsuits. At least one

was filed alleging Twitter violated federal

law by not providing fired employees the

required notice.

The San Francisco-based company told

workers by email Thursday that they would

learn Friday if they had been laid off. About

half of the company's staff of 7,500 was let

go, Yoel Roth, Twitter's head of safety and

integrity, confirmed in a tweet.

Musk tweeted late Friday that there was

no choice but to cut the jobs "when the

company is losing over $4M/day." He did

not provide details on the daily losses at the

company and said employees who lost their

jobs were offered three months' pay as a

severance.

No other social media platform comes

close to Twitter as a place where public

agencies and other vital service providers -

election boards, police departments,

utilities, schools and news outlets - keep

people reliably informed. Many fear Musk's

layoffs will gut it and render it lawless.

Roth said the company's front-line

moderation staff was the group the least

impacted by the job cuts.

He added that Twitter's "efforts on

election integrity - including harmful

misinformation that can suppress the vote

and combatting state-backed information

His challenge is that the party in power

generally faces skeptical voters in U.S.

midterms and inflation looms over the public

mindset more than job growth.

"If you have a job, it's small comfort to know

that the job market is strong if at the same time

you feel like every paycheck is worth less and

less anyway," said pollster Kristen Soltis

Anderson. "Inflation is such political poison

because voters are reminded every day

whenever they spend money that it is a

problem we are experiencing."

As Biden tries to fend off fears that inflation

is causing the country to slide into a recession,

his chief evidence of the economy's resilience is

the continued job growth.

"As we see the economy as a whole, we do

not see it going into a recession," White House

press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told

reporters in anticipation of the latest jobs

report.

Going into the election, Biden and

Democrats are already at a disadvantage.

Voters generally favor the party out of the

White House in midterms, giving Republicans

an automatic leg up. When Yale University

economist Ray Fair looked at past elections, his

model forecast that Democrats would get just

46.4% of the national vote largely because

Biden was in the Oval Office.

Fair's analysis suggests that inflation

basically erased the political boost that

Democrats could have gotten from strong

economic growth during three quarters in

2021. Even if the economy is top of mind for

many voters, the conflicting forces of past

growth and high inflation cancel out each

other. This makes the Democrats' vote share

roughly the same as suggested by the historical

trend, Fair concluded.

But inflation compounds the obstacles for a

president who has tried to convey optimism as

he tours the country in the run-up to the

elections. Research in social psychology and

behavioral economics generally shows that

people often focus on the negatives and can

block out the positives.

operations - remain a top priority."

Musk, meanwhile, tweeted that "Twitter's

strong commitment to content moderation

remains absolutely unchanged."

But a Twitter employee who spoke with

The Associated Press Friday said it will be a

lot harder to get that work done starting

next week after losing so many colleagues.

"This will impact our ability to provide

support for elections, definitely," said the

employee who spoke on the condition of

anonymity out of concerns for job security.

The employee said there's no "concrete

sense of direction" except for what Musk

says publicly on Twitter.

"I follow his tweets and they affect how we

prioritize our work," the employee said. "It's

a very healthy indicator of what to

prioritize."

Several employees who tweeted about

losing their jobs said Twitter eliminated their

entire teams, including one focused on

human rights and global conflicts, another

checking Twitter's algorithms for bias in how

tweets get amplified, and an engineering

team devoted to making the social platform

more accessible for people with disabilities.

Eddie Perez, a Twitter civic integrity team

manager who quit in September, said he

fears the layoffs so close to the midterms

could allow disinformation to "spread like

wildfire" during the post-election votecounting

period in particular.

"I have a hard time believing that it

doesn't have a material impact on their

ability to manage the amount of

disinformation out there," he said, adding

that there simply may not be enough

employees to beat it back.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2022

8

Social Islami Bank opened eighteen new agent banking outlets through virtual platform on 03

November at its head office. Dr. Md. Mahbub Ul Alam, Chairman of SIBL, inaugurated the agent outlets

as the chief guest while Zafar Alam, Managing Director and CEO of the Bank, presided over the

program. Abu Reza Md. Yeahia, Additional Managing Director, delivered welcome speech at the

event. Md. Shamsul Hoque and Mohammad Forkanullah, Deputy Managing Directors, Kazi Obaidul

Al-Faruk, Head of HRD, Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Chief Remittance Officer, Md. Moniruzzaman,

Head of Marketing and Brand Communication, and Md. Mashiur Rahman, Head of Agent Banking,

were also present among others. Managers of different branches, Agents, and local dignitaries also

joined the program virtually.

Photo : Courtesy

Rainbow starts manufacturing Spray Paint for first time in Bangladesh

Rainbow Paints, popular paint

brand of RFL Group, has

introduced 'Spray Paint' to the

market. RN Paul, Managing

Director of RFL Group,

unveiled the spray paint,

produced for the first time in

Bangladesh, through a

programheld at RFL office in

Badda in the capital on

Saturday, a press release said.

Although there are many

uses of spray paint, imported

spray paint were used in

Bangladesh. Now, Rainbow

Paints is producing and

marketing spray paint in its

own factory. Rainbow Spray

Paint in 400 ml can are now

available across the country at a

maximum retail price of Tk 150

through Rainbow showrooms

and authorized dealers.

Addressing the occasion, RN

Paul said, "RFL Group always

gives importance to quality and

demand of consumers in

manufacturing products. We

have received good response

from the customers within

short period of time for

manufacturing products

maintaining international

standard. Our effort is

continued to provide highest

service to the customers

through introducing new

products. We hope our brand

will be established as a leading

paint brand in Bangladesh very

soon."

He also said, "Consumers can

US sees strong job gains

in October as wages

move higher

WASHINGTON : US job gains topped

expectations in October, according to official

data released Friday, as hiring remained

resilient and wages moved ever higher,

underscoring the challenges in lowering

rampant inflation.

The data comes days ahead of critical

midterm elections, where decades-high

inflation has propelled economic issues to

the top of voters' minds and President Joe

Biden faces a battle to avoid losing control of

both chambers of Congress.

The figures will provide little comfort to the

Federal Reserve, which has been battling to

cool the economy, as policymakers fear high

prices will become entrenched and rising pay

will create an upward spiral-inflicting more

harm on families and businesses.

American employers added 261,000

workers last month, far more than

economists had forecast, though the pace

was lower than the 315,000 increase in

September, which was revised much higher

than originally reported by the Labor

Department.

The jobless rate rose two-tenths to 3.7

percent, according to the closely-watched US

employment report.

Biden cheered the data which showed 10

million jobs have been created since he took

office in January 2020, but he recognized the

hardship Americans face due to higher

prices.

"Inflation is our top economic challenge...

The global inflation that is raging in other

countries is hitting us as well," Biden said in

a statement on Friday.

He said policymakers will "do what it takes

to bring inflation down."

Average hourly earnings for private sector

workers jumped another 12 cents or 0.4

percent last month, to $32.58, the report

said.

Wages have increased 4.7 percent over the

last 12 months as firms have had to compete

to find and retain workers in the tight labor

market.

That pace is slightly slower than in

September, which the Fed will welcome, but

many employees are pushing for increases to

avoid losing ground to elevated consumer

costs.

US markets rallied following the latest

data, which raised hopes of a soft landing for

the economy. Major indices closed higher on

Friday, despite the Fed's pledge that interest

rates will need to rise further to quell

inflation.

Oil-rich Saudi launches first

electric vehicle company

RIYADH : Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday

the launch of its first brand of electric vehicles,

part of a broader push to diversify the economy of

the world's biggest oil exporter.

The company, known as Ceer, "will contribute

to Saudi Arabia's efforts towards carbon

emissions reduction and driving sustainability to

address the impact of climate change," the official

Saudi Press Agency said. It is a partnership with

Foxconn, China's biggest private sector employer,

which "will develop the electrical architecture of

the vehicles", SPA said.

Ceer "will design, manufacture and sell a range

of vehicles for consumers in Saudi Arabia and the

MENA region, including sedans and sports utility

vehicles," it said, adding the company was

expected to create "30,000 direct and indirect

jobs". Ceer vehicles "are scheduled to be available

in 2025", SPA said. In April, Saudi Arabia

announced a deal with US-based Lucid Motors,

which is setting up a factory in the kingdom, to

purchase up to 100,000 electric vehicles over the

next decade. Like the Lucid deal, Ceer is backed

by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund chaired by

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose

Vision 2030 reform agenda depends on rapid

economic diversification. "Saudi Arabia is not just

building a new automotive brand, we are igniting

a new industry and an ecosystem that attracts

international and local investments, creates job

opportunities for local talent, enables the private

sector, and contributes to increasing Saudi

Arabia's GDP over the next decade," Prince

Mohammed said Thursday.

achieve maximum satisfaction

by using the new product of

Rainbow Paints. We have a

plan to export this product after

meeting demand in

Bangladesh."

Kamrul Hasan,Executive

Director of Rainbow Paints,

said, Rainbow Spray Paint is

acrylic based paint, which can

be used on many surfaces

including metal, wood, glass,

ceramics and plaster. The paint

dries quickly, is easy to use even

anyone can apply it to the

desired surfaces.

Saleh Ahammad

Chowdhury, General Manager

(Research and Development)

of Rainbow Paints, SohelRana,

Head of Operation, Shajahan

Sunny, Head of Sales and

Pranab Kumar, Head of

Marketing, among others, were

present on the occasion.

There are different categories

of paints are available in

Rainbow's product line

including decorative, floor

coating, marine, car, powder

coating, industrial and wood

coating. Customers can

purchase Rainbow Paints

across the country through 280

outlets and authorized dealers

across the country.

Thousands rally

in Spanish capital

for pay hikes as

costs soar

MADRID : Thousands of

people took to the streets of

Spain's capital on Thursday

to demand higher pay to

cope with soaring inflation

and energy costs.

Protestors waved red

union flags and banged

drums as they made their

way to the Spanish capital's

landmark Plaza Mayor

square behind a large banner

that read: "Salary or

Conflict".

Police estimate some

25,000 people took part in

the demonstration, which

was called by Spain's two

main unions, the CCOO and

UGT.

"Either there is a rise in

salaries or work conflicts will

increase exponentially in our

country over the next year,"

CCOO secretary general Unai

Sordo told reporters at the

protest.

Like other countries, Spain

has been struggling with

soaring inflation as a result of

the fallout from the war in

Ukraine and the reopening of

the economy after pandemicrelated

lockdowns.

Inflation in Spain peaked

this summer at 10.8 percent

in July, its highest level in 38

years, before moderately

slowing to 7.3 percent in

October-still well above

normal levels.

"Salaries are still super

low" while the cost of

"essentials" has soared,

Maria Luisa Ortega, a 57-

year-old service sector

worker, told AFP at the

protest.

She said salary raises must

match the rise in inflation.

The protest comes as

Spain's leftist government is

negotiating with unions and

business groups a new

increase in the minimum

wage, which is currently set

at 1,000 euros ($987) a

month.

RMG exports rise

in Oct despite

overall decline

DHAKA : The Export

Promotion Bureau (EPB) data

show that, despite an overall

drop in export earnings,

Bangladesh's apparel sector

recorded a 3.27 percent

increase in revenue in October

compared to the same month

of the previous year.

In October of the current

fiscal year, total export

revenues fell 7.85 percent to

$4.35 billion from $4.72

billion in the corresponding

month of the fiscal year (FY)

2021-22.

However, earnings from

apparel exports increased to

$3.67 billion from the $3.65

billion reported in October of

FY22.

According to EPB,

Bangladesh's apparel exports

during July-October of FY23

rose 10.55 percent year-onyear

to $13.95 billion. During

the same period last year,

RMG exports brought in

$12.62 billion for the country.

"Although readymade

garment shipments were

expected to drop in October,

this

encouraging

development is welcome,"

Mohiuddin Rubel, director of

the Bangladesh Garment

Manufacturers and Exporters

Association, said.

"However, as global retail

markets are struggling and

buyers are taking cautious

steps in placing new orders

and managing inventory, as

an entrepreneur in the

apparel sector I am not

optimistic about the trend of

work orders and the sector's

growth in the coming

months."

Bangladesh doesn't need to

borrow from IMF if

dignity is sacrificed: FBCCI

DHAKA : Federation of

Bangladesh Chamber of

Commerce and Industry

(FBCCI) President Md.

Jasim Uddin has said,

Bangladesh does not need to

borrow money from the

International Monetary

Fund (IMF) if the country's

dignity is sacrificed, reports

UNB.

He also opposed hiking

the current lending interest

rate.

Jasim said this while

speaking at 'ERF's Dialogue'

as the chief guest, organized

by Economic Reporters'

Forum (ERF), at its

auditorium in Dhaka on

Saturday.

"Bangladesh is not in such

a dire situation that loan

must be taken under any

condition from IMF. Hiking

lending interest rate will

drive up production costs as

well as become a burden for

consumers," he added.

Jasim said businesses do

not believe that all problems

will be solved through hiking

interest rate. He, however,

favoured increasing the

capacity of banks.

"When the interest rates

were reduced, a lot of

investors invest here...

research firms have different

agenda for raising lending

rates... whether the industry

will survive the impact is

what needs to be

considered," he said.

In response to a question

about money laundering

during the election year, he

said, since Bangladesh Bank

says that they have found

proof of up to 200 percent

excess prices under the guise

of imports, they should

bring those involved under

the law. If not, you need to

stop making tall claims just

for popularity's sake, he said.

He said those who launder

money

through

manipulating invoices

should be caught, and that

FBCCI wants the

government to take

disciplinary action in this

regard.

In response to a question

on the Prime Minister's

statement regarding a

possible impending famine,

Jasim said if there is a

famine, it will impact the

whole world, not just

Bangladesh.

"We need to maintain

austerity. Apart from this,

we must work on the

agriculture sector." He

added.

He also emphasized on

uninterrupted power and

energy supply to industries

and favoured cutting

household gas supply for the

greater interest of the

nation.

ONE Bank Limited recently signed an agreement with SSL Wireless (Software Shop Limited) for

introducing Virtual Debit Card in OK Wallet platform for the first time in the country. Through

this agreement, OK Wallet customers will be issued a UnionPay Virtual Debit Card to avail debit

card features. Md. Monzur Mofiz, Managing Director of ONE Bank Limited and Ahmed Kamal

Khan Chowdhury, Group Advisor of SSL Wireless signed the agreement on behalf of their

respective organizations. Masud Raihan, Country Director, UnionPay along with the high officials

of the both organizations were also present.

Photo : Courtesy

Standard Chartered’s Digital Trade Counter wins

‘Digital Experience of the Year : Banking’

Standard Chartered's Digital

Trade Counter (DTC)

recently won the title of

"Digital Experience of the

Year - Banking" at the Asian

Experience Awards 2022.

Launched in 2021, the Bank's

Digital Trade Counter

became the first solution of

its kind in Bangladesh.

Through the Digital Trade

Counter, clients are

empowered to upload and

track documents and trade

financing applications at any

time and from anywhere, a

press release said.

Standard Chartered's


exemplifies the Bank's

commitment to creating a

best-in-class digital banking

experience for clients and

stakeholders. As an online

drop-off solution, available

on Straight2Bank

NextGen,the DTC serves

tosimplify the document

submission and status

tracking process for both

local and international

businesses. Operating on a

single online platform,

Standard Chartered's


significantly improves upon

a client's trade document

submission experience, and

in doing so allows new and

existing clients to manage

all their trade application

needs with greater ease,

efficiency, security, and

transparency. The removal

of time intensive manual

processes promotes digital

adoption while making all

associated processes more

sustainable.

Naser Ezaz Bijoy, Chief

Executive Officer, Standard

Charted Bangladesh, said,

"Technology and digital

platforms are increasingly

enabling us to transcend

traditional

borders,connecting trade

corridors with seamless flows

and greater transparency -

resulting in an elevated

experience for all of our

valued clients. Solutions like

Standard Chartered's Digital

Trade Counter are yet

another step in our mission

to help create a more digital,

low-carbon, and innovationdriven

economy. We are

grateful to our clients,

regulators, and other

stakeholder for making this

accomplishment possible."

With over 117 years of

uninterrupted presence in

the nation, Standard

Chartered is the only

multinational universal bank

in Bangladesh. The Bank is a

committed partner in

progress to Bangladesh,

facilitating

major

investments in power,

Italy raises public

deficit forecast for

2023: govt source

MILAN : Italian far-right

Prime Minister Giorgia

Meloni on Friday raised next

year's public deficit forecast in

order to pour money into

measures to support families

and businesses, a government

source said.

Like other countries in

Europe, Italians will face a

tough winter with rising

interest rates, soaring

inflation and higher energy

prices.

Meloni, who came to power

last month, pledged during

the election campaign to

control expenditure in

country long plagued by low

growth and huge debt.

On Friday, after a cabient

meeting, the government

agreed to increase the public

deficit to 4.5 percent of GDP, a

source told AFP.

It is above the 3.4 percent

forecast by her predecessor

Mario Draghi in September,

but in line with what Italian

media had reported she would

do.

This means an extra 21

billion euros, according to an

economics roadmap adopted

by the cabinet Friday evening.

Meloni's government also

raised the forecast for

economic growth this year to

3.7 percent, up from Draghi's

prediction of 3.3 percent.

It comes after Italy posted

better-than-expected

quarterly growth on Monday.

Economy Minister

Giancarlo Giorgetti has kept

Draghi's forecast of 0.6

percent growth in 2023.

energy, transportation, and

urban development.

Standard Chartered

accounted for a major share

of all export and import

financing, respectively, last

year, as well as power

generation financing and

SME lending by foreign

banks. At the same time, the

Bank commands a leading

position in the retail finance

space. Standard Chartered's

commitment to support

Bangladesh's continued

journey of prosperity even in

the face of a global pandemic

saw the bank secure over 30

major international awards

in 2021.

The Asian Business Review

is a regional magazine

serving Asia's business

community.The Asian

Experience Awards are

organised by The Asian

Business Review. The Asian

Experience Awards

recognises projects and

initiatives that deliver

meaningful brand

experiences for stakeholders

across functions and

industries.

SuNDAY, NoveMber 6, 2022

9

France and Denmark are once again in the same World Cup group, and once again they are joined by Australia.

photo: Ap/File

France meet familiar foes to

start World Cup defence

SportS DeSk

France are hoping to heed a warning

from history as they kick off their

defence of the World Cup trophy in a

group which bears a remarkable

resemblance to the section in which

they started their road to glory four

years ago in Russia, reports UNB.

Like in 2018, Les Bleus begin their

World Cup campaign against

Australia and they will also take on

Denmark in Group D.

The only difference in Qatar is that

Tunisia complete the section instead

of Peru, who lost an intercontinental

qualifying play-off on penalties to the

Socceroos.

France come into this World Cup

billed as one of the leading

contenders to go all the way, but past

experience should teach them to be

wary.

After all, no nation has successfully

defended the trophy since Brazil in

1962, and the last time the French

went to the tournament as defending

champions, they swiftly returned

home with their tails between their

legs.

Having won the World Cup on

home soil in 1998, four years later

they went to South Korea as

defending European champions and

clear favourites to claim another title.

Hampered by an injury to Zinedine

Zidane, they were stunned by

Senegal in their opening game and

were eliminated in the group stage

without even scoring a goal.

A repeat of such a scenario seems

improbable for the side coached by

Didier Deschamps, who have an

attack led by the brilliant Kylian

Mbappe and Karim Benzema, the

latter fresh from winning the Ballon

d'Or.

Throw in Antoine Griezmann,

Christopher Nkunku and Ousmane

Dembele, and scoring goals should

be no issue for Les Bleus, but they

have problems elsewhere.

Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante, their

first-choice midfielders in 2018, are

out injured, and several others have

been struggling for fitness.

"During our last get-together we

were faced with an injury crisis, but

there are no doubts in our minds, we

know how difficult the World Cup is

for everybody," coach Deschamps

told AFP last month.

"France are still a competitive side,

but we know we'll have a lot to do," to

retain the trophy, he added.

Denmark, who overcame the

traumatic collapse of Christian

Eriksen to reach the semi-finals of

Euro 2020, have the appearance of

dangerous outsiders.

They cruised through qualifying

with nine wins, and 30 goals scored,

in 10 games and defeated France

home and away in their recent UEFA

Nations League campaign.

"There is a great work ethic and a

desire to improve as a collective. We

can be really good if we continue to

make sacrifices for each other," said

coach Kasper Hjulmand, who now

has Manchester United midfielder

Eriksen back in his squad.

France and Denmark meet in their

second game and that could be

crucial in determining who tops the

section, with the danger being that

Argentina could lie in wait in the last

16.

Australia have not made it out of

their group since the 2006 World

Cup and failed to win a game at

either of the last two tournaments.

Graham Arnold's side only

qualified for Qatar by the skin of

their teeth and just winning a game

this time would have to rank as a

major achievement for a side short

on players plying their trade in major

European leagues.

Meanwhile Tunisia are dreaming of

getting out of their group at a World

Cup for the first time at what will be

their sixth attempt.

The Carthage Eagles came within

seconds of holding England to a draw

in 2018 and can draw

encouragement from that

performance coming into this

campaign.

Jalel Kadri's team will be targeting

a victory against the Socceroos in

their second game to give themselves

a chance of making history and

reaching the knockout phase.

They will look to the Corsican-born

Wahbi Khazri for attacking

inspiration.

"We know we are certainly not

among the favourites, but anything is

possible in a major competition and

we will try to spring a surprise," said

their Cologne midfielder Ellyes

Skhiri, another of the French-born

members of their squad.

Chebet, Korir eye Kenyan sweep at

New York Marathon

SportS DeSk

Defending champion Albert

Korir and compatriot Evans

Chebet are targeting an

unprecedented Kenyan

sweep as they prepare to

duel at the New York

Marathon on Sunday,

reports UNB.

The world-famous race

through the streets of the

Big Apple brings the curtain

down on the six-event world

major marathon season,

with Korir and Chebet

looking to crown a year of

Kenyan dominance.

Kenyan athletes have won

every major men's

marathon this season -

Eliud Kipchoge taking the

honors in Tokyo and Berlin,

Amos Kipruto winning in

London and Benson

Kipruto triumphing in

Chicago.

Chebet, meanwhile, won

the Boston marathon in

April, meaning that a victory

for either the 33-year-old or

Korir this weekend would

complete a clean sweep of

major marathons for Kenya.

It would be the first sweep

of the majors since the

world marathon circuit was

expanded to six races in

2013 with the addition of

Tokyo.

Korir, 28, arrived in New

York determined to defend

his title on Sunday after a

training camp that has seen

him run up to 124 miles

(200 km) per week.

"I came here to defend my

title," Korir said. "I have

faith and I think I'm well

prepared. I will have to fight

because everybody is

coming here to win."

One wrinkle, however,

could be the weather, with

New York forecast to be

basking in unseasonably

warm temperatures of 74

degrees Fahrenheit (23

degrees Celsius) on Sunday.

"I don't like warm

weather," Korir said. "But

we can't do anything about

weather. We will have to do

hydrate and drink more

water."

Korir and Chebet can

expect a stiff challenge from

non-Kenyan competitors on

Sunday, with former New

York runner-up Shoura

Kitata of Ethiopia and

Olympic silver medalist

Abdi Nageeye lurking in the

field.

In the women's race,

meanwhile, the withdrawal

of defending champion and

reigning Olympic champion

Peres Jepchirchir left

Kenya's Hellen Obiri and

Ethiopia's world champion

Gotytom Gebreslase as the

clear front-runners.

The 32-year-old Obiri is

running her first marathon

after a glittering track

career, which included back

to back 5,000-meter gold

medals at the 2017 and 2019

World Championships.

"I know New York is a

tough course, but I hope my

experience on track, road

and cross country will help

me with the ups and

downs," said Obiri.

"It's my first marathon, I

am training well and so I am

looking forward to running

my best."

Albert korir crosses the finish line first in the men's division of the New

York City Marathon in this Nov. 7, 2021 file photo. korir is looking to

defend his New York City Marathon title.

photo: Ap/File

Aubameyang

'excited' for

Arsenal reunion,

says Potter

SportS DeSk

Chelsea's Pierre-Emerick

Aubameyang is "excited" for

his Arsenal reunion when the

two clubs face off in

tomorrow's London derby but

manager Graham Potter

wanted the narrative to steer

away from the striker as his

side seek a morale-boosting

victory, reports UNB.

Aubameyang fell out with

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta

last season over disciplinary

issues. He was first stripped of

the captaincy and had his

contract terminated ahead of

a February move to

Barcelona.

The Gabon international,

33, scored 92 times in more

than 150 appearances for

Arsenal and returned to the

Premier League in

September, crossing the

London divide to sign for

Chelsea where he has scored

three times in 11 games so far.

"The history makes it an

interesting one for Auba. But

the past is the past as far as

we're concerned," Potter told

reporters yesterday. "I don't

think we should make it about

him.

"He is an important part of

the team for us but it takes

everybody, not just one

person. I understand the

interest around him because

it's Arsenal. I think he's

looking forward to the game,

excited for it."

Chelsea earned a muchneeded

victory in the

Champions League in

midweek after a slump in

their domestic form, having

floundered against Brentford

and Manchester United and

endured a 4-1 humiliation at

Potter's old club Brighton &

Hove Albion.

League leaders Arsenal

have 31 points after 12 games,

10 more than Chelsea in sixth

place.

Arteta's side, who

hammered Nottingham

Forest 5-0 at the weekend,

have steadily improved their

record at Stamford Bridge in

recent years and have won on

their last two visits to Chelsea.

"Recently, it hasn't gone so

well," Potter said, with

Chelsea having won only one

of their last five league

meetings with Arsenal.

"It's a London derby and

anything can happen in the

game. We want to be positive,

play well and get the crowd

involved in the game."

Ruben Dias on

City's footmark

on history

SportS DeSk

Ruben Dias says

Manchester City will push

themselves to leave a

"footmark on the history of

football", reports UNB.

Not content with

dominating the English

game with four Premier

League titles in the past five

years, the Abu Dhabi-owned

club are intent on achieving

even more.

That is the belief of

defender Dias, who has won

championships in both his

two seasons with City since

joining from Benfica for £65

million.

He wants another in this

campaign - and only Sir Alex

Ferguson's Manchester

United have managed this

feat in three successive

seasons in the Premier

League era.

And that's what City want -

to lift the major honors and

be remembered as one of the

game's greatest sides.

A first Champions League

is another target and Pep

Guardiola's men also host

Chelsea in the EFL Cup on

Wednesday - a competition

they have won six times in

nine years.

"I think consistency is a

word that can never be

fulfilled," Dias told Arab

News exclusively.

"We always need to keep

pushing and there is always

room to get better.

Sabalenka beats Pegula to

reach WTA Finals semis,

Ons Jabeur eliminated

SportS DeSk

Aryna Sabalenka beat

Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5 on

Friday and advanced to the

semifinals of the WTA Finals

as second-ranked Tunisian

Ons Jabeur was eliminated,

reports UNB.

Greece's Maria Sakkari,

ranked fifth, beat Jabeur 6-

2, 6-3 on Friday night to

finish unbeaten in roundrobin

play.

Her victory assured

Sabalenka of second place in

the Nancy Richey Group and

a berth in the knockout

stages.

Seventh-ranked

Sabalenka had done her part

with the victory over thirdranked

Pegula.

With so much on the line,

Sabalenka was dialed in

from the start.

"I'm just happy that I was

really focused from the

beginning to the end and I

was able to finish this match

in two sets," she said.

Sabalenka, who improved

to 4-1 against Pegula, took

charge early and took full

advantage of four first-set

double faults from Pegula.

The second set was a more

tightly contested affair,

Pegula quickly erasing an

early break as Sabalenka

suddenly found herself

struggling on serve.

Despite seven double

faults in the second set,

Sabalenka managed to keep

it close and broke for a 5-3

lead to pile the pressure back

on Pegula.

Pegula, who secured her

spot in the elite seasonending

event with her

triumph at Guadalajara in

October, responded with a

service break of her own and

leveled the set at 5-5,

Sabalenka digging deep to

win the last two games and

polish it off in two sets.

"It's tough but that's

tennis," Pegula said. "You

have one good week, and

then you're right back at it

the next. There's a lot of

really high highs and low

lows.

"You end the year well and

then I come here, lose all my

matches," added Pegula,

who noted the number of

her defeats this week in Fort

Worth was the same as she'd

endured in "like three

months."

Jabeur, a finalist at

Wimbledon and the US

Open this year, could have

still sneaked into the semis

with a straight-sets win over

Sakkari.

But she didn't get a look in

as a "fearless" Sakkari

wrapped up a victory in just

69 minutes.

As group winner, Sakkari

guaranteed she won't have

to take on No. 1 ranked Iga

Swiatek in the semifinals.

Instead she'll face either

Caroline Garcia or Daria

Kasatkina, who clash on

Saturday with second place

in the Tracy Austin Group

on the line.

"I think I just have to keep

doing what I've been doing,"

Sakkari said in an on-court

interview. "I'm trusting

myself. I'm just fearless on

the court."

Sabalenka will have the

unenviable task of taking on

Swiatek in the semifinals.

The Polish star, whose eight

titles this year include the

French Open and US Open,

has reigned at No. 1 for 30

weeks.

Swiatek has won the last

four of their five career

meetings, including a US

Open semifinal in

September.

Aryna Sabalenka, above, will have the unenviable task of taking on No. 1

ranked Iga Swiatek in the semifinals of the 2022 WtA Finals. photo: Ap

Bangladesh is not far away to be a

top team in T20 format : Sriram

SportS DeSk

Bangladesh's technical consultant Sridharan Sriram believes his

side is not far away to be a top team in the T20 format as they

had already found the formula to challenge the big guns on a

regular basis, reports BSS.

According to Sriram, Bangladesh put a good show in the trination

series in New Zealand and in the World Cup, which

marked their progress in this format.

Bangladesh had already won two matches in the Super 12s of

the T20 World Cup, which is their result in this event and they

also came close to beat India, a thing that Sriram saw as a

significant stride.

"I think to come that close, if at the start of the game had

anybody said that we'll lose to India by five runs, I think anybody

would take it, so I think we got ourselves in an opportunity

where we're could have beaten India but we were not able to

cross the line," Siram said.

"But having come to close, the boys gained a lot of confidence.

I think eventually just by losing by five runs, the boys just-I think

everyone was disappointed in the dressing room that they could

not cross the line, and they realised what a golden opportunity

that they missed. It's a great learning for them. It gives the team

a lot of self-belief that if you can challenge a team like India and

come so close, we are not far away."

Bangladesh's game against India was marred by some

controversy-as vice-captain Nurul Hasan Sohan accused star

India batter Virat Kohli of fake fielding which potentially could

cost India five penalty runs according to him. Also Bangladesh

had the reservation to play after the rain break because they

thought the ground was not adequately dried up. But umpires

didn't pay heed to any of this.

However Sriram didn't show it as the excuse for their five-run

defeat to India.

"We are not here to offer any excuses. I did speak to the fourth

umpire as soon as it happened, but I think it was the on-field

umpire's call, and that's what we were told, but we're not here to

offer any excuses," he remarked.

"It was quite frantic for that brief 10, 12 minutes, which is

understandable. I think the boys, nine runs an over or 9.75 runs

an over, definitely I think the pressure got to them a little bit."

Sriram said they are confident to beat Pakistan and they are

not thinking about the semifinal or anything else even though

they are still mathematically in the race of the last four.

"I've been very clear about this. We're just taking it one game

at a time, plan for one opposition at a time. Every game we want

to go, we obviously want to win it, but we're aware of what

challenges Pakistan present. We played them in New Zealand

just recently, and we have high respect for that team, so we're

going to turn up and be at our best on that day," he added.

India aim to be

clinical in

semi-final push

SportS DeSk

Allrounder Ravichandran

Ashwin said Saturday India

must pile the pressure on

early and be clinical in their

execution if they want to get

past Zimbabwe and into the

Twenty20 World Cup semifinals,

reports UNB.

The two sides meet at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground on

Sunday after India's narrow

five-run win over Bangladesh

put them top of Group 2 with

six points from four games.

They will power into the last

four with a victory over the

Africans.

On the flip side, they could

still be caught if beaten,

depending on the outcome of

Sunday's other games, in

which South Africa face the

Netherlands and Pakistan

take on Bangladesh.

"Simple, we need to be as

clinical as possible. No teams

are a brush over (in this

tournament)," said Ashwin.

"We have to go out there and

counter that early phase with

the bat and still bowl those

good bowls to generate

pressure. "Good teams will be

clinical and pile the pressure

on and it's a must-win contest,

we know that.

"We're looking forward to

the game," he added. "But

Zimbabawe have played some

wonderful cricket so we can't

go in there and expect them to

crumble. They've bowled well

and batted well and we

respect that."

Zimbabwe are effectively

out of semi-final contention

barring a mathematical

miracle, but their upset onerun

win over Pakistan earlier

in the tournament has given

skipper Craig Ervine

confidence they can also spoil

India's party.

sUNdAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2022

10

Jaya's amazing look

in orange color !

TBT REPORT

Jaya Ahsan, one of the

best actresses of the two

Bangla, shared several

pictures from the new

photoshoot on social

media on Thursday.

The pictures are already

being applauded. As fans

are showering their

favorite star with love,

many are throwing

questions. One

commented, "How to

retain youth? This picture

of yours brought my eyes

to the forehead."

Another wrote, "Your

beauty is unmatched. You

look young."

Jaya has captured a lot

of bold looks in orange

color winter fashion. Many

were astounded by this

look! At least the comment

box bears witness to this.

And as usual, Jaya's age

has been questioned again.

However, this actress is

silent on these comments.

In this regard, Jaya Ahsan

told a few days ago, "I

don't think much about

the bad comments

anymore. It has become a

part of our life. Anyone

can now say whatever they

want about anyone else."

Six years ago, Jaya

Ahsan acted in Nurul

Alam Atique's 'Peyarar

Subash'. Although the

shooting was over, the

movie was not released

due to various reasons.

The movie is going to

release in January.

Thor director Taika, singer-wife

Rita to host MTV EMAs

The organisers of the upcoming

MTV Europe Music Awards have

locked the hosts for the ceremony.

British singer-songwriter Rita Ora

and Thor: Love and Thunder

director Taika Waititi are set to host

the event, reports Female First UK.

The Hot Right Now hitmaker -

who married Taika Waititi earlier

this year - said: "I'm thrilled to be

back hosting, and sharing the stage

with Taika makes it all the more

special. We've got it all at this year's

EMAs, fun surprises, fantastic

fashion, comedy, and above all

amazing music! We can't wait for

audiences to share these moments

with us."

According to 'Female First UK',

Rita Ora previously hosted the

EMAs in London in 2017, when she

received the Power of Music Award.

The 2022 edition of the EMAs will

be held in Germany on November

13, and the loved-up couple can't

wait to host the event.

They said in a joint statement,

quoted by Female First UK: "We're

excited to host this year's MTV

EMAs and celebrate the best

musicians and performances from

around the world.

"We look forward to sharing the

evening with all of these talented

artists."

As for the EMA nominations,

Harry Styles is leading the pack with

seven nominations in all, including

Best Song, Best Video, Best Artist,

Best Live, Best Pop, Best UK and

Ireland Act, and Biggest Fans.

Taylor Swift has received six

nominations, including one for Best

Longform Video, which is a brand

new category at the EMAs. She will

also compete with Harry for the Best

Video, Best Artist, Best Pop, and

Biggest Fans gongs.

Source: Collider

Dolly Zohur, Bijori Barkatullah,

Tanzika stars in 'Shohorbasi'

TBT REPORT

Three popular small screen

actresses Dolly Zohur, Bijori

Barkatullah and Tanzika

Amin will be seen acting in a

new drama serial. The title

of the serial is 'Shohorbasi'.

Based on Manik

Bandyopadhyay's novel

Shohar Basher Itikatha, Arif

Khan is directing the serial.

About the serial, Dolly

Zohur said, "Earlier, I've

worked under the direction

of Arif Khan. He always

makes dramas with utmost

care.

The story of the serial

'Shohorbasi' is also very nice.

All the artistes of the serial are

trying their best to portray

themselves according to the

characters. I hope the

audience will enjoy the drama

very much."

The serial will be aired in a

private channel soon, said

director Arif Khan.

Rock band ‘Stone’ releases first album ‘Obosh Prolap’

TBT REPORT

Bangladeshi progressive and alternative

rock band 'Stone' is coming up with its

maiden album 'Obosh Prolap', about 10

years after its establishment.

As part of the album release, the band

published a single from their album on

Wednesday. The title of the track is 'Alo'r

Shihoron'.

The album was supposed to be

released in 2020 but due to the

pandemic, it has been postponed. Apart

from 'Alo'r Shihoron', the album 'Obosh

Prolap' has contained eight songs,

including 'Megh', Brishti', 'Nei Tumi',

'Omanush', 'Bishader Olingon', and

'Ghune Dhora Shohor'.

The songs will be released on their

official YouTube Channel. The tracks will

also be available on various international

streaming platforms, including Spotify,

Amazon, iTunes and Apple.

About the album, the band's lead

guitarist Shahed said "Our alternative

rock band 'Stone' was began its Journey

in 2013.We have experimented different

songs in different time. We took part in

concerts at different places in the

country, including Chittagong and

Dhaka. Now, we are officially releasing

our songs through an album. 'Alo'r

Shihoron' is one of the songs. Hopefully,

the audience will enjoy our songs. "

"Our first song 'Obosh Prolap' was

released in 2016. The song was received

huge acclamation from the listeners at

that time. Later, we released the songs

'Maa' and 'Bhul Shopno' in 2018,"

Shahed added.

The band current lineup of the band

are Ajoy (vocalist), Ovi (Drums), Shahed

(Lead Guitarist), Rafi (Bass Guitarist)

and Mithu.

Janhvi Kapoor on box office clash

with ex Ishaan Khatter

Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter

made their Bollywood debut

together in 2018 with 'Dhadak' and

ended up being a part of a box office

clash on Friday. Talking about him,

Janhvi has said that a part 'of us will

always root for each other'. She

added that they have wished each

other luck for their new film.

Janhvi's thriller 'Milli' released in

theatres on Friday while Ishaan

stars in 'Phone Bhoot' that hit

theatres the same day. 'Phone

Bhoot' also stars Siddhant

Chaturvedi and Katrina Kaif in lead

roles. Mili has Sunny Kaushal and

Manoj Pahwa among the lead cast.

Talking about Ishaan, Janhvi told,

"He messaged me recently wishing

me luck for Mili and I wished him

back saying, 'Right back at you!' I

think there was an undercurrent of

competitiveness. I'm just kidding!

We really wish the best for each

other dil se (from the heart). We

started out together. A part of us will

always root for each other."

She also talked about his new film

and said, "I've seen the trailer and I

think it looks like a lot of fun. We

had spoken briefly when he was

about to sign the film. I know a little

bit about it, and it sounds like a very

exciting premise."

Janhvi and Ishaan were rumoured

to be dating when they worked

together on their debut. Later, they

were often spotted together on

various outings.

'Mili' is the Hindi remake of the

2019 Malayalam movie Helen and is

directed by Mathukutty Xavier, who

had also directed the original. Her

father Boney Kapoor has produced

the film and this is the first time they

are working together.

Talking about it, Janhvi had

earlier told, "The only difference on

Mili was that I didn't face the fear of

the producer finding me arrogant. I

didn't have to think that because

here my father is the producer. He

knows me better than anyone. I

could tell him exactly what I

thought, which was a good feeling."

Source: Hindustan Times

H O R O s c O P E

ARIEs

Some close friends could turn you on to a new

interest or perhaps a group you might want to join.

Intellectual stimulation through those closest to

you could open the way to new plans and

innovations. You might want to try combining artistic interests

with technology, Aries, perhaps expanding your knowledge of

photography, computer graphics, or filmmaking. Success and good

fortune through such activities are strongly indicated.

TAURUs

Sudden, unexpected news could arrive

today, perhaps by mail or phone. You

could host a virtual group meeting of

some kind. A lot of exciting information

and stimulating conversation could take

place, Taurus, bringing fresh ideas that spark new

interests. Expect a very busy but productive day,

looking ahead toward the future rather than back

toward the past.

GEMINI

Short journeys in your neighborhood,

perhaps connected with a group you're

associated with, could take up a lot of

your time today, Gemini. Fascinating

and stimulating emails or calls could

arrive. Books and magazine articles could provide

information that sends you in a new direction in

some way. Write down your ideas! You will want to

remember them all.

cANcER

Technology could pave the way for you to

greatly increase your income, possibly

through new skills or investments. This is

likely to be a very positive development,

setting the stage for future financial success. Some

unusual, interesting dreams could come your way,

bringing unexpected revelations about you and your past

- and possibly your future. Write them down! They could

hold important messages for you from your higher self.

LEO

A surprising revelation, either from

within or from sources like books, the

Internet, or communications from others

could set you in an entirely new direction.

You will have an increased sense of freedom, as well as

a clearer and more progressive outlook. You might

consider some pretty heavy changes in your life, Leo,

but don't make any final decisions or arrangements

today. Wait before putting your ideas into action.

VIRGO

Discoveries made through occult sciences

such as astrology or numerology could

see you embrace some rather

revolutionary ideas about yourself, the

world, and life. You could become involved with a

group associated with metaphysical studies or take an

online class or workshop of some kind. This could

mean a new direction for you in some way, Virgo. It

might greatly enhance your life and thinking.

LIBRA

Sudden lucky breaks could come your

way today, Libra, possibly through

friends or groups with which you're

involved. A long-term goal you've been

working toward might bring unexpected but

wonderful results. Virtual group activities,

particularly those involving social or political issues,

could take up a lot of your time. This promises to be

a busy, productive day. Expect the unexpected!

scORPIO

Today you might feel the desire to break

free from your daily routine, Scorpio,

particularly regarding career matters.

You might consider developing a

business of your own, one that would give you a lot

more freedom than you currently have. This is a good

day to start looking into it. You might find that there are

more possibilities out there than you expected.

sAGITTARIUs

A sudden and unexpected opportunity

to take a journey by air could come your

way today, Sagittarius. This might be

something you've wanted for a long

time finally manifesting. Certainly, adventure is in the

air, although it might be mental adventure as much as

physical. Some information could come your way that

catapults you into a new and exciting field of interest.

This promises to be a thoroughly stimulating day.

cAPRIcORN

Technology could pave the way for you to

greatly increase your income, possibly

through new skills or investments. This is

likely to be a very positive development,

setting the stage for future financial success. Some

unusual, interesting dreams could come your way,

bringing unexpected revelations about you and your past

- and possibly your future. Write them down! They could

hold important messages for you from your higher self.

AQUARIUs

The unexpected need to take a journey

by air or spend a lot of time working

could bring about an inconvenient

separation from your partner. While the

reasons for this situation and the projected outcome

are very positive, it can cause a temporary upset in

your relationship. Don't worry about it. The upset will

pass, particularly when the desired results are

attained. Concentrate on the matter at hand.

PIscEs

Is your workplace upgrading its

equipment? Are you in the process of

increasing your technology skills?

Today's planets show that success and advancement

through technology are definitely in the offing for

you, Pisces. If you've been thinking about purchasing

a computer, do it today if you can. Whatever your

goals, you can harness current innovations to help

them along. Give it some thought!

Sunday, november 6, 2022

11

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury addressed the golden jubilee ceremony of the Constitution at the Judges Sports Complex

of the Supreme Court on Friday.

Photo: collected

Three organs of the state must

work hand in hand: Speaker

Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shireen

Sharmin Chowdhury said Bangladesh

is now a role model of development in

the world. Efforts should be made to

build a happy and prosperous nation

by continuing this trend of

betterment.

She asked the three organs of the

state to work for the establishment of

the rule of law through mutual

cooperation within their own

boundaries as described in the

constitution.

She said these at a function

organized at the Judges Lounge of the

Supreme Court on November 4 to

celebrate the golden jubilee of the

adoption of the Constitution of the

People's Republic of Bangladesh.

The Speaker said, "On this day,

Bangabandhu, Father of the Nation,

gave us the Constitution of

Bangladesh. He entrusted the future

generations with the responsibility of

Ten injured, homes

destroyed as tornadoes

hit southern US

WASHINGTON : At least 10

people were injured and

dozens of homes destroyed

after tornadoes hit Texas,

Oklahoma and Arkansas late

Friday, officials and reports

said.

In northern Texas near the

border with Oklahoma,

about 50 homes were

damaged or destroyed, the

Lamar County Sheriff's

Office said after a tornado

touched down Friday

afternoon.

"There have been 10

persons treated at the Paris

Regional Medical Center,

two critical, but stable," it

said in a statement posted

on Facebook. "There are no

fatalities at this time."

Lamar County judge

Brandon Bell had declared a

disaster for the county, it

added.

"There has been quite a bit

of damage and some

injuries," Lamar County

constable Travis Rhodes told

CNN.

Oklahoma Governor

Kevin Stitt said he was

praying for Oklahomans

affected by the tornadoes,

which struck several

counties.

Search and rescue teams

and generators were headed

to the area of Idabel, a city of

about 7,000 in southeast

Oklahoma, he tweeted.

"Storms hit in Bryan,

Choctaw, and Le Flore

counties, among others.

Additional flash flooding

in some areas," he said.

The National Weather

Service had issued tornado

warnings for parts of Texas,

Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Tornadoes are a frequent

and often devastating

weather phenomenon in the

United States, with the Great

Plains states of Kansas,

Oklahoma and Texas the

hardest hit.

In December last year,

dozens of devastating

tornadoes ripped through

five US states overnight.

implementing this constitution fully."

"We have to work to achieve

meaningful goals by fulfilling the

hopes and aspirations of the nation by

keeping the ideals and philosophy of

Bangabandhu," she stated.

Shireen Sharmin said, "We need to

be conscious to keep the constitution

safe and upheld. Let us pledge to

deliver the benefits of the constitution

to the people of the country. This

constitution will be fruitful only when

people will get a better life free from

hunger, poverty deprivation and

discrimination"

"In accordance with the

constitution, the continued progress

of parliamentary democracy must be

coordinated and ensured through the

development and effective role of the

legal department, executive

department and judicial department.

Through this, the rule of law will be

upheld, fundamental human rights

North Korea keeps up

missile barrage with

suspected ICBM

SEOUL : North Korea continued its barrage

of weapons tests on Thursday, firing at least

three missiles including a suspected

intercontinental ballistic missile that forced

the Japanese government to issue

evacuation alerts and temporarily halt

trains.

The launches are the latest in a series of

North Korean weapons tests in recent

months that have raised tensions in the

region. They came a day after Pyongyang

fired more than 20 missiles, the most it has

fired in a single day ever.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it

detected the North firing a missile it

presumed as an ICBM from an area near its

capital Pyongyang around 7:40 a.m. and

then firing two short-range missiles an

hour later from the nearby city of Kacheon

that flew toward its eastern waters.

While South Korean officials didn't

immediately release more specific flight

details, the longer-range missile may have

been fired on a high angle to avoid reaching

the territory of the North's neighbors.

Japan's Defense Minister Yasukazu said

one of the North Korean missiles reached a

maximum altitude of 2,000 kilometers

(1,200 miles) and flew about 750

kilometers (460 miles). The Japanese

government initially said at least one of the

missiles flew over its northern territory but

later revised its assessment, saying there

were no overflies.

The office of Prime Minister Fumio

Kishida issued warnings to residents in the

northern prefectures of Miyagi, Yamagata

and Niigata, instructing them to go inside

firm buildings or underground. There have

been no reports of damage or injuries from

areas where the alerts were issued. Bullet

train services in those regions were

temporarily suspended following the

missile alert before resuming shortly.

Kishida condemned the North's launches

and said officials were analyzing the details

of the weapons.

One of the more than 20 missiles North

Korea shot on Wednesday flew in the

direction of a populated South Korean

island and landed near the rivals' tense sea

border, triggering air raid sirens and

forcing residents on Ulleung island to

evacuate. South Korea quickly responded

by launching its own missiles in the same

will be protected. Thus,

Bangabandhu's dream of Sonar

Bangla, free from poverty,

exploitation and discrimination, will

be established. Let this be the

affirmation.

Chief Justice Hasan Faiz Siddiqui

chaired the event. Law Minister

Advocate Anisul Haque, judge of

Appellate Division of High Court Md.

Nuruzzaman; member of

Constitution Drafting Committee

Barrister Md. Amir-ul Islam,

Attorney General AM Amin Uddin,

president of Supreme Court Lawyers

Association Momtaz Uddin Fakir,

Appellate Division Justice Md.

Inayetur Rahim and others also spoke

at the event.

It is worthwhile to mention that the

Draft Constitution was adopted on

November 4, 1972. Since then, the

day has been observed as

Constitution Day.

border area.

Those launches came hours after North

Korea threatened to use nuclear weapons to

get the U.S. and South Korea to "pay the

most horrible price in history" in protest of

ongoing South Korean-U.S. military drills

that it views as a rehearsal for a potential

invasion.

North Korea has been ramping up its

weapons demonstrations to a record pace

this year. It has fired dozens of missiles,

including its first demonstration of

intercontinental ballistic missiles since

2017, as it exploits the distraction created

by Russia's war in Ukraine and a pause in

diplomacy to push forward arms

development and dial up pressure on the

United States and its Asian allies.

The North has punctuated its tests with

an escalatory nuclear doctrine that

authorizes preemptive nuclear attacks over

a variety of loosely defined crisis situations.

U.S. and South Korean officials say North

Korea may up the ante in the coming weeks

with its first detonation of a nuclear test

device since September 2017.

Biden implores voters

to save democracy

from lies, violence

WASHINGTON : Warning that democracy

itself is in peril, President Joe Biden called

on Americans Wednesday night to use their

ballots in next week's midterm elections to

stand up against lies, violence and

dangerous "ultra MAGA" election disruptors

who are trying to "succeed where they failed"

in subverting the 2020 elections, reports

UNB.

This is no time to stand aside, he declared.

"Silence is complicity."

After weeks of reassuring talk about

America's economy and inflation, Biden

turned to a darker, more urgent message,

declaring in the final days of midterm

election voting that the nation's system of

governance is under threat from former

President Donald Trump's election-denying

lies and the violence Biden said they inspire.

The president singled out "ultra MAGA"

Republicans - a reference to Trump's "Make.

Tropical Storm

Lisa moves

towards Mexico

after lashing Belize

BELIZE CITY : Tropical

Storm Lisa slowed on

Thursday after making

landfall in Belize, causing

flooding and plunging parts

of the country into darkness

as it churned westwards

toward Mexico.

Both Mexico and Belize

dropped their coastal

tropical storm warnings as

the former hurricane

weakened and headed west

at 10 miles per hour (16

kilometers per hour),

according to the US National

Hurricane Center (NHC) in

Miami, reports BSS.

Forecasters warned that

the tourist-popular coast of

Central America and the

Yucatan Peninsula should

continue monitoring the

situation as the maximum

sustained winds decreased

to around 45 mph (75 kph).

For the next day or so, the

storm system is expected to

pack a gusty punch and

deliver heavy rain, swells

and flash flooding to

northern Guatemala and

southeastern Mexico,

further weakening as it

moves inland.

Lisa slammed into the

Sibun River just southwest

of economic hub and former

capital Belize City around

2120 GMT on Wednesday,

uprooting trees, downing

power lines and inundating

streets.

"It's very dangerous for us"

because in Belize "it floods

quickly, even with moderate

rain," Jasmin Ayuso, a 21-

year-old secretary, told AFP.

A state of emergency was

declared in two areas, while

a curfew was in effect until

dawn on Thursday.

Some parts of Belize were

left without power as the

storm lashed the country of

about 405,000 people.

Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Local Government Engineering Department

GD-1780/22 (5x4)

Norway brings climate

ambitions in line with EU

OSLO : Norway, the largest oil producer

in Western Europe, on Thursday

announced it intended to cut 1990

emissions levels "at least 55 percent" by

2030, in line with EU goals, reports BSS.

Just days before the COP27 climate

conference in Egypt, the announcement

is in line with commitments made by the

centre-left coalition government when it

took power in 2021.

While not a member of the European

Union, the Scandinavian country's new

target brings Oslo in line with the overall

target set by the 27-member bloc. Oslo

also announced that it would present

climate plans each year going forward.

Norway's climate target was previously

to reduce emissions by between 50 and

55 percent of 1990 levels.

"This sends a strong signal to other

countries, and we hope that more will up

their targets," Prime Minister Jonas

Gahr Store said on Thursday.

Store's Labour Party and its ally, the

Centre Party, rule out dismantling the oil

sector, which is a major part of the

national economy.

Office of The Upazila Engineer, Ulipur, Kurigram

www.lged.gov.bd

The war in Ukraine and the reduction

in Russian exports have seen Norway

become the leading gas supplier to

Britain and the European Union.

"The demand for fossil fuel energy will

fall and renewable energy production

must increase. This has to go hand in

hand," Store told a news conference.

He stressed that the planet would still

need oil in years to come and argued it

was "not a bad thing that some of it

comes from the Norwegian continental

shelf, which has the lowest emissions."

Last week, the United Nations said

current country climate pledges leave

the world on track to heat by as much as

2.6 degrees Celsius this century, warning

that emissions must fall 45 percent this

decade to limit disastrous global

warming.

A day earlier, the UN's climate change

agency had said governments were doing

"nowhere near" enough to keep global

heating to 1.5C and would steer a world

already wracked by increasing floods,

heatwaves and storms towards

"catastrophic" warming.

After six years, UN climate

summit returns to Africa

MOMBASA : The U.N. climate summit is

back in Africa after six years and four

consecutive Europe-based conferences,

reports UNB.

The 27th annual Conference of the Parties

of the U.N. Framework Convention on

Climate Change - better known as COP27 -

will be held in the resort city of Sharm el-

Sheikh in Egypt and begins next week. It's

been branded as the "African COP", with

officials and activists hoping the conference's

location will mean the continent's interests

are better represented in climate

negotiations.

Hosts Egypt say the meeting represents a

unique opportunity for Africa to align

climate change goals with the continent's

other aims, like improving living standards

and making countries more resilient to

weather extremes. Organizers expect over

40,000 participants, the highest number

ever for a climate summit on the continent.

Ever since the conference's first iteration in

Berlin in 1995, the U.N. climate summit

continues to rotate annually among the five

U.N. classified regions: Africa, Asia, Latin

America and the Caribbean, central and

eastern Europe, and western Europe. It's the

fifth time that an African nation has held the

U.N. climate summit, with Morocco, South

Africa and Kenya all serving as former hosts.

The first African summit, held in

Marrakech in 2001, passed landmark

accords on climate funding and made other

key decisions on land use and forestry. The

following three meetings on the continent

had some success on issues like adapting to

climate change, technology and sowing the

seeds for the Paris Agreement in 2015 years

earlier. Marrakech is also the last African city

to host the event, having hosted a second

COP in 2016, that aimed to implement some

of the Paris goals.

The Paris Agreement, considered a major

success of the U.N. climate summits, saw

nations agree to limit warming to "well

below" 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees

Fahrenheit), with an aim of curbing it to 1.5

degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

And although experts don't expect

agreement between countries to reach the

same scale as Paris, hopes on the continent

are high for the upcoming conference.

Mithika Mwenda, who heads the Pan

African Climate Justice Alliance, told The

Associated Press that the summit "presents a

unique opportunity to place Africa at the

center of global climate negotiations" and

hoped the conference "truly delivers for the

African people."

Mwenda said that the "special needs and

circumstances" of the continent need to be

considered as it attempts to both increase

access to electricity for millions of people

while addressing climate change and

limiting the use of fossil fuels.

He added negotiations must prioritize how

vulnerable countries will adapt to climate

change, address compensation from highpolluting

countries to poorer ones, known as

"loss and damage", and seek avenues for

financing for both a move to cleaner energy

and building resilience to climate change.

Many developing countries look to the U.S.

and much of Europe, who have contributed

the largest share of emissions over time, to

pay for damage caused by climate change.

Pope presses Muslim

dialogue in first papal

visit to Bahrain

VATICAN CITY : Pope Francis is bringing his

message of dialogue with the Muslim world to

the kingdom of Bahrain, where the Sunni-led

government is hosting an interfaith conference

on East-West coexistence even as it stands

accused of discriminating against the country's

Shiite majority.

Human rights groups and relatives of Shiite

activists on death row have urged Francis to

use his visit, which begins Thursday, to call for

an end to the death penalty and political

repression in Bahrain. But it's not clear if

Francis will publicly embarrass his hosts

during his four-day visit, the first of any pontiff

to the island nation in the Persian Gulf, reports

UNB. Francis has long touted dialogue as an

instrument of peace and believes a show of

interfaith harmony is needed, especially now

given Russia's war in Ukraine and regional

conflicts, such as in Yemen. On the eve of the

trip, Francis asked for prayers so that the trip

will promote "the cause of brotherhood and of

peace, of which our times are in extreme and

urgent need."

Invitation for Tender (Good’s OTM)

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Sunday, Dhaka : November 6, 2022; Kartik 21, 1429 BS; Rabi-us-Sani 10 , 1444 Hijri

On Saturday, virtually Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joins in the National Cooperative Award-2021

distribution ceremony held at Bangabandhu Int’l Conference Centre (BICC).

Photo : PID

Boost agro-production, improve livelihood

through cooperatives : PM to youths

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

on Saturday urged the country's youths to

come forward to boost agricultural production

and improve livelihood of the

rural people through cooperatives.

"We think cooperatives are absolutely

essential for our agricultural production,

life and livelihood of people as cooperatives

create enormous scopes for us in a

densely populated country like ours.

Paying attention to it, youths will have to

strengthen cooperatives," she said.

The premier was addressing a function,

arranged to mark the 51st National

Cooperative Day-2022 and distribute the

National Cooperative Award-2021 at

Bangabandhu International Conference

Centre (BICC), joining it through a virtual

platform from her official residence

Ganabhaban.


"Philosophy of Bangabandhu is

Development through Cooperatives."

Sheikh Hasina stressed the need for giving

utmost importance to cooperatives for

the development of the country's people.

DHAKA : Information and Broadcasting

Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud yesterday

said Awami League has been working

fearlessly since its birth ignoring all red

eyes and the party is always steadfast on

the question of the country, its people and

the state.

"Awami League is a party of mass people.

We don't compromise and don't know

compromise. Awami League is always

rigid on the question of the country, its

people and the state as well," he said.

The minister said this to reporters while

replying to a query after addressing the inaugural

function of the newly-elected committee

members of Bangladesh Cine Journalists

Association (BCJA) at an auditorium of

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in the city.

Hasan said BNP has the history of fleeing

and their acting chairman Tarique Rahman

fled the country giving bond as he would not

do politics in future. And many of them

(BNP) had fled with him, he added.

He said the spirit of the great Liberation

War has been deep rooted among the people

of all professions including intellectuals

and teachers along with the government.

It is BNP's allergy as they don't

believe in the spirit of the Liberation War,

he added.

He said the secretary general of the

party (BNP) had said that the Pakistan

period was better. In fact, they are in

favour of Pakistan, said Hasan, also

Awami League joint general secretary.

Replying to another query over BNP's

divisional rally, the minister said there is

no objection about their meetings and rallies

if they refrain from destroying the

properties of the countrymen and the government.

The government is assisting

them and, for this, they are holding rallies,

he added.

Besides, he said, grenade attacks were

carried out in the rally of the then opposition

leader and incumbent Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina which was held in front of

Awami League central office on August 21

in 2004. Twenty-four AL leaders and

activists were killed in that rally, he added.

He said there was a permanent barbed

wire fence on both sides of the Awami

League office when the party (AL) was in

opposition and its leaders and activists

"Our young generation has to come forward.

If the young generation comes forward

and conducts activities through

cooperatives uniting all the people of a village,

we'll be able to go forward much," she

said.

The PM said her government has been

working for the people and wants to create

scopes so that every individual can

improve their life and livelihood.

She said her government opened every

sector for private entrepreneurs so that

employment is created.

Talking about inflation, Sheikh Hasina

said prices of all commodities have soared

throughout the world due to the Russia-

Ukraine war and Covid-19, which affected

Bangladesh also. "Now almost all the

countries are now suffering due to high

inflation."

She said now Bangladesh needs to procure

fertilizers, fuel and edible oil at very

high prices amid high transportation costs

for the sake of people and keep the agricultural

production uninterrupted.

With the theme of "the Philosophy of

AL is steadfast on the question

of country, its people : Hasan

were not allowed to go beyond the wire

fence.

The minister said attacks were carried

out in the rallies of Sheikh Helal, MP, and

Suranjit Sen Gupta to kill them while

attacks were also carried out in the rallies

of ASM Kibria and Ahsanullha Master and

they were killed.

He said hundreds of leaders and

activists of Awami League were killed in

their regime. But, not even a firecracker

was blasted in BNP's rally, he added.

In the function, Hasan congratulated

the newly elected BCJA executive members

and hoped that they would work cordially

to move the country's film industry

ahead through their writings.

He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

is a cultured person and she was highly

encouraged when heard that about 200

cinema halls have reopened. "She also told

me to tell everyone to construct more

halls. A loan fund of Taka 1,000 crore has

been formed as per the directives of the

Premier to construct new Cineplex, cinema

halls and to renovate old halls. If anyone

wants to build a Cineplex in a market

then he would get a loan of up to Taka ten

crore," he added.

Hasan hoped that the films of the country

would get a place on a global screen.

Shafiqur Rahman, MP, BFUJ former

president Molla Jalal, Shilpakala Academy

director general Liakat Ali Lucky,

Chlachithra Parichalak Samity president

Sohanur Rahman Sohan, Ekushey Padak

winner Pavel Rahman, actor Omar Suny

and BCJA general secretary Riman

Mahfuz, among others, addressed the

function with BCJA president Raju Alim

in the chair.

Earlier, the minister handed over the

BCJA Award-2022 to eminent personalities.

vThey are Rabeya Khatun (posthumous),

Syed Shamusl Haque (posthumous),

Gazi Mazharul Anwar (posthumous),

Alauddin Ali (posthumous), Selina

Hossain, Nasiruddin Yousuf, Liakat Ali

Lucky, Masum Reza, Pavel Rahman, Ilias

Kanchan, Mozammel Babu, Habibur

Rahman Khan, Piplu R Khan, Mamunur

Rashid, Sheikh Sadi Khan, actor Sakib

Khan, singer Konal and Imran

Mahmudul.

Bangabandhu is Development through

Cooperatives," the day is being observed in

the country this year.

The Prime Minister emphasised on raising

production and savings to offset the

brunt of the current global crisis.

She said the cooperative societies have

been playing their roles effectively in

Bangladesh. "I believe that Bangladesh

can achieve economic self-dependency

through cooperative movement," she

said.

She said the current progress of

Bangladesh should in no way be interrupted.

Though the Covid-19 and current war

and sanctions slowed down the progress

to some extent, the government goal is to

go forward overcoming this situation and

build the country as golden Bangla as

dreamt by Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,

she added.

Sheikh Hasina said her government's

goal is that the rural people would get civic

facilities, an improved life and lead a

decent life.

DMP Commissioner

asks DB to work

considering changing

crime patterns

DHAKA : Dhaka Metropolitan Police

(DMP) Commissioner Khandker Golam

Faruq on Saturday asked the Detective

Branch to work considering changing patterns

of crimes. "Crime patterns are

changing, cybercrime is increasing, DB

needs to work considering all these crime

patterns," he said.

The DMP Commissioner made the

remarks during a meeting with officers of

the Detective Branch (DB) after visiting its

Minto Road headquarters in the city on

Saturday.

It was the first visit of Khandker Golam

Faruq after he took over as the DMP commissioner

on October 29 last month.

Praising the DB's working capabilities,

the DMP chief said DB has the ability to

unravel the mystery of any sensational

case. The capabilities of DMP's branch are

at a very high level, he said.

The Commissioner also assured the

detectives that he would take steps for further

capacity building of the DB.

Congratulating the newly appointed

commissioner for coming to visit DB

office, Additional Commissioner (DB)

Mohammad Harun-ur-Rashid said,

"You are the pride of Bangladesh Police.

We are working under your leadership

so that residents of Dhaka metropolis

can stay safe."

The DB chief also said that DMP's DB is

now a trusted name for the city dwellers.

When a crime occurs, DB works not only

in the metropolis, but in any part of

Bangladesh, he added.

In his speech, Additional Commissioner

and chief of Counter Terrorism and

Transnational Crime (CTTC) of the DMP

Md. Asaduzzaman said, "You (DMP

Commissioner) are an efficient officer in

crime management. In 2015, a Japanese

national was killed in a militant attack in

Rangpur. Then the mystery of the case

was revealed under your leadership".

The CTTC chief said that as soon as any

incident occurs in the DMP, the DB starts

the shadow investigation. Detectives do

not stop until the organised crime is

revealed, he said.

He also said that DB has capabilities, it

will go further if get specific instructions

from the DMP chief.

Launch operation resumes

on Barishal-Dhaka route

as BNP rally ends

BARISHAL : Launch operation on the

Barishal-Dhaka route resumed almost

immediately after the BNP's divisional

mass rally ended on Saturday evening,

having remained suspended since

Thursday morning. Speedboat movement

on Bhola-Barishal route also resumed,

reports UNB.

However, launch operation on internal

routes of the district is yet to resume.

Meanwhile, no long haul or intra-district

buses will leave Barishal central bus

terminal at Nathullabad till 6am Sunday

as per previous announcement, said

Golam Mashrek Bablu, Barishal Bus

Owners Association president told UNB.

People were seen collecting next day's

ticket from the counters.

Three-wheelers and autorickshaws that

went on a strike from Friday demanding

free movement on highways were also

seen plying the roads.

Kabir Hossain, inspector of river security

and traffic management department of

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport

Authority (BIWTA) said the Sundarban-

11, Prince Awlad and Parabat-18 launches

will leave Barishal terminal on time for

Dhaka at night.

However, Saiful Islam Pintu, member of

Barishal Launch Owners Association, said

the number of passengers on these

launches is low.

Md Tareque, who operates speedboats

from Barishal DC Ghat, said as boat operations

resumed from Bhola after 4pm,

they started too with huge number of passengers.

T20 World Cup

England make semifinals;

Australia eliminated

SYDNEY : England advanced to the semifinals

of the T20 World Cup and eliminated

host Australia on net run rate after

their last over four-wicket win over Sri

Lanka Saturday.

New Zealand, England and Australia all

finished with seven points from five

matches in Group 1 but the Kiwis topped

the group with a net run rate of 2.113.

Australia paid the price for a heavy loss

to New Zealand in the opening match and

finished with a net run rate of -0.173.

England had a net run rate of 0.473.

Ben Stokes kept his composure and

made an unbeaten 42 off 36 balls as

England reached 144-6 in 19.4 overs after

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.

Sri Lanka could not have advanced

even if it had beaten England but the

islanders squandered a blistering start

of 52-1 in five overs before ending up at

a disappointing 141-8.

"We knew we had to find a way to win

the match coming here today, so thankfully

we did that," England skipper Jos

Buttler said. England will face the Group

2 winners in the semifinals at Adelaide

next Thursday. New Zealand will play the

Group 2 runner-ups at the Sydney Cricket

Ground Wednesday.

Opening batter Pathum Nissanka

braved pain on his twisted ankle and

made 67 before England hit back through

their spinners.

Adil Rashid was 1-16 and fast bowler

Mark Wood picked up 3-26 after being

smacked for two sixes by Nissanka in his

first over.

England sank Sri Lanka in the death

Mirza Abbas indulged in

unbridled corruption, reckless

coercion during BNP rule : Joy

DHAKA : During the last days of the

BNP-Jamaat coalition government, the

then Public Works Affairs Minister

Mirza Abbas illegally leased two acres

of railway land, worth Tk 51 crores

then, to an unnamed and fake association

without tendering, said Prime

Minister's ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb

Wazed Joy.

This BNP leader, who is close to

Tarique Rahman, completed the entire

process in just 14 days on instructions

from Hawa Bhaban, he said in a facebook

post from his verified account on

Friday, referring to a media report

shared along with the post.

But the railway land is not under the

Ministry of Public Works, it has no

legal right to do so, he added.

In its list, the cooperative office could

not find the name of the association

that got the lease for 99 years, according

to a report published by the daily

Janakantha on July 28, 2007.

The report suggested that the issue

drew the attention of the Anti-

Corruption Commission (ACC) when

the Railway authorities demanded to

get the rightful possession of the land

after the caretaker government came to

power.

It is known to be the last corruption

overs when Nissanka holed out to long on

in the 16th over and then Wood claimed

three wickets in his return spell, allowing

the islanders to score only 25 in the last

five overs.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa was one of the Sri

Lanka batters to reach double figures

before falling for run-a-ball 22 and

offered a tame catch at mid-on in

Wood's last over.

England had an injury scare when

Dawid Malan limped off the field after

sustaining a groin injury during the

fielding.

But they did not feel Malan's absence

with Alex Hales (47) and Jos Buttler (28)

racking up 70 runs in the first six overs.

Sri Lankan premier spinner, Wanindu

Hasaranga (2-23) ignited the collapse by

removing both batters in his successive

overs. Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone

then fell cheaply and Moeen Ali offered a

tame catch against the off spin of

Dhananjaya de Silva (2-24) in the covers

as England slipped to 111-5 in the 15th

over.

But Stokes, promoted at No. 3 in place

of injured Malan, kept cool with wickets

falling around him and carried England

home with two balls to spare.

The semifinalists from Group 2 will be

determined Sunday when all six teams

will be in action.

At Adelaide, South Africa need a win

against the Netherlands while Pakistan,

whose progress depends on the results of

other matches, will be up against

Bangladesh. India will then meet Zimbabwe

at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

of Mirza Abbas before BNP-Jamaat left

power in October 2006. In just 14 days,

possession of the land was confirmed

with a cash deposit of Tk 1.46 crore

from the fake association called

Purbachal Cooperative Society.

The company that legally took the

lease and was doing business on a portion

of the railway land was also

uprooted by muscle power.

The railway authorities protested the

incident but in vain due to the pressure

from the cadres of Mirza Abbas.

It is an example of how the power of

terrorists bypassed the rules and regulations

everywhere during the BNP

regime.

BNP-Jamaat MPs and ministers continued

to threaten and terrorize even

government employees.

It was Abbas who fraudulently made

the deeds of land worth Tk 800 crore in

the name of the relatives, including

brother and nephew, of the then Prime

Minister and BNP Chairperson

Khaleda Zia and her close aide

Mosaddak Ali Falu.

Even Abbas was one of the four MPs of

Dhaka who maintained regular contact

with top terrorists on behalf of Tarique

Rahman. "This is BNP's actual 'Take

Back Bangladesh", he mentioned.

Ambassador Li expects

stability in Bangladesh for

continued development

DHAKA : Chinese Ambassador to

Bangladesh Li Jiming on Saturday said

peace and stability are required for

development, reports UNB.

"We hope that this country's social

and political stability will be there in

place so that its socio-economic development

continues," he said.

Ambassador Li also said China does

not interfere in the internal affairs of

other countries. He made the remarks

while responding to questions at a

seminar held in a city hotel.

Invited by Bangladesh China Silk

Road Forum (BCSRF), he attended the

seminar on the 20th National

Congress of the Communist Party of

China (CPC). The Ambassador delivered

a keynote speech and answered

questions from the media.

Dilip Barua, the Chairman of BCSRF

and the Secretary General of the

Communist Party of Bangladesh

(Marxist-Leninist), Rashed Khan

Menon, MP, President of the Workers

Party of Bangladesh, as well as other

members of political parties in

Bangladesh and representatives from

think tanks also participated in the

event.

Ambassador Li introduced the main

contents of the report of the Congress,

including the achievements of the past

five years and the great changes in the

past decade of China, the indigenous

way to achieve Chinese modernization,

and the general plan for the work of

China on the new journey.

The envoy also shared his thoughts

on the Congress, ranging from the

importance of a powerful leading core

and self-reform for a party, to the significance

of theory innovation.

England's Chris Woakes, right, and England's Ben Stokes celebrate after winning the T20 World Cup

cricket match against Sri Lanka in Sydney, Australia, Saturday.

Photo : AP

06-11-2022

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