Day: June 12, 2024

Kathmandu: It will take a few days for the monsoon to enter the Kathmandu Valley. Currently there is an influence of the monsoon system in the eastern part of the country and the local and western winds as well as low pressure system formed around Bihar in remaining part of the country. Meteorologist at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology Sanjeev Adhikari said there slim chances of rain in the Kathmandu Valley today. The maximum temperature is expected to remain in between 32 and 34 degrees Celsius. The weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly regions of the country including Sudurpaschim, Karnali and Koshi provinces and fair in the rest of the country. Light rain is also taking place at one or two places of Koshi province. The weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly regions of Bagmati and Gandaki provinces and mainly fair in the rest of the country this afternoon. Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of the hilly regio ns of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces. The Meteorological Forecasting Division has predicted partly to generally cloudy in the hilly regions of Koshi and Gandaki provinces and partly fair in the rest of the country tonight. Light to moderate rain accompanied by thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of the hilly regions of Koshi and Gandaki provinces. The maximum temperature is expected to hover between 32 and 34 degrees Celsius. Source: National News Agency RSS

The government has given directions to ensure safety of homebound people and the sale of sacrificial animals and maintain law and order situation during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha. The directions were given at a high-level meeting held at the Prime Minister (PMO)'s office on Tuesday with Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office Tofazzel Hossain Miah in the chair, a press release said here today. The activities taken by the concerned departments were discussed in the meeting. In the meeting, necessary instructions were given to maintain law and order situation and make ensure availability of sacrificial animals, transportation, market management, online market monitoring, Eid journey, waste management of sacrificial animals, preservation and management of raw hide and Eid return journey. The concerned departments were also asked to take measures to ensure supply and stock of essential commodities and keep their prices under control during Eid. Senior Secretary of the Power Division Md Habibur Rah man, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, Prime Minister's Press Secretary Md Nayeemul Islam Khan, Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary A B M Amin Ullah Nuri, Senior Secretary of Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs Md Jahangir Alam, Secretary of the Security Services Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs Md Abdullah Al Masud Chowdhury, Secretary of the Ministry of Railways Dr Md Humayun Kabir and Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Habibur Rahman attended the meeting, among others. Instructions were also given to take necessary measures in coordination with all those involved in the sale of sacrificial animals to stop creation of artificial crisis. Careful monitoring, according to the instructions, should be continued to ensure availability of sacrificial animals and its fair prices and strengthening online market. Law enforcement agencies were asked to take possible measures to prevent fraud over sacrificial animal markets and ani mal transportation and ensure security of buyers and sellers. Instructions were also given to take maximum precautionary measures to prevent any kind of harassment and fraud in availing railway tickets and ensure fitness of ships. Strict instructions were given not carry extra passenger in ships. While the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism will take necessary steps to keep the air fare at a reasonable level. Animals to be sacrificed and garbage should be removed at designated places. Dhaka North and Dhaka South City Corporations must remove cent percent of qurbani related waste within the shortest possible time under direct and on-site supervision and take all necessary measures including ensuring adequate cleaning staff and waste transport vehicles. Garment owners will have to take measures to pay their workers due wages with advance bonus. The local administration will hold a meeting with traders and stakeholders and take necessary decisions over leather preservation and management including det ermining the price of leather. Close monitoring and effective action will be taken by the concerned ministries and its departments to keep the stock and supply and prices of daily necessities stable during Eid-ul-Azha. Local administration will take necessary measures for the security of all Eid congregations in the country and the law enforcers will keep a watchful eye on this matter. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

A 19-member Bangladeshi youth delegation team consisting of academicians, researchers and journalists participated in a ten-day view- exchange programme in China aimed at improving the friendship between China and Bangladesh as well as facilitating the mutual understanding and collaboration in different sectors between the two countries. During the 10-day visit, the Bangladeshi youth scholars visited China's three major cities-Yunnan, Shanghai and Beijing and took part in exchange programmes with Yunnan University, East China Normal University, Tongji University, Shanghai Institute for International Studies, and the Information office of Shanghai Municipality. The youth leaders also visited some major, cultural and historical places in China including Tiananmen Square, National Museum of China, China Science and Technology Museum, China Soong Ching Science and Culture center for Young people, Shanghai City planning exhibition centre and 798 Art Zone and 751D Park in Beijing. The nineteen-member delegation team consists of 13 university teachers from different disciplines, three researchers and think tanks from different national organizations and three journalists from different media outlets. With a view to improving the friendship between China and Bangladesh as well as facilitating mutual understanding between the two countries, the Centre for China Studies (CCS) with the collaboration of Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS) arranged this exchange programme from June 2 to June 11. Before the exchange programme, the Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen met the Bangladeshi delegation at the Chinese embassy and encouraged them to make the exchange fruitful to enhance mutual exchange and cultural cooperation between the people of the two countries. "The exchange programme created a great opportunity for us to have a very deep learning on how to make plans for universities, plans for building eco-friendly cities and hold the cultural values and preserve the history," said Prof Dr Md Mizanur Rahman, lead of the Youth delegation also Professor of Dhaka University's Microbiology department. "We can adopt China's experiences in making sustainable plans for universities, building eco-friendly and well planned cities, making the best use of technology and AI in preserving the history and culture", Mizan said, adding, "We saw how they become successful adopting sustainable plans in the universities instead of making some kind of experimental plans". Instead of buying products from China directly, Bangladeshi Companies can produce high tech products jointly with the Chinese companies as there is a huge and cheap labor market in Bangladesh, said Mizan. "I think there are huge opportunities for the two countries to exchange skilled human resources and quality research, and share experiences in building a peaceful and prosperous world", Mizan added. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun today said police have been able to control militancy and terrorism with utmost sincerity and professionalism. 'A stable situation is prevailing across the country,' he said while addressing the Police Headquarters Quarterly Conference at the Bangladesh Police Auditorium here. Asking field-level police personnel to remain alert against militants, Mamun said the militancy is now under control in the country. He urged the policemen to work devotedly along with professionalism for the welfare of the country and its people as well. Additional IG (crime and operations) Md Atiqul Islam presented a scenario of the crime incidence across the country from January to March this year. Additional IG (admin) Md Kamrul Ahsan and Chief Additional IG of Special Branch Md Manirul Islam and additional IGPs, police commissioners of all metropolitan areas, and high officials were present. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

A workshop on 'Built Water Storage in South Asia' was held at a city hotel here with participation of water experts. Bangladesh Water Partnership (BWP), International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and Global Water Partnership jointly organised the meeting, a press release said. Md Rezaul Maksud Jahedi, Director General of Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO), was present as the chief guest at the workshop with BWP President Moshiur Rahman in the chair. Director General of Department of Bangladesh Haor and Wetlands Development Md Akhtaruzzaman and Executive Director of Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) Malik Fida A Khan spoke as special guests. BWP General Secretary Md Siddiqur Rahman gave the opening address at the workshop. Speaking at the workshop, the water experts said in South Asia, increasing population is driving the rapidly increasing demand for water although largely unrecognised, declining water storage is a major contributor to local and regiona l water crises, ultimately threatening millions of people and many ecosystems throughout the region. They said natural variability in water availability with often too much water in the monsoon and too little water in the dry season is the reason why water storage throughout landscapes is a vital component of water resource management. Still, the experts said, decades of degradation of wetlands, watersheds and soils, sedimentation of reservoirs, and over abstraction of groundwater have undermined both natural and built water stores in South Asia. It was informed at the workshop that in an attempt to identify potential solutions, a joint project launched in January 2023. The project entitled 'enhancing adaptive capacity and improving water security through water storage in South Asia', funded by the US Department of State, aims to transform planning and management of water storage throughout the region. The project has facilitated a series of meetings, informant discussions and field visits. This specific meeting was the fifth cohort meeting held with the participation of experts from water sector representing the government of Bangladesh, the IWMI, BWP and Global Water Partnership South Asia. The meeting provided a platform for the IWMI researchers to disseminate key findings on a policy and institutional study of water storage in Bangladesh and a study of water storage mapping and analyses. The national participants carefully evaluated and provided comments to improve the studies. The 'built water storage South Asia project aims to strengthen national capacities for integrated water storage planning and management and to enable relevant ministries and line agencies to make better use of data and approaches for understanding water storage gaps and the options to fill them. It is expected that these meetings will facilitate cross-border and regional dialogue to address water storage gaps in the South Asia region, said the release. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat today said the government has proposed a contractionary budget for the fiscal 2024-25 to ease public suffering by curbing inflation. 'The proposed budget has attached highest priority to containing inflation. The government's all out efforts to bring the inflation under control within the next fiscal to lessen the public suffering has been manifested in this budget,' he said. The state minister said this taking part in the general discussion on the proposed budget for the FY 2024-25 in the House with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair. 'The inflation reached an extreme level across the world following the global reality created by Ukraine-Russia war that hiked the prices of fuel and other products after the global pandemic of Covid-19. Bangladesh is not out of that purview,' Arafat said. Noting that the government proposed a contractionery budget this year targeting to curb inflation, he said, 'We previously witnessed that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina usually increases the budget size by 13 to 14 percent every year, but only 6 percent increase was made this year to encourage savings and reduce investment to control the inflation'. Terming the proposed budget a people friendly one, the state minister said, 'Even in this contractionary budget, we saw that the allocations for social safety net programmes and education have been increased while all kinds of arrangements have been ensured in the budget to lessen the sufferings of the lower income people'. This budget proposed to impose high tax on the higher income people and reduce the tax for lower income people according to their income ratio, he said, adding, it proved that this budget has a target to help the lower income people maintain a normal living standard. Referring to the global economic recession and its impact, Arafat said the Bangladesh government had to pay additional US$14.5 billion in 2021, 2022 and 2023 only to buy fuel c ompared normal time. 'That means if the world did not experience the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine-Russia war and the price of fuel remained stable, this US$14.5 billion certainly would have remained in Bangladesh Bank's reserve, which would have saved us from different crisis,' he continued. Highlighting the country's economic progress attained during the Awami League (AL) government in the last 15 years, the state minister said the government has been able to bear this extra expenditure and stand strong still amid the global crisis due to the constant trend of development and the strong economic backbone achieved before the Covid-19. Referring to opposition parties' criticism over the government's borrowing, claiming that the government is carrying out mega projects with loans, he said this year, Taka 2.56 lakh crore has been proposed as deficit budget that would come from foreign and domestic sources as loans, which is 4.6 percent of GDP. 'If the deficit budget remains under 5 percent, it is a global s tandard. Even, the USA is borrowing over 6 percent of their GDP,' Arafat said, adding if the government refrains from borrowing, the country and its people would be deprived of development and its benefits. 'Borrowing trend exists worldwide, but it should be kept at a tolerable level,' he added. World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have set a threshold, saying if debt to GDP ratio of any country accedes 77 percent, it will fall in risk; but less than this threshold is a tolerable level, the state minister said. 'But Bangladesh's current debt to GDP ratio is 36 percent, which is in the best position among the South Asian nations and in a better position than many developed countries,' Arafat said. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Global Fund and Stop TB Partnership wants to include Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in their coalition of leaders and champion of global fund. Global Fund Executive Director Peter Sands and Stop TB Partnership Executive Director Dr Lucica Ditiu today made the plea when they paid a courtesy call on her at her official residence Ganabhaban. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, among others, are in the lists of their coalition of leaders, said Prime Minister's Press Secretary Md Nayeemul Islam Khan while briefing the reporters after the meeting. Mentioning that these two organisations basically work in Bangladesh on TB, HIV and Malaria and its funding, he said, "They wanted to expand and deepen their relations with Bangladesh." The Press Secretary said that they actually wanted that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would utilise her contacts and networks with the world leaders for fund mobilisation. He said that both the executive directors highly praised the Pri me Minister, referring to her in-depth knowledge regarding TB, HIV and Malaria and mentioned it as "amazing". Md Nayeemul Islam Khan also highlighted that the malaria in Bangladesh except hilly areas are under control while the HIV situation of Bangladesh is also under control. "They will showcase these achievements of Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina," he said. To this regard, they invited the Prime Minister to attend an event of them in the coming days. "If you join, the success stories of Bangladesh would be showcased in the world arena. And the demand of Bangladesh will also be strengthened through it," the two executive directors told the Premier. They mentioned that Bangladesh has already achieved these successes already and if it (Bangladesh) gets some more assistance, then it can attain more success to reach the final target which is --elimination of these diseases. During the meeting, Global Fund Executive Director Peter Sands and Stop TB Partnership Executive Direc tor Dr Lucica Ditiu claimed that every year some 40,000 persons died in Bangladesh due to TB related issues. The Press Secretary said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina differed with the number and asked the health ministry officials, who were present at the meeting, about it. They said that as per their data some 26,000 to 27,000 persons of the country died of TB in the country. "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked for a survey to figure out the death numbers due to TB," said Md Neyeemul Islam Khan. Global Fund will support Bangladesh in this regard. They will also help Bangladesh to conduct Mobile diagnostics development in the country with the AI inducted hi-tech X-ray machine for quicker identification of the TB. The Press Secretary mentioned that the Prime Minister and the executive directors put emphasis on the continuation of the efforts to contain HIV related issues of the country. "We must not stop our efforts to face the HIV related issues although Bangladesh is doing very well regarding the iss ue. This must not create self complacency, which could bring bad news," they agreed. Sheikh Hasina said that the awareness programme must continue more strongly so that Bangladesh's achievement is not affected and the country is put in a better position. Malnutrition and cleanliness programme should help the fight against TB, she said. They are very keen to build the success further and ready to secure funding for Bangladesh, Md Nayeemul Islam khan added. Regarding the community clinic issue, the Prime Minister briefly described the activities and how it is helping the rural community people. Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen, State Minister for Health Dr Rokeya Sultana and PMO Secretary Mohammad Salahuddin, among others, were present The Global Fund is a worldwide partnership to defeat HIV, TB and malaria and ensure a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all. They raise and invest more than US$5 billion a year to fight the deadliest infectious diseases, challenge the injusti ce that fuels them, and strengthen health systems and pandemic preparedness in more than 100 of the hardest hit countries. In 2022, the Global Fund disbursed a record US$5.2 billion to fight HIV, TB and malaria, support COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM) activities and strengthen the systems for health that underpin any pandemic response. They unite world leaders, communities, civil society, health workers and the private sector to find solutions that have the most impact, and take them to scale worldwide. The Stop TB Partnership is a hosted entity of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), with its Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland. Established in 2000, the Partnership aligns 1,600 partner organizations (including international and technical organizations, government programmes, research and funding agencies, foundations, NGOs, civil society and community groups, and the private sector) all over the world, leading global advocacy to end tuberculosis (TB). Together with its partne rs, the Stop TB Partnership is a collective force that is transforming the fight against TB globally. Through the Partnership's Secretariat and working with all partners, it ensures a clear identity for the TB community, high-level engagement and representation. The Partnership also identifies and funds innovative approaches to find, treat and cure people affected by TB. It plays a key role in procuring TB drugs and diagnostics, including the roll-out of new tools across the world. The Partnership's market-shaping strategy also helps to reduce prices, improve forecasting and prevent stock-outs for drugs. The Stop TB Partnership is empowering communities and key populations, strengthening community systems and promoting community leadership in the TB response, focusing efforts on ensuring that responses are people-centered, rights-based and gender transformative. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

The World Day for the Prevention of Child Labour-2024 was observed in the district today. The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the first 'World Day Against Child Labour' in 2002 as a way to highlight the plight of children engaged in child labour. Observed on June 12th, the day is intended to serve as a catalyst for the growing worldwide movement against child labour, according to the website of ILO. Marking the day, a rally was brought out from in front of the deputy commissioner office which paraded the important streets and ended at the same place this morning. After the rally, a discussion was held on the occasion at the conference room of deputy commissioner office with deputy commissioner (DC) Kazi Mahbubul Alam in the chair. H M Shahadat, Deputy Inspector General of Gopalganj District Office of the Directorate of Inspection of Factories and Establishment presented the main article. Additional District Magistrate Mossamot Nazmun Nahar, Labour Inspector (General) of Gopalganj Distr ict Office of Factories and Establishment Inspection Department Md Rakibul Hasan Limon, Labour Inspector (Safety) Md Jewel Hossain, Labour Inspector (Health) Md Moniruzzaman, Qutub Uddin of JK Polymer, Ripon Roy of Qazi Farms, among others, spoke. Officials of various departments, heads of factories and institutions, among others, were present. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Sales of sacrificial animals at 22 cattle markets including two permanent haats in the capital will start tomorrow, five days before the second largest religious festival of the Muslim community, said officials concerned. According to the two city corporations, 9 temporary haats have been set up apart from Gabtali permanent haat in Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) area and 11 temporary haats have been set up apart from Sarulia permanent cattle haat in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) area. However, due to court's directive, cattle market will not be set up in Aftabnagar this year. DNCC's Public Relations Department Information Officer Peal Hasan told BSS that 10 haats including one permanent haat will be set up in the capital's DNCC area. This time, the cattle markets will remain open for 5 days from June 13 until the morning of Eid day, he said adding all arrangements have been made for the safe and comfortable trading of sacrificial animals. Peal Hasan said that buyers can purchase catt le through online banking even without bringing any cash in the market. Anyone can open an instant bank account under the overall supervision of Bangladesh Bank and make money transactions, he said adding for this reason there will be numerous bank booths in the market area. Apart from this, he said, arrangement has been made for ablution and prayers for the buyers at the markets. In order to maintain discipline at haats, the lease holders of haats have been warned that if any seller sets up a haat on the street, the security deposit of the lease holder will be forfeited. He said law enforcement agencies will be at markets constantly to provide overall security of the buyers and sellers. The temporary haats in the DNCC area will be set up at an open space adjacent to Dhaka Polytechnic Institute, Kanchkura Beparipara Rahman Nagar residential project site in Ward No. 44, Mostul Check Post in Khilkhet under Ward Number 43, an open space adjacent to Sutivola Canal at Vatara, Kaola Shialdanga in Sec tors 16 and 18 at Uttara, Boubazar area, Mirpur Section-06 (Eastern Housing open space) and Mohammadpur Bosila 40 feet road side. Public Relations Officer of Dhaka South City Corporation Abu Naser told BSS that temporary animal markets will be set up at 11 places along with permanent animal markets in Sarulia in the DSCC area from tomorrow. One monitoring committee for each market has been formed for maintaining overall discipline at market areas, he said. Each committee will have one magistrate, he said adding if any irregularity is found beyond the guidelines set by DSCC, the committee will immediately take action. Apart from, the central control room, there will be one control room in each haat, said Abu Naser. On the other hand, under the supervision of Bangladesh Bank, buyers and sellers can transact money through instant banking without cash transactions, the public relations officer said adding there will be adequate bank booths for this purpose at markets. The temporary cattle markets w ill be set up at Jatrabari Dania College, Dholaikhal Truck Terminal, Amulia Model Town, Meradia Bazar, a designated place near Kamalapur Stadium, Rahmatganj Club, Shyampur Kadamtali Truck Stand, North Shahjahanpur Khilgaon Railgate Bazar, Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology at Hazaribag, Postogola open field and near Bishwa Road beside Little Friends Club. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) officially celebrated the World Food Safety Day in Bangladesh by organising a roundtable discussion and youth engagement programme here today. Representatives from various government bodies including Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Department of Agriculture Extension, Department of Agricultural Marketing, Department of Fisheries, Director General of Health Services, as well as private companies, donors, partners and universities participated in the workshop, a FAO press release said. Dia Sanou, Deputy FAO Representative in Bangladesh, Nur Khondaker, Assistant FAO Representative (Programme) and Sonia Mehzabeen, UNV Programme Coordinator in Bangladesh, participated in the event. Dia Sanou, Deputy FAO Representative in Bangladesh, said: 'The hazards of unsafe food can be prevented by proper handling of food, better hygiene practices, and better storage. The FAO provides guidance on deve loping and implementing proper and effective standards and build national capacity for food quality control to ensure food is safe to eat. We need to work together to ensure food safety and security for the people of Bangladesh.' Sonia Mehzabeen, UNV Programme Coordinator in Bangladesh, said: 'Food safety is a concern that touches every one of us, regardless of age or background. However, it is the youth, with their innovative spirit, boundless energy, and passion for a better world, who hold immense potential in driving significant advancements in this critical domain.' The 7th June, World Food Safety Day is celebrated to raise awareness and draw attention of the importance of food safety and inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage food borne risks, contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, export of agri-food commodities, tourism and sustainable development. The FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) jointly facilitate the observance of t he annual commemoration of the World Food Safety Day, in collaboration with Member States and other relevant organizations. This year's theme 'Food safety: prepare for the unexpected' draws attention to food safety incidents. It underlines the importance of being prepared for food safety incidents, no matter how mild or severe they can be. It also calls upon individual and collective reflection on what can be done to ensure everyone has access to safe food, even when life becomes unpredictable. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Kathmandu: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayankaji Shrestha has congratulated Dr S. Jaishankar on his reappointment as the External Affairs Minister of India. During a telephone call today, DPM Shrestha extended his heartiest congratulations to Dr Jaishanker and added that he looked forward to working together for further advancing mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. Various aspects of Nepal-India relations were also discussed between the two leaders. Source: National News Agency RSS

Kathmandu: President Ram Chandra Poudel met with Swiss President Viola Emherd in Bern, Switzerland today. President Paudel is currently in Switzerland to attend as a keynote speaker in the inaugural session of the Forum of Global Coalition for Social Justice that is taking place during the high-level segment of the 112th International Labor Conference of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). During the meeting, President Paudel said that Nepal's current need and priority is to achieve economic prosperity which is indispensable to sustain democracy. "In 2026 Nepal will be upgrading from a least developed country which needs to be made consistent, sustainable and irreversible and to achieve this historic development goal we need great amount of resources, technology, investment and financial aid", the President said, according to President Paudel's press advisor Kiran Pokharel, who is also a member of the visiting delegation. Lauding the support of the Swiss government to the economic and social devel opment endeavours of Nepal since the 1950s, President Paudel said that the government of Nepal was looking forward to welcoming Swiss investors to Nepal and is committed to carrying out the required facilitation in that regard. President Paudel sought for investments in the fields of agriculture, tourism and water resources for the social and economic transformation of Nepal. On the occasion, Swiss President Emherd said that Switzerland was always ready to help Nepal in its socio-economic development endeavours, and in the areas that it identifies and needs. President Emherd also praised Nepal's constitution for federalism and inclusion. She mentioned that large-scale development partnership between the two countries has completed 60 years and assured that it will continue to grow in the days ahead. Source: National News Agency RSS