28-10-2022

FRIDAY

DHAKA : October 28, 2022; Kartik 12, 1429 BS; Rabi-us-Sani 1, 1444 Hijri www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net Regd. No. DA~2065, Vol. 20; No.160; 12 Pages~Tk. 12.00

INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ART & CULTURE

Is UK leader Rishi

Porto advance to

‘A Father's Diary’

Sunak too rich to

knockout phase with 4-0

at Asian Film

rule in tough times?

win over Club Brugge

Fest Barcelona

Zumma

>Page 7

04:46 AM

01:30 PM

03:48 PM

05:27 PM

06:50 PM

None can chew up forex reserve,

it’s for the people : Hasina

Bangladesh a key player in

fight against climate change,

says British envoy

DHAKA : British High Commissioner

Robert Chatterton Dickson said on

Thursday that Bangladesh is playing

a key role globally to encourage high

emitting countries to cut emissions

of greenhouse gases while setting the

example as a strong resilient nation

against the impacts of climate change.

“The UK and Bangladesh partnered

closely in the run up to COP26 to raise

global ambition, and we continue to

work closely to turn commitments into

action,” he said, reports UNB.

It was great to hear fresh thinking

on mitigation, adaptation and climate

finance from experts and passionate

young people, said the British High

Commissioner to Dhaka while speaking

at a discussion in the city.

The British High Commission in

Dhaka organised the event with representatives

from the government of

Bangladesh, policymakers, NGOs, and

youth organisations on how to work

together in building momentum for

solutions to climate change in Bangladesh-one

of the most vulnerable countries

as a low-lying delta nation in the

world.

The discussion was held at the residence

of the British High Commissioner

where young climate change

activists from Bangladesh Youth Environment

Initiative (BYEI) shared their

ideas with climate experts and policy

influencers such as Waseqa Ayesha

Khan MP, Chair, Parliamentary Standing

Committee on Ministry of Power,

Energy and Mineral Resources and

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

on Thursday said no one can chew up

forex reserve. “Many may wonder where

the forex reserve money went. Money

from forex reserve went to Payra Port,

procuring food for the people, fertiliser,

meeting the daily needs of people...

No one can chew up that money. That

is (forex reserve) for the people. We are

using that for import and other necessary

purposes,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina said this while inaugurating

some development projects,

including capital dredging at Payra

Port, aiming to equip it with better facilities

for smooth operations, reports

UNB.

The Prime Minister virtually inaugurated

the development projects from

her official residence Ganabhaban.

Other inaugurated projects included

eight ships and vessels, the first

terminal, construction of a six-lane approach

road and a bridge at Payra Port.

The PM said that for the first time,

money from Bangladesh Infrastructure

Development Fund is being used.

It is being used for capital dredging of

Payra Port. “We have provided loan,

with minimum interest rate, to the

port. With one percent service charge,

they will have to give only two percent

interest rate,” she said.

The Prime Minister also stressed

that the country’s money will remain

in Bangladesh. She said that Bangladesh’s

forex reserve can be used for

infrastructure development. In this

connection, she mentioned the hassles

Bangladesh has to deal with when taking

foreign funds.

“Considering that, we have created

a fund - Bangladesh Infrastructure

Development Fund. We have created

this fund using our forex reserve money.

Using that fund, we are starting the

dredging of Payra Port,” she said.

Bangladesh’s forex reserves stood at

USD 35.98 billion as of October 19, 2022,

according to data from Bangladesh Bank.

Forex reserves were USD 46.19 billion a

year ago (October 19, 2021).

Co-Chair, Climate Parliament; Professor

Saleemul Huq, Director, International

Centre for Climate Change and

Development; Farah Kabir, Country

Director, Action Aid Bangladesh; and

Md Mahbub ur Rahman, CEO, HSBC

Bangladesh.

Organised ahead of COP27 in November,

the aim of the event was to

strengthen UK-Bangladesh cooperation

on climate change by exchanging

views and practical suggestions for action

at all levels.

The chief focus was given to views

from young people who will have

to face the harsh impacts of climate

change in the years ahead more than

anyone else.

The debate highlighted the difficulties

of transitioning to clean energy

and the costs of adaptation, particularly

among vulnerable countries like

Bangladesh.

The UK is committed to working

with Bangladesh in tackling the adverse

effects of climate change, according

to the British High Commission in

Dhaka.

The UK government is currently

supporting Bangladesh’s work on

expanding renewable energy to help

meet Bangladesh’s target of 40% of the

country’s energy from clean and renewable

sources by 2041.

Bangladesh is finalising its National

Adaptation Plan, and is calling on developed

countries to cut greenhouse

gas emissions and keep their commitment

in providing financing.

>Page 9 >Page 10

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday inaugurated capital dredging at Payra Port. Photo : PID

ACC won’t renew

Shakib’s contract as

goodwill ambassador

DHAKA : Anti-Corruption Commission

(ACC) will not consider cricketer Shakib

Al Hasan as its goodwill ambassador, reports

UNB.

“Although he is still the goodwill ambassador

as per contract, the contract will

not be renewed. He will not be part of the

upcoming International Anti-Corruption

Day programs,” Commissioner of the investigation

department of ACC, Mozammel

Haque, said. Haque was speaking to media.

According to the rules, ACC still has a

contract with him. But Shakib Al Hasan is

now considered “controversial” on various

issues. ACC does not want to associate itself

with any controversial person, Haque said.

All-rounder Shakib was made the goodwill

ambassador of the anti-corruption watchdog

to campaign against corruption in Bangladesh.

ACC made the announcement on

February 11, 2018.

‘Media a key tool

to promote safe

migration’

DHAKA : Speakers at a workshop on

Thursday said that media can play a vital

role in ensuring safe migration in a world

where unsafe migration kills people, destroys

families and drain resources. They

said migration is a national, international

and geopolitical issue responsible handling

could help people avoid irregular

migration, reports UNB.

The views came at the workshop titled

“Migration and Media” organised by International

Organisation for Migration in cooperation

with Diplomatic Correspondents

Association, Bangladesh at a city hotel.

Ambassador and Head of Delegation of

the European Union to Bangladesh Charles

Whiteley, Chief of Mission, IOM Bangladesh

Abdusattor Esoev and DCAB President

Rezaul Karim Lotus spoke at the inaugural

session moderated by former Foreign

Secretary and Senior Policy Advisor IOM

Bangladesh Shahidul Haque.

Shahidul conducted a session titled

“Global Migration Trends and Issues; Challenges

and Options for Bangladesh” while

there is another session on “Migration Diplomacy:

Bangladesh Perspective” by Foreign

Secretary Masud Bin Momen.

6:01 5:24

Nasrul Hamid now

hopes power supply

situation will

improve from Nov

DHAKA : State Minister for Power, Energy

and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid

yesterday said power supply situation

may improve from November, reports

UNB.

“We hope the power supply situation

will improve from November. I’m optimistic

and don’t want to make you pessimistic,”

he told reporters after attending

a seminar on renewable energy at Dhaka’s

Brac Inn Centre.

Earlier in August, the state minister

had said that power supply situation may

improve from September, and later again

said that load shedding would decrease

from October.

Following a national power grid failure

on October 4, 2022, electricity supply

situation deteriorated - increasing load

shedding to 5-6 hours every day.

The government started implementing

an austerity plan in July by suspending

operations of all diesel-fired power

plants to reduce fuel imports and save

foreign currency. The import of LNG

from the international spot market was

also suspended for the same purpose,

triggering frequent load shedding across

the country.

Referring to the request of businessmen

to resume LNG imports from the international

spot market and to ensure uninterrupted

gas and electricity supply to factories

at a higher price, Nasrul said the government

is assessing all the options.

“We’re working on it. Businessmen

need uninterrupted gas supply at affordable

price,” he added. He also said that

his ministry has sent a detailed proposal

to Brunei on importing LNG and is now

waiting for their response. It may take a

week more to get a response from Brunei,

he said.

Healthcare system rocked

by Corona struggles to

cope with dengue

DHAKA : With the nation’s healthcare

system still only recovering from the blow

of the Coronavirus pandemic, many hospitals

in the city including Dhaka Medical

College Hospital are struggling to provide

treatment to the rising number of dengue

patients due to a shortage of beds.

In scenes reminiscent of the country’s

worst-ever dengue outbreak in 2019,

many patients suffering from dengue

fever were seen receiving treatment on

floors and balconies as hospitals ran out

of beds to accommodate them.

Visiting various areas in the city, UNB

found a number of medical facilities including

Holy Family Hospital, Mugda

Medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh

Shishu Hospital and Institute,

Dhaka Medical College Hospital and

Kurmitola General Hospital treating patients

on the floor, as all the beds in the

respective wards have been filled with

patients being treated for the mosquito-borne

disease.

Last Sunday (Oct. 23), the number

of daily hospitalisations reported by the

Directorate General of Health Services

crossed 1000 for the first time this year,

from 922 the day before. Hospitalisations

did drop back down as the week

progressed, to reach 750 on Wednesday.

The number of infections may start to

fall in the first week of November, said

Dr Nazmul Islam, Director of the Disease

Control Department of DGHS.

BNP opened fire on demonstrators

demanding electricity : Hasan

Recently, the number of dengue patients

has increased across the country.

But the fatalities can be considerably reduced

if patients go to the doctor at the

right time, he said. He also said that dengue

has increased due to climate change.

Besides, the mosquito-borne disease has

increased this time due to the lack of

awareness also, he said. Public health expert

Dr Mohammad Abdus Sabur Khan

said that although dengue intensity usually

decreases in September, this time the

situation has reversed.

“It’s October now, but dengue is showing

no sign of retreating. It seems like

dengue will prevail till mid-November

this time,” Khan said. “Creating awareness

among the public is a must to rein in

the dengue menace. We’ve taken various

steps in this regard,” Health Minister Zahid

Maleque told UNB.

He went on to name three hospitals

- Dhaka North Corporation Hospital, a

new unit of BSMMU, and Lalkuthi Hospital

- that have been kept ready to deal

with any emergency. Many might say the

emergency is already here, especially in

light of the kind of October we have witnessed.

A total of 120 people have died of

dengue this year (as of October 26), making

it easily the second-worst outbreak of

the disease in the country’s history after

2019, when a staggering 101,354 people

were infected with the virus and 179 of

them died.

DHAKA : Information and Broadcasting

Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud yesterday

said that during the BNP regime, the government

opened fire on the demonstrators

demanding electricity at Kansat in

Chapainawabganj.

“During a movement demanding electricity

in Kansat, the BNP government

opened fire and killed people. They only

installed pillars for supplying electricity.

So, BNP has no moral right to talk about

electricity,” he said.

Hasan, also ruling Awami League

(AL) joint general secretary, said this

while exchanging views with journalists

at the Secretariat here in the afternoon.

He said BNP had inaugurated an

80-megwatt power plant at Tongi during

their regime from 2001 to 2006, which

was run only for two days and it was shutdown

subsequently.

The World Bank and the International

Monetary Fund (IMF) stopped their

funding in power sector raising graft allegation

against BNP government, the

minister said, adding: “That’s why, I

would like to suggest the BNP (BNP leaders)

to see their own faces on the mirror

and to refrain from the way of confusing

the people”.

Only 40 percent people of the country

were under electricity facility before

Awami League formed the government

in 2009 and the rate was lower than that

of during BNP regime, Hasan said.

“But today cent percent people across

the country have been brought under the

power facility and our government has

reached the electricity facility all households

of remote villages,” he added.

Apart from using refrigerators and

watching televisions, the minister said,

the rural people now use air-conditions.

Mobile phones of 15 crore, electric

cars and three-wheeler-run vehicles run

through electric charge, Hasan said, adding

that at least hundreds of megawatts

of electricity are consumed there too.

RAB claimed to have recovered a sophisticated rocket launcher from a young man in Golapganj,

Sylhet. Last Tuesday night, the young man named Sheikh Ali Hossain was arrested from Rankeli

Golopar area of the upazila along with a rocket launcher.

Photo : Star Mail

Friday, OctOber 28, 2022

2

Dhaka, Tokyo to elevate bilateral

ties to 'strategic partnership'

DHAKA : Bangladesh and Japan want to

elevate the bilateral relations to 'strategic

partnership' level during Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to Japan.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit

Japan from November 29 to December 1, at

the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister

Fumio Kishida, reports UNB.

The planned visit was discussed when the

Director General of Southeast and Southwest

Asian Affairs of Japan's Ministry of Foreign

Affairs Arima Yutaka met Foreign Secretary

Masud Bin Momen in Dhaka on Thursday.

At the meeting, both sides expressed

satisfaction at the growing bilateral relations

between the two countries.

They particularly highlighted the visit of

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Japan in

May 2014, when she and the then Prime

Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe elevated the

bilateral relations between the countries to

'Comprehensive Partnership' level, and also

the visit of Shinzo Abe to Bangladesh in

September 2014, when the two countries

GD-1742/22 (5x3)

forged deeper economic partnership under

BIG-B.

Both sides expected that during PM

Hasina's upcoming visit, Bangladesh and

Japan would foster deeper economic

partnership in terms of development

cooperation, trade and investment, human

resources development, agriculture, ICT,

education, defence dialogue and exchanges,

people-to-people connectivity, repatriation of

Rohingyas, etc.

The two sides also expressed the desire to

enhance cooperation in international fora,

including on climate change, UN reforms,

disarmament and non-proliferation, etc.

Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh Ito

Naoki and Director General (East Asia and

Pacific) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also

joined the meeting.

The Director General of the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs of Japan is on a two-day visit

to Dhaka to discuss the preparations of Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to

Japan.

Elderly man beaten to

death in Kurigram,

sister dies of shock

KURIGRAM : A 70-year-old

man was beaten to death

allegedly by his neighbour

over the cutting of a tree in

Sadar upazila of Kurigram on

Wednesday night, reports

UNB.

On the other hand, the

victim's elder sister also died

after witnessing the attack.

The deceased was identified

as Abul Kalam Azad, while

her elder sister Sakina Begum

was 75. They were residents

of Raipur village under

Kathalbari union of the

upazila.

Locals and police said that

Abul had an altercation with

his neighbour Dulal Mia over

cutting branches of a mango

tree adjacent to their house

on Wednesday afternoon.

Armed with sharp weapons

and sticks, Dulal attacked

Abul in his house around

9pm, leaving him critically

injured, they said.

He was rushed to Kurigram

General Hospital, where

doctors declared him dead on

arrival.

School teacher sent to jail

for sexual harassment of

minor in Thakurgaon

THAKURGAON : A school

teacher has been remanded in

judicial custody by a court in

Thakurgaon in connection

with the sexual harassment of

a minor student, reports

UNB.

The accused has been

identified as Tula Ram Paul,

38. SM Jahid Iqbal, officerin-charge

of Ranisankail

police station, said they

arrested the accused after the

girl's father lodged a

complaint on Wednesday.

Later, the accused was

produced in a Thakurgaon

court that sent him to judicial

custody. According to the case

statement, the teacher

allegedly harassed the girl

sexually after taking her to a

room of the school on

Tuesday morning.

GD-1741/22 (8x4)

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MÖvg kn‡ii DbœwZ

GD-1734/22 (9x4)

GD-1738/22 (10x4)

Closing ceremony of the Cultural Week-2022 of the department of Development Studies was held at

the Prof Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury Auditorium yesterday. Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic),

University of Dhaka was present as chief guest.

Photo : Courtesy

Dhaka hospitals struggle to cope

with rising dengue patients

DHAKA : Many hospitals in the city

including Dhaka Medical College

Hospital are struggling to provide

treatment to the rising number of

dengue patients due to the shortage of

beds.

In scenes reminiscent of the country's

worst-ever dengue outbreakin 2019,

many patients suffering from dengue

fever were seen receiving treatment on

the floors and balconies as hospitals ran

out of beds to accommodate them.

Visiting various areas in the city, UNB

found that hospitals including Holy

Family Hospital, Mugda Medical

College and Hospital, Bangladesh

Shishu Hospital and Institute, Dhaka

Medical College Hospital and Kurmitola

General Hospital are treating patients

on the floor, as all the beds in their

respective wards have been filled with

patients affected by the mosquito-borne

disease.

However, the number of infections

may start to fall in the first week of

November, said Dr Nazmul Islam,

Director of the Disease Control

Department of DGHS.

Recently, the number of dengue

patients has increased across the

country. But the fatalities can be

considerably reduced if patients go to

the doctor at the right time, he said.

He also said that dengue has increased

due to climate change. Besides, due to

the lack of awareness, the mosquitoborne

disease has increased this time.

A total of 120 peoplehave died of

dengue till October 26 this year. Doctors

said that children are the worst

sufferers.

"Creating awareness among the public

is a must to rein in the dengue menace.

We've taken various steps in this

regard," Health MinisterZahid

Malequetold UNB.

Dhaka North Corporation Hospital, a

new unit of BSMMU, and Lalkuthi

Hospital have been kept ready in case of

emergency, he added.

The minister said that the city

corporations and municipalities have

been urged to be vigilant about killing

mosquitoes.

If the number of mosquitoes is

reduced, the number of patients will

automatically decrease resulting in the

low pressure of dengue patients in the

hospital, the minister observed.

As the number of dengue patients is

increasing every day, hospitals are

directed to give the proper treatment to

the patients, Prof. Dr Ahmadul Kabir,

additional director general of the health

department told UNB.

"Beds and logistic support will be

provided if needed," he added.

Public health expert Dr Mohammad

Abdus Sabur Khan said that although

dengue intensity usually decreases in

September, this time the situation has

reversed.

Dhaka’s air

quality is still

‘unhealthy’

DHAKA : Dhaka's air

quality continued to be in

the 'unhealthy' zone on

Thursday.

With an air quality index

(AQI) score of 146 at

8.30am, the metropolis

ranked eighth in the list of

world cities with the worst

air quality.

An AQI between 101 and

200 is considered

'unhealthy', particularly for

sensitive groups.

Pakistan's Lahore,

India's Delhi and the

United Arab Emirates'

Dubai occupied the first

three spots in the list, with

AQI scores of 266, 167 and

162, respectively.

An AQI between 201 and

300 is said to be 'poor',

while a reading of 301 to

400 is considered

'hazardous', posing serious

health risks to residents.

In Bangladesh, the AQI is

based on five criteria

pollutants-Particulate

Matter (PM10 and PM2.5),

NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.

Dhaka has long been

grappling with air pollution

issues. Its air quality

usually turns unhealthy in

winter and improves

during the monsoon.

Air pollution consistently

ranks among the top risk

factors for death and

disability worldwide.

Breathing polluted air has

long been recognised as

increasing a person's

chances of developing a

heart disease, chronic

respiratory diseases, lung

infections and cancer,

according to several

studies.

As per the World Health

Organization (WHO), air

pollution kills an estimated

seven million people

worldwide every year,

largely as a result of

increased mortality from

stroke, heart disease,

chronic obstructive

pulmonary disease, lung

cancer and acute

respiratory infections.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2022

3

US opens new commercial

service office in Dhaka to

boost trade ties

DHAKA : The United States on Thursday formally opened a new

commercial service office at the US Embassy, which will play an

important role in strengthening trade ties between the two

countries.

US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and

Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service

Arun Venkataraman and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter

Haas announced the opening of the office.?

"As the United States and Bangladesh celebrate 50 years of

bilateral relations, it is an opportune moment to expand upon

the strong foundation of our bilateral and commercial

relationship," said Venkataraman.

"The new Commercial Service office here in Bangladesh will

play an important role in strengthening trade ties between our

countries, and how we support US companies doing business in

such a dynamic and fast-growing economy. Trade between our

two countries accounts for an estimated $10 billion, showcasing

the vast existing and potential opportunities in this country."?

Thr US Department of Commerce will station a senior Foreign

Commercial Service officer at the US Embassy in Dhaka to

maximise US export opportunities and work collaboratively

with Bangladesh to assist US companies considering entry into

or expanding their presence in the Bangladeshi market. ?

The office will help facilitate one-on-one business counseling,

provide tailored export expertise and information on the

Bangladeshi market, and work to connect US businesses with

potential Bangladeshi partners through business matchmaking

and other services.?

The US Foreign Commercial Service is the export promotion

arm of the International Trade Administration, a bureau of the

US Department of Commerce.

The commercial service has an extensive global network

consisting of 122 offices around the world and in over 100 US

cities. The new office in Dhaka will increase the number of

international markets to 81. Across Asia, the wing will have a

presence in 19 markets, including Bangladesh.?

The International Trade Administration (ITA) at the US

Department of Commerce is the premier resource for American

companies competing in the global marketplace.

ITA has more than 2,200 employees assisting US exporters in

more than 100 US cities and 81 markets worldwide.

72 vacant seats

in JU

DHAKA : Seventy-two seats

are vacant in various

departments and faculties

even after admission from the

third merit list in the

graduation (honours)

admission test In the 2021-22

academic year of

Jahangirnagar University, .

Deputy Registrar

(Education) Abu Hasan,

Member Secretary of the

Central Admission

Management Committee

confirmed this information on

Wednesday (October 26).

Abu Hasan said, "72 seats

are vacant in almost all the

units. Students who want to

apply for this vacant seat will

apply in person from 5th to

8th November.

Admission will be taken on

the basis of the application

submitted according to the

previous merit order. In this

regard, a notice will be given

on the website of the

university after taking the final

decision today with the

permission of the VC. He also

said that the admissions

process of students seeking

admission in different quotas

in the university will be

completed on the same date.

It is to be noted that this

year, 466 seats in 'A' unit, 386

in 'B' unit, 467 in 'C' unit, 320

in 'D' unit and 250 in 'E' unit in

the admission test of 2021-22

academic year are 2 lakh 84

against a total of 1 thousand

888 seats. 1,605 applications

were submitted. In addition to

the number of seats, the

university has a quota system.

Accordingly, there are

reserved seats for freedom

fighters- 37x4, 30 for ethnic

groups, 15 for disabled.

Besides, there is a reserved

quota.

LGRD Minister Tajul Islam addressing a discussion meeting at a city hotel

yesterday.

Photo : Courtesy

On Wednesday night, October 26, 2022, the ICT Division of the Government of the People's Republic

of Bangladesh organized an "Ambassador Night" at the "Sheraton Dhaka" hotel located in Banani,

capital Dhaka.

Photo : Courtesy

‘Digital World 2022’ is going

to kick off in December

One of the biggest events of ICT sector

"Digital World 2022", will be organized

in Bangladesh upcoming December. In

continuation of the previous years, this

event will be held at the Bangabandhu

International Conference Center (BICC)

located in Agargaon Shere-Bangla

Nagar, Dhaka on 8-11 December 2022 to

inform the capabilities of digital

Bangladesh at the local and international

level. In light of this, on Wednesday

night, October 26, 2022, the ICT

Division of the Government of the

People's Republic of Bangladesh

organized an "Ambassador Night" at the

"Sheraton Dhaka" hotel located in

Banani, capital Dhaka. The government

wants to open new horizons for

attracting foreign investment as an

exporter of ICT products from Made in

Bangladesh through Digital World, a

press release said.

This Ambassador Night is organized as

an initiative to inform foreign countries

about Digital World 2022 and to invite

foreign guests. It was attended by

ambassadors from Saudi Arabia,

Maldives, Morocco, Brunei, Turkey,

Dubai, Sweden, South Korea, European

Union, Australia, Bhutan and many

more countries.

The Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul

Momen MP spoke as the chief guest at

the program. He said that Digital World

2022 will be a unique opportunity to

showcase the capabilities of Bangladesh

in the technology sector to the world. We

hope this event will give us an idea of our

capabilities and future opportunities in

the technology sector. Our people have

proved how capable they are. We had a

clear target to implement Digital

Bangladesh with the guidance of our

Prime Minister and the advice from the

ICT Adviser. The Bangladesh you see

today is the result of the visionary

leadership of our Prime Minister. If you

have a dream, we can make it happen;

Not only on paper but also in reality.

Bangladesh wants to move forward

with friendly countries in the ICT sector

Mentioning that the foreign minister

said that the Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

has given us the foreign policy of

"friendship with all, enmity with none"

and we are following it. We want you all

by our side on that journey. Finally, in his

speech, the foreign minister thanked the

representatives of the foreign countries

present at the event.

In the speech of the special guest, the

State Minister for the ICT Division

Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP said, We have

been organizing this international event

since 2011. We invite global leaders,

researchers and investors to participate

in this event. We want them to visit our

market, see our capabilities. We want to

be self-sufficient in the digital sector.

Also want to work in partnership with

other countries of the world.

The Director of Bangladesh Computer

Council Mohammad Enamul Kabir gave

a welcome speech to the event. The

program was chaired by The Executive

Director of Bangladesh Computer

Council Ranajit Kumar.

After that Sami Ahmed, Managing

Director of Startup Bangladesh Ltd.,

highlighted different aspects of the

program. BACCO Finance Secretary Md.

Aminul Hoque, BCS President Subrata

Sarkar, e-Cab President Ms. Shomi

Kaiser and BASIS President Russell T

Ahmed spoke at the program.

Among others, the Senior Secretary of

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Masud Bin

Momen and the Senior Secretary of ICT

Division N M Zeaul Alam PAA, the

ambassadors include Australia's High

Commissioner to Banglades Jeremy

Bruer, Ambassador of the Republic of

Turkey Mustafa Osman Turan, Swedish

Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexandra

Berg von Linde, Ambassador of the

Republic of Korea Lee Jang-keun,

Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to

Bangladesh Essa Youssef Essa Al

Duhailan and Ambassador and Head of

Delegation of the European Union (EU)

Charles Whiteley spoke at the program.

Dr Harun-Ur- Rashid accorded Khan

Bahadur Ahsanullah Gold Medal

TBT REPORT

Eminent Nephrologist Professor Dr

Harun-Ur- Rashid was accorded Khan

Bahadur Ahsanullah Gold Medal 2020

for his outstanding contribution to the

field of treatment service. On October

27, 2022, Thursday, the medal was

handed over to him in a ceremony held

at Dhaka Ahsania Mission Auditorium

in Dhanmondi of the capital.

National Professor AK Azad Khan

was present as the chief guest while

Dhaka Ahsania Mission President Kazi

Rafiqul Alam presided over the

program.

Prof. AK Azad Khan said, Khan

Bahadur Ahsanullah is a man of

versatile talents. He is a transient. The

contribution he has made in the

establishment of Dhaka University

needs to be focused to everyone.

He also said that Khan Bahadur

Ahsanullah was religious but he was

not a fanatic. We have a lot to learn

from his life.

Dr Harun-Ur- Rashid said, `We are

working on how to reduce the cost of

kidney dialysis and to diagnose and

cure kidney disease at its earliest stage.

Making people aware is a very difficult

task. We continue this difficult work.'

He also said that it is necessary to do

a urine and blood sugar test only after

the age of 40 years. Walk for 30

minutes every day.

Founder Vice-Chancellor of

Bangladesh Open University and

South-East University and renowned

Nuclear Scientist Professor Dr. M

Shamsher Ali, Managing Director

Kidney Foundation Hospital and

Research Institute Tini Ferdous Rashid

were discussants in the program. The

brief introduction of the gold medalist

was read by the Vice President of

Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Professor Dr.

Kazi Shariful Alam. The welcome

speech was given by the member of the

Executive Committee of Dhaka

Ahsania Mission Dr M Ehsanur

Rahman.

Since 1985, Dhaka Ahsania Mission

has been awarding the Khan Bahadur

Ahsanullah Gold Medal to a national

level personality every year to recognize

the talent and contribution of

contemporary personalities.

Eminent Nephrologist Professor Dr Harun-Ur- Rashid was accorded Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah

Gold Medal 2020 for his outstanding contribution to the field of treatment service. Photo : Courtesy

FRIdAY, OcTOBER 28, 2022

4

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Friday, October 28, 2022

Drug addiction : A major

national problem

The case of the heinous murders of a police

officer and his wife in 2013 with the

alleged involvement of their drug addicted

young daughter, must have deeply shocked

and pained all normal well meaning people in

the country. Helping in the murdering of one's

own parents has been unthinkable in our society.

But such an act also symbolizes to what

extent degradation has developed in our society

specially from the increase in the number of

users of addictive drugs.

The drug addiction habit has been growing

gradually. It is not a sudden development

under the tenures of one or two governments.

The media has been reporting the record number

of seizures of yaba tablets in recent weeks

and months. The present government was seen

battling the drug addiction challenge with some

dedication and as a result its spread could be

reasonably contained. But surely a great deal

more should be done to address this problem.

A media report-- sometime ago-- based on

information from the Department of Narcotics

Control (DNC), is concern raising. The gist of it

was that there are at least 50 lakh drug users in

Bangladesh who spend taka 50 crore on illegal

narcotics every day and 75 per cent of the users

are between 15 and 30 years of age.

The report is suggestive of the expansion in

the number of addicts. Similar statistics about

a decade ago showed the number of addicts and

their spending on their addiction to be notably

less. That the number of addicts and their

spending have increased to such proportions,

signals that Bangladesh has every reason to be

very concerned by the rising number of drug

users and its consequences for the society as a

whole.

The Chinese in the nineteenth century

were known to be weak and incapable of

resisting foreign aggressors. Among other

reasons, it emerged from the analysis of

historians that their vitality was sapped

from a very large number of China's population

falling prey to smoking opium in

that period. However, opium was introduced

there by foreigners. There is a lesson

for Bangladesh from this historical example.

Great quantities of the illegal drugs

now used in Bangladesh such as Yaba have

a foreign origin. These are smuggled from

across the borders of Myanmar and India.

These also come through sea routes in the

Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh used to be

mainly a conduit used by international

drug traffickers in the past. But now it has

become a lucrative market for users as well.

The youth in Bangladeshare faced with ruination

in many cases from their growing drug

addiction habits. They are gradually getting

crippled mentally and physically. Many of

them are already only shattered forms of their

former healthy selves and are complete liabilities

for their families and societies.

Not only this, they are found in most cases to

rely on crimes like snatching and stealing to

get money to maintain their habits. Others

resort to more serious crimes specially when

parents and others refuse to satisfy their

demand for money to be spent on addiction.

Thus, it is high time to check the drug menace

from turning worse.

Law enforcement activities need to be made

particularly effective and extraordinary efforts

will have to be made to bring to a halt the pushing

of addictive substances inside Bangladesh

as well as making them locally. Our policymakers

must recognize drug addiction as a serious

national problem to be addressed immediately

and very effectively through stepped up and far

greater scrupulous and efficient operations of

law enforcement bodies. However, the most

effective deterrence can be no other than one

forged through much greater awareness building

about the very negative consequences of

addiction, publicity campaigns, role played by

family elders and social leaders to that end.

Inclusive Education of Bangladesh: Problems & prospects

Spread Inclusive Education everywhere & be responsible people with disabilities

Inclusion means

all castes,

religions, races,

gender, abilities

learning working

together.

Inclusion means

educating

children with

disabilities in the

schools they

would attend if they did not have

disabilities. Providing services and

supports those parents and with disabilities

need in order to be in normal

settings.Inclusion is a philosophy build on

the belief that all people are equal should be

respected and valued, as an issue of basic

human rights.The benefits of inclusion are

enough, not only for special needs children

& their families, but also for all children.

When we adjust/include all in average

everything, they know/learn acceptance of

others, & they have absolute abilities. They

learn together from each other.By creating

an inclusive infrastructure it will enable

diversity in the class room with the able &

disable learning together, complimenting

each other's skills. Creating a partnership

with families is an important part of

inclusion.Benefits of inclusion for children

with disabilities are friendship skills, peer

models, problem solving skill, positive self

image & respect for others.On the other

hand community inclusion essential

because it enriches the lives of our family

members; it is stimulating addresses their

need for human interaction. It means to

skill development for potential

employment & daily living.

In a word inclusion can help to overcome

discrimination for children, family &

society. As a result children with needs

return to the mainstream of society. In this

they can contribute to the society.Inclusive

education is carried out in a common

learning environment; that is an

educational setting where students from

different backgrounds and with different

abilities learn together in a inclusive

environment.Inclusive education means

that all students attend and are welcomed

by their neighborhood schools in ageappropriate,

regular class and are

supported to learn, contribute and

participate in all aspects of the life of the

school. Inclusive education is a school

curriculum, environment that is tailored to

the needs of the students prioritizing their

rights.

It is a social/community barrier to

inclusion. Because of our negative attitude

inclusion is hindered at every level of

society, including family, society & the

state. Lack of awareness creates negative

attitudes.It is also a social/community

barrier to inclusion. Because of our

negative attitude inclusion is hindered at

every level of society, including family,

society & the state. On the other hand

negative attitude is a major obstacle in

creating social awareness.Vocational

schools do not have suitable training

systems for the disabled. There are few

vocational schools for them but there is

absolutely no opportunity to take

vocational training together. As a result

their efficiency does not increase as

expected.There is a considerable lack of

proper education, training and workshops

for teachers in our country. As a disabled

children are not getting proper services. In

other words, the services of untrained

teachers are not very useful for children.

Due to lack of flexibility in the curricula,

children with disabilities face various

obstacles in learning in the classroom. Lack

of flexible curricula according to the type of

student is a major obstacle in this field.

Entrance to school and classroom, size of

classroom, toilet, and inadequate seating

space is a hindrance to the education of

children with disabilities. Lack of adequate

space for wheelchair use is a barrier. In

some cases there is no policy & in some

cases there is a policy but it is not

implemented in practice. Here integrated

education is on paper but there is no reality.

Apart from this, the policy is being

hampered in various ways due to lack of

coordination as multiple ministries are

working in this issue.Even though our

country has a mandate for integrated

education, there is a serious shortage of

trained teachers in schools. Not only has

that, these schools also had any

environmental facilities. There is even a

shortage of materials.Decentralization of

inclusive education along with general

education has not been done equally in

Bangladesh. Although there is some

prevalence of inclusive education at the

government & private levels in the capital,

there is no provision of such education in

school at the district & UPZ levels.

Lack of communication among

professionals mainstream teachers,

management, resource staff, doctors &

others paraprofessionals. Professional ego

JInAT nASRIn

clashes. Successful strategies not shared

between teachers. Lack of understanding of

the characteristics of disabilities & its

educational implications. No formal

assessments resulting in loose labeling of

the child.

I think inclusion is not possible without

policy changing. When there is a policy

change, the media will highlight it so that

more people about it. When policies change

positively for people with disabilities,

families of people with disabilities will try

advocate for them, because then he has

evidence.

Inclusion based policy analysis is the

process of bringing into view the sources of

disadvantage that result in unequal

opportunities & outcomes for people with

disabilities, & of using the tools of public

It is a social/community barrier to inclusion. Because

of our negative attitude inclusion is hindered at every

level of society, including family, society & the state. Lack

of awareness creates negative attitudes.It is also a

social/community barrier to inclusion. Because of our

negative attitude inclusion is hindered at every level of

society, including family, society & the state.

WAKU MILLER

policy overcome these disadvantages.

Parents of persons with disabilities are

face emotional financial stress, Lack of

supports, discrimination, loss of social life

and other which result in psychological

problems, depression, and physical

exhaustion. Also in the negative attitude of

people in the society.

Parents can be given the following

support to support inclusion: Raising

awareness about inclusion, To create

awareness about the rights & capabilities

of disabled children, To make people with

disabilities aware of services & make

them easily accessible, Improving

parents-teacher relationships, Helping to

remove barriers to inclusion, Conducting

regular meetings of teachers &

administration with parents regarding

the advantages of persons with

disabilities, Provide income source of

parents, Provision of aids as required,

Bringing disabled child/person under

insurance.

I think the media has an important role to

play in raising awareness about inclusion.

Inclusion is a birth & legal right of every

disabled people. If there were no barriers to

inclusion, people with disabilities could

reflect their abilities & succeed in all fields.

Inclusion can be achieved not only through

legislation, but through concerted & sincere

efforts at all levels.

Reflection of the international &

domestic legislations acts & documents on

other aspects of inclusive education not

enough. The universal declaration of

human Rights was adopted by the U N

general assembly on 10 December, 1948. It

is a milestone document in the history of

human rights. According to this law all

human beings are born free & equal. It has

30 articles. This act has been translated 80

languages. The world conference on special

needs education was held by UNESCO

from 07-10 June.1994. The conference was

held Salamanca in Spain. The conference

on the commitment to ensure education for

all called for inclusion of children, youth &

adults with mainstream education.

Inclusive education is mainly reflected in

this conference. Here quality education is

mentioned. Bangladesh government

signed this declaration so far there is no

reflection of it. Bangladesh only some

policy, laws & action plans are made in this

regard. National policy of Bangladesh on

disability is adopted at 1995. This is first

ever national policy on disability in

Bangladesh. Inclusive education is first

mentioned here. On 10 November 2013

Social welfare Ministry of BD enacted the

Neurodevelopment Disability Protection

Trust Act. In this act establishes education

& training, establishment institutions,

determination selection criteria &

curriculum formulation, inclusion

education system, establishment of special

educational institutions has been

mentioned seriously. Despite existence of

such various international & domestic

legislations, acts & documents, its

implementation in practices in less.

Working on inclusion in the context

of Bangladesh is very difficult.

Recently, work on inclusion has started

in Bangladesh but its pace is very slow.

At present some efforts are being made

to create awareness. Although it is

urban, there is such initiative in the

village. Although there are some

inclusive schools in the cities, there is

no idea about it among the rural.

Hundred obstacles to work on

inclusion in Bangladesh. Ignorance is

the main obstacles. Due to lack of

awareness the social responsibility of

disabled people is neglected. As a

result, obstacles have to be faced in all

areas including education, treatment,

employment & transportation. There is

also considerable lack of information,

education, research & training. Still we

are optimistic. Maybe one day we will

reach certain goals, albeit slowly.

The writer is B A (Hon's) M A (History),

B SEd, M SEd.Sr. Special Educator,

BEAUTIFUL MIND, Uttara, Dhaka.

Kishida flip-flops on banning the Moonies

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio

Kishida performed an impressive flipflop

last Tuesday, stating that he

might be able to dissolve a religious

corporation after all. The previous day he

had insisted that his government lacked a

basis for initiating procedures to do that.

The religious corporation in question was

the Japanese chapter of the Family

Federation for World Peace and

Unification, generally known as the

Unification Church and widely called the

Moonies in reference to its Korean founder,

the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon.

Japan's chapter has come under renewed

scrutiny since the fatal shooting of former

prime minister Shinzo Abe on July 8. The

accused shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, has

told authorities that cult-like pressure from

the group on his mother destroyed their

family and that he shot Abe because of the

latter's connections with the group.

Yamagami's mother reportedly gave

more than 100 million yen (about

US$700,000) to the Family Federation for

World Peace and Unification. And reports

of other donations under questionable

circumstances are multiplying daily.

A hotline set up by the government in

September has received more than 1,700

complaints. The alleged misconduct

includes such acts as foisting statuettes and

other items on members for extravagant

prices in "spiritual sales" and, as with

Yamagami's mother, pressuring followers

to make huge donations.

Kishida was describing his take on

Japan's Religious Corporations Law. That

law entitles the government to revoke a

group's registration as a religious

corporation if the group has harmed the

public welfare grievously.

Courts have traditionally interpreted the

law as predicating the revocation on

criminal infringements of Japan's Penal

Code. And Kishida adhered to that

interpretation on Monday, October 17. He

was responding to a question in a meeting

of the budget committee of the Diet's lower

house. He reversed himself the next day in

a meeting of the upper house budget

committee.

The prime minister attributed the

reversal to "further study" of the law.

Kishida had realized that breaches of the

Civil Code could be sufficient grounds for

revoking a religious-corporation

registration.

Yamagami's perception of Abe as having

close ties with the Family Federation for

World Peace and Unification was well

founded. In the 1960s, Abe's grandfather

Nobusuke Kishi helped nurture the group

in Japan as an ally against communism.

Sun Myung Moon founded the

Unification Church in Seoul in 1954. The

group began operating in Japan about five

years later and received Japanese

certification as a religious corporation in

1964. Its present appellation dates from a

name change in 2015.

Kishi, an accused but unconvicted war

criminal, served as prime minister from

1957 to 1960. He later hosted the

Unification Church's Japanese

headquarters in a building next to his home

in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, a building that

had served as his official prime minister's

residence when he was in office.

In 1968, Moon launched the

International Federation for Victory over

Communism in the Republic of Korea and,

as the Kokusai Shokyo Rengo, in Japan.

The Japanese chairman was Osami

Kuboki, the head of the Japanese branch of

the Unification Church, and the honorary

chairman was Ryoichi Sasakawa, an ultrarightist

industrialist and former politician.

Sasakawa, like Kishi, was an accused but

ultimately unconvicted war criminal and

had been a co-occupant of Tokyo's Sugamo

Prison.

A hotline set up by the government in September

has received more than 1,700 complaints. The alleged

misconduct includes such acts as foisting statuettes

and other items on members for extravagant prices

in "spiritual sales" and, as with Yamagami's mother,

pressuring followers to make huge donations.

Kishi died in August 1987 at the age of 90,

and his son-in-law, Shintaro Abe, inherited

Kishi's role as the main interface between

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party

(LDP) and the Unification Church. Abe

headed the Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyu Kai

(Seiwa Kai) faction in the LDP. According

to several lawmakers interviewed by the

Asahi Shimbun newspaper, he encouraged

lawmakers to accept Unification Church

support.

Shintaro Abe's son Shinzo followed him

into politics two years after his death by

winning a lower house seat in Yamaguchi

prefecture. Shinzo joined and later headed

the Seiwa Kai faction.

Like his father, he inherited the role of

LDP-Unification Church interface. Shinzo

fulfilled that role faithfully. He coordinated

support from the group for LDP

candidates, as noted, and dispatched

congratulatory messages to group

gatherings by telegram and by prerecorded

video. He appeared several times

on the cover of the Kokusai Shokyo Rengo

magazine Sekai Shiso.

Two days before the July 10, 2022, upper

house election, he was dead.

The positioning of the Family Federation

for World Peace and Unification in the

motivation of Abe's alleged killer set off a

media frenzy. Investigations by news media

and by the political parties themselves soon

outed more than 100 politicians, most of

them members of the LDP, as having ties

with the group.

Among the tainted politicians were

numerous present and past government

ministers, including former prime

ministers. That raised the question as to

what sort of quid pro quo was in play

between the LDP and the Family

Federation for World Peace and

Unification.

Media estimates of the votes cast by

member of the group range from 70,000 to

150,000. Those figures pale in comparison

with the votes wielded by another religious

group, Soka Gakkai, in recent elections. The

quasi-Buddhist Soka Gakkai claims a

membership of 8,270,000 households in

Japan, and its political arm, the Komeito

party, is the junior partner to the LDP in the

ruling coalition.

Waku Miller is a Tokyo-based writer

and translator. He is active in efforts to

end the Japanese practice of "hostage

justice," holding people accused of

crimes in extended confinement before

they have received verdicts

FRiDaY, oCToBeR 28, 2022

5

China's semiconductor breakthrough

CHe-JeN WaNg

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation

(SMIC), the largest chipmaker in China, has reportedly

achieved a major breakthrough. TechInsight, a Canadian

tech media outlet, revealed that SMIC had advanced its

technology to a quasi-7-nanometer (nm) process, which

might be a stepping stone for a true 7nm process. According

to TechInsight, SMIC products made from the quasi-7nm

process had been shipped for a year. Some media argued that

the SMIC's advancement showed that the U.S. blockade was

too little, too late, and out of date.

SMIC's most advanced chip process node successfully

made in the past was 14nm, although it has always made

strong attempts to move toward an advanced process node

(below 10nm). However, due to SMIC's inclusion on the

Entity List by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security in

December 2020, which was designed to limit SMIC's ability

to reach advanced technology nodes of 10 nanometers or

below, it has been blocked from obtaining the necessary

Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV) machines from

ASML of the Netherlands.

The use of an EUV machine is not necessary, in theory, to

make the advanced process nodes. Taiwan Semiconductor

Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the global leader in

semiconductor manufacturing, used Deep Ultraviolet

Lithography (DUV) machines in the early stage of its 7nm

volume production. But using DUV machines requires more

layers of masks, which means more times of exposure and

more complexity. This will lead to a lower yield rate and a

higher cost for each chip, making such a process

commercially inviable nowadays.

But the semiconductor industry is of a strategic importance

for China. Having the capacity to make advanced chips is

more important than the prices of these chips. It appears that

SMIC is indeed moving ahead to use this older technology to

achieve technological breakthroughs. In October 2020, it

was reported that SMIC had successfully developed "quasi-

7nm" chips with the FinFET N+1 process using DUV

machines.

TSMC's chairman, Dr. Mark Liu, said that the 7nm process

was a full node stride and a watershed in semiconductor

manufacturing. The biggest difference between the 7nm and

14nm processes is that the number of transistors per unit

area of the 7nm process increases greatly, and its energy

consumption is reduced substantially. These makes 7nm

chips far more powerful than 14nm one, yet also more

economical. For example, in 2020, the cost of a 7nm chip was

$233, which was not only lower than the $331 cost of a 16nm

chip, but also lower than the $238 cost of a 5nm chip. In

addition, the performance of NVIDIA's A100 Tensor Core

data-center processor, which uses TSMC's 7nm process,

increased by 20 times, so that the data center, which

sMiC's 7nm process advancement - despite heavy u.s. sanctions - will have major implications for

east asia.

Photo: Depositphotos

originally required 25 racks, can be reduced to a single rack.

In other words, 7nm chips not only lower the cost of

ownership, but also deliver high computing performance,

which makes AI, cloud computing, and 5G economically

viable both in business and military applications.

There is a big gap between chip consumption and chip

manufacturing in China, meaning its chip self-sufficiency

rate is low. In 2021, the size of China's semiconductor market

was about $186.5 billion, of which only $31.2 billion worth of

chips were manufactured in China, both by foreign and

domestic companies - a self-sufficiency rate of 16.7 percent.

Furthermore, only $12.3 billion worth of chips were

manufactured by China-headquartered companies,

accounting for merely 6.6 percent of domestic consumption.

To reach the goal outlined by the "Made in China 2025"

initiative, a self-sufficiency rate of 75 percent needs to be

achieved by 2030. Under such pressure, it is not difficult to

understand why China has subsidized semiconductor

companies to build factories through various policy

incentives. While there are notorious "unfinished fabs" cases

in the development of the semiconductor industry, the failure

has not caused China to retreat from its policy to fully

support semiconductor factories.

The experience of developing the electronics industry in

the past has made Chinese policy planners understand that,

even though China's semiconductor industry lags behind

foreign manufacturers in terms of its production scale and

technology, there are two effects that will urge China to

support a large number of semiconductor companies

through policies. First, a large number of Chinese

manufacturers can "eat up" the market and compress the

space for second- and third-tier wafer foundries. According

to one report, by the end of 2024, China will be leading the

world by building new 31 chip factories, surpassing 19 in

Taiwan and 12 in the United States. Since most of the 31 new

factories in China will be making mature processes nodes,

there is little impact on the leading manufacturers, such as

TSMC, Intel, and Samsung, all of which use advanced

processes. However, China's "fab sea" tactic may exert huge

pressure on other mature process manufacturers.

Given that excess inventory has emerged in some areas of

the electronics industry, and the market expects that there

will be excess production capacity in chip manufacturing

after 2023, price competition is inevitable. Foundries using

mature processes will not be able to compete with Chinese

semiconductor factories that enjoy major policy subsidies.

Some second- and third-tier foundries may have to withdraw

from the market, which will allow Chinese foundries to

dominate the mature process market.

Second, if one or two Chinese companies can stand out

among the large number of policy-supported foundries,

there is a hope that this "national champion" can compete or

even dominate the advanced process market. Lenovo in the

PC/laptop sector and Huawei and ZTE in communications

were all developed using such a model. And SMIC may be the

leading Chinese company that can compete in the

international advanced semiconductor arena and break

technology strangleholds set by the United States. The 7nm

advancement discovered by TechInsight is the best proof.

In the past, Chinese chip design companies were

sanctioned by the United States and could not use TSMC's

advanced process to launch new products. If SMIC can

extend the 7nm process to be used on other Chinese

manufacturers' products, it will allow China to accelerate its

advancement in AI, high-speed computing, and 5G etc. The

acceleration will enable China to achieve its goal of moving

from a "manufacturing giant" to a "world manufacturing

power."

We currently know very little about SMIC's 7nm

shipments, yield rates, and prices; it is not even clear

whether there are other applications. However, the

advancement of the 7nm process is expected to allow

China to make breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and

high-speed computing. In turn, that will also increase

China's economic and military threats to not only Taiwan,

but all of East Asia.

China has set goals to achieve "complete modernization"

based on "informatization," "intelligence," and

"mechanization" by the People's Liberation Army's 100th

anniversary in 2027. Breakthroughs in AI, quantum

computing, and hypersonics all require the assistance of

advanced chips. Only blocking China from acquiring EUV

machines will not prevent China from advancing in advanced

process chips, which will eventually help its military buildup.

More efforts are needed.

The United States is now trying to exert diplomatic

pressure on Japan and the Netherlands to extend the current

EUV embargo to include DUV machines. Some may argue

that isolating China will only accelerate its march to selfsufficiency.

From the past history of China's

industrialization, China's ambition will not stop until the

country dominates the entire market. Therefore, only

limiting China from obtaining EUV machines will not suit

the original purpose of keeping China from making advanced

technology nodes of 10nm or below.

Russian Navy destroyer admiral Tributs maneuvers as it prepares to dock in Manila's

south Harbor.

Photo: Bullit Marquez

Russia's new naval doctrine centering Asia

DaNiel RaKov

On July 31, Russian President Vladimir

Putin signed an updated version of the

Naval Doctrine of the Russian

Federation. This is a top-tier strategicplanning

document, elaborating

Moscow's official approach to the

maritime domain. The new edition

reflects significant changes compared to

the previous one from 2015.

It is tilted toward global confrontation

with the West, pre-eminence of the

security prism in defining national goals,

and reorientation of Russia's foreign

policy toward the Global South following

its invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin

intends to strengthen its naval combat

capabilities worldwide and announces

its higher readiness to employ military

means to further its interests in

international waters, including an

intention to increase its naval presence

on the high seas. In order to do so, the

new doctrine calls for a complete

restructuring of the shipbuilding

industry, with a qualitative scale-up in its

technological and production

capabilities, both in the military and

civilian domains.

In the energy field, the doctrine

stipulates reinvigoration of seabed

exploration and production of fossil

fuels. The 2015 text required Russia to

establish a "strategic reserve" of

geologically explored areas for future

exploration; the lack of a similar passage

in 2022 implies that Russia is going for

maximal exploitation of hydrocarbons in

the next years, probably fearful that the

climate change agenda will diminish the

future possibilities for exports.

Similar to the 2015 text, the new

doctrine divides the world into six

geographical "directions," though their

order has changed. The Arctic and the

Pacific directions, previously mentioned

in the second and third places, have been

upgraded to the first two spots, at the

expense of the Atlantic direction, now

numbered third. One of Russia's main

goals in each of these three directions is

to "ensure strategic stability" (a

euphemism for mutual nuclear

deterrence), stated in more assertive and

urgent language, compared to 2015.

The Doctrine explains that the Arctic

has turned into a region of global

military and economic competition and

lists as major goals sustaining Russia's

leading position in this region and "wide

exploitation" of its mineral reserves.

Russia intends to utilize the "Northern

Sea Route" (NSR) as its internal waters.

Thus, the resource-intensive NSR,

initially promoted by the Russians as an

alternative to the Suez Canal, has been

redirected eastwards since the war

began to expedite the export of Russian

commodities to Asia. It seems that

Russia seeks to avoid an image of being

increasingly dependent on China

following its disastrous invasion of

Ukraine. Whereas the 2015 version of

the Naval Doctrine stated that the

"development of friendly ties with China

is a key component of national maritime

policy in the Pacific direction," China is

completely absent from the current

document. Instead, there are new "key

components": lowering the threats to

Russia's national security, assuring

strategic stability in the region, and

developing friendly relations with the

countries in Asia-Pacific. It is clear from

the document that both the Arctic and

the Pacific are conceived as areas of

strategic confrontation between Russia

and the U.S. and its allies.

The downgrade of the Atlantic

direction (which also includes the Baltic,

the Black, the Mediterranean and the

Red Seas) to the third priority indicates

the Kremlin's loss of hope for any

positive engagement with the West.

Accordingly, the main Russian goal in

the Atlantic direction is to "ensure

strategic stability." Similar to the 2015

edition, the Caspian Sea is listed fourth,

the Indian Ocean direction is fifth and

Antarctica is sixth. The reference to the

Mediterranean basin (as mentioned

above, a subregion of the Atlantic region)

is updated and more detailed in relation

compared to the 2015 iteration. It was

determined, among other things, that

Russia would like to strengthen its

partnership with Syria; will ensure its

military presence in the Mediterranean

on the basis of the Russian military

outpost in Tartus (Syria); will seek to

establish additional techno-logistical

outposts in the region; will work

vigorously to ensure military-political

stability in the Middle East; and will seek

to deepen cooperation with Middle

Eastern countries.

How would Japan respond to

a Taiwan contingency?

KosuKe TaKaHasHi

While China is increasing military

pressure on Taiwan following the

controversial visit by U.S. House Speaker

Nancy Pelosi to Taipei, Japan is in a rush

to prepare for a Taiwan contingency.

Many experts disagree about how the

Japanese government should respond,

and what Japan's Self-Defense Forces

(SDF) can actually do in such a scenario.

However, given the harsh reality of its

security environment, it is becoming

evident that Japan's national

preparedness for a Taiwan emergency

has been far behind what is necessary.

It was a think tank's war games

simulation that highlighted how

vulnerable Japan's security framework

for a Taiwan crisis is. This exercise, held

in Tokyo on August 6 and 7 by the Japan

Forum for Strategic Studies, involved

lawmakers of the ruling Liberal

Democratic Party and former defense

officials.

They examined several scenarios as to

how the Japanese government should

respond as the situation progressed from

peacetime to a possible crisis in the

region. The simulation was set in August

2027, which marks the centennial of the

founding of the People's Liberation

Army. The exercise also assumed that

both a Taiwan emergency and a

contingency involving the disputed

Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, which Japan

administers but China claims, would

happen at the same time, forcing the

Japanese government to conduct a twofront

operation.

The first challenge they confronted is

how to recognize the situation. Should

any cross-strait contingency occur, the

Japanese government is supposed to

assess the status quo immediately and

place it within one of three categories: (1)

a situation "that will have an important

influence" on Japan's peace and security,

including situations that, if left without

response, could lead to a direct armed

attack on Japan; (2) a "survivalthreatening

situation," where an armed

attack against a foreign country that is in

a close relationship with Japan occurs,

which in turn poses a clear risk of

threatening Japan's survival; or (3) an

"armed attack situation and anticipated

armed attack situation," where an armed

attack against Japan has occurred or

there is an imminent and clear danger

such an attack. For example, under

Japan's Civil Protection Act only in an

"armed attack situation and anticipated

armed attack situation" can the

government demand that prefectural

and municipal governments work out

civil protection plans and allow the

central government to use the SDF to

evacuate citizens. In other words, even if

a Taiwan contingency happens, Japan's

Civil Protection Act cannot be applied if

the crisis is officially deemed an

"important influence situation" or a

"survival-threatening situation." During

the table-top exercise, it was decided that

the Taiwan emergency would be

recognized as a "survival-threatening

situation" that poses a clear threat to

Japan's survival, and that the

Senkaku/Diaoyu contingency would be

recognized as an "armed attack situation"

in which Japan was attacked.

Japanese lawmakers and former

senior officers of the SDF who attended

the table-top exercise were faced with the

question of how to safely evacuate about

100,000 Okinawans in the Sakishima

Islands, located at the southernmost end

of the Japanese archipelago, 1,500

Japanese stranded in Taiwan, and

110,000 Japanese remaining in China.

For one thing, as Morimoto Satoshi, a

former Japanese defense minister,

pointed out in an interview with The

Diplomat earlier this year, there is the

deficiency in the transport capabilities of

the SDF, which again became evident

during the simulation. Due to a lack of

SDF capabilities and capacities, the

participants found it difficult for the SDF

to defend the inhabited Senkaku Islands

and evacuate 100,000 citizens in the

Sakishima Islands at the same time. The

SDF has only about 10,000 members in

total on Japan's southwestern Nansei

Island chain, which spans about 1,200

kilometers. For another thing,

participants hesitated to deem the

Taiwan emergency and the Senkaku

contingency a "survival-threatening

situation" and an "armed attack

situation," respectively. By doing so, they

were afraid of worsening relations with

Beijing, which could negatively affect the

safety and evacuation of Japanese

citizens remaining in China. In the

simulation, incredibly it took two whole

months for the government to formally

categorize the two contingencies. As a

responsible state, Japan should protect

its citizens from anywhere at any time,

regardless of which category the

contingency falls into.

The second biggest challenge Japan

confronts in a Taiwan contingency is how

far the SDF can support U.S. forces.In the

case of a "situation that will have an

important influence" on Japan's peace

and security, the SDF is authorized to

provide logistics support for the U.S.

Armed Forces in rear areas.

In the case of an "armed attack

situation and anticipated armed attack

situation," since this is a direct attack

against Japan, Japan will no doubt fight

in the support of the U.S. troops. There is

also no obstruction to cooperation

between the SDF and U.S. Forces in this

case. The tricky one is a "survivalthreatening

situation." An important

question arises when recognizing this

situation, which is whether the U.S.

military operations are for the defense of

Japan or for the defense of Taiwan.

National preparedness for a cross-strait emergency has been far

behind what is necessary.

Photo: Hunini

According to Morimoto, under current

Japanese laws, the government can

acknowledge a survival-threatening

situation only when the U.S. Forces are

acting in defense of Japan, thus enabling

the SDF to support U.S. troops.

fRIDAY, OCTOBeR 28, 2022

6

Barishal City Mayor and Metropolitan Awami League General Secretary Serniabat Sadiq inaugurated

Haque Sporting Club at Banaripara.

Photo: S. Mizanul Islam

Barishal Mayor inaugurates Haque

Sporting Club at Banaripara

S. MIzANUL ISLAM, BANARIPARA

CORReSPONDeNT:

Barishal City Mayor and Metropolitan

Awami League General Secretary

Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah said that the

dream Padma Bridge is like the eighth

wonder to the people of the country.

Bangabandhu's daughter Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina has been

eternally grateful to the people of the

country including the southerners for

the unprecedented development she

has achieved across the country

including Padma Bridge, Payra Sea

Port, Kornphuli Tunnel, Metro Rail and

Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. He said

these things in his speech as the chief

guest at the 149th birth anniversary

celebration of Sher-e-Bangla Abul

Kasem Fazlul Haque, the first Prime

Minister of undivided Bengal at

Muktagacha Press

Club celebrates

39th anniversary

M YOUSUf, MUKTAGACHA

CORReSPONDeNT:

As part of the week-long

program of the 39th

anniversary of the

Muktagacha Press Club, an

exchange meeting of

journalists was held with the

new Muktagacha Upazila

Nirbahi Officer AKM Lutfar

Rahman on Wednesday

evening. Muktagacha press

club authorities organized

this exchange meeting in the

club's own building. FMA

Salam, the president of the

press club, presided over the

program where AKM Lutfar

Rahman, the new upazila

nirbahi officer was the chief

guest. The special guest was

the officer in charge

Mahmudul Hassan. Club

members

Professor

Mahbubul Alam Ratan,

Helal Uddin Nayan,

Manonesh Das, Ferdous

Alam, M Yusuf and others

spoke under the direction of

Press Club General

Secretary M Idris Ali. Club

members, journalists from

various print and electronic

media participated in the

discussion.

Two brothers held with

10 gold bars in Benapole

BeNAPOLe: Border

Guard Bangladesh (BGB)

claimed to have

apprehended two brothers

with 10 gold bars from near

Customs House in Benapole

on Thursday, reports UNB.

The two have been

identified as Milon Hossain,

28, and his younger brother

Hiron Mian, 25, son of

Shahfiqul Islam of

Munshipur village in

Damurhuda upazila of

Chuadanga.

Lieutenant Colonel

Shahed Minhaj Siddique,

commandant of BGB-49,

said on a tip-off, their team

nabbed the duo from near

Customs House around 9am

and seized the 10 gold bars

weighing around 1.1kg.

A case has been filed

against the brothers at

Benapole Port police station

in this connection, he added.

Chakhar, Banaripara, Barishal at 7 pm

on Wednesday and the inauguration

ceremony of the newly constructed 4-

storey building of Haque Sporting Club

established by him.

Chairman of Chakhar UP and

President of Huque Sporting Club Syed

Mojibul Islam Tuku presided over the

event and Sher-e-Bangla Dowhitra AK

Faiyazul Haque Raju, District

Additional Superintendent of Police

(Finance and Administration) Md.

Shahjahan Hossain PPM, Banaripara

Municipality Mayor Advocate Subhash

Chandra Sheel, Muladi Municipality

Mayor Shafikuzzaman Rubel, Upazila

Awami League President Bir

Muktijoddha Golam Saleh Manju

Molla, General Secretary Advocate

Mawlad Hossain Sana, Journalist and

Columnist Sohel Sani, President and

former UP of ChakharChairman Khizir

Sardar and others gave speeches as

special guests. Kazi Harun-or-Rashid's

live performance was also attended by

Hemayet Uddin Serniabat Sumon,

Barishal Metropolitan Awami League

Office Secretary and District Chhatra

League President, Metropolitan Awami

League Publicity Secretary Ziaur

Rahman Zia, District Chhatra League

Vice President Oliullah Ali and Sajjad

Serniabat, Mahanagar Chatra League

convenor Rais Ahmed Manna,

Banaripara Upazila Vice Chairman

Syeda Taslima Hossain Flora, OC SM

Masud Alam Chowdhury and others.

Apart from this, the General

Secretary of Chakhar Haque Sporting

Club Shamsul Haque Sikder Santu

along with various levels of leaders of

affiliated organizations including

Awami League and Chhatra League

were present

An exchange meeting of journalists was held with the new Muktagacha

Upazila Nirbahi Officer for the 39th anniversary of the Muktagacha

Press Club.

Photo: M Yousuf

The police recovered the body of a teacher of a coaching center in the rice fields

on the roadside adjacent to Bharnia Bazar of Thakurgaon Ranishankoil

Upazila on Thursday. A woman passer-by saw a body lying on the side of the

road while taking a walk in the early hours of Thursday morning. Later they

informed the locals who informed the police.

Photo: Md. Biplob

Two fresh Covid-19 cases diagnosed

in Rangpur

RANGPUR: Two fresh Covid-19 cases were diagnosed after testing 12 new samples at the

positivity rate of 16.67 percent on Wednesday in Rangpur division.

"With the diagnosis of the two fresh cases, the total number of Covid-19 patients rose to

64,938 in the division," Acting Divisional Director (Health) Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman said

today. The number of recovered Covid-19 patients remained steady at 63,579 as no more

patients healed during the last 24 hours ending at 8 am today.

The number of casualties also remained steady at 1,293 as no new death was reported from

the division during the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, more 9,577 doses of Covid-19 jabs were

administered as the first, second and booster doses on Wednesday raising the number of

inoculated jabs to three crore 33 lakh 34 thousand and 947 doses in the division.

Among the administered Covid-19 jabs on Wednesday, 1,173 children aged 5-11 years got

the jabs as the first doses. With this, the total number of children aged 5-11 years inoculated

with the first doses of the jabs rose to 5,09,223 in the division.

One killed,

two injured in

Khulna clash

KHULNA: A 40-year-old

man was killed and two

people were injured in a

clash between two groups

over previous enmity in

Dighalia upazila of Khulna

on Thursday, reports

UNB.

The deceased was

identified as Md Asabur

Sheikh, son of Ikhtiar

Sheikh of the upazila.

Witnesses said Nur

Islam Sheikh's sons Tutul

Sheikh, Kamal Sheikh and

Shahjalal Sheikh stabbed

Asabur with lethal

weapons at their yard

around 8.45am, leaving

him critically injured.

He was rushed to Khulna

Medical College Hospital

where physicians

pronounced him dead, they

said. Kamal Sheikh and

Shahjala Sheikh, who were

injured in the clash, were

undergoing treatment at

the upazila health

complex. Ripon Kumar

Sarkar, inspector of

Dighlia police station, said

they detained six people in

connection with the

murder.Additional law

enforcers were deployed to

fend off any untoward

incident, he said adding

that no case was filed.

Teachers day

observed in

Narail

HUMAUN KABIR, NARAIL

CORReSPONDeNT:

A rally and discussion

meeting was held on the

occasion of Teacher's Day

in Narail. On Thursday

morning, the rally started

from the Kurigram Sultan

Stage square in Narail city

and ended at the district

Shilpakala Academy.

Narail Government

Victoria College Principal

Prof. Rabiul Islam

presided over the program

and District Education

Officer Sayedur Rahman

gave a welcome speech.

Deputy Commissioner

Mohammad Habibur

Rahman gave a welcome

speech.

Among others, Prof.

Shahnara Parveen,

Principal of Narail

Government Women's

College, Anwar Hussain,

Principal of Shahabad

Majidiya Kamil Madrasa,

Maniruzzaman Mallick,

Principal of Abdul High

City College, Takibur

Rahman, Principal of

Dakshin Narail Shimulia

University, Swapan

Kumar Biswas, Acting

Principal of Mirzapur

United Degree College,

Sheikh Akidul Islam,

Senior Lecturer, Ajit

Biswas, Principal Pundrik

Biswas, Super KM Afchar

Hossain spoke during the

program.

Measures taken to boost oilseed,

pulse production in Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI: Vigorous measures for

boosting production of oilseed and pulse

have been taken as the demands of the crops

have been gradually increasing in the region

for the last couple of years, reports BSS.

"We are putting in the best efforts to meet

up the local demand enhancing local

production," said Mozdar Hossain, Deputy

Director of Department of Agriculture

Extension (DAE), while addressing a

seminar here today.

He said each the local fertilizer dealer is

requested to deliver quality and high yielding

mustard seeds among 20 farmers in their

respective areas for the upcoming rabi

season with their own initiatives.

Regional Office of Agriculture Information

Services (AIS) organized the seminar titled

"Boosting Production of Rabi Crops,

including Oilseed and Pulses, without

intervention of Paddy Yield in Rajshahi

region" at its conference hall.

DAE Additional Director Shamsul Wadud,

Regional Seed Certification Officer Shamim

Ashraf, DAE Deputy Directors Dr Abdul

Motaleb, Abdul Wadud and Polash Sarker,

Principal Scientific Officer of Fruit Research

Station Dr Shafiqul Islam and AIS Regional

Officer Dr Abdullah-Hil-Kafi also addressed

the seminar disseminating their expertise on

the issue.

Dr Sayeedur Rahman, Principal Scientific

Officer of Bangladesh Agriculture Research

Institute, gave an illustration on the

enormous aspects of boosting oilseed and

pulse production in the region during his

keynote presentation.

In his remarks, Shamsul Wadud said the

farmer-level crop production can easily be

enhanced to 15 to 20 percent on an average if

they can use quality seed on their farming

fields.

The field level agricultural officials and

other staff concerned should take the

responsibility of making the farmers

competent for enhancing production of

oilseed and pulses to meet mounting

demands of those in the region.

He told the meeting that there are

enormous prospects of boosting pulse and

oilseed production in the region including its

vast Barind tract and there is a need for

concerted efforts to materialize the

potentialities.

A rally and discussion meeting was held on the occasion of Teacher's Day

in Narail.

Photo: Humaun Kabir

Rural women changing fortune thru

govt-aided IGAs in Rangpur region

RANGPUR: Despite global crises caused

by the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-

Ukraine War, many rural women are

earning well to change their fortunes

through income generating activities (IGAs)

in Rangpur region. With government

support and own initiatives, hundreds of

rural women have enhanced their capacities

in running IGAs creating jobs for

unemployed female youths and attained selfreliance.

Talking to BSS, Chairman of

Rangpur-based research organization

Northbengal Institute of Development

Studies Dr. Syed Samsuzzaman said

government supports extended to rural

women enabled them to get engaged in

various IGAs in the last 13 years. Many of

them have launched small-scale enterprises,

trade and businesses creating jobs for female

youths after getting assistance and training

from government departments and some

NGOs in Rangpur region. "Besides,

rehabilitation of homeless women under the

Asrayan project, providing training and

microcredits for IGAs, allowances and other

supports assisted them to improve

livelihoods and change fortunes," he added.

District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer of

Rangpur Md. Motahar Hossain said

successful implementation of massive social

safety-net programmes effectively helped

many rural women to improve livelihoods.

Deputy Director of the Department of

Women Affairs of Rangpur Kawser Pervin

said over 4,500 unemployed female youths

are earning well after getting training on

sewing, embroidering and other trades and

assistance from the government in the past

13 years.

Deputy Director of the Department of

Youth Development Md. Abdul Faruk

said more than 3,500 unemployed

youths, mostly women, have so far got

training and interest-free loans to

become self-reliant in Rangpur district

alone through IGAs.

Rangpur District Coordinator of 'Amar

Bari- Amar Khamar Project (ABAK) and

Palli Sanchoy Bank (PSB) Jahadul Islam said

over one lakh poor families have improved

living standards with ABAK and PSB

assistance in Rangpur district.

This is the first time Teacher's Day has been celebrated in Sirajganj's Ullapara. On the occasion of

the day, a discussion meeting and a public rally were organized. Ullapara 4 Constituency MP Tanveer

Imam gave a brief speech and inaugurated the rally. At this time, Upazila Awami League President,

General Secretary, and Organizing Secretary Mir Arifur Rahman Ujjwal, Teachers Association

President, General Secretary, officials of various departments of the upazila and teachers of various

educational institutions participated in the rally.

Photo: Badrul Alom Dulal

FRIdAy, OCTOBeR 28, 2022

7

As he makes tough decisions to stem Britain's economic crisis, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he

will "always protect the most vulnerable.

Photo : Internet

Is UK leader Rishi Sunak too

rich to rule in tough times?

LONDON : As he makes

tough decisions to stem

Britain's economic crisis,

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

says he will "always protect

the most vulnerable."

But the U.K.'s first prime

minister of color is also its

richest-ever leader - an exbanker

who once wore Prada

loafers to visit a construction

site and whose family fortune

is estimated at 730 million

pounds ($826 million).

Critics question whether

Sunak can understand the

desperation many in Britain

feel as the economy staggers

under the combined weight

of COVID-19, Brexit, the

Ukraine war and the

backfiring policies of

departed Prime Minister Liz

Truss.

Sunak, who took office

Tuesday, is considering

whether to trim state pension

and welfare benefits to help

cut billions from the

Treasury's bill. Meanwhile,

inflation has hit a 40-year

high of 10.1%, and the cost of

everyday items has gone up

even more - pasta by 60%, tea

by 46%, bread by 38% in the

past year, according to

government figures.

A bag of frozen fries went

up from 99 pence ($1.15) to

1.37 pounds ($1.61); a twoquart

jug of milk rose from

1.17 pounds ($1.35) to 1.52

($1.76) in the year to

September.

"I don't think you can

understand what normal

people go through if your

wealth is like 730 million

pounds, it's just crazy," said

Megan Hooper, a mental

health worker in London.

"You can't understand what

people who live on 20 grand a

year go through."

Hooper said it made her

"sick" that Sunak has not

promised to keep pensions

and benefits growing in line

with inflation when the

government sets out its tax

and spending plans on Nov.

17.

"I just don't really think

that there is any hope that

he's going to do anything to

help poorer people," she said.

As prime minister, Sunak

earns 164,000 pounds

($190,000) a year - five times

the average full-time U.K.

salary, but just a fraction of

his wealth.

Before he was elected to

Parliament in 2015, Sunak

worked for investment bank

Goldman Sachs and as a

hedge fund manager,

amassing an undisclosed

personal fortune. British

prime ministers are not

required to publish their tax

returns, and Sunak's

investments are held out of

sight in a blind trust while he

is in government.

The bulk of his fortune

comes through his wife,

Akshata Murty, whose

billionaire father founded

the Indian IT company

Infosys. The Sunday Times

estimated that her 0.93%

stake in the firm is worth 690

million pounds ($800

million). By most estimates,

the couple is richer than King

Charles III.

Sunak's new job comes

with an official apartment in

London's Downing Street,

but the family already has

multiple properties,

including a family house in

London, a 200-year-old

manor house in the northern

England district he

represents in Parliament and

a penthouse apartment in

Santa Monica, California.

Sunak does not flash his

wealth, but his expensive

clothes and accessories have

raised eyebrows before. The

suede Prada loafers he wore

in July sell for about $600,

and he was once

photographed at work with a

$200 "smart" coffee mug on

his desk.

Marc Stears, head of the

UCL Policy Lab at University

College London, said Sunak's

privileged adulthood has led

him into gaffes, like filling up

a borrowed car for a photo

opportunity at a gas station

and then appearing not to

know how to pay.

Report: Global crises

can speed up move

to clean energy

BENGALURU : Spiraling

energy costs caused by

various economic factors

and the Ukraine war could

be a turning point toward

cleaner energy, the

International Energy

Agency said in a report

Thursday. It found the

global demand for fossil

fuels, including coal, oil, and

natural gas, is set to peak or

plateau in the next few

decades, reports UNB.

The report looked at

scenarios based on current

policies and said that coal

use will fall back within the

next few years, natural gas

demand will reach a plateau

by the end of the decade and

rising sales of electric

vehicles mean that the need

for oil will level off in the

mid-2030s before ebbing

slightly by mid-century.

Total emissions are

currently going up each year,

but slowly.

"Energy markets and

policies have changed as a

result of Russia's invasion of

Ukraine, not just for the time

being, but for decades to

come," said the IEA's

executive director Fatih

Birol. A surge in demand

following COVID-19

pandemic restrictions lifting

and bottlenecks in supply

chains have also contributed

to soaring energy prices.

West and Russia clash over UN

probe of drone use in Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS : The U.S. and its Western

allies on the Security Council insisted Wednesday

that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has the

right to investigate if Russia has used Iranian

drones to attack civilians and power plants in

Ukraine.

They dismissed Moscow's argument that the

U.N. chief would be violating the U.N. Charter.

Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia,

who called the council meeting, argued that only

the Security Council can mandate an

investigation. He cited Article 100 of the charter,

which says the secretary-general "shall not seek or

receive instructions from any government or from

any other authority external to the organization."

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood called

Russia's contention "simply dumbfounding" and

an attempt "to deflect attention from its own

egregious wrongdoing in Ukraine."

French Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere

accused Russia of constantly violating the U.N.

Charter "and trampling on its principles by

invading its neighbor and claiming to annex its

territories." Britain's deputy ambassador, James

Kariuki, called it "another attempt by Russia to

distract from its crimes in Ukraine, and Iran and

Russia's failure to abide by their international

obligations."

The Western envoys said the Security Council's

time is being wasted by Russia, which is engaged

in a blitz of activity at the council.

Russia called closed-door consultations

Tuesday about its unfounded allegations that

Ukraine is preparing a dirty bomb. It called

Wednesday's meeting to try to prevent the

investigation of its purported use of Iranian

drones. And it called a meeting Thursday on its

claims that secret American labs in Ukraine were

engaged in biological warfare - a charge denied by

the U.S. and Ukraine.

The U.S. and its Western allies on the Security Council insisted Wednesday

that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has the right to investigate if

Russia has used Iranian drones to attack civilians and power plants in

Ukraine.

Photo : Internet

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2022

8

Launching Ceremony of Shop Smart- 0% EMI &MoU Signing program of Modhumoti Bank Limitedwas

held on Wednesday, 26th October 2022 at Bank Head Office, Gulshan, Dhaka. Md. Shafiul Azam,

Managing Director & CEO of Modhumoti Bank Limited inaugurated the new Credit Card Product "Shop

Smart" and MoU signing program. Shahnawaj Chowdhury, DMD & Chief Operating Officer, Arab Fazlur

Rahman, DMD &Chief Risk Officer and Kamrul Hasan Khan, DMD & Chief Business Officer of the Bank,

Directors along with high officials of different business organizations were present on the ceremony.

Modhumoti Credit Card Product "Shop Smart" shall facilitate its clients to purchase designated goods

at zero cost EMI facility.

Photo : Courtesy

On the occasion of Birthday celebration of Sheikh Russel, the youngest son

of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a free thalassemia carrier

screening and awareness camp was organizedat Kurmitola General

Hospital, Dhaka. First Security Islami Bank Ltd. sponsored and Institute

for Developing Science and Health Initiatives (ideSHi)organized the program.

Thalassemia is a deadly disease that is transmitted through parents.

Thalassemia can be prevented if one thalassemia carrier does not marry

another thalassemia carrier. That why, it is important for every person

who are planning to marry to have a thalassemia test. Dr. Firdausi Qadri,

Laureate of Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021 and Lead, Institute for

Developing Science and Health Initiatives, Mr. Syed Waseque Md. Ali,

Managing Director, First Security Islami Bank Ltd., Brig. Gen. Md. Fazlul

Kabir, Mphil, MMed, MPH, Dr. Sharmin Jahan, Chief Operating Officer,

ideSHiwere present in the program.

Photo : Courtesy

Samsung Electronics

says Q3 operating

profit down 31pc

on-year

SEOUL : South Korean tech

giant Samsung Electronics

on Thursday said its thirdquarter

operating profits

were down 31.39 percent

year-on-year after a global

economic downturn hit

demand for consumer

electronics.

Earnings in its crucial

memory chips division were

down, the company said in a

statement, adding that

"demand for consumer

products remained weak".

Operating profit for July to

September 2022 fell to 10

trillion won ($7 billion),

down from 15.8 trillion won

for the same period last year,

the company said.

The results are the first

year-on-year decline in

profit in nearly three years

for Samsung Electronics, the

world's biggest smartphone

maker.

But the company said it

had seen an increase in

sales, which were up by 3.79

percent from the same

period last year to 76 trillion

won.

The world's biggest

memory-chip maker is the

flagship subsidiary of the

giant Samsung group, by far

the largest of the familycontrolled

empires known

as chaebols that dominate

business in South Korea,

Asia's fourth-largest

economy.

The conglomerate is

crucial to the country's

economic health-its overall

turnover is equivalent to a

fifth of the national gross

domestic product.

Until the second quarter of

this year, Samsung, along

with other tech companies,

significantly benefitted from

strong demand for

electronic devices-as well as

chips that power themduring

the pandemic.

Up to BDT 5,000

bonus for receiving

SWAP sales

proceeds via Nagad

Nagad and re-commerce

brand SWAP have made a

special offer for the

customers to increase the

excitement of the ongoing

T20 World Cup cricket, a

press release said.

Under a new campaign

titled 'Nagad deal-e

beshilaav' (a deal with

Nagad guarantees higher

profit), the customers will

get up to BDT 5,000 bonus

for receiving the proceeds of

sales of old stuff to SWAP

through the Nagad app.

The offer will remain valid

until November 30, 2022.

The customers will be

entitled to 13 percent or a

maximum of Tk 5,000

bonus in addition to the

price of the goods if they

receive the amount via

Nagad account.

As per the offer, the

customers will be able to sell

from home their old stuff

such as mobile phone sets,

laptop computer, tablet, and

some other products.

The Nagad customers will

also be able to benefit from

the offer more than once

upon fulfillment of its

conditions.

Lufthansa

reports healthy

profit, extending

recovery

FRANKFURT : German

airline giant Lufthansa on

Thursday reported a net

profit of 809 million euros

($814 million) in the third

quarter, as the group

extends a strong recovery

from the pandemic.

Lufthansa had made

huge losses when the

coronavirus brought

global air travel to a halt,

and had to be bailed out by

the German government

in 2020.

But a strong rebound in

demand as economies

reopen has lifted the

company's fortunes.

The net profit of 809

million from July to

September compares to a

loss of 72 million euros in

the same period a year

earlier.

CEO Carsten Spohr said

the group had "left the

pandemic behind and is

looking optimistically into

the future".

"The desire to travel, and

thus the demand for air

travel, continues

unabated."

Third quarter revenues

almost doubled year-onyear

to 10.1 billion euros.

In the third quarter,

more than 33 million

passengers flew with the

airlines of the group,

significantly higher than a

year earlier.

The group-which

includes Eurowings,

Austrian, Swiss and

Brussels Airlines-had

already announced earlier

this month it was

significantly raising its

earnings forecast for 2022

due to strong demand.

In August, Lufthansa

had reported its first net

profit since the pandemic.

Strike action by pilots

and ground staff over the

July-to-September period

cost the airline around 70

million euros, it said.

However, Lufthansa

pilots agreed last month

not to strike again until at

least the end of June next

year, after reaching a deal

with bosses on higher pay.

The group made huge

net losses of 6.7 billion

euros in 2020 and 2.2

billion euros in 2021 due

to the pandemic, but its

finances have stabilised

earlier than expected due

to a pent-up demand for

air travel.

The German government

sold its remaining stake in

Lufthansa last month,

putting the airline back in

private hands.

ECB poised for

bumper rate

hike despite

recession gloom

FRANKFURT : The European

Central Bank is expected to

roll out another super-size

rate hike Thursday to combat

runaway inflation, despite

concerns higher borrowing

costs could deepen the pain of

a looming eurozone recession.

The ECB's 25-member

governing council is likely to

lift its key interest rates by 75

basis points for the second

consecutive time, economists

say.

The Frankfurt institution is

under pressure to rein in

record-high inflation, driven

by surging food and especially

energy prices in the wake of

Russia's war in Ukraine.

Eurozone inflation stood at

just under 10 percent in

September, nearly five times

the ECB's two-percent target.

ECB president Christine

Lagarde warned recently that

inflation was "far too high"

and more action was required

to prevent price shocks from

becoming "entrenched".

Boeing reports huge

loss on defense

contract woes

NEW YORK : Aerospace

giant Boeing reported a

surprise $3.3 billion thirdquarter

loss Wednesday as

it struggled with swelling

costs on several defense

programs, including the

US presidential jet Air

Force One.

The performance woes in

defense-which also

affected the KC-46

refueling and military

transport aircraft and the

T-7A Air Force pilot

training system-reflect the

drag from supply chain

problems that have

plagued the broader

economy, as well as the

restrictive nature of

government contracts.

Investors initially took

the disappointing news in

stride, but shares fell

sharply after a conference

call in which Boeing

executives predicted a very

slow ramp-up of

commercial plane output

and expressed doubts

about resuming plane

deliveries to China anytime

soon.

Locking Boeing into

fixed-price government

contracts was unwise,

Chief Executive Dave

Calhoun acknowledged in

an interview with CNBC

that touched on the

company's troubled

execution of an Air Force

One procurement revamp

negotiated with Donald

Trump.

"The biggest, probably,

mistake on... Air Force One

was the fixed price nature

of it," Calhoun said, adding

that a "cost-incentive" type

contract would have been

better for such a project.

The difficulties in

Boeing's defense program

came as the company saw a

jump in revenues in its

commercial airplane

division following the

resumption of deliveries of

the 787 Dreamliner and an

increase in deliveries in the

737 MAX.

The aviation giant

reported a four-percent

rise in revenues to $16

billion, which also missed

analyst estimates.

On the up side, Boeing

reaffirmed it is on track for

positive free cash flow in

2022, a statement that

temporarily boosted

shares. The company also

described demand for

commercial planes as

robust in spite of worries

about the broader global

economy.

But executives offered a

cautious timetable on

ramping up commercial jet

production, noting that

engine suppliers continued

to struggle to lift output.

"I am confident that the

industry will step up, but it

will take more time than I

probably had hoped,"

Calhoun told financial

analysts. "And I suspect it

won't be until we get to the

sort of end of next year

before we can really make

sizable rate increases."

Separately, Boeing

announced that Alaska

Airlines had exercised

options for an additional

52 737 MAX planes.

The Alaska Airlines order

includes 42 of Boeing's

latest MAX plane, the 737

MAX 10, which has still not

been certified by US

authorities.

Because of a change in

Federal Aviation

Administration

certification requirements

enacted by Congress and

which takes effect in late

December, Boeing would

likely need US lawmakers

to pass new legislation.

The earlier 2020 law

required the FAA to only

certify planes equipped

with a flight crew alerting

system designed to help

pilots prioritize warnings

and advisories activated

during flight.

The alerting system in

the 737 MAX 10 shares the

traits in the earlier MAX

planes and does not meet

the new standards. Boeing

has argued the benefit of

the MAX 10's

"commonality" with earlier

versions of the jets, which

enables pilots experienced

in earlier version of the

MAX to easily transition to

the MAX 10.

Boeing executives have

expressed confidence in

winning an extension on

Capitol Hill.

The 840thmeeting of the Executive Committee (EC) of Shahjalal Islami

Bank Limited (SJIBL) held on 26th October 2022at Corporate Head Office

of the Bank by maintaining proper hygiene and social distance. The meeting

was presided over by Mr. Fakir Akhtaruzzaman, the Vice-Chairman of

the Executive Committee (EC) of the Bank. The members of the Committee

discussed various issue related to investment in different sector. Among

others the Directors of the Bank & members of Executive Committee Dr.

Anwer Hossain Khan, MP; Md. Sanaullah Shahid, Mohiuddin Ahmed,

Khandaker Sakib Ahmed and Engineer Md. Towhidur Rahman, the

Managing Director & CEO of the Bank Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, the Additional

Managing Director& CBO Abdul Aziz and the Company Secretary Md. Abul

Bashar were also present in the meeting.

Photo : Courtesy

Brugge's Hans Vanaken, right, goes up against porto's goalkeeper Diogo Costa, (second right) and

porto's otavio, (centre).

photo: Ap

Porto advance to knockout phase

with 4-0 win over Club Brugge

Top-ranked Alcaraz

cruises into Swiss

Indoors quarterfinals

SportS DeSk

Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz

eased into the quarterfinals at

the Swiss Indoors by beating

Botic van de Zandchulp 6-4, 6-

2 on Wednesday, reports UNB.

The 19-year-old Spaniard

clinched the win with his only

ace in a second-round match

where he had 20 winners and

made just nine unforced errors.

Alcaraz's serve was broken

once and he trailed 2-0 in the

second set before reeling off

six straight games against the

35th-ranked Dutchman.

Third-seeded Felix Auger-

Aliassime was on court before

Alcaraz in a first-round match

and won 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4

against Swiss wild-card entry

Marc-Andrea Huesler.

FriDAY, oCtoBer 28, 2022

9

Liverpool, Inter Milan ease into last

16 as Barcelona exit with a whimper

SportS DeSk

Liverpool booked their place in the Champions

League last 16 on Wednesday as Jurgen

Klopp's men saw off Ajax 3-0, while Inter Milan

also qualified to eliminate Barcelona who

slipped to a tame defeat by Bayern Munich,

reports UNB.

Much of the drama came elsewhere on a

breathless night of action, as Porto became the

12th team to secure a berth in the knockout

stage but Tottenham were forced to wait.

Last season's losing finalists Liverpool knew

a draw in Amsterdam would be enough to

clinch a last-16 spot for a sixth straight season.

The Reds, struggling in the Premier League

this term, weathered an early Ajax storm before

Mohamed Salah gave them a halftime lead.

Darwin Nunez, who had earlier missed an

open goal from six yards out, headed in to

double the advantage shortly after the break

and Harvey Elliott rounded off the scoring with

his second goal in as many Champions League

games. "Darwin was really angry with himself

at halftime," Liverpool left-back Andy

Robertson told BT Sport.

"I sat next to him at half-time and told him I

would put a cross in to his head for him to

score." Liverpool join Napoli in progressing

from Group A, but need a four-goal victory at

Anfield in six days' time to pip the red-hot

Italians to top spot after their 3-0 win over

Rangers.

Inter Milan romped to the win they needed to

go through and eliminate Barca from Group C,

thrashing Czechs Viktoria Plzen 4-0 at the San

Siro. Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to

score on his return from injury late on, after

Henrikh Mkhitaryan's opener and a double for

Edin Dzeko.

SportS DeSk

Porto advanced to the knockout phase of

the Champions League when they got a 4-

0 win at Group B leaders Club Brugge

yesterday while group rivals Atletico

Madrid failed to beat Bayer Leverkusen,

reports UNB.

Porto won in an early match at the Jan

Breyel Stadium to move to within one

point of Club Brugge in the standings and

were guaranteed a top-two finish when

Atletico later drew 2-2 at home to the

German club to crash out of contention.

Mehdi Taremi put Porto into a first-half

lead before their goalkeeper Diogo Costa

saved a twice-taken penalty to deny the

Belgian hosts a way back into the game

early in the second half.

Evanilson, Stephen Eustaquio, and

Taremi added three more goals in quick

succession to give Porto revenge after

they lost 4-0 at home to Club Brugge in

mid-September.

Porto could now go on and take top

place in the group as they host Atletico on

Tuesday while Club Brugge are away at

Leverkusen.

"It was a deserved victory in a very

competent game by my players," said

Porto coach Sergio Conceicao. "We were

correcting what happened to us at our

Dragao stadium."

The game brought Brugge's impressive

run to an abrupt halt, after they had won

three of their first four group games. They

had not conceded a goal in Group B

before yesterday.

They looked defensively fragile and

made mistakes as Porto swept to a

convincing third successive victory in the

group after losing their opening two

matches.

"The game started badly for us, and

after conceding a stupid goal, we found

ourselves chasing. Porto could lurk on the

counter and they have the ideal players

for that," said Brugge goalkeeper Simon

Mignolet.

"Porto was the deserved winner, we

have to accept that but we still want to

qualify as group winners," he added.

Taremi missed two good early chances

before tucking away the opener in the

33rd minute after a perfectly weighted

through ball from captain Otavio.

Brugge won a penalty three minutes

into the second half when defender David

Carmo was caught by the VAR needlessly

kicking out at Brugge defender Bruno

Mechele as Porto cleared a corner.

Costa, who had saved two successive

penalties in the Champions League,

stopped Hans Vanaken's shot but the

VAR found he had moved off his line

before the kick and a retake was ordered

by English referee Michael Oliver.

Dutch international Noa Lang was then

entrusted with the kick but Costa

repeated his heroics, making a onehanded

stop to keep his side's lead intact.

Porto then carved apart the Brugge

defence with Evanilson snapping up a

missed clearance to make it 2-0 in the

57th minute and Eustaquio added the

third three minutes later.

Taremi got his second goal of the game

in the 70th minute after being unselfishly

teed up by Otavio.

Lakers woes continue, Giannis

powers Bucks over Nets

Sports Desk

The Los Angeles Lakers'

miserable start to the season

continued on Wednesday as

the winless NBA giants

crashed to a fourth straight

defeat against the Denver

Nuggets, reports UNB.

Nikola Jokic scored 31

points and hauled down 13

rebounds in a 110-99 win for

Denver that left the Lakers

rooted to the foot of the

Western Conference

standings at 0-4.

LeBron James finished

with 19 points and Anthony

Davis 22 but it was another

frustrating night for the

Lakers, who reached halftime

tied at 54-54 before being

outscored 32-17 in a lopsided

third quarter in Denver.

The Lakers' 0-4 start to the

season matches their start to

the 2015-2016 campaign,

when the team would go on to

post the worst season in

franchise history, finishing

with a 17-65 record.

It is only the fourth time in

franchise history that the

Lakers have started a season

with a 0-4 record.

Elsewhere Wednesday,

Giannis Antetokounmpo

produced his second straight

40-point performance as the

Milwaukee Bucks maintained

their unbeaten start to the

NBA season with a 110-99

win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Antetokounmpo singlehandedly

hauled Milwaukee

back into an absorbing clash

at Fiserv Forum, scoring 17

points in a third-quarter rally

which turned a 12-point halftime

deficit into a two-point

lead.

The Greek star added 17

more points in the fourth

quarter to finish with 43 in

total as the Bucks pulled clear

to wrap up the win and

improve to 3-0.

Former NBA Most Valuable

Player Antetokounmpo

scored 44 points in his last

outing against Houston on

Saturday and has averaged 36

points per game this season.

"That was vintage Giannis,"

Bucks coach Mike

Budenholzer said. "He's had a

lot of great performances, but

that second half he did

everything, he was

phenomenal.

"We had a poor second

quarter and he came out with

a force and a determination to

put us in the right place. It's

hard to put into words how

good he was in the second

half."

Brooklyn, meanwhile, saw

head coach Steve Nash

ejected late in the third

quarter after an

uncharacteristic outburst

from the Canadian Hall of

Famer.

Nash erupted after officials

failed to call a foul on

Antetokounmpo when the

Bucks star flattened

Brooklyn's Patty Mills.

An incandescent Nash

needed to be hustled away

from the confrontation by

Nets players and coaching

staff before heading back to

the locker room.

"I was just standing up for

our guys," Nash said. "I

thought Patty took a forearm

to the throat from Giannis

right in front of the ref and I

didn't think that was fair...

What happened happened. I

said my piece on the court

and that's really all there is to

it."

Nash's ejection came at a

time when momentum had

swung back toward

Milwaukee, who recovered

after being pummeled 35-18

in the second quarter to

outscore Brooklyn 35-21 in

the third.

Brooklyn led by four points

when Nash was ejected but

Antetokounmpo took over to

lead the Bucks to a deserved

win.

Kevin Durant led the Nets

scoring with 33 points while

Kyrie Irving added 27 and

Royce O'Neale 12. Ben

Simmons finished with four

points.

Elsewhere on Wednesday,

in-form Damian Lillard

scored 22 points but hobbled

off with a right calf strain as

the Portland Trail Blazers

suffered their first loss of the

season with a 119-98 defeat to

the Miami Heat in Oregon.

In other games, Gary Trent

Jr. scored 27 points as the

Toronto Raptors handed the

Philadelphia 76ers their

fourth defeat of the season.

Joel Embiid and Tyrese

Maxey scored 31 points each

for the Sixers, but the visitors

were undone by a balanced

offensive effort from home

side Toronto who had six

players in double figures.

Pascal Siakam had 20

points with 13 assists and five

rebounds as the Raptors led

virtually from start to finish to

win 119-109.

The Sixers fell to 1-4 with

the defeat.

Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets drives against Anthony Davis of the Los

Angeles Lakers during their NBA game at Ball Arena on oct. 26, 2022 in

Denver, Colorado.

photo: Ap

FRIdAY, OcTOBER 28, 2022

10

Keya Payel embarks

on new mission

TBT REPORT

Keya Akter Payel better

known as Keya Payel is a

Bangladeshi television actress,

movie actress and model. She

is mostly popular for her

works in Bangladeshi dramas.

She has worked in a movie

Indubala as a lead actress.

The movie was released in

theatre in 2019.

Recently, her acting in

several dramas on television

and YouTube channels has

received good response.

Theater lovers see her as the

most promising actress of the

future.

This popular actress worked

in an advertisement. Its

shooting has been completed

recently.

It is known that Kaya Payal

will appear as a model in the

promotion of a product of

Jamuna Group. It was

directed by Mahadi Hasan

Shawon. He has worked

with a huge team. National

Film Award winner

Mahabub Rahman Manik

was in charge of makeup

with him. The ad was

made with set constructed

at BFDC. The scene was

shot on October 21. The ad

will be aired in various

media soon.

Regarding working in it,

Kaya Payal said, 'The fun

of working in advertising

is that there is regular

contact with the

audience.

I did so with great

interest. Apart from

that, the team of

Mahadi Hasan

Shawon is very active

and talented. We

worked with

sincerity. We hope

that the TVC will get

a good response.

Dune HBO Max announces

five new roles to its cast

The Sisterhood announces five new

additions to its cast, including The

Colony's Sarah-Sofie Boussnina and

Foundation's Chloe Lea.

The Sisterhood has cast five more

characters for HBO Max's upcoming

Dune prequel television series. Based

on Brian Herbert and Kevin J.

Anderson's novel Sisterhood of Dune,

Dune: The Sisterhood follows the

Harkonnen Sisters 10,000 years

before the events of Denis Villeneuve's

2021 film. Played by Emily Watson

and Shirley Henderson, the Sisters,

Valya and Tula Harkonnen, are

tasked with stopping threatening

forces in the Known Universe. Their

story acts as a prominent look at the

Dune series' ancient and influential

Bene Gesserit sect.

In the Dune universe, the Bene

Gesserit are a group of women with

unique abilities that influence the

events of the universe from the

shadows, acting in roles from

scientists to royalty. Dune establishes

that Jessica Atreides, mother of

protagonist Paul Atreides, is a Bene

Gesserit that sought to train her son as

the Kwisatz Haderach, a prophesied

chosen one with prescient abilities

and the only male Bene Gesserit.

Dune: The Sisterhood will be using an

ipressve cast to document the origins

of the shadowy organization,

including Game of Thrones star

Indria Varma, who will be portraying

the calculating Empress Natalya.

According to Deadline, Dune: The

Sisterhood has cast five more actors in

prominent roles for the show. Sarah-

Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Bruce-

Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham,

Aoife Hinds, and Chloe Lea were

announced as oncoming cast

members for the series, complete with

character descriptions for each of

their roles. Boussinina will portray

Princess Ynez, heir to the Golden Lion

throne, while Bruce-Franklin will play

Fremen woman Mikaela.

Cunningham, Hinds, and Lea will be

playing Sister Jen, Sister Emeline, and

Lila respectively, each character

associated with the Sisterhood School.

With Dune: Part Two still filming,

aiming for a November 3, 2023 release

date, it's likely that Dune: The Sisterhood

won't see the small screen until Frank

Herbert's original novel has been fully

adapted. While this does open the door

for possible references to the Dune films,

the story's place 10,000 years prior to

Paul's story on Arrakis means there's a

chance viewers will get a far-removed,

unique experience out of the show. Given

the expanding cast, it's likely that

audiences will catch more glimpses of the

Dune universe from perspectives that will

go unseen in the films.

Source: Collider

4th Bangladesh Film Festival

in Kolkata from 29 October

As many as 37 Bangladeshi

popular films including four

documentaries and eight short

films would be featured during

the five-day long 4th Bangladesh

Film Festival begins in Kolkata,

West Bengal, on Saturday

(October 29), reports BSS.

The four documentaries are-

Hasina-A Daughter's tale,

Badhya Bhumete Ekdin, Ekti

Desher Jonno Gaan (Song for a

country) and Modhumoti Parer

Manushti Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman.

Most of the films, which were

released in Bangladesh recently

would be screened during the

festival being organized by the

Bangladesh Deputy High

Commission, Kolkata with the

support of the ministry of

Information and Broadcasting of

the government of Bangladesh,

the Deputy high Commission

sources told BSS.

Information and Broadcasting

Minister Dr Hasan Mamud, MP,

will open the festival at Rabindra

Sadan at 4:00 pm on October 29

as the chief guest. Babul Supriyo,

Minister for Information

Technology, electronics and

tourism, will attend the function

as the guest of honour while

eminent film Director Gautam

Ghosh as special guest.

Eminent film artistes Jaya

Ahsan, Chanchal Chowdhury

and Mosharrof Karim, among

others, will join the opening

ceremony from Bangladesh film

industry, sources said.

Apart from the documentaries

and short films, 25 full-length

recently released feature films,

which have earned huge

acclamations would be screened

in Nandan-1,2,3 halls in

Rabindra Sadan till October 2.

The 25 feature films include-

Gunin, Hridita, Beauty Circus,

Hawa, Paran, Payer Tolay Mati

Nei, Paap Punno, Kalbela,

Chironjeeb Mujib, Rehana

Morium Noor, Nona Jaler

Kabbo, Raat Jaga Phool, Lal

Moroger Jhuti, Goor, Golui,

Gondi, Bishwa Sundari, Rupsha

Nadir Banke, Shuttle Train,

Moner Moto Manush Pailam Na,

Na-Dorai, Komla Rocket, Gohin,

Baluchar and Unpanchat Batas.

The eight short films are-

Dhor, Moyna, Tarnsit, Kothai

Pabo Tare, Fera, Nari Jibon,

Kagoj Khela and Aarong.

The Bangladesh film festival,

which the organisers said that it

brought people of two countries

much closer, is being held during

the four years. As many as 32

popular films from Bangladesh

were screened at the festival last

year at Nandan-1.

‘A Father's Diary’ at Asian Film Fest Barcelona

TBT REPORT

Award-winning Bangladeshi-Canadian

director Golam Mustofa's film 'A Father's

Diary' will be screened at the Asian Film

Festival Barcelona. The 10th edition of

the festival will take place at Cinemas

Girona, Phenomena, Caixa Forum and

Zumzeig in Spain from October 26 to

November 6.

'A Father's Diary' will compete under

the Official Panorama Section.

The film 'A Father's Diary' drew the

attention of int’l critics and audiences

when it had its world premiere at the

20th Dhaka Int’l Film Festival and UK

premiere at the 5th London Bengali Film

Festival. The film is based on the story of

a South Asian father who finds difficulties

when dealing with the choices of his

daughter and wife.

The film has won several awards in its

preliminary run with festivals in Canada,

USA, Singapore, and India, including the

Calcutta International Cult Film Festival

(2021) and Accolade Global Film

Competition (2021) and received an

honorable mention at the Mumbai Int’l

Film Festival. The film was also

nominated for Best Feature Film by the

2022 Wales Int’l Film Festival and

Canadian Int’l Faith and Family Film

Festival. 'A Father's Diary' is a production

of Canadian-based Banzai Multimedia

Raveena Tandon ‘punched rowdies'

who 'acted fresh' with her

Raveena Tandon was one of the most popular

Bollywood actors in the 1990s, but she had to

fight her own battles, sometimes literally. In a

2002 interview with Simi Garewal, the actor

recalled an incident when she had to "punch"

a few "rowdy men" who were acting "fresh

with her" at an award function.

Simi recalled that this was her first memory

of Raveena. Simi that they were both judges

at the MTV Awards and after the function,

Raveena was walking towards her car all

alone. "You went all alone to your car when

the function was over and these rowdies, they

came and acted fresh with you. And you beat

them up single handedly," Simi recalled.

Raveena instantly said that she "did not

beat them up" but handled the situation.

Simi insisted that the Andaz Apna Apna

actor "bashed them up." Raveena shared

that she was "in a state of shock" when the

incident happened and her instant reaction

was to punch those men. "I punched him

back. I guess self defence comes in as a

reflex, very instantly.

I had to do that," she said. Simi

remembered Raveena as the "gutsy and

unafraid" woman who was ready

to spring into action if she felt

threatened in any way.

Raveena had recently

shared on Twitter that she

was "physically harassed"

when she used travel in local

trains before she became

successful. She had written,

"Uptil 1991, I travelled like

this. And being a girl also got

physically harassed by

nameless trolls like you. Before

I started working, saw success

and earned my first car."

Raveena Tandon achieved peak

success in the 1990s with films such as

Mohra, Dilwale, Laadla, Dulhe Raja,

Aatish among many others. Raveena

made the most recent of her many

comebacks as a lead actor with the

2021 Netflix series Aranyak. She was

recently seen in KGF: Chapter 2, the

most successful Indian film of 2022.

Source : Hindustan Times

and is shot in three continents and

capturing locations in Canada, the USA,

Australia, and Bangladesh.

The principal cast of the film includes

veteran actors Afroz Khan (Bollywood),

Carmine Lacono (Canada), Nidhi Dhara

(Bollywood), Brittany Clough (Canada),

and Deepa Khandakar (Bangladesh).

H O R O s c O P E

ARIEs

Some close friends could turn you on to a new

interest or perhaps a group you might want to join.

Intellectual stimulation through those closest to

you could open the way to new plans and

innovations. You might want to try combining artistic interests

with technology, Aries, perhaps expanding your knowledge of

photography, computer graphics, or filmmaking. Success and good

fortune through such activities are strongly indicated.

TAURUs

Sudden, unexpected news could arrive

today, perhaps by mail or phone. You

could host a virtual group meeting of

some kind. A lot of exciting information

and stimulating conversation could take

place, Taurus, bringing fresh ideas that spark new

interests. Expect a very busy but productive day,

looking ahead toward the future rather than back

toward the past.

GEMINI

Short journeys in your neighborhood,

perhaps connected with a group you're

associated with, could take up a lot of

your time today, Gemini. Fascinating

and stimulating emails or calls could

arrive. Books and magazine articles could provide

information that sends you in a new direction in

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

remember them all.

cANcER

Technology could pave the way for you to

greatly increase your income, possibly

through new skills or investments. This is

likely to be a very positive development,

setting the stage for future financial success. Some

unusual, interesting dreams could come your way,

bringing unexpected revelations about you and your past

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

hold important messages for you from your higher self.

LEO

A surprising revelation, either from

within or from sources like books, the

Internet, or communications from others

could set you in an entirely new direction.

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

a clearer and more progressive outlook. You might

consider some pretty heavy changes in your life, Leo,

but don't make any final decisions or arrangements

today. Wait before putting your ideas into action.

VIRGO

Discoveries made through occult sciences

such as astrology or numerology could

see you embrace some rather

revolutionary ideas about yourself, the

world, and life. You could become involved with a

group associated with metaphysical studies or take an

online class or workshop of some kind. This could

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

might greatly enhance your life and thinking.

LIBRA

Sudden lucky breaks could come your

way today, Libra, possibly through

friends or groups with which you're

involved. A long-term goal you've been

working toward might bring unexpected but

wonderful results. Virtual group activities,

particularly those involving social or political issues,

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

a busy, productive day. Expect the unexpected!

scORPIO

Today you might feel the desire to break

free from your daily routine, Scorpio,

particularly regarding career matters.

You might consider developing a

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

more freedom than you currently have. This is a good

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

more possibilities out there than you expected.

sAGITTARIUs

A sudden and unexpected opportunity

to take a journey by air could come your

way today, Sagittarius. This might be

something you've wanted for a long

time finally manifesting. Certainly, adventure is in the

air, although it might be mental adventure as much as

physical. Some information could come your way that

catapults you into a new and exciting field of interest.

This promises to be a thoroughly stimulating day.

cAPRIcORN

Technology could pave the way for you to

greatly increase your income, possibly

through new skills or investments. This is

likely to be a very positive development,

setting the stage for future financial success. Some

unusual, interesting dreams could come your way,

bringing unexpected revelations about you and your past

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

hold important messages for you from your higher self.

AQUARIUs

The unexpected need to take a journey

by air or spend a lot of time working

could bring about an inconvenient

separation from your partner. While the

reasons for this situation and the projected outcome

are very positive, it can cause a temporary upset in

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

pass, particularly when the desired results are

attained. Concentrate on the matter at hand.

PIscEs

Is your workplace upgrading its

equipment? Are you in the process of

increasing your technology skills?

Today's planets show that success and advancement

through technology are definitely in the offing for

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

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

goals, you can harness current innovations to help

them along. Give it some thought!

Friday, OctOber 28, 2022

11

Campaigners demand quick amendment

to tobacco control law

DHAKA : Anti-tobacco

campaigners on Thursday

demanded the government

amend the tobacco control law

soonest to reduce casualties

and other losses incurred by its

consumption, reports UNB.

The demand came at an

GD-1736/22 (5x3)

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event on Thursday when four

journalists were awarded for

their journalistic work in

creating awareness and

influencing policies against

tobacco menace in the country.

The campaigners praised

the Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare for its move to

strengthen the tobacco control

law describing it as a timely

step.

"The draft for the

amendment must be finalised

and passed as early as

possible," said Dr A A M S

Arefin Siddique, former Vice-

Chancellor of Dhaka

University.

Dr Siddique who attended

the event as chief guest said

that the public opinion is now

largely in favour of the

amendment to the tobacco

control law.

He said many premature

deaths and burdens on the

health system can be checked

by reducing tobacco

consumption with effective

laws and regulations.

Mostafizur Rahman, Lead

Policy Advisor for Campaign

for Tobacco-Free Kids -

Bangladesh, said there is no

alternative to strengthening

tobacco control laws to build a

tobacco-free country as

envisioned by Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina.

Dr Syed Mahfuzul Haq of

the World Health

Organisation in Dhaka said he

also welcomed the

government's initiative to

amend the law.

He said the journalists have

played an effective role in

helping the policymakers

understand the necessity for

amending the law.

Professor Dr. Arup Ratan

Choudhury, President,

MANAS, said, "Authorities

must avoid getting distracted

by tobacco companies' ill

tactics and make the existing

law more in line with directives

by the Prime Minister," he

said.





50-yr-old woman

crushed by train

in Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI : A 50-year-old

domestic help on her way to

work was crushed under the

wheels of a speeding train in

Rajshahi city early on

Thursday, reports UNB.

The deceased was

identified as Sabera Begum,

wife of late Alauddin of

Aliganj Modhypara under

Rajpara police station of the

city.

Anisuzzaman, subinspector

of Rajshahi

Railway Police Station, said

Sabera came under the

wheels of Banatala Express

as she was crossing the track

at Dhingadova Pathar

Intersection around 7am.

The body has been handed

over to the woman's family,

the police officer added.

164 Swecchasebak Dal

activists sued over clash

with police, 14 held

CHATTOGRAM : A case has

been filed against 14 named

and 150 anonymous activists

of the BNP's volunteer wing

Swecchasebak Dal for

clashing with police and

obstructing them from

performing their duties in

Chattogram.

Saddam Hossain, subinspector

of Kotwali police

station, filed the case with

the police station on

Wednesday night.

Of the accused, 14

including Chattogram South

district Swecchasebak Dal

Convener Monjur Alam

Talukder were arrested and

they were produced before a

court on Thursday, said

Zahidul Kabir, officer-in-

Charge of kotwali police

station.

On Wednesday afternoon

Swecchasebak Dal activists

and leaders locked in a clash

with police after they

allegedy obstructed them in

holding a rally at stadium at

Kazir Dewri area in the city.

Four police members and

20 Swecchasebak Dal

activists were reprotedly

injured during the clash.

Police arrested ten people

from the spot after the

incident, said police.

'Digital agriculture can

give Bangladesh's food,

nutrition security a boost'

DHAKA : Digital agriculture

can help Bangladesh boost

its productivity to secure

food and nutrition security

amid increasing challenges

of climate change and a

growing population.

Experts said this at an

event organised by the Food

and

Agriculture

Organization of the United

Nations (FAO) in

collaboration with Aspire to

Innovate (a2i) in Dhaka

Thursday, reports UNB.

Digital innovations in

agriculture, from mobile

phones and internet

connectivity for smallholder

farmers, to drones, and

more advanced technology,

have the potential to drive

agricultural transformation

in the country, they added.

Robert D Simpson, FAO

representative in

Bangladesh, said: "Digital

transformation of

agriculture is already here

and it is here to stay.

Bangladesh is just starting

on the road to adopting

digital technologies."

"Digitalisation of

agriculture will boost the

country's productivity,

helping it meet the

increasing demand for food

as the population grows, and

fulfil ambitions for increased

food exports."

At the same time as rapid

population growth, the

availability of natural

resources such as fresh

water and productive arable

land is becoming

increasingly constrained.

Urbanisation is also having

important implications for

patterns of food production

and consumption.

Digital innovations and

technologies are part of the

solution, the experts said.

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Friday, Dhaka : october 28, 2022; kartik 12, 1429 BS; rabi-us-Sany 1 , 1444 Hijri

the ban on fishing is going to be ended today. Fishermen are preparing to go fishing in the deep sea. the picture was

taken on thursday from the patharghata fish landing center ghat in Barguna.

photo : Star Mail

BD can increase export $18b more in EU: Study

DHAKA : Bangladesh exported US$$23

billion to 27 countries of the European

Union (EU) which can be increased $18

billion more by enhancing production

capacity and product diversification, as per

a study.

The study was conducted by Research

and Policy Integration for Development

(RAPID) with the cooperation of Friedrich-

Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh on the

titled 'Strengthening Bangladesh-EU

Trade and Economic Cooperation: Issues

and Policy Priorities.'

Sharifa Khan, Secretary, the Economic

Relations Division, Ministry of Finance,

was present in the discussion on the topic

as the chief guest.

Charles Whiteley, Ambassador and

Head of Delegation of the EU to

Bangladesh, was present as guest honor.

Dr Abdur Razzaq, Chairman RAPID

preside over the function.

ERD secretary Sharifa said the EU is a

very friend and development partner in all

environments for Bangladesh. She urged to

enhance support by providing duty-free

and quota-free access of Bangladeshi products

to EU markets after graduation.

"The EU has a lot of opportunity to

increase import of Bangladeshi products as

Bangladesh is producing diversified and

quality besides RMG," she added.

The program share the findings of the

study that looks into issues and policy

options for a renewed and transformed

trade and economic partnership with the

European Union- an indispensable trade

and development partner of Bangladesh.

The study report stated, over the past

decades, the European Union (EU) has

emerged as an indispensable trade and

development partner for Bangladesh.

The EU is by far the largest export market

as almost half of Bangladesh's merchandise

exports are destined for the EU.

Taking advantage of the Everything But

Arms (EBA) initiative- designed for providing

preferential duty-free and quota-free

Let's see how EC handles Jamaat's

registration in disguise: Anisul

DHAKA : Law Minister Anisul Huq on

Thursday said Jamaat-e-Islami's registration

as a political party is sub judice

and he will wait to see how the Election

Commission handles their appeal for

registration under a different name,

reports UNB.

"Will make a comment in this regard

after EC's step," he said replying to a

reporter's question after a training programme

organised for the sub registrars

at Judicial Administration Training

Institute in the city.

His remarks came amid reports that all

leaders of newly launched Bangladesh

Democratic Party (BDP) that sought EC's

registration belong to Jamaat and its student

front Shibir. BDP filed for registration

on Wednesday.

In 2013, the High Court declared the

registration of Jamaat-e-Islami with the

EC illegal effectively banning it from taking

part in general elections. In 2018, the

EC formally deregistered the Islamic fundamentalist

party as it failed to fulfill its

prerequisites.

However, Jamaat is still operating as a

legal political party amid calls from the

secular forces to ban it for its role in the

genocide during the Liberation War it

vehemently opposed.

Responding to another question on

Jamaat leaders' trial for war crimes the

law minister said the AL government is

determined to bring the war criminals of

1971 under justice, which is a proven

fact.

In reply to another question on the trial

of Jamaat for its role against the

Liberation War, Huq reiterated that it

requires some changes in the law and it's

under process.

"I have mentioned earlier we need

some changes in law to proceed with the

trial against Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and

we have already sent the amendment to

the Cabinet Division. Very soon we will

pass a law in this regard and begin the

trial," he added.

Government will take immediate steps

to begin the trial if it finds necessary, he

added.

market access of goods originating from the

least developed countries (LDCs)-

Bangladesh's combined exports to the EU

and UK expanded rapidly from US$2.5 billion

in 2000-01 to $25billion in 2021-21.

In value terms, more than 80 percent of

all trade preferences for Bangladesh is

obtained from European markets.

Bangladesh has been the single largest

beneficiary of EU trade preferential

schemes, the study said.

The EU is also a major source of foreign

direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh.

Between 2017 and 2021 the net FDI

flow from EU countries were $3.5 billion

accounting for about a quarter of all

such flows into Bangladesh during the

same period.

The FDI stock in Bangladesh due to the

EU is more than 12 percent of the total

stock. Bangladesh still has enormous export

potential in the EU as it is estimated that

currently only 60 percent of export potential

is utilized.

Court orders attachment

of Evaly's Shamima,

Rassel's property

DHAKA : A Dhaka court yesterday

ordered for the attachment of properties

belong to e-commerce platform Evaly's

Chairman Shamima Nasrin and its

Managing Director (MD) and her husband

Mohammad Rassel in a cheque

dishonour case.

Dhaka Additional Metropolitan

Magistrate Tofazzal Hossain passed the

order after holding hearing on petition

filed in this regard. The court also set

November 16 for submitting report in

this regard.

According to the case documents,

plaintiff Mehedi Hasan Khan ordered

different goods including three motorcycles,

worth of Taka 8.54 lakh from

Evaly on January 23, 2021, and paid the

money through mobile banking.

Though Evaly was supposed to deliver

him the goods within 45 days of ordering,

the accused failed to do that.

Evaly authorities on March 9, 2021, gave

him a cheque, which Mehedi tried to cash on

July 5. But the cheque was bounced. He later

sent the accused legal notice on October 14

and subsequently filed the case on

November 28.

Revival of graft cases

BNP leaders say it's a tactic

to derail anti-govt movement

DHAKA : While the opposition

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has

recently been gearing up its anti-government

movement defying all sorts of obstacles,

party leaders say the government is

reviving some pending cases against the

leaders and activists with a motive to

derail the movement.

Some BNP leaders and lawyers say

authorities may send some party leaders

to jail to convey a message to the opposition

party that they would not be spared

ahead of next general election.

But the government repeatedly denied

such allegations by BNP in the past, saying

that authorities do not influence courts.

Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, a member

of BNP's Standing Committee, told

UNB that the government has become

"very nervous" over the overall social,

political and economic situation while

there is pressure from international community

to restore democracy through an

inclusive and credible election.

"The government has been failing to

stop people's participation in our rallies

despite carefully-orchestrated obstacles

against us. So, the government is desperate

to reinforce their repressive acts to suppress

us," he said.

"But it's clear from our recent successful

rallies that such a political tactic will not

work," he said.

On Tuesday, the Appellate Division of

the Supreme Court cleared the way for a

lower court to continue the trial involving

graft charges against BNP Standing

Committee Member Mirza Abbas. The

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed

the case in 2007 on charges of amassing

wealth illegally.

The trial proceedings against

Khandaker Mosharraf on charges of

siphoning off Tk 90 million are also set to

enter its final stage. The ACC filed the case

in 2014, accusing him of making money

illegally when he was the health minister

in 2001-2006.

The ACC has also started an investigation

against nine other people, including

Standing Committee members Nazrul

Islam Khan and Amir Khosru Mahmud

Chowdhury, for suspicious transactions

before the 11th parliamentary elections.

Lawyers loyal to BNP say the trial of

many cases against BNP leaders and

activists are going on with lower courts in

Dhaka and elsewhere.

BNP says around 36 lakh BNP leaders

and activists are now facing over one lakh

cases. They say the charges are politically

motivated.

Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said the

government has been trying to eliminate

BNP by resorting to killings, enforced disappearances,

politically motivated cases

and various other repressive acts for nearly

14 years.

Listless Bangladesh suffer biggest

ever defeat in T20 cricket

SportS DeSk

Bangladesh suffered their biggest ever

defeat in the T20 cricket history when

they conceded a 104-run defeat to South

Africa in their second game of the T20

World Cup at the historical Sydney

Cricket Ground on Thursday, reports

BSS.

In a crucial game, where a victory could

help them make a giant leap, the Tigers, as

it was adorably called, were shot out for

101 in just 16.3 overs after South Africa put

up a mammoth 205-5. The massive defeat

wrecked Bangladesh's run rate also.

Rillee Rossouw and fast bowler Anrich

Nortje were the wrecker-in-chief as they

scripted Bangladesh's defeat with a

marauding show. Rossouw became the

first cricketer in T20 history to hit a backto-back

century, hitting his career-best

109 off 56 which put the side in dominating

position.

Nortje also registered his career-best

bowling, with a hostile bowling show that

saw him claiming 4-10.

Nortje indeed intimidated Bangladesh

with raw pace and bounce that was too

tough to handle for the batters, who were

also shaky in their approach, a thing that

was instrumental in the side's only second

loss by 100 runs margin. The previous

biggest defeat of Bangladesh was by 102

runs against Pakistan in Karachi in 2008.

Soumya Sarkar struck two back to back

sixes in Kagiso Rabada's first over to send

the expatriate Bangladeshi, who turned

up in the stadium in abundance, in delirium.

But he was undone by the pace

when Nortje came to the attack. Nortje in

fact dismissed both of the openers

Najmul Hossain Shanto (9) and Soumya

Sarkar (15).

He later signed off his first spell, dismissing

captain Shakib Al Hasan for 1,

leaving Bangladesh 39-3. Rabada after

his expensive first over, came back

strongly to remove Afif Hossain for 1.

Spinners-Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz

Shamsi took over the charge from the

pacers and ripped through the middle

order in a gem of spin bowling.

Shamsi snapped up 3-20 while

Maharaj snared 1-24 as they conceded

just 44 runs in their eight overs.

Liton Das who was out as the eighth

batter, top-scored for the side with 31

ball-34.

South Africa's score could have been

bigger had Bangladesh not come back

strongly in the last five overs. Led by

Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh curbed the

aggression of the South African batters in

this period to take three wickets for just

34 runs.

Shakib who gave away 21 runs in his

first over, bowled two overs in the death

overs, to finally finish with 2-33.

But the damage was done before that as

Rossouw and Quinton de Kock put up a

record breaking 163 runs of just 83 balls

to pave a platform of huge total.

Final decision

on IMF loan will

come within 2

weeks:BB

DHAKA : Bangladesh Bank (BB)

Spokesperson GM Abul Kalam Azad yesterday

said the final decision on the US$4.5

billion loan from the Int’l Monetary Fund

(IMF) will come within next two weeks.

"The IMF team is visiting Bangladesh

as part of its regular programme. We

have discussed on banking and the overall

economic situation. The final decision

on the $4.5 billion loan will come within

two weeks," he said while talking to BSS.

Members of the IMF delegation on

Thursday met the central bank officials as

part of the ongoing discussions on lending

to Bangladesh.

Earlier, Bangladesh had sent a letter to

IMF seeking a loan in July to deal with

the economic crisis.Two weeks ago in a

meeting in Washington, the IMF gave

preliminary approval for the loan.

An IMF team came to Dhaka on

Wednesday (26 October) to discuss the

terms of the $4.5 billion loan.

The IMF team, led by IMF Mission

Chief to Bangladesh Rahul Anand, would

also continue the engagement with other

stakeholders during the visit.

BNP leaders indulged in

spreading politicallymotivated

falsehoods : Quader

DHAKA : Awami League general secretary

Obaidul Quader on Thursday said without

considering the critical global situation, the

BNP leaders irresponsibly are indulged in

spreading various politically-motivated

falsehoods.

In a democratic system, every opposition

party has responsibility and duty towards

the country and the people but Mirza

Fakhrul Islam and his party leaders don't

play the role of a responsible opposition and

rather continue their usual politics of lies

and confusion, he said in a statement.

"It is natural that those who could not add

even a single unit of electricity to the national

grid during their tenure would make

unwise remarks over today's crisises," he

said adding the BNP government also

opened fire on people for waging movements

to press home their demand for electricity.

Quader, also the Road Transport and

Bridges Minister, said the world is now

passing through an unexpected crisis and

the world's largest economies are also facing

a serious economic crisis.

The crises for electricity and gas have

been created alongside the price-hike of

food and other daily essentials in almost all

the countries of the world including Europe

and America. So, Bangladesh is also facing

the crisis, he said.

He said the country's people have not forgotten

that the party during its regime institutionalized

corruption by opening Hawa

Bhaban as well as turned Bangladesh into a

failed state through their anti-people policies

and looting of public funds.

The AL general secretary said the government

under the leadership of Sheikh

Hasina is making continuous efforts to offset

the crisis.

Quader urged the people of the country to

keep faith in Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh

will be able to face this crisises with the collective

efforts amid patience and responsible

behavior through specific plans taken by

Sheikh Hasina, he added.

World left BD to shelter 1m Rohingya

alone, Shahriar tells Guardian

DHAKA : Criticizing the international community

for not extending all-out support to

press Myanmar's junta to guarantee a safe

return for Rohingyas, State Minister for

Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said the world

has done "absolutely nothing" for safe repatriation

of Rohingyas.

"The world has done "absolutely nothing"

to ensure safety in Myanmar for its

persecuted Rohingya minority," a prestigious

British daily The Guardian quoted

Alam in a report published on Wednesday

as he told the newspaper.

The state minister said that Bangladesh

is sheltering more than 1 million

Rohingyas without (global) support, said

the report wrote by Kaamil Ahmed.

Alam said financial support for the

Rohingya has decreased each year and there

has been no real progress towards repatriation

in the five years since more than

700,000 fled massacres by Myanmar's military.

That wave, in August 2017, joined

approximately 300,000 people that had

already fled Myanmar because of previous

security crackdowns, he added.

The state minister said not enough

pressure had been brought to bear on

Myanmar's military junta and called for

greater international support for a genocide

case at the UN's international

courts of justice, and for a case focusing

on forced deportation at the international

criminal court.

"On the political and repatriation solution,

the world is doing absolutely nothing," Alam

was quoted in the report, which added,

"They haven't exercised all their power yet.

Up until recently they have kept on investing

in Myanmar. The growth of FDI [foreign

direct investment] in Myanmar from 2017 to

2020 was greater than that of Bangladesh.

You know, how weird is that?"

He (Alam) was skeptical of proposed sanctions

on the travel and finances of senior military

figures, saying the people in question

rarely travel. The UN humanitarian appeal

for the Rohingya refugees has received only a

third of funding required this year. Alam said

he feared even less money would be donated

next year because of rising costs globally.

Bangladesh suffered their biggest ever defeat in the t20 cricket history as they conceded a 104-run

defeat to South Africa in their second game at the historical Sydney Cricket Ground. photo: Ap

28-10-2022

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