The victory of Chinese runner He Jie in the Beijing Half Marathon on Sunday has sparked controversy, with his win being questioned after African runners appeared to deliberately slow down to let him cross the finish line first, CNN reported. A video clip capturing the final moments of the race shows a remarkable scene: Kenya’s Willy Mnangat turns towards He Jie and gestures for him to move ahead as the four runners, including former 5km world record-holder Robert Keter of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu, run side by side just metres from the finish line. In a display that raised eyebrows, Keter then seems to signal for He Jie to overtake the pack while motioning for his compatriot and Hailu to hold back. The Chinese runner indeed crosses the finish line in 1:03:44, claiming the USD 5,500 first prize, with the trio of African runners just one second behind, jointly securing second place, according to CNN. The video clip captures the African runners applauding He’s victory and patting him on the back, though He himself appears less jubilant despite achieving his first-ever competitive half-marathon win. At 25 years old, He Jie, who has previously broken China’s marathon record twice, confessed to reporters after the race that he “was not in [his] best competitive state,” but he remained silent on the controversial finish. The race outcome swiftly ignited discussions on Chinese social media platforms, with calls for an investigation into the event and demands for action from organisers. One user on Weibo emphasised the importance of fairness in sports, stating that the “ways of the world” should not compromise the integrity of competition. Another popular comment said: “I support an investigation, and fair play is vital,” with the user adding they hoped authorities “can give a clear explanation to maintain the fairness of competition and respect athletes’ efforts.” Responding to the public outcry, race organisers, the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau, and the Chinese Athletics Association issued a statement on Monday, affirming their commitment to addressing the matter. They announced an ongoing investigation into the matte, as reported by CNN. Xstep, the Chinese sports company sponsoring both He Jie and the Beijing Half Marathon, acknowledged the situation in a statement to state-run outlet The Paper, noting that multiple parties were involved in investigating and verifying the incident. “Further information will be communicated as soon as possible,” Xstep said in a statement to the outlet. Meanwhile, World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport, acknowledged awareness of the footage circulating online and revealed that local authorities were conducting their own investigation. “The integrity of our sport is the highest priority at World Athletics,” it said. Sports analyst Mark Dreyer, author of “Sporting Superpower: An Insider’s View on China’s Quest to Be the Best,” weighed in on the controversy, describing the finish as a “bad look.” “It’s one thing for four runners running right at the end to potentially hold hands or cross the line together in a show of sportsmanship. That’s not what we saw,” he said, adding, “It’s not a sprint finish for anyone other than He Jie. It doesn’t take a genius or running expert to figure that out.” Despite the unfolding controversy, He Jie, hailing from northwest China’s Ningxia region, remains a figure of promise in long-distance running. Ranked 77th in the world in the men’s marathon by World Athletics, he is anticipated to play a significant role in representing Asian runners in the upcoming Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. Source: The Print  

Rinchen Tsultrim, a Tibetan monk from Ngaba in Eastern Tibet’s Amdo region who was sentenced to four years and six months in prison in 2020, following an incommunicado detention for over a year and seven months has recently been released from Sichuan’s Mianyang Prison, according to multiple sources. Rinchen Tsultrim, along with two other monks from Ngaba County’s Kordo area in Eastern Tibet’s Amdo region, was apprehended on August 1, 2019.     Although the two fellow monks were released shortly after their initial detention, Rinchen Tsultrim’s family received an official communication almost eight months later, on March 26, 2020. The letter, however, provided minimal details, merely labelling Rinchen Tsultrim as “a traitor” without elaborating on the charges. Following the communication, Rinchen Tsultrim was subsequently sentenced to four years and six months in prison by the Aba Intermediate People’s Court on November 27, 2020. His sentence was based on allegations of “inciting separatism,” with the court pointing to Rinchen Tsultrim’s social media posts addressing religious and political issues in Tibet.    In 2019, Rinchen Tsultrim faced another instance of detention, this time for engaging in communication with an exiled Tibetan during the 11th Panchen Lama Gendun Choekyi Nyima’s birthday. Prior to this incident, he had been detained twice in 2018 by Chinese authorities for communicating with exiled Tibetans through micro-messaging apps, following an examination of his personal phone. Subsequently, Tsultrim was prohibited from using any micro-messaging apps. Additionally, his website, which hosted a diverse collection of compositions, was forcibly shut down.    Rinchen Tsultrim was subjected to persecution for the act of sending numerous Buddhist texts from locations outside Tibet to individuals within Tibet through postal services. Chinese authorities also utilised Tsultrim’s profile picture on WeChat, featuring his sister attending an educational workshop in India, to label her as being involved in political activities in exile.    Moreover, at the time of Rinchen Tsultrim’s imprisonment, his family was exposed to significant danger and endured constant pressure from Chinese authorities. Rinchen Tsultrim became a monk at a young age, joining the esteemed Nangshe monastery associated with the Bon religion. Hailing from a modest farming family in the Ngaba region, Rinchen Tsultrim’s parents, Tashi Dhondup and Tsomo have five other children. Source: Phayul

The metro rail station on the Dhaka University (DU) campus is set to open its doors on Wednesday (Dec 13), non-resident students are ecstatic to see their daily commute time reducing significantly. Taibur Rahman Sifat, a student of Dhaka University said, “Many students from Mirpur and Uttara previously suffered due to severe traffic congestion, spending hours in jams to reach the campus. The metro rail will bring relief to them enabling them to commute in just 20 minutes from Mirpur and under half an hour from Uttara.”  Demanding half fare for students, he said: “High fare of metro rail can be difficult for students to bear.”  Taibur hoped that university authorities would collaborate with metro rail authorities soon. Another student, Jannatul Mawa initially opposed the metro station due to environmental concerns, now appreciates the convenience it offers.   She told, “Now that I see that I won't miss classes in the morning, I won't waste hours on the road due to traffic jams, then it feels good.” Dr Mihir Lal Saha, a professor in the Botany Department, shared his enthusiasm, describing the metro rail as a realization of a dream.  “A country's development system is visible when their transportation system is visible. Transport system is very important for teachers-students-staff at the University,” he added. Addressing initial opposition to the placement of the metro rail station at TSC, Dr Saha acknowledged concerns related to noise pollution and overcrowding.   However, he underscored that the overall outcomes have been overwhelmingly positive, making commuting more accessible and efficient for the university community. Additionally, he commended the safety of the metro rail, deeming it a crucial aspect of the university's transportation landscape. Philosophy student Tanveer Ahmed also expressed his gratitude, considering the metro rail at TSC a blessing for ordinary students, particularly those who reside off-campus. He highlighted the newfound convenience and speed with which students can now reach various destinations covered by the Metrorail.   Labhlu, an employee at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC), shared his personal experience, describing the metro rail as a beautiful and revolutionary addition for Bangladesh. He said: “My home is in Uttara. I have to come to office in TSC every morning. I am often late due to traffic jams. Now I can come to office on time using metro rail.”  

Bangladesh has made significant progress over the past two decades. It has moved up from being a low-income country to a middle-income country. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Awami League government has contributed to the development of every sector in the country over three consecutive terms. By comparing the achievements of the Awami League government with the previous BNP-Jamaat government's tenure that ended in 2006, the clear picture of the country's progress emerges. When we compare the data in 2006 and in 2023, we can see that the country has progressed significantly in various sectors. Noteworthy progress has been achieved in the country's economy, improvement in people's living standard, electricity production, education, agriculture, infrastructural development in the transportation sector, and development in digital sector. This report presents comparative statistical information on the economic progress of the country under the Awami League and the BNP-Jamaat governments. 1. In 2006, the country's growth rate was 5.40%, which has increased to 7.25% in 2023. The growth rate has further increased in the intervening years. However, this progress has been temporarily hindered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2. In 2006, Bangladesh's GDP was 543 US dollars, which has risen to 2,824 US dollars in 2023. 3. In 2006, the inflation rate was 10%, which has fallen to 8.89% in 2023. However, inflation had further decreased in the middle of the years (5.55% in 2019, 5.69% in 2020, and 5.55% in 2021). Recent conflicts in the Russia-Ukraine war led to a slight increase in inflation due to economic instability. 4. In 2006, the budget was 61,000 crore taka (7.01 billion US dollars), which has risen to 7,61,785 crore taka (87.56 billion US dollars) in 2023. 5. In 2006, the GDP was 47.7 billion US dollars, which has increased to 578 billion US dollars in 2023. 6. In the annual development project in 2006, there was a budget allocation of 2.47 billion US dollars. It has increased by 13 times and reached to 31.57 billion US dollars in 2023. 7. In 2006, the country's foreign currency reserves were 0.744 trillion dollars (below 1 billion dollars). It has increased by 33 times and reached 30.83 billion US dollars in 2023. 8. Exports revenue was 10.05 billion dollars in 2006. It has increased by 5 times and reached to 52.97 billion US dollars in 2023. 9. Remittances were 4.8 billion dollars in 2006. It has increased by 6 times and reached to 24.03 billion US dollars in 2023. 10. Import expenditure was 14.7 billion dollars in 2006. It has stood at 82 billion US dollars in 2023. 11. Investment was 22.78 billion dollars of the total GDP in 2006. In 2023, investment rose to 32.05% of GDP. 12. Annual revenue in 2006 was 4.35 billion US dollars. The revenue target for the fiscal year 2023-24 is set at 57.47 billion US dollars. In the next part, a comparative overview on human development will be presented.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said that India and China are expected to contribute more than half of global growth this year, with the rest of Asia contributing an additional quarter. Economists have turned bullish on China, with the country halting its Covid Zero policy and reopening in the second half of 2022. The Indian economy has also shown positive signs, with its growth being amongst the highest in the world over the last two years. The war in Ukraine and the rise of central bank rates to fight inflation were highlighted as factors constraining economic activity. However, the re-opening of China and the loosening of pandemic-related lockdown restrictions may help to boost global growth. The ongoing war in Ukraine and logistical challenges posed by the pandemic and other geopolitical issues have kept price pressures high, particularly in energy commodities and general foodstuffs. Asia's emerging and developing economies are hitting their stride as pandemic supply chain disruptions fade and the service sector booms. "Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are all back to their robust pre-pandemic growth," the organisation said. The IMF noted that conditions in Asia and the Pacific are now improving, with economic headwinds that the regions faced last year now fading. "These developments are helping improve prospects across the region, with growth set to accelerate to 4.7 percent this year from 3.8 percent in 2022. This will make it by far the most dynamic of the world’s major regions and a bright spot in a slowing global economy," it said. With central banks opting to cut rates aggressively, Asian economies are likely to see lower levels of inflation. "There are now encouraging signs that headline inflation peaked during the second half of last year, though core inflation is proving more persistent and has yet to ease definitively. We expect inflation to return to central bank targets sometime next year amid an easing of financial and commodity headwinds," the IMF said. With higher spending during the pandemic driving fiscal deficits higher, several Asian countries continue to face debt distress. "With several Asian countries facing debt distress, authorities must continue with their plans for gradual fiscal consolidation. Doing so will also ensure that monetary and fiscal policies are not acting at cross purposes," it said.

The India-China trade is on course to cross USD 100 billion for the second consecutive year as it has gone up to USD 67.08 billion in the first half of this year amid a big surge of Chinese exports, official trade data released here said on Wednesday. China's exports to India have gone up to USD 57.51 billion, up by 34.5 per cent last year while Indian exports to China fell to USD 9.57 billion, a decline of 35.3 per cent compared to last year, according to the trade data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GAC). The trade deficit at the half-year mark stood at USD 47.94 billion. Last year, the India-China bilateral trade hit a record high of over USD 125 billion crossing the USD 100 billion mark in a year when the relations touched a new low due to standoff by the militaries in Eastern Ladakh. China's exports to India last year went up by 46.2 per cent to USD 97.52 billion while India's exports to China grew by 34.2 per cent to USD 28.14 billion. The trade deficit for India grew by USD 69.38 billion in 2021. In May, China insisted that it is still India's biggest trade partner in 2021-22 as per its figures, referring to reports that the US has unseated it to take the top slot and attributed the "disparity" to different methods of calculating the trade volume by New Delhi and Beijing. "According to the statistics of Chinese competent authorities, bilateral trade volume between China and India stood at USD 125.66 billion in 2021," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing when asked about reports of the US overtaking China to become the largest trade partner of India in 2021-22. "China remains the largest trade partner of India and for the first time the bilateral trade exceeded USD 100 billion in 2021," Zhao said. "The disparity in trade figures published by China and India is a result of different statistical measurement scales," he said. Overall, China's foreign trade of goods jumped 9.4 per cent year-on-year to 19.8 trillion yuan (about USD 2.94 trillion) during the first half of the year, according to GAC data. Source: The Economics Times

Government and private offices of the country will be operative by half of the total manpower from tomorrow (Monday) to prevent transmission of coronavirus. The cabinet division has issued notification in this regard on Sunday. The notification said, considering the Covid-19 pandemic situation the following restrictions have been issued with effect from January 24 and it will be effective till February 6. All the government/semigovernment/autonomous/private offices will be operative maintaining half of the officials and employees following health protocols. The official activities will be performed virtually through e-documents, e-tendering, e-mails, SMS, Whatsapp and other medium. Bangladesh Supreme Court will issue directives regarding other courts of the country. Bangladesh Bank and financial institution division will provide directions regarding the banks, insurance and other financial institutions.

The transmission of coronavirus is increasing in the country in an ominous scale. In this situation Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque informed that decision has been taken to board half of the passengers comparing to the number of seats allocated in public transports like buses, trains and launches to protect people from transmission of coronavirus according to the proposal of National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC). He also said that the direction will be given soon to implement the decision. The minister was speaking at a program of blanket distribution among three thousand destitute people at Manikganj sadar and Saturia upazila on Saturday. Zahid Maleque said, nurses and physicians of district and upazila level hospitals across the country are ready to provide their service. All shops have to be closed after 8 pm. Nobody will be allowed to enter restaurant without vaccine certificate. All means of public transports have to carry half of the passengers than the stipulated seats. People available outside their homes will be punished or fined if they do not wear masks. At that time the minister said that strict restrictions will be imposed in a day or two. He said, in some countries coronavirus transmission is increasing devastating stage. In Bangladesh still the transmission rate is under control. Schools and colleges are open. There is no plan at the moment to shut the educational institutions. The health minister said, the wheel of economy is moving as the transmission is under control. Production in the mill-factories is in normal stage. Students can go to their schools and colleges. To remain the situation under control all have to abide by the health guidelines. AH        

Four people died after being infected with coronavirus in the country in the last 24 hours and 232 new Covid-19 cases were traced during the same period. Yesterday the number of deaths was 10 and the number of newly traced infected people was 243. With this number the number of deaths has increased to 27,805 and the number of infections has soared to 15,67,139. The information was delivered by the health directorate in its daily coronavirus update message. Mentionable, the deadly coronavirus have spread across the world after the first infected person was identified in December, 2019 in China. The first coronavirus case was detected in Bangladesh on March 8, 2020. After ten days the health directorate confirmed the news of first death due to coronavirus infection in the country. AH

The global death tolls from Covid-19 reached 504,851 on Tuesday morning while the confirmed cases crossed 10,275,392, according to the Centre for System Science and Engineering of the Johns Hopkins University.   JHU Dashboard by its Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) shows Brazil as the second most infected country after the U.S., with 1,368,195 coronavirus cases and 58,314 deaths as of Tuesday morning.   Meanwhile, South Asian country India has come up to the fourth position after Russia with 548,318 confirmed Covid-19 cases. The country has so far reported 16,475 deaths.   Russia counted the third highest Covid-19 cases- 640,246, after the US and Brazil till the date.   Among the countries, the US has been the worst-hit with the highest recorded deaths of 126,131 patients and about 2,588,020 confirmed cases.   In the US, New York State alone counted 31,403 deaths till the date.   The UK has the third-highest death toll at 43,689, followed by Italy with 34,744, France 29,816 and Spain 28,346, according to Johns Hopkins University.   Coronavirus cases were first reported in China in December last year.   The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus crisis a pandemic on March 11. Source: UNB AH