DHAKA, 27 November 2020, (TON): Freedom fighter Aly Zaker, who fought the liberation war from Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra in 1971, has passed away at 76. He was hospitalized at United Hospital on November 17 due to cardiac arrest. He had beenin a battle with cancer for the last four years. Moreover, two days ago, he tested positive for COVID-19.

His body was taken to the Liberation War Museum,where his friends and colleagues bid a final farewell to this legendary artist. He was also accorded a guard of honor for his contributions as a freedom fighter to the Liberation War. He was later laid to the rest at Banani Graveyard in Dhaka following Namaj-e-Janaza after the asr prayer at the mosque beside the graveyard.

He is survived by his wife, eminent theater personality Sara Zaker, Son Iresh Zaker, and Sriya Sharbojoya. He married Sara Zaker in 1975.Aly Zaker was born in Chittagong on November 6, 1944. As his father was a high-ranking government officer, his early childhood was in Kushtiya and Madaripur. He studied at ST. Gregory’s High School was then Admitted at Notre Dame College and then graduated from the University of Dhaka.

President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed their deep condolence and sorrow at the death of this screen legend and freedom fighter. In the condolence message, the prime minister stated that the contribution of Aly Zaker in the great Liberation War, art, and cultural arena would be remembered forever. She prayed for his departed soul and expressed sympathy to his family.

He has served under Major general Manzoor in the Great Liberation War. After the liberation War, in 1972, he joined Aranyak Natya Dal. His first stage performance was in a drama of “Kabor” written by a famous playwriterMunier Chowdhury. His most memorable works “Dewan Gazir Kissa,” “Nurul Diner Shara Jibon,” “Macbeth,” “Galileo,” – after joining Nagorik Natya Dal. He also directed plays like, “BakiItihash,” “Bidogdho Romonikul,” “Toilo Sankat,” “Ei Nishiddho Polli Te,” “Ocholayoton,” among others. He was also known for classics like “AajRobibar” and “Bohubrihi” on television.

He was a trustee member in the Liberation War Museum. He was also the chairmen of Asiatic 3 Sixty, a media agency.

Aly zaker received Ekushey Padak, Bangladesh Shilpokala Acedemy Award, Bangabondhu Award, Munier Chowdhury Award, Narenbiswas Award, among many more achievements.

KABUL, 27 November 2020, (TON): The EU said in a statement on Thursday, "We encourage the swift establishment and operationalization of the High Council of National Reconciliation as the body designated to provide guidance to the negotiations.” 

"In addition to political leaders, the membership of the Council should include a diverse membership representing women's groups, war victims, religious minorities, youth and civil society organizations," it added.

The EU has been persuaded to give statement in favour of a broad based Afghan delegation in intra-Afghan talks at a time Afghan and the Taliban delegations are all prepared for the intra-Afghan talks in Qatari capital Doha.  

Addressing the current war that has escalated in different parts of the country, the EU said that "we express deep concern about the continuing high level of violence and the security situation in Afghanistan, especially the number of civilian casualties and call for an immediate permanent and comprehensive ceasefire".

BERLIN, 27 November 2020, (TON): India has the highest bribery rate in Asia, according to a new report by corruption watchdog Transparency International.

The results of the survey — the Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) – Asia — which were released on Tuesday showed that India also had the highest rate of people using personal connections to access public services.

The countries that were included in the survey are: Indonesia, Taiwan, Maldives, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, Nepal, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, China, South Korea, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The report noted that "slow and complicated bureaucratic process, unnecessary red tape and unclear regulatory frameworks force citizens to seek out alternate solutions to access basic services through networks of familiarity and petty corruption [in India]."

The country has a bribery rate of 39 per cent while 46pc people use familiarity to get access to services, it said, adding that 50pc of those surveyed revealed they paid bribes because they were asked to. Thirty-two per cent of people said they used connections because they would not have gotten the same service otherwise.

TI recommended that the Indian government should "streamline administrative processes for public services, implement preventative measures to combat bribery and nepotism and invest in user-friendly online platforms to deliver essential public services quickly and effectively".

The GCB-Asia, which surveyed people from 17 countries in the region, found that nearly one in three people believed that government corruption was a big problem in their country. Not only was corruption rampant, 38pc of surveyed people also believed that corruption had increased in their countries in the last 12 months, it found.

"Nearly one in five citizens who accessed public services, such as healthcare and education paid a bribe in the previous year [while] more than one in five used personal connections," the report said, noting however, that more than three in four people had heard of the anti-corruption agency in their country and 63pc thought they were doing a "good job".

People living in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia faced the highest rates of sexual extortion when accessing a government service.

More than three out of five people believed ordinary citizens could "make a difference in the fight against corruption", the survey found.

DHAKA, 27 November 2020, (TON): Dhaka seeks a strong partnership with the UK to address the fallout of climate change that poses a threat to lives and livelihoods of millions of people.

At a virtual meeting with UK State Minister Lord Ahmed on Wednesday, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam expressed his expectations for a strong engagement of the UK both for Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) South Asia.

Shahriar hoped that Bangladesh and the UK would build momentum ahead of COP26 due in November next year for a resilient world.

He said Bangladesh being a non-emitter country has constantly been bearing the burden of incessant carbon emission of the developed countries. For climate change mitigation and adaptation, Bangladesh has prepared Delta Plan 2100 and was the first LDC to establish a Climate Change Trust Fund.

Bangladesh also developed a national "Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan" and launched the CVF "Midnight Survival Deadline for the Climate" initiative for all nations.

Shahriar also cited establishment of the South Asian regional office for Global Centre of Adaptation (GCA) in Dhaka this September.

He highlighted the UK and Bangladesh's partnership in the track number 6 of Climate Action Summit of the UN secretary general, expecting that the UK-Bangladesh Climate Partnership Forum will bring these two countries together to share innovative ideas, experiences, knowledge, technology and initiatives to achieve greater progress on climate change.

British State Minister Ahmed highlighted that the UK as COP26 president and Bangladesh as chair of the CVF have a unique opportunity to play leading roles in the critical moments ahead for the whole planet.

He said the UK-Bangladesh partnership on climate action was built on strong bonds and hoped that it would last for long beyond COP26.

Ahmed expressed UK's commitment to double its International Climate Finance expenditure and its intention to spend half of the funding on adaptation and resilience.

NEW YORK, 27 November 2020, (TON): The United Nations and Qatar have finalised an agreement to establish an office in Doha for a UN counterterrorism programme.

The UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Programme Office on Parliamentary Engagement will serve as a hub for research, knowledge, and capacity-building, leveraging on innovation and partnerships to enhance support to parliamentarians worldwide, according to a joint statement issued after the signing on Wednesday.

The agreement was signed by Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud, speaker of Qatar’s Shura Council, and Vladimir Voronkov, Under Secretary General of the UNOCT.

In a statement Al Mahmoud said , “Qatar is making every effort to assist parliamentarians worldwide in their noble task to save humanity from the scourge of terrorism,” He said preparations are under way to open the office and set an action plan in cooperation with the UN.

The programme is being assisted basically by the US counter terrorism authoty. 

SRINAGAR, 27 November 2020, (TON): As the tension heightened between India and Pakistan along the Line of Control, two Indian soldiers were killed and two other injured as result of Pakistan Army firing from across the Line of Control.

Indian Army spokesperson, Colonel Rajesh Kalia said in a statement to media that fighters sprayed bullets at an Army patrol on the outskirts of Srinagar city on Thursday. However, same could not be confirmed from other sources as the incident reportedly took place near Line of Control, when the four injured soldiers were evacuated at 192 Base Hospital, Srinagar.  Two soldiers who were critically injured later died.

KHARTOUM, 26 November 2020, TON:  Former Sudanese Prime Minister and the head of the opposition National Umma Party, Sadiq Mahdi, has died due to illness and complications. He was 84-year-old.

Mahdi was got sick in early November and his health condition significantly deteriorated.  So he was admitted in hospital in United Arab Emirates for treatment. He died at hospital on Wednesday.

Mahdi was the Prime Minister of Sudan in 1966-1967 and in 1986-1989.  

As recently as October, al-Mahdi denounced President Trump for brokering a deal for Sudan to begin normalizing ties with Israel, saying that such an agreement "contributes to the elimination of the peace project in the Middle East and to preparing for the ignition of a new war."

In a statement, the Umma Party said al-Mahdi would be buried on Friday morning in the city of Omdurman in Sudan.

KABUL, 26 November 2020, (TON): A total of 15 small-scale uplift projects have been completed in the relatively peaceful and poor province of Ghor, said a statement of the Ministry for Rural Development and Rehabilitation released on Thursday.

The projects include the provision of potable water, solar energy to light houses and water reservoirs implemented in Lal-o-Sarjangal district at a cost of 25 million afghani. (1 U.S. dollar equals 77.01 afghani)

The projects provided by the Ministry of Rural Development and Rehabilitation would benefit some 1,000 families.

According to the statement of the ministry, the construction of the 5-km road has been completed in the Giti district of central Daikundi province and 3-km road in the Burka district of northern Baghlan provinces recently respectively.

The development project aims to increase the volume of private investment and productive jobs in Afghanistan. The goals are to enhance the provision of land and implement development related strategies, policies and programs.

MUZAFFARABAD, 26 November 2020, (TON): A villager of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) lost his life on Wednesday evening after an Indian sniper shot at him from across the restive Line of Control (LoC) while he was heading home on a motorbike, officials said.

Chaudhry Ansar Mahmood, was about to reach his home in Gohra Mehri hamlet when he fell victim to the savagery of some trigger-happy soldier in an Indian post, situated at a stone’s throw from the spot, deputy commissioner Bhimber Qaiser Aurangzeb told a news agency by telephone.

Gohra Mehri hamlet is part of the revenue village Kahanwaliyan in Samahni subdivision of Bhimber district. Milit­ary refers to this area as Baghsar sector.

DC Aurangzeb said “He was struck by a single bullet that pierced the right side of his body through the ribs.”

A group of undaunted villagers took the victim to the nearest health facility in Bandala, but he did not survive due to excessive blood loss.

The deceased was said to be the elder son of his parents and a father of three daughters.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations confirmed the martyrdom of Mr Mahmood due to “unprovoked ceasefire violation by the Indian army in Baghsar sector”.

Locals are victims as India unleashed its security forces on non-combatant Kashmiris along the LoC in AJK. 

WELLINGTON, 26 November 2020, (TON): New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s government is set to declare a climate emergency to increase pressure for action to combat global warming.

The government will put forward a motion to declare the emergency as a symbolic step to increase pressure for action next Wednesday, the government said as parliament reconvened after a general election won by Ardern’s party.

PM Ardern said “We’ve always considered climate change to be a huge threat to our region, and it is something we must take immediate action on.”

She added “Unfortunately, we were unable to progress a motion around a climate emergency in parliament in the last term, but now we’re able to.”

Ardern returned to power last month delivering the landslide victory for her centre-left Labour Party in half a century as Voters rewarded Ardern for crushing community transmission of Covid-19.

In her last term, Ardern’s government passed a Zero Carbon Bill, which sets the framework for net zero emissions by 2050, with cross-party support in parliament.

If a climate emergency is passed, New Zealand would join countries like Canada, France and Britain that have taken the same course to focus efforts on tackling climate change.

Last week, Japanese lawmakers declared a climate emergency and committed to a firm timetable for net-zero emissions.

On January 1st, 2019, The Climate Mobilization recorded just 233 declarations worldwide compared to the 1,814 today. For the most part, those declarations aren’t binding and rarely include any specific changes in policy, but in some cases, they have bolstered more concrete efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.