20-05-2019

MonDaY 

Dhaka: May 20, 2019; Jaistha 6, 1426 BS; Ramadan 14,1440 hijri 

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net 

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.17; No.108; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00 

international 

One UN peacekeeper 

killed, several others 

wounded in Mali 

>Page 7 

art & culture 

Eurovision 2019: 

Netherlands wins song 

contest 

>Page 8 

sport 

Mbappe double as 

PSG thrash Dijon in 

Paris 

>Page 9 

Severe traffic congestion hits the Dhaka New Market and adjacent areas as people went out on 

shopping spree ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. 

Photo: Star Mail 

Bringing discipline in transport sector 

is biggest challenge: Quader 

DHAKA : Road, Transport and 

Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday 

said bringing discipline in transport 

sector, by reducing traffic congestion, 

is now the biggest challenge in the 

'second innings' of his life. 

When Quader joined his office yesterday 

after returning home from 

Singapore with full recovery of his 

health, he got a warm reception by the 

officials of his ministry at the 

Secretariat at 10 am. 

"I have competed the first innings of 

my life. Inshallah, now I will play second 

innings. The biggest challenge of 

my second innings is to bring discipline 

in transport sector and cut traffic congestion. 

And I hope I would be able to 

do so under the leadership of Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina," he told a 

press briefing at the conference room of 

his ministry, reports BSS. 

The minister said with the grace of 

almightily Allah, the sincere endeavor 

of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 

the prayers of people, he returned 

home after taking treatment for two 

months and a half in Singapore. 

RAMADAn 

Ramadan Date Sehri Iftar 

14 May 20 03:45 AM 06:39 PM 

15 May 21 03:44 AM 06:40 PM 

15 May 22 03:44 AM 06:40 PM 

Zohr 

03:51 AM 

12:05 PM 

04:32 PM 

06:42 PM 

08:00 PM 

5:13 6:37 

About the conditions of the country's 

roads and highways, he said the roads 

and highways are in a better condition 

than that were a few years ago. 

Quader said the Prime Minister will 

inaugurate the second Gumti and second 

Meghna bridges on Dhaka- 

Chattogram Highway through a videoconference 

on May 25. 

Noting that the construction work of 

four underpasses in Dhaka-Tangail 

highway will be completed soon, he 

said more buses and trucks will be 

added to the BRTC fleet, which will 

ease the journey of home-goers ahead 

Sale of advance tickets 

of launch cabins 

begins today 

DHAKA : The sale of advance tickets 

of launch cabins on Dhaka-Barishal 

route and other river routes will begin 

tomorrow on the occasion of holy Eidul-Fitr, 

officials say. 

"About 30 percent advance tickets of 

launch cabins will be sold online, while 

70 percent tickets through counters 

installed by launch authorities," 

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport 

Authority (BIWTA) chairman 

Commodore M Mahbub-ul Islam told 

BSS after a meeting. 

The BIWTA and private launch owners 

held a meeting in the capital and 

decided to sell advance tickets of launch 

cabins on different routes from today. 

Chairman of the Bangladesh Inland 

Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) 

Pranay Kanti Biswas said five ships of 

the BIWTC will run on Dhaka-Barishal 

route on the occasion of Eid, while three 

ships on Chattogram-Hatiya-Barishal 

route.He said anyone can buy the tickets 

of BIWTC ships any time as private 

sector mainly controls the passenger 

transportation. 

But, launch owners said after fixing 

the date of the sale of advance launch 

of Eid-ul-Fitr. 

Quader said the sale of advance tickets 

of BRTC busses will begin tomorrow 

and now there is no bus crisis in 

the country. About the state of his treatment, 

the AL general secretary said he 

will fly to Singapore on July 16 for his 

medical checkup. 

"I feel confident 

mentally 

and hope that I 

would be totally 

okay within a 

few months after 

taking proper 

care and rest," 

he said. 

Earlier, on 

March 3, 

Quader was 

admitted to 

BSMMU hospital 

with a breathing 

problem. 

Later, he was diagnosed with three 

blockages in the coronary arteries and 

was flown to Singapore the next day for 

a better treatment under supervision of 

the Prime Minister. 

He underwent a bypass surgery there 

on March 20 and returned home on 

May 15. 

tickets, they will now sell tickets 

through online and installing counters 

at ghats. 

They said many launch authorities 

have already started the sale of advance 

tickets of cabins. 

The officials said the BIWTA will provide 

special service to waterway passengers 

from May 30 aiming to ensure 

their safe journey during the Eid-ul- 

Fitr. 

"We will get fully prepared from May 

30 to ensure safe journey of home goers 

ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr," joint director of 

Traffic Management Division of Dhaka 

River Port Alamgir Kabir told BSS. 

He said there are 225 private launches 

and these launches move on 43 river 

routes of the country from Sadarghat, 

Dhaka. 

Kabir said many people along with 

their families will start going their village 

homes from May 30 next, and 

when launch owners seek support from 

the BIWTA in this regard, it will provide 

all-out support to them. 

He said about 35 lakh passengers will 

travel by water vessels in the country's 

southern region this year. 

Security to be 

beefed up for 

Eid-ul Fitr: 

Minister 

DHAKA : Home Minister 

Asaduzzaman Khan on Sunday said 

tight security measures will be taken 

across the country to ensure the peaceful 

celebrations of Eid-ul-Fitr, reports 

UNB. 

"Adequate security personnel will be 

deployed alongside conducting block 

raids in different towns. Besides, there'll 

be check-posts at the entry and exit 

points of the capital," he said while talking 

to reporters after a meeting with 

members of law enforcement agencies 

at the Secretariat. 

Replying to a question whether there 

is any threat of sabotage, Asaduzzaman 

said: "No, there's no threat of sabotage. 

Intelligence agencies are on alert." 

He asked the owners of garment factories 

to allow the workers to leave in 

phases and pay their salaries and bonus 

in time. 

The minister said action will be taken 

if buses or launches carry passengers 

beyond their capacities and passengers 

are charged extra fare. 

World Metrology 

Day today 

DHAKA : World Metrology Day, 

commemorating the anniversary of signature 

by representatives of 17 nations 

of the 'Metre Convention-1875?, will be 

observed today in Bangladesh as elsewhere 

across the world. 

The event was held in Paris on 20 

May celebrating the International 

System of Units (ISU). The World 

Metrology Day project is currently realized 

jointly by the International Bureau 

of Weights Measurements (BIPM) and 

the International Organisation of Legal 

Metrology (OIML). 

The theme of the World Metrology 

Day 2019 is "The International System 

of Units Fundamentally Better". 

President M Abdul Hamid and Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday 

issued separate message wishing the 

success of all programmes on the occasion. 

The President, in his message, said 

the celebration of the World Metrology 

Day can play a very significant role to 

create mass-awareness for ensuring 

proper measurement and weight. 

The head of the state stressed on the 

importance of proper measurement at 

all levels, including the flourishing 

industries, international trade, new 

technological invention and their proper 

uses. 

"It's very urgent to ensure the proper 

measurement of commodities and 

maintain products' quality to strengthen 

Bangladesh's position in the field of 

world trade and commerce," President 

Hamid said. 

Noting that the role of the 

Bangladesh Standards and Testing 

Institution (BSTI) and other concerned 

institutions is gradually on the rise, he 

hoped that the BSTI would continue its 

activities from production to marketing 

of any product by maintaining the 

world standard. 

BCL deprived faction 

‘attacked again’ 

DHAKA : Leaders of Bangladesh 

Chhatra League (BCL), who did not get 

posts n the newly announced, committee 

alleged that they were attacked by 

General Secretary Golam Rabbani and 

his followers on early Saturday, reports 

UNB. 

The incident happened around 2:30 

am inside theTeacher-Student Centre 

(TSC) of Dhaka University (DU). 

But the demonstrators went ahead 

with a hunger strike programme 

protesting against the attack at the base 

ofRaju Memorial Sculpture amid rain 

at 3am. 

"We were attacked first at Madhur 

Canteen when our 10-member delegation 

went to meet BCL president and 

general secretary," said Saif Babu, 

spokesperson of the deprived faction 

and former BCL publicity secretary. 

"Suddenly,BCL general secretary 

GolamRabbani charged BM Lipi Akter 

(Deputy cultural affairs secretary in new 

committee) why she delivered a speech 

against him at a media talk show. Lipi 

replied that she learnt it from him," Saif 

said. "Rabbani got furious, abused her 

verbally and slapped her. Activists, loyal 

to Rabbani, also attacked other 

deprived students," Saif Babu alleged. 

The alleged attackers included drama 

and debate affairs secretary Jewel 

Molla, GS (general secretary) of Sir AF 

Rahman hall union Abdur Rahim 

(Rahim Sarker), VP (vice-president) of 

Bangabandhu hall union Akmol 

Hossain, GS of Ziaur Rahman hall 

Hasibul Hossen Santo. 

Those who claimed to have been 

assaulted are - Deputy Cultural Affairs 

Secretary Nipo Islam Tonni, Tilottama 

Sikder, Deputy Publication Secretary 

Farida Parvin, deputy Student- 

Scholarship Secretary Srabony Shaila, 

former deputy international affairs secretary 

Emdad Hossain Sohag, former 

assistant secretary Azmir Sheikh, former 

deputy publicity secretary of DU 

unit Sheikh Abdullah and general secretary 

of Shamsun Nahar hall unit 

Chhatra League Jiasmin Shanta. 

Around 3am, Chhatra League 

President Rezwanul Haque 

Chowdhury Shovon and General 

Secretary Rabbani tried to calm down 

the protesters amid rain but they had 

been told to go away. 

"There were some altercations. But 

they weren't serious ... we'll solve the 

problems," he told UNB. 

Rabbani rejected the claims that the 

protesters had been attacked. "They're 

staging a drama," he claimed. 

BRTC sells advance tickets from 

today for Eid holidaymakers 

DHAKA : Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) will start selling of 

advance tickets from today for Eid-ul-Fitr holidaymakers. 

It will also launch 'Eid Special Service' from May 27 to ensure safe journey for the 

homebound people. 

"BRTC will start selling of advance tickets tomorrow for Eid holidaymakers from 

its different depots, including Motijheel, Joarsahara, Kalayanpur, Gabtoli, 

Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Jatrabari, Gazipur and Narayanganj," said BRTC chairman 

Farid Ahmed Bhuiyan.Taking to BSS, he said a total of 1,089 buses, including 

150 newly imported ones, will be operated as 'Eid Special Service' from May 27. Of 

these buses, 649 buses will be operated from capital Dhaka and 390 from different 

districts and upazilas, he added. 

"We will keep 50 buses in reserve to face any contingency situation," said the 

BRTC chairman. BRTC's deputy general manager (operation) Moniruzzaman Babu 

said Motijheel bus depot will operate bus service on Dhaka-Naghpur, Daudkandi, 

Bajitpur, Khulna, Dinajpur and Netrokona routes. 

Rangpur, Panchagarh, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Kushtia, Rajshahi, Sherpur, 

Jamalpur, Netrokona, Nagorpur, Gobindaganj, Ranishangkar, Thakurgaon and 

Dinajpur routes will remain under BRTC's Kalayanpur bus depot and Gabtoli bus 

deport will operate services on Rangpur, Dinajpur and Thakurgaon routes, he said. 

Babu said Bishwaroad-Panchdona, Rangpur, Naogaon, Jaypurhat, Tangail, 

Mymensingh and Bogura routes will remain under Joarsahara bus depot, Rangpur, 

Kushtia, Kurigram, Dinajpur and Naogaon routes under Mirpur bus depot while the 

entire Rangpur route will be under depot Mohammadpur bus depot of BRTC. 

Besides, bus services will be operated on Bishwaroad-Panchdona, Kishoreganj, 

Tangail, Jamalpur, Netrokona, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Dinajpur and Thakurgaon 

routes from BRTC's Gazipur bus depot. Jatrabari bus depot will operate services on 

Dhaka-Gauripur, Tongi-Mawa, Chattogram and Sylhet routes, Narayanganj bus 

deport on Dhaka-Narayanganj, Dhaka-Meghna upazila, Biswaroad-Panchdona 

routes, Narsingdi bus deport on Dhaka-Narsingdi and Dhaka-Bhairab routes while 

Sylhet bus deport will operate services on Sylhet-Tarakanda routes. 

People will get all necessary information on BRTC website: 

www.btrc.gov.bd . For tickets and other travel information BTRC has requested 

people to contact the cell-phone numbers: Motijheel Depot-01712281121, 

Kalayanpur Depot-01711578744, Gabtoli Depot-01818485388, Joarsahara Depot- 

01619457245, Mirpur Depot-01740098888, Mohammadpur Depot- 01712224038, 

Gazipur Depot-01817782866, Jatrabari Depot-01711391514, Narayanganj Depot- 

01716684144, Cumilla Depot-01758880011 and Narsingdi Depot-01553349567. 

During the last Eid-ul-Fitr, BRTC operated a total of 904 buses, including 475 

from Dhaka and 375 on different routes outside the capital. 

Contractors organization Beach GO Textile Company with the financial assistance of BWDB 

started its experimental work to save Kuakata Sea Beach from strong waves of Bay of Bengal by 

placing sand filled GO tubes and sacks on the beach. 

Photo: Star Mail

NEWS 

MonDAY, 

MAY 20, 2019 

2 

Law-enforcers rescue 84 Rohingyas from Pekua of Cox's Bazar and Teknaf upazila on Saturday. 


Stocks piling up in Khulna mills 

part of industry's 'chain of crises' 

KHULNA : Stocks of finished goods in 

all nine state-owned jute mills of Khulna 

are piling up in the face of depressed 

sales in global jute market, part of a 

chain of crises afflicting the industry 

including the ongoing labour unrest in 

the region. 

According to Bangladesh Jute Mills 

Corporation (BJMC) sources, stock of 

jute products worth Tk 284 crore 

remain unsold, triggering a financial 

crisis for the jute mills. Moreover, the 

production rate has decreased to just a 

third of the target, around 34 percent. 

Sources said outdated machinery, 

poor timing of raw jute purchase, and 

decreasing demand for jute products in 

the global markets are responsible for 

the situation, resulting in the mills 

failing to pay labourers' wages on time, 

prompting the recent unrest. 

It is to note that, nine jute mills - 

Crescent, Platinum, Khalishpur, 

Doulatpur, Star, Alim and Eastern - in 

Khulna and JJI and Carpeting jute mills 

in Jashore were established between 

1952 and 1968. At least 5,115 looms were 

installed at the time in the nine mills. 

In 50 to 60 years, almost nothing in 

the mills was upgraded. The spinning, 

softener, breaker, finisher and drawing 

machines of the mills are decaying faster 

now for lack of proper renovation of 

equipment. 

According to sources within jute mills, 

they produced 228 metric tonnes (MT) 

per day against a target of 372 MT in 

2017. In 2018, target and production 

both reduced from 272 to 183 MTs on 

daily basis. Moreover, only 1,854 looms 

are working properly among 3,650 

looms, reports UNB. 

On the other hand, only 13,271 

labourers have been working out of 

33,047 permanent and daily wage based 

labourers in the state-owned jute mills. 

The mills authorities are purchasing 

raw jute at high price as they couldn't 

purchase it in the peak season for 

financial crisis. They bought 179,922 

quintals of raw jute by February 26 this 

year, less than a quarter of the purchase 

target. 

Md Sohrab Hossain, general secretary 

of Crescent Jute Mills' Collective 

Bargaining Agents (CBA), said "Mills 

authorities are spending extra Tk 2,000 

per maund of raw jute now as they 

couldn't purchase it in time. They are 

imposing that loss on labourers now by 

paying delayed wages which has 

advanced the labourers' agitation." 

Gazi Shahadat Hossain, Crescent Jute 

Mills' project director, said, "The 

demand of jute products is on a 

downward trend in the international 

markets. Iran, Syria, Sudan aren't 

buying jute products from us. So we are 

unable to sell the ready products and 

cannot buy raw jute in time." 

The only slightly profitable lines are 

those producing lamination bags using 

the new PLP machines, Shahadat said. 

BJMC liaison officer Rahmatullah 

said, "We get all updates from the mills. 

We've been trying to sell ready products 

as soon as possible. In the first phase, 

we've plans to modernise and repair the 

machineries of Crescent and Platinum 

jute mills. This'll be implemented in 

seven other mills subsequently." 

Singer 

'commits 

suicide' 

in Khulna 

KHULNA : A singer 

allegedly committed suicide 

by hanging herself in 

Kashimnagar area in the 

district town on Sunday, 

reports UNB. 

Police said Farhana 

Yasmin,36, a divorcee, had 

been living with one of her 

female friends in a rented 

house in the area. 

Her friend found Farhana 

hanging from the ceiling fan 

in her room and informed 

police. 

Police went to the spot and 

recovered the body around 2 

pm after breaking open the 

door. 

The body was sent to 

Sadar Hospital for autopsy, 

said Officer-in-charge of 

Sadar Police Station 

Humayun Kabir. 

Farhana was a regular 

Rabindra Sangeet singer of 

Bangladesh Betar and 

Bangladesh Television. She 

was also an assistant teacher 

of Dumuria Model 

Government Primary 

School. 

Mother, son 

killed by 

lightning strike 

in Khagrachhari 

KHAGRACHHARI : A 

woman and her son were 

killed after being struck by a 

lightning at Masterpara in 

Bornal union of Matiranga 

upazila early Sunday, 

reports UNB. 

The deceased was 

identified as Ayesha Khatun, 

55 and her son Mohammad 

Momin, 22. Her daughter 

and grandson were also 

injured. 

Shamsuddin Bhuiyan, 

officer-in-charge of 

Matiranga Police Station, 

said that a thunderbolt hit 

them while they were 

preparing for sehri, killing 

Ayesha and Momin on the 

spot. 

Aleya Khatun and her son 

Arafat Hossain were also 

injured. 

FBCCI chief Fahim vows 

to work together 

DHAKA : Newly elected President of the Federation of 

Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) 

Sheikh Fazle Fahim on Sunday vowed to work together with 

the business community for greater good, reports UNB. 

While taking over the charge officially, the apex trade body 

chief said the FBCCI would continue to play its due role 

taking part in the country's economic development process. 

Fahim noted the country's growing economy and said the 

FBCCI would continue its activities in line with Bangladesh's 

journey towards further development. 

The Board of Directors of the country's apex trade body, 

elected for 2019-2021 tenure, took over the charge at a 

function held at the FBCCI Bhaban. 

Senior vice president Md Muntakim Ashraf, six vice 

presidents and directors, elected for the next two years, were 

present. 

Former FBCCI President M Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin 

spoke briefly before handing over charge to the new FBCCI 

leadership. 

He hoped that the newly elected Board of Directors would 

turn out to be the most successful one through joint efforts 

demonstrating its competence, capability and 

determination. 

Earlier on April 29, Md Ali Ashraf, chairman of the election 

board of the FBCCI, announced the results of the FBCCI 

election. 

Former FBCCI leaders were also present. 

Tax holiday is essential 

for trade, commerce 

development: BIDA chief 

In Iran, economic 

struggles trump fears 

of US confrontation 

Across Iran's capital, the talk always seems to 

come back to how things may get worse, 

reports UNB. 

Battered by U.S. sanctions and its 

depreciating rial currency, Iran's 80 million 

people struggle to buy meat, medicine and 

other staples of daily life. Now they wonder 

aloud about America's intentions as it rushes 

an aircraft carrier and other forces to the 

region over a still-unexplained threat it 

perceives from Iran. 

The Associated Press spoke to a variety of 

people on Tehran's streets recently, ranging 

from young and old, women wearing the allencompassing 

black chador to those loosely 

covering their hair. 

Most say they believe a war will not come 

to the region, though they remain willing to 

defend their country. They think Iran should 

try to talk to the U.S. to help its anemic 

economy, even as they see President Donald 

Trump as an erratic and untrustworthy 

adversary. 

"Trump is not predictable at all and one 

doesn't know how to react to him and what is 

the right thing to do against him," said Afra 

Hamedzadeh, a 20-year-old civil servant and 

university student. "Since he controls the 

global economy we are somehow left with 

few options." 

DHAKA : The field-level collection of data for 

the Agriculture Census-2019 will begin in the 

country on June 9 and it will continue till 

June 20. During this time, the enumerators 

will collect data on food grains, fisheries and 

livestock, size of the agriculture households, 

land use, size of the cultivated land, number 

of cattle and poultry, agricultural 

machineries, food security, fisheries and 

forests in the urban and rural areas across the 

country. 

To make this Census a success, the 

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) is 

holding a three-day special training 

programme for the census coordinators at 

division and district levels. 

Planning Minister MA Mannan 

inaugurated the training programme 

yesterday as the chief guest held at the BBS 

Building in the city. 

Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Md 

Raisul Alam Mondol and Agriculture 

Secretary M Nasiruzzaman spoke on the 

occasion as special guests. 

DHAKA : Bangladesh Investment Development Authority 

(BIDA) Executive Chairman Kazi M Aminul Islam yesterday 

said the government is providing tax holiday facility in 

different fields as it is essential for the development of trade 

and commerce. 

"The government is providing the tax holiday facility in 

different industries, especially industries under the 

Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA), Bangladesh 

Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) and Bangladesh 

Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA)," he said. 

The BIDA chief said this while presiding over a discussion 

on "Revisiting Tax Holiday Policy of Bangladesh for 

Promoting Investment and Export" at BIDA headquarters in 

the city, said a press release. 

National Board of Revenue (NBR) Member (Income Tax 

Policy) Kanon Kumar Roy, among others, attended the 

discussion. BIDA and Business Initiative Leading 

Development (BUILD) jointly organised the discussion. 

Aminul Islam said the government is always alert about 

the growth of trade and investment. "The government as well we`ÿ r/Rb-1339(2)/19/5/19 

as related ministries and organizations are taking timely 

GD-870/19 (9 x 3) GD-868/19 (9 x 3) 

decisions considering all aspects," he added. 

But opinions vary across Iran's capital, 

Tehran, depending on whether you speak to 

someone coming out of Friday prayers, in 

the back of a shared taxi cab, or exiting the 

coffee shops popular with young people. 

"If America could do anything, it would 

have done many things by now," said the 

chador-wearing Zoherh Sadeghi, a 51-yearold 

housewife coming out of prayers. "It can't 

do anything. It can't do a damn thing." 

That's an opinion shared by 35-year-old 

office worker Massumeh Izadpanah. 

"When someone keeps trying to scare you 

it means that they think they are not yet 

ready for war. When someone really wants 

war it starts the war right away. Like when 

Iraq attacked us, all of a sudden bombs were 

dropped," she said. "But right now America 

just says, 'I'm coming,' to scare Iran." 

A young nation, many across Iran were 

alive for its bloody 1980s war with Iraq, a 

conflict that began when dictator Saddam 

Hussein invaded and dragged on for eight 

years. That war, in which Saddam used 

chemical weapons and Iran launched human 

wave attacks, killed 1 million people. 

Since Trump withdrew the U.S. from Iran's 

nuclear deal with world powers last year, 

state television increasingly has focused 

attention on that war's wounded. 

Agriculture Census begins 

from June 9 at field-level 

Statistics and Informatics Division 

Secretary Saurendra Nath Chakrabhartty also 

spoke while BBS Director General Dr Krishna 

Gain was present. 

Speaking on the occasion, Planning 

Minister said a modern training institute 

would be set up on statistics and suggested 

the Statistics Division to submit a 

Development Project Proposal (DPP) to the 

Planning Commission in this regard. 

He said the information gap between the 

BBS and agriculture ministry and other 

ministries should have to be reduced. 

Mannan said teamwork is needed to 

properly conduct the agriculture census 

adding, "You'll take training and then work 

for the country." 

According to the BBS, the first zonal 

operations took place from December 1-20 

last year while the second zonal operations 

took place from February 9-20 this year. 

Earlier, such Agriculture Census was 

carried out in the country in 1960, 1977, 1983- 

84, 1996 and 2008.

METRO 

MoNDAY, MAY 20, 2019 

3 

From left Thomas Loster, chairman Munich Re Foundation, RISK Award winner, Nandan 

Mukherjee, and Mami Mizutori, UNDRR. 

Photo: Courtesy 

Top bureaucrats for 

integrating services 

with BNDA 

DHAKA : Top bureaucrats on 

Sunday called upon all government 

organizations to integrate their 

online services with the Bangladesh 

National Digital Architecture 

(BNDA) developed by the 

government to provide hassle-free 

quick services to the citizens, reports 

UNB. 

They came up with the call while 

addressing a seminar on Bangladesh 

National Digital Architecture 

developed by LICT project of 

Bangladesh Computer Council 

(BCC) at CIRDAP auditorium. 

The stressed the need for 

developing unified software 

following the standard and 

guidelines to be provided by the 

Bangladesh National Digital 

Architecture (BNDA) to make 

interoperable of governmentdigital 

information and data and integrate 

services in the platform to provide 

hassle-free quick services to the 

citizens. 

The seminar jointly organized by 

ICT Division and LICT Project of 

Bangladesh Computer Council 

(BCC) was addressed among others 

by Cabinet Secretary Mohammad 

Shafiul Alam as the chief guest, 

Executive Director of BCC 

Parthapratim Deb and secretaries, 

additional secretaries and joint 

secretaries of different ministries. 

Director of National Data Center 

Tarique M Barkatullah presented a 

power-point on BNDA while Chief 

Architect of Open Group and 

President of Association of 

Enterprise Architects (India) Dr. 

PallabSaha presented key-note paper 

on Sustainable Development with 

Enterprise Architecture: Propelling 

Digital Transformation in 

Governments. 

Shafiul Alam said different 

government organizations have 

already developed software in an 

isolated way to digitalize their 

information and data which are not 

interoperable for use by other 

organisations causing huge 

monetary involvement to prepare 

same information and data. 

He urged all government 

organisations to follow the standard 

and guidelines to be available soon in 

the BNDA platform to develop 

software on digital activities 

including digitalized information and 

data and integrate those with the 

BNDA for using by other 

organisations as well citizens of the 

country. 

Developing software following the 

standard and guidelines of BNDA 

would not only make interoperable 

of information and data but also 

avoid duplication of preparing same 

information and data as well as save 

huge money, Shafiul said. 

Ziaul Alam said the ICT Division 

has already formulated guideline and 

standard to develop software and the 

draft Act on use of BNDA has been 

prepared. 

He called upon different 

government organizations to test 

their software in the Software Testing 

Lab set up at the Bangladesh 

Computer Council so that other 

organizations and citizens could use 

the software driven information and 

data. 

While presenting power -point on 

BNDA Director Tarique Barkatullah 

said that Bangladesh's e- 

Government Development Index will 

go up from the present 115 if the 

government organizations integrate 

their services in BNDA. 

The BCC has been awarded Open 

Group President Award 2018 in 

innovation and Excellence category 

and UN's WSIS Winner Award in 

enabling and Environment category 

for developing BNDA, he said. 

Agricultural 

census begins 

June 9 

DHAKA : The 6th agricultural 

census, 2018 will kick off in 

the country on June 9, aiming 

to collect latest information 

about the country's crops, 

fisheries and livestock 

resources, reports UNB. 

Planning Minister MA 

Mannan on Sunday 

inaugurated a three-day 

training programme for the 

divisional and district level 

census coordinators on the 

eve of the sixth agriculture 

census at Bangladesh Bureau 

of Statistics (BBS) 

auditorium in the city. 

Addressing the progamme, 

the minister stressed the 

need for establishing a 

comprehensive training 

institute for people who work 

with statistics. 

He also said proper data is 

necessary for proper policy 

making. However, welltrained 

people are needed to 

get more accurate data in a 

survey or census. 

BBS Director General Dr 

Krishna Gain, Project 

director of the Census Jafor 

Ahmed Khan, Fisheries and 

Livestock secretary Md. 

Raisul Alam Mondal, 

Agriculture Secretary Md 

Nasiruzzaman, Statistics and 

Information Management 

Department secretary 

Sourendra 

Nath 

Chakraborty, among others, 

were present there. 

VAT collection 

increased by 36pc 

in April in West 

Commissionerate 

DHAKA : Customs, Excise 

and VAT Commissionerate, 

Dhaka (West) collected 36 

percent more value added 

tax (VAT) in April in this 

fiscal 2018-19. 

In this month, VAT 

collection rose to 245.87 

crore which was a surplus by 

Taka 15 crore to the 

collection target of Taka 

233.41 crore. 

The collection was Taka 

181.10 crore in April of 

previous fiscal, according to 

the statistics of VAT 

Commissionerate. 

Commissioner Dr Moinul 

Khan told BSS the increased 

collection is an outcome of 

strict monitoring, visit, 

dialogue with businessmen 

and other activities. 

BNP announces 

2-day programme 

on public issues 

DHAKA : BNP on Sunday announced a twoday 

programme demanding that the 

government ensure fair prices of paddy and 

clear all the arrears of jute mill workers, 

reports UNB. 

As part of the programmes, the party will 

submit memorandums to deputy 

commissioners across the country on May 21 

while its leaders and activists will form 

human chains at all the union-level haatbazaars 

on May 23 to press for their 

demands. 

BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul 

Kabir Rizvi announced the programmes at a 

press conference at the party's Nayapaltan 

central office. 

He criticised Agriculture Minister Abdur 

Razzaque for ruling out the possibility of 

raising the government's food grain 

procurement prices despite the serious 

resentment among the farmers over the 

falling paddy prices. 

The BNP leader alleged 

that the government is 

depriving farmers of fair 

prices of their produces only 

to create a scope for ruling 

party men to make money. 

He said the farmers are 

setting fire to their own 

paddy fields at different 

parts of the country, 

including Tangail, 

Joypurhat and Netrokona, 

as they have been counting a 

loss of Tk 300 per maund 

due to the price fall. 

Rizvi said though the loan 

defaulters are getting huge 

debt waivers and thousands 

AvBGmwcAvi/wewea/2019/2196 

19/05/19 

GD-871/19 (4 x 3) 

of crores of taka are being plundered in the 

name of mega projects, the government is 

depriving the farmers of the fair prices of 

their crops, let alone giving them subsidy. 

The BNP leader said the government fixed 

the procurement rate of per maund paddy at 

Tk 1,040, but the farmers are being forced to 

sell the harvest to middlemen at Tk 450 to Tk 

500 per maund. 

"Local Awami league leaders, mill owners 

and officials concerned are pocketing the rest 

of the money, depriving farmers." 

He urged the government to procure 

paddy directly from farmers instead of mill 

owners. 

About the ongoing movement of workers 

of the 22 state-run jute mills, he said the 

workers' all the demands, including clearing 

their all arrears and implementing their new 

pay scale, are justified ones. 

He urged the government to immediately 

accept the demands of the jute mill workers. 

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EDITORIAL MOndAY, 

MAY 20, 2019 

4 

Europe should help Us turn the heat on Iran 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam 

Telephone: +8802-9104683-84, Fax: 9127103 

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com 

Monday, May 20, 2019 

Emerging health 

threat 

Drug retail shops are often the first and only source of 

healthcare outside home for a majority of patients in 

developing countries including Bangladesh. Outside 

the public sector, the retail distribution of drugs presents a 

totally chaotic situation without any regulatory mechanism. 

According to the BCDS (Bangladesh Chemist and Druggist 

Samity), there are about 64,000 licensed pharmacies (of which 

14,000 are members of the Samity) and around 70,000 unlicensed 

drugstores in the country involved in selling drugs 

'over-the-counter'. In reality, there are no 'prescription-only' 

drugs in Bangladesh. Anybody can buy any drug in any 

amount including antibiotics without prescription from these 

drugstores. 

Most of the salespeople at these drug stores do not have 

training in dispensing of drugs, not to speak of diagnoses and 

treatment which they frequently do. According to law, the persons 

dispensing drugs at the drugstores (community pharmacies) 

should have at least a short training of twelve weeks duration 

(Grade C pharmacists) before one can apply for a drug 

shop (Pharmacy) license. This certificate course is conducted 

by the Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Society (BPS) in cooperation 

with the BCDS through 45 tutorial centres. The content, 

form, and utility of this training remain a matter of grave concern. 

As these drugstore salespeople have no other channel of 

information from the formal sectors open to them, they fall 

easy prey to the aggressive marketing strategies of the pharmaceutical 

companies. Irrational use of drugs such as over prescribing, 

multi-drug prescribing, use of unnecessary expensive 

drugs and overuse of antibiotics and injections are the most 

common problems found with these retailers. These shops are 

also the main channels through which the counterfeit, substandard 

and expired drugs are marketed. 

A number of studies have been on the prescribing behavior of 

the informal formal sector healthcare providers. In a study 

comparing UHCs with Urban NGO Clinics under UPHCP project, 

results revealed the extent of prescribing antibiotics for 

selected common illnesses e.g., a greater tendency was 

observed to prescribe antibiotics for fever and common 

cold/cough than for acute respiratory infection (ARI) (including 

pneumonia). In all cases, antibiotics were prescribed without 

any laboratory investigation. 

In another study, besides analgesics, antibiotics were the 

most frequently reported drug used in fever (around 80%), 

diarrhoea (around 90%) and childhood pneumonia (around 

96%) by the unqualified allopathic providers. The CHWs used 

antibiotics more frequently while treating children for pneumonia 

(69%) than when treating fever (30%) or diarrhea 

(43%). The relatively better practices of the CHWs were reflected 

in another study of semi-/unqualified allopthc providers 

where they were found to have used fewer antibiotics for fever 

(11%), diarrhea (30%) and dysentery (22%) but more for ARI 

of children (94%). The untrained rural medical practitioners 

(RMPs), in many instances, prescribed antibiotics on demand 

from the parents, and in inappropriate doses and duration. 

Interestingly, in Bangladesh, physicians rarely follow any 

protocol for identification of the pathogens and its sensitivity to 

the drug before antibiotics is prescribed. In a study of prescription 

pattern of the private practitioners of Dhaka city, antibiotics 

were prescribed in 70% of the prescriptions and in another 

similar study, antibiotics were prescribed in 72% of the 

instants.In another population-based study in the rural areas 

of Dhaka and Rajshahi divisions of Bangladesh during Jul. - 

Dec. 2012, around 44% physicians prescribed antibiotics in 

cold and fever before confirmed diagnosis. According to the 

physicians, patient non-compliance was the main cause of 

antibiotic resistance in the country (68.8%) and more than 

50% patients were found to stop taking the antibiotic as soon 

as the symptoms disappeared, while only 25.2% patient completed 

the full course. 

Due to inappropriate and irrational use of antibiotics by both 

formal and informal sector healthcare providers, resistance to 

antimicrobials has reached an enormous proportion which 

need urgent attention. Bangladesh is currently undergoing 

double burden of diseases (emerging non-communicable lifestyle 

diseases but also, existing communicable diseases) and 

antibiotic therapy will remain a mainstay of treatment for quite 

some more time to come. This is especially important as the 

invention of new antibiotics is not currently keeping pace with 

the speed of emergence of drug resistance. 

To change prescriber behavior, standard treatment guidelines 

supported by prescription audit was found to be highly 

effective in Bangladesh. Patient should be made aware about 

the harmful effects of using antibiotics for trivial illnesses and 

the necessity of completing the course in appropriate dose and 

duration. Regulatory authority from the DGDA (Directorate 

General Drug Administration) should see that antibiotics are 

not sold without prescription as OTC medicines. 

In the long run, preventing the emergence of antimicrobial 

resistance requires the overhauling of the health systems in the 

country to make it more accessible and affordable to the poor 

and the disadvantaged sections of the population, and for 

pharmaceutical system to be placed under regulatory mechanisms 

for compliance with GMP and prevent entry of sub-standard 

medicine or counterfeit medicines in the market. 

Intensive monitoring is needed for assuring that the code of 

conduct for marketing pharmaceutical products is strictly followed 

and proper dispensing of medicines etc. is in place with 

active and informed participation from the pharmacist community. 

Attendants at drug retail outlets should be trained in dispensing 

through the pharmacy council and drug shops brought 

under regulatory supervision for preventing sale of antibiotics 

without prescription. Besides, a surveillance system for monitoring 

the sensitivity of microbials against common pathogens 

should be in place to guide the practitioners in using the appropriate 

antibiotics. Strict enforcement of hospital infection control 

mechanism will help prevent transmission of resistance 

strains in the community. 

A 

s summer approaches in the 

Arabian Gulf, geopolitical tensions 

are rising as fast as the temperature. 

Saudi Arabia says it has suffered 

drone attacks on land-based oil pumping 

stations, and that two of its oil tankers 

were sabotaged. Two other tankers, 

including one flagged to Nato ally 

Norway, were also reportedly damaged 

by small explosive devices. The seaborne 

incidents all occurred off the coast of the 

UAE at a maritime oil-bunkering station. 

Each attack ripped a five-to-ten-foot hole 

in the hull of the tanker near or at the 

waterline, suggesting the saboteurs 

attached mines to the ships' sides. 

In response, the United States military 

is exploring options to deter Iran, which is 

thought to be behind the tanker attacks. 

This has included increasing the level of 

operational readiness of US troops 

throughout the region; deploying longrange 

B-52 Bombers and F-15 fighters to 

the US base in the Gulf; sending a carrier 

strike group, led by the nuclear-powered 

Abraham Lincoln, into the waters of the 

Arabian Gulf; exploring options to deploy 

up to 120,000 new troops to the region; 

and issuing strong statements from the 

White House, promising significant military 

retaliation if Iran provokes an incident. 

All of this comes as the US further 

pressures the Iranian economy through 

harsh sanctions, which are having a significant 

effect. 

Given the upcoming election in the US, 

it seems highly unlikely that President 

Donald Trump will want things to escalate 

to a full-on military confrontation. He 

The ruling US establishment selectively 

ignores certain vital aspects when it 

comes to protecting and preserving 

human rights. Sometimes human rights are 

looked at purely from a religious or racist 

angle. American lawmakers exhibit blatant 

hypocrisy in this matter, but it's rarely 

reported. 

Take the case of the US State Department 

that released a report to the US Congress 

identifying any criticism of Israel as anti- 

Semitism, warning that anti-Jewish attitudes 

and incidents were on the rise worldwide. 

This was based on a study conducted 

by Tel Aviv University's Stephen Roth 

Institute. The study found an increase in 

anti-Semitic incidents across the globe, 

encompassing physical attacks and vandalism, 

from 406 in 2005 to 1932 in 2018. 

The report went further and talked at 

great length about the intensification of 

anti-Semitic rhetoric among governments 

and international elites. Assessing the 

report, the State Department did not think 

twice before declaring that attacks on Israel 

are anti-Semitism - a bold statement indeed 

from an organ of the government that generally 

refrains from making extravagant 

statements. 

"Anti-Semitism has proven to be an adaptive 

phenomenon," the report said. "New 

forms of anti-Semitism have evolved. They 

often incorporate elements of traditional 

anti-Semitism. However, the distinguishing 

feature of the new anti-Semitism is a criticism 

of Zionism or Israeli policy that - 

whether intentionally or unintentionally - 

has the effect of promoting prejudice 

successfully ran on the idea of pulling the 

US out of the region, so the odds of him 

approving significant military action, 

especially a land invasion, seem low. 

The worry on which the world should 

focus is not a deliberate and overt Iranian 

attack, but a miscalculation that spirals 

into war. That possibility certainly has the 

full attention of the new US Ambassador 

to Saudi Arabia, retired General John 

Abizaid, who was previously commander 

of US Central Command, which includes 

the Middle East. Few people know better 

the way both cost and escalation are difficult 

to control in the region, and he is calling 

for a gathering of facts, not a military 

attack. "We need to do a thorough investigation 

to understand what happened, 

why it happened, and then come up with 

reasonable responses short of war,' he 

said in Riyadh on Tuesday. "It's not in 

[Iran's] interest, it's not in our interest, 

and it's not in Saudi Arabia's interest to 

have a conflict," he added. 

How could things escalate? Quite easily, 

JAMEs sTAvRIdIs 

The worry on which the world should focus is not a deliberate and 

overt Iranian attack, but a miscalculation that spirals into war. 

That possibility certainly has the full attention of the new Us 

Ambassador to saudi Arabia, retired General John Abizaid, who 

was previously commander of Us Central Command, which 

includes the Middle East. Few people know better the way both 

cost and escalation are difficult to control in the region, and he is 

calling for a gathering of facts, not a military attack. 

against all Jews by demonising Israel and 

Israelis and attributing Israel's perceived 

faults to its Jewish character." 

In its introductory overview, the report 

singles out governments with whom the US 

administration has no relations (Iran for 

example), or Syria and Venezuela with 

whom Washington's relations are in a parlous 

state. The report, however, cites pronounced 

examples of anti-Semitism among 

TARIq A. Al MAEEnA 

unfortunately. I commanded the Carrier 

Strike Group Enterprise in the Gulf in the 

summer of 2003. Every day I watched 

Navy warships under my command operate 

with restraint as small Iranian Navy 

and Revolutionary Guard boats circled us, 

made high-speed runs in our direction, 

and broadcast dire warnings through 

propaganda. In 2016, two small US riverine 

patrol boats and their crews were 

seized by Iran. While the sailors were 

released shortly after, that kind of incident 

in today's hair-trigger environment 

could easily cause the administration to 

launch strikes against Iranian ships. Iran 

could retaliate with mines against commercial 

shipping, threatening to close the 

Strait of Hormuz, through which flows 30 

per cent of the world's oil. 

This would very likely lead to the US 

and its allies to forcibly reopen the strait, 

an operation that would almost certainly 

require cruise missile and air strikes 

against the entire Iranian naval force, 

the nations that the United States has cultivated 

as allies, including Russia, Ukraine, 

and Iraq. This report followed years of 

research launched after US lawmakers 

passed a bill commissioning it. The 94-page 

report suggests at length that Holocaust 

denial is a vehicle for anti-Semitism, focusing 

on the role Iran's government has taken 

in its propagation. It also targets the United 

Nations, suggesting that some of its constituents, 

criticising Israel, promote a hostile 

environment for Jews. 

"Regardless of the intent, disproportionate 

criticism of Israel as barbaric and 

unprincipled, and corresponding discriminatory 

measures adopted in the UN against 

Israel, have the effect of causing audiences 

to associate negative attributes with Jews in 

general, thus fuelling anti-Semitism," it 

says. 

Naturally, Jewish groups, including the 

Anti-Defamation League and the American 

Jewish Committee, welcomed the report, as 

did some members of Congress. "All too 

often, legitimate criticism of the State of 

Israel can veer into naked anti-Semitism 

characterised by vile hate speech," said Rep. 

Howard Berman, the chairman of the 

House of Representatives Foreign Affairs 

Committee. "When hate speech arises, we 

should call it what it is - and do what can be 

done to stop it." Considering how the 

Israeli-fuelled Zionist lobby has throttled 

the US and other western legislative bodies, 

no US politician would dare say otherwise. 

But what about the hate generated against 

Muslims because of their faith or attire? In 

the UK, a drive by some members of 

Parliament who called on the government 

to accept a formal definition of 

which would necessitate pre-strike operations 

against the Iranian air force. 

Inexorably, the forces of escalation would 

push both sides to employ ever-higher 

levels of military action. 

The best approach for the US now is to 

return to a greater focus on allies, partners 

and friends. This means continuing to 

build an anti-Iran coalition that includes 

not only Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf 

States, but also the European and Nato 

partners. The role for the Europeans is to 

help force Iran back to the negotiating 

table through economic sanctions. It's 

unfortunate that some of them don't 

seem to be taking the increased Iranian 

threat seriously, even the usually reliable 

Brits. 

The US must continue to step up its 

intelligence efforts in the region, especially 

in offensive cyber operations. Iran is a 

very capable cyber-opponent, and will 

certainly use that ability against the 

Saudis regionally and the US more broadly. 

Additional missile-defence capabilities 

should be deployed to the region as well. 

A century ago, Europe managed to 

sleepwalk into a four-year war set off by 

an assassination in the Balkans, which led 

to the automatic execution of war plans 

and mobilisation of forces on both sides. 

The world can avoid stumbling into 

another war in the Middle East. But, as 

Abizaid put it, it will require using other 

tools "short of war". 

Source : Gulf News 

The fight over anti-semitism is political 

Afew days ago, this newspaper 

published an editorial calling for 

surgical strikes against Iran and 

its agents who recently attacked Saudi 

oil pipelines and commercial ships in 

Fujairah. 

Incidentally, our editorial was followed 

by military strikes against 

Houthi targets by the Saudi-led coalition 

to restore the legitimate government 

in Yemen. It was also followed by 

news that the US has obtained the 

approval of several Gulf countries to 

redeploy troops in the region. 

On social media, there were many 

who criticized our position and labeled 

us as warmongers. They also slammed 

the collective view of our top editors as 

irresponsible. They wondered - in a 

one-sided manner - how one could call 

for a Muslim country to attack another 

Muslim country during the month of 

Ramadan. 

Putting aside the few commentators 

who had a genuine concern - as we do - 

regarding a large-scale war erupting, 

much of the criticism is coming from 

well-known pro-Iran and pro- 

Hezbollah propagandists. 

One simply has to ask why these critics 

were silent when Iran and its agents 

attacked Saudi Arabia. Not only is 

Saudi Arabia a Muslim country, it is the 

land of the Two Holy Mosques. Surely, 

an attack on its soil - by a fellow 

Muslim country - demanded severe 

The report, however, cites pronounced examples of antisemitism 

among the nations that the United states has cultivated 

as allies, including Russia, Ukraine, and Iraq. This report followed 

years of research launched after Us lawmakers passed a 

bill commissioning it. The 94-page report suggests at length that 

Holocaust denial is a vehicle for anti-semitism, focusing on the 

role Iran's government has taken in its propagation. 

Pick up the phone, Rouhani! 

condemnation. 

Furthermore, why aren't these supposed 

peace-lovers urging Iran to stop 

its meddling and to take up the US 

offer of talks? 

Where were all these critics when 

Houthi missiles fell near the holy city 

of Makkah, and in civilian neighborhoods 

of Riyadh? 

Saudi Arabia does not want a war. It 

has and will always work with the US 

and other allies to try and avert it. 

However, Saudi Arabia - like any sovereign 

country - also has the right to 

defend itself. 

After all, Iranian Education Minister 

Mohammed Bathaee may very well say 

he wants to sacrifice 14 million innocent 

Iranian schoolchildren as "martyrs" 

should a war happen, but here in 

the Kingdom, we see it as our duty to 

protect our children, not the other way 

around. Of course, critics will say the 

FAIsAl J. AbbAs 

Arab coalition has made mistakes in 

Yemen in terms of civilian casualties. 

This is true, but these mistake were 

always investigated, admitted and 

apologized for. It must be stressed that 

the same cannot be argued for the 

malicious Houthi militias, whose leadership's 

declared policy is to attack 

civilians and airports. 

That said, the Kingdom is definitely 

Of course, critics will say the Arab coalition has made 

mistakes in Yemen in terms of civilian casualties. 

This is true, but these mistake were always investigated, 

admitted and apologized for. It must be stressed 

that the same cannot be argued for the malicious 

Houthi militias, whose leadership's declared policy 

is to attack civilians and airports. 

not perfect and has its flaws, but the 

reality is that today, there are no Arab 

militias in Persian lands. However, the 

same cannot be said about Iran and its 

agents in Arab countries. After all, it is 

Tehran's declared policy to destabilize 

Iraq, hijack Lebanon, sabotage 

Palestinian peace efforts and support 

Syrian President Bashar Assad as he 

gasses and barrel-bombs his people. 

Hearing what Iranian Foreign 

Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif 

recently said does not suggest that his 

Islamophobia was rejected by the Home 

Office Minister who said there was "no need 

for a definitive definition". 

An incredulous explanation by Britain's 

police chief, Martin Hewitt, that "defining 

Islamophobia risked heightening community 

tensions and could hinder counterterrorism 

policing powers and tactics" defies 

all logic. The Parliamentary group on British 

Muslims wanted to define it to tackle what it 

called a "social evil". 

In Austria, a law has been passed to ban 

Muslim girls from wearing a headscarf in 

primary schools. The Jewish yarmulke and 

Sikh headgear are not included in the new 

ban. In justifying their actions, the government 

said that the head covering worn by 

Sikh boys or the Jewish yarmulke would not 

be affected because the law refers to head 

garments that "cover all of the hair or large 

parts of it." How bloody absurd! Have they 

seen a Sikh with their hair partially uncovered? 

Islamophobia is well tolerated in 

these countries. But when a hint of anti- 

Semitism rears up, everyone howls. It is 

unquestionably Israel's policy of land grabbing 

and ethnic cleansing that generates 

criticism of the country. Isn't the Holocaust 

being perpetrated against the Palestinian 

people during the last 70 years a cause for 

unflattering rhetoric against a country 

whose raison d'etre seems to be the illegal 

thievery of others' land and murder and 

oppression of its rightful owners? Bringing 

up Israel's crimes to the fore is not anti- 

Semitism. It is a call for justice. 

Source : New York Times 

regime understands that the rope is 

tightening around its neck. 

"Nobody can confront Iran," said 

Zarif (whose name in Arabic means 

"cute"). Such an attitude reminds us of 

Iraq under Saddam Hussein prior to 

the 2003 war. Of course, we all know 

what fell upon Iraq because of this 

stubbornness and shortsightedness. 

With the current sanctions, a collapsing 

economy and superior foes, the 

Mullahs don't stand a chance. 

Still, the Iranian regime has a golden 

opportunity to avert a war at worst, or 

an economic disaster at best. 

One simply has to ask why these critics 

were silent when Iran and its agents 

attacked Saudi Arabia. Not only is 

Saudi Arabia a Muslim country, it is the 

land of the Two Holy Mosques. Surely, 

an attack on its soil - by a fellow 

Muslim country - demanded severe 

condemnation. 

It can simply commit to not being a 

rogue state, stop supporting terror, 

recall its militias and shut down its 

nuclear program. This will not only be 

beneficial for Iran itself, but for the 

whole region and the world at large. 

So, for everyone's sake, let us hope 

President Hassan Rouhani picks up the 

phone and calls the White House, 

before it is too late! 

Source : New York Times

LAW & PUBLIC MOnDAy, 

MAy 20, 2019 

5 

This week Your Legal Adviser is 

A.B.M Shahjahan Akanda (Masum) 

Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh. 

He is the Head of the chamber of a renowned law firm, 

namely, 'Law for Nations', which has expertise mainly in 

banking law, tax law, commercial law, corporate law, family 

law, employment and labor law, land law,constitutional law, 

criminal law and in conducting litigations before courts of 

different hierarchies. He can be reached at - cell:01711459590, 

E-mail: law.abm@gmail.com. 

LegAL QueRy : 

I wrote a number of articles, poems on various 

contemporary issues over last couple of years. 

Now I want publish a book and want to attain 

copyright registration, so that no one can use my 

write ups. In order to attain copyright registration 

what are the things I need to follow, please 

inform. 

Regards, 

Kabir Ahmed 

Dhaka. 

LegAL OpiniOn : 

In order to attain copyright registration, an 

application for copyright should be supported by 

the following documents: 

1. A completed application form 

2. Treasury chalan 

3. Copies of the work to be registered 

4. Transfer deed of work in stamp paper (if 

applicable) 

5. Legal paper (Okalatnama) (if a lawyer submits 

the application form on behalf of the author) 

Once the Registrar received any application for 

copyright, he shall serve notice of the concerned 

application to every person who has any interest 

Discriminatory Perception 

Advocate Vs Barrister 

Discrimination in legal field actually is 

found with new lawyers. Young lawyers 

come to court with lot of hopes. They try 

to present themselves with much energy, 

vigor and message of modern judiciary. 

But, in legal field there is usually no free 

space for them. Their field becomes 

narrow with discriminatory pressures. 

First of all come to the title-ship 

dispute. It is called "Advocate vs. 

Barrister". Most of the general persons 

not being from legal background are 

unable to understand the difference 

between advocate and barrister. They 

think that the standard of advocate is 

lower than that of barrister. A barrister 

can solve all cases but an advocate can'tit 

is a usual perception of common 

people. So, barristers get more clients 

only because of the word "barrister". 

Again, when an advocate and a barrister 

deal same case, fees also vary between 

them. If a barrister demands ten 

thousand simply for a bail petition, client 

will readily pay him ten thousand or 

nearby amount. But, when an advocate 

demands ten thousand, client will grow 

lot of allergy to pay the amount, because 

he is an advocate. 

Barrister comes from abroad like UK, 

USA with a LLB degree. On the other 

hand, advocates are accomplishing in 

Bangladesh. But, it does not mean that 

barrister is a kind of special stage. Main 

matter is, all are equally lawyer. In 

Bangladesh, we call them advocate; in 

UK, they are called barrister and in USA, 

lawyers are commonly termed as 

attorney. They additionally know the 

English or American law, nothing else. 

Rather, in some cases, they are less 

known to local laws. Problem arises 

when Bangladeshi government allows 

them (studied law outside of Bangladesh 

and without studying Bangladeshi law) 

to practice in Bangladeshi courts. In 

India, every lawyer is compelled to be 

graduated from India. If any lawyer 

completes his study in abroad, he also 

needs to study in India again. Then he 

can seat for exam for advocacy license. 

Alas! We treat our local advocates as 

subordinate to barrister. 

Besides, we frequently hear an 

objection that clients do not understand 

the court language. They cannot realize 

whether judgment or decree is favoring 

them or not. Generally, lawyers having 

barrister title are not completely capable 

to satisfy own clients outside of the court 

about the court's decision. There remains 

a minor gap between barrister and his 

client. But, an advocate always acts like a 

familiar figure both inside court and 

Chowdhury Tanbir Ahamed Siddique 

outward. Lawyers' duty is to ensure the 

equality before law without any sort of 

discrimination. But, when lawyer himself 

faces discriminating challenges in his 

field, how can he help others? 

A rare and pathetic matter also 

happened in our legal practicing life. In 

Bangladesh from where a student 

graduated, that also a vital question for 

his practicing session. If from any private 

university, he or she will not treat as 

much as a student of public university. As 

a junior or apprentice lawyer in chamber 

practice or in litigation a private 

university student always neglected only 

for his educational institution, although 

he may be good enough as apprentice 

lawyer. Lot of fresh graduate when face 

that discrimination in early life of their 

legal practice, only a few can survive and 

rest of the graduate leave this profession. 

This is the darkest side of this profession 

where each and every fresh graduate 

claimed that they didn't get any favor 

from their senior as apprentice lawyer. 

Wages is more pathetic for apprentice 

lawyer which is very insulting to write in 

in the subject matter of that application. If the 

Registrar receives any objection he may after 

holding such inquiry as he deems fit, enter such 

particulars of work in the register of copyright, 

which he considers proper. After registration, the 

Registrar shall send copies of the entries made in 

the register to the parties concerned. 

Copyright may be assigned, transferred or 

licensed. The Copyright Office has prescribed form 

for transfer. There are three kinds of remedies 

against infringement of copyright, namely: 

Civil remedies 

The owner of the copyright can bring civil action 

in which reliefs such as Anton Pillar Order (Search 

Order) injunction, accounts and damages can be 

sought. A suit or other civil proceedings relating to 

infringement of copyright is to be filed in the 

Court of District Judge, within whose jurisdiction 

the plaintiff resides or carries on business or 

where the cause of action arose irrespective of the 

place of residence or place of business of the 

defendant. 

Criminal remedies 

Criminal remedies provides for the 

imprisonment of the accused or imposition of fine 

or both, seizure of infringing copies etc. Criminal 

proceedings are available in order to punish the 

persons who have violated the copyright law. 

Administrative remedies 

Administrative remedies consist of moving to the 

Registrar of copyrights to ban the import of 

infringing copies into Bangladesh, when the 

infringement is by way of such importation and 

the delivery of the confiscated infringing copies to 

the owner of the copyright. 

newspaper as well. This is a noble 

profession, that's why most of the 

apprentice lawyer still struggling to 

survive in their dreamy platform. 

In this faster 21th century, it's time to 

change our mentality. We have to treat a 

lawyer including apprentice lawyer 

according to his maturity, knowledge, 

capability. He should not be treated by 

his race, by his institution. It is nice to see 

if no discrimination owing to his title or 

institution would be faced by any 

upcoming advocate. I do believe that, a 

person can change his race and a race can 

change the system and the system can 

finally change the society. And we badly 

need some lawyers who can change our 

society. Honorable Court discharges the 

discrimination from everywhere, but 

future assets of the court being 

discriminated in court. Honorable Court 

may take few effective steps for junior as 

well as apprentice lawyer. 

Writer: Chamber Associate, 

Law For Nations 

Email: Tanbir921535513@gmail.com 

Freedom of expression and Right to information 

empowerment of Common people through 

Right to information Act 2009 

The rights to think and speak openly is an 

imperative issue, access information and hold the 

powers that be to account, together play a crucial 

character in the vigorous improvement process of 

any society. If people cannot explore efficiently 

their ideas, views, worries and needs, they are 

often debarred from the momentous contribution 

in the society. 

The right of every citizen to freedom of speech 

and expression is guaranteed under the 

Constitution of the Peoples Republic of 

Bangladesh as one of the fundamental rights 

(Article 39, the Constitution of The People's 

Republic of Bangladesh); and right to information 

is an indisputable part of freedom of thought, 

conscience and speech. 

On the other hand, the right to freedom of 

opinion and expression is contained in articles 19 

and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and 

Political Rights (ICCPR). In addition, articles 4 

and 5 of the Convention on the Elimination of All 

Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), articles 

12 and 13 of the Convention on the Rights of the 

Child (CRC) and article 21 of the Convention on 

the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) 

guarantees the freedom of expression and 

opinion. 

Globally, more than100 countries have enacted 

right to information (RTI) legislation 

guaranteeing citizens the right to access 

information and records held by their 

governments. Countries like Australia and New 

Zealand passed a national right to information law 

as early as in 1982 (prior to the latest wave of right 

to information laws' adoption around the world), 

later embarking upon legislative reform to bring 

their freedom of information regimes up to date. 

Furthermore, if we shift the focus on South Asia, 

national right to information legislation in India 

(passed in 2005) is often cited to exemplify the 

role that grassroots groups can have in the 

adoption of this type of legislation, as well as the 

effect that the exercise of freedom of information 

can have on people's lives. In addition, Malaysia 

(passed in 2005), Nepal (2007), Indonesia 

(2010), Mongolia (2011) Pakistan (2013), Sri 

Lanka (2016) have adopted RTI legislation. More 

recently, RTI bills have been passed in Bhutan and 

the Maldives. However, Singapore did not take 

any initiatives to adopt RTI act yet. 

To keep up the worldwide drift, the government 

of Bangladesh adopted the Right to Information 

Act 2009 in the first session of the ninth 

parliament on March 29, 2009, marking a 

momentous step forward in fulfilling the 

constitutional pledge of the state of Bangladesh. 

Government has also established an information 

commission on July 1, 2009 to provide 

information to the people. 

The precondition of the RTI Act was to check 

'empowerment of common people' through 

providing information, ensure good governance, 

transparency and accountability in all public and 

private organizations since the RTI goes hand in 

hand with freedom of expression. Civil society, 

through citizens and the media, can justifiably 

claim access to information. 

As per the mandate of the Act, the Commission 

consists of a Chief Information Commissioner and 

two other Information Commissioners including 

a woman. The President shall appoint them on the 

recommendation of the Selection Committee 

comprising of 5 members. The Commissioners 

shall be selected from amongst the persons with 

broad knowledge and experience in law, Justice, 

Journalism, education, science, technology, 

information, social service, management, or 

public administration. The Commissioners will 

hold their office for a period of 5 years or 

attainment of 67 years and they may resign before 

completion of the tenure by writing to the 

President. They can be removed from their office 

by the President in like manner and on the like 

Md. Mamonor Rashid 

grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court. 

Information commission is playing a significant 

role to resolve the receiving complaints quickly 

and smoothly. The Annual Report shows that in 

2016, some 6,369 requests for information were 

made to public authorities. Of these, over 95 

percent were provided with the information 

sought. 539 complaints were lodged with the 

Information Commission by disgruntled 

information seekers. Of these, 364 were accepted 

for hearing. The rest were either rejected for faulty 

submissions or decided without a hearing. From 

2010, the first year of the law, the number of 

requests for information declined from 25,401 to 

6,181 in 2015. Altogether, some 82,412 RTI 

applications were recorded in eight years. (The 

Daily Star, April 13, 2016) 

In fact, RTI Act is actually a large platform for 

every level of people in the country to access their 

desired and necessary information seeking for 

good purposes; the poor and indigent women of 

remote villages are now getting information of 

government safety net programs including VGD, 

VGF cards and maternal health vouchers. 

Farmers and fishers are now seeking and getting 

information which promotes their lives and 

livelihoods. Environmentalists are using RTI Act 

as a tool to ensure accountability in 

environmental governance. Victims of natural 

disasters are getting information about relief and 

rehabilitation. Even the peoples of marginalized 

and excluded communities like dalits are now 

getting information and enjoying their rights. 

Nevertheless, information commission with the 

strong collaboration and support of the 

Government along with ministry of information 

should work flexibly to ensure empowerment of 

common people providing proper and authentic 

information. Therefore, the following suggestions 

and recommendations may help to ensure the 

right to information of a common people; 

" The success of Right to Information Act 

(RTI) 2009 is closely linked to the level of 

democracy in a country. In Bangladesh 

democratic practices are lacking, it is of utmost 

importance that the government is seen to be fully 

committed to the ideal of RTI; 

" A paradigm shift in the mind-set of 

public officials as well as citizens long used to 

subservient relationships with the authorities is 

also required for the success of RTI 

" The lack of a tradition of rule of law and 

the existence of a culture of impunity are 

detrimental to the promotion of RTI. The 

importance of using the penalty clause to bring 

recalcitrant officials has to be proven in 

Bangladesh. 

" The importance of NGO and media 

involvement in promoting RTI has to be stoutly 

demonstrated in Bangladesh. Exchange visits of 

media personnel and RTI activists may help in 

this regard. 

" Lack of human resources in information 

archiving and management has been a major 

challenge for government and non-government 

institutions. Public and private institutions need 

to offer post-employment training programmes 

on ICT-led information archiving and 

management. 

" Civil society organizations should come 

forward with their own information and set 

examples of transparency. Particularly in 

Bangladesh NGOs have been brought in to the 

purview of RTI and are subject to the same 

scrutiny as government offices. 

The Author has pursued LL.M on International 

Commercial Arbitration from University Utara 

Malaysia. He is the member of Young International 

Arbitration group, LCIA, London, working as an 

Associate of CM&A LCP.

MONDAY, MAY 20, 2019 

6 

Coast Guard seizes 

yaba, hemp in 

separate drives 

on the basis of secret news, a special operation 

was conducted in the sea on the outskirts of st. 

Martin on saturday night under east Zone Coast, 

bCg station teknaf, a press release said. 

after the news of yaba trafficking in teknaf, a 

Coast guard patrol team signaled a trawler to 

stop but the trawler instead of stopping threw 

two floating sacks in the sea and fled to 

Myanmar's border. later after searching the 

sacks, Coast guard members seized one lakh 

forty thousand pieces of yaba tablets. no one was 

arrested in this connection. 

apart from this, another 800 kg of marijuana 

was seized from an abandoned polythene bag in 

the adjoining area of dalprara bazar in st. Martin 

no smugglers could be arrested in this 

connection either. 

Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard in a drive seized one 

lakh forty thousand pieces of Yaba tablets in Teknaf on 

Saturday night. 

Photo: Courtesy 

Awami League Presidium Member and former agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury distributes 

three pieces among meritorious students of Nalitabari upazila on Sunday. Photo: Mahfuzur Rahman 

Militants trying to destroy our development 

progress: Matia Chowdhury 

MaHFuZuR RaHMan, nalitabaRi CoRRespondent: 

awami league presidium Member 

and former agriculture minister Matia 

Chowdhury said that militancy is a 

disease just like plague and cholera. 

this militancy wants to ruin many of 

our development progress. they want 

to establish islam by bombing eid 

jamaat, bus and trains. no Muslims 

believes this is islam. 

she said this while distributing eidul-Fitr 

sarees among poor helpless 

people at kapasia shahid Memorial 

primary school ground in yogania 

union of nalitabari upazila of sherpur 

on sunday. she also said that nobody 

thought that it will come in this 

country. our leader sheikh Hasina and 

her son sajeeb wazed joy taught 

mathematics in mobile through it. 

sheikh Hasina's success is her son. His 

achievements yielded results. sheikh 

Hasina has magic in her hands, so the 

country itself is full of food. today there 

are more people than land, but we were 

able to accomplish this unthinkable. 

with the capability of sheikh Hasina, 

she has taken the country forward. 

Matia Chowdhury distributed eid-ul- 

Fitr three pieces among 551 

meritorious students of 51 institutes of 

12 unions of the upazila and sarees 

among 2200 poor helpless women 

from her own fund. 

during the time, assistant 

superintendent of police (nalitabari 

Circle) jahangir alam, assistant 

Commissioner (land) lubna sharmin 

and senior Vice president of awami 

league dr dalil uddin were also 

present at the occasion. 

Parliament member Advocate Abdul Majid Khan addressed an Iftar mahfil organized by Habiganj district police 

at district Police Lines recently. 

Photo: Md Mamun Chowdhury 

Habiganj district police holds Iftar mahfil 

Md MaMun CHowdHuRy, Habiganj 

CoRRespondent: 

Habiganj district police organized 

iftar and doa mahfil at district police 

lines on thursday. Habiganj super 

Mohammad ullah chaired the 

occasion while among others, 

parliament member advocate abdul 

Majid khan, Member of parliament 

gazi shahnewaz Milad, deputy 

Commissioner Mahmudul kabir 

Murad, former Chairman of Habiganj 

Municipality shahid uddin 

Chowdhury, 

additional 

superintendent of police sM Fazlul 

Haque, additional district and 

sessions judge nasim Reza, 

additional superintendent of police 

(Habiganj sadar Circle) Rabiul islam, 

additional superintendent of police 

shailen Chakma, additional 

superintendent of police sM Raju 

ahmed, assistant superintendent of 

police (bahubal Circle) parvez alam 

Chowdhury, assistant superintendent 

of police (Madhabpur Circle) 

Mohammad nazim uddin, bahubal 

upazila Chairman syed khalilur 

Rahman, nabiganj upazila Chairman 

Fazlul Haque Chowdhury selim, 

acting Mayor of Habiganj Municipality 

dilip das, nabiganj municipality 

mayor sabir ahmed Chowdhury, 

Habiganj press Club's former 

president shamim ahsan and 

Habiganj online press Club president 

Rafiqul Hasan Chowdhury tuhin were 

also present at the occasion. 

different social and political leaders, 

including government officials, judges, 

lawyers, journalists, businessmen, 

police officials and officials 

participated in the iftar mahafil 

participated. 

Industries Minister Adv Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun as the chief guest attended an Iftar mahfil organized 

by Narsingdi district administration on Saturday. 

Photo: Md Salim Mia 

Narsingdi district administration holds Iftar mahfil 

Md saliM Mia, naRsingdi CoRRespondent: 

narsingdi district administration 

organized an iftar mahfil was held at 

narsingdi Circuit House on saturday. 

narsingdi deputy Commissioner and 

district Magistrate syeda Farhana 

kawnine presided over the function while 

industries Minister adv nurul Majid 

Mahmud Humayun was present as the 

Motiar Rahman Modhu, 

satkhira Correspondent: 

Markets in satkhira are 

filled in sweet mangoes. 

after the administrative 

order, businessmen started 

business with local varieties 

of mango, including 

govindabhog, gopalbhog 

and baishakhi mango. 

However, it will take 15 

days to get the famous 

Himasagar mango in 

satkhira. Himasagar 

mango of satkhira will be 

exported to europe and 

america markets this year. 

Mango has matured in 

satkhira district this year 

because of severe heat. at 

the beginning of this 

month, traders started 

breaking the local variety of 

mangoes. 

after the order of satkhira 

district administration on 

May 12, govindabhog and 

gopalbhog mangoes 

started to be widely 

marketed. Mangoes have 

been filled in the markets of 

satkhira's big markets 

including tala, patkelghata, 

nalta, parulia, kaliganj and 

kalaroa. idris, a big 

businessman of satkhira's 

big market, said that 

wholesale traders from 

different parts of the 

chief guest at the occasion. 

among others, Zila parishad Chairman 

abdul Matin bhuiyan, local Mp nazrul 

islam, parliament member of palash 

upazila dr anwarul ashraf khan dilip, 

Mp of shibpur jahirul Haque bhuiyan 

Mohan, women Mp tamanna nusrat 

bubali, police super Miraj uddin ahmed, 

district Council's Chief executive 

country, including dhaka, 

are available in different 

hats. Mangoes are being 

processed in the different 

areas of the country 

through plastic. every day, 

more than 500 tonnes of 

mangoes from satkhira is 

going to the domestic 

market of the country. after 

anwarul naser, narsingdi sadar 

Chairman safar ali bhuiyan, palash 

upazila Chairman syed javed Hossain, 

shibpur Chairman Haroon or Rashid 

khan, additional deputy Commissioner 

(general) abdul awal and additional 

deputy Commissioner (Revenue) 

sushma sultan were also present at the 

occasion. 

200 tons of Satkhira mangoes to 

be exported to Europe, America 

This year, the target of exporting mangoes from Satkhira 

to Europe and America is set to 200 tonnes. 

Photo: Motiar Rahman Modhu 

15 days when Himsagar, 

langra, and amrapali 

mangoes being starts 

breaking then the business 

will be doubled here. at 

present, mangoes are being 

sold at tk 30-35 per kg in 

the country. besides, the 

Himsagar is sold at tk 55- 

60 per kg. but breaking of 

Himasagar has not started 

yet. 

deputy director of 

satkhira agriculture 

extension department, 

arvind biswas said that 

there is a bumper mango 

yield in satkhira this year. 

Mango market has already 

started. this year, the target 

of exporting Himasagar, 

langra and amrapali 

mangoes from satkhira to 

europe is 200 tons. For this 

reason, 14,434 s of 

Himasagar, langra and 

amrapali trees have been 

specially prepared in the 

district. apart from this, 

traders have been 

specifically told to abstain 

from unprotected mango 

breaks. Moreover, i have 

warned traders not to mix 

any type of chemical. action 

will be taken against 

anyone involved in such 

incident. 

Bina 14 paddy field day was observed in village Moghi under Magura sadar upazila 

recently. 

Photo: Rokibul Hoque 

BINA 14 paddy field day observed in Magura 

Rokibul Hoque, MaguRa CoRRespondent: 

bina 14 paddy field day was 

observed in Magura recently. 

outstanding success has been achieved 

in producing bina 14 paddy in 

Magura. bangladesh institute of 

nuclear agriculture (bina) Magura sub 

center deserves this glorious credit. 

in observance of bina 14 field day in 

village Moghi under Magura sadar 

upazila bina Magura sources 

informed, bina 14 paddy is short 

duration crop. bina 14 paddy 

harvesting takes 20 days less compared 

to boro common variety. production of 

laksHaM (CoMilla ) CoRRespondent 

king salman Humanatrian aid and Relief Centre 

distributed iftar items among 500 underprivileged 

people through international organization for 

Relief, welfare and development (ioRwd) on 

bakai ideal school ground, Harirchar area at 

laksham in Cumilla yesterday (sunday) . 

iftar items basket weighing 25 kgs contains rice, 

lentls , sugar , salt and edible oil. 

king salman Humanatrian aid and Relief Centre 

has been working in bangladesh since May , 2019 

and 30,000 food baskets will be distributed in 

different places of the country . 

the total cost of the project is estimated 3 million 

saudi Riyals with a target to benefit 120 thousand 

underprivileged people in bangladesh . world Relief 

, Care and development authority is a executive 

partner of the programme . 

people who received iftar items expressed 

gratitude to the king salman Humanatrian aid and 

Relief Centre and they called upon the king of saudi 

arabia in all their prayers for wellness and health , 

thy also thanked almighty for their generous 

donation in the month of Ramzan . 

bina 14 paddy is 6.9 mt per hectares as 

against 6 mt in common boro variety. 

bina 14 paddy requires less urea 

fertilizer compared to that in common 

boro variety. Moreover it is less 

vulnerable to insect attack compared to 

boro common variety. sheath rot and 

sheath blight are 2 common diseases of 

boro paddy. but bina 14 paddy is 

almost free from these 2 diseases. 

the rice of bina 14 paddy provides 

us with 10 % more protein compared to 

that in common boro variety. 

Moreover bina 14 rice is more 

delicious compared to common boro 

variety. Consequently bina 14 paddy 

price is higher compared to boro 

common variety. about 20 lakhs 

hectares land in the country are bina 

14 paddy cultivable. so if the total land 

comes under bina 14 paddy 

cultivation paddy production in the 

country will be increased by 18 lakhs mt 

during boro season. bina director 

general dr biresh kumar goshami was 

the chief guest in the filed day while 

bina scientific officer shampa Rani 

ghosh moderated the ceremony with 

bina officer in charge shushan 

Chowhan in the chair. 

King Salman Humanitarian Relief Centre 

distributes iftar for 500 people at Laksham 

LAKSHAM (Comilla ): King Salman Humanatrian Aid and 

Relief Centre distributing iftar items among underprivileged 

people through International Organization for 

Relief, Welfare and Development (IORWD) on Bakai Ideal 

School ground at Laksham Upazila in Cumilla yesterday.

INTERNATIONAL MONDAy, 

7 


A United Nations peacekeeper was killed and several others were wounded in two incidents in Mali 

on Saturday, the UN said. 

Photo : AP 

One UN peacekeeper killed, several 

others wounded in Mali 

A United Nations peacekeeper was 

killed and several others were wounded 

in two incidents in Mali on Saturday, 

the UN said, reports UNB. 

A UN statement said a Nigerian blue 

helmet "succumbed to his wounds following 

the armed attack by unidentified 

assailants" in Timbuktu. Another 

Nigerian peacekeeper was also injured 

in the attack. 

While expressing his deep sadness 

over the loss, UN Secretary-General 

Antonio Guterres said the attack could 

amount to a war crime. 

In a separate development on the 

same day, three Chadian peacekeepers 

were wounded when their vehicle hit an 

improvised explosive device in Tessalit 

in the Kidal region. 

In Mali, more than 190 UN peacekeepers 

have so far died, some 120 of 

them killed during hostilities, showed 

UN data. The UN Multidimensional 

Integrated Stabilization Mission in 

Mali (MINUSMA) was deployed in 

2013 to support the political processes 

in the northwestern African country. 

During a failed coup in 2012, extremist 

militias took control of Mali's north, 

and were in the following year mostly 

forced out due to the French military 

intervention. A UN-backed peace deal 

in 2015 between the government and 

various armed groups has failed to stabilize 

the situation in the country's central 

and northern regions. 

The Netherlands wins Eurovision 

Song Contest in Tel Aviv 

The Netherlands won the 

2019 Eurovision Song Contest 

in Tel Aviv Saturday, 

with Duncan Laurence's 

doleful piano ballad 

"Arcade" crowned champion 

of Europe's annual music 

extravaganza, reports UNB. 

The 25-year-old was 

tapped as an early front-runner 

before the Grand Final 

but was only ranked third 

after the vote of professional 

juries from the 41 participating 

countries, trailing Sweden 

and North Macedonia. 

He surged ahead thanks to 

the fan vote, securing The 

Netherlands its fifth win 

ever in the competition. Italy 

finished second, followed by 

Russia, Switzerland and 

Norway. 

"This is to dreaming big. 

This is to music first, 

UK PM to make 

"bold offer" in 

final Brexit deal 

push 

British Prime Minister 

Theresa May on Sunday 

pledged to make a "bold 

offer" in her final bid to push 

the Brexit deal through the 

parliament, reports UNB. 

In an article published on 

The Sunday Times, May said 

a "new and improved" deal 

on Britain's exit from the 

European Union (EU) will 

be presented to the members 

of the parliament when 

they vote on the EU Withdrawal 

Agreement Bill in 

early June. 

May said she will "not be 

simply asking MPs to think 

again" on the same deal but 

on "an improved package of 

measures that I believe can 

win new support." 

May's pledge came amid 

the Brexit impasse after MPs 

repeatedly rejected her 

Brexit deal over the past 

months. 

The opposition Labour has 

said it will vote against the 

bill. 

May said she will "not be 

simply asking MPs to think 

again" on the same deal but 

on "an improved package of 

measures that I believe can 

win new support." 

The prime minister has 

promised to set a timetable 

for her departure from 10 

Downing Street following 

the vote on her deal. 

always," Laurence said, as he 

was handed the trophy from 

last year's winner, Israel's 

Netta Barzilai. 

Some 200 million people 

around the world were 

believed to have watched the 

annual campy contest with 

26 nations battling in the 

Grand Final of the 64th 

Eurovision. 

Madonna was the star 

attraction, performing her 

hit staple, "Like a Prayer," 

marking 30 years since its 

release, and a new song 

"Future" from her forthcoming 

album "Madame X." She 

took the stage after participants 

wrapped up their performances 

shortly after midnight 

when the elaborate 

voting process got underway 

across Europe. 

To maximize onscreen 

7 French fighter jets make emergency 

landing in Indonesia 

Poor weather conditions have forced seven 

French navy fighter jets taking part in a 

training exercise to make emergency landings 

in northern Indonesia, an Indonesian 

air force official said Sunday, reports UNB. 

The crews of the seven Dassault Rafale 

combat planes landed safely at Sultan 

Iskandar Muda air force base in Aceh 

province on Saturday, 90 minutes after 

taking off from their aircraft carrier 

Charles de Gaulle in the Indian Ocean, said 

Aceh air force base commander Col. Hendro 

Arief. "We had to open our base to 

them to land as they were in an emergency 

state due to bad weather," Arief said. 

tension, performers are 

ranked by a mix of fan votes 

and professional juries. 

Spectators could not vote for 

their own country, but likeminded 

nations tend to fall 

into blocs that back their 

regional favorites, with politics 

meshing into art. 

The Eurovision debuted in 

the wake of World War II to 

heal a divided continent. 

Over the years, the earnest 

show of European unity has 

ballooned into an over-thetop, 

gay-friendly spectacle 

that brings together acts 

from across the continent, 

including those with little or 

no connection to Europe, 

such as Australia. 

Israel earned the right to 

host the show after Barzilai 

won last year's competition 

with her catchy pop anthem 

"Toy." 

The ostensibly non-political 

affair has tried to avoid 

the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 

and has largely succeeded, 

despite swirling threats 

of controversy. Calls for performers 

to boycott the show 

over Israeli policies toward 

Palestinians failed to generate 

much momentum. 

A small protest took place 

outside Tel Aviv's Expo Center 

before the show, following 

another one from musicians 

in Gaza earlier in the 

week. A recent round of 

rocket fire toward Israel 

from there also failed to temper 

excitement. 

Madonna herself had 

faced calls from a Palestinian-led 

campaign to avoid 

performing at the event in 

Israel. 

He said air force radar confirmed that 

the planes were initially flying out of 

Indonesian territory when fog and bad 

weather forced them to land immediately 

as they were trying to return to their aircraft 

carrier, located 100 nautical miles 

west of Sumatra's exclusive economic 

zone. Arief said Indonesian air force personnel 

had completed an inspection of the 

planes. 

Five of the seven jets were returned to 

their carrier on Sunday, while the other 

two were still having technical problems, 

Arief said. French diplomats in Indonesia 

were informed of the incident. 

Indonesian military personnel walks past one of seven French Navy Rafale jet 

fighters parked on the tarmac at Sultan Iskandar Muda Air Base in Aceh Besar, 

Indonesia, Sunday, May 19, 2019. Poor weather has forced the seven fighters 

from French Navy aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle taking part in a training 

exercise to make emergency landings in northern Indonesia. Photo : AP 

Sudan's military 

council resumes talks 

with protesters 

Sudan's ruling military 

council is meeting with protesters 

on Sunday to discuss 

the country's political transition 

after talks were halted 

for three days while roads 

were cleared outside the 

main sit-in in the capital, 

Khartoum, reports UNB. 

The two sides have held 

several rounds of talks since 

the military overthrew President 

Omar al-Bashir last 

month, ending his 30-year 

reign after four months of 

mass protests and sit-ins, 

which are still underway. 

The deputy head of the 

military council, Gen. 

Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, 

better known as Hemedti, 

meanwhile said late Saturday 

that security forces have 

arrested those behind an 

attack on the protesters last 

week that killed at least five 

people, including an army 

officer. Both the military and 

the protesters had blamed 

the attack on al-Bashir loyalists. 

"The assailants who 

opened fire (on protesters) 

have been caught. Their confessions 

will be broadcast on 

TV," said Dagalo, who heads 

the paramilitary Rapid Support 

Forces. 

He hailed the Forces for 

the Declaration of Freedom 

and Change, which represents 

the protesters, for their 

role in al-Bashir's military 

overthrow on April 11. 

"We want the democracy 

they are talking about. We 

want a real democracy, fair 

and free elections. Whoever 

the Sudanese choose will 

rule," he said. 

The negotiations were suspended 

Wednesday, just 

hours after the military and 

the protesters announced 

they had agreed on the 

makeup of an interim parliament 

and a Cabinet for the 

transitional period, which is 

to last three years. 

The military council had 

called for the roads outside 

the sit-in in front of the military's 

headquarters in Khartoum 

to be opened. The protesters 

appear to have 

agreed to the demand, as the 

roads were cleared without 

incident on Thursday. The 

protesters also agreed to 

open the railway that crosses 

the area of the sit-in for five 

hours a day. 

"We want the democracy 

they are talking about. We 

want a real democracy, fair 

and free elections. Whoever 

the Sudanese choose will 

rule," he said. 

The generals and the protesters 

remain divided on 

what role the military should 

have in the transition to 

civilian rule. Sunday's talks 

are expected to focus on the 

makeup of the sovereign 

council, which would guide 

the nation through the 

transition. 

Indians vote in final phase of 

grueling national election 

Indians voted Sunday in the seventh and 

final phase of a grueling national election 

that lasted more than five weeks, as Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist 

party seeks to govern for another five years, 

reports UNB. 

The election is seen as a referendum on 

Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. The 

BJP's main opposition is the Congress party, 

led by Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru- 

Gandhi dynasty that has produced three 

prime ministers. 

Vote counting begins on Thursday, and the 

election result will likely be known the same 

day. The voting Sunday covered Modi's constituency 

of Varanasi, a holy Hindu city 

where he was elected in 2014 with an 

impressive margin of over 200,000 votes. 

Modi spent Saturday night at Kedarnath, a 

temple of the Hindu god Shiva nestled in the 

Himalayas in northern India. 

The final election round included 59 constituencies 

in eight states. Up for grabs were 

13 seats in Punjab and an equal number in 

Uttar Pradesh, eight each in Bihar and Madhya 

Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, four in 

Himachal Pradesh and three in Jharkhand 

and Chandigarh. In Kolkata, the capital of 

West Bengal, voters lined up outside polling 

stations early Sunday morning to avoid the 

scorching heat, with temperatures reaching 

up to 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit). 

Armed security officials stood guard in and 

outside the centers amid fear of violence. 

While the election, which began April 11, 

was largely peaceful, West Bengal, located in 

eastern India, was an exception. Modi is 

challenged there by the state's chief minister, 

Mamata Banerjee, who heads the more 

inclusive Trinamool Congress party and is 

eyeing a chance to go to New Delhi as the 

opposition's candidate for prime minister. 

Modi visited West Bengal 17 times in an 

effort to make inroads with his Hindu 

nationalist agenda, provoking sporadic violence 

and prompting the Election Commission 

to cut off campaigning there. 

On Sunday, Nirmala Sitharaman, a BJP 

leader and the country's defense minister, 

accused Banerjee's supporters of attacking 

her party members and preventing them 

from voting at several places in six of the nine 

constituencies in West Bengal. She did not 

provide details.Prodeep Chakrabarty, a 

retired teacher in Kolkata, said Modi's BJP 

was desperate to win some seats against 

Banerjee's influential regional party. 

"People are divided for many reasons. We 

have to wait for a final outcome to see who 

people are voting for. Things are not predictable 

like before," he said. 

Minorities in India, especially Muslims, 

who comprise about 14 percent of the country's 

1.3 billion people, criticize Modi for his 

Hindu nationalist agenda. Modi's party 

backed a bill that would make it easier to 

deport millions of Bangladeshis who have 

migrated to India since Bangladesh's independence 

in 1971. The bill, however, eases a 

path to citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Parsees 

and Jains - non-Muslims - who came from 

Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan over 

decades.Voters were also up early Sunday in 

Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh state, where election 

workers arranged for drinking water, 

shade and fans to cool them down. 

Biden rejects Democrats’ anger 

in call for national unity 

His party may be enraged by Donald 

Trump's presidency, but Democratic 

presidential candidate Joe Biden insisted 

Saturday that Democrats will not 

defeat the Republican president if they 

pick an angry nominee, reports UNB. 

Facing thousands of voters in his 

native Pennsylvania for the second 

time as a 2020 contender, the former 

vice president offered a call for bipartisan 

unity that seemed far more aimed 

at a general election audience than the 

fiery Democratic activists most active in 

the presidential primary process. He 

acknowledged, however, that some 

believe Democrats should nominate a 

candidate who can tap into their party's 

anti-Trump anger. 

"That's what they are saying you have 

to do to win the Democratic nomination. 

Well, I don't believe it," Biden 

declared. "I believe Democrats want to 

unify this nation. That's what the party's 

always been about. That's what it's 

always been about. Unity." Biden's 

moderate message highlights his chief 

Saudi Arabian official says 

Saudi “not want war” 

Saudi Minister of the State for Foreign 

Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said on Sunday that 

his country does not want a war in the 

region, but would defend its interests if it 

must, Saudi Press Agency reported, reports 

UNB. 

He told a press conference at the Foreign 

Ministry in Riyadh that Saudi Arabia "does 

not seek to start a war and will do its best to 

prevent this," adding that if other countries 

begin a war, the kingdom will respond firmly 

and defend itself. 

He warned "Iran and its allies against conducting 

reckless behaviors, urging Iran to 

adhere to international laws and stop interference 

in the internal affairs of regional 

states." 

He also called on Iran "to stop financing 

terrorism and stop developing its missile and 

advantage and chief liability in the early 

days of the nascent presidential contest, 

which has so far been defined by 

fierce resistance to Trump on the left 

and equally aggressive vitriol on the 

right. Biden's centrist approach may 

help him win over independents, but it 

threatens to alienate liberals who favor 

a more aggressive approach in policy 

and personality to counter Trump's turbulent 

presidency. 

"I want aggressive change. I'm not 

hearing that from him yet," said 45- 

year-old Jennifer Moyer of Blandon, 

Pennsylvania, who attended Biden's 

rally and said she's 90% sold on his 

candidacy. "I don't want middle of the 

road." 

The event was the culmination of a 

three-week campaign rollout that 

began and ended in Pennsylvania, 

home to Biden's campaign headquarters 

and where he was brought up. The 

76-year-old native of working-class 

Scranton, Pennsylvania, has climbed to 

the front of the crowded primary field, 

nuclear program." 

With regard to the Houthis' attacks on 

Saudi oil facilities, the Saudi diplomat 

accused the Houthis of destabilizing regional 

security and stability, adding that his country 

has "punished" the Houthis. 

He further revealed that the Gulf and Arab 

summits, to be held in Mecca on May 30, 

would discuss the issue of Iran. 

Regarding the Russian stance of the escalation 

of tension between Saudi and Iran, 

Jubeir said that Russia calls for restraint and 

non-escalation. 

"Russia has interests in the region and 

does not want instability. It calls for policies 

in line with international laws and norms, 

objects to sabotage or aggressive policies, or 

interference in the affairs of other states," he 

added. 

Saudi Minister of the State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said on 

Sunday that his country does not want a war in the region, but would 

defend its interests if it must, Saudi Press Agency reported. Photo : AP 

in part by ignoring his Democratic 

rivals and focusing on his ability to 

compete with Trump head-to-head 

next year. 

In the fight to deny Trump reelection, 

no states will matter more than Pennsylvania, 

Michigan and Wisconsin, 

three states the Republican president 

carried by razor-thin margins in 2016. 

Biden is betting big that voters in the 

Midwest and beyond will ultimately 

embrace his optimistic appeal. 

That's far from certain. 

Biden's campaign security team estimated 

that the Saturday event, which 

closed down a Philadelphia thoroughfare 

and attracted a huge police presence, 

drew an estimated 6,000 people. 

Compared with events held by some of 

his top rivals - and certainly Trump's 

rallies - the crowd was large, but not 

overwhelming. 

Some in his party's energized left 

wing, watching from afar, were skeptical 

of Biden's strength atop the field 

and his message of unity.

ART & CULTURE 

MondAy, 


8 

eurovision 2019: 

netherlands wins 

song contest 

The Netherlands' Duncan Laurence has won the 

2019 Eurovision Song Contest with his song 

Arcade.He had been the bookmakers' favourite to 

win, and came through to the top of the leaderboard 

with 492 points after the public vote.The 

UK's Michael Rice came bottom, after getting just 

three points from the public vote, and a total of 16 

points for Bigger Than Us. 

Laurence said: "Here's to dreaming big, this is to 

music first, always." 

The last time The Netherlands won was 1975. 

The audience joined in as Laurence performed the 

track again at the end of the show.Italy finished 

second with 465 and Russia third with 369 points. 

The ceremony also saw last year's winner Netta 

perform, while singers from previous contests also 

sang each other's songs. 

Madonna also performed just before the voting 

results were announced. She kicked off her set with 

a version of Like A Prayer, with backing dancers 

dressed as monks. She went on to sing Future, her 

new single featuring the rapper Quavo.Media 

caption'Boring' winner...? 'Incredible atmosphere'? 

Fans in the arena share their views. Her 

performance was felt by some, to be a little, well, 

flat. "A slightly muted response to Madonna 

there," said BBC One's commentator Graham 

Norton.Capital Breakfast presenter Roman Kemp 

was also unimpressed, calling for autotune to come 

to the rescue. 

A section of her performance in which her backing 

dancers displayed Israeli and Palestinian flags 

was not an approved part of the act, organisers 

said. 

Eurovision said: "In the live broadcast of the 

Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final, two of 

Madonna's dancers briefly displayed the Israeli 

and Palestinian flags on the back of their outfits. 

"This element of the performance was not part of 

the rehearsals which had been cleared with the 

EBU and the host broadcaster, KAN. The 

Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political event 

and Madonna had been made aware of this." 

It wasn't just the Queen of Pop who was apparently 

breaking the rules either.The organisers said 

Iceland's Eurovision act could face punishment 

after displaying Palestinian flags during the live 

broadcast.During the final, the band members 

held up Palestinian flags while their public vote 

was being announced. 

In a statement, Eurovision said the "consequences 

of this action" will be discussed by the contest's 

executive board".Alongside the contest, there 

were clashes in central Jerusalem as ultra-orthodox 

Jews protested against Eurovision. 

Media captionUltra-orthodox Jews in Jerusalem 

are angry that the contest was scheduled on the 

Jewish Sabbath. They objected to the scheduling of 

the Eurovision Song Contest on the Jewish 

Sabbath, resulting in angry scenes as demonstrators 

clashed with police.At one point, a small number 

of women held a counter protest, showing their 

bras. There were other protests in Tel Aviv over 

Israel's occupation of the West Bank, East 

Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. There have also 

been campaigns online.The Palestinian Campaign 

for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel 

(PACBI) has been using social media to oppose 

holding the contest in Israel because of its treatment 

of Palestinians.It accuses Israel of trying to 

whitewash ("artwash") discrimination, which it 

likens to apartheid, the system of racial segregation 

once used in South Africa. 

- BBC 

Fighting with My 

Family 

A former wrestler and his family 

make a living performing at small 

venues around the country while his 

kids dream of joining World Wrestling 

Entertainment. 

Genre : Biography, Comedy, 

Drama 

Director : Stephen Merchant 

Writer : Stephen Merchant 

Cast : Dwayne Johnson, 

Lena Headey, Vince 

Vaughn 

Runtime : 1h 48min 

Release Date : 22 February 2019 

Line First Look: 

Hina Khan launched 

the poster in the 

Cannes Film Festival 

Storyline : 

FiGHtinG WitH My FAMily 

is a heartwarming comedy 

based on the incredible true 

story of WWE Superstar 

Paige(TM). Born into a tightknit 

wrestling family, Paige 

and her brother Zak are ecstatic 

when they get the once-in-alifetime 

opportunity to try out 

for WWE. But when only Paige 

earns a spot in the competitive 

training program, she must 

leave her family and face this 

new, cut-throat world alone. 

Paige's journey pushes her to 

dig deep, fight for her family, 

and ultimately prove to the 

world that what makes her different 

is the very thing that can 

make her a star. 

- Rotten Tomatoes 

Actress Hina Khan, who just made her debut 

in Cannes 2019, shared the first look of her 

debut Line. She launched the poster of her 

first film in the Cannes Film Festival on 

Friday in the Indian Pavilion, as reported by 

the news agency IANS. She also shared the 

poster on her Instagram and briefly 

explained about her character 'Nazia' that 

she will be playing in the film. She even 

revealed vaguely that the story is based 

about a girl who lives in the borders. Sharing 

the details and poster of her debut she 

wrote: "Emotions don't change because of 

the borders in between. The life and plight of 

#Nazia is a simple portrayal of any girl who 

faces the magnitude of ordinary challenges 

in a not so ordinary story. Lines 

is my debut in films. I hope you 

all love it as much we loved it. 

This is the first look launched at 

Cannes film Festival and an 

official poster, which depicts 

more than a poster can!" 

The film is directed by 

Hussain Khan and is produced 

by byRahatKazmi, Tariq Khan, 

ZebaSajid and also co-produced 

by Jayant Jaiswal's Hiro Faar 

Better Films. The rest of the 

details are yet to be revealed. 

Hina Khan had started her 

career through acting in TV 

shows. She had been part of the 

show YehRishta Kya Kehlata 

Hai for eight years. She was also 

part of the show KasautiZindagi 

Ki 2, which is directed by Ekta 

Kapoor. But temporarily she 

has taken an off from the show. 

She also had participated in 

reality shows like Khatron 

KeKhiladi 8 and Bigg Boss 11. 

- NDTV 

H o roSCope 

ArieS 

(March 21 - April 20) : Excellent energy is 

with you now for dating and entertainment, 

or other pleasurable activities. Keeping busy or connecting 

with the people you love can be especially rewarding 

now, and you might make more satisfying relationships 

a goal. Energies support giving your attention to something 

you genuinely enjoy and applying yourself to it. 

tAUrUS 

(April 21 - May 21) : Your energy might turn 

toward beautifying your home, Taurus. Perhaps 

you've decided to repaint or go in a completely new direction 

in your decorating taste. Posters or other souvenirs of foreign 

lands might also be especially appealing now. Expect someone 

to drop by and bring some interesting news that might 

get your mind going a thousand miles an hour. 

liBrA 

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23) : Your psychic abilities and 

imagination are operating at a very high level, 

Virgo. You face other people with a profound, spiritual love. 

They will return it! You might want to write down your 

thoughts or draw pictures of whatever pops into your mind, 

even if you don't feel you have talent. It's more important to 

keep a record for you than set things down for posterity. 

SCorpio 

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) : You're naturally a kind, 

compassionate person, Scorpio. Today 

your feelings are likely to be focused not only on those 

close to you but also on all the world's population. A 

feeling of unity with the billions you've never met could 

overwhelm you now. You might want to write down 

your impressions so you can refer to them later. 

‘the Big Bang theory’ Finale 

Scores Huge ratings 

The finale of CBS' "The Big Bang Theory" 

went out with a bang in Thursday's ratings. 

The hourlong airing of back to back 

episodes garnered a substantial 3.1 rating 

in the key 18-49 demographic and was 

highest-rated episode of "Big Bang"'s 

twelfth and final season by far, while the 

total viewership figure is the highest the 

show has produced since September, 2015. 

The previous season 12 high was 2.57 for 

hold rating and 22 share, an impressive 

live turnout by today's linear TV viewing 

standards. It marked a 34% increase in the 

show's metered market average for the season. 

GeMini 

(May 22 - June 21) : Today you might want to 

think about getting things straight with the 

people close to you. It's possible you haven't dealt with any 

problems you had in your relationships last month, 

Gemini. It's time to look at things again. You may have 

hidden certain things from yourself. You need to be much 

more honest about what you want in your personal life. 

SAGittAriUS 

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21) : This isn't a good time 

to make any big relationship decisions. If 

you're thinking about starting a relationship, moving 

in together, or getting married, you may feel a bit troubled 

by your decision, Sagittarius. Take advantage of 

the day to reevaluate things objectively. There may be 

some issues to resolve before you go any further. 

CAnCer 

(June 22 - July 23) : A small amount of 

money might come your way today, 

Cancer. It could be a gift, dividend, or bonus. You may 

want to squander it on gifts for yourself and others 

rather than put it to more practical use, which is perfectly 

fine! Books may be especially appealing, particularly 

those on new spiritual or metaphysical ideas. 

Set some time aside for a little reading. 

CApriCorn 

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20) : Today you may feel 

like something is holding you back, 

Capricorn. Everything was going just fine until 

now. If you believe the stream of chatter in your 

head today, you will be regressing in every area of 

your life! For example, you may be afraid to go any 

further in your relationship because of your past 

failures. Use this time to lay the past to rest. 

leo 

(July 24 - Aug. 23) : Others tend to be supportive 

of you, and new ventures could be getting off the 

ground, or existing ones can be expanding now. It's also a 

potentially potent time for money matters with a Venus-Pluto 

aspect in play. The trick now is to share, as it continues to be a 

favorable time to build alliances. Working with others to make 

a positive change can work fantastically well for you now. 

VirGo 

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23) : You can be known 

for needing a lot of love, but you will never 

admit that to yourself, much less anyone else. 

Sometimes it seems as if you like feeling emotionally 

frustrated. Today is the perfect day to meditate about 

whether or not this is true of you. Do you talk to other 

people about your emotional needs? 

AQUAriUS 

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : Today is a great time to form 

or strengthen romantic relationships, Aquarius. 

If you aren't involved, chances are you will meet someone. If 

you are, expect your relationship to develop a new spiritual 

bond. New friendships, particularly with people who share 

your interests, are on the horizon. The coming years will be a 

time when everyone will have to pull together. 

piSCeS 

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : This is an ideal day to 

begin a creative venture, Pisces. You've had 

many ideas and creative urges. Today it's time to choose 

one and take the first step to making your vision a reality. 

You will find that the form will change. This is no 

reason to be discouraged. It's part of the normal evolution 

of any work of art. The key here is to begin. 

watched by just under 18 million total 

viewers. For comparison, the "Big Bang" 

spinoff "Young Sheldon" came in second 

on Thursday night with a 2.2 rating and 

13.7 million viewers for its season finale, 

followed by a large drop-off to the "Grey's 

Anatomy" season finale, which drew just 

under 6 million total viewers and a 1.3 rating. 

The finale also topped the other main 

demographic of 25-54 (4.7). 

That initial rating is the show's highest 

since January, 2018, and represents the 

the February 7 episode, and the average for 

the season to-date was 2.2 prior to last 

night's finale. 

"Big Bang Theory" is the first show to 

end its run as TV's top series since the final 

season of "Seinfeld" aired in 1998. 

The "Big Bang Theory" farewell special 

which aired after "Young Sheldon" at 9:30 

p.m. also did extremely well for CBS, coming 

in at a 1.8 rating and 11.8 million total 

viewers. 

The finale also delivered a 12.2 house- 

The "Big Bang" bump boosted "The Late 

Show with Stephen Colbert" to a blockbuster 

3.8 household rating for the night. 

Colbert's featured an extended interview 

with the cast of "Big Bang." 

"Big Bang"'s massive ratings helped CBS 

to a handy victory on the night. The network 

finished with an average rating of 2.0, 

more than doubling its competitors figures, 

as ABC came in at a 0.8 across the 

night and NBC at a 0.6. 

- Variety

SPORTS 

MONDAy, 


9 

Can’t afford to have fear of failure 

at World Cup - Du Plessis 

The 20-year-old Mbappe scored again in the second half, becoming the first French player to net 32 goals 

in Ligue 1 since Philippe Gondet's 36 for Nantes in the 1965-66 season. 

Photo: AP 

Mbappe double as PSG thrash 

Dijon in Paris 

Sports Desk: Before being presented 

with the Ligue 1 champions' trophy at 

the Parc des Princes, PSG thrashed 

Dijon 4-0 with goals by Angel Di Maria 

and Edinson Cavani, plus a Kylian 

Mbappe double, reports AP. 

Di Maria opened the scoring with a 

fine curling shot before setting up 

Cavani, and Mbappe added a third 

from close range before half-time. 

PSG were without Brazil forward 

Neymar, who was suspended for hitting 

a fan following their defeat in the 

French Cup final by Stade Rennais. 

The 20-year-old Mbappe scored 

again in the second half, becoming 

the first French player to net 32 

goals in Ligue 1 since Philippe 

Gondet's 36 for Nantes in the 1965- 

66 season. 

After the match, striker Cavani confirmed 

his desire to remain with the 

French champions next season for his 

final year of contract. 

The Uruguay international endured 

an injury-hit campaign, but insisted 

that he feels settled in the French capital. 

"I have said it before and I will say it 

again: first of all, I will respect my contract," 

he told Canal+ of his deal until 

2020. "I have already said that I want to 

see out my contract here. After that, we 

will see. 

"I want to stay and to be here because 

I feel that there are many things left to 

do. I love this club, as well as the life 

that I have, and my family is good here. 

"Aside from that, as you know, sometimes 

it does not depend on you in football. 

The leaders and the president 

might prefer something else in the 

background, but I want to stay here and 

finish my contract. Once my deal 

expires, I do not know what will happen." 

Cavani also distanced himself from 

rumours linking him with an eventual 

return to Napoli and reiterated his 

intention to return with PSG next term. 

"I will not say anything [about 

Napoli], just that first and foremost I 

want to see out my contract," he said. "I 

cannot say anything else on that. Of 

course [asked if he will still be with PSG 

next season]. That is normal." 

Right-back Thomas Meunier, who 

played a role in Cavani's goal to make it 

2-0 inside of five minutes, was less optimistic 

about his own Parc des Princes 

future. 

"As I have already said, I am not really 

clear with the club or myself," the 

Belgium international told Canal+. 

"People have inquired left and right but 

I still have a year left on my contract. 

"The club knows what I want-I have 

always said that I want to stay. That 

said, do they agree, or do they want to 

change the Parisien cycle? 

"Nothing is very clear right now, so 

we will see how it goes. I think that 

there will be news over the summer." 

Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who 

kept a clean sheet, told Canal+ that "I 

am here-after that, we will see" when 

asked about his future. 

Dijon will go into the relegation playoffs 

as a result of the loss. 

Sports Desk: South Africa and 

World Cups aren't best of pals. It's 

the pressure that has majorly got the 

better of the side. This time though, 

ahead of the 2019 World Cup, Faf du 

Plessis is asking his players not to 

focus on doing special things. For at 

least this time, it's about enjoying 

the tournament for the South Africa 

captain, reports Cricbuzz. 

"We believed you had to be really 

special to win the World Cup, that 

you had to do something more than 

you usually do, which is not true," du 

Plessis said on Saturday (May 18). 

"Whatever we've been doing consistently, 

the way we've played while 

beating teams that will work. We 

have to do the basics as well as possible, 

teams don't win the World Cup 

by someone scoring a century off 50 

balls or taking 7 for 20. 

"I've been there and I know the 

pressures, I understand how to deal 

with them. There's a reason why we 

want the guys to play freely - because 

we don't want them to have a fear of 

failure, which is what the World Cup 

is for some of them. Our success in 

England over the next couple of 

months depends on how well we 

release that aspect of our play - we 

need that for the team to be at our 

best. Each player needs to find out 

his own strengths. 

"The players relate better to fellow 

players and I'm on the same level as 

the coach when it comes to the 

importance of the mental side. I'm a 

big believer in positive visualisation, 

how to remain calm, and I feel it has 

had value for my own game. So I can 

relate that to the players, how 

important it is to be present in the 

moment; for instance when there's 

been a dropped catch, there's nothing 

you can do about it and it's about 

how you change your mindset to 

make sure you are still strong mentally." 

The heat will on right from the first 

game as South Africa will clash 

against tournament favourites England 

and India in two of their first 

three matches. Du Plessis hinted 

that senior players won't necessarily 

walk into the playing XIs and will 

have to earn their rights in the 

warm-up games. 

South Africa will keep a close eye 

on Hashim Amla's performance who 

has just one century to his name 

since the start of 2018. "As an experienced 

player, he is important in 

our squad and that was one of the 

key reasons he was picked," du 

Plessis said. "You cannot substitute 

experience. When I speak about the 

experience, I speak about experience 

having played in tournaments like 

the World Cup before. He understands 

what it means to play in a big 

tournament. 

"Whether that means runs or not, 

no one can give us that guarantee. 

But it's just the calm composure 

Hashim has. Even if he doesn't play a 

game, just the knowledge and experience 

that he can share with someone 

like an Aiden Markram is something 

you can only get from a guy 

like Hashim. He can talk him 

through those first 10 overs, he has a 

lot of experience playing county 

cricket, so his experience is vital to 

the group. 

"In terms of team selection, that's a 

call we will make when we get to that 

first game. We have two warm-up 

games. Generally, we want to pick on 

form. If we believe Hash is the guy 

with the best form for the first game 

then he will be picked. But if we feel 

there are other guys that are more in 

form [we will pick them]. Form does 

play a huge role in a long competition 

like this - so hopefully Hash can 

go into those warm-ups, and bang, 

bang two centuries in a row and then 

we can smile from there." 

South Africa play their warm-up 

games against Sri Lanka and West 

Indies on May 24 and 26 before 

playing the tournament opener on 

May 30. 

Djokovic to meet Nadal for 54th 

time with Rome title at stake 

Sports Desk: Novak Djokovic said he was relishing locking 

horns with his "greatest rival" Rafael Nadal as the pair set up 

the 54th clash of their careers Saturday in the Italian Open 

final, reports BSS. 

Djokovic battled past Argentina's Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 

6-7 (2/7), 6-3 and meets defending champion Nadal on Sunday 

after the Spaniard earlier swept past Greece's Stefanos 

Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 to reach his 50th Masters final. 

"It's the ultimate challenge," said the Serbian world number 

one of playing second-ranked Nadal. 

"I've had so many matches against him. Up to date, we had 

the longest rivalry of tennis of all time. Every time we get to 

play each other, it's a thrill." 

Djokovic - winner at the Madrid Open last weekend - has 

had to battle through his last two matches in Rome. 

The 31-year-old won through in 2hr 31min against 24thranked 

Schwartzman, having saved two match points over 

three hours on Friday night against Juan Martin Del Potro. 

But Nadal, a 17-time Grand Slam winner, has not dropped 

a set all week en route to an 11th Rome final. 

"He's one of the greatest champions this game has ever 

seen," said 15-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic. 

"His mentality, his approach, his resilience, ability to fight 

back after long absence from the tour, injuries, surgeries, he's 

had it all. 

"He keeps on showing to the world why he's one of the 

biggest legends of tennis history. I have greatest respect for 

him. He's my greatest rival of all time, for sure." 

The only time eight-time Rome winner Nadal has lost on 

the red clay of the Foro Italico has been to four-time winner 

Djokovic. The pair who have meet four times in the Rome 

final and are 2-2 in previous meetings while Djokovic leads 

their career rivalry 28-25. 

Nadal, seeded second, was playing his fourth straight semifinal, 

but had not managed to go further on clay this season. 

The 32-year-old had been stunned by Tsitsipas, seeded 

eighth and 12 years his junior, in the semi-finals at the 

Madrid Open last weekend. 

But the Spaniard was clinical on the red clay of the Foro 

Italico, winning through in 1hr 42min to reach the final for 

the 11th time. "It's an important victory for me," said Nadal. 

"Last week I didn't play very well in Madrid. Today I did 

better. "For me tomorrow is an opportunity to play against a 

good player, a great player. 

"Is another test. I hope to be ready to compete well. Going 

to be a tough one." Nadal's run to the Rome final comes just 

a week before he starts his assault on a 12th French Open title 

at Roland Garros. "The feeling is that I am playing better 

every week, every day. That's important for me," he said. 

"It's not a drama to lose in semi-finals. The main thing is 

recover my level. "I've been through some tough moments 

after Indian Wells. Recovery of the knee again… was not easy 

to come back and to prepare myself the right way."Tsitsipas, 

meanwhile, who lost the Madrid final to Djokovic, was at a 

loss to explain his performance as he fell to his fourth defeat 

in five matches against Nadal. 

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are set up the 54th clash of their careers in the Italian Open final. 

Photo: AP 

Ahead of the 2019 World Cup, Faf du Plessis is asking his players not to focus on doing special things. 

Photo: AP 

Benfica seal 37th 

Portuguese title 

Sports Desk: Benfica 

sealed their 37th Portuguese 

league title on Saturday with 

a 4-1 victory over Santa 

Clara in the euphoric Stadium 

of Light, reports BSS. 

Benfica struggled until 

Bruno Lage took over as 

manager in January and 

though their form improved 

they were still third at the 

start of February. 

"Until January, the team 

was not doing very well, 

but we have made up a lot 

of points. It's unbelievable!" 

said Joao Felix, after 

raising the trophy with his 

teammates, before 60,000 

fans. 

On Saturday, with a two 

point lead over last year's 

champions Porto and their 

destiny in their own hands, 

Benfica quickly took control. 

Haris Seferovic opened 

the scoring after 16 minutes. 

Joao Felix doubled the lead 

seven minutes later and 

Rafa Silva added a third 

before half time. 

Seferovic added his second 

in the 56th minute. Midtable 

Santa Clara, from the 

Azores, replied with a goal 

by Cesar three minutes later. 

"We have formed a real 

family even in the most difficult 

moments," said club 

president Luis Filipe Vieira, 

adding that the he would 

double the players' bonuses. 

"We have conquered this 

title which belongs to us all, 

but in particular to this gentleman," 

he said, pointing at 

Lage. 

Porto beat Sporting 2-1, but 

Benfica's victory meant it was 

in vain. Porto had recovered 

from the blow of losing star 

goalkeeper Iker Casillas, sidelined 

by a heart attack at the 

start of May, to win their last 

three matches. 

Guardiola relentless as Man 

City’s financial muscle pounds 

rivals into the ground 

Sports Desk: Pep Guardiola looked on 

almost embarrassed as Manchester City put 

Watford to the sword with the biggest winning 

margin in a FA Cup final for 116 years 

on Saturday, a 6-0 thrashing that was the 

final flourish of a season of domestic dominance 

unlike any England has ever seen, 

reports BSS. 

City claimed a first ever treble of Premier 

League, FA and League Cups, as well as the 

Community Shield to take the count of 

major trophies to 10 in the decade since 

the club's fortunes were transformed on 

and off the pitch by Sheikh Mansour, a 

member of the Abu Dhabi royal family. 

Guardiola now has 27 trophies in total as 

a coach, six of them since arriving in England 

three years ago, to go with 14 in four 

years at Barcelona and seven in three seasons 

at Bayern Munich. 

One remains missing from his haul at 

City, the same one that escaped him in 

Germany. Guardiola's work at City will not 

truly be done until he lands the Champions 

League, like he did twice for Barcelona. 

However, Guardiola claimed his side's 

relentless consistency across all competitions 

this season made the unique achievement 

of the treble even harder than his 

Champions League wins. 

The Catalan has set new standards for City 

and English football, but remains hungry for 

more improvements next season. 

"We won the Premier League for one 

point, so we are not so far away (from the 

competition) to be relaxed," added Guardiola. 

"Liverpool show us how tough will be the 

future. This is the standards, the level we 

are going to face." 

The fact City do not seem content not 

only spells danger for the competition, but 

arguably for the health of the English game 

at large. 

What once was England's showpiece 

occasion at Wembley had the feeling of a 

run of the mill Premier League procession 

and exposed a chasm between the haves 

and have-nots that is only becoming 

greater. 

Guardiola could afford the luxury of 

leaving Sergio Aguero on the bench for the 

full 90 minutes. Kevin de Bruyne only featured 

for the final 40 and still won man-ofthe-match. 

Gabriel Jesus started just eight league 

games all season, but still took his tally for 

the season to 21 goals with a double. 

City's back-to-back Premier League titles 

in the past two seasons were achieved with 

the two greatest points tallies England has 

ever seen. 

Liverpool finished runners-up this 

season with the third highest in history, 

while City's emphatic Cup success 

came on the day Bayern's title win in 

Germany ensured all five top European 

leagues were retained for the first 

time ever. 

Watford, by contrast, remain without a 

major trophy in their history. Despite the 

defiance of their fans as the goals rained 

in after half-time, the Hornets were 

helpless given the disparity of resources. 

"We did it for the organisation, for 

Sheikh Mansour, Khaldoon (Al 

Mubarak) and all the people working 

here," said Guardiola, at the end of a 

week where City's success on the field 

has been overshadowed by more questions 

over the club's conduct off it. 

"This club made a big step forward for 

the investment from Sheikh Mansour 

definitely. You can do that without top 

players? No way." 

The potential for a year-long transfer ban 

and season's exclusion from the Champions 

League remain in the horizon if FIFA 

and UEFA investigations into City find 

wrongdoing. 

Such sanctions seem the only way their 

progress can be halted with Guardiola 

already planning new arrivals before he 

tries to win it all again, starting with the 

Community Shield against Liverpool in 

August.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

10 

MONDAY, MAY 20, 2019 

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited and Transfast Remittance, LLC, USA inaugurated Remittance 

Campaign at Islami Bank Tower on Sunday, 19 May 2019. Mohammed Monirul Moula, 

Managing Director (Current Charge) of the Bank and Mohammad Khairuzzaman, Country 

Director & Head of Operations, Bangladesh of Transfast Remittance inaugurated the campaign. 

Mohammad Ali, Abu Reza Md. Yeahia and Hasne Alam, Deputy Managing Directors, 

Muhammad Golam Rabbani, Senior Vice President and Md. Sarwar Islam, Vice President of 

the Bank were present on the occasion. Under this campaign, each beneficiary of the remittance 

sent through Transfast will get attractive gift items including motorbike and sewing 

machine. 

Photo : Courtesy 

Telenor Health observes World 

Hypertension Day 2019 

To observe the World 

Hypertension Day 2019, 

Telenor Health launched a 5- 

day long special health 

Central bank warns 

of global economic 

uncertainties brought 

by trade frictions 

China's central bank has 

warned in a report that 

uncertainties brought by trade 

frictions between China and 

the United States could have 

an adverse impact on the 

global economy, reports BSS. 

Trade frictions and policy 

uncertainties are prominent 

risks facing the world 

economy, while the 

combination of multiple 

uncertainties will amplify the 

vulnerabilities of economies, 

the People's Bank of China 

(PBOC) said in a report on the 

implementation of monetary 

policies in the first quarter 

(Q1). 

It said the uncertainties and 

the impact on global supply 

chains caused by trade 

frictions had gradually 

unleashed, ranging from 

postponed enterprise 

investment decisions to 

easing external demand for 

some countries due to 

disrupted supply chains. 

In the future, trade frictions 

and policy uncertainties could 

further drag down the global 

economy through high 

inflation, damage to 

sentiment of families and 

enterprises, and volatility of 

the financial market, the 

PBOC report said. 

Despite external 

uncertainties, the PBOC 

forecast China's economic 

outlook would maintain 

stable thanks to many 

advantageous factors. 

"China is capable of 

addressing different kinds of 

internal and external 

uncertainties as there is 

sufficient room for 

policymakers to maneuver as 

well as various monetary 

policy tools," the central bank 

said. 

campaign throughout the 

country. The main aim of the 

campaign is to educate the 

public and increase awareness 

of hypertension, which is also 

commonly known as high 

blood pressure, a press release 

said. 

As high blood 

pressure is the main 

risk factor to develop 

c a r d i o v a s c u l a r 

disease, this year's 

global theme 'Know 

Your Numbers' refers 

to raise awareness 

worldwide about the 

importance of 

knowing the blood 

p r e s s u r e 

m e a s u r e m e n t . 

Hypertension is a 

major cause of a range 

of health problems 

such as strokes, heart 

attacks and kidney 

disease, and can also 

contribute to 

dementia. Many 

people who suffer 

from hypertension are 

not aware that they 

have it as there can be 

no symptoms, often 

people only find out 

after suffering a heart 

attack or stroke. 

Executed by Tonic, 

the campaign 

s u c c e s s f u l l y 

conducted 1000+ BP 

checks for the mass through a 

combination of channels from 

May 13 to May 17, 2019. 

For urban areas, 

Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi 

27, Dhanmondi 32, Tokyo 

Square (Mohammadpur), 

Mirpur 1 and Mirpur 2 

participated in the campaign. 

Health camps were 

established in rural areas too. 

Stating the importance of 

the day, Andrew Smith, Chief 

Commercial Officer Telenor 

Health said, "According to 

World Health Organization, 

Hypertension was defined as 

'the number one killer' in 

2002. As a responsible 

authority, we feel serious 

obligation and utmost 

sincerity for the cause and so, 

we conducted this campaign 

to raise mass awareness on 

Hypertension. I thank 

everyone involved and hope 

to keep our fight against 

Hypertension in the coming 

years." 

World Hypertension day is 

organized by the World 

Hypertension League (WHL) 

which is an umbrella 

organization composed of 85 

Hypertension societies and 

leagues from all over the 

world. 

International anti-money 

laundering experts review 

practices in Cyprus 

A team of international experts are making 

a review of anti-money laundering practices 

in Cyprus applied mainly by law firms, 

banks, accounting and audit firms, financial 

services firms and offices involved in the 

investment-for-citizenship scheme, sources 

with knowledge of the review said on 

Saturday, reports BSS. 

The team comes from the Committee of 

Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money 

Laundering Measures and the Financing of 

Terrorism, commonly known as Moneyval. 

This is the fifth time Moneyval conducts a 

review in Cyprus, the latest having been done 

at the height of the financial crisis in 2013. 

Its report expected at the end of the year is 

of crucial importance for the image of Cyprus 

in relation to anti-money laundering 

practices applied both by the state and 

private firms associated with international 

transactions. 

Criticism of Cyprus for inadequate 

measures to fight money laundering led to 

the introduction of stricter due diligence 

check that led to the capital flight, most of 

which allegedly belonged to Russian socalled 

oligarchs. 

The European Commission also warned 

Cyprus in January that its program for the 

issue of passports and visas to foreigners in 

exchange of investment could help organized 

crime infiltrate the European Union and 

raised the risk of money laundering, 

corruption and tax evasion. 

Finance Ministry sources were quoted as 

saying that the government is relying on a 

positive report by Moneyval so as to preserve 

investor confidence in Cyprus. 

Cyprus introduced stricter due diligence 

checks as to the origin of money transferred 

to or through Cyprus but this has led to 

delays in concluding transactions, which 

alarmed businessmen. 

An official of the Cyprus Chamber of 

Commerce and Industry said on Thursday 

that he was concerned over the impact of the 

delays, saying that Cypriot banks lost income 

as customers turned to other countries. 

Central Bank's new chief, Constantinos 

Herodotou, urged the banks to invest in 

technology and training of staff to do away 

with due diligence check delays. He also 

advised them that the country of origin did 

not matter as the law requires due diligence 

about the business origin of the money but 

not the country. He advised banks to be 

always on the alert as there will always be 

efforts to beat the system. 

Going down: Brazil 

economic woes hit 

stocks, currency 

Atrophying growth forecasts and waning 

confidence in President Jair Bolsonaro sent 

Brazil's stocks and currency to their lowest 

level of the year this week, as analysts 

warned of further falls, reports BSS. 

Since touching a record 100,000 points in 

mid-March, the Bovespa has fallen 10 

percent and wiped out gains made since farright 

Bolsonaro took power on January 1 on 

a promise to revive Latin America's biggest 

economy. The benchmark index closed just 

below 90,000 on Friday, while Brazil's 

currency traded at its lowest level against the 

dollar in eight months, breaking through 

four reais. The sharp declines have been 

fanned by uncertainty over US-China trade 

talks that has pummelled stocks and 

currencies in emerging markets, which are 

perceived as riskier bets. 

But the "external headwinds" have been 

compounded by concerns over Brazil's feeble 

economy, which has struggled to grow since 

emerging from the devastating 2015-2016 

recession, said William Jackson of Londonbased 

Capital Economics. 

Ireland's trade 

surplus shows 

declining 

tendency in Q1 

Ireland's trade surplus 

showed a declining tendency 

in the first three months of 

this year, revealed the latest 

figures from the country's 

national statistics bureau 

CS0, reports BSS. 

In January, the country's 

trade surplus stood at 6.9 

billion euros (about 7.7 

billion U.S. dollars), by 

February, the monthly 

figure dropped to 6.1 billion 

euros, the March figure 

further shrank to 4.5 billion 

euros. 

The historical data 

provided by the CSO showed 

that such a month-bymonth 

decline of the 

country's trade surplus in 

the first three months of a 

year had never been seen 

since 2016. 

Ireland is an exportoriented 

economy and much 

of its economic growth 

depends the country's trade 

surplus. The CSO figures 

showed that in 2018 Ireland 

achieved a trade surplus of 

more than 49 billion euros, 

accounting for about 15 

percent of its GDP which 

stood at 312 billion euros. 

European enterprises 

bullish about growth 

prospect in China 

Although growing 

protectionism and 

economic uncertainty are 

disrupting world trade, 

Volkmar Denner, chief 

executive officer (CEO) of 

Bosch Group, remains 

optimistic about his 

company's future growth. 

As the sales revenue in 

China accounted for about 

20 percent of Bosch's total 

sales income of 78.5 billion 

euros (87.57 billion U.S. 

dollars) in 2018, he foresaw 

long-term growth potential 

in the Asian giant, the 

largest overseas market for 

the German engineering 

and technology company, 

reports BSS. 

Keeping a close eye on 

the development and 

economic prospects of 

China, the CEO of the 

industrial magnate told 

Xinhua that he is upbeat 

about China's economic 

performance in the long 

run, and that Bosch will 

further benefit from 

higher-quality growth in 

China. 

Beyond Bosch, many 

European enterprises, 

particularly multinational 

giants, tend to see China as 

a stable and reliable 

"harbor" for overseas 

investment and business 

operations amid current 

global headwinds, and are 

participating in China's 

economic transformation 

and upgrading, as China- 

EU economic and trade ties 

become increasingly 

stronger. Beating market 

expectations to advance 

6.4 percent year on year in 

the first quarter of 2019, 

China's economy got off to 

a good start. 

For many European 

companies, the stable and 

resilient economic growth 

in this key market is 

recognized as a significant 

drive for businesses, which 

is reflected in their recent 

annual or quarterly 

reports. 

German pharmaceutical 

company Bayer said in its 

quarterly report that 

pharmaceuticals have 

registered an encouraging 

sales growth of 5.3 percent 

to over 4.3 billion euros 

(4.8 billion dollars) in the 

first quarter of 2019, "with 

business in China 

developing particularly 

well." 

Similarly, Swiss-based 

biotech company Roche 

registered a 63 percent 

pharmaceutical sales 

growth in China, resulting 

in a 17-percent year-overyear 

rise in international 

sales in the same period. 

Meanwhile, the German 

auto manufacturer BMW 

Group delivered nearly 2.2 

million vehicles to Asia, 

increasing by 45,000 

deliveries on a year-onyear 

basis, according to its 

quarterly report. 

Standard Bank Ltd. and Eurotex Knitwear Limited have signed an agreement for specialized 

services of Retail Banking named "Employee Savings Account Services" recently at SBL Board 

Room, Head Office, Dhaka. Under this agreement, around four thousand employees of Eurotex 

Knitwear Limited will get their salaries through the benefit-rich savings account of SBLDeputy 

Managing Director of Standard Bank Ltd. Md. Motaleb Hossain and Managing Director of 

Eurotex Knitwear Limited Md. Shahidul Islam signed the agreement on behalf of their respective 

organizations. Mamun-Ur-Rashid, Managing Director & CEO, Md. Tariqul Azam Additional 

Managing Director of SBL and senior officials of both the organizations were present on the 

occasion. 

Photo : Courtesy 

S. African economists warn of serious global 

impact of US-China trade disputes 

Economists here have cautioned that 

the global economy and markets would 

be affected should the U.S.-China trade 

tensions drag on, reports BSS. 

"If these are not resolved, they might 

lead to higher interest rates in the 

United States," said Jannie Rossouw, 

head of the Economic and Business 

Sciences School at Wits University, in a 

recent interview with Xinhua. "At the 

same time, it might lead to other 

countries following a similar strategy, 

which would lead to less trade in the 

world," he added. 

"We should also remember that with 

import tariffs, Americans will pay more 

for Chinese goods than what they've 

been paying," he said, adding that the 

failure to reach an agreement might also 

result in slower economic growth. 

The economist added that imposing 

tariffs on Chinese products was also part 

of U.S. President Donald Trump's 

campaign strategy. "Trump is starting 

his 2020 re-election campaign, and he's 

trying to show strong conduct in the 

hope that this will give him support of 

the American people," he said. 

In the latest flare-up of U.S.-China 

trade tensions, Washington increased 

additional tariffs on 200 billion U.S. 

dollars' worth of Chinese imports from 

10 percent to 25 percent earlier this 

month, and has threatened to raise 

tariffs on more Chinese imports. In 

response, China has announced that it 

will raise additional tariffs on a range of 

U.S. imports from June 1, and "will fight 

to the end." 

Amid widespread worries about 

global economic uncertainties incurred 

by recent tariff hikes, China has 

reiterated that escalating trade tensions 

"serve no one's interests" and will "tie 

down the world economy as well," and 

has called on the United States, which 

started the row, to get back on the right 

track as soon as possible and meet 

China halfway in achieving a mutually 

beneficial and win-win agreement on 

the basis of mutual respect. 

Shahjalal Islami Bank's Khulna Branch organized a discussion on "the significance of Mahe 

Ramadan" and Ifter Mehfil on 16th May 2019 at Hotel City Inn, Khulna. The Director of 

Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited & Chairman of Shahjalal Islami Bank Foundation Engineer Md. 

Towhidur Rahman, CIP present as Chief Guest while the Managing Director & CEO M. Shahidul 

Islam presided over the ceremony. The head of Public Relations & Bank Foundation of the Bank 

Md. Shamsuddoha moderated the program and Mawlana Md. Aiyub Ali discussed elaborately 

on the significance of Mahe Ramadan and prayed for the welfare of the Nation in the Ifter 

Mehfil. Among others the Manager of Khulna Branch Mr. G.M. Quamruzzaman, the Manager of 

Jashore Branch Md. Saidur Rahman, the Manager of Chuknagar Branch Roqunuzzaman, the 

Prominent Journalist & Former President of Economic Reporters Forum Mr. Sultan Mahmud 

Badal, Valued Clients of the Bank, Local Business Leaders and different works of people were 

present in the Ifter Mehfil. 

Photo : Courtesy

MISCELLANEOUS 

MonDAY, MAY 20, 2019 

11 

Planning Minister MA Mannan on Sunday inaugurated a three-day training programme for the divisional 

and district level census coordinators on the eve of the sixth agriculture census at Bangladesh Bureau of 

Statistics (BBS) auditorium in the city. 

Photo : Star Mail 

Illinois not alerted to 

early clues in wombcutting 

case 

Police and Illinois' child welfare agency 

say staff at a Chicago-area hospital 

didn't alert them after determining that 

a bloodied woman who arrived with a 

gravely ill newborn had not just given 

birth to the baby boy, as she claimed, 

reports UNB. 

The woman, Clarisa Figueroa, was 

charged more than three weeks later 

with killing the baby's mother , Marlen 

Ochoa-Lopez, after police found her 

body outside Figueoa's home. Chicago 

police say she cut Ochoa-Lopez's baby 

out of her womb on April 23, then 

called 911 to report she had given birth 

to a baby who wasn't breathing. 

Paramedics took Figueroa and the baby 

to Advocate Christ Medical Center in 

suburban Oak Lawn. 

Ochoa-Lopez's family spent those 

weeks searching for her and holding 

press conferences pleading for help 

finding her, unaware the child was in a 

neonatal intensive care unit on life 

support. 

The baby remained hospitalized on 

life support on Saturday, according to 

authorities. 

Prosecutors say that when Figueroa 

was brought with the baby to the 

hospital, she had blood on her upper 

body and her face, which a hospital 

employee cleaned off. They also say 

Figueroa, 46, was examined at the 

hospital and showed no physical signs 

of childbirth. 

Advocate Christ Medical Center has 

declined to say whether or when it 

contacted authorities, citing state and 

federal regulations. Oak Lawn police 

said they were not contacted about 

Figueroa by the medical center or any 

other agency. 

Illinois Department of Children and 

Family Services spokesman Jassen 

Strokosch said Saturday the agency was 

alerted May 9 that there were questions 

about who had custody of the child in 

order to make medical decisions. He 

said he couldn't speculate about why 

the agency wasn't contacted sooner. 

"We don't know what was happening 

at the hospital," he said. 

Strokosch said the Department of 

Children and Family Services was 

alerted by someone required by law to 

contact the department about 

suspected abuse or neglect, but he 

couldn't say who contacted the agency. 

However, that was after Chicago 

police had connected Figueroa to 

Ochoa-Lopez's disappearance. 

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie 

Johnson said police learned Ochoa- 

Lopez was missing when her husband 

reported it on April 24. On May 7, 

Chicago police learned from one of 

Ochoa-Lopez's friends that she had 

been communicating via a private 

Facebook group with Figueroa about 

buying clothing. Police then went to 

Figueroa's home, where her 24-yearold 

daughter eventually told them her 

mother had recently had a baby. 

"There was nothing to point us in that 

direction in the beginning," Johnson 

told reporters on Thursday, after police 

had arrested Figueroa and her 

daughter on murder charges. 

Police spokesman Anthony 

Guglielmi said Saturday authorities 

had to subpoena medical records from 

the hospital for Figueroa and the child. 

He said police didn't learn that 

Figueroa showed no signs of childbirth 

until "a couple weeks" after she was 

examined. 

Swiss vote on 

whether to adopt 

the EU's tighter 

gun rules 

Swiss voters are casting ballots in a 

referendum to decide whether to enact 

new restrictions on guns and line up 

with Switzerland's partners in the 

European visa-free travel zone who 

have already tightened gun rules 

following extremist attacks in Europe, 

reports UNB. 

The proposal could require regular 

training on the use of firearms, special 

waivers for possession of some semiautomatic 

weapons and serialnumbering 

of major parts of some guns 

to help track them. 

Supporters, including the Swiss 

parliament and executive branch, say 

similar measures adopted by the 

European Union after deadly extremist 

attacks in France are needed to ensure 

strong police cooperation and 

economic ties with Switzerland's 

partners in Europe's Schengen zone of 

visa-free travel. 

Burn victim 

dies at DMCH 

DHAKA : A man, who 

suffered 97 percent burns in 

a fire at his Agargaon 

residence on Thursday, died 

at the Dhaka Medical 

College Hospital early 

Sunday, reports UNB. 


identified as Muktar 

Hossain, 38. "Muktar 

succumbed to his injuries 

around 2am," said Inspector 

Bacchu Miah, in-charge of 

DMCH police camp. 

His wife Salma, 28, 

suffered 95 percent burns 

during last week's fire. She is 

now undergoing treatment 

at DMCH. 

Their son Shafin, 6, was 

unhurt as he was not home 

when the fire broke out. 

Awami League 

activist abducted, 

murdered in 

Bandarban 

BANDARBAN : A ruling 

Awami League activist was 

shot dead by criminals after 

abduction in the Sadar 

upazila on early Sunday, 

reports UNB. 


identified as Kya Ching 

Thowai Marma, 27, son of 

Ta U Thowai Marma. He 

was an activist of Awami 

League's ward number 5 

unit in Rajbila union. Police 

said armed criminals barged 

into Kya Ching's house and 

abducted him around 2am. 

"He was found dead with 

gunshot wounds about an 

hour later at number 8 

Punorbason Para," said 

Shahidul Islam, officer-incharge 

of Sadar Police 

Station. 

Woman 'kills 

mother-in-law' 

in Pabna 

PABNA : A woman was 

hacked and strangled to death, 

allegedly by her daughter-inlaw, 

at Monohorpur village in 

Sadar upazila on Saturday 

evening over a family feud, 

reports UNB. 

GD-867/19 (10 x 3) 

GD-865/19 (7 x 4) 

Iqvmv-RtZt-275/19 

GD-869/19 (9 x 4)

MoNDAy, DHAKA, MAy 20, 2019, JAiSTHA 6, 1426 BS, RAMADAN 14, 1440 HiJRi 

Shopping is going on in full swing as families and friends are thronging the city markets to buy their Eid 

gifts. The photo was taken from Bashundhara Shopping Mall on Sunday. 


Don't let war criminals 

return to power: PM 

INTERESTING NEWS 

The Diamond Sutra is an ancient 

Buddhist sermon that generation of 

Buddhists have memorized and chanted 

since at least the fifth century. The sutra, 

which meditates on the illusory nature of 

the material world—the central theme of 

Buddhism, was originally written in 

Sanskrit in India, from which it was translated 

to Chinese in 401 AD. It is said that the 

teachings of The Diamond Sutra “cut like a 

diamond blade through worldly illusion to 

illuminate what is real and everlasting.” 

A copy of this original translation, printed 

on an 18-feet-long, yellow-dyed scroll of 

paper, is housed at the British Library in 

London. The last few lines of the text, the 

colophon, identifies who printed it, when 

and why. It reads: “Reverently made for 

universal free distribution by Wang Jie on 

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina on Friday urged all to remain 

alert so that anti- liberation forces 

and war criminals cannot return to 

power, reports UNB. 

"We all have to remain alert so that 

anti-liberation and war criminals 

cannot come to power again to play 

with the fate of people," she said. 

The Prime Minister said this when 

leaders of Awami League and its 

associated bodies came to her official 

residence Ganobhaban to greet 

her marking her Homecoming Day. 

On this day, in 1981, then newly 

elected Awami League President 

Sheikh Hasina returned home from 

her exile after the brutal assassination 

of Bangabandhu Sheikh 

MujiburRahman and his family 

members. 

Hasina said Awami League had 

always engaged in struggle to establish 

democracy in the country. 

"Because, we believe without 

democracy it's not possible for a 

country to advance socioeconomically," 

she said. 

Hasina thanked the grassroots 

Awami League leaders and activists 

to keep the organisation alive defying 

all sorts of conspiracies and hurdles 

to destroy it. 

She mentioned that Awami 

League is currently the number one 

political party in the country. 

The Prime Minister said Awai 

League gained the trust of people 

and that is why they cast their votes 

for it in the last parliamentary elections. 

"The reason behind this success is 

that the party worked for the welfare 

of people, for the development of the 

country...people realised it properly 

and that the most important thing 

for a political party," Hasina said. 

For a political leader, she said, it is 

very much important to gain the 

trust and confidence of people. 

Hasina, also the Awami League 

chief, said it is very much normal for 

a political party which is in power to 

lose its popularity. "But, Awami 

League has gained the confidence 

and trust of people while in power." 

In the last 10 years, the Prime 

Minister said, the government has 

taken the country forward socioeconomically, 

reduced the poverty rate 

and strengthened the national economy. 

"Now Bangladesh stands at a 

The World’s Oldest Printed Book 

behalf of his two parents, 11 May 868.” 

The precise date makes this particular 

edition of Diamond Sutra the world’s oldest 

printed and dated book in existence. The 

explicit public domain dedication is also the 

first in the history of creative work. 

The Diamond Sutra was printed using 

woodblock printing—a technique where the 

text to be printed is carefully carved as a 

relief pattern on a block of wood, and then 

stamped on paper or fabric after dipping the 

block in a pool of ink. 

The scroll comprises of seven panels of 

paper, each of which was printed from a single 

block and stuck together to create a single 

scroll. While individual sheets of woodblock-printed 

paper have been found dating 

to the early Tang Dynasty (7th century), the 

Diamond Sutra is the earliest complete 

book to be found intact. 

dignified position on the global 

stage." 

Hasina, who is the party president 

for the last 38 years, said she and her 

family members have not done anything 

during her party presidentship 

that may tarnish the country's 

image. 

"We never worked for our personal 

gains, we always worked for the 

welfare of the country, we always 

think what we've given to people, 

what we've done for improving people's 

fate," she added. 

Hasina said the efforts of Awami 

League as a party is to take the country 

forward. 

Mentioning her 38-year long 

tenure as the party president, 

Hasina said, "This is too much. Now 

time has come for you, too. I'm getting 

old as well," she said. 

Recalling her Homecoming Day, 

Hasina said thousands of people had 

gathered at the airport defying 

inclement weather on that day. 

"I might not have found my 

known faces on that day, but I was 

overwhelmed by the love and affection 

of thousands of people there," 

she said. 

No bar on media 

reporting on 

under-trial 

cases: Anisul 

DHAKA : Law, Justice and 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister 

Anisul Huq yesterday said 

there is no bar on media 

reporting on under-trial cases 

but media shall not publish 

personal opinion on cases, 

those are stuck. 

He came up with the observations 

while talking to newsmen 

after coming out of meeting 

with envoys of 

Switzerland, Sweden, the UN 

and UNDP at his ministry 

office yesterday noon. 

When asked about High 

Court's recent direction on not 

to publish report on undertrial 

cases, the minister said, "I 

want to tell you clearly, there is 

a meaning of expression 'subjudice'. 

Sub judice is such a 

case which is under-trial but 

the trial proceeding is not 

going on. Supreme Court has 

talked about not to give personal 

opinion about that type 

of under trial cases, whose 

proceeding is not going on." 

The minister said he doesn't 

think that the apex court has 

directed about stopping 

reporting on any under trial 

cases. "If you start giving opinion 

about under-trial cases, 

thing that will happen is there 

will be a media trial. A kind of 

pressure will be created on the 

judges, that is why they have 

said these. I want to make it 

clear, you have to separate the 

reporting and expressing personal 

opinion," he added. 

Govt. redistributes 

ministers' 

responsibilities in 

three ministries 

DHAKA : The government 

yesterday redistributed the 

tasks of ministers and state 

ministers in two ministries 

and changed the portfolio of 

another state minister, a cabinet 

division notification said 

here. 

It said Local Government, 

Rural Development and 

Cooperatives Minister Md 

Tazul Islam would be responsible 

for Local Government 

Division alone and state minister 

of the same ministry 

Swapan Bhattacharjee would 

look after the tasks of Rural 

Development 

and 

Cooperatives Division. 

Post, Telecommunications 

and Information Technology 

Minister Mustafa Jabbar 

would look after the affairs of 

Post and Telecommunications 

while state minister of the 

same ministry Zunaid Ahmed 

Palak would be responsible 

Information 

and 

Communication Technology 

Division. 

State Minister for Health 

and Family Welfare Dr Murad 

Hasan has been given the 

charge of State Minister for 

Information. 

The notification said, Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina redistributed 

the offices of ministers 

and state ministers as per 

Rules of Business, 1996. 

Govt will restrict 

import of rice, try 

to export: Kamal 

DHAKA : Finance 

Minister AHM Mustafa 

Kamal yesterday said that 

the government would 

restrict import of rice and 

try to export it abroad to give 

relief to farmers. 

"From the government 

we'll restrict import of rice 

and we'll definitely take 

steps in this regard. Import 

of rice can't be banned and it 

will not go to the banned 

items' list. We'll do that 

through fiscal and monetary 

measures and I believe our 

Prime Minister will actively 

consider this," he said. 

The Finance Minister said 

this when country's 

renowned agriculture development 

and media personality 

Shykh Seraj placed a set 

of recommendations before 

the Finance Minister at his 

ERD office on agriculture 

and its sub-sectors for considering 

those in the national 

budget for Fy20. 

He said the government 

would have to save the farmers 

on the whole as they are 

the lifeline of the country 

since they supply food to the 

countrymen. 

Kamal said the country 

unusually witnessed huge 

food grains production 

including paddy in this year 

side by side the neighboring 

countries also witnessed 

huge production. "That's 

why there is no such 

demand of rice in the neighboring 

countries, but we'll 

definitely try to go for 

export," he said. 

Citing that supply of 

paddy is now much higher 

compared to the demand, 

Kamal said for this, the 

farmers are not getting their 

proper price and in some 

cases, they are not getting 

the cost of production itself. 

The Finance Minister said 

that the production of vegetables 

in the country has 

increased significantly due 

to the government's steps to 

export vegetables through 

giving subsidy and now 

Bangladesh has became 4th 

in the world in vegetables 

production. 

He also suggested that the 

government export rice 

through giving subsidy 

Members of Khulna District Detective Police in a drive arrested Khokhon along 

with 14 locally made sharp weapons and 30 pieces of yaba tablets from 

Terokhada upazila of Khulna on Saturday night. Photo: Titash Chakraborthy 

Huge quantity of arms, 

ammo and drugs 

recovered in Khulna 

TITASH CHAKRABORTHy, KHULNA CORRESPONDENT: 

Khulna District Detective 

Police recovered firearms, bullets, 

drugs and large amount of 

locally made sharp weapons 

from two upazilas of the district 

in two separate operations. 

Police also arrested Ashraful 

Islam Masum (28) and Khokon 

Sheikh (40) in this connection. 

District Detective Police Officer 

In-Charge Inspector Tofail 

Ahmed confirmed about the 

matter. 

On Saturday night, a team 

led by Detective Branch 

Inspector Tofail Ahmed at the 

instructions of Detective 

Branch Police Superintendent 

SM Shafiullah in a drive 

arrested Ashraful Islam 

Masum (28) from the north 

side of Jugnipasha Westpara 

Sardarbari Jame Mosque of 

Phultala upazila along with 

one pistol, = one round cartridge 

and 80 bottles of 

phensedyl. Sub-Inspector 

Mukta Roy Chowdhury PPM , 

filed a plaintiff in two separate 

cases under the Arms and 

Narcotics Act against 

Ashraful. His house is located 

in Abhaynagar upazila of 

Jashore district. 

On the same day, another 

team of District Detective 

Police detained Khokon 

Sheikh (40) with 14 locally 

made sharp weapons and 30 

pieces of yaba tablets from his 

house in a drive in Naliarchar 

area of Terokhada upazila of 

the district. In this incident 

Deputy Police Inspector 

Layekuzzaman filed two cases 

against Khokon under the 

Arms and Narcotics Act. 

Khokon is the son of late 

Ranga Mia of Naliarchar village 

of the same upazila. 

DHAKA : Citi has been 

named as the best bank in 

Asia by Corporate Treasurer 

Magazine, Asia's leading trade 

magazine covering corporate 

treasury and finance, reports 

UNB. 

The best bank award was 

decided by a poll of over 1,200 

corporate treasurers and 

CFOs across the Asia Pacific 

region arranged by the magazine 

and East and Partners, 

global specialist business 

banking market research and 

analysis firm, said a media 

release on Sunday. 

The poll asked companies 

for their primary bank and 

their satisfaction with it across 

transaction services, including 

cash, trade and FX services. 

The winner was then determined 

by the combined 

scores of market share and 

this satisfaction rating. 

"We were delighted with the 

level of engagement in this 

adding that steps would be 

taken in this regard after 

consultation with the Prime 

Minister. 

Kamal said not only vegetables, 

the government 

could go for export of those 

food grains and items which 

would be in excess production 

as it will help reduce the 

mismatch between demand 

and supply and thus the 

farmers would get the just 

price of their produce. 

About the use of agricultural 

machinery, the 

Finance Minister said massive 

awareness has to be created 

so that the farmers use 

modern agricultural 

machinery in their farming 

and harvesting which would 

ultimately reduce their production 

cost and enhance 

productivity. 

He also spoke of introducing 

insurance in the poultry 

sector to help protect this 

sector from sudden collapse 

side by side with reducing 

import duty on agricultural 

machinery to reach them to 

farmers with ease, comfort 

and with less cost. 

HC declares gazette 

on minimum age of 

FFs' illegal 

DHAKA : The High Court 

(HC) yesterday declared illegal 

an amended gazette notification 

issued determining minimum 

age of Freedom Fighters' 

(FFs') 12 years six months till 

November 30, 1971. 

A High Court division bench 

comprising Justice Sheikh 

Hassan Arif and Justice Razik- 

Al-Jalil passed the order, disposing 

of a rule issued earlier 

in this regard. 

The High Court in its order 

also declared unconstitutional 

the definition of a "valiant 

Freedom Fighter" by setting 

up an age limit by section 2. 11 

of Freedom Fighters' Welfare 

Trust Act. 

The High Court earlier 

issued the rule asking the concerned 

authorities to explain 

why the amended gazette notification 

shall not be declared 

beyond legal authority. 

The court had asked 

Liberation War Affairs 

Ministry, its secretary, joint 

secretary, power and energy 

secretary, finance secretary, 

Jatiya Muktijoddha 

Command Council director 

general and director general of 

Department of Geological 

Survey to respond. 

Citi named as best 

bank in Asia 

ground breaking original 

research by Corporate 

Treasurer and East. For Citi, 

the award was a significant 

milestone marking its journey 

in Asia," said the editorial 

announcing the award. 

"The award is important 

recognition from clients that 

Citi is delivering on our commitment 

to be their most 

trusted banking partner. We 

would like to thank all our 

clients for this trust they place 

in us. Underpinning this win 

is a team across the region 

and I would like to congratulate 

them," said Jan Metzger, 

Asia Pacific Head of Banking, 

Capital Markets Advisory. 

In the first quarter of 2019, 

Citi Asia Pacific reported a 60 

percent rise in net income 

quarter on quarter across its 

Institutional Clients Group in 

Asia, which bank's Asia's leading 

corporates and global 

MNCs doing business in the 

region. 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam, Advisory Editor: Advocate Molla Mohammad Abu Kawser, Managing, Editor: Tapash Ray Sarker, News Editor : Saiful Islam, printed at Sonali Printing Press, 2/1/A, Arambagh 167, Inner Circular Road, Eden Complex, Motijheel, Dhaka. 

Editorial and News Office: K.K Bhaban (Level-04) 69/K, Green Road, Panthapath, Dhaka-1205. Tel : +8802-9611884, Cell : 01832166882; Email: Editor : editor@thebangladeshtoday.com, Advertisement: ads@thebangladeshtoday.com, News: newsbangla@thebangladeshtoday.com, contact@thebangladeshtoday.com, website: www.thebangladeshtoday.com

20-05-2019

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