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wednesday
DhAKA : December 30, 2020; Poush 15, 1427 BS; Jamadi-ul Awal 14, 1442 hijri
www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net
Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.17; N o.258; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00
InternatIonal
Ohio police officer
fired in fatal shooting
of Black man
>Page 7
sports
Neymar in new
controversy over New
Year party rumors
>Page 9
art & culture
Alia Bhatt starrer film
'Gangubai Kathiawadi'
lands in legal trouble
>Page 10
HSC results in
Jan after issuance
of ordinance
DHAKA : Education Minister Dr
Dipu Moni has said the results of
the Higher Secondary School
Certificates (HSC) examinations
will be published after the issuance
ofan ordinance in this regard in the
first week of January, reports UNB.
"An ordinance will be issued as a
legal process for publishing the
results of the HSC exams as there
was no formal examination. The
results will be published after coordinating
the results of the JSC and
the SSC exams," said the minister
while speaking at a virtual press
briefing.
"Experts have given their opinions
over the coordination process
and if any student doesn't not get
his/her desired results then s/he
can apply to the board. I hope
there'll be no such incident," she
said.
The results will be published after
coordinating 75 percent of the SSC
and 25 percent from the JSC-JDC
results, Dipu Moni added.
The Higher Secondary Certificate
(HSC) and equivalent examinations
were postponed this year due to
Covid-19 situation.
Court orders to
attach flats, plot
of PK Halder
DHAKA : A court yesterday ordered
attachment of two Dhanmandi flats
and around six acres of land of former
managing director of NRB
Global Bank and Reliance Finance
Proshanta Kumar Halder alias PK
Halder.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions
Judge KM Imrul Qayesh passed the
order, allowing a plea of the Anti-
Corruption Commission (ACC).
Confirming the matter to BSS,
ACC lawyer Mahmud Hossain
Jahangir said the court ordered to
attach two flats situated at
Dhanmandi Road-39 and Road-6
areas, and the land at Rupganj
area.
The anti-graft body on January 8
filed a case against Halder for
amassing illegal wealth of around
Taka 274 crore.
He is accused of embezzling Taka
1500 crore from the International
Leasing and Financial Services Ltd.
Halder has allegedly embezzled
Taka 3,500 crore from different
financial agencies.
Zohr
05:21 AM
12:05 PM
03:35 PM
05:25 PM
06:45 PM
6:40 5:22
Next SSC exams in June,
HSC in July-August
2021: Dipu Moni
DHAKA : Education Minister Dr Dipu
Moni has said that the next Secondary
School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent
examinations will be held in June 2021
and Higher Secondary Certificate
(HSC) and its equivalent exams in July-
August.
She disclosed the government's plan
of holding SSC and HSC exams at a virtual
press briefing on the next year's
textbook festival and other education
related issues.
The government has decided to
reopen the educational institutions for
preparations of the SSC and HSC
examinees, the education minister said.
Before holding the next year's SSC
and HSC exams, Dipu Moni said, classes
on a short syllabus for SSC examinee
will be held from February to April
while classes on the short syllabus for
HSC examinees will be held from
February to May at the class rooms.
Speaking about the result of the HSC
exams of 2020, she said, "The results
have already been prepared for publish.
The results would be published in the
first week of January 2021 soon after
issuing an ordinance to this end".
The education minister also said that
the candidates of Junior School
Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil
Certificate (JDC) exams- 2020 will be
given certificates from the respective
Global leaders to join
Bangladesh's carnival
on Mar 17-26: FM
DHAKA : Bangladesh has planned to
go all out with a big carnival with
heads of state and government from
March 17-26 marking the birth centenary
of Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman and 50 years of Bangladesh's
Independence next year.
During the outgoing year, the country
also had planned many big programmes
but Covid-19 has spoiled
everything, reports UNB.
"We expect some heads of government
on March 17-26. We have already
received some confirmations but it
depends on improvement in the Covid-
19 situation," Foreign Minister Dr AK
Abdul Momen told UNB at his residence.
He said Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Turkish President
Tayyip Erdo?an, President of the
Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih,
Nepalese President Bidya Devi
Bhandari and Bhutanese Prime
education boards with an ID card number
instead of roll number as the exams
were not held this year. About textbook
festival, Dipu Moni said, due to the
coronavirus pandemic, the textbook
festival will not be held on the first day
of the New Year this time. The textbooks
will be distributed at the respective
educational institutions, maintaining
the health guidelines, she added.
The textbooks will be distributed in 12
days among the students from class six
to nine to avoid any kind of gathering,
the education minister said.
State Minister for Primary and Mass
Education Md Zakir Hossen, Deputy
Minister for Education Mohibul
Hassan Chowdhoury and other senior
officials of the education ministry were
present at the briefing.
Every year, the SSC exams start on
February 1 and the HSC exams on April
1. If these dates coincide with public
holidays, the tests usually begin on the
following day.
But this year, all the public examinations
for 2020 were cancelled and the
SSC and HSC exams for 2021 is going to
be delayed due to the global pandemic
coronavirus as the government
declared closure for all educational
institutions on March 17, 2020. The
government has extended the holiday
in phases.
Minister Lotay Tshering are among
those leaders who have almost confirmed
to visit Bangladesh within the 10
days from March 17-26.
The Foreign Minister, however, said
the government does not want to do
any programme creating problems for
the people of the country amid the
Covid-19 pandemic.
The Foreign Minister said
Bangladesh will host the World Peace
Conference next year, marking the 50
years of Independence. "We're working
to find a suitable date and it'll be a gathering
of peace lovers across the world."
Dr Momen said Bangabandhu spent
his entire life to establish the rights of
people, end discrimination, empower
people and he was a believer of democracy,
the rule of law and people's power.
He said Bangladesh proposed hosting
the World Peace Conference next year
marking the 50 years of Independence.
"It'll be a gathering of peace lovers
across the world."
the second batch of 1804 rohingyas reached Bhasan Char in hatiyaupazila of noakhali from city's patenga
Boat Club under the supervision of the Bangladesh navy on tuesday.
photo : tBt
First ship docked
at Matarbari
deep seaport
shafiul alaM, Cox's Bazar Correspondent
Bangladesh's first-ever deep seaport in
Cox's Bazar's Maheshkhali has welcomed
the very first ship to its docks
Tuesday morning.
The vessel, 'Venus Triumph' bearing
the flag of Panama, arrived at the jetty
built for the Matarbari power plant
around 10:15 am Tuesday, according to
Chittagong Port Authority's Assistant
Harbour Master Captain Md Ataul
Hakim Siddiqui.
"After the vessel entered the port
canal at 9am on Tuesday, the pilots of
the port operated the ship and
anchored it to the jetty built temporarily
for the coal-fired power plant."
A second ship is scheduled to reach
the port through the channel on Jan 5,
he added. Chattogram port pilots then
escorted the ship to a jetty built for the
coal-based power plant.
Abul Kalam Azad, Executive Director,
Coal Power Generation Company,
Bangladesh, said that the joint venture
between the Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister of
Japan has played an important role.
Under this project, 1,200 MW power
plant, 14.3 km long 250 m for transporting
coal and oiland 18.5 m. Coal
and oil unloading jetty with deep channel
is under construction. The construction
of the jetty for unloading heavy
equipment including channels has
already been completed.
Earlier, a 14km-long channel-with a
width of 25 metres and a depth of 18
metres-was prepared for the ship. Ships
will now be able to enter the port jetty
from the Bay of Bengal through this
channel. The Marine Division of
Chittagong Port has set up six buoys to
guide ships to the port jetty through this
channel from the deep sea.
the "Venus
triumph"
hoisting the
panamanian
flag arrived at
Matarbari deep
sea port on
tuesday.
photo: tBt
1804 more Rohingyas
reach Bhasan Char
Manik Bhuiyan, noakhali Correspondent
The second batch of 1804 Rohingyas
reached Bhasan Char in Hatiyaupazila
of Noakhali from city's Patenga Boat
Club under the supervision of the
Bangladesh Navy on Tuesday 24 days
after the first group went there.
Earlier, the Rohingya people came to
Patenga from UkhiyaBalukhali camp in
Cox's Bazar and started their journey on
five naval ships for Bhasan Char at 9.20
this morning after an overnight stay at a
temporary transit camp at the BAF
Shaheen College.
The first batch of 1642 Rohingyas
arrived at Bhasan Char under the
Bangladesh Navy's supervision on
December 4 last, naval force sources said.
Alak Biswas, additional deputy commissioner
of Chattogram Metropolitan
police, told BSS that the second batch of
1804 Rohingyas reached Bhasan Char
at 11.30 am today from city's Patenga
Boat Club on five naval ships.
Around one lakh Rohingyas will go to
Bhasan Char in phases, sources said. As
part of it, in the first phase, about 3,500
Rohingyas have already gone there,
they said.
Food items have been stored in the
char for three months as initially,
cooked food will be provided to
Rohingyas by NGO's, sources added.
Representatives of 22 NGOs have
already started their respective works at
Bhasan Char to this end.
Jasmine Prema, chairperson of the
DHAKA : High Commissioner (HC) of
the Maldives to Bangladesh Shiruzimath
Sameer yesterday presented her credentials
to President M Abdul Hamid at
Bangabhaban.
Welcoming the high commissioner, the
President said Bangladesh as one of the
friendly countries, has been maintaining
an excellent bilateral relations with the
Republic of Maldives since its very beginning.
The bilateral ties have expanded
over the years in various fields, including
trade and investment, President's Press
Secretary Mohammad Joynal Abedin
told BSS after the meeting.
Noting that Bangladesh now has
many high quality institutions, including
medical, technical and technological,
in the field of higher education,
President Hamid urged the new HC to
take necessary steps on using these.
Social Welfare and Development
Organization, said that the government
and 22 development agencies have been
working to send Rohingyas to Bhasan
Char who wants to go voluntarily.
Before boarding the ship, the
Rohingyas were given tokens and keys
of the allotted houses after various data
entries, she said.
In addition to modern accommodation
for the Rohingyas in Bhasan Char,
educational institutions, hospitals, clinics
and playgrounds have already been
set up, she added.
Mohammad Samsuddauja, additional
commissioner of the government's
Refugee Relief and Repatriation Office,
said that buffaloes, sheep, ducks and
pigeons are being reared there for gearing
up economic activities.
"Different types of vegetables are
being planted. Paddy is also being cultivated
experimentally there," he
added.
He said that cluster villages have been
constructed in the project with the aim
of accommodating one lakh one thousand
360 Rohingyas. The number of
houses is 1,440 in 120 cluster villages,
he added.
He went on saying that the government
has provided infrastructure of 120
cluster villages on the 13,000-acre of
char land at a cost of Tk 3095 crore with
its own fund to accommodate more
than one lakh Rohynga people.
Maldives envoy presents
credentials to President
Bangladesh produces, the President
said, various international quality products,
including readymade garments,
medicines, ceramics, jute and jutemade
goods, leather and leather-made
products and plastic items.
"The Maldives can import these products
from Bangladesh, which will help
maintain the trade balance between the
two countries as well as increase bilateral
trade ties in days to come," he added.
The head of the state put emphasis on
the mutual visits of the representatives
belonging to the public and private sectors
between the two countries.
He said Bangladesh and the Maldives
are high vulnerable countries to the climate
change impact issue at present
and stressed the need for a joint-effort
to address this issue in different regional
and international forums.
WednesdAY, december 30, 2020
2
Leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra Maitri brought out a procession on the campus of Dhaka University on
Tuesday on the occasion of the 20th National Conference.
Photo : Star Mail
AL takes Victory Day programme
for Democracy today
DHAKA : Awami League will observe Victory Day for
Democracy today across the country marking the second
anniversary of party's victory in the 11th parliamentary election
on December 30.
The 11th parliamentary election was a milestone in the country's
history of democracy and development as Bangladesh
marched towards new journey of democracy overcoming darkness
of violent politics and domination of evil forces and
patrons of terrorists, militants and corrupt people through the
elections, said a press release of AL.
Marking the day, the party has drawn up programme including
a discussion at the party's Bangabandhu Avenue central
office at 3pm, said a press release.
AL's district, city, town, upazila and thana units will also
arrange identical programmes tomorrow.
Under the initiative of Dhaka City North unit of AL, a discussion
will be held at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB)
auditorium at 11am.
Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and
Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader will attend it as the chief
guest. Party's Presidium Member Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Joint
General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim and Organizing
Secretary Mirza Azam will join it as the special guests.
WHO chief speaks of 'personal
pain' over Ethiopia conflict
GENEVA : In rare, personal comments,
World Health Organization chief
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke
Monday of his "personal pain" over the
"worsening" conflict raging in his home
country of Ethiopia, reports UNB.
"In addition to Covid, 2020 has been
very difficult for me because my country
is in trouble," Tedros told reporters
in the UN health agency's last press
conference on the Covid-19 pandemic
of the year.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy
Ahmed, last year's Nobel Peace Prize
winner, ordered troops into the northern
region of Tigray on November 4,
saying the operation was in response to
alleged attacks on federal army camps
by the regional ruling party, the Tigray
People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
The fighting in Tigray has left thousands
dead, according to the
International Crisis Group think tank,
and sent tens of thousands of refugees
streaming across the border into
Sudan.
Tedros, the world's highest-profile
Tigrayan, told Monday's press conference
that he had many relatives in the
troubled region, "including my younger
brother, and I don't know where they
are."
"I have not communicated with them
because communication is not there."
Ethiopia restricted media access to
the conflict-hit region and Tigray was
under a total communications blackout
for six weeks as the conflict raged
between federal and regional forces.
Tedros, who for the past year has
been at the forefront of efforts to coordinate
a global response to the pandemic,
said the additional strain had been
tough personally. "As if Covid is not
enough I have that personal pain also,"
he said. "I worry about the whole country,"
he said.
"I cannot worry about my younger
brother or my relatives alone because
the situation is worsening."
Last month the Ethiopian government
accused Tedros, who from 2005-
2012 served as health minister under
then-TPLF leader Meles Zenawi, of lobbying
for and seeking to arm the
region's leaders.
Tedros denied those accusations in a
tweet last month, saying he had seen
the destructive nature of war as a child,
and had "used that first-hand experience
to always work for peace."
"There have been reports suggesting I
am taking sides in this situation. This is
not true," he wrote.
"I want to say that I am on only one
side, and that is the side of peace."
During Monday's press conference,
Tedros acknowledged that worrying
about both the pandemic and the conflict
in Ethiopia "has been tough".
But he ended his comments on an upbeat
note, voicing joy at becoming a grandfather
two months ago."I worry, considering the two
difficult situations that are happening, about
my granddaughter, but at the same time,
looking at her, I see hope."
Rawshan
Rahman dies
Rawshan Rahman Eva, the
wife of economic affairs adviser
to the prime minister Mashiur
Rahman, died at a hospital in
Dhaka on Monday.
She was 74, said a press
release.
Eva is survived by her
husband, a son and a daughter.
Prime minister Sheikh
Hasina expressed deep shock
and sorrow at the death of
Rawshan Rahman.
In a message of condolence,
she prayed for the eternal peace
of the departed soul and
conveyed deep sympathy to the
bereaved family. A number of
cabinet members expressed
profound shock and sorrow at
the death of Rawshan
Rahman.
The cabinet members, who
offered their condolences,
included agriculture minister
Abdur Razzaque, law, justice
and parliamentary affairs
minister Anisul Huq, foreign
affairs minister AK Abdul
Momen, and state minster for
civil aviation and tourism
Mahbub Ali.
GD- 1785/20 (10x 4)
GD- 1784/20 (12x 4)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020
3
Bangabandhu Parishad of Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC), held a human chain and protest
rally simultaneously in 35 places across Bangladesh on Tuesday in protest against the vandalism and devaluation of
the sculpture of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Photo: Courtesy
Human chain protesting against vandalism
of Bangabandhu's sculpture held at BADC
In protest against the vandalism and
devaluation of the sculpture of Father of
the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman, a human chain and
protest rally were held simultaneously in
35 places across Bangladesh on Tuesday.
Organized by Bangabandhu Parishad of
Bangladesh Agriculture Development
Corporation (BADC), the human chain
was attended by all levels of BADC officials,
employees, leaders of all professional
organizations including CBS, a
press release said.
The speakers at the occasion said that
"we immediately demand appropriate
punishment for the perpetrators of these
heinous and barbaric acts. At the same
time, there is a strong call for the eradication
of those who openly oppose cultural
freedom. They have chosen a time
when we are going to celebrate the birth
centenary of Bangabandhu and the golden
jubilee of independence. I wish the
107 landless
families to get
houses in
Sariakandi
BOGURA : A total of 107
landless and distressed families
of Sariakandi upazila of
the district are going to get
semi-pucca houses as a gift
from Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina on the occasion of
the 'Mujib Borsho' by next
January, reports BSS.
On behalf of Asrayan
Project-2 of the Prime
Minister's Office, the
Department of Disaster
Management (DDM) has
been constructing the houses
and each of the houses
will be built at a cost of Taka
1.71 lakh, said Sarwar Alam,
upazila project implementation
officer.
Shakil gets
thrilled getting
computer as
gift from PM
CUMILLA : Shahadat Hossain
Shakil, a resident of
Mughaltuli in Cumilla, was
thrilled when he got a computer
from Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina as a gift.
"I'm very happy to receive the
gift from the Prime Minister. I
pray to the Almighty for her
good health and long life," said
Shakil as Cumilla Deputy
Commissioner Abul Fazal Mir
on behalf of the premier handed
over the computer to him on
Monday. On December 7,
Shakil, son of Abdul Halim,
sent a SMS to the Prime
Minister's mobile phone,
which he collected from website,
with an appeal for a computer.
Later, Shakil received
a call from the Prime
Minister's Office on Dec 8.
Later, Cumilla Deputy
Commissioner's Office contacted
with him on Monday
and handed over the computer
worth Tk 45,000 as a
gift from the Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina.
government to take a firm stand against
their heinous conspiracy as well as the
conscious role of the citizens of
Bangladesh.
Md. Sayedul Islam, Chairman
(Additional Secretary) of BADC said at
the human chain and protest rally that
Bangabandhu means Bangladesh. If
Bangabandhu had not been born,
Bangladesh would not have been independent.
He is the symbol of our freedom
and sovereignty, the undisputed
leader of the freedom struggle, he is our
pride. Hitting on the sculpture of
Bangabandhu means hitting on
Bangladesh. The defeated forces and
fanatics of 1971 carried out this heinous
attack.
Ripon Kumar Mandal, president of
Bangabandhu Parishad, BADC, said at a
human chain and protest rally that the
defeated forces of 1971 must be defeated
by uniting. We have to think about why
Bangladesh was hit in that December by
hitting the sculpture of Bangabandhu. If
Bangabandhu is attacked, Bangabandhu
Parishad will prevent it.
At the occasion, Ripon Kumar
Mandal, Acting President of
Bangabandhu Parishad, BADC,
Dhirendra Chandra Debnath, Vice
President,Palash Hossain, Vice
President, Md. Monirul Islam Sohel,
President of BADC CBA and convener of
the organizing committee Md. Zainul
Abedin were among others present at
the occasion.
It is to be noted that on the night of
December 4, 2020, miscreants vandalized
the under construction sculpture of
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the intersection
of five roads in Kushtia city. In the
wake of the storm of protests that erupted
across the country, Bangabandhu
Parishad, BADC held a protest program.
On the occasion of the 106th birth anniversary of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, a day-long
Zainul Utsav-2020 has been celebrated at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University on
Tuesday. On this occasion, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Md.
Akhtaruzzaman laid a wreath at the tomb of Shilpacharya.
Photo : Courtesy
Integrated development must
for effective local govt bodies
RAJSHAHI : Speakers at a participatory meeting
yesterday unequivocally called for ensuring
transparency, accountability and citizens' participation
in different development works is vital to
establish good governance in the local government
institutions.
Integrated development planning can be a
vital means of making the existing local government
institutions and the Upazila Parishad
and Union Parishad (UP) in particular effective
and accountable.
The discussants came up with the observations
while addressing the annual coordination meeting
of the 'Integrated Development under
Efficient and Accountable Local Governance
(EALG) Project' held at the conference hall of
Deputy Commissioner (DC) office.
District administration arranged the meeting
in association with the United Nation
Development Programme (UNDP) and Swiss
Agency for Development and Cooperation-SDC.
The speakers observed effective and meaningful
UZPs and UPs is the precondition to reasonable
improvement of living and livelihood conditions
of the grassroots population. So, there is no
alternative to make those up to the mark.
Deputy Commissioner Abdul Jalil addressed
the meeting as the chief guest with deputy director
of Local Government Division Shahana
Akhter Jahan in the chair.
More than 80 persons comprising UZP
Chairmen and Vice-chairmen, Upazila Nirbahi
Officers, UP Chairmen, upazila officials from all
eight line departments and members of the civil
society joined the meeting.
Deputy Director of the Department of
Agriculture Extension Shamsul Haque, Deputy
Director of the Department of Family Planning
Dr Abdul Mannan, Executive Director of Local
Government Engineering Division Saniul
Haque, Deputy Director of the Department of
Women Affairs Shobnom Shirin and Upazila
Chairman Anil Kumar Sarker also spoke.
District Facilitator of EALG Project Abu Hena
Mostafa Kamal illustrated the aims and objectives
of the project and its implementation strategy
during his multimedia presentation.
DC Abdul Jalil stressed the need for strengthening
local government institutions for strong
democracy and its institutionalisation at the
grassroots level which is important for achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He also said strengthening local governance
has been a key focus of the government of
Bangladesh and called for greater youth participation
in local governance for attainment
of the SDGs."Youth participation is very
important for local governance in attaining
SDGs, and leaving no one behind, you have to
work for it," he added.
Kamal Mojumder
for strengthening
technology-based
industrialization
DHAKA : State Minister for
Industries Kamal Ahmed
Mojumder yesterday directed
the new Bangladesh Small
and Cottage Industries
Corporation (BSCIC) officials
to intensify the technologybased
industrialization in line
with the fourth industrial revolution.
New BSCIC officers need to
acquire the ability to provide
appropriate services to entrepreneurs
in the workplace, he
said.
The state minister came up
with the instruction at the
inaugural function of the
basic training course for the
first class new officers of
BSCIC and training course
for women entrepreneurs as
the chief guest.
He also urged the BSCIC to
consolidate its activities in
setting up new industrial
cities in potential areas.
Mojumder said that after
completion of land development
in the industrial cities,
plots will be allotted to the
entrepreneurs and all services
required for the operation
of industrial factories must be
ensured there.
According to the SME
Policy-2019, the contribution
of the SME sector to GDP has
been targeted to increase to 32
percent by 2024, he added.
He called upon the BSCIC
officials to perform duties
with sincerity and dedication
in achieving the goal.
BSCIC chairman Md.
Mostaq Hasan NDC attended
the program as special guest
with its director Md. Khalilur
Rahman in the chair.
Mild to moderate
cold wave may
continue
DHAKA : Mild to moderate
cold wave is sweeping over
Khulna division and the regions
of Madaripur, Gopalgonj,
Srimangal, Rajshahi, Ishurdi,
Badalgachi, Dinajpur,
Teaulia, Rajarhat, Barishal
and Khepupara and it may
continue at some places.
Minimum temperature of
the country was recorded yesterday
7.3 degrees celsius at
Srimangal and Chuadanga
and maximum temperature
29.0 degrees Celsius at Teknaf
on Monday, according to the
Bangladesh Meteorological
Department (BMD).
Weather may remain dry over
the country. Moderate to thick
fog may occur at places over the
river basins of the country and
light to moderate fog may occur
elsewhere over the country.
Night and day temperature
may remain nearly unchanged
over the country. Ridge of subcontinental
high extends up to
West Bengal and adjoining
area. Seasonal low lies over
South Bay.
JU bans 31st
night celebration
at campus area
SAVAR : The authorities of
Jahangirnagar University
have imposed restrictions on
31st night celebration on the
eve of New Year 2021 this
year on the campus amid
COVID-19 outbreak.
An office order signed by
the university's acting registrar
Rahima Kaniz on
Monday said that no camp firing,
cultural program would
be allowed on the campus and
all campus surrounded shops
must close their doors before
the evening on the day.
The authorities also have
taken proper security measures
ahead of New Year celebrations
such as imposing
restriction on mass gathering,
showdown and the outsider's
entry during the day,
the notice reads.
The university administration
also urged Ashulia police
station to deploy additional
police force with the proctorial
body in order to avoid any
unexpected occurrence during
the security patrolling, the
statement added.
Corona puts children at
serious risk of malnutrition
DHAKA : The coronavirus has put the entire
world at serious risk. The virus which was first
detected in Wuhan, China, has become a pandemic
for the whole world. In the socio-economic
crisis caused by the Corona surge, 3.9
million children under the age of five in South
Asia could suffer from malnutrition this year.
These can worsen mental and physical wellbeing
of children, reports BSS.
Referring to the study report, the United
Nations International Children's Emergency
Fund (UNICEF) has warned that children will
be more vulnerable to the pandemic than any
other disease.
According to the study published in Lancet,
children around the world are more likely to be
at risk of serious illness from the lethal virus.
Stuck Qatar Bangladeshi Expatriates formed a human chain in front of
National Press Club yesterday to meet their various demands. Photo : TBT
To establish "Khondaker Ahmed Muktadir and Mosammat Khodeza Begum
Scholarship" a cheque for Tk. ten lac was handed over by Gaohar Ahmed, the Donor
of the "Khondaker Ahmed Muktadir and Mosammat Khodeza Begum Scholarship",
for the students of Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology at AUST Campus
on Tuesday. The fund will arrange scholarships annually for the meritorious students
of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) of AUST. Prof. Dr.
Muhammad Fazli Ilahi, Vice-Chancellor, AUST, Prof. Dr. Mustafizur Rahman,
Treasurer, AUST, Dr. Md. Mosharof Hossain, Registrar, AUST, Dr. Mohammad
Shariful Alam, Head of CSE were present at the ceremony. Photo : Courtesy
HC dismisses bail plea
of JKG's Sabrina
DHAKA : The High Court (HC) yesterday
dismissed a bail plea of JKG
Healthcare Chairman Dr Sabrina Arif
Chowdhury in a case lodged over issuing
fake coronavirus (Covid-19) test reports.
"Not pressed," said the order passed by
the High Court division bench comprising
Justice Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain and
Justice KM Zahid Sarwar.
Confirming the matter to the newsmen,
Deputy Attorney General Md
Monirul Islam said now the accused
would not be able to come out on bail.
The proceedings of the case is now
going on at the trial court and 13 out of
the total 43 witnesses have so far testified
in the case against eight people including
Dr Sabrina and her husband and JKG
CEO Ariful Haque Chowdhury.
The court on August 20 framed
charges against the eight accused in
the case.
More than half of this - about 58 percent (3.9
million) - will be in south Asian countries.
UNICEF described the illness as very risky as
children become more vulnerable to Corona
due to extreme malnutrition. As a result, they
become very thin and weak. This put the child's
life at risk and hinders their sound physical
growth and mental development.The study
says children under the age of five more likely
to be malnourished this year in low and middle-income
countries due to the Covid surge.
This problem will become much more evident
in South Asia as health services was stopped
for long in the region due to outbreak of the
virus. Officially vaccination for children and
feeding of vitamin were discontinued for several
months.
Mujib Barsha : Webinar lauds Bangabandhu's
leadership, Hasina's dev focus
DHAKA : Speakers on Tuesday lauded
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman's leadership quality and
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's politics of
development highlighting how Bangladesh is
marching towards Sonar Bangla as dreamt by
Bangabandhu.
They were addressing a webinar titled,
'Liberation of Bangladesh and the Dream of
Sonar Bangla' organised by the Bangladesh
Embassy in Amman, Jordan as part of the
'Mujib Barsha Webinar Series'.
Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen
MP was the chief guest while Palestinian
Foreign Minister Dr Riad Maliki attended as
the special guest. Dr. Momen gave a
historical overview of the struggle of
Bangalees for their independence led by
Bangabandhu with the necessary contexts.
He also noted how the unfinished work of
Bangabandhu are now being adopted and
put into action by Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina.
He also spoke on the urgency of the
repatriation of the Rohingyas to their
homeland in Myanmar.
The Palestinian Foreign Minister Dr. Maliki
expressed his high respect for Bangabandhu
while lauding the model of inclusive
development championed by Bangabandhu
and now being succesfuly implemented by
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He wholeheartedly appreciated the
unflinching support Bangabandhu always
afforded to the Palestinians and their
aspirations for statehood, a policy which has
been strongly maintained by his daughter
Sheikh Hasina.
The other six accused are- Abu
Sayeed Chowdhury, Humayun Kabir
Himu, Tanjila Patwari, Biplob Das,
Shafikul Islam Romeo and Jebunnesa.
Investigation agency detective branch
(DB) of police on August 5 filed
charge-sheet in the case.
The investigation officer (IO) and DB
inspector Liakat Ali in the chargesheet
accused Sabrina and JKG CEO
Ariful of being the masterminds
behind the scam and the others as
their cohorts.
One Kamal Hossain filed the case
with Tejgaon Police Station on June 15
for issuing fake Covid-19 test reports.
JKG Healthcare run by Ariful and his
wife Dr Sabrina, was realising money
from the suspected patients for coronavirus
test, whereas the company had
inked a deal with the government to
conduct the test free of cost.
WedNeSdaY, deCemBeR 30, 2020
4
Europe’s watershed year
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Sino-Indian rivalry
over Bangladesh
In Bangladeshi geopolitics, India has always been
at the center while the United States has had
leverage. Other regional powers such as China
used to be on the periphery. Historically Bangladesh
has more cultural and societal links with India.
India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are collectively
known as a subcontinent. However, India's posture
and tactics created uneasiness among ordinary
Bangladeshis.
China's economic engagement with South Asian
countries - with the exception of long-time partner
Pakistan - only began to ramp up in the last two
decades. In this short period of time, China has
emerged as a top trade partner for Bangladesh. In
2015, ChinabecameBangladesh's top trading
partner, knocking India out of the position it had
held for 40 years. Imports from China represent 34
percent of Bangladesh's total.
As a member of China's Belt and Road Initiative,
Bangladesh has seen an influx of Chinese
investment in recent times. Beijing's support of
Bangladesh was evident in the 27 agreements for
investments and loans signed by the two countries -
worth some $24 billion - when President Xi Jinping
visited in 2016. Along with an earlier $13.6 billion
investment in joint ventures, those deals brought
Chinese investment in Bangladesh to a total of $38
billion, the largest sum ever pledged to Bangladesh
by a single country.
This large amount of Chinese investment in
India's most trusted, friendly neighbor made New
Delhi feel it was falling behind. Therefore, in
response, India announced $5 billion in loans for
Bangladesh in 2017, which is the largest amount
ever invested by India in Bangladesh.
As a rapidly developing economy Bangladesh is in
dire need of investment, while China and India both
see investment in Bangladesh as a way to extend
their influence. Bangladesh is seizing the
opportunity and using both China and India to fill
its FDI deficit.
There is also a strong security dimension to these
relationships. Bangladesh is surrounded by India
on three sides, and their shared 4096-kilometer
land border is the fifth-longest in the world. The Bay
of Bengal, located to the south of Bangladesh, is a
frontier that is watched over by the comparatively
powerful Indian Navy. Bangladesh also has a
maritime dispute with India in the strategic Bay of
Bengal.
China has become Bangladesh's top source for
arms imports; and Dhaka likewise is China's
second-largest arms export destination in the
world, behind Pakistan. Bangladesh accounts for 20
percent of all Chinese arms sales. Beijing has
provided Dhaka with five maritime patrol vessels,
two submarines, 16 fighter jets, and 44 tanks, as well
as anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles. Most
recently, in 2017 the Bangladesh Navy took delivery
of two Chinese submarines at a minimum price.
This agreement made India uncomfortable; thus
New Delhi expressed interest in offering submarine
training for the Bangladesh Navy. Again, while
China and India seek to expand their influence in
the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh is using both to make
necessary improvements to its military.
If the China-India strategic rivalry intensifies, both
countries will double down on their approach to
bringing strategically located Bangladesh into their
own orbit. China, along with increasing investment,
may also open its economy to billions of dollars in
imports from Bangladesh, which will help the
country to diversify its exports to a new destination
beyond North America and Europe. On the Indian
side, New Delhi may ramp up the diplomatic and
cultural ties with Bangladesh. India and China will
do their best to edge each other out in their
competition for dominance in the Bay of Bengal and
will try to squeeze an economically weak
Bangladesh.
However, Bangladesh should be aware that both
India and China will be primarily self-serving in
their investments. To avoid being a passive victim of
this geopolitical competition in the Bay of Bengal,
Bangladesh should use its strategic piston tactfully.
One way of getting the most out of India-China
competition is to remain elusive, without showing a
preference between the two giants. Maintaining
good working relations with both India and China is
crucial for an economically and infrastructurally
weaker Bangladesh.
In 2020, people around the world
experienced life in slow motion, even
as political developments accelerated.
For the EU, navigating the COVID-19
crisis has been challenging, yet despite
much naysaying, Europeans not only
stuck together but grew together, forging
a more cohesive bloc. In 2021, global
cooperation ought to make a strong
comeback, and the EU should continue to
pursue "strategic autonomy" so that it
can safeguard its citizens and interests in
the years and decades ahead.
It is a truism that 2020 marked a
watershed. In fact, the world has been
undergoing several tectonic shifts for
years now, including but not limited to
growing public distrust, polarization and
identity politics, tepid economic growth,
rising debts and deepening inequality.
We have witnessed the weaponization of
interdependence. Trade, technology,
investment, tourism and other former
venues of deepening cooperation have
become instruments of power and
domains of intense competition.
This was the big picture that we in the
EU leadership saw when we took office in
December 2019, just before conditions
became even more challenging. For
Europeans, it looked as though
everything we held dear was being
contested, be it multilateral cooperation;
solidarity between countries, generations
and individuals; or even basic respect for
facts and science. In addition to several
crises brewing in the EU's neighborhood
and the escalation of Sino-American
tensions, we were hit suddenly by
COVID-19, which has compounded all
the other longer-term challenges Europe
faces. There is no denying that the EU
struggled during the early days of the
pandemic. We were ill-prepared, and
many member states were initially
inclined to let everyone fend for
themselves. But genuine acts of solidarity
soon followed, with many countries
taking patients from, and sending
emergency equipment to, those most in
need. Then the EU-level measures kicked
in. The European Central Bank provided
massive liquidity, and the European
Commission authorized member states
to incur large deficits to support their
economies.
The discussion quickly turned to how
the EU could provide fiscal support to the
hardest-hit countries, and these debates
culminated in a historic "recovery fund."
An unprecedented €1.8 trillion
($2.1 trillion) was allocated for a new
"Next Generation EU" instrument and
the bloc's next seven-year budget.
Moreover, two longstanding economicpolicy
shibboleths were shattered. For
the first time, EU leaders agreed to issue
largescale common debt and allow for
fiscal transfers, provided that spending is
aligned with the twin priorities of
funding a green transition and securing
Europe's digital future.
On the international front, the EU's
position has been clear: A "pandemic
world" needs multilateral solutions. We
have lived by this motto even when
others were going it alone. Our May 2020
virtual pledging conference to raise funds
for vaccine research was a perfect
demonstration of the EU's unique
strengths. While the US and China were
proverbially at each other's throats,
Europe stepped up to lead on this critical
issue. Moreover, we did so in a
quintessentially European way (call it
"Multilateralism 2.0"), working with not
only governments, but also foundations
and the private sector.
Since the summer, Europe has suffered
a second wave of infections and struggled
with renewed lockdowns. Although we
have far more knowledge about COVID-
19 and how to treat it, "pandemic fatigue"
is widespread. Worse, the initial
economic rebound appears to be fading,
indicating that the crisis will continue to
dominate our lives for months - and
perhaps years - to come. As such, we
must keep mobilizing across all of the
relevant domains, from public health and
the economy to security and global
governance.
Revitalizing multilateralism will be a
top priority for the EU in 2021. Obviously
we cannot achieve this alone, but we
anticipate that we will have more
partners in the year ahead than we did in
2020. With Joe Biden succeeding Donald
Trump as president, the US is expected to
rejoin the Paris climate agreement,
JOSeP BORReLL
restore its support for the World Health
Organization, return to the Iran nuclear
deal and adopt a more constructive
stance within the World Trade
Organization.
America's return to the global stage will
serve as a much-needed shot in the arm
for multilateralism. We hope that others,
including China and Russia, will follow
suit in reversing their selective and selfserving
approach to multilateral
cooperation in the UN and elsewhere.
The pandemic has underscored the
need for European strategic autonomy, a
concept that originated in defense circles,
but that now extends to public health and
many other domains.
To be sure, pleas for "rules-based
cooperation" often sound less inspiring
than bombastic appeals to "take back
control." We must ensure that
multilateralism delivers tangible results
for citizens. No one will be safe until we
have a reliable vaccine, so the paramount
america's return to the global stage will serve as
a much-needed shot in the arm for multilateralism.
We hope that others, including China and
Russia, will follow suit in reversing their selective
and self-serving approach to multilateral
cooperation in the UN and elsewhere.
JaWed NaqvI
questions on vaccination are who will get
what, when and how. There is a serious
risk of "vaccine nationalism" or "vaccine
diplomacy," with rich and powerful
countries forcing themselves to the front
of the line. In early 2020, some countries
used "mask diplomacy" to extract
political concessions in exchange for
critically needed personal protective
equipment. The EU will insist on the
opposite approach: Vaccines must be
treated as a global public good and
distributed based on medical needs.
The second big multilateral priority for
2021 is climate change, another area
where the EU has shown leadership.
Having already set a 2050 carbonneutrality
target, we are close to an
agreement on a binding commitment to
reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions
by 55 percent by 2030. Moreover, these
efforts seem to have inspired others:
China has signaled its intention to
become carbon neutral by 2060, and
Japan and South Korea have said they
will do so by 2050. We now need the US,
India, Russia, Brazil and other big
emitters to get onboard.
Climate change is the existential
challenge of our time. As with COVID-19,
the warning signs are visible for all to see,
and there is a solid scientific consensus
about what to do. The difference, of
course, is that there will never be a
vaccine for climate change, so we must
bend the curve of GHG emissions as fast
as possible. Finally, at the same time that
we pursue multilateralism, we must build
a capacity to act autonomously when
necessary. As I argued a year ago,
Europeans must confront the world as it
is, not as we wish it to be. The EU must
"learn to speak the language of power."
The pandemic has underscored the
need for European strategic autonomy, a
concept that originated in defense circles,
but that now extends to public health and
many other domains. We have learned
the hard way that there are costs to
depending on just a few suppliers of
critical goods, especially when the
supplier is a country whose value system
is fundamentally at odds with our own.
The solution to this problem is
diversification and, when necessary,
shorter supply chains.
This is not just about market failures in
medical supplies. Strategic autonomy is
about how Europe can address
vulnerabilities across a wide range of
areas, from critical technologies and
infrastructure (such as digital networks
and cloud computing) to rare earths and
the raw materials needed for the green
transition. We must avoid excessive
dependence on external suppliers in
these strategic sectors. The point is not to
embrace autarky or protectionism, but to
safeguard our political independence so
that we remain masters of our own
choices and future.
Some elements of this strategy were put
in place in 2020. Europe now has a
mechanism to screen foreign investments,
and we have begun to address the
distorting effects of foreign subsidies. We
are also boosting the international role of
the euro, and preparing additional
measures on issues such as government
procurement. As matters stand, the EU
procurement market is almost totally
open, while that of some others remains
almost completely closed. We must either
ensure reciprocity or take steps to restore
balance.
Source: Arab news
Land grab dressed as nationalism
THE Modi government has
proposed the setting up of a new
waqf board for Jammu and
Kashmir. Muslim waqf boards, or trusts,
are rich in land, and land is in heavy
demand by Indian corporates. The
tycoon who cobbled support for
Narendra Modi's rise as prime minister
himself bought waqf land in Mumbai for
a pittance to build a multistoried home
considered by many to be an aesthetic
eyesore.
On the other side of the bargain, the
bodies of fabled Muslim actors and
actresses, musicians and singers -
Madhubala, Naushad and Mohammed
Rafi among them - were removed from
their resting places to create room for
newer arrivals, such is the pressure on
waqf land.
The land where Babri Masjid had stood
belonged to a waqf. Now, the land
belonging to Kashmiri Muslims appears
to be in the cross hairs of corporate
conquests of fertile farmlands, virgin
forests, of rivers and mountains.
Kashmir is rich in all these.
This was how colonialism expanded in
India. From a wider lens, both
colonialism (British traders) and today's
nationalism (Indian traders) are/were
similar in their greed for land with both
asserting claim to what belonged to
others, one by flaunting the national flag,
the other with the help of the gunboat.
Nehru and Gandhi became nationalist
icons in popular reckoning and the
peasants the spoilers.
Nationalism curiously also reminds
one of the house servants of the Iranian
elite. The rich Iranians would nurture
this habit of leaving, say, a cooked whole
chicken wrapped in cellophane in the
kitchen garbage so that the cleaner in the
morning would admire the master's
affluence. The cleaner and the master
were both proud Persians.
Closer home, in the name of the
nation's progress, movie actor Shahrukh
Khan has been advocating online school
curriculum with a special app he claims
has all the answers to a schoolgoer's
queries, mainly targeting students who
are not able to leave their home because
of the virus. The poorer majority who
inevitably have little if any access to
electricity leave alone a laptop, that too
one with a costly app supported by a
smart guide like Khan, can smack their
lips in celebration of the new India that
excludes them. Nationalism is akin to the
Stockholm syndrome, with the
oppressed loving the oppressor.
It's a fact that nationalism is classdriven.
Gandhiji stopped Indian
peasants from going on the warpath
several times, once by calling off a civil
disobedience movement because the
peasants burnt down a British police
station. He dispatched Nehru to Rae
Bareli to rein in restive peasants fighting
British-backed zamindars. Gandhi once
got off the train in Ayodhya to chide
peasants for being ready for class
violence. Nehru and Gandhi became
nationalist icons in popular reckoning
and the peasants the spoilers, not
different from the way today's protesting
farmers are vilified daily as traitors by
TV anchors loyal to the rulers in New
Delhi. With Switzerland's ageing
population there would be no Swiss left
to run their country, I needlessly ribbed
a Swiss journalist once. "Who cares?"
was the tart reply, her tone closely
resembling the message of the 19thcentury
Urdu poem Banjaranamah, a
celebration of the gypsy worldview, a
close variation of essential Buddhist
thought. "Not an inch of our sacred land
will be conceded," proclaimed the Indian
soldier not long ago to a melee of very
proud Indian tourists at the Nathu La
border with China. His Chinese
counterpart seemed accustomed to the
earnest gush of nationalism from across
the barbed wire, which he too must have
vented occasionally but probably without
the need to remove his smile.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
projected himself as an opponent of
expansionism he obliquely accused
With Switzerland's ageing population there would
be no Swiss left to run their country, I needlessly
ribbed a Swiss journalist once. "Who cares?" was the
tart reply, her tone closely resembling the message
of the 19th-century Urdu poem Banjaranamah, a
celebration of the gypsy worldview, a close variation
of essential Buddhist thought.
China of pursuing. Modi's fellow rightwing
nationalist, a former chief minister
of Maharashtra, however, was sanguine
the other day that he would soon make
Karachi part of India, staying on course
with the RSS idea of Akhand Bharat - unquartered
India - that goes beyond
Gilgit-Baltistan in its expansive quest,
east and west.
Be that as it may, the Nathu La pass
bordering Tibet was part of the
autonomous kingdom of Sikkim before
Indira Gandhi grabbed it in 1975 just
before declaring the emergency. Her
successor Morarji Desai apologised for it.
Her father Jawaharlal Nehru sent the
army to take Goa from the Portuguese
who had been in occupation of the
coastal enclave since 16 years before the
first Mughal ruler rode into Delhi. The
Portuguese represented colonial power,
and Nehru the nationalist end of the
stick for Goans. Like colonialism,
nationalism concocts its own history.
Consider the fact that the Portuguese
brought green chillies to India and
Indians have deluded themselves into
believing it was integral to ancient
Indian kitchens. Those who live in the
belief that the spicy nihari or qorma are
Muslim or 'Mughlai', therefore foreign,
need only look at the Uzbeks,
predominantly of Mongol or Mughal
extraction. There's no concept of hot
pepper, certainly not in the national
dish, the pilaf, which consists of bland
horsemeat sausages to garnish the beef
and rice dish. Indians corrupted it into
pulao - todaywith hormone-injected
chicken, mostly - as they did Uzbek
samsa, which became samosa.
Allama Iqbal wrote a popular
nationalist poem in praise of India but
the British knighted him. Iqbal's poem to
Lenin was overlooked, and the
description of colonialism as an
invention of Satan's capitalist conquests
wasmissed. Came Sahir Ludhianvi from
the leftist corner and turned Iqbal's
gushing patriotism on its head. "I am its
nightingale and India is my garden," said
Iqbal. Sahir, writing in postindependence
India noted the land grab
his country had become. "Jitni bhi
buildingein theen, sethon ne baant li
hain, footpath Bambai ke hain aashiyan
hamara." (Capitalists have cornered
every building in Bombay. Lesser ones
live on footpaths.)
The ongoing farmers' siege of Delhi is
of a piece with their heroic struggles
against colonialism and now they're
challenging an equally exploitative class
of state-backed businessmen whose class
interest is dressed as nationalism.
Source: Dawn
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBEr 30, 2020
5
Post-Covid syndromes include Psychotic Symptoms
5
Pam Belluck
Almost immediately, Dr. Hisam Goueli could tell that the
patient who came to his psychiatric hospital on Long Island
this summer was unusual.The patient, a 42-year-old physical
therapist and mother of four young children, had never had
psychiatric symptoms or any family history of mental illness.
Yet there she was, sitting at a table in a beige-walled room at
South Oaks Hospital in Amityville, N.Y., sobbing and saying
that she kept seeing her children, ages 2 to 10, being
gruesomely murdered and that she herself had crafted plans
to kill them.
"It was like she was experiencing a movie, like 'Kill Bill,'"
Dr. Goueli, a psychiatrist, said.The patient described one of
her children being run over by a truck and another
decapitated. "It's a horrifying thing that here's this wellaccomplished
woman and she's like 'I love my kids, and I
don't know why I feel this way that I want to decapitate
them,'" he said.
The only notable thing about her medical history was that
the woman, who declined to be interviewed but allowed Dr.
Goueli to describe her case, had become infected with the
coronavirus in the spring. She had experienced only mild
physical symptoms from the virus, but, months later, she
heard a voice that first told her to kill herself and then told her
to kill her children.
At South Oaks, which has an inpatient psychiatric
treatment program for Covid-19 patients, Dr. Goueli was
unsure whether the coronavirus was connected to the
woman's psychological symptoms. "Maybe this is Covidrelated,
maybe it's not," he recalled thinking.
"But then," he said, "we saw a second case, a third case and
a fourth case, and we're like, 'There's something
happening.'"Indeed, doctors are reporting similar cases
across the country and around the world. A small number of
Covid patients who had never experienced mental health
problems are developing severe psychotic symptoms weeks
after contracting the coronavirus.
A 36-year-old nursing home employee in North Carolina
who became so paranoid that she believed her three children
would be kidnapped and, to save them, tried to pass them
through a fast-food restaurant's drive-through window.
A 30-year-old construction worker in New York City who
became so delusional that he imagined his cousin was going
to murder him, and, to protect himself, he tried to strangle
his cousin in bed.
A 55-year-old woman in Britain had hallucinations of
monkeys and a lion and became convinced a family member
had been replaced by an impostor.Beyond individual reports,
a British study of neurological or psychiatric complications in
153 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 found that 10 people
had "new-onset psychosis." Another study identified 10 such
patients in one hospital in Spain. And in Covid-related social
media groups, medical professionals discuss seeing patients
Severe psychotic symptoms are being reported worldwide.
with similar symptoms in the Midwest, Great Plains and
elsewhere. "My guess is any place that is seeing Covid is
probably seeing this," said Dr. Colin Smith at Duke
University Medical Center in Durham, who helped treat the
North Carolina woman. He and other doctors said their
patients were too fragile to be asked whether they wanted to
be interviewed for this article, but some, including the North
Carolina woman, agreed to have their cases described in
scientific papers.
Medical experts say they expect that such extreme
psychiatric dysfunction will affect only a small proportion of
patients. But the cases are considered examples of another
way the Covid-19 disease process can affect mental health
and brain function. Although the coronavirus was initially
thought primarily to cause respiratory distress, there is now
Photo: Internet
ample evidence of many other symptoms, including
neurological, cognitive and psychological effects, that could
emerge even in patients who didn't develop serious lung,
heart or circulatory problems. Such symptoms can be just as
debilitating to a person's ability to function and work, and it's
often unclear how long they will last or how to treat them.
Experts increasingly believe brain-related effects may be
linked to the body's immune system response to the
coronavirus and possibly to vascular problems or surges of
inflammation caused by the disease process.
"Some of the neurotoxins that are reactions to immune
activation can go to the brain, through the blood-brain
barrier, and can induce this damage," said Dr. Vilma Gabbay,
a co-director of the Psychiatry Research Institute at
Montefiore Einstein in the Bronx.
Brain scans, spinal fluid analyses and other tests didn't find
any brain infection, said Dr. Gabbay, whose hospital has
treated two patients with post-Covid psychosis: a 49-year-old
man who heard voices and believed he was the devil and a
34-year-old woman who began carrying a knife, disrobing in
front of strangers and putting hand sanitizer in her food.
Physically, most of these patients didn't get very sick from
Covid-19, reports indicate. The patients that Dr. Goueli
treated experienced no respiratory problems, but they did
have subtle neurological symptoms like hand tingling,
vertigo, headaches or diminished smell. Then, two weeks to
several months later, he said, they "develop this profound
psychosis, which is really dangerous and scary to all of the
people around them."
Also striking is that most patients have been in their 30s,
40s and 50s. "It's very rare for you to develop this type of
psychosis in this age range," Dr. Goueli said, since such
symptoms more typically accompany schizophrenia in young
people or dementia in older patients. And some patients - like
the physical therapist who took herself to the hospital -
understood something was wrong, while usually "people
with psychosis don't have an insight that they've lost touch
with reality."
Some post-Covid patients who developed psychosis
needed weeks of hospitalization in which doctors tried
different medications before finding one that helped.Dr.
Robert Yolken, a neurovirology expert at Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said that
although people might recover physically from Covid-19, in
some cases their immune systems, might be unable to shut
down or might remain engaged because of "delayed
clearance of a small amount of virus."
Persistent immune activation is also a leading explanation
for brain fog and memory problems bedeviling many Covid
survivors, and Emily Severance, a schizophrenia expert at
Johns Hopkins, said post-Covid cognitive and psychiatric
effects might result from "something similar happening in
the brain."
Amid pandemic make vaccination
a priority
Paula Span
Peggy Stein, 68, a retired teacher in
Berkeley, Calif., skipped a flu shot this
year. Her reasoning: "How could I get
the flu if I'm being so incredibly careful
because of Covid?"Karen Freeman, 74,
keeps meaning to be vaccinated against
shingles, but hasn't done so. A retired
college administrator in St. Louis, she
quipped that "denial has worked well
for me these many years."
Sheila Blais, who lives on a farm in
West Hebron, N.Y., has never received
any adult vaccine. She also has never
contracted the flu. "I'm such an
introvert I barely leave the farm, so
where's my exposure?" said Ms. Blais,
66, a fiber artist. "If it's not broke, don't
fix it."
While older adults await vaccination
against Covid-19, public health officials
also worry about their forgoing,
forgetting, fearing or simply not
knowing about those other vaccines -
the ones recommended for adults as we
age and our immune systems weaken.
"There's a lot of room for
improvement," said Dr. Ram Koppaka,
associate director for adult
immunization at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.The
proportion receiving the shingles
vaccine, a fairly recent addition to the
list, has inched up, but by 2018 only
34.5 percent of people over 60 had
been vaccinated.
Moreover, Dr. Koppaka pointed out:
"When you look deeper, there are
longstanding, deep, significant
differences in the proportion of Black
and Hispanic adults getting vaccines
compared to their white counterparts.
It's really unacceptable." Close to 40
percent of non-Hispanic whites had
been vaccinated against shingles, for
instance, compared with fewer than 20
percent of Blacks and Hispanics.One
might expect a group who can recall
polio fears and outbreaks of whooping
cough to be less hesitant to get
vaccinated than younger cohorts.
"You'll probably have a different
concept of vaccination from someone
who never experienced what a serious
viral illness can do," Dr. Koppaka said.
When it comes to the Covid-19
vaccine, for instance, only 15 percent of
those over 65 say they would definitely
or probably not get it, compared with
36 percent of those 30 to 49, a Kaiser
Family Foundation tracking poll
showed earlier this month. (Ms. Stein,
Ms. Blais and Ms. Freeman all said they
would happily accept the Covid
vaccine.)
But for other diseases, vaccination
rates lag. Given that older people are
more vulnerable to severe illness from
them, why the gaps in
coverage?Internists and other doctors
for adults don't promote vaccines
nearly as effectively as pediatricians do,
said Dr. William Schaffner, an
infectious disease specialist at
Vanderbilt University. Older patients,
who often see a variety of doctors, may
also have trouble keeping track of when
60 to 70 percent of the population needed to acquire resistance to
the coronavirus to banish it.
Photo: Collected
they got which shot.
Experts fear that vaccination rates
may have fallen further during the
pandemic, as they have among
children, if older people wary of going
to doctors' offices or pharmacies
skipped shots.Financial and
bureaucratic obstacles also thwart
vaccination efforts. Medicare Part B
covers three vaccines completely:
influenza, pneumococcus and, when
indicated, hepatitis B.
The Tdap and shingles vaccines,
however, are covered under Part D,
which can complicate reimbursement
for doctors; the vaccines are easier to
obtain in pharmacies. Not all Medicare
recipients buy Part D, and for those
who do, coverage varies by plan and
can include deductibles and co-pays.
Still, older adults can gain access to
most recommended vaccines for no or
low cost, through doctors' offices,
pharmacies, supermarkets and local
health departments. For everyone's
benefit, they should.
Influenza An annual shot in the fall -
and it's still not too late, because flu
season peaks from late January into
February. Depending on which strain is
circulating, the vaccine (ask for the
stronger versions for seniors) prevents
40 to 50 percent of cases; it also
reduces illness severity for those
infected.
Thus far this year, flu activity has
remained extraordinarily low, perhaps
because of social distancing and masks
or because closed schools kept children
from spreading it. Manufacturers
shipped a record number of doses, so
maybe more people got vaccinated. In
any case, fears of a flu/Covid
"twindemic" have not yet been realized.
Nevertheless, infectious disease
experts urge older adults (and everyone
over six months old) to get flu shots
now. "Flu is fickle," Dr. Schaffner said.
"It could take off like a rocket in
January."
Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis. A
booster of TD vaccine every 10 years,
to prevent tetanus and diphtheria. If
you've never had the Tdap vaccine -
which adds prevention against
pertussis - that's the one you want.
Although pertussis, better known as
whooping cough, occasionally shows
up in adults, newborns are
particularly at risk. Pregnant women
will ask expectant grandparents to get
a Tdap shot. Because it is covered
under Part D, a pharmacy is the best
bet.
Pneumococcus. "It's a pneumonia
vaccine, but it also prevents the most
serious consequences of pneumonia,
including meningitis and bloodstream
infections," Dr. Koppaka said.People
over 65 should get the polysaccharide
formula - brand name Pneumovax -
but there are certain circumstances,
such as immune-compromising
conditions, to discuss with a health care
provider.
Those over 65 may choose, again in
consultation with a provider, to also get
the conjugate pneumococcal vaccine
(brand name Prevnar), which provides
some additional protection. If so,
C.D.C. guidelines specify which vaccine
to take when.
Blood samples sit alongside trays of monoclonal antibody in a lab.
Photo: Gabby Jones
How much herd immunity is enough?
Donald G. McNeil Jr.
At what point does a country achieve
herd immunity? What portion of the
population must acquire resistance to
the coronavirus, either through
infection or vaccination, in order for the
disease to fade away and life to return to
normal?
Since the start of the pandemic, the
figure that many epidemiologists have
offered has been 60 to 70 percent. That
range is still cited by the World Health
Organization and is often repeated
during discussions of the future course
of the disease. Although it is impossible
to know with certainty what the limit
will be until we reach it and
transmission stops, having a good
estimate is important: It gives
Americans a sense of when we can hope
to breathe freely again.
Recently, a figure to whom millions of
Americans look for guidance - Dr.
Anthony S. Fauci, an adviser to both the
Trump administration and the
incoming Biden administration - has
begun incrementally raising his herdimmunity
estimate.
In the pandemic's early days, Dr.
Fauci tended to cite the same 60 to 70
percent estimate that most experts did.
About a month ago, he began saying
"70, 75 percent" in television interviews.
And last week, in an interview with
CNBC News, he said "75, 80, 85
percent" and "75 to 80-plus percent." In
a telephone interview the next day, Dr.
Fauci acknowledged that he had slowly
but deliberately been moving the goal
posts. He is doing so, he said, partly
based on new science, and partly on his
gut feeling that the country is finally
ready to hear what he really thinks.
Hard as it may be to hear, he said, he
believes that it may take close to 90
percent immunity to bring the virus to a
halt - almost as much as is needed to
stop a measles outbreak.
Asked about Dr. Fauci's conclusions,
prominent epidemiologists said that he
might be proven right. The early range
of 60 to 70 percent was almost
undoubtedly too low, they said, and the
virus is becoming more transmissible,
so it will take greater herd immunity to
stop it. Dr. Fauci said that weeks ago, he
had hesitated to publicly raise his
estimate because many Americans
seemed hesitant about vaccines, which
they would need to accept almost
universally in order for the country to
achieve herd immunity.
Now that some polls are showing that
many more Americans are ready, even
eager, for vaccines, he said he felt he
could deliver the tough message that the
return to normal might take longer than
anticipated."When polls said only about
half of all Americans would take a
vaccine, I was saying herd immunity
would take 70 to 75 percent," Dr. Fauci
said. "Then, when newer surveys said
60 percent or more would take it, I
thought, 'I can nudge this up a bit,' so I
went to 80, 85."
"We need to have some humility
here," he added. "We really don't know
what the real number is. I think the real
range is somewhere between 70 to 90
percent. But, I'm not going to say 90
percent."Doing so might be
discouraging to Americans, he said,
because he is not sure there will be
enough voluntary acceptance of
vaccines to reach that goal. Although
sentiments about vaccines in polls have
bounced up and down this year, several
current ones suggest that about 20
percent of Americans say they are
unwilling to accept any vaccine.
Also, Dr. Fauci noted, a herdimmunity
figure at 90 percent or above
is in the range of the infectiousness of
measles."I'd bet my house that Covid
isn't as contagious as measles," he
said.Measles is thought to be the world's
most contagious disease; it can linger in
the air for hours or drift through vents
to infect people in other rooms. In some
studies of outbreaks in crowded military
barracks and student dormitories, it has
kept transmitting until more than 95
percent of all residents are infected.
Interviews with epidemiologists
regarding the degree of herd immunity
needed to defeat the coronavirus
produced a range of estimates, some of
which were in line with Dr. Fauci's. They
also came with a warning: All answers
are merely "guesstimates."
"You tell me what numbers to put in
my equations, and I'll give you the
answer," said Marc Lipsitch, an
epidemiologist at Harvard's T.H. Chan
School of Public Health. "But you can't
tell me the numbers, because nobody
knows them." The only truly accurate
measures of herd immunity are done in
actual herds and come from studying
animal viruses like rinderpest and footand-mouth
disease, said Dr. David M.
Morens, Dr. Fauci's senior adviser on
epidemiology at the National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
When cattle are penned in corrals, it is
easy to measure how fast a disease
spreads from one animal to another, he
said. Humans move around, so
studying disease spread among them is
far harder.The original assumption that
it would take 60 to 70 percent immunity
to stop the disease was based on early
data from China and Italy, health
experts noted.
WeDneSDAY, DeCeMBeR 30, 2020
6
Members of BCG Station Chandpur under Dhaka Zone in a drive on arrested 2 people along with 75 lakh meters
of illegal current net from Gachatala Bridge area adjacent to Wireless Junction on Tuesday. Photo: Courtesy
Bangladesh Coast Guard seizes
huge quantity of illegal nets
A special operation was conducted by
BCG station Chandpur under dhaka
zone on tuesday morning to curb the use
of illegal nets on the basis of secret
information in the area of Gachatala
Bridge adjacent to Wireless Junction.
during the operation, two persons were
arrested with a truck (dhaka metro-no-
15-42-62) heading towards harina from
munshiganj with an illegal current net of
75 lakh meters, a press release said.
the arrestees were identified as md.
Arif (32), son of Akbar sikder, from
Abdullahpur area of munshiganj and md.
Abdul Barek (42), son of Abdul mannan
Bepari from pathak kandi village of
madaripur. the seized nets were later
destroyed by fire in the presence of the
executive magistrate and the upazila
senior Fisheries officer. the two
detainees were fined tk 5,000 each by a
mobile court through an executive
magistrate.
the Coast Guard has continued and
will continue to conduct regular
operations in the areas covered by the
Bangladesh Coast Guard to maintain law
and order, ensure public safety as well as
curb kidnapping, robbery, drug control
and fishing with illegal current nets.
Bridge built over Chela canal brings
light of hope of rural people
Aminul islAm Azir, ChhAtAk
Correspondent:
the people of the area are
dreaming of developing a beautiful
bridge over the Chela canal in
Bhatgaon union of Chhatak upazila
of sunamganj with the aim of 'village
will be city' announced by the prime
minister.
Built by the local government
department, this beautiful bridge is a
beacon of hope for the affluent rural
people of the area. the bridge was
officially inaugurated by supreme
Court Justice Barrister iman Ali on
october 5 last year. sunamganj
deputy Commissioner Abdul Ahad
and other government officials were
present at the inaugural function.
the 6-meter-long bridge was built
over the Chela canal on the moinpur-
Aliganj road in the Anujani area of
the Jalalpur-Baratuka road under
the important bridge project. the
local government department wants
to complete the construction and
renovation work of the connecting
road of the girder bridge constructed
at a cost of tk 3.24 crore by next
June. to this end, a delegation led by
lGed sunamganj executive
engineer mahbub Alam inspected
the road adjacent to the bridge on
Wednesday. Chhatak upazila
engineer Abul mansur mia, deputy
Assistant engineer rajat kanti das
and other people of the engineering
department were present at the time.
the road to be constructed will
cross the north side of the bridge
through the village of Chelarpar and
meet the bridge adjacent to moinpur
Bazar. once the work on the link
road is completed, a large population
of several villages including
moinpur, kurshi, Chelarpar,
Anujanani will be able to enjoy easy
travel facilities. in addition,
hundreds of students from 2 high
schools, 2 primary schools and 2
madrasas located on the side of the
road will be relieved of their
hardships and farmers will be able to
take advantage of marketing their
produce as there are a few small and
big hats and bazaars along the road.
Currently, school-madrasa students
and locals are looking at the bridge as
a beacon in the area. shamsul islam,
nazmul hossain and Golap mia of
Chelarpar village, who are expecting
benefits, said that the construction of
Anujani Bridge is the result of long
standing demand of the locals.
Freedom fighter Abdul khalik, dr.
noor Ali of Anujani village, kibria
said, this bridge will improve the
living standard of the rural people of
this area. it will be possible to take
the sick patient to the medical center
easily. Anujani Bridge is a milestone
in the development of the present
rural-friendly government. mahbub
Alam, executive engineer of lGed
sunamganj, said the bridge was built
keeping the alignment of the road.
road construction has been delayed
due to successive floods. road work
will begin soon. he expressed hope
that the road work would be
completed by next June.
Golam kabir mollah elected mayor
for second time in a row
milon siddiki, dhAmrAi
Correspondent:
municipal Awami league
president Golam kabir
mollah has been elected
mayor for the second
consecutive term in dhamrai
municipality election. Golam
kabir mollah has been
elected mayor by winning
through huge margin of
votes.
After the victory of the boat
symbol in the last election,
the municipal mayor Golam
kabir mollah was widely
discussed through various
developmental activities. to
maintain the continuity of
development, this time the
Awami league nominated
him again for the boat
symbol, and the loclas were
satisfied with the
development activities and
elected Golam kabir mollah
as the mayor for the second
time in a row with 23,110
votes.
meanwhile, the nearest
rival Bnp-backed mayoral
candidate dewan nazim
uddin monju got 1,503 votes
and the other rival islami
Andolan Bangladesh's
mayoral candidate Qazi
shawkat hossain got 262
votes.
the total number of voters
in dhamrai municipality is
42,644. of these, three
mayoral candidates got
24,885 votes. in this
election, voting was held
peacefully by eVm system.
district administration stand beside
cold-hit people in dighinala
ABdul JAlil, diGhinAlA Correspondent:
Blankets have been distributed
among cold-hit people at the initiative
of khagrachhari district administration.
deputy Commissioner pratap Chandra
Biswas distributed blankets among the
poor people of taidupara, Jharnapara,
milon karbari, seemana para and
rathichandra karbari para areas at the
raninagar police will be for
the people: oC
s m sAiFul islAm, rAninAGAr
Correspondent:
md. shaheen Akanda, a new
officer in charge of raninagar police
station, said police would work
alongside the people to maintain
law and order including the safety
of raninagar residents. in that case,
if the people become aware and
inform their problems directly to
the police station, legal action will
be taken in case of urgent
investigation. i will work with local
school groundsof seemana para school
in dighinala on tuesday afternoon.
during the time, blankets were
distributed among more than 300 coldhit
people. poor people were happy to
get blankets in winter.
deputy Commissioner pratap
Chandra Biswas said, 'winter is more
prevalent in the hilly areas. Blankets are
distributed among the cold-stricken
journalists, civil society, political
leaders, the business community
and the people to prevent drug
terrorism and child marriage.
he added that the law will operate
at its own pace. i will not bow down
to any particular group in its proper
application in the public interest.
the government will keep me in this
police station for a few days, i want
to give legal services to the people as
a police of humanity. even if i leave,
people can say that the police do a
good job. he made the remarks at a
people every year. in the first phase of
this year, 18,500 blankets have been
distributed in the entire district at the
initiative of the district administration.
more blankets will be distributed in
phases. '
during the tiem, dighinala upazila
nirbahi officer mohammad ullah,
local up members were present at the
time.
Khagrachhari Deputy Commissioner Pratap Chandra Biswas distributed blankets among cold-hit
people in various areas of Dhighinala on Tuesday.
Photo: Abdul Jalil
view exchange meeting with
journalists at the raninagar press
Club's own building on tuesday
afternoon.
press Club president sm saiful
islam presided over the meeting
while among others, oC
investigation tariqul islam,
General secretary of the press Club
ohedul islam milon, former
president harunur rashid, former
General secretary shahidul islam
and shah rukh hossain Ahad were
also present at the occasion.
The spectacular bridge built by the local government department, is a beacon of hope for the affluent
rural people of Bhatgaon union of Chhatak upazila of Sunamganj. Photo: Aminul islam Azir
846 homeless people to get brick-built houses in Gaibandha
GAiBAndhA: A total of 846 homeless
people of all the seven upazilas of the
district will get brick built houses having
shed with corrugated iron sheets free of cost
from the government this year, an official
said, reports Bss.
district and upazila administrations are
implementing the construction works of
the houses under the Ashrayan project-2 of
the prime minister office (pmo).
After completion of the construction
work, the houses would be handed over to
the homeless people. Among 846 homeless
people, 105 will get brick-built houses in
sadar upazila, 272 in sundarganj upazila,
120 in Gobindaganj upazila, 179 in
sadullapur upazila, 75 in Fulchhari upazila,
35 in shaghata and 60 in palashbari upazila
deputy Commissioner (dC) Abdul
matin himself is superintending the
construction works. talking to Bss, Abdul
matin said with the completion of the work,
the houses would be handed over to the
selected beneficiaries formally.
Apart from this, more 17 houses were
also being built at the direct supervision of
the district administration with the
financial support of the solvent and well-off
persons of the district, he said. hearing the
news of providing houses to homeless
people free of cost, a number of
beneficiaries burst into tears with joy and
happiness and wished good health and
long life of prime minister sheikh hasina.
they also thanked the premier for
building brick built houses for them.
Md. Shaheen Akanda, a new officer in charge of Raninagar Police Station held a view exchange meeting with
journalists on Tuesday.
Photo: TBT
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020
7
A vigil is held for Andre' Hill at the Brentnell Community Recreation Center on Columbus.
Ohio, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. The police chief of Columbus, Ohio, recommended on
Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020, that the officer who shot and killed Hill, a 47-year-old Black man,
earlier this week be fired.
Photo : AP
Ohio police officer fired in fatal
shooting of Black man
OHIO : A white Ohio police officer was
fired Monday after bodycam footage
showed him fatally shooting 47-yearold
Andre Hill - a Black man who was
holding a cellphone - and refusing to
administer first aid for several minutes,
reports UNB.
Columbus police officer Adam Coy
was fired hours after a hearing was held
to determine his employment,
Columbus Public Safety Director Ned
Pettus Jr said in a statement.
"The actions of Adam Coy do not live
up to the oath of a Columbus Police
officer, or the standards we, and the
community, demand of our officers,"
the statement read. "The shooting of
Andre Hill is a tragedy for all who loved
him in addition to the community and
our Division of Police."
Coy remains under criminal
investigation for last week's shooting.
The decision came after Pettus
concluded a hearing to determine
Russia reports
562 new
coronavirus
deaths in past
24 hours
MOSCOW : The number of
coronavirus-related
fatalities in Russia went up
by 562 in the past 24 hours,
compared to 487 on
previous day, taking the total
to 55,827, the national anticoronavirus
crisis center told
reporters Tuesday, reports
UNB.
The provisional death rate
stands at 1.8%. In particular,
St. Petersburg reported 79
deaths, followed by Moscow
(75), the Moscow Region
(24), the Rostov Region
(23), the Sverdlovsk Region
(17) and the Altai Region
(16).
Russia's coronavirus cases
rose by 27,002 to 3,105,037
in the past 24 hours, the
anti-coronavirus crisis
center said on Tuesday.
The number of new daily
coronavirus cases is the
lowest since December 16. A
total of 27,787 cases were
identified on December 28.
According to the crisis
center, the coronavirus
growth rate has been at or
below 0.9% for three days.
In particular, 5,641
coronavirus cases were
recorded in Moscow in the
past day, 3,757 in St.
Petersburg, 1,547 in the
Moscow Region, 497 in the
Nizhny Novgorod Region,
401 in the Sverdlovsk
Region, and 394 in the
Pskov Region.
There are currently
553,027 active coronavirus
cases in Russia.
Russia's coronavirus
recoveries grew by 24,874 in
the past 24 hours. A total of
2,496,183 people have
recovered by now, the anticoronavirus
crisis center told
reporters on Tuesday.
According to the crisis
center, recoveries have risen
to 80.4% of the total number
of infected individuals.
whether the actions taken by Coy in the
moments before and after the fatal
shooting of Hill on Tuesday were
justified. The public safety director
upheld the recommendation of Police
Chief Thomas Quinlan, who made a
video statement Christmas Eve, saying
he had seen enough to recommend Coy
be terminated.
Quinlan expedited the investigation
and bypassed procedure to file two
departmental charges alleging critical
misconduct against Coy in the death of
Hill. "This is what accountability looks
like. The evidence provided solid
rationale for termination," Quinlan said
after Coy's termination Monday
afternoon. "Mr. Coy will now have to
answer to the state investigators for the
death of Andre Hill." Members of the
local Fraternal Order of Police attended
the hearing on behalf of Coy, who was
not in attendance, according to a
statement from Pettus' office. "Officer
Coy was given the opportunity today to
come and participate," Brian Steel, vice
president of the police union, told
reporters Monday. "He elected not to
participate. I do not know why ... I
would have liked to have him here, but
it's his decision."
Coy and another officer responded to
a neighbor's nonemergency call after 1
a.m. Tuesday about a car in front of his
house in the city's northwest side that
had been running, then shut off, then
turned back on, according to a copy of
the call released Wednesday.
Mayor Andrew Ginther said it remains
unclear if that car had anything to do with
Hill. Police bodycam footage showed Hill
emerging from a garage and holding up a
cellphone in his left hand seconds before
he was fatally shot by Coy. There is no
audio because the officer hadn't activated
the body camera; an automatic "look
back" feature captured the shooting
without audio.
Twenty-three people died in a road accident in central Nigeria on Monday
with 22 others injured, according to local police.
Photo : AP
23 killed in road accident
in central Nigeria
LAGOS : Twenty-three people died in a road
accident in central Nigeria on Monday with
22 others injured, according to local police,
reports BSS.
The accident, which involved a truck,
occurred along the Bokani-Makera road in
the Mokwa local government area of Niger
state in the middle belt region of the country,
according to Adamu Usman, police chief in
the state.
He told reporters in Minna, the state
capital on Monday that the truck loaded with
dozens of cows and 45 persons skidded off
the road and somersaulted into a bush after
the loss of control by the driver.
Usman said the truck was coming from
Dadin Kowa, in the northwest state of
Kebbi state, en route to Lagos, the
country's economic hub when the incident
occurred.
The bodies of the deceased and those
wounded have been transferred to a local
hospital, he said, adding failure of drivers to
obey traffic rules and regulations led to the
tragedy.
Deadly road accidents are frequently
reported in Nigeria due to bad roads,
overloading and reckless drive.
5 killed, 2 injured in
southern Somalia blast
MOGADISHU : At least five people were on Monday evening killed and two others injured in
a blast along the road in Dhobley town in the Lower Juba region in southern Somalia, an
official confirmed on Tuesday.
Mohamed Hassan, governor of Dhobley said that the blast was a landmine planted at the
roadside which hit a vehicle passing by the area, causing casualties.
"Five people who were on the bus died at the scene and two other passersby got injured,"
Hassan said. He added that the blast took place near the town of Taabto, northeast of Dhobley
with witnesses in the area saying they heard a huge blast. "We heard the sound of a big
explosion, people said it caused many casualties," Garad Dhaqane, a witness said.No one
claimed responsibility for the latest incident but al-Qaida allied group al-Shabaab has
conducted similar attacks in the past.
India records
lowest daily
COVID-19
cases in 187
days
NEW DELHI : The daily
new COVID-19 cases in the
country touched a new low
with less than 16,500 new
cases being added to the
national tally after a gap of
187 days, the Union Health
Ministry said on Tuesday.
The daily new cases were
16,922 on June 25.
India's active caseload has
fallen to 2,68,581 as on date.
"The share of active cases
in the total cases has further
compressed to 2.63 per cent
of the cumulative caseload,"
the ministry said.
A net decline of 8,720
cases has been recorded in
the total active cases in a
day, it stated.
With the rising recoveries
and decline in daily new
cases, India's cumulative
recoveries are inching closer
to 1 crore, the ministry said.
The total recovered cases
have crossed 98 lakh
(98,07,569).
The gap between
recoveries and active cases
continues to grow and
presently stands at
95,38,988, it underlined.
A total of 24,900 cases
have recovered in a span of
24 hours. The ministry said
that 77.66 per cent of the
new recovered cases are
observed to be concentrated
in 10 states and UTs.
Maharashtra has reported
the maximum number of
single-day recoveries with
4,501 recoveries. Kerala
follows with 4,172 new
recoveries. Chhattisgarh
recorded another 1,901 daily
recoveries.
South Africa imposes new virus curbs
as WHO warns of worse pandemics
JOHANNESBURG : South Africa banned
alcohol sales and made masks mandatory in
public from Tuesday after a surge in
coronavirus cases, as the World Health
Organization warned that pandemics far
more deadly than Covid-19 may lie ahead.
Nations around the world are struggling
with winter spikes in infections that have
pushed the global caseload close to 81
million, even as the rollout of vaccines
gathers pace in North America and Europe.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
on Monday announced a ban on selling
alcohol and said face masks will be
compulsory in public after his nation became
the first in Africa to record one million cases.
"We have let down our guard, and
unfortunately we are now paying the price,"
said Ramaphosa, blaming "super-spreader"
social events and an "extreme lack of
vigilance over the holiday period" for the
spike. Ramaphosa said data showed
"excessive alcohol consumption" leads to an
increase in trauma cases reported at
hospitals, causing an "unnecessary" strain on
public health facilities.
Surging cases also forced authorities in Rio
de Janeiro - one of Brazil's worst-hit cities -
to announce Monday that they will block
access to beaches on December 31 to prevent
crowds celebrating New Year's Eve.
And in Spain, where the death toll has
topped 50,000, the health minister said the
government would set up a registry of people
who refuse to be vaccinated, and share it
with other European Union member states.
Vaccinations in Spain and other EU
countries started over the weekend, and
authorities fear vaccine hesitancy and
rejection could hamper those efforts -
especially because of misinformation
campaigns on social media.
That was not a concern with 75-year-old
Jacques Collineau, resident of an old
people's home in Joue-les-Tours, France.
"Fear? Fear of what? I've been vaccinated
for the flu before, now it's the same thing,"
Collineau said as he got the shot on Monday.
"We don't make vaccines to kill people, we
make vaccines to try to save them."
South Africa banned alcohol sales and made masks mandatory in public
from Tuesday after a surge in coronavirus cases, as the World Health
Organization warned that pandemics far more deadly than Covid-19 may
lie ahead.
Photo : AP
More England Covid patients in
hospital than at April peak
LONDON : England is "back in the eye"
of the coronavirus storm, health chiefs
warned Tuesday, with as many patients
in hospital as during the initial peak in
April. A new strain of the virus appears
to be behind the recent upsurge in
cases, heaping further pressure on the
state-run National Health Service
during its busiest winter period.
NHS England figures showed there
were 20,426 Covid patients in the
country's hospitals on Monday,
compared to the 18,974 peak recorded
during the first wave.
The number of positive tests
recorded over a 24-hour period also hit
a new high of 41,385 Monday,
according to government figures,
although testing is now much more
extensive.
However, case figures do not include
Scotland and Northern Ireland, which
did not report over the Christmas
period. "Many of us have lost family,
friends, colleagues and - at a time of
year when we would normally be
Belarus starts
coronavirus
vaccination
with Sputnik V
MOSCOW : Belarus on
Tuesday began a vaccination
drive against coronavirus
using the Sputnik V jab,
becoming the first country
outside Russia to use the
vaccine developed by
Moscow.
Belarus, with a population
of around 9.5 million people,
has registered more than
188,000 cases of
coronavirus infections and
nearly 1,400 deaths.
"Today the first vaccine
shipment has arrived in
Belarus," said the Russian
Direct Investment Fund
(RDIF) which financed
Sputnik V, reports BSS.
RDIF spokesman Arseny
Palagin did not say how
many doses had been sent to
Belarus. Belarus Health
Minister Dmitry Pinevich
said health workers and
teachers would be among
the first Belarusians to be
inoculated.
celebrating - a lot of people are
understandably feeling anxious,
frustrated and tired," said NHS
England chief executive Simon Stevens.
"And now again we are back in the
eye of the storm with a second wave of
coronavirus sweeping Europe and,
indeed, this country."
Britain is pinning its hopes on its
mass vaccination programme, with the
Oxford/AstraZeneca jab expected to
receive approval shortly, according to
reports.
"We think that by late spring with
vaccine supplies continuing to come on
stream we will have been able to offer
all vulnerable people across this
country Covid vaccination," said
Stevens. "That perhaps provides the
biggest chink of hope for the year
ahead." Health trusts have been told to
begin planning for the use of
Nightingale field hospitals, the
temporary facilities created during the
first wave that have largely gone
unused. London and southeast
England are currently bearing the
brunt of the outbreak, with paramedics
in the capital saying they are receiving
up to 8,000 emergency calls each day.
London Ambulance Service said
Boxing Day - December 26 - was one of
its "busiest ever days".
A further 357 people testing positive
for the virus were announced on
Monday to have died, bringing the UK
total to 71,109, the second worst toll in
Europe.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has
been under fire for his government's
handling of the pandemic, and is now
under pressure to introduce even more
social restrictions, including school
closures after the Christmas break.
More than 24 million people - 43
percent of England - are already living
under the tightest level of regional
restrictions. The outbreak has hit
Premier League football giants
Manchester City, leading to the
postponement of their game with
Everton on Monday night.
UN chief calls for making 2021 "year
of healing" in New Year message
UNITED NATIONS : United Nations
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on
Monday called on the international
community to make 2021 "a year of healing"
in his video message for the new year.
"Together, let's make peace among
ourselves and with nature, tackle the climate
crisis, stop the spread of COVID-19, and
make 2021 a year of healing," the UN chief
said. "Healing from the impact of a deadly
virus. Healing broken economies and
societies. Healing divisions. And starting to
heal the planet," the secretary-general
added, noting that "that must be our New
Year's Resolution for 2021."
Noting that 2020 has been "a year of trials,
tragedies and tears," Guterres said that
"COVID-19 upended our lives and plunged
the world into suffering and grief."
"So many loved ones have been lost - and
the pandemic rages on, creating new waves
of sickness and death," he said.
The top UN official stressed that "poverty,
inequality and hunger are rising. Jobs are
disappearing and debts are mounting.
Children are struggling. Violence in the
home is increasing, and insecurity is
everywhere."
On a positive note, the UN chief said that
"a New Year lies ahead. And with it, we see
rays of hope."
"People extending a helping hand to
neighbors and strangers; frontline workers
giving their all; scientists developing
vaccines in record time; countries making
new commitments to prevent climate
catastrophe," the secretary-general
elaborated.
"If we work together in unity and
solidarity, these rays of hope can reach
around the world," he said. "That's the lesson
of this most difficult year."
"Both climate change and the COVID-19
pandemic are crises that can only be
addressed by everyone together - as part of a
transition to an inclusive and sustainable
future," Guterres said.
Noting that the central ambition of the
United Nations for 2021 is to build a global
coalition for carbon neutrality - net zero
emissions - by 2050, the UN chief
underscored that "every government, city,
business and individual can play a part in
achieving this vision."
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30 , 2020 8
Islamic Finance and Investment Ltd (IFIL), country's first Shariah Based Non-Bank Financial Institution
(NBFI), has won the 'Best Quality Management Body Bangladesh 2020' awarded by world renowned
Magazine 'Business Tabloid-UK'. Rezakul Haider, Chairman of the Board of Directors of IFIL and Managing
Director & CEO A. Z. M. Saleh are seen with the Trophy and Certificate of the award. Photo: Courtesy
BCB Ltd. has inaugurated its 69th Branch
"Dewan Bazar Branch" at Chattagram
Bangladesh Commerce Bank
(BCB)Ltd. has inaugurated its 69th
Branch as "Dewan Bazar Branch" at
Chattagram on 29th December 2020,
Thuesday in virtual platform with all
the latest banking facilities. The
inauguration program was presided by
Omar Farooque Hon'ble Managing
Director & CEO of the Bank. The
Chairman of the Board of Directors of
the Bank Dr. Engr. Rashid Ahmed
Chowdhury as Chief Guest was present
& inaugurates the program. Additional
Managing Director of the Bank Zafar
Alam delivered his speech as a special
guest. Deputy Managing Director Kazi
Md. Rezaul Karim also delivered their
Padma riverbank turns attractive tourist
spot after RCC's beautification work
RAJSHAHI : Padma
riverbank adjacent to the
Shaheb Bazar area of the
divisional town has turned
into an attractive tourist and
recreational spot as the
Rajshahi City Corporation
(RCC) recently implemented
a beautification project
there.Under the project
amusement spots, open
stage, gallery, park, bridge,
walkway and other needbased
infrastructures were
constructed at a cost of
around Tk 42.2 million,
reports BSS.
City Mayor AHM
Khairuzzaman Liton during
a visit to the site on Sunday
expressed his firm resolve to
restore the scenic beauty of
the river bank and enhance
the cleanliness drive in the
area to facilitate large
numbers of people to enjoy
their visit in a comfortable
atmosphere.
He inspected construction
works of two over-bridges
adjacent to the respective
sluice gates on the river
banks which are being built
at a cost of around Taka 94
lakh.
Mayor Liton said the new
infrastructure and facilities
are encouraging an increased
speech on the occasion. Among others
Senior Executives of the Head Office,
Manager of this Branch and many
prominent people of the area and
respected customers were also present
on the occasion, a press release said.
Dr. Engr. Rashid Ahmed Chowdhury
expressed his hope that the Dewan
Bazar Branch will be able to win the
hearts of the customers by providing
good service. He hoped that this new
branch with the most modern facilities
would play an appropriate role in
furthering the economy of the region.
He also described Dewan Bazar as a
growing business area and said that the
number of people to pass
their leisure with families
and friends enjoying the
beauty of the Padma.
Borokuthi river bank and
Lalon Shah River Resort
were also decorated with a
new look to attract more
visitors and facilitate the
cultural organisations to
arrange various programmes
to attract the visitors.
Some renovation works are
going on and those works are
expected to be completed
within the next couple of
months.
Meanwhile, the
Bangladesh Water
Development Board
(BWDB) has also
implemented a riverbank
protection project adjacent to
the city under which
protection works on 2,650
metre areas from Bulanpur
to Harupur.
Superintending Engineer
Mukhlesur Rahman said
river protection works from
Harupur to Sonaikandi were
completed to protect more
than 5.0 km area from
erosion.
Bangabandhu Hi-tech
Park is also being
constructed near the
protected area; he said
adding that the entire area
has become an amusement
park upon successful
completion of the 5.0km
bank protection work.
Apart from this, Rajshahi
city has got a new look amid
a massive plantation of fruit
and forest trees and
decorative plants and trees
and other beautification
works drawing the attention
of the commoners,
particularly the visitors.
Some 32,446 trees were
planted besides creating
scores of green zones
through councillors, officers
and employees of the city
corporation. Tree plantation
activities on vacant places,
road dividers and footpaths
are being conducted in the
current year. 6,000 flower
and other ornamental and
decorative tree saplings were
already planted till August
last, he added.
Now, road dividers and
islands on around 24-
kilometer roads in the city
were greened. Varieties of
decorative and beautification
trees were planted on the
dividers, islands and
footpaths of the city's main
roads.
branch is committed to provide all
kinds of banking services to the
customers of the area through banking
rules. To ensure the highest quality of
service to the customers, he instructed
all the officers of the branch including
the branch manager. Managing
Director and CEO of the Bank Omar
Farooque said that the services of BCBL
will be spread out in all areas of the
country as well as he emphasized on
customer service and informed all
present in the meeting about various
activities of the Bank in all areas of
business sector.Finally, the great mercy
of the great Allah Ta'ala is sought for
the activities and progress of the bank.
Vietnam's industrial
production up 3.36
pct in 2020
HANOI : Vietnam's
national index of industrial
production rose 3.36 percent
year on year in 2020,
according to the country's
General Statistics Office on
Tuesday, reports BSS.
The processing and
manufacturing sector, the
main driver of the surge, went
up 5.82 percent, contributing
1.25 percentage points to the
overall growth.
The electricity production
and distribution sector grew
3.92 percent, contributing
0.19 percentage points, and
water supply and waste
management grew 5.51
percent, contributing 0.04
percentage points.
Regarding key products,
between January and
December,
phone
components witnessed the
largest year-on-year output
expansion at 22 percent,
followed by television sets (up
20.7 percent), and rolled steel
(up 16.4 percent).
Industrial products with
significant output reductions
included refined sugar (down
22.9 percent), beer (down
13.9 percent), liquefied
petroleum gas (down 13
percent) and crude oil (down
12.6 percent).
Jobless Americans may have to wait
for desperately needed help
WASHINGTON: The United States
government has agreed to another
massive stimulus package to keep its
listing economy afloat as the
coronavirus pandemic rages on, but
help for the unemployed people most in
need may not come right away, reports
BSS.
Congress's decision to wait until the
last minute to pass the $900 billion
measure, followed by President Donald
Trump's days-long hesitation to sign the
bill into law, means two programs
supporting millions of unemployed
Americans briefly expired, and experts
warn states may take weeks to restart
payments.
"Everything about unemployment
insurance and having 53 different
systems is difficult, and it does means
some states may drop the ball," said
Michele Evermore, senior policy analyst
at the National Employment Law
Project.
The new stimulus measure follows up
on the CARES Act passed in March, a
massive bill that expanded benefits to
freelance workers and allowed
unemployed people to receive aid for an
extended period of time.
But those programs expired on
December 26, a victim of both the
months Congress took to reach its
agreement last week and the president's
refusal to sign it before finally
capitulating on Sunday.
The hold-up may have cost
unemployed people a week of benefits,
and could lead to a gap stretching as
long as three weeks in which the jobless
won't get paid, experts say - the last
thing Americans who have been out of
work for months need.
"I've been running with zero income
for the past couple of weeks. Anytime
that you don't have income hurts," said
Carson Noel, an Arizona resident who
hasn't been able to work in the live
events industry since the pandemic
struck and used up all of his benefits in
October.
The world's largest economy ground
to a sudden halt in March when states
ordered businesses shut to stop the
transmission of Covid-19 - efforts that
did grievous economic damage and
didn't prevent the country's outbreak
from becoming the largest on the planet.
Costing $2.2 trillion, the CARES Act
has been credited with keeping the US
from an even worse downturn, in part
by supporting consumption through the
expanded unemployment programs.
The new package "providing
coronavirus emergency response and
relief" is part of a larger spending bill
and gives jobless people an extra $300
in weekly payments.
Americans will also get stimulus
checks totaling as much as $600 per
person, though Trump has called for
them to be raised to $2,000.
It also extends until March 14
programs created under the CARES Act
for the long-term unemployed and gig
workers like 51-year-old Noel, who was
evicted from his apartment after using
up all of his benefits in October.
Now living with a family member, he
relies on his dwindling savings to get by,
and though the restoration of the
unemployment payments is a relief, he'd
rather be working.
"I don't want to sit at home," he said.
Unemployment aid in the US is
administered by individual states and
territories, and many systems are
overwhelmed and reliant on badly
outdated technology that few believe
can easily reactivate a benefit program
that had just been deactivated.
"The fact that they have to roll
everybody off and they have to roll
everybody back on, it's not going to go
smoothly in any circumstances," said
Andrew Stettner of progressive think
tank The Century Foundation, which
estimated 12 million people were
depending on these programs that
would have lapsed had the new stimulus
bill not been passed.
Prime Bank launches real-time
remittance service; RemitPrime
Prime Bank has recently
launched a state-of-the-art
real-time remittance service-
RemitPrime- for its
subsidiaries in Singapore and
the United Kingdom (UK).
This is the first real-time,
online platform launched by a
Bangladeshi Bank abroad, a
press release said.
Through RemitPrime, the
expatriate Bangladeshis can
transfer remittance in realtime
to any account of Prime
Bank and to any bKash wallet
across the country. For all
other banks, remittance will
be transferred instantly as per
the BEFTN* transaction
cycle. Along with the
remittance, the new service
also ensures payment of 2%
incentive instantly*.
RemitPrime also provides
real-time information on the
transaction to its users.
The expatriates from
Bangladesh, India, and the
Philippines, residing in
Singapore, can now send
money to their respective
home countries through
RemitPrime services by
downloading Prime Bank's
Interment Banking mobile
app 'Prime Bank App' from
'Apple's App Store' and
'Google's Play Store' or by
logging
in
www.remitprime.com. Prime
Bank has plans to extend its
online remittance payment
services to major remittance
corridors like US, EU, Gulf
Countries, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia and so on.
Prime Bank's Acting
Managing Director and CEO
Faisal Rahman said, "Our
customers maintaining
account with Prime Bank will
enjoy real-time fund transfer
against their remittance from
abroad. We also can make
transfer to bKash Accounts in
real-time with RemitPrime.
With this new service, our
customers are enjoying the
convenience of receiving
remittance at their doorsteps
round-the-clock. We believe
these services will inspire
expatriate Bangladeshis to
send more money through
legal channel and boost up
the flow of remittance into the
country. The remitters from
other major corridors like
KSA, Malaysia, and other
countries will also receive
similar facilities soon."
Highlighting the
capabilities of the
RemitPrime mobile
applications, Shams Abdullah
Muhaimin, Prime Bank's
Head of Transaction Banking,
said: "RemitPrime platform is
built on a machine learning
technology which has
automated majority of
manual activities. The system
can process thousands of
transactions in minutes with
real-time fund transfer to
beneficiary accounts 24X7.
The mobile app version of the
application is first of its kind
launched by a local bank into
overseas. The system can now
be offered as a white-label
solution to different overseas
remittance service providers
working in Bangladesh
corridor."
Prime Bank has two
remittance subsidiaries, one
is in Singapore - Prime
Exchange Co. Pte Ltd- which
has 3 branches located at
Desker Road, Jurong East
and at Joo Koon. Another is
in the UK named PBL
Exchange (UK) Ltd having
three branches in London,
Birmingham and Oldham
and 35 agent locations well
distributed throughout the
UK. This new service has
already gained huge
popularity among the
expatriates in Singapore who
are relying on the online
service to send money to their
near and dear ones in
Bangladesh quickly,
especially at this time of
COVID-19.
Social Islami Bank Ltd (SIBL) inaugurated 58, 59 60, 61 and 62nd Subbranches respectively in
Marichcha Bazar, Jumchari Bazar of Cox's Bazar, B Ed. College Road and Saltgola of Chattogram
City Corporation and Churamon Kati of Jashore recently. Managing Director & CEO Quazi Osman
Ali inaugurated the subbranches as chief guest from SIBL Head Office through virtual platform. Abu
Naser Chowdhury, Md. Sirajul Hoque and Md. Shamsul Hoque, Deputy Managing Directors, Md.
Moniruzzaman, Head of Marketing & Brand Communication, Sayed Mohammed Sohel, Regional
Head (C.C), Chattogram, Md. Shakil Anwar, Vice President of BC & GBD, Manager of Cox's Bazar,
Chawkbazar, Sheikh Mujib Road and Jashore Branch and local dignitaries also attended the program.
Photo: Courtesy
WEdNESdAY, dECEMBER 30, 2020
9
Stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane led India to a dominant eight-wicket win over Australia in
the second Test Tuesday.
Photo: AP
Neymar in new controversy
over New Year party rumors
SpoRtS DeSk:
Brazil's star footballer
Neymar is at the center of a
new controversy after several
Brazilian media reported that
he's organizing a huge New
Year's eve party despite the
coronavirus pandemic, a
claim his lawyers denied,
reports BSS.
Acelmo Goes, a columnist
for the o Globo newspaper,
wrote that the paris Saint-
Germain forward is hosting
500 people for a week-long
party at his luxury beachside
mansion near Rio de Janeiro
that started on Saturday and
will last until New Year's Day.
Neymar, who is no stranger
to controversies over his
parties, allegedly even
installed soundproofing
equipment to try to avoid
bothering his neighbors.
Leo Dias, a columnist for
the Metropoles website who is
renowned for his scoops on
celebrities, even named the
artists due to perform at
Neymar's party, such as
Ludmilla and Wesley Safadao.
Guests' mobile phones are
allegedly due to be confiscated
on the door to prevent any
evidence finding its way onto
social media.
Brazil has suffered the
second-largest number of
Covid-19 related deaths in the
world with more than
191,000, while 7.4 million
people have contracted the
virus.
A specialist events agency,
Agencia Fabrica, released a
statement confirming it had
been contracted for a New
Year's event in the Costa
Verde region where Neymar's
villa is located "that will host
around 150 people… while
respecting all the health rules
determined by the public
bodies."
But Neymar's lawyers
denied a party had been
planned or that the Agencia
Fabrica event was related to
the football star.
"No! this is a Fabrica event.
It is not related to Neymar,"
they told AFp.
Neymar's villa is in
Mangaratiba, a small town in
an area of luxury seaside
resorts in Rio de Janeiro state.
the local town hall has
pleaded with its 41,000
inhabitants not to hold end of
year parties and has erected
barriers to prevent people
congregating.
"We don't have any
information about this party,"
the town hall said in a
statement sent to AFp.
Neymar, who hasn't played
since December 13 when he
injured his ankle against
Lyon, hasn't commented on
the party and in recent days
has posted pictures of his
family on social media
without commentaries.
His Mangaratiba mansion
is located on a 10,000 squaremeter
(107,600 square feet)
plot of land that includes a
heliport, sports pitches, spa,
sauna, massage parlor,
gymnasium and dining areas.
It's where he previously
spent his time recovering
from injuries and also where
he headed from March to
June when the coronavirus
was raging in France leading
to the suspension of
professional football.
Resilient India thump Australia
in second test to silence critics
SpoRtS DeSk:
Stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane led
India to a dominant eight-wicket win
over Australia in the second test
tuesday, levelling the series 1-1 and
capping an extraordinary turnaround
after their record collapse in the
opening game, reports BSS.
Rahane, deputising during Virat
kohli's paternity leave, hit an unbeaten
27 in Melbourne - after a century in the
first innings - as India reached the
meagre target of 70 for the loss of two
wickets.
It capped a remarkable comeback for
an Indian side desperate to make
amends after losing in Adelaide by
eight wickets, when they posted their
lowest ever score of 36 and were widely
criticised at home.
And they bounced back without
superstar and batting maintstay kohli,
who has returned home for the birth of
his first child.
"Really proud of all the players," said
Rahane.
"I want to give credit to the debutants
(Mohammed) Siraj and (Shubman)
Gill, the character they showed after the
Adelaide loss was great to see.
Character was important for us."
kohli, watching at home in India,
tweeted his congratulations.
"What a win this is, absolutely
amazing effort by the whole team," he
said. "Couldn't be happier for the boys
and specially Jinks (Rahane) who led
the team to victory amazingly."
Under the mild-mannered Rahane,
India battled hard to dismiss Australia
for 195 in the first innings and then
posted 326 in reply.
Australia resumed their second
innings on day four on 133 for six with
a two-run lead, and their hopes resting
on 21-year-old rookie all-rounder
Cameron Green.
He made 45 as they battled to 200
before tail-ender Josh Hazlewood was
the last man to fall before lunch.
Siraj took 3-37 with Jasprit Bumrah,
Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin
grabbing two each.
Rahane and Gill (35) then saw India
home, but not before some nervous
moments.
Mitchell Starc got a nick from the outof-form
Mayank Agarwal (5), which
tim paine caught, then pat Cummins
snared Cheteshwar pujara for three,
edged to Green at gully.
It left India on 19 for two before they
regained their composure to seal the
win.
"Very disappointed, played poor
cricket, sloppy cricket," said Australia
captain paine.
"Let's not take anything away from
India, they forced us to make mistakes.
they bowled beautifully, we haven't
adapted as well as we would've liked.
"Disappointed as a batting group, but
two tests to go."
Australia collapsed to 99 for six in the
run chase on Monday before Green and
Cummins knuckled down to weather
18 overs and steer them to stumps.
Green showed glimpses of his magic,
cutting Ashwin and driving Bumrah
beautifully for fours, while also
exhibiting patience.
Chelsea failed to ease the mounting pressure on manager Frank Lampard as Aston Villa came from
behind to earn a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Photo: AP
Chelsea fail to lift pressure on Lampard, Covid
spike causes Man City postponement
SpoRtS DeSk:
Chelsea failed to ease the mounting
pressure on manager Frank Lampard as
Aston Villa came from behind to earn a
1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Monday,
as a coronavirus outbreak at Manchester
City caused their clash at everton to be
postponed, reports BSS.
Lampard's men have now won just
one of their last five league games to fall
six points behind leaders Liverpool in
sixth and having played a game more
than the champions.
Chelsea also trail Villa on goal
difference, despite Dean Smith's men
having two games in hand, and the
visitors were well worthy of a point.
"Now it's a tough moment and you
have to fight through it," said Lampard.
"Nobody let me down tonight, everyone
worked, we just didn't quite get the rub
of the green." Lampard was able to make
six changes from the side beaten at
Arsenal 48 hours ago. olivier Giroud
was one of those drafted into the side
and the French international proved his
worth with a precise near post header
from Ben Chilwell's cross to open the
scoring with his ninth of the season.
By contrast, Smith made just one
enforced change from the team that
played for 45 minutes with 10 men in
Saturday's 3-0 win over Crystal palace.
But Villa showed no signs of fatigue in
the second-half and levelled when
Anwar el Ghazi turned home his fifth
goal in as many games from Matty
Cash's cross five minutes into the
second-half. "I'm still yet to see a player
carried off the pitch with exhaustion,"
said Smith. "I'm a big believer in you
want to play every game and if they are
doing well keep playing them." - Covid
outbreak at Man City -
For just the second time since the
2019/20 premier League match season
resumed in June, a match was
postponed due to coronavirus infections
after a spike at City.
the Manchester giants announced on
Christmas Day there had been positive
tests at the club for players kyle Walker
and Gabriel Jesus and two staff
members.
Brazil's star footballer Neymar is at the center of a new controversy after several Brazilian
media reported that he's organizing a huge New Year's Eve party despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo: AP
Real resume
Atletico chase
as Messi absent
for Barca
SpoRtS DeSk:
Real Madrid will attempt to
sign off the year with a sixth
win on the bounce as Zinedine
Zidane's in-form side
continue their pursuit of La
Liga leaders and city rivals
Atletico Madrid on
Wednesday, reports BSS.
Defending champions Real
are level on 32 points with
Atletico but have played two
games more than Diego
Simeone's men ahead of their
trip to elche.
karim Benzema has been
the driving force behind Real's
excellent December run,
claiming key goals in wins
over Athletic Bilbao, eibar
and Granada after securing
the club a spot in the
Champions League knockout
phase.
eden Hazard is also in line
to feature after recovering
from his latest injury setback.
the Belgian was an unused
substitute in last week's
victory over Granada and has
made just three league starts
this campaign.
Real coach Zinedine Zidane
hopes the short festive break
afforded to his players over
Christmas will not interrupt
the momentum built over a
domestic five-game winning
streak.
"We're going to keep
working hard. We have an
awful lot of games, we should
be pleased with what we're
doing," said Zidane.
"We're going to lose games
again, but we're going to try to
win as many as possible.
From time to time it's
inevitable."
Atletico have responded
well to the 2-0 defeat by Real
earlier this month that
snapped their 26-match
unbeaten league run.
Masked and muted olympics
will still dominate crowded
2021 in sports
SpoRtS DeSk:
the rescheduled tokyo olympics will be the
centrepiece of a crammed sporting year in 2021
as sports administrators who had their
calendars wiped away by the coronavirus
pandemic try to fill the gaps even as a second
wave hits, reports BSS.
While the Games will still be called the 2020
olympics, they have been changed by Covid-19.
tokyo organisers and the Japanese
government are struggling with increased costs
and, despite the growing possibility of
vaccination, whether to allow foreign visitors
and what safeguards and restrictions will apply
to spectators and participants.
In early December, organisers said the
delayed Games will cost at least an extra $2.4
billion as the unprecedented peacetime
postponement and a raft of pandemic health
measures inflate a budget that was already over
$13 billion.
enthusiasm appears to have waned in Japan.
A poll in July showed that just one in four
people wanted to see the Games held in 2021 -
and a majority backed either further delay or
cancellation.
"Whether it's seen as too much or that we
have done well to contain the costs, I think it
depends on how you look at it," said tokyo
2020 Ceo toshiro Muto.
organisers have reduced the number of free
tickets, scaled down the opening ceremony and
made savings on mascots, banners and meals,
but so far have cut just $280 million.
"It will be simple rather than festive, but I
hope it will be something moving that
encourages people through the power of sport,"
he said.
the organisers are determined to go ahead
next year, even if the pandemic has not
receded.
they want to welcome foreign spectators and
plan to waive quarantine requirements.
they plan to require fans to wear masks, to
refrain from cheering and keep their ticket
stubs for contact tracing.
Athletes will be asked to arrive late and leave
early, minimise their time in the olympic
village, refrain from speaking loudly, avoid
physical contact and wear masks when not
competing or training. they will be screened on
arrival and undergo tests every four to five
days.
"I think the Games will go off," World
Athletics president Sebastian Coe said this
month. "What nobody is clearly across at the
moment, is… whether we are going to have a
stadium populated by good, noisy, passionate
fans."
the challenge for the organisers is
considerable, since the Games bring together
11,000 athletes from 206 countries,
accompanied by at least 5,000 officials and
coaches, 20,000 media representatives and
60,000 volunteers.
Meanwhile, other sports, desperate to make
up for lost time are, for the most part,
manoeuvering to minimise overlaps between
their revamped schedules and the olympic
behemoth.
the National Basketball Association, which
only finished its coronavirus-hit 2019-20
season on october 12, agreed with its players
union to start the new season on December 22,
cut the regular season by 10 games and end it
on May 16.
this was partly to allow players to compete in
tokyo, although since the playoffs are
scheduled to continue until July 22, the day
before the Games start, some of the biggest
stars could still miss tokyo.
one event that has not, so far, publicly
rethought its plans is the other marquee
casualty from the summer's sporting wipeout:
the european football championships.
Still called euro 2020, they are scheduled to
stick to the planned 12-city format but some
member nations have reportedly been urging
UeFA to put all the matches in one country.
the significance of the olympics goes beyond
sports.
Following on from the diplomatic gestures at
the pyeongchang Winter Games in 2018, there
is talk of inviting North korean leader kim
Jong Un to the tokyo Games and holding a
summit with South korea, China, the United
States and host Japan.
Another dominant theme in 2020,
opposition to racism, threatens to cause
friction in tokyo.
In early December, Coe pointedly gave the
World Athletics president's award to tommie
Smith, peter Norman and John Carlos, the
three 400m runners who raised a fist in a black
power salute on a medal podium protest at the
1968 Mexico City Games.
"Sadly, their cause and what they so bravely
stood for has not been consigned to the history
books," said Coe.
WeDNesDAY, DeceMBeR 30, 2020
10
Digi
You are not
with me
since 9 yrs
TBT RepoRT
Award of Cinemaking Int’l Film
Festival announced
TBT RepoRT
The award of three-day Cinemaking
International Film festival has been
announced, reports UNB.
'The Single Tumbler' from Sri Lanka
was awarded the Best International
Film while 'A biography of Nazrul'
directed by Ferdous Khan bagged 'Best
Bangladeshi Full-length film' award.
The festival started on December 24 in
the outskarts of the capital ciry Dhaka
and ended on December 26. CIFF
founder and Festival Director
Monjurul Islam Megh informed that
150 films from 54 countries and 27
films from Bangladesh has been
selected for competition in 11
categories in this time. Among them, 17
international films were awarded as
best award from eight competition
categories.
Ten international best awards were
given in the main competition section
for International Feature film
Competition. "Girl and the Sea"
directed by Azizzhan Zairov and
Mukhamed Mamyrbekov from
Kazakhstan were announced as Best
Asian film while Apurba Kishor Bir
won Best Asian director for
"Antardhwani" from India.
"I'Father', directed by Mark Norfolk
from Kosovo was selected as Best
European Film while Gultekin Bayir
bagged Best European Director for "Bir
Denizcinin Dogum Gunu" from
Turkey. Yashpal Sharma for acting in
the "Mooso the Mouse" and Swapna
Pati for acting in the "Antardhwani"
from India were awarded as Best
International Actor and Best
International Actress respectively.
"The Final Code" from Italy will
receive the Best Original Score while
Best Cinematography for "Boluomi"
from Taiwan and Best Screenplay for
"Colorless Dreams" from Uzbekistan
Alia Bhatt starrer film
'Gangubai Kathiawadi'
lands in legal trouble
were announced in the competition.
"Endless Walk" directed by Yan
Paing Htum from Myanmar bagged
the title of Best international mobile
film while Best Bangladeshi mobile
was film "Mother" directed by Anondo
Khaled.
"The Fiber" directed Nubelia Leyva
Ferrer and Sorangel Solano Clever
from Cuba gained the title of Best
International Short film while the
festival announced Best Bangladeshi
short film "Separation" directed by
Aparajita Sangita.
Best International Documentary
were "A Gift from God" directed by
Jorgen Lorentzen, Nafise Ozkal
Lorentzen from Norway while Best
International Kids award were achieved
by Filmmaker Sandro Kintsureshvili for
"Take It" from Georgia. The festitival
was organised by Dhaka Festival while
Festival Partner was Mashud moncho
and Rushda Film.
Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai
Kathiawadi has landed in a legal
soup. A case has been filed against
Alia, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali
and writer Hussain Zaidi by
Kathiawadi's adopted son Babuji
Rawji Shah, reported
IndiaToday.in.
In his complaint, Shah alleged
that the movie and its source
material - the book Mafia Queens
of Mumbai by author Hussain
Zaidi - are defamatory in nature.
The petition further stated that it
infringes upon Babuji Rawji Shah's
right to 'privacy, liberty and selfrespect'.
Shah has stated that he is being
constantly ridiculed by the
members of his locality ever since
the first poster of the movie was
released.
Babuji Rawji Shah's lawyer
Narendra Dubey said that a
criminal complaint can be filed
against everyone named in the
petition for "defamation, indecent
representation of women, and
circulation of obscene and indecent
material."
The first hearing of the case
happened on December 22 this
year. The defendants have to
respond by January 7, 2021.
Gangubai Kathiawadi marks the
first collaboration of Alia Bhatt and
Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Source : India Today
Actress Prarthana Fardin Dighi,
National Film Award winning child
artiste is now a full-fledged heroine. She
is now busy with several movies works
after a long break. She was upset and not
feeling well as she lost her mother on
December 29. The memory of her
mother made her emotional.
Once upon a time, Dighi used to go to
the shooting set holding her mother's
hand. Her mother's dream was 'one day
her daughter would dominate the silver
screen as an actress'. That dream was
fulfilled, however, she could not see her
daughter's success. She passed away on
TBT RepoRT
National Film Award winning director
Mostafizur Rahman Manik is going to
start the 2009 film 'Monpura'. In the
film, Krishnakoli's popular song 'Jao
Pakhi Balo Tare' became popular among
29 December 2011.
Remembering her mother's
memory, Dighi posted a picture with
her mother on Facebook with a status
on Tuesday.
She wrote, "Yesterday was my
mother's 9th death anniversary. It's
been nine years, mother, you are not
with me.
I miss you every moment. I love you
so much. I urge all to pray for my
mother." Actress Dighi started her
career on the silver screen as a child
the viewers. This time the movie is being
made under the title of this song.
Mahiya Mahi and Fair and Handsome
winner AK Azad Ador are going to act for
the first time in the film. The shooting of
the film will start from January. Song
recording and pre-production work is
"Contagion" might be nine years old, but
Steven Soderbergh's well-received
pandemic thriller became one of 2020's
most-discussed films as the coronavirus
pandemic swept throughout the United
States. Soderbergh revealed during a
recent interview on the Happy Sad
Confused podcast that he is developing a
"philosophical" sequel to "Contagion"
alongside Scott Burns, who served as
screenwriter on the 2011 film. The
project appears to be in its early stages
and will unlikely be a direct sequel to
"Contagion," but Soderbergh noted that
it may touch on similar themes and ideas.
"I've got a project in development that
Scott Burns is working with me on, that's a
kind of philosophical sequel to 'Contagion,'
but in a different context," Soderbergh said.
"You'll kind of look at the two of them as
kind of paired, but very different hair
colors. So, Scott and I had been talking
about, 'So, what's the next iteration of a
'Contagion'-type story?' We have been
working on that; we should probably hotfoot
it a little bit." "Contagion" centered on
a fictional viral outbreak in the United
States, the chaos that ensued, and the
government's attempts to handle the
situation. The plot of "Contagion"
contained more than a few parallels to
artist. Since then, she has won the
hearts of millions of fans. She gained
fame in a short time through her
skillful acting in several movies.
Dighi's mother Doyel was a silver
screen actress. She has acted in many
movies including 'Rajlakshmi-Srikanta'.
Born on 25 September 1966 in
Bikrampur, Dhaka, Doyel made her bigscreen
debut in 1982 through the film
'Chandranath' directed by Chashi Nazrul
Islam. Her last film was 'Kabuliwala'
directed by Kazi Hayat.
Mahi-Ador
in ‘Jao Pakhi
Bolo Tare’
going on now. Director Mostafizur
Rahman Manik said, "I am going to
make the film with the story of a
completely rural background. Love and
separations are the main issues. For a
long time no perfect village movie was
made in Bangladesh. Moreover, I have
never made such a movie. It can be
called a challenge.
Ador said, my first movie is with
director Manik. He is a renowned
director. I learned a lot from him. Hope
everybody enjoys the movie.
Steven Soderbergh Working on
'Philosophical' Sequel to 'Contagion
the real-world coronavirus pandemic,
which caused the film to skyrocket in
popularity earlier in the year.
"Contagion" enjoyed a spike in views
through FandangoNOW and iTunes
shortly after the pandemic began
spreading throughout the United States.
Soderbergh and the "Contagion" cast
have shared their thoughts on the
coronavirus in recent months.
Soderbergh, who said he was taken aback
by the United States' response to the
pandemic earlier in the year, began
leading a Director's Guild of America
committee regarding safe filming
practices in April. "Contagion" cast
members such as Matt Damon, Laurence
Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Marion
Cotillard, and Jennifer Ehle recorded
safety PSAs earlier in the year, while Ian
Lipkin, who served as a medical
consultant on "Contagion," stressed the
dangers of the pandemic after he
contracted the coronavirus in March.
Source: indiewire.com
H o R o s c o p e
ARIes
(March 21 - April 20) : Intense emotions
are apt to dominate the scene today,
Aries. Don't do anything halfway. It's
time to give it your all or nothing. You
have the power to cut to the heart of the issue. Don't
hesitate. If you meet opposition, stay strong. There's
a valuable lesson to be learned. If you're being true to
yourself, you should have no trouble overcoming any
obstacle that stands in your path.
TAURUs
(April 21 - May 21) : There's an
overwhelming intensity about the day
that might make it difficult for you to
maintain the peace, Taurus. Strong
opinions and courageous emotions are clashing in a
climactic fashion. You might find yourself in the
middle of conflicting forces if you aren't careful.
Make sure you take care of yourself and your needs
before you try to patch up things for everybody else.
GeMINI
(May 22 - June 21) : You may feel extra selfconfident
today, Gemini, making you more
able to say and do the things you might
normally keep inside. Be warned, however,
that you're apt to run into some powerful, unexpected
opposition. The genius in you wants to come out and show
others what you're made of, but other people may have reason
to find fault. Don't let others' disapproval hinder your progress.
cANceR
(June 22 - July 23) : You might find
that others' strong opinions dictate
today's actions, Cancer. The
atmosphere is quite intense, so you
might want to lay low and let others have their
way. Don't try to put up a fight. Unexpected
opposition may come out of nowhere and take
control. There's a powerful force at work asking
you to do things with more passion than usual.
Leo
(July 24 - Aug. 23): Create your own
reality, Leo. It could be that you have the
puppet strings in your hands, but you're
too afraid to use them. Don't shy away
from responsibility. Take your time and don't lose
sight of your goals. The stakes are extra high today, and
you will find that the slightest movement is magnified
several times over. Be careful how you use your words.
They won't be taken lightly.
VIRGo
(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): Things that you
thought were obvious may not seem quite as
clear as you'd like them to be, Virgo. Be
aware that there may be some intense
opposition to your plans. Take care of other people and their
emotions. You will find that a wall might suddenly go up,
putting a harsh barrier between you and your goals.
Consider your heart as well as your head.
LIBRA
(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Other people may
tend to snap under the emotional
pressure of the day, Libra, but you're well
suited to soar through with flying colors.
You're ruled by your emotions and you have no
problem navigating rough waters. Other people may
look to you for strength and support. Trust yourself
and try not to get lured off course by conflicting
opinions that don't seem to sit right with you.
scoRpIo
(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): There's a need for
decisive action today, Scorpio, and
you're the one fit for the job. Strong
wills and forceful opinions will win
out. Others aren't likely to be easily manipulated.
Everyone has a voice, and they won't be afraid to
use it. Make sure that you speak up on your
behalf or your best interests may be lost. Stand
up for yourself. It's now or never.
sAGITTARIUs
(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): There may be tension and
opposition today, Sagittarius, so be prepared. It
could seem like everyone wants to rattle your
cage. Stand strong. There are forceful opinions
crying out to be heard. The more stubborn you are, the harder it
will be for important information to flow freely. Protect your
interests by standing your ground, but make sure you don't step on
other people's toes in the process.
cApRIcoRN
(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): What ails you now can
be eliminated if you're willing to stand
up and say exactly what needs to be
said, Capricorn. Going with the flow
may be an easy route to follow, but it might not
always take you down a path that leads to the
fulfillment of your dreams. Be a bit more aggressive
about your position today and outwardly project
yourself as the true master of your destiny.
AQUARIUs
(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : It takes two to
tango, Aquarius. Remember that life
isn't a one-way street. There needs to be
a bit of give and take if you expect others
to treat you the way you want to be treated. Don't let
people take control when it comes to taking charge of
your own life. Others may be emotional and
stubborn. Don't waste your breath with useless
drivel. Say something meaningful.
pIsces
(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : It may be hard to resolve
anything today, Pisces. It could be that
there's an overwhelming resistance making it
difficult to act according to plan. Today isn't
a good day to fight. If things don't seem to be going your
way, don't push it. Trying to strong-arm the situation will
only aggravate things and make them worse. You may need
to make some compromises in order to maintain the peace.
WednesdAY, december 30, 2020
11
More England Covid patients
in hospital than at April peak
LONDON : England is "back in the eye" of
the coronavirus storm, health chiefs warned
Tuesday, with as many patients in hospital as
during the initial peak in April.
A new strain of the virus appears to be
behind the recent upsurge in cases, heaping
further pressure on the state-run National
Health Service during its busiest winter period.
NHS England figures showed there were
20,426 Covid patients in the country's hospitals
on Monday, compared to the 18,974
peak recorded during the first wave.
The number of positive tests recorded over
a 24-hour period also hit a new high of
41,385 Monday, according to government
figures, although testing is now much more
extensive.
However, case figures do not include
Scotland and Northern Ireland, which did
not report over the Christmas period.
"Many of us have lost family, friends, colleagues
and - at a time of year when we
would normally be celebrating - a lot of people
are understandably feeling anxious, frustrated
and tired," said NHS England chief
executive Simon Stevens.
"And now again we are back in the eye of
the storm with a second wave of coronavirus
sweeping Europe and, indeed, this country."
Britain is pinning its hopes on its mass vaccination
programme, with the
Oxford/AstraZeneca jab expected to receive
approval shortly, according to reports.
"We think that by late spring with vaccine
supplies continuing to come on stream we
will have been able to offer all vulnerable
people across this country Covid vaccination,"
said Stevens.
"That perhaps provides the biggest chink
of hope for the year ahead."
Health trusts have been told to begin planning
for the use of Nightingale field hospitals,
the temporary facilities created during
the first wave that have largely gone unused.
London and southeast England are currently
bearing the brunt of the outbreak, with
paramedics in the capital saying they are
receiving up to 8,000 emergency calls each
day.
London Ambulance Service said Boxing
Day - December 26 - was one of its "busiest
ever days".A further 357 people testing positive
for the virus were announced on
Monday to have died, bringing the UK total
to 71,109, the second worst toll in Europe.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been
under fire for his government's handling of
the pandemic, and is now under pressure to
introduce even more social restrictions,
including school closures after the Christmas
break.
Natundhara Bangladesh (NDB) organized a street rally yesterday to reduce the daily
necessaries price.
Photo : TBT
we`ÿ r/Rb- 463(2)/29/12/2020
GD- 1783/20 (6 x 3)
Soldier charged with murder after
three dead in US shooting
WASHINGTON : A US
Green Beret has been
charged with murder after a
shooting at a bowling alley
over the weekend left three
dead in Illinois, the state
attorney said Monday.
A further three people
were injured when a man
opened fire in Rockford's
Don Carter Lanes bowling
alley on Saturday night.
Duke Webb, 37, has been
charged with three counts of
first-degree murder and
three counts of attempted
first-degree murder and
denied bail, State Attorney J.
Hanley said in a press conference.
The highly decorated
Green Beret was assigned to
the US Army's 7th Special
Forces Group, based in
Florida, and had served four
Afghan tours.
Hanley named those killed
as Thomas Furseth, 65, from
Machesney Park in Illinois,
Jerome Woodford, 69, and
Dennis Steinhoff, 73, who
were both from Rockford.
Of those wounded, the
state attorney said a 16-yearold
girl was stable, while
another teen - a 14-year-old
boy - and a 62-year-old man
remain in a critical condition
in hospital.
"The defendant admitted
to the shootings, and directed
officers to the locations of
the firearms he used,"
Fiji reviews quarantine
processes before
reopening border
SUVA : Inbound passenger
flights to Fiji will resume on
Tuesday with new adaptations
to border quarantine protocols,
according to the COVID-19
Risk Mitigation Taskforce.
The Fiji Broadcasting
Corporation reported that in
light of the discovery of a potentially
more contagious strain of
coronavirus in Britain, Fiji's
Health Ministry has completed
its extensive review of its border
quarantine processes.
The Health Ministry said the
entry swab test will be conducted
over day three and four as
this will reduce the risk of a false
negative result and improve the
ability to identify cases of
inflight transmission.
Stricter in-room quarantine
protocols will be enforced, with
no outdoor activity for new
arrivals until a negative entry
swab test result is received and
heightened COVID-safe measures
will be implemented for all
border health unit personnel
and hospital isolation unit
frontline staff. The COVID-19
Risk Mitigation Taskforce said
the new strain of virus appears
to be more transmissible.
However, it is transmitted in
the same manner as the existing
strain, and it is not considered
more dangerous to
human beings.
Hanley told the press conference.Two
weapons were
recovered at the scene.
Webb was on leave and
reportedly visiting family at
the time of the attack.
He is due to appear again
in court on February 16, and
could face life imprisonment
without parole if convicted.
A decorated Special Forces
assistant operations and
intelligence sergeant, Webb
finished his most recent tour
of Afghanistan in July, US
media said.
GD- 1782/20 (6 x 3)
Wednesday, dhaka, december 30, 2020, poush 15, 1427 bS, Jamadi-ul awal 14 , 1442 hijri
People reaping benefits of
democracy: PM Hasina
DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
on Tuesday said the people of the country
are now reaping the benefits of democracy
as they got back their state power from
the cantonment, reports UNB.
"Military dictators had grabbed state
power frequently in the past...once
the state power was in the cantonment...
As a result, there was no
(required) pace in development,"
she said.
The Prime Minister said this
while addressing the National
Economic Council meeting virtually
from her official residence
Ganobhaban. The meeting
approved the 8th Five-Year Plan
(2021-2025).
As the state power came back to
the mass people, they are now
enjoying their democratic rights
fully, Sheikh Hasina said.
"General people are getting the
benefits... rural people are getting
the benefits...that's the main
thing," she said.
Hasina said she believes that the
8th Five-Year Plan will be very
much effective to attain the desired
development of the country.
In this connection, she mentioned that
the government is implementing the UNformulated
Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs). "But coronavirus has created
a problem, this is not for us alone, it's
for the whole world."
50 journalists
killed in 2020,
most in countries
'at peace': RSF
At least 50 journalists were killed
worldwide in 2020, according to the
second part of the annual round-up
of abusive treatment and violence
against journalists, published on
December 28 by Reporters Without
Borders (RSF). While the number of
journalists killed in countries at war
continues to fall, more are being
murdered in countries not at war.
RSF tallied 50 cases of journalists
killed in connection with their work
from January 1 to December 15,
2020, a number similar to 2019
(when 53 journalists were killed),
although fewer journalists have been
in the field this year because of the
Covid-19 pandemic.
More journalists are being killed in
countries considered to be "at peace."
In 2016, 58% of media fatalities took
place in war zones. Now only 32% of
the fatalities are in war-torn countries
such as Syria or Yemen or in countries
with low or medium-intensity conflicts
such as Afghanistan and Iraq. In other
words, 68% (more than two thirds) of
the fatalities are in countries "at
peace", with highest casualties in
Mexico (eight journalists killed), India
(four), the Philippines (three) and
Honduras (three).
Hasina said the government has been
able to reduce the poverty rate significantly,
while the GDP has been great
enabling Bangladesh to fulfil the all criteria
to emerge as a developing one. "But
coronavirus stalled everything."
prime minister Sheikh hasina presided over the meeting of
the neC via video conference from ganobhaban on
tuesday.
photo : Star mail
The Prime Minister said when the
entire world got stalled completely,
Bangladesh had been able to carry on its
economic advancement-at least on a limited
scale. "Maybe we couldn't achieve the
fixed goals."
Hasina said the GDP target for
Sale of warm clothes
gearing up as mercury
starts falling
DHAKA : Sale of winter clothes is gearing
up in the capital city's markets and elsewhere
in the country as the mercury has
started falling at the advent of winter.
People are visiting different shopping
malls and makeshift shops for buying
winter clothes. Seasonal traders who sell
shirts, pants and panjabis at the city's
makeshift shops around the year, are
now selling colourful winter clothes and
blankets.
During the visit to different makeshift
markets it was found that being unable
to overlook the sellers' beckoning,
pedestrians stop for a while and skim
through the new winter collections.
There are various types of garments
such as shawls, sweaters, headbands,
caps, mufflers, fur-lined coats and cardigans
are being sold at these makeshift
cloth stores, roadside pushcarts and
shopping malls.
"Demand for warm clothes is increasing
as the winter intensifies. But the
price of winter garments has also gone
up this year as production dropped this
season with the companies facing difficulties
in importing fabrics, threads and
other accessories in time due to the global
pandemic COVID-19," said Md.
experimental planting of black fragrant paddy has started in Chapainawabganj.
Bangladesh was 8.2% for the last fiscal
but there was a pandemic across the and
the global economy had come to a standstill.
"As in the global village, Bangladesh
also faced some problems."
The PM went on saying: "Taking risks,
all are working in their respective
fields. As a result, we've been able
to maintain the pace of advancement."
She expressed her gratitude to
the people of the country for electing
her government for the third
consecutive time and for that it has
been able to take long-term development
plans for the country.
Hasina said the government has
taken Five-Year plans-Vision 2021
and Vision 2041 apart from Delta
Plan 2100.
"To execute these visions and
plans what we need is the Five-
Year plans. We've implemented
the 6th and 7th Five-Year plans,
we're taking the 8th Five-Year Plan
today, we'll take ahead the development
phase by phase for the
Vision 2041," she said.
By the time, she mentioned, the
government will require to implement
more Five-Year plans.
"We'll be able to build Bangladesh as a
developed and prosperous country if the
future governments, no matter whether
we'll be there in power, formulate these
Five-Year plans," she said.
Ruman, who was selling sweaters near
Gulistan's pavement.
He said the price of normal gents'
sweater is Tk 350 this year which was Tk
200 in last year and the price of ladies'
normal shawl is Tk 600 this year which
was Tk400 last year.
Retailers at Mouchak Market said
they sell local and imported blankets of
different types and sizes. This year, the
prices of blankets are higher than the
previous years.
Sirajul Islam, a trader in the market,
said as well as local blankets, they are
selling Korean and Spanish blankets
also. This year, the price of large size
Korean blankets is varying from Tk1600
to Tk 6000 depending on the quality.
The price of large size Spanish blankets
is between Tk 4,500 and Tk 8,000
this year which was between Tk 3500 to
Tk 6000 last year.
Arefin Rahat, a private university student,
came to Nujahan market from
Motijheel area to buy a jacket.
"There are different designs of jacket
in the market but the price is almost
double. The denim jacket which was
sold at Tk 1,000 last year is now being
sold at Tk 2,000," he said.
photo: Star mail
Covid-19 in Bangladesh
Death toll
exceeds 7500,
new cases 1,181
DHAKA : Bangladesh saw the death of
30 more people from Covid-19 and 1,181
new infections in the last 24 hours until
Tuesday, reports UNB.
The number of deaths rose to 7,509
since the first cases were reported in the
country on March 8.
With 1,181 new infections the country's
total caseload stood at 510,080,
said the Directorate General of Health
Services.
So far, 3,199,115 tests have been carried
out. The overall infection rate stood
at 15.98 % and the death rate at 1.47
However, 454,563 patients - 88.91% -
have recovered up to now.
Bangladesh is seeing 3,002.01 infections,
2,669.09 recoveries and 44.09
deaths per million.
The country's infection number
reached the 5,00000-mark on
December 20. The first death was
reported on March 18 and the death toll
exceeded 7,000 on December 12.
The government has been warning of
a second wave of Covid-19 in winter and
urging people to follow health safety
measures. It has also adopted a "no
mask, no service" policy.
Bangladesh will get Covid-19 vaccines
for around 4.5 crore people by May-
June next year, Cabinet Secretary
Khandker Anwarul Islam said recently.
"We will get 3 crore doses of vaccine
for 1.5 crore people at the end of January
or early February next year and 6 crore
doses for 3 crore people by May-June."
India lifts ban on
onion export
HILI (DINAJPUR) : India withdrew its
ban on onion export on Monday, nearly
three and a half months after imposing
it abruptly which sent the commodity's
price through the roof in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh will resume onion import
through Dinajpur's Hili land port on
January 1 next, officials here said,
reports UNB.
The decision was announced through
a notification from India's Ministry of
Commerce and Industry. Businessmen
at the Hili port have confirmed the
development.
Onion prices jumped sharply in
Bangladesh after India banned export of
the popular kitchen item on Sept 14 in
the pretext of local shortage and price
hike.
The abrupt move pushed up onion
prices in the Bangladesh market, forcing
the country to import the item from various
othersuppliers to meet the demand.
Mobarak Hossain, an onion importer
at Hili, said they received a letter from
Indian traders around 10pm on the
export ban withdrawal.
"They're allowing onion export from
Jan 1 but since it's a weekly holiday, the
import will begin from Jan 2," he said,
adding that they are preparing to open
LCs. But since no price has been fixed, it
is assumed that the onion will have to be
imported within US$300.
"The prices will fall to Tk20-25 per kg
in the retail market once the imported
onion hits the market," Mobarak said.
Meanwhile, Hili port importerexporter
group President Harun ur
Rashid said they would decide on onion
import after meeting Indian traders.
'Without a culture of criticism,
beauty of democracy will not
exist': Hasan Mahmud
Saidur rahman Sakib, WeSt Chattogram CorreSpondent
Commenting that Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina has introduced a culture of
appreciating criticism, Information
Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said, "today
you will see BNP's Fakhrul Islam
Alamgir criticizing the government in
harsh language every morning.
Competing with that again, Rizvi Ahmed
held another press conference at noon.
Besides, going to the press club,
Gayeshwar once again said in a
speech, we have no right to speak! '
The government is constantly being
harassed and again they say they have
no right to speak. What language is
used to criticize the government in television
talk shows today? We think
there should be this criticism. Without
this criticism the beauty of democracy
will not exist.
Information Minister further said, 'we
have always noticed that when there is a
crisis situation in the country or in the
world, there is an ambush on how to use
it to create instability in the society, to
spread fear."
They create unrest in the society by
serving false news. He has tried in the
beginning even in coronavirus.But the
ADB inks deal with
Bangladesh for rural power
supply improvement
DHAKA : The Asian Development
Bank (ADB) and Bangladesh on
Tuesday signed agreements for $200
million additional loans, including
$130 million concessional loan, to
improve access to efficient and reliable
electricity supply in rural areas
in Bangladesh, reports UNB.
The additional loans will scale up
the ongoing $616 million
Bangladesh Power System
Enhancement and Efficiency
Improvement Project, which ADB
approved in 2017, according to an
ADB release.
Fatima Yasmin, Secretary,
Economic Relations Division (ERD),
and Manmohan Parkash, Country
Director, ADB, remotely signed the
loan agreements on behalf of
Bangladesh and ADB respectively.
Md. Khayrul Hasan, Member
(Finance), Bangladesh Rural
Electrification Board (BREB), the
implementing agency of the project,
signed the project agreement.
The additional ADB assistance will
finance installation of an additional
990 kilometers (km) of 33 kilovolt
(kV) and 3,000 km of 11 kV below
distribution lines and associated
facilities, including 51 units of 33
kV/11 kV substations in rural areas
in Khulna division. This will result in
increasing electricity access to
150,000 rural households.
The improved access, quality, and
reliability of the electricity supply in
information
minister dr hasan
mahmud as the
chief guest
addressed a gathering
of journalists
and a biennial conference
at
bangabandhu hall
held at the initiative
of Chittagong press
Club on tuesday.
photo : Saidur
rahman Sakib
mainstream media took a hard line
against it and to prevent rumors from
spreading. That is why rumors or false
news did not work during coronavirus
time. I thank everyone involved in the
media for this. '
The information minister said this
while addressing a gathering of journalists
and a biennial conference at
Bangabandhu Hall at the initiative of
Chittagong Press Club. Information
Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud was present
as the chief guest at the biennial
conference of Chittagong Press Club
on Tuesday.
Farid Uddin Chowdhury, General
Secretary of Chittagong Press Club
gave the welcome address at the function
presided over by Ali Abbas,
President of Chittagong Press Club
and moderated by Nazrul Islam, Joint-
Secretary.
Among others, Former president
Abu Sufian, former president Kalim
Sarwar, senior vice-president of the
club Salahuddin Md Reza and general
secretary of the journalists' union Md
Mintu Chowdhury were among others
also present at the occasion.
rural areas will help reduce household
consumption of kerosene for
cooking and lighting to reduce
household fuel expenditure as well
as the burden of household chores;
catalyze energy-based economic
activities to raise household
incomes; and improve the educational
and medical environment.
Farmers will reduce fuel expenditure
for irrigation by switching
diesel-powered pumps to electric
pumps, which will help to reduce
production costs.
ADB Country Director Manmohan
Parkash said thataccess to electricity
in rural areas is a prerequisite to
improved quality of life, enhanced
economic activities, industrial and
agriculture productivity, and essential
services, such as health care, and
education.
"Uninterrupted and reliable electricity
supply can expedite economic
recovery of the country from the
losses of the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) pandemic by powering
critical activities including food supply
services, digital education, online
businesses, and essential household
activities."
Appreciating the government's
success in enhancing access to
power, Parkash said that the project
will help Bangladesh achieve its goal
of providing electricity for all by
2021, and related sustainable development
goals.
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam, Executive Editor : Sheikh Efaz Ahmed, Managing, Editor: Tapash Ray Sarker, News Editor : Saiful Islam, printed at Sonali Printing Press, 2/1/A, Arambagh 167, Inner Circular Road, Eden Complex, Motijheel, Dhaka.
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