VVIP security for Australia if needed: Home minister

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan talks to media after a meeting with visiting Sean Carroll, head of security of Cricket Australia (CA), at home ministry on Monday. Photo: TV grab

Star Online Report

All sorts of security measures will be taken ahead of Bangladesh-Australia Test series, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said today.
“If necessary, the Australian cricket team will be given VVIP security,” the minister told reporters following a meeting with visiting Sean Carroll, head of security of Cricket Australia (CA), at the home ministry this noon.
“Besides, if they have any particular demand that will also be fulfilled,” the home minister said.
Australian High Commissioner in Dhaka Greg Wilcock, European Union Ambassador in Dhaka Pierre Mayaudon, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan Papon, police and detectives were also present at the meeting.
Wilcock said, “I will forward the outcome of the meeting to our government for a final decision in this regard.”
The flight of the Australian players to Dhaka was postponed following a security advice from the Australian government, claiming that they had intelligence of militant groups might target the country’s cricket team in Bangladesh after arrival.
BCB was surprised at the decision that came just days before the visiting team was scheduled to depart for the tour on Monday. The board has asserted that there has been no security alarm and seemed confident that the Test series will continue as scheduled.
Australia was scheduled to play a three-day warm up match against BCB XI on October 3 before beginning two Test match series on October 9 in Chittagong and October 17 in Dhaka.

Bangladesh name unchanged squad for first Australia Test

Bangladesh left-arm spinner Taijul Islam returns to the squad for the first Test against Australia after recovering from a bout of jaundice which he suffered from last month. AFP file photo

ESPNcricinfo

Bangladesh have opted to retain the squad that played the Test series against South Africa for the upcoming first Test against Australia.
The squad also includes left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, who has recovered from a bout of jaundice which he suffered last month.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board has announced the squad despite the uncertainty surrounding the series. Last week, Cricket Australia chose to delay the team's scheduled departure on September 28 due to increased security concerns. CA's chief executive, James Sutherland, cited "recent advice from a range of Australian government sources" that identified potential security risks to Australian interests in Bangladesh.
CA's decision to proceed with the Test series will depend on the outcome of meetings between its security chief Sean Carroll and government and police officials in Bangladesh. It is learnt that security officials who met with Carroll assured fool-proof security for the team and the BCB is also quietly confident of sharing more detailed information that can help ease CA's concerns.
According to the current schedule, the first Test is scheduled between October 9 and 13 in Chittagong, while the second Test will be played in Mirpur from October 17. Australia are also scheduled to play a three-day tour match against the BCB XI in Fatullah before the start of the Test series.
Bangladesh squad for the first Test: Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), Tamim Iqbal (vice-capt), Imrul Kayes, Jubair Hossain, Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Shahid, Mominul Haque, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Taijul Islam

Country’s first butterfly park in Chittagong

Anurup Kanti Das and Minhaj Uddin

The beauty of a colourful butterfly captivates us instantly, making us wonder where they get their beautiful wings from. Surely this sight of a shimmering butterfly inspired the National poet Kazi Nazrul Islam to write his popular song ‘Projapoti’ (Butterfly).
Now-a-days, butterflies are rarely seen in the cities. However, in Chittagong there is a park where several hundred butterflies of 11 different species fill the air with dancing, flitting colours.
Every day hundreds of visitors visit the Butterfly Park near the Shah Amanant International Airport. The number increases to several thousand during the holidays.

Established in a compound of over six acres, the park was officially opened in 2012.
Visitors of the park can watch butterflies hovering over flowers, feeding on nectar, flitting from flower to flower.
The park has live butterfly-zone, breeding centre and collection of dead butterflies in a museum.
If you look closely you might even see the rare sight of their eggs, the larvae eating leaves, and even the chrysalis on way to become a butterfly in the breeding centre.
“Sunny days are the best time to watch the beauty of flying butterflies. Butterflies do not move much during cloudy day and afternoons and hide under leaves and bushes,” says butterfly curator Alimuddin.

The life-cycle of the butterfly involves four stages-- egg, larvae, pupa and adult butterfly.
“It takes six days for the larva to emerge from the egg, in 18 days the larva turns into a pupa and in 12 days a butterfly emerges,” Alimuddin informed.

Their lifespan depends on the type. Adults may live from four weeks to several months, according to Alim Uddin.
Once abundant, destruction of butterfly habitats has made them a rare sight now.
Researchers estimate a total of around 400 species are residents of the country.
Visitors believe if the park could be set up in a larger area it could help conserve butterflies and attract more visitors.

It's not easy to be a mother: Shakira

Barcelona's defender Gerard Pique's mother (2L) stands beside Pique's wife Shakira and sons Milan and Sasha. Photo: AFP

AFP, IANS

Singer Shakira, who has two sons, says that it is not easy to be a mother. She calls it the most difficult thing she has ever done in life.
During Fisher Price’s Happy Factor Panel here, which focused on the challenges of early motherhood, Shakira shared that she is all the time looking for help and information online, researching and reading on motherhood and tasks, reports people.com.
I’m one of those tiger moms, who is all the time looking for help and information online and researching and reading.
It’s not easy to be a mother, the singer said Thursday in New York City during the Fisher Price’s Happy Factor Panel, which focused on the challenges of early motherhood, she said.
It is one of the most difficult things I’ve done in my life, I’ve been on the most challenging stages performing in front of really demanding audiences and I’ve been meeting with world leaders who sometimes make you a little bit apprehensive, but nothing has made me so self-conscious as being a mom, she added.
The "Waka Waka" hitmaker also expressed that every day she wonders if she is doing the right thing.
I just want to improve in the job, the hardest job on earth.”
Shakira also developed a line of toys and an app with Fisher Price to help moms educate and nurture their children.

‘18 Bangladeshis dead, 90 missing’ in Hajj stampede

Star Online Report

So far, 18 Bangladeshis have been identified among those killed in the Makkah stampede, chief of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (Haab) says.
About 90 others are missing still, Ibrahim Bahar, president of Haab, told The Daily Star today quoting Bangladesh’s Hajj mission in Saudi Arabia.
According to him, fears are that the Bangladeshi death toll might rise.
Read more: 11 Bangladeshis among the dead
Details of the victims were not available immediately as Saudi authorities were reportedly not allowing anyone into the hospitals where the casualty victims were being kept.
This year over 1,00,000 Bangladeshis went to perform Hajj.
The death toll in the deadly stampede has already reached to 769 by Saudi authorities’ count. Leaders of the Saudi Kingdom have ordered a probe into the matter.
Read more: Saudi Arabia under fire
Furious, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed the incident on Saudi Arabia and demanded apology for the stampede.
Iran has vowed to take international legal action against Saudi Arabia’s rulers in this connection.

28 lost lives in appalling road crashes during Eid holidays

Sun Online Desk

27 September, 2015 20:30

Representational Pic

At least 28 people were killed and 44 others injured in road crashes in different parts of the country, including the capital, in the last four days from Thursday.

Of them, five were killed on Thursday while an army man was killed on the Eid day (Friday), 19 killed on Saturday and three people were killed on Sunday, reports UNB.

Apart from the capital, the accidents took place in Bogra, Faridpur, Gopalganj, Chuadanga, Magura, Comilla, Munshiganj, Madaripur and Shariatpur districts.

In Bogra, three people were killed and 15 others injured in a head-on collision between two buses on Dhaka-Rangpur highway at Pakurtala in Shibganj upazila on Thursday morning.

One of the deceased was identified as Abul Kalam Azad, 45, son of Monsur Ali of Bishnapur village in Palashbari upazila of Gaibandha district.

Meanwhile, Helal Uddin, 28, an army member of Bogra Majhira Cantonment hailing from Ullapara upazila of Sirajgang, was killed when a bus hit his motorcycle on Bogra-Dhaka highway at Noymile in Shahjahanpur upazila around 3 pm on Friday while going to his village home.

In Faridpur, two motorcyclists -- Mohammad Abir, 18, and Mohammad Raihan, 17-- were killed in a road accident in Jhiltuli area of the district town on Thursday.

In Gopalganj, six members of a family and another person were killed in a head-on collision between a microbus and a battery-run three-wheeler, Easy-bike, on Gopalganj-Kotalipara road in Sadar upazila on Saturday morning.

The deceased were identified as Khokon Sikder, 45, his wife China Begum, 40, his mother Katebunnisa, 70, his son Shakib, 28, and two daughters Eti, 7, and Aniya, 16, of Teligati village in the upazila and the Easy-bike driver Delwar.

In Dhaka, five people, including two women, were killed and 25 others injured as two buses collided on Dhaka-Aricha highway at Kelia in Dhamrai upazila in the afternoon.

Three of the deceased were identified as Abul Kalam Azad, 57, Sumaiya Khan, 17, hailing from Faridpur district, and Kotu Miah, a bus driver.

Meanwhile, a CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver, Jamal, 25, was killed in another accident on the highway in Islampur area of the upazila on the day.

In Chuadanga, a head-on a collision between a truck and a human hauler left two people dead on Chuadanga-Jhenidah highway in Subdiya area of sadar upazila on Saturday morning. The deceased were identified as Shafi Uddin and Khairul Islam.

In Magura, Ranjan Mondal, 60, a resident of Naubhanga village of Mohammadpur upazila, was crushed to death by a speeding bus in Magura bus stand area of the district town around 10am on Saturday.

In Comilla, an unidentified young man was crushed to death by a bus on Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Kotbari in Sadar upazila in the evening.

In Munshiganj, Sirajul Islam, 55, a resident of Dakkhin Paiksa village in the upazila, was crushed under the wheels of a bus at Chhanbari on Dhaka-Mawa highway in Srinagar upazila on Saturday.

Besides, a woman and her grandson were killed when a bus knocked them down on Dhaka-Mawa highway at Ghorghar in Sreenagar upazila on Sunday.

The deceased were identified as Salma Begum, 35, wife of Abdul Maley, an expatriate, and her grandson Jisan, 2, son of Mokhles Miah of Kamarpara village in the upazila.

In Madaripur, Emdad Hossain Hawladar, 25, a lawyer was killed in a road accident on Kalkini-Mollarhat road in Shikarmangal village of Kalkini upazila on Saturday.

In Shariatpur, a jail guard was killed when a bus hit his motorcycle at Charangir intersection in the district town around 9am on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Ujjal Miah, 28.

Iran denounces Saudi Arabia over hajj, demands apology

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Muslim countries should demand Saudi Arabia be held to account for the deaths. Reuters file photo

Reuters, Dubai

Iran berated Saudi Arabia on Sunday over the deaths of 769 people at the hajj pilgrimage, demanding an apology and accusing its rival of seeking to evade blame, while Riyadh in turn accused Tehran of playing politics with the disaster.
At least 155 Iranian pilgrims died in a crush of pilgrims on Thursday near Mecca and 300 other Iranians remain unaccounted for, including former ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi, Iranian state media has said.
ALSO READ: Hajj stampede: 98 Bangladeshis missing
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Muslim countries should demand Saudi Arabia be held to account for the deaths. The kingdom presents itself as the guardian of orthodox Islam and custodian of its holiest places in Mecca and Medina.
"Instead of blaming this and that, the Saudis should accept the responsibility and apologize to the Muslims and the victims' families," Khamenei was quoted as saying on his own website.
"The Islamic world has a lot of questions. The death of more than 1,000 people is not a small issue. Muslim countries should focus on this," Khamenei said. Other Iranian officials have also alleged the total death toll is more than 1,000.
ALSO READ: Hajj casualty: Bangladesh embassy starts inquiry
Thursday's disaster, the worst to befall the hajj in 25 years, happened when two large groups of pilgrims collided at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometers east of Mecca, on their way to performing the "stoning of the devil" ritual at Jamarat.
Acrimony flares up
Shi'ite Muslim Iran is involved in a number of conflicts in Arab countries, including Iraq, Syria and Yemen, to great opposition from the Sunni Muslim kingdom. The deaths at Mina have caused the simmering acrimony between the two countries to flare up.

Rescue workers carry the bodies of Muslim pilgrims after a stampede at Mina, outside the holy Muslim city of Mecca September 24, 2015. Photo: Reuters

A cartoon published by Iran's conservative Tasnim news agency depicted King Salman of Saudi Arabia as a camel trampling pilgrims under its hooves, while the conservative Kayhan newspaper showed the king shaking hands with one of the pillars symbolizing the devil in the hajj's stoning ritual.
ALSO READ: Hajj stampede: Saudi mufti says deaths 'beyond human control'
Meanwhile, the Saudi daily AsSharq al-Awsat appeared to blame Iranian pilgrims for the disaster. It quoted what it called Iranian officials as saying a group of 300 Iranian pilgrims had set off to perform a ritual ahead of their assigned schedule, leading to a collision with other pilgrims.
The incident cast a shadow over meetings on the sidelines of the 193-nation UN General Assembly in New York.
Speaking in New York, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir accused Iran of exploiting the tragedy for political purposes.
"This is not a situation with which to play politics," he said before meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday. "I would hope that the Iranian leaders would be more sensible and more thoughtful with regards to those who perished in this tragedy and wait until we see the results of the investigation."
Saudi newspaper al-Hayat reported Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif had verbally asked to meet Jubeir on the sidelines of the assembly but his request was rejected because the request "came in an arrogant way and out of place".
Iranian Minister of Culture Ali Janati, assigned to probe the disaster, was quoted by Fars news agency as confirming that Zarif had asked to meet Jubeir but the request was rejected.
Iran has summoned the Saudi charge d'affaires three times to ask Riyadh for more cooperation over the incident.
"The reports show that Saudis are responsible for this incident by their mismanagement and negligence," Ali Larijani, Iranian parliament speaker was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency after the assembly met to discuss the incident.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also demanded an investigation into the "heart-rending incident" in a speech at the United Nations on Saturday.

‘Violation of rules by Iranian pilgrims caused stampede’

Hundreds of protesters marched in Tehran after Friday prayers, condemning the Saudi authorities. This photo is taken from BBC website.

Star Online Report

Violation of the pilgrims’ grouping regulations by some 300 Iranian pilgrims resulted in the stampede in Mina which killed 769 Hajjis and injured 934, Asharq Al-Awsat daily reported on Saturday quoting an official of the Tawafa Establishment for the Iranian Pilgrims.
The official, who requested anonymity, said the violation of rules by this group of Iranian pilgrims started from their very first movement from Muzdalifah on Thursday morning to Jamarat to perform the first day’s stoning ritual, Saudi Gazette reports.
They were clearly instructed to go to their tents from Muzdalifah instead of moving to Jamarat with their baggage.
They had been instructed to take rest in their tents and wait for the time allotted for them to perform their stoning ritual.
Moreover, these pilgrims moved back to their tents from Jamarat through Street 204 in the opposite direction of pilgrims’ movement, the official said.
The flow of pilgrims from two opposite directions resulted in the overcrowding and the stampede ensued, the official said.
According to sources, there are cameras installed in the tunnels leading to Jamarat and it will be obvious from the visuals that the Iranian pilgrims committed violations with regard to their movement to Jamarat.
It was mandatory for all tawafa establishments to abide by the pilgrims’ grouping regulations.
The Makkah governorate has denied reports in international media with regard to the press statement of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, emir of Makkah, advisor of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and chairman of the Central Hajj Committee, about the stampede in Mina.
The foreign media reported that Prince Khaled had held some African pilgrims responsible for the stampede. “Such reports are nothing to do with truth, and the emir did not make any such remarks about the incident to any local or foreign media outlets,” said Sultan Al-Dosari, official spokesman of governorate, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Migrant crisis: 17 people drown after boat sinks off Turkish coast

The victims were taken to a nearby morgue in Bodrum, Turkey. Photo: AP

BBC Online

Seventeen migrants attempting to reach Greece by boat from Turkey have drowned after their boat sank off the Turkish coast.
The victims, all thought to be Syrians, included five women and five children, local media said.
They were trapped in the boat's cabin as it sank, Turkey's Dogan news agency reported.
Another 20 people on the boat's deck, who were wearing life jackets, survived, the news agency said.
The boat is thought to have set out from the village of Gumusluk near the Turkish resort town of Bodrum, where three-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi died earlier this month.
Alan's death made international headlines when an image of his body washed up on the beach in Bodrum was widely shared.
Some 300,000 or more migrants and refugees have arrived in Greece so far this year, mostly setting off from Turkey's Aegean coast, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
With several Greek islands within a few miles, thousands of people are attempting the dangerous journey every day.
MEDITERRANEAN RESCUE
Separately, 500 migrants have been rescued from the Mediterranean so far this weekend in seven operations involving the Italian coastguard and navy and a ship belonging to the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.
A spokesman for the coastguard told the AFP news agency on Sunday that three of the seven operations were ongoing.
The rescued migrants are thought to be largely from Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone and left Libya three days earlier. They were rescued about 80km (50 miles) off the Libyan coast.
Hungary's public broadcaster MTV said on Sunday morning that nearly 2,000 migrants had arrived at the border crossing point of Hegyeshalom, prior to continuing their journey on into Austria.
About 10,000 migrants crossed into Croatia from Serbia on Friday - a record daily high - with the steady stream of people continuing into the weekend.
Croatia said on Saturday that about 67,000 people had entered the country over the past 10 days, when Hungary's decision to fence off its border with Serbia redirected migrants towards Croatia.
Migrants and refugees crossing the Serbia-Croatia border have suffered a dip in temperatures this weekend.

Australia’s fear ‘baseless’: Home minister

Star Online Report

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan today ruled out Australia’s “militancy fear” as “baseless” in view of the country’s cricket team touring Bangladesh.
There is no such militant threat in Bangladesh, he told reporters at secretariat a day after Australian board delayed its scheduled tour citing “security threat”.
Australian government claimed they had intelligence of militant groups might target the country’s cricket team in Bangladesh after arrival.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was surprised at the decision that came just days before the visiting team was scheduled to depart for the tour on Monday.
The board has asserted there has been no security alarm and seemed confident that the Test series will continue as scheduled.
Australia was scheduled to play a three-day warm up match against BCB XI on October 3 before beginning two Test match series on October 9 in Chittagong and October 17 in Dhaka.

Rare 'supermoon' eclipse unfolds tonight

A supermoon rises over Glastonbury, southern England September 9, 2014. Photo: Reuters/Kieran Doherty

Reuters

Sky-watchers around the world are in for a treat tonight and tomorrow when the shadow of earth casts a reddish glow on the moon, the result of rare combination of an eclipse with the closest full moon of the year.
The total "supermoon" lunar eclipse, also known as a "blood moon" is one that appears bigger and brighter than usual as it reaches the point in its orbit that is closest to earth.
"There’s no physical difference in the moon. It just appears slightly bigger in the sky," planetary geologist Noah Petro, with Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said.
If skies are clear, the phenomenon will be visible from North and South America, Europe, Africa and parts of West Asia and the eastern Pacific. In the United States, the eclipse begins at 8:11pm EDT. The total eclipse starts two hours later and lasts for one hour and 12 minutes.
It has been more than 30 years since a supermoon combined with a lunar eclipse, said Nasa. The next total lunar eclipse will not be until 2018. The next supermoon-lunar eclipse combination will not happen until 2033.
For more than an hour Sunday night, earth’s shadow will blanket the full moon as the planet passes between the sun and the moon. The brilliant white glow of the moon will slowly transform into a dim red. The colouring is caused by earth’s atmosphere scattering sunlight into the shadow.
Because the moon is not perfectly round, its distance from earth varies by about 49,900km as it circles around the planet every 27 days.
At its closest point, known as perigee, the moon comes as close as 363,104km from earth. At apogee, the most distant point, the moon is 406,696km away.

Cricket Australia official in Dhaka to assess security

Star Online Report

Sean Carroll, head of security of Cricket Australia (CA), reached Dhaka this morning to assess the situation in Bangladesh and met Australian High Commissioner in Bangladesh and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan Papon upon his arrival.
The CA head of security is also scheduled to meet officials of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and National Security Intelligence (NSI) today and the home ministry tomorrow and prepare an assessment report based on which CA would decide whether to proceed with the tour.
Australian High Commission said in a Facebook post that the travel advice for Bangladesh was reissued on September 25 to advise that militants may be planning to target Australian interests in Bangladesh. The level of the advice has not changed – it remains at “Exercise a high degree of caution”.
The High Commission also said it would remain in close contact with CA and Bangladesh authorities in this regard.

 

After the meeting with Sean Carroll, BCB chief Papon told reporters that he offered the CA high official to talk to anyone they want in order to ensure that the matter of security of the players and staff has been taken care of.
Earlier today, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan ruled out Australia’s “militancy fear” as “baseless” in view of Australia cricket team touring Bangladesh.
“There is no such militant threat in Bangladesh,” he told reporters at the secretariat a day after Australian board delayed its scheduled tour citing “security threat”.
The flight of the Australian players to Dhaka was postponed following a security advice from the Australian government claiming they had intelligence of militant groups might target the country’s cricket team in Bangladesh after arrival.
BCB was surprised at the decision that came just days before the visiting team was scheduled to depart for the tour on Monday. The board has asserted that there has been no security alarm and seemed confident that the Test series will continue as scheduled.
Australia was scheduled to play a three-day warm up match against BCB XI on October 3 before beginning two Test match series on October 9 in Chittagong and October 17 in Dhaka.

Hajj ends as stampede death toll rises to 769

An aerial view shows the Grand mosque and the Kaaba (center) in Saudi Arabia's holy Muslim city of Mecca on September 25, 2015. Photo: AFP

AFP, Mecca

Saudi Arabia deployed large numbers of security reinforcements as pilgrims performed the final rituals of a hajj marred by double tragedy, with the death toll from a stampede rising to 769.
The kingdom's leaders have ordered an inquiry into the disaster -- the deadliest to strike the annual Muslim pilgrimage in a quarter-century -- and a "revision" of its organisation, with the deaths raising tensions with regional rival Iran as well.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanded Saudi Arabia apologise on Sunday for the stampede.
"Instead of passing the buck and playing a blame game, the Saudis should accept their responsibility and apologise to the world's Muslims and the bereaved families," Khamenei said in comments reported by the official IRNA news agency.
Dozens of emergency workers were seen on one level of Jamarat Bridge, a five-storey structure in Mina where pilgrims ritually stone the devil, and on which hundreds of thousands were converging when Thursday's stampede occurred nearby.
Many more patrolled the network of roads leading to the structure, which resembles a parking garage.
The interior ministry has said it assigned 100,000 police to secure the hajj and manage crowds.
But pilgrims blamed the stampede on police road closures and poor management of the throng, during searing temperatures.
"People were trying to manoeuvre to the front for safety but police were saying 'Go back! Go back!'" said Nigerian Abbas Tijani, who escaped with injuries.
"Everybody was trying to survive," he said from his hospital bed. "People were stepped on by people."
In all, 769 people were killed and 934 others were wounded, according to Health Minister Khaled al-Falih.

Hundreds of protesters marched in Tehran after Friday prayers, condemning the Saudi authorities. This photo is taken from BBC website.

'PLAYING POLITICS'
Criticism has been particularly strident from Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran, 136 of whose nationals were among the dead.
"It is not only incompetence, but a crime," Iranian Attorney General Ebrahim Raeisi said, while President Hassan Rouhani used an address to the United Nations on Saturday to call for an investigation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also took Riyadh to task, saying "unfortunately, we have not seen enough cooperation" up until now.
Culture Minister Ali Janati is to head a delegation to Saudi Arabia to follow up on 344 Iranians Tehran says are missing, but state news agency IRNA said his team still has not received visas.
Saudi Arabia firmly rejected Iran's criticism on Saturday, saying the Islamic republic "shouldn't play politics with a tragedy".
"I would hope Iranian leaders would be more sensible and more thoughtful with regards to those who perished in this tragedy, and wait until we see the results of the investigation," said Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.
The disaster was the second deadly accident to mar the hajj. A massive construction crane collapsed on the Grand Mosque in the nearby holy city of Mecca days beforehand, killing 109 people, many of them pilgrims.
Undeterred Saturday, pilgrims in Mina still flooded the area to perform the ritual stoning for a third time, on the last day of the hajj which this year drew about two million people.
They also stood in prayer.
Most began leaving on Saturday, returning to Mecca where many performed the tawaf -- where they circumambulate the Kaaba in the middle of the sacred site at the Grand Mosque -- watched on by heavy security.

Rescue workers carry the body of a Muslim pilgrim after a stampede at Mina, outside the holy Muslim city of Mecca, September 24, 2015. At least 717 pilgrims from around the world were killed on Thursday in a crush outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi authorities said, in the worst disaster to strike the annual haj pilgrimage for 25 years. Photo: Reuters

'FATE AND DESTINY'
Abdullah al-Sheikh, chairman of the Shura Council, which advises the government, stressed that pilgrims must stick to "the rules and regulations taken by the security personnel".
That echoed comments Friday by Health Minister Falih, who faulted the worshippers for the tragedy, saying that if "the pilgrims had followed instructions, this type of accident could have been avoided".
Saudi Arabia's top religious leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, told Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef that the incident was beyond human control.
"You are not responsible for what happened," official news agency SPA quoted Sheikh as telling him.
"FATE AND DESTINY ARE INEVITABLE."
Authorities have yet to provide a breakdown of the nationalities of pilgrims killed in the stampede, as the difficult process of identification continues.
Around 250 deaths in total have been officially confirmed by foreign officials, largely from African and Asian countries.
For years, the hajj was marred by stampedes and fires, but it had been largely incident-free for nine years after safety improvements and billions of dollars worth of infrastructure investment.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it is expected to perform it at least once in a lifetime.

3 Bangladeshis among Mina victims: Foreign office

Rescue workers carry the body of a Muslim pilgrim after a stampede at Mina, outside the holy Muslim city of Mecca, September 24, 2015. At least 769 pilgrims from around the world were killed on Thursday in a crush outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi authorities said, in the worst disaster to strike the annual haj pilgrimage for 25 years. Photo: Reuters

Star Online Report

The Bangladesh foreign ministry has confirmed the death of three Bangladeshi hajj pilgrims in Thursday’s Mina stampede that left at least 769 killed.
The number of missing Bangladeshi pilgrims has yet to be ascertained, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said in a press release issued on the fourth day of the catastrophe at the largest Muslim’s congregation.
The identification began today after the Saudi authorities released the photos of 650 of the 769 pilgrims they said had died in the incident.
Bangladesh officials identified a victim as Md Shahidul Islam from Khulna.
ALSO READ: Hajj death toll rises to 769
It confirmed death of two others male Bangladeshi nationals but failed to ascertain their identity.
“In addition, family members of a female pilgrim, Firoza Khanam, confirmed her death in the stampede (though her photo was not yet among those released photos),” the press release reads.
The ministry also said Saudi authorities are expected to publish photographs of rest of the victims by tomorrow.

বলিউড তারকাদের অজানা কিছু তথ্য

বিনোদন ডেস্কঃ
বলিউড তারকাদের ভক্ত, বর্তমানে বিশ্বজুড়ে। আর ভক্তরা তার প্রিয় তারকাদের সম্পর্কে খুঁটিনাটি নানা তথ্য জানতে বরাবরই আগ্রহী। তাই এ প্রতিবেদনে বলিউড তারকাদের সম্পর্কে কিছু তথ্য দেওয়া হল, যেগুলো হয়তো অনেকেরই অজানা।

শাহরুখ খান: জীবনের প্রথম রোজগার বলতে শাহরুখ খান সংগীতশিল্পী পঙ্কজ উদাসের গানের আসরে কাজ করে পেয়েছিলেন ৫০ টাকা। সেই টাকা দিয়ে ট্রেনের টিকিট কেটে তাজমহল দেখতে যান শাহরুখ।

ঐশ্বরিয়া রাই বচ্চন: প্রথমজীবনে একটি টিভি সিরিয়ালে ডাবিংয়ের কাজে গিয়ে প্রত্যাখ্যাত হন ঐশ্বরিয়া।
সালমান খান: কখনো সুতির কাপড়ে মুখ মোছেন না সালমান, ব্যবহার করেন মখমলের কাপড়।
অক্ষয় কুমার: সাতবার ফিল্মফেয়ার মনোনয়ন পেয়েছেন অক্ষয় কুমার। দুইবার জিতেছেন। তবে সেরা নায়ক হিসেবে নয়। একবার গরম মশালা সিনেমায় কমিক রোল, আরেকবার আজনবী সিনেমায় নেগেটিভ রোলের জন্য।
কারিনা কাপুর: কারিনার নামকরণ করা হয়েছে অ্যানা করেনিনার বইয়ের নাম থেকে অনুপ্রাণিত হয়ে। এই বইটি কারিনা পেটে থাকার সময়ে পড়েছিলেন তার মা। তবে পরিবারে সকলের কাছে তিনি বেবো নামেই পরিচিত।
হৃত্বিক রোশন: ছোটবেলায় প্রচ- তোতলাতেন হৃত্বিক। তা থেকে বেরিয়ে আসতে বহুদিন ধরে নানা অনুশীলন করেন তিনি। এখন আর কোনো সমস্যা নেই তার।

ক্যাটরিনা কাইফ: সিনেমা মুক্তি পাওয়ার আগে সিদ্ধি বিনায়ক মন্দির, মাউন্ট মেরি চার্চ ও আজমের শরিফে ঘুরে আসেন ক্যাটরিনা কাইফ।

ইমরান খান: আমির খানের ভাগ্নে অভিনেতা ইমরান খান ভারতের নয়, আদতে মার্কিন যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের নাগরিক।
আমির খান: বলিউডের মিস্টার পারফেকশনিস্ট আমির লগান সিনেমা করলেও প্রথমদিকে পরিচালক আশুতোষ গোয়ারিকরের লেখা গল্পের ড্রাফট নাকচ করে দেন। মোট ছয়বার শুনে তা বাতিল করার পরে সপ্তমবারে এসে তিনি রাজি হন। এবং এতটাই প্রভাবিত হন যে সিনেমাটি নিজে প্রযোজনা করেন।
সুস্মিতা সেন: সুস্মিতা সেন বাড়িতে একটি পাইথন সাপ পোষেন সে খবর অনেকেই জানেন না।
অর্জুন রামপাল: হলিউড অভিনেত্রী নিকোল কিডম্যানের সঙ্গে একটি বিজ্ঞাপনে কাজ করেছেন অর্জুন রামপাল। এর প্রযোজক ছিলেন গ্ল্যাডিয়েটর সিনেমার ডিরেক্টর স্যর রিডলি স্কট ও পরিচালক ছিলেন শেখর কাপুর।
পরিণীতি চোপড়া: স্কুল জীবনে পড়াশোনায় দারুণ ছিলেন পরিণীতি। দ্বাদশ শ্রেণির পরীক্ষায় সারা ভারতে তিনি প্রথম হন। সেজন্য রাষ্ট্রপতির হাত থেকে পুরষ্কারও পান তিনি।
প্রীতি জিনতা: বলিউড অভিনেত্রী প্রীতি জিনতা অভিনয় ও ব্যবসা ছাড়াও দক্ষিণ এশিয়ায় বিবিসি সংবাদ সংস্থার হয়ে কলামও লেখেন।

New BGMEA chief

Fourth from left, Siddiqur Rahman, new BGMEA president, poses with seven vice presidents of the association, at its 32nd annual general meeting at its office in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: BGMEA

Star Business Report

Newly elected president of Bangladesh Garment Manufac-turers and Exporters Association, Siddiqur Rahman, took over charge of the trade body for two years yesterday.
Outgoing BGMEA President Atiqul Islam handed over responsibility of the trade body to Rahman at the 32nd annual general meeting at the BGMEA office in Dhaka. Seven vice-presidents of BGMEA also took over their responsibilities at the event for 2015 and 2016.
Islam also unveiled a roadmap to achieve the target to export apparel worth $50 billion by 2021.
Last December, BGMEA adopted the recommendations for the roadmap by hosting the Dhaka Apparel Summit, where garment makers, exporters, international retailers and exporters from home and abroad gave their feedback on achieving the export target.
In the roadmap, Islam prioritised improving infrastructure, lowering the bank interest rate, diversifying markets and products, and ensuring an uninterrupted supply of power and gas to the industrial units to increase workers' productivity and efficiency.
“We sent the roadmap to the offices of the prime minister and commerce, labour and planning ministries to take measures to assist in achieving the export target,” Islam said. “The target might seem ambitious to many, but it is attainable if we work together. We need garment export growth at 11 percent year-on-year to achieve the target by 2021.”
Bangladesh will need an additional 20 lakh workers from the existing 44 lakh in the sector to attain the target, he said.

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Islam said fabric consumption will also reach $30 billion from the existing $10 billion, according to the roadmap. “So, Bangladesh will need to improve the capacities of the backward linkage industries to supply raw materials.”
By 2021, the apparel sector will consume accessories worth $10 billion, rising from $5 billion at present, which will also create new entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for the unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workforce, he said.
“We need to strengthen apparel diplomacy as the garment business of Bangladesh reached its current position mainly for the trade privileges offered by the developed and developing countries.”
Bangladesh will have to grab an 8 percent share of the then $650 billion global market to attain its export target, according to the roadmap. The country currently caters to 5 percent of the $450 billion global apparel market.
Garment exports grew 4.08 percent to $25.5 billion in fiscal 2014-15, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. The export earning from the apparel sector was 5.2 percent below the annual target of $26.9 billion at the time.

ADB revises down regional growth as China and India slow

Workers build a high rise commercial residential project in Manila. Photo: Reuters/File

Afp, Hong Kong

Weaker growth in China this year is expected to cause a slowdown in the rest of Asia, the Asian Development Bank said Tuesday as it became the latest major body to revise down its forecasts for the world's number two economy.
It also warned central banks to prepare for an expected Federal Reserve interest rate rise, with many nations already seeing huge capital outflows as dealers look for safer US investments.
The report comes as markets have been hit by extreme volatility driven by fears over the Chinese economy -- and its leaders' management of it -- after last month's surprise devaluation of its yuan currency.
"The combination of a moderating prospect in China and India, together with delayed recovery of advanced countries, weighed on our forecast for the region as a whole," said ADB Chief Economist Shang-Jin Wei, who presented the report at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong Kong.
In an update to its flagship Asian Development Outlook released in March, the Bank said growth in the region would hit 5.8 percent this year and 6.0 percent in 2016. March's forecast was for 6.3 percent for both years.
Inflation in the developing Asia region was forecast to ease further, partly due to lower global commodity prices.
Wei said that the overall outlook for the region was "still positive" but had been impacted by capital flow reversals and weakened commodity prices for exporters, partly related to the China slowdown.
"Developing Asia is expected to continue to be the largest contributing region to global growth despite the moderation," he added. However, it tipped China -- the main driver of global economic growth -- to expand 6.8 percent this year, instead of the 7.2 previously estimated, following a stream of weak indicators including on trade, inflation, investment and consumer spending.
The ADB predicted growth rate would be the slowest since 1990, a year after the Tiananmen Square crackdown that led to global sanctions against Beijing. It is also below China's official target for the year of "about" 7 percent.
But Wei said talk of a collapse in Chinese growth was "overblown".
"Consumption growth continues to look relatively strong. Retail sales look relatively resilient... job market employment looks relatively resilient," he said. Wei added that stocks volatility was unlikely to have a long-lasting effect on growth.
It added that Southeast Asia was bearing the brunt of China's slowdown, with growth in Southeast Asia this year put at 4.4 percent, before rising to 4.9 percent in 2016.
Jurgen Conrad, head of the ADB's economic unit, told reporters in Beijing that the revision was "mainly due to the delayed recovery in industrial countries reducing export demand".
Last week the OECD cut its 2015 growth forecast for China by 0.1 percentage points to 6.7 percent.
Forecasts for India were also lowered to 7.4 percent from 7.8 percent, weighed by the slow pace of reform by the new government and weak external demand, the report said.
The ADB urged regional central banks to move now on monetary policy to prepare for a US rate hike, which Fed chief Janet Yellen has said will come before the end of the year.
"To counter the impacts of a US rate rise, monetary policy authorities in developing Asia will need to find a balance between stabilising the financial sector and stimulating domestic demand," the report warned.

ADB raises growth forecast

Economic growth is expected to accelerate 6.7pc this fiscal year

ADB Country Director Kazuhiko Higuchi speaks at a media briefing at the bank's Dhaka office yesterday. Photo: Star

Star Business Report

The Asian Development Bank is bullish over Bangladesh's economic prospects this fiscal year, upgrading its growth forecasts while downgrading those for the rest of Asia Pacific save for Vietnam and Fiji.

The Manila-based multilateral lender tipped Bangladesh's gross domestic product to grow at 6.7 percent in fiscal 2015-16, up from its earlier prediction of 6.4 percent in its flagship annual economic publication, Asian Development Outlook that came out in March.

The optimism comes after the country outperformed ADB's growth forecast of 6.1 percent for fiscal 2014-15 in spite of political turmoil in the first quarter of 2015 that adversely affected transport services, exports and private investment.

Growth held up well because of brisk domestic demand, boosted by higher remittances, private sector wages and public investment, said Kazuhiko Higuchi, country director of ADB, while unveiling the updated version of March's report yesterday at the lender's office in Dhaka.

Mohammed Parvez Imdad, principal country specialist of ADB's Bangladesh office, presented the Bangladesh chapter of the report at the event.

The GDP growth forecast has been revised upwards upon expectations that exports will grow with the continued economic recovery in the US and the Eurozone and remittance will soar further, which, in turn, will boost consumption demand.

ADB also expects the private and public investment to pick up as the business climate improves in a stable political situation and spending to increase under the annual development programme, both of which will have a positive impact on GDP growth.

ADB praised the country's macroeconomic management, which, it said, has helped reduce inflation to 6.4 percent in fiscal 2014-15 from 7.4 percent a year earlier.“This was a very good achievement,” Higuchi said.Provided that normal weather prevails and prices remain favourable, agriculture growth is projected to move up to 3.2 percent this fiscal year from 3 percent last year.

Industrial growth is expected to strengthen but modestly to 9.8 percent from 9.6 percent last fiscal year on the back of better performance in readymade exports, manufacturing for domestic market and construction.

Growth in services is expected to increase to 6 percent from 5.8 percent as agriculture and industry expand.

Export growth is expected to increase to 6 percent this year, up from 3.3 percent a year ago.

Imports are projected to increase by 13 percent, from 11.2 percent the previous year, mainly in capital goods, industrial raw materials and food grains.

Remittance inflows are likely to grow 9 percent in fiscal 2015-16 from 7.7 percent a year earlier as the government steps up efforts to place workers overseas. Several risks could derail the projections, and foremost among them is political instability.

Failure to attain the revenue target without matching expenditure adjustments would create inflationary pressure as the government borrowed from the banks and so undermine macroeconomic stability.

Likewise, inadequate foreign investments would limit spending through the development plan on infrastructure, and thereby curtail growth.

Meanwhile, softer growth prospects for China and India, and a slow recovery in the major industrial economies will combine to push growth in Asia for 2015 and 2016 below previous projections, according to the ADB report. ADB now sees GDP growth for the region coming in at 5.8 percent in 2015 and 6 percent in 2016 -- below the March forecasts of 6.3 percent in both years.

China -- the world's second largest economy -- has seen growth moderate due to a slowdown in investment and weak exports in the first eight months of 2015. Growth is now seen at 6.8 percent in 2015, down from 7.2 percent projected earlier, and below the 7.2 percent posted in 2014.

External demand weaknesses and a slower-than-expected pace of enacting key reforms are holding back India's growth acceleration, with the pace in 2015 now seen at 7.4 percent, down from 7.8 percent forecast earlier.

Southeast Asia, meanwhile, is bearing the brunt of the slowdown in China -- one of its key markets -- as well as subdued demand from industrial countries, with growth in 2015 now seen at 4.4 percent, before bouncing back to 4.9 percent in 2016.

Brow-raising SIM fraud

State Minister for Post and Telecommunication Tarana Halim said around 75 percent of the SIM cards verified so far have not been registered properly. Star file photo

Staff Correspondent

Using a single national identity card, 14,117 mobile SIMs were registered.
A government verification of around one crore SIM (subscriber identity module) cards made the astonishing discovery.
Disclosing the figure, State Minister for Post and Telecommunication Tarana Halim yesterday said around 75 percent SIM cards, out of the verified one crore, were not registered properly.
“We have found around 14,117 SIM cards that were registered using a single national identity card number,” she said at a press conference after a meeting with high officials of mobile phone operators at her Secretariat office.
The fake SIMs are obstructing government efforts to check crime committed using mobile phones, she said.
There are 12.87 crore active mobile phone subscribers in the country, according to latest statistics of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
The six mobile carriers have so far submitted information of only 99,92,500 SIMs to the NID project of the Election Commission for verification.
Expressing disappointment with the carriers, Tarana said they have so far found that only 23,43,680 SIMs were registered properly.
The verification of mobile SIMs started on September 13.
The decision for re-registration and verification of SIMs was made as the government decided to prepare a new database of subscribers.
Meanwhile, carriers will start sending texts to their subscribers from October 15 asking them to provide information about their SIMs.
If the information they provide do not match, the subscribers would have to register their SIMs again.

Tangail cop firing: Justice is all the families want

Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee and Rashidul Hasan

In her mid-20s, Asiya finds herself saddled with a life she never wanted.
In a cruel twist of fate, she became a widow four days ago. Her husband Faruk Hossain, 32, is one of the four people killed in police firing on a protest in Tangail's Kalihati on Friday.
A three-wheeler driver, Faruk was the sole breadwinner of the five-member family.
Apart from her own, she is left with three mouths to feed -- an eight-year-old autistic son, a three-year-old daughter and her mother-in-law. She does not know what to do now.
"My whole world ... has gone dark," she told these correspondents when they visited her house in Kushtia village on Monday.
She was standing in front of a corrugated-sheet built room.
On the fateful day, her husband went to buy some rice from a store at Kalihati Bus Stand, which he did, but could not bring it home. Instead, it was his bullet-hit body that arrived home. ''It's the police who killed my husband," Asiya broke the silence, with her eyes fixed on the ground. "Now it's the government that has to take our responsibility."Fourteen-year-old Shyamol Das had started working at a barber shop in Salenka village of Kalihati to help his poverty-stricken five-member family.
Like other days, he was coming home for lunch on Friday. His mother had cooked his favourite fish dish. But Shyamol did not get to eat it.
"My son was watching the protests from a distance. But police dragged my son from there and shot him dead," his father Robi Das told The Daily Star.
Shamim, another victim, was preparing to fly to Saudi Arabia for work after Eid-ul-Azha. But his dream of a better life was shattered by police bullets, although he didn't even join the protest.
"He was a small trader. He ran a shop in Hamidpur market. On that day, he went to the bus stand area for some work," said Shamim's widow Anjumanara Bithi.
"When police opened fire, he got scared and hid himself in a nearby madrasa. But police caught him from there and killed him.
"They didn't just stop there. When my husband was taken to Tangail Sadar Hospital, police repeatedly prevented the doctors from treating him," alleged Bithi, demanding punishment to the law enforcers involved in this.
Left with two kids below the age of six, and none to support the family, Bithi has no idea how they would survive. "To whom should we go now? Where's justice?"
Rubel Islam, 18, was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with bullet injuries in the head on Friday. He died on Sunday.
An HSC student, Rubel used to work at a computer shop to bear his educational expenses. On Friday afternoon, he went to Khalihati Bus Stand on hearing that a protest was going on.
When these correspondents visited his house at Dakkhin Betdoba village on Monday evening, they saw a coffin outside the house. Rubel's body hadn't yet arrived from Dhaka.
His mother was wailing, holding Rubel's photograph against her chest. She was losing consciousness frequently.
"The government killed my innocent son ... but saved the rapists," she cried, before falling unconscious.
Abdul Aziz, brother-in-law of Rubel, accused municipal mayor Ansar Ali of interfering even with the funeral.
"He came here this morning and warned us against using loudspeakers for Rubel's janaza. He also asked us to bury the body immediately after it reaches here."
Demanding a judicial investigation into the killings, Aziz said, "We elected the government for establishing good governance, not for seeing dead bodies of our family members."

BASIC Bank Scam Bangladesh’s anti-graft watchdog files 23 more cases

Staff Correspondent

The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday filed 24 more cases in connection with the Tk 5,000-crore BASIC Bank scam between 2010 and 2013.
The officials investigating the scam filed four cases with Motijheel, eight with Paltan and 12 with Gulshan police stations.
Borrowers and some officials of the state-run bank were accused in these cases. However, the then BASIC Bank chairman Abdul Hye Bacchu, who is believed to be at the centre of the scam, was not accused in any of the cases.
The anti-graft watchdog on Monday filed 18 cases accusing 56 people of embezzling over Tk 650 crore from the state lender.
Early this month, the ACC gave approval to its investigating officers to file 56 cases in connection with the BASIC Bank scam.
One of the best-run banks until 2009, BASIC Bank has been mired in financial irregularities in recent years.

Bangladesh PM Hasina leads biggest entourage to UN

Diplomatic Correspondent @ Daily star

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leaves for the US this morning to attend the UN special summit on Sustainable Development and 70th UN General Assembly (UNGA), heading a 227-member delegation, the biggest since her taking office in 2009.
She led a 178-member delegation for the 69th UNGA last year, while the number was 134 in 2013.
Two advance teams of the Special Security Force and President Guard Regiment have already been to New York and London. Apart from the security personnel, civil officials have also reached New York.
The delegation includes nine ministers and PM's advisers, 17 “eminent personalities”, 15 officials from the Prime Minister's Office, 12 foreign ministry officials, three officials from Bangladesh missions in the US, 11 from different ministries, 28 security personnel, a 10-member media team, four media personalities and 119 business representatives.
Businesspersons usually travel with the premier at their own cost.
Important delegation members include Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Expatriates Welfare Minister Nurul Islam Bsc, Prime Minister's Political Affairs Adviser HT Imam, International Affairs Adviser Dr Gowher Rizvi, Economic Affairs Adviser Mashiur Rahman, State Minister for Women and Children Meher Afroz Chumki and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam.
Most of the delegates in the “eminent personalities” category have been drawn from party MPs, leaders of the ruling Awami League, its front organisations and alliance partners.
Hasina will take part in various UN meetings and side events like high-level roundtable on South-South Cooperation, Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, Sustainable Economic Growth, Summit on Peacekeeping, Summit on Countering ISIL and Violent Extremism, and community reception during her eight-day visit.
Moreover, she is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with the heads of state/government of different countries including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Nepalese Prime Minister Shushil Koirala. She is also expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She will address the UN Sustainable Development Summit on September 27 and UNGA High Level General Debate on September 30.
The special UN summit will adopt 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated targets. The new SDGs are aimed at stimulating actions over the next 15 years towards building a more equitable and sustainable world.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will include the launch of a new set of goals to be implemented worldwide. Unlike the previous Millennium Development Goals, which they replace, the 2030 SDGs have been developed through a process that includes input from all 193 member states.
Hasina will highlight Bangladesh's success stories in the MDGs implementation as well as priority areas to successfully implement the new set of 17 SDGs.
As per the programme schedule, a VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the premier and members of her entourage is scheduled to take off from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 9:45am.
After a three-hour stopover at the Heathrow International Airport in London, she will fly to New York by a British Airways flight that will land at JFK International Airport at 10:00pm [New York time] on September 23.
Hasina and most of her entourage members will stay at Hotel Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue in New York
The key event of the UNGA -- UN Summit for the Adoption of the Post 2015 Development Agenda -- will be held on September 25-27. The General Debate of the 70th UNGA will be held between September 28 and October 6.
The prime minister will stay in New York till September 30 and depart for London on October 1, stay there for a day and return home on October 3.
She will receive the “Champions of the Earth Award”, the highest environment-related award of the UN. Besides, she will be honoured with ICT's Sustainable Development Award for her revolutionary initiatives in building Digital Bangladesh. The International Telecommunications Union will confer the award.
On the sidelines, she will co-chair an interactive dialogue session with her Belgium counterpart on “fostering sustainable economic growth, transformation and promoting sustainable consumptions and production” on September 26.
The premier will also attend a global leaders' meeting on gender equality and women's empowerment on September 27 at the invitation of the Chinese president.
On September 28, she will co-chair a high level summit on peace operations with US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
On September 29, she will attend a leaders' summit on “countering ISIL and violent extremism” to be organised by US President Obama. She will uphold Bangladesh's zero tolerance policy against extremism.
Hasina will also attend a special event on “Moving from MDGs to SDGs: Bangladesh Experience and Expectations” to be arranged by the Bangladesh Mission in the UN. Top-ranked leaders from the UN and different agencies will join the event.
Outside the UNGA, the premier will deliver a speech on “Girls lead the Way” of World Leaders Forum at Colombia University on September 25.
She will also exchange views on Bangladesh trade and investment situations and prospects with the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) the same day.

A risky venture

BCB set to send women's team to Pakistan

A SOBERING THOUGHT: Bangladesh women's cricket team skipper Salma Khatun (R) seems to be contemplating the Pakistan tour while taking a breather after a hard day's practice at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. Photo: Star

Sports Reporter

Amid security concerns, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is set to send the national women's team to Pakistan for a short visit. The board has already obtained the GO (government order) for players and officials for the series -- two One Day Internationals and as many T20I matches scheduled to be held in Karachi and Lahore. The board has also booked flights on September 27 and September 28 and return flights on October 7.
All the requisite work regarding this trip is almost done and BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon is expected to make the official announcement today upon his return from abroad.
"We are waiting for our board president to return to the country tomorrow [Wednesday]. Once he is here, he will hold further discussions and then reveal the final decision," said BCB's director and chairman of media committee Jalal Yunus yesterday.
Many have been considering the visit as a risky venture to a risky place, with reports of terrorist attacks in various parts of the country, including attacks inside secured zones and on high-profile politicians, grabbing world headlines.
However, the board took the decision based on the report of a four-member security team, which visited Karachi and Lahore on September 5. According to sources, the security team submitted their report to the BCB president, mentioning that they were convinced the security arrangements would allow the board to go ahead with the tour. There was also some advice in the report, but nothing was deemed serious enough for the board to cancel the tour.
According to board insiders, the BCB is keen to continue its good relationship with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in order to maintain bilateral series as well as Pakistan players' participation in Bangladesh's domestic circuit.
Zimbabwe's tour in May this year signalled the return of international cricket to Pakistan, six years after a militant attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team bus on March 2009. However, amid all the celebrations, Zimbabwe's tour was marred by a suicide attack near the Gadaffi Stadium during the second match.
Bangladesh men's cricket team was due to tour Pakistan in April 2012, but the High Court blocked that tour following a public outcry. Then in 2013, there was a discussion about having a short tour, consisting of one T20I and one ODI, but the BCB cancelled the tour, saying Pakistan was not safe for its players. This decision led to some animosity from the PCB, which barred its players from participating in the Bangladesh Premier League in 2013.

The last time the Tigers visited Pakistan was in July 2008 for the Asia Cup, playing matches in Lahore and Karachi, while the Bangladesh national football team played a World Cup pre-qualifying match in Lahore in July 2011. The most recent visit was made by the Bangladesh women's handball team, who travelled to Faisalabad for the IHF Trophy in December 2014, preceded by the Bangladesh women's football team's visit to Islamabad in November 2014 for the SAFF Women's Championship.