October 20, 2013

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Kartik 5, 1420 Zilhajj 14, 1434 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 1 No 206

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International

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New hope for breast cancer vaccine

Turkish students tear-gassed at road project demo

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2013 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

The party discusses hard-line programmes such as hartals and blockades

n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Main opposition BNP is planning to float a counter proposal for a polls-time government in response to the prime minister’s formula of an all-party interim administration to oversee the national polls.

The issue was discussed in a meeting of the standing committee – the highest policymaking body of the party – last night at the Gulshan office of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. A standing committee member said the counter proposal was likely to

snub PM’s formula as BNP believed an all-party interim government “contradicted” the country’s constitution.

He added that there was no way that the BNP would accept any partisan individual as the head of the polls-time government.

However, the meeting discussed two different views regarding the structure of the polls-time government.

One stream of thought was to accept partisan cabinet members under a non-partisan head; but for that the partisan members would have to step down from their party posts. The other

stream was in favour of a fully non-partisan administration. But the party is yet to finalise its proposal.

A BNP standing committee member said party chief Khaleda Zia would hold a press conference tomorrow to clarify her party’s stance regarding the pollstime government and also table her very own proposal.

Another policymaker of the party said the PM’s formula was nothing but “misleading” and an “ill attempt” to foil the opposition’s ongoing movement for a non-partisan interim administration.

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BNP mulls counter proposal Last night’s meeting also discussed hard-line programmes such as hartals and blockades, if the administration foiled its countrywide demonstrations scheduled for today and the mass rally scheduled for October 25, senior party leaders said.

Meeting sources said in that case Khaleda Zia’s tomorrow’s press conference might even be postponed.

The demonstrations came out as a response to the indefinite ban imposed on rallies and gatherings in the capital by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

PM’s speech lacks clarity: Jatiya Party n

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Tribune Online Report

Jatiya Party, a key ally of the ruling Awami League, yesterday said the Prime Minister’s call for an all-party government lacked specifications.

In the party’s official statement, Secretary General Ruhul Amin Hawaladar said: “She [Sheikh Hasina] did not specify who the leader of the cabinet would be.”

He added that the speech did not clear matters on whether the parliament will be active during elections or how a level-playing field would be ensured at the polls.

The statement is available at Jatiya Party’s official website.

It said that the statement followed a presidium member-level meeting headed by Jatiya Party Chairman Hussein Muhammad Ershad.

Earlier on Friday night, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called for a cabinet including members from all parties to oversee the next upcoming elections.

The general elections are expected to be held between October 25 and January24 next year. l

Khaleda to join pro-BNP professionals’ convention defying DMP ban kar Ali Manik, Mohammad n Julfi Al-Masum Molla and Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee Defying a ban imposed by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Khaleda Zia is “determined” to join a convention of Sammilito Peshajibi Parishad, a pro-BNP professionals’ body, in the city today.

“Khaleda Zia will join the programme as chief guest and will speak there,” Syrul Kabir Khan, an official of BNP chairperson’s press wing, told the Dhaka Tribune.

If the government “tried to create any obstruction” on Khaleda’s movement, BNP would go for tougher agitation like hartal, said a BNP standing committee member.

BNP sources said today’s national convention of the Sammilito Peshajibi Parishad would to take place at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre at Agargaon defying the ban.

In the face of growing tension over possible political violence, police yesterday imposed the ban on all sorts of mass gatherings including rally, procession, agitation, sit-ins and human chain in the capital for an indefinite period from 6am today.

“The ban will be applicable for both outdoor and indoor programmes,” Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“The decision has been taken to ease panic spread among people due to some upcoming [political] programmes.”

In a late night development, main opposition BNP announced demonstrations in district headquarters for today in protest against the ban.

On condition of anonymity, a senior police official last night told the Dhaka Tribune that the ban was imposed mainly to avoid any possible “political violence or violent political program.”

The source claimed they had intelligence information that under the cover of the BNP’s October 25 rally and future programmes, the Jamaat-e-Islami, Hefazat-e-Islam and some Islamist militants were “preparing to create anarchy” in the capital and other places.

The sense of insecurity among the people was gradually deepening since the second week of this month when two major parties – ruling Awami League and opposition BNP – started moving ahead with their plans to hold public rallies in the capital on October 25.

A couple of days ahead of starting countdown of the 90-day-period for holding elections, BNP fixed October 25 to hold a rally and to announce more programmes like shutdowns and laying

In the face of growing tension over possible political violence, police yesterday imposed ban on all sorts of mass gatherings including rally, procession, agitation, sit-ins and human chain in the capital for an indefinite period from 6am today siege to capital by continuous political programmes demanding a non-partisan caretaker government. The Awami League was also preparing for a counter rally the same day.

The BNP is also organising series of programmes with their like-minded parties and professionals’ and other bodies prior to the rally.

These political developments triggered apprehension among the people before Eid and Durga Puja festivals.

Their fear intensified since last week when BNP Vice-Chairmen and Convener of the city unit Sadeque Hossain Khoka asked the party men to get ready with “machetes and axe to resist any ploy to foil” the BNP’s October 25 rally. BNP’s Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi also warned the  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Hasina hopes to return to power with people’s mandate n Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee

DNA tests identify 300 ‘Muscular’ police law unlikely this term n Rana Plaza victims

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday expressed her optimism that her party would be able to win people’s mandate and return to power once again.

“The government carried out massive development work and earned public trust and confidence. So Awami League will be able to win people’s mandate in the next election,” she said.

Hasina called upon her party men to work together to facilitate AL’s comeback to state power again for continuation of the ongoing development activities and finishing the unfinished tasks.

The ruling Awami League President Sheikh Hasina made the call at a view exchange meeting at her official residence Gana Bhaban with AL-backed upazila chairmen, vice-chairmen, municipality and city corporation mayors.

The premier expressed her hope just a day after her proposal to the opposition to form an all-party interim government to oversee the next parliamentary polls.

She also vowed to strengthen the local government tiers if voted to power again and introduce district budget focusing on welfare and development projects.

Hasina added that her party would create such an atmosphere that would ensure maximum services to people.

The premier urged people’s representatives to work for all in their respective areas with sacrificing attitude.

At the meeting, Narayanganj City Corporation mayor, some 384 upazila chairmen, 680 vice-chairmen and 179 municipality mayors participated.

AL leaders Amir Hossain Amu, Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, HT Imam, Syed Ashraful Islam, Mahbubul Alam Hanif, AFM Bahauddin Nasim were, among others, present at the view-exchange programme. l

DNA tests have been able to confirm the identities of around 300 previously unidentified victims of the Rana Plaza disaster, sources said.

The national DNA testing laboratory at the Dhaka Medical College used Combined DNA Index System (Codis) software to successfully match DNA samples provided by relatives of Rana Plaza victims.

Although the DNA matching procedure is yet to be finalised, sources said 290 bodies have been identified. Of all the DNA samples taken, only 30-35 are yet to be matched to victims.

DNA specialists expressed hope of

Mohosinul Karim

n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

providing detailed information and confirming relationships between the victims and the sample donors once the process is completed.

Sources said the results of the first phase of tests, which are likely to reveal the identities of 250 to 260 victims, would be published by October 30.

The other samples would require further examination since some samples of teeth, bones or tissue from individual victims were examined separately, leading some victims to be identified multiple times.

The disclosures were made by several officials and employees of women and children affairs ministry and the

INSIDE News

3 The newly built cross-border power grid that brings electricity from India to Bangladesh, can also be used for bettering internet connectivity, professionals have said.

6 Salinity intrusion into the aquifers of the country’s coastal districts has reached an alarming proportion due to unplanned use of groundwater in agriculture and seawater seeping into underground due to sealevel rise caused by global warming.

Op-Ed

11 Matthew Islam: If our past was an indicator of our future, then I had no hopes for an understanding between our main political parties for the days ahead.

Entertainment

12 Chirkut will perform live on today’s phone-live concert “Close Up Call” at 9:45pm on DeshTV. The band has made quite an impact in the music arena of Bangladesh with rock, alternative rock and soft music.

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

An initiative to reform the 152-year old police law and give the force complete autonomy falls by the wayside due to “hidden conflict of interest between civil and police administrations.”

A home ministry committee, which was assigned in July to review the draft police law in two months, is yet to complete the task.

Home ministry officials now say the draft law that seeks to empower the police force with more authority than before may not be finalised during the tenure of the present government.

Police officials are upset as the bureaucrats held up the process of finalising the draft Bangladesh Police Act, 2013 and passing the law.

The draft says: “The government will not be able to empower any per-

son, official, authorities or court to control the police officers. The government will form an autonomous police division in coordination with the police officers under the home ministry.”

Moreover, the police chief will be vested with more powers than the home secretary and even the home minister on taking most of the decisions to handle the force independently.

The Police Headquarters prepared the draft with assistance of the Police Reform Programme, and forwarded it to the home ministry. After receiving the draft, the home ministry in July formed a six-member committee headed by its deputy secretary (police) to prepare a new law after reviewing the Police Act, 1861 and the draft of the police law.

The panel was given two months to submit a final draft, but it is yet to complete the task. It is not likely to be pre-

pared within the tenure of the present government, said the home ministry officials.

A senior official told the Dhaka Tribune that the civil bureaucrats had been demanding a revision of the draft law before it was passed in parliament expressing concern that the law might be “misused.”

They are not interested to finalise the draft and get it passed as they believe that the force, which was formed to help the civil administration in implementing the rules and controlling law and order, should not be given complete autonomy, the official said.

The draft law contains 11 chapters, 97 clauses and over 100 sub-clauses on the police reforms while providing magistracy power to officers of the rank of ASP and above.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, October 20, 2013

BNP, Jamaat, CPB criticise ban on rallies JP team likely to meet n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Different political parties including the main opposition BNP yesterday criticised the government decision of imposing indefinite ban on public gatherings in the city.

The BNP alleged that the DMP had imposed ban on rallies and processions to foil the October 25 rally and also to foil the pro-opposition Peshajibi Parishad’s programme today.

The party also claimed that alienated from the people, the government had been moving forward to stay in power by eliminating the opposition forces and ignoring the mass demand of election under a non-party interim government.

“Such undemocratic decision of the government adds a new chapter of repressing the opposition,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, party’s acting secretary general, said in a press release signed by its Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

Condemning the decision, the party spokesperson urged the government to withdraw the decision immediately.

Earlier at a discussion at the National Press Club, Fakhrul accused the Awami League-led Grand Alliance government of snatching people’s democratic rights by imposing the ban.

“The government has imposed ban through police to thwart the mass upsurge so that the opposition cannot wage movement demanding election under a non-partisan government,” he said.

“The situation is like that all the windows of a house are being shutting down. People of the country are in a suffocating situation. It seems like no one can deliver speech or take to the street.”

The BNP leader claimed it had been double standard of the government as it was urging for saving the democracy in the one hand and snatching the people’s democratic rights on the other.

He said the police could not impose the ban if the prime minister was democratic.

Meanwhile, Jamaat also criticised the government decision. Party’s acting secretary general Rafiqul Islam Khan in a statement said the government has been trying to stop peoples’ voice as it had failed to fulfil their demands.

On the other hand, ruling Awami League’s Dhaka City unit would not hold its pre-planned rally on October 25 if the ban until that day. Besides this, the city unit is ready to assist the law enforcement agencies to face any kind of unwanted situation on October 25, said its leaders.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, city unit acting president MA Aziz said they had respect towards the law and “as the Awami League is a democratic organisation, it has postponed the rally showing respect to the DMP decision.”

The city unit announced the rally at an extended meeting on October 10.

Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (Basad) yesterday condemned the government decision, according to UNB.

Addressing a meeting at the CPB headquarters in the city, senior leaders of the left-leaning parties observed that the government had directly interfered in the people’s democratic rights by imposing the ban.

It would further worsen the ongoing political crisis in the country, they added.

They suggested that instead of curbing democratic practices, the government must give a thought to banning Jamaat-Shibir and other communal forces to improve the country’s political situation.

They demanded that the government withdrew the ban before the CPB-Basad rally on October 26 in the capital.

Presided over by CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim, the meeting was also attended by Basad General Secretary Khalequzzaman, CPB Presidium member Haidar Akbar Khan Rano and Basad Central Committee member Bazlur Rashid Firoz. l

Hasina today n Tribune Report Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad is likely to send a party delegation to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganabhaban this evening.

“I have heard that the prime minister’s office has communicated the chairman about a meeting at Ganabhaban tomorrow evening,” the party’s Presidium Member Kazi Firoz Rashid told Dhaka Tribune over phone last evening. “I do not know anything details.”

Jatiya Party presidium yesterday took a decision on quitting the ruling alliance on October 24, a party leader confirmed.

Several presidium members said quoting the party’s Chairman HM Ershad that the announcement of leaving the Awami League-led

alliance would be made on October 24 or 25.

Senior Presidium Member Rowshan Ershad said it would not be wise to take such a decision hurriedly.

But other presidium members expressed their opinion in favour of leaving the alliance.

The party chairman is likely to meet senior leaders before starting for Ganabhaban today.

The party said yesterday Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s proposal for an all-party interim government to conduct the next general election “lacks clarity”.

JP Secretary General ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader told journalists after yesterday’s presidium meeting that they would have to wait for a while to finalise the party’s response regarding the offer. l

MPs blamed for making upazila parisads dysfunctional BNP mulls counter proposal n Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee Aggrieved upazila chairmen and vice-chairmen yesterday expressed before the prime minister their discontent over the involvement of MPs as advisers to the local government body and interference in decision-making.

The Awami League-backed upazila chairmen and vice-chairmen, and municipality and city corporation mayors blamed the lawmakers’ attitude and the existing law for making the upazila parishads dysfunctional, meeting sources said.

At the fag-end of the government’s tenure, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also ruling party president, yesterday met with Narayanganj City Corporation Mayor Salina Hayat Ivy, over 380 upazila chairmen, 680 vice-chairmen and 179 municipality mayors at Ganabhaban to exchange views with them.

Like the grassroots-level leaders in the past, many upazila chairmen yesterday raised allegations against a number of party lawmakers for their alleged involvement in anti-organisational activities and not maintaining relationship with the grassroots leaders and activists.

Several chairmen requested the party chief not to give nomination to the controversial lawmakers since it would benefit the opposition parties.

Meeting insiders confirmed that the upazila chairmen and vice-chairmen were not allowed to speak frankly and

that they were not given any positive response from the head of government.

An upazila chairman from Dhaka

district, wishing anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that he did not understand why he was invited for the meet-

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina delivers a speech at the Ganabhaban yesterday, during a view exchange programme with mayors of city corporations and municipalities, and chairmen and vice-chairmen of upazila parishads FOCUS BANGLA

Expats in Malaysia enjoying low migration costs n Rabiul Islam The people, who were sent to work in the plantation sector in Malaysia following the signing of a MoU with the Malaysian government, are enjoying benefits of low migration costs as well as sending handsome amount back at home.

Families of the migrants are overcoming poverty and leading towards a better living with the money sent by them, informed a number of family members of the workers.

These workers managed to migrate to Malaysia with a minimum cost of around Tk40,000, whereas under private recruiting agencies, they had to spend four times of that.

Dewan Nazrul, hailing from Manikganj district, went to Malaysia in April by spending Tk30,000. Neither he had to take a loan nor sell any property.

“I received money from my husband four times. First time I received Tk23,000, second time Tk22,000, third time Tk23,000 and the last amount I received was Tk50,000,” said Nazrul’s

wife Romela Begum with content.

Romela lives along with two daughters, a son and mother-in-law.

“My parents wanted to send money to my husband but he said he did not need it,” she added.

Romela said: “Before going to Malaysia my husband used to work as a day labourer and earned Tk200 to Tk300 per day. We lived in poverty.

He had an accident a year ago and we had to take a loan of Tk25,000. We have already paid that loan with the money he sent.”

“Now we have taken lease of a land at Tk45,000 where we plan to cultivate paddy and maze,” she added.

She thanked the creator for changing their fate and expressed determination to save money.

After failing in SSC, Matiar Rahman, 22, also hailing from Manikganj, had been sitting idle for two years before going to Malaysia. Six months back he went to Malaysia to work in the plantation sector.

“Matiar has sent a total of Tk1,26,000

No Prothom Alo in Ganabhaban, PMO n Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee Copies of a Karwan Bazar Bangla daily Prothom Alo were not accepted at the official residence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as well as her office, sources in the Ganabhaban said.

The authorities at Hasina’s residence did not let in any copy of the daily on its premises after newspaper publication resumed yesterday following a threeday Eid holiday.

They said the decision would remain in force until further notice.

Ganabhaban officials said the same action would be taken at the secretariat as well as residences of the ministers.

The action came after the daily had allegedly taken stance against the government’s policies and did not reflect hopes and aspirations of the masses, officials told the Dhaka Tribune.

The Prime Minister’s Office observed that the newspaper’s editorial policies and the treatment of news had not been sensible. l

in last six months,” Sumi, his sister-inlaw told this correspondent on Friday.

In 2007, Alamin Noyon, a university student hailing from Rajshahi, went to Malaysia to work at an electronic company through a private recruiting agency by spending Tk2,80,000.

“After seven months I, along with 79 workers, had to return home empty handed, as there was no job,” Alamin said.

“We got our money back because of the measures taken by the BMET (Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training),” he said.

To mitigate the high migration cost and fraudulence of the unscrupulous recruiting agencies, Bangladeshi government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Malaysian government on November 26 last year.

However, the government has sent only 455 workers to Malaysia to work in the plantation sector since then.

More 679 workers are currently in the pipeline to migrate. l

DNA tests identify  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

DNA profiling laboratory, on the condition of anonymity, as the “sensitive issue” is directly supervised by the PMO. Asked, Dr Sharif Akteruzzaman, chief of the laboratory, told the Dhaka Tribune last week: “I did not give you any number.

Who told you? We have not sat yet to write the results. After Eid, we will sit for it.”

Around 550 relatives who gave DNA samples would be able to claim compensation from the government once the results were made public. They are yet to receive help from any organisations until date.

At least 321 victims remain unidentified almost seven months after the collapse killed more than 1,112 people, mostly women workers. l

ing and that the party chief had not given any directives about their duties ahead of the parliamentary polls.

Several upazila chairmen informed the party president about the organisational weakness in their areas and requested her to resolve the problems before the national polls.

The sources said they had assured Hasina that the party’s victory was very much possible if the party men remained united. They also requested her to give nominations following the recommendations of the grassroots.

Narayanganj city Mayor Ivy raised objection against the Upazila Parishad Ordinance saying that it was deterrent to strengthening the local government and observed that the controversial provision of making the lawmakers advisers to the upazila parishads should be scrapped.

In response to her proposal, the prime minister said the MPs had passed the law. “Will the MPs pass any law that will cut their power?”

Meanwhile, responding to the frustrations of the chairmen and vice-chairmen, Hasina assured them of strengthening the local government tiers if voted to power once again and introducing district budget.

Party leaders Amir Hossain Amu, Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, HT Imam, Syed Ashraful Islam, Mahabub-Ul-Alam Hanif and AFM Bahauddin Nasim were present at the event. l

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 4

Earlier, BNP was planning for a major showdown in Dhaka by staging a rally on October 25 to press home its demands for a non-party interim government.

As the ruling Awami League also called for a rally on the same day in the capital, DMP, fearing violence, enforced the ban.

The countdown to the national elections begins on October 27 as according to the constitution, the polls must be held within 90 days from that date.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday proposed the formation of an all-party government to hold polls and appealed to the opposition to give names of their lawmakers for the interim cabinet.

After the nationally televised speech, PM’s Adviser HT Imam told BBC Bangla on Friday that Sheikh Hasina would be the chief of the “allparty polls-time government.”

Although Hasina in her Friday’s speech did not clarify who would head the ad-hoc administration, there was recognition of the fact that the opposition did not want her as the chief.

BNP’s key ally Jamaat-e-Islami has already rejected the prime minister’s speech terming it a product of “conspiracy” and a “document of falsehood.”

Andalib Rahman Partha, chairman of BNP’s ally Bangladesh Jatiya Party,

said the premier’s proposal was “vague.”

“If this proposal was given six to eight months ago, then there was a scope of discussion. But such a proposal at the eleventh hour is meaningless,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Former military ruler HM Ershad’s Jatiya Party, one of the key allies of the ruling alliance, yesterday sought clarification about who would head the interim government that the prime minister has tabled in her Friday’s nation address.

If this proposal was given six to eight months ago, then there was a scope of discussion. But such a proposal at the eleventh hour is meaningless Bikalpadhara Bangladesh, Krishak Sramik Janata League and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Rob) also rejected the premier’s call saying the nation was “disappointed” by her speech.

Although these three parties have said they would not form any official alliance with BNP-led opposition group, they are reportedly planning to stand on a common platform with the main opposition to pressure the government for installing non-partisan caretaker government. l

‘Muscular’ police law unlikely  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

According to section 11(2), the police chief and officers of the IG rank will have the full authority of a class I executive magistrate. At the same time, the authority of an executive magistrate will be given to an officer of the rank of ASP and above.

According to the bureaucrats, the police officers should not have the magistracy power. They should only help the executive and the judiciary departments by implementing the magistrate’s decisions to maintain law and order.

If they get the magistracy authority, they might misuse it as police carry legal arms with them, the bureaucrats worry.

The bureaucrats claimed that even though the police was supposed to assist the civil administration, the government had separated the law enforcing agencies from the administration.

The police officials are not following the requests of the bureaucrats after the separation. They would not assist the civil administration in the future if they were given complete autonomy.

A high official of the police said the draft law was prepared to strengthen the policing activities. He hoped that the government would enact the new

law for the greater interest of the police personnel.

State Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku said the ministry would take a decision on the act after the sixmember panel finalises the draft. “We are waiting for the draft to be completed,” he added.

The proposed law states: “There will be one police force in the country and it will be known as police force, or police service or Bangladesh Police...”

It says the Inspector General of Police will get the authority of overall management, administration, operation and control. The chief will exercise all powers, including financial authority, like the senior secretary or the secretary of the ministry concerned.

The proposed law also empowers a class II police officer for taking necessary steps against any person for money laundering, misappropriation of money and criminal breach for the prevention and investigation of any financial crime.

At present, these crimes are under the jurisdiction of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

The draft law keeps the option open for declaring a police district. “The government can declare any area of the

country as a police district, which will be administrated by a superintendent of police.”

It allows any investigating police officer to issue a notice to a person for information. For failing to provide the required information, one can be fined Tk50,000 or face three months of rigorous imprisonment or both.

It also keeps the provision of doing part-time or a second job within the service period of a police officer with prior permission of the police chief. But, it should not be conflicting with the police work and duties.

The draft also keeps a compulsion for the police to inform the family or relatives of an arrestee as soon as possible and they have to ensure the rights and facilities of the accused.

The proposed law also says a court cannot accept any complaint against a police officer without prior permission of the government. Moreover, no case can be accepted against a police officer unless it is filed within six months of an incident of crime or abuse of law while discharging duty.

If anyone wants to file a case against the police, s/he must give two months’ notice with details of the complaint as per the civil law procedure. l

Khaleda to join pro-BNP professionals’ convention  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

government of “dire consequences” if it tried to obstruct the rally.

Terming the DMP’s ban “undemocratic,” BNP’s acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday said: “The government has imposed ban through police so that the opposition cannot wage movement demanding election under a non-partisan government.”

He said the DMP had clamped down the ban also to foil the pro-BNP Peshajibi Parishad’s programme scheduled for today.

The announcement of the ban came shortly after a BNP delegation visited the DMP headquarters. The leaders

went there for seeking permission to hold the rally on October 25.

Later, DMP Commissioner Benazir Ahmed issued a press release saying several rival parties had called for programmes of meetings and rallies in the capital from October 20.

“Ahead of the rallies, some quarters have made dangerously inciting speeches in public that hampers people’s safety and security,” said the press release.

The police commissioner said they had imposed the ban in line with the DMP Ordinance.

However, some ruling party leaders have blamed the BNP for the police ban.

Awami League Presidium member Kari Zafarullah told the Dhaka Tribune that there was panic among the people about October 25 as the BNP leaders had made several times “provocative” remarks about their rally.

“The government is concerned about violence on that day...so it took such a decision to avoid any unwanted situation,” he said.

Awami League’s Dhaka City unit acting president MA Aziz said: “We [Awami League] have respect towards the law and as the Awami League is a democratic organisation it has postponed the party rally of October 25 showing respect to the DMP decision.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Cross-border power grid seen as Internet boon n Muhammad Zahidul Islam The newly built cross-border power grid that brings electricity from India to Bangladesh, can also be used for bettering internet connectivity, professionals have said.

The Indo-Bangla power grid is fitted with optical ground wire (OPGW) to measure the volume of electricity being flown.

Professionals have suggested that the telecom carriers from both the countries should persuade their respective governments to use the newly constructed OPGW mounted grid to bolster international internet bandwidth sharing.

Sumon Ahmed Sabir, senior vice-president of the Internet Service Providers Association Bangladesh (ISPAB), said: “It can be an alternative to routing internet bandwidth. Technically it is very much possible and also safe for both the parties.”

“We are already leasing optical fibre from the PGCB [Power Grid Company of Bangladesh]. Some Indian companies can now lease Power Grid Company of India’s fibre connectivity for expanding bandwidth,” added Sumon, also the chief strategic officer of international terrestrial cable (ITC) operator Fibre@Home.

State-run PGCB operates, maintains and develops the national transmis-

sion system for distributing generated electricity in the country. It has about 3600km of optical fibre.

In June, PGCB leased out its optical fibre links to two Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) operators - Fiber@home and Summit Communications Limited – to expand internet connectivity to the remote areas of the country.

At present, six Bangladeshi ITC operators are linked with their Indian counterparts through a common optical fibre link. Experts say it exposes the operators from both the countries to the risks of disconnection in case the link is snapped.

Bangladesh imports around 15 Gigabits of bandwidth from India through these ITC connections.

Experts have said the cross-border power grid was built with the taxpayers’ money from both the countries.

Therefore, the unused capacity of the new grid should be utilised for internet link.

They also said the oil-rich Arab countries have solidified regional internet connectivity using their own cross-border OPGWs. On October 5, power import from India began through the Baharampur-Bheramara cross-border power transmission link.

India will initially supply 500MW power to Bangladesh. l

Dhaka residents walk the platforms of the Kamalapur railway station yesterday, as they return to their metropolitan lives after spending Eid vacation at their village homes

ALLEGATION OF MONEY LAUNDERING BY EXPATS

ACC to probe Rajuk plot irregularities n Syed Samiul Basher Anik The Anti-Corruption Commission is conducting an inquiry into allegations that some non-resident Bangladeshis (NRB) sold their specially allocated plots from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) to launder the money abroad.

An ACC official, who is also part of the inquiry team, told the Dhaka Tribune that the commission had received allegations that some expatriates were receiving plots from Rajuk under the NRB quota and later selling those plots to their close ones, and sometimes laundering the money abroad. The commission assigned a five member probe committee, led by its Deputy Director SM Sahidur Rahman, to conduct inquiry into the allegation, he also said.

Around 4,000 NRBs allegedly sold their Rajuk allocated plots to their close ones, as soon as they received the

land documents, the official said.

Claiming that such transactions were illegal, he said: “The NRBs have to use their lands in person as per the law. But, they are selling their plots and acquiring assets with this money. We have allegations that some people have already laundered the money abroad, which was generated from the sale of such plots.”

The official said some of the NRBs were using innovative ways to carry out the irregularities.

“These people are misusing the power of attorney system. They are giving power of attorney to their dear ones; and later their dear ones are selling the plots. So it is not an easy task to identify all of them, but we are collecting evidences and documents,” he said.

“Now, we are busy with preparing the list of persons involved, and then, we will take statements from all of

them,” he said, adding: “It will take time to conduct the inquiry since the number of such people would be very high.”

Regarding the irregularities, Rajuk member (planning) Sheikh Abdul Mannan told the Dhaka Tribune that if any NRB wanted to sell their Rajuk allocated property, they had to take permission from Rajuk prior to such transactions.

“We have a quota system for non-resident Bangladeshi people in each of our plot and flat projects. After having such privilege, if they are doing such misdeeds, that would be very depressing,” he said.

“If anyone wants to sell such plot or flats, they will need to take permission from Rajuk. Further permission from Bangladesh Bank is needed to take the money abroad,” Mannan said. He also said if the procedure was not being followed properly, this would be an offense under Money Laundering Prevention Act. l

Polls materials start arriving at EC

Admission in public medical and dental colleges starts today n Mohammad Zakaria Amid all the concerns about the shape n Moniruzzaman Uzzal of the polls-time government and unProcedure for admission in MBBS and BDS courses for session 2013-2014 in 22 medical colleges, one dental college and dental units in eight medical colleges across the country have started today.

Director General of Health Services Professor Dr Khondhakar Mohammad Sifayetullah told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have published result of the admission test along with the merit list.

Every public medical college will have to follow the merit list.”

A total of 3344 students have been selected for admission in different public medical and dental colleges from the 100-mark admission test held on October 4.

Under the admission procedure, the students have to submit academic transcripts and testimonials of their HSC and SSC examinations. Those claiming the district quota would have to submit nationality certificates certified by elected representatives of local government authorities including local upazila chairman, mayor and ward commissioners, and four copies of colour photographs.

A total of 68,172 applications were filed for the public and private medical and dental college admission tests this year, among which, 1,724 students were absent.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia exchanges greetings of ‘Bijoya Dashami’ with representatives from the Hindu community at the city’s Ladies Club yesterday RAJIB DHAR

BNP believes in communal harmony: Khaleda n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla BNP Chairperson and leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia yesterday called upon the Hindu community to work together for betterment of the country.

“There was a misconception that BNP distanced itself with the minority community, but it is not true. We believe in communal harmony and unity.

We will strengthen relations whenever we will return to power,” she said.

“Let’s come forward and unite and show to others that we can also promote development.”

Khaleda said: “We have renovated

many temples while we were in power.

We have rebuilt Ramna Kali Mandir and we also set up temple-based library.”

Exchanging greetings with the leaders of the Hindu community at Ladies Club in the capital on the occasion of Durga Puja, Khaleda said Bangladesh is a land of communal harmony.

“People of all religions live here together. Every religion has equal right and all are citizens of Bangladesh,” she said.

Hundreds of Hindu community people met with the leader of the opposition to exchange greetings.

The former premier reiterated that every religion in Bangladesh has equal

right and if any religion comes under attack, stern action will be taken.

Asked about the Prime Minister’s speech and Dhaka Metropolitan Police ban on meetings and rallies, Khaleda said they would give their opinion in this regard after holding meeting with the standing committee members and the leaders of BNP-led 18-party alliances.

BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, ASM Hannan Shah and other senior leaders of the party were present. l

RAJIB DHAR

There are 2812 general seats for the MBBS courses. 55 seats are reserved for the offsprings of freedom fighters and 20 seats are reserved for students coming from underprivileged community including tribal.

For the BDS courses, there are 517 general seats and 10 reserved seats for the children of freedom fighters and five reserved seats for the tribal.

The admission procedure will end on November 5. 631 students are listed in the first waiting list whose admissions are subjected to the availability of vacant seats. Any student can re-examine his copy of admission test by paying Tk1000 before November 5.

Classes will commence in the first week of January next year. Admission procedure of private medical colleges would start after the completion of the phase in public medical colleges.

A total of 68,172 applications were filed for the public and private medical and dental college admission tests this year, among which, 1,724 students were absent.

Currently, there are 2,812 seats available at the 22 government-run medical colleges throughout Bangladesh.

The 55 private-run medical colleges offer 4,800 seats.

There is one public and 18 private dental colleges with 532 and 1,050 seats available respectively. l

certainties regarding the polls, the Election Commission has nearly completed procuring half of the materials needed for holding the polls.

EC officials said about 40% of the election materials have reached the commission until late last week. They said the remaining 60% would arrive

by October 24.

They also said the necessary materials for the 4th upazila elections would starting coming to the commission by December, they said.

A senior EC official, seeking anonymity, said although the two major parties were yet to come to a consensus and the work for formulating a fullfledged code of conduct was still to be

completed, the EC could not wait for that.

He said the EC wanted to follow the constitution to the point and that was why it had begun procuring the election materials so that it can be fully prepared even if there was no election.

Officials concerned said the printing of forms, packages and manuals was at its last stages. Other stationery materials such as different kinds of seals have already reached the commission and stump pads would reach by October 24.

The ballot boxes, indelible inks and pens, bought under the UNDP assisted SEMB project of the EC, are supposed to reach any day.

The EC is planning to hold the upazila elections after holding the national elections. The last upazila elections were held in 2009. l

Rental power plant owners find new conditions harsher n Tribune Desk The government move to extend contracts with some rental power plants may suffer a setback as sponsors have found the new conditions tougher than earlier.

According to sources, the government recently decided to extend its power purchase agreements (PPAs) with four rental power plants as their contracts have either expired or are going to expire soon.

The plants are RZ Power’s 47 MW diesel-fired plant in Thakurgaon, Precision Energy’s 55MW gas-fired plant in Ashuganj, Energies Power’s 55MW furnace oil-fired plant at Shikalbaha and KPCLs 40MW plant in Khulna.

Sources said the Power Division officials held a series of negotiation meetings with the sponsors of the rental power plants over the last two months.

At the final stage of the negotiation, the officials last week informed the sponsors of the rental plants that the government would extend deals with them only if they agree to reduce both the tariff and the supply capacity of their plants and accept some other conditions.

These newly-imposed conditions pushed them into a great dilemma as they found the conditions unviable to run their plants and sell electricity to the government.

“We may renegotiate the issue of tariff to some extent, but some other conditions will be hard to accept as those will make our business commercially unviable and lead to financial losses,” a rental power plant sponsor told UNB. “We’re examining the new conditions. If we find those unsuitable for our business, nobody will be willing to extend deals with the government,” he said.

Referring to the country’s inflation spillover effect, another sponsor said it has already pushed up their operational costs. New conditions will increase the operational costs further, he added.

Contacted, Additional Secretary of the Power Division Mofazzal Hossain, who is leading negotiation from the government site, refrained from making any comment on the issue.

“The negotiation is still on. So, no comment should be made at this stage,” he told UNB. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, October 20, 2013

First return hajj flight lands in Dhaka

Twelve hurt in Chittagong cylinder blast n UNB, Chittagong

n UNB

At least 12 people were injured as a gas cylinder exploded at an ice factory at Charpathaghata in the city yesterday morning.

Officer-in-Charge of Karnaphuli thana Mohiuddin Mahmud said a gas cylinder blasted in the ice factory owned

by Ali Chairman in the morning, leaving 12 people including some students of a madrasa adjacent to the factory injured.

The madrasa students sustained injures as they were trying to get out of the madrasa hurriedly after the explosion.

Some of the victims also fell sick after inhaling ammonia gas spread following the cylinder blast.

Six of the injured were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital. l

Four siblings injured by AL cadre n Our Correspondent, Barisal Four siblings were left critically injured after being beaten by an Awami League AL cadre on Friday night in the Kazir Char area of Mehendiganj upazila in Barisal.

The siblings were later sent to Dhaka from Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital after their conditions deteriorated yesterday afternoon.

The injured brothers are Md Kawsar Hossain, Md Salahuddin, Md Humaun and Md Abdul Hakim, sons of Abdur Rob Talukdar from Majh Kazir Char in Mehendidanj upazila.

Saiful Islam, a witness, said a group of AL activists led by the Patarhaat ward 2 AL secretary Abul Akon, attacked the brothers with weapons on Friday night at Kazir Char Bazar.

Members of the cadre included Rafik Akon, Apti Rari, Kaltu Rari and Karim Rari.

The brothers were eventually rescued by family members and locals and sent to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) in the early hours of yesterday in critical conditions.

Saiful Islam, who said the injured parties were his brothers-in-law, claimed that the attackers had sociopolitical rivalries with the brothers for a long time.

Hospital sources said SBMCH doctors transferred the injured men to Dhaka at 3:30pm for further treatment.

Officer-in-Charge of Mehendiganj police station Riaz Hossain said he had sent police to the area after he heard about the incident.

No case had been lodged in connection with incident at the time of filing this report. l

WEATHER

Temperature unlikely to change n UNB Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely at one or two places over Barisal and Chittagong divisions until 6pm today.

Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country, Met Office said.

Day and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 5:28pm today and rises at 5:59am tomorrow.

Country’s highest temperature 35.3 degree Celsius was recorded at Sitakunda and lowest 22.8 degrees at Dinajpur and Sayedpur yesterday.

Highest and lowest temperatures recorded in some major cities yesterday were: City

High

Low

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

34.5 33.0 34.0 32.2 34.5 33.7 35.0 31.0

25.4 26.6 23.4 24.2 26.0 25.6 24.0 26.5

Hajj pilgrims start returning to the country, as the first of the return hajj flights lands in Dhaka yesterday

Government to launch project to improve RMG working condition Canada, the Netherlands and the UK are funding the $24.5m project The government spelled out the already begun, another labour ministry isation (ILO), he said. n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman time-bound commitments in three The governments of Canada, the official said.

The government will launch a project this week to improve working conditions in the country’s readymade garments sector, which is under global scrutiny following the recent industrial tragedies of Tazreen Fashions and Rana Plaza that killed more than 1,200 workers.

“The project has five components, including a capacity building and awareness programme,” Foyzur Rahman, joint secretary of the labour and employment ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The labour ministry will implement the five-year project in coordination with the International Labour Organ-

Netherlands and the UK Department for International Development will finance the $24.5m project, he added.

ILO Deputy Director General Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, who arrives in Dhaka today on a three-day visit, will attend the launching ceremony on Tuesday.

The project is the combination of the government’s commitment to the sustainability “compact” launched in July in Geneva, and the national plan of action declared in Dhaka in May, a foreign ministry official said.

The initial work on one of the components - assessment of fire, electrical and structural safety of factories - has

“We have formed 30 teams, comprised of BUET engineers and other technical people, to assess the safety of buildings, fire and electrical,” he said.

The government would also develop the capacity of the labour department and the fire brigade under the programme, he added.

“Awareness building among all stakeholders is another component, and operational and health safety are the major focus,” he said.

Rehabilitation of workers injured in different accidents and introduction of a “better work programme”, managed by the ILO, are the two other components, the official said.

4:43am 5:57am 11:43pm 3:51pm 5:28pm 6:44pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

broad areas _ legislative, administrative and practice _ after the fire incident at Tazreen Fashions last November and the Rana Plaza collapse in April.

It also committed to reform labour laws, which it did in July. However, adoption of a national occupational safety and health plan, which was supposed to be completed by April 30, is yet to be done.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has already submitted a proposal to the public administration ministry to upgrade the department for inspection of factories and establishments to a directorate with 2,291 posts. l

STRUGGLE FOR STARDOM

Two Bangladeshi youths get an insight of the MUN n Syeda Samira Sadeque Fahmida Faiza and SIM Shadman Sheikh, students of London College of Legal Studies (South), were selected to participate in a United Nations training this year. One of the most prestigious programmes held at the UN Headquarters in New York, designed to train organisers of Model United Nations (MUN) across the world.

Faiza and Sheikh were the first ever Bangladeshis to be selected for this training and were among the selected 80 out of 50,000 applicants worldwide.

The workshop was organised and conducted by the UN Department of Public Information and UN Institute of Training and Research.

“MUN is not a mere conference, it is a passion,” Faiza told the Dhaka Tribune.

The training hosted various MUN organisers from all over the world and prestigious institutions such as Princeton University and Harvard University. Both Faiza and Sheikh said they were amazed to learn that there were people who, after graduating from university, continue to do MUN for the rest of their lives.

They also learned about the different ways in which other MUNs operate.

Since MUN is organised by local sponsors, different versions of it are carried out in each country. For example, India has had Hogwarts-themed MUNs. Since they were the first Bangladeshis to attend this training, their arrival and participation were much celebrated.

“They knew our names the moment we told them we were from Bangladesh,” Sheikh told the Dhaka Tribune.

The struggle for success

Despite coming such a long way, they had been facing extreme difficulties in securing sponsorship for the training, and received harsh responses from many corporate officials they approached.

According to their account, some renowned banks kept them waiting for months before rejecting their request.

Some expressed annoyance at being “disturbed” by their calls during office hours.

Both Faiza and Sheikh felt that this opportunity to represent Bangladesh was highly underestimated and discouraged by these organisations.

Impressions and inspirations

Their struggle reached the peak when they were harshly reminded that some organisations prefer to highlight only the “successful stories,” not the struggle stories of the “losers.”

“At the end of the day, we felt like beggars,” Faiza said.

However, they got lucky when Faiza managed to secure a scholarship from the United Nations itself – which only 5 out of the 80 final participants are entitled to.

Sheikh managed to pull through with collective funds from Apex, the Daily Manob Jomin and some private companies.

As first-ever Bangladeshis to attend the training, the pair left quite an impression. In order to represent Bangladesh, Faiza wore a saree everyday – representing each of our unique textiles everyday ranging from Jamdani to Maslin.

Many at the training said they were impressed and inspired with the duo’s participation. The MUNs from Germany, the Netherlands and India offered to work with them in the future.

“It was nice to be honoured this way after such humiliation,” Sheikh said, referring to the challenges they faced while managing sponsorship.

The pair even had the opportunity to observe an ongoing emergency security council meeting on Syria and Cuba.

Faiza and Sheikh plan to use their training to raise awareness about the MUN. Faiza added: “The negotiation skills you learn at the MUN can be implemented in many places. When our bus fare or sugar price increases, people resort to violence, instead of negotiating.

Negotiation is something we need to practice as a country, and the MUN is where it can begin.” l

15 hurt in BNP-police clash in Feni

n Our correspondent, Feni At least 15 people including police were injured in a clash between the lawmen and supporters of the opposition lawmaker Mosharaf Hossain of Feni 3 constituency yesterday.

The incident occurred around 4:30pm at Zero point in Sonagaji of the district.

Sources said supporters of the opposition lawmaker organised a student rally at Sonagaji High School.

Following the rally, BNP activists marched with their procession towards the zero point when some BNP men threw brick chips at the on-duty police, prompting the lawmen to retaliate, added the sources.

Police fired tear gas shells in the face of a massive attack by the hundreds of BNP men.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sonagaji police station Subash Chandra Pal said BNP activists attacked the police all of a sudden.

The injured police are Sonagaji OC Subash Chandra Pal, OC (investigation) Arzu, SI Sribash, constable Mofiz, Harun, Samsul Alam, Raihan and Rakib.

Additional forces had been deployed in the area to bring the situation under control, said Saiful Haque, additional police super. Contacted over cellphone, lawmaker Mosharaf Hossain allegedly laid blame on Chhatra League, saying that the ruling party cadres launched an attack on the BNP parade. l

DAE targets 13.2m tonnes vegetables this winter

n Tribune Desk

The Department of Agricultural Extension has fixed the current fiscal year’s target for vegetables cultivation at over 766,000 hectares of land.

The vegetables production target has been fixed at 13.2 million tonnes for the fiscal 2013-14, according to sources in the DAE. The acreage target for winter vegetables has been set at 495,000 hectares and 270,000 hectares, and the production at 9.25m tonnes and 3.78m tonnes respectively, they added.

Besides, the target for potato production has been fixed at 8.6m tonnes. l

Seventeen workers hurt in separate incidents in Chittagong n FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

DHAKA TRIBUNE

The first return hajj flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, carrying over 400 pilgrims from Saudi Arabia, arrived Dhaka yesterday.

The flight landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 5:15pm, General Manager of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Khan Mosharraf Hossain said.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Faruk Khan was present at the airport to receive the first band of hajj returnees.

The next return flight was expected to arrive around 3am today, while the last return flight will arrive on November 19.

About 90,000 hajj pilgrims went to Saudi Arabia from Bangladesh to perform hajj this year.

This year, the flights started carrying pilgrims to Saudi Arabia on September 7 and ended on October 8. l

Himel, a sixteen-year-old SSC graduate, sells inflated toys in front of Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban yesterday to earn a living and survive in the capital. He came from Barisal at this age since his family suffers from financial problems MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

At least 17 people were injured in two separate incidents during Eid holidays in Chittagong.

Thirteen workers became ill after inhaling ammonia gas which was leaking from a pipe at an ice factory in the Char Pathargata area of Chittagong yesterday.

Of the 13, three were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) while the other workers received medical treatment at private clinics in the area.

Uttam Chandra Deb, inspector (investigation) of Karnaphuli police station, said the incident occurred at the factory owned by one Ali Shaheb at around 11am.

As well as the workers at the factory,

three locals also became sick after inhaling the gas.

Fire Service and Civil Defence sources said they attended the scene after being informed of the incident but the situation had already been brought under control by the factory authorities.

In a separate incident, four workers sustained burn injuries when a fire broke out at the bakery of Thai Food Limited in the Chandgaon area of the port city yesterday.

The injured workers were named as Shahadat Hossain Rubel, 24, Bimol Tripura, 25, Mohammed Mobin, 18, and Rajib Dash, 25.

Abdur Rawuf, officer-in-charge of Chandgaon police station, said the fire originated in an oven at the factory at around 8am. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Prescription

5

Sunday, October 20, 2013

What the doctors say

There are many questions on different health issues. These aren’t often answered properly, and the questions remain. Here we have tried to dig out the answers to these three commonly asked questions Are free range eggs healthier than n Dr Mohammad Sayem conventional eggs?

Most people are conscious about their health. They like to know the benefits of the food they usually consume. Egg and milk is central to their queries. In case of protecting the organs of the body, many people think of their kidneys first.

Though many folks are fond of taking eggs but sometimes it is discouraged due to its high cholesterol content.

Keeping this in mind, it has been advertised that free range eggs are better than conventional eggs regarding cholesterol content.

But a new study found no significant difference between cholesterol levels in free eggs compared to conventional egg.

Free range eggs are certainly better from an animal welfare standpoint and also less likely to be contaminate d with Salmonella (salmonella causes Typhoid fever) but do not have less cholesterol which is the most important health reason to minimise egg intake.

What is a recommended diet for preventing kidney stones?

Before dealing with the diet, we need to know about the constituents of kidney stones. They are calcium oxalate and phosphate (together they make 80%), magnesium aluminium phosphate , uric acid and cystin. Diets that make these stone forming salts insoluble will promote stone formation.

Most important step is to increase the amount of fluid intake to 3-4 litres per day, which will lead to production of 2 litres urine.

This will flush away the stone forming salts and decrease the likelihood of stone formation. Fluid intake should be distributed throughout the day, specially before retiring to bed. In terms of food, the most important thing is to decrease meat consumption. Low protein diet is recommended as high protein increases the stone forming product of our body: oxalate, uric acid, and decreases anti stone forming substances like citrate.

Raw milk or pasteurised milk, which is better?

Table salts also need to be minimised. Calcium should be plenty in diet. Though it may sound paradoxical, it binds and washes stone forming oxalate though stool.

Amazing health secrets in cucumber

Cucumbers are known to be one of the best foods for your overall health, often called “super food.” Pick a handful of fresh cucumbers and drop them into your shopping cart and put your step on a road to good health.

Keeps you fresh and hydrated

Cucumbers are 95% water, keeping the body hydrated while helping the body eliminate toxins. Eat the cool cucumber; it will cheerfully compensate your water loss. All that water in cucumber acts as a virtual broom, sweeping waste products out of your body. With regular eating, cucumber is known to dissolve kidney stones.

BIGSTOCK

Compensates heat inside and out

Eating cucumber will relieve your body heartburns. Apply cucumber on your skin and you will get relief from sunburns. Place a slice over puffy eyes and its anti-inflammatory properties help reduce puffiness. The silicon and sulfur in cucumbers help stimulate hair growth

Cancer fighter

Cucumber contains compounds like lariciresinol, pinoresinol, and secoisolariciresinol. These three “lignans” have a strong connection in research history with reduced risk of several cancers, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer and prostate cancer. The lignans are a group of chemical compounds found in plants.

Aids for slimming plans

Breast cancer is the second deadliest cancer in women.

Worldwide, breast cancer accounts for 23% of all cancers in women. According WOMEN’S to the latest WHO data HEALTH published in April 2011, breast cancer deaths in Bangladesh reached 8,396 or 0.88% of total deaths.

In 2010, researchers at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute found that a single vaccination could prevent breast tumors from occurring in mice genetically bred to develop breast cancer, while also inhibiting the growth of already existing breast tumors.

Doctors at the Cleveland clinic say the next step is to get permission from the FDA to test the vaccine on women, that could take at least two years. Pa-

BIGSTOCK

Cucumber is an excellent source of silica, which is known to help in strengthening the connective tissues of joints. They are also rich in vitamin A, B1, B6, C & D, Folate, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium, which boost your immune system keep you radiant and give you energy

Cucumber juice contains a hormone which is needed by the cells of the pancreas for producing insulin which has been found to be beneficial to diabetic patients. Researchers found that a compound called sterols in cucumbers may help reduce cholesterol levels. Cucumbers contain a lot of potassium, magnesium and fiber. These work effectively for regulating blood pressure. This makes cucumbers good for treating both low blood pressure and high blood pressure. | Compiled by: Gazi Kashif Yusuf

Stuck in a traffic jam?

Start singing. This increases stress hormones and compromises your immune system. Research on brain imaging shows that singing control the amounts of brain activity - like you think about all the stuff, you should be doing instead of sitting there and shows neural impulses. Singing also helps calm your breathing and heart rate to a normal pace.

Nailing hangnails

Don’t pull out a hangnail. You will harm the cuticle. Instead, use manicure scissors to trim off any sharp dried skin around the edge of the nail. Then rub petroleum jelly over and around the nail and leave it on overnight. The jelly will trap moisture and soften dry skin underneath.

Care for contact lens

BIGSTOCK

tients are not being enrolled yet, and the trials won’t begin until 2015. Once it is approved for clinical trials, the drug will be about 10 years away from the market place.

Breast cancer is more common in elderly women. While genetic disposition can be an obvious warning sign, it is still recommended that every woman, whether or not breast cancer is

known to run in her family, has regular check-ups and makes self-examination a routine activity.

Around 55,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

That’s one person every 10 minutes.

The different lifestyles and eating habits of females in rich and poor countries are also contributory factors, experts believe. l

Are your contact lenses irritating your eyes? Then check out these tips. Don’t sleep with your contact lenses, even if they’re extended-wear lenses. According to a study in optometry & vision science, patients who slept with their contacts in were three times as likely to get pink eye and 50 times likelier to suffer from corneal ulcers.

Dark chocolate for heart

Nasal foreign bodies n Prescription Desk

Your 3-year-old is “helping” his big sister (7 years old) clean her room. He finds a necklace of glass beads, and – of course – wonders FIRST AID whether they will fit into his nose. Because he is a little scientist, he performs an experiment, and et voila – nasal foreign body. An object that does not belong there – a “foreign body.”

Common nasal foreign bodies

Beads, Buttons, Toy parts (shoe from Polly Pocket, for example), Pebbles, Food particles, Crumpled paper, Small

Relieves joint pain

Effects on diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure

will decrease the likelihood of kidney stone formation, but will not prevent stone formation if you have strong stone forming pathology.

n Prescription Desk

BIGSTOCK

Due to its low calorie and high water content, cucumber is an ideal diet for people who are looking for weight loss.

Daily consumption of cucumbers can be regarded as a remedy for chronic constipation.

Avoid food that is rich in oxalate such as Spinach, Rhubarb. Food supplements with Vitamin C and D are also discouraged.

These recommended diet regimes

There is a common misconception, and widespread propaganda regarding this.

There was a systematic review on this, where the researchers concluded that, the impact of pasteurization on the nutritive value of milk appears to be minimal. Nutritional elements do not differ significantly between these.

The greater issue is that of infectious diseases. E. Coli infection, Tuberculosis, Brucellosis etc these infections are prone to develop in persons who consume raw milk. l

New hope for breast cancer vaccine

FOOD THERAPY

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QUICK TIPS

disk batteries. Don’t ask “why” – they just do.

What to do, not to do

Once you identify which side is affected, gently presses the other nostril closed and have the child blow gently; this may blow the object free.

Do not search the nose with cotton swabs or other tools – that may push the object further into the nose, where

it may be aspirated. Do not try to remove an object. Do not use tweezers or other tools to attempt removal – you may create nasal trauma and bleeding.

An Ear, Nose & Throat surgeon will be able to remove an object from the nose in the clinic. In case of an uncooperative child, this may need to be done in the operating room with the child sedated.

Here is the important thing to keep in mind: this is not an emergency, unless the foreign body is a disk or “button” battery.

A disk battery is an emergency. If you suspect that your infant, toddler or child has placed a disk battery into their nose or ear canal, or that they may have swallowed a disk battery, take them to the ENT department immediately. l

BIGSTOCK

Want to help your heart the next time you indulge in chocolate candy? Choose the dark or bitter-sweet kind. Compared to milk chocolate, it has more than three times as many antioxidant compounds known as flavonoids. Flavonoids keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots, the short-term cause of most heart attacks.

But milk chocolate is good too. Other studies have found that it has as much antioxidant power as any food. And, what about white chocolate? Sorry, but it has no flavonoids at all.

| Compiled by: Shirsho Sikder

Poor oral health can cause heart attack n Prescription Desk Poor oral health is unlikely to be the primary cause for heart diseases. But poor oral health combined with other risk factors may contribute to heart disease.

Bacteria on your teeth and gums could travel through your bloodstream and attach to fatty plaques in your arteries (atherosclerosis), making the plaques become more swollen (inflamed). If one of the plaques bursts and causes a blood clot to form, you can have a heart attack or stroke. Swollen gums can run you the same risk.

Regardless of heart diseases, it’s important to take care of your teeth and gums for good health. Steps to good oral hygiene include:  Brushing your teeth at least twice daily  Flossing your teeth daily  Replacing your toothbrush at least every three months  Getting regular dental checkups, as recommended by your dentist l BIGSTOCK

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Salinity in coastal aquifers alarming

Freshwater scarcity to grip coastal region tamination and saline water intrusion n Tribune Desk in upper aquifers, assessment of probSalinity intrusion into the aquifers of the country’s coastal districts has reached an alarming proportion due to unplanned use of groundwater in agriculture and seawater seeping into underground due to sea-level rise caused by global warming.

“We’ve assessed the quality and quantity data of groundwater up to 1,100 feet deep in 19 costal districts.

But, we’ve found saline water in aquifers within just 600-700 feet deep,” deputy director (Groundwater Hydrology) at Bangladesh Water Development Board Dr Anwar Zahid told UNB. He said salinity intrusion has gripped some coastal districts since there is no freshwater layer up to the depth of 1,100 feet. “There’s no freshwater layer up to 1,100 feet deep in Barguna, Pirojpur, Gopalganj and Satkhira…freshwater may be found 1,3001,400 feet deep the ground.”

The hydrologist said water layer is found up to only 300 feet deep the aquifer in Satkhira, but the layer is full of saline water. “If you assess the water after 300 feet deep the aquifer, you’ll find only clay there due to deltaic formation of soil,” he said.

Dr Zahid said people have already been suffering a lot for lack of freshwater in the country’s coastal districts as salinity has reached an alarming proportion in groundwater of the region.

In the coastal areas, drinking water mainly comes from deep tubewells, while irrigation is limited to surface water bodies.

Freshwater is also available at shallow depth sourced from seasonal precipitation but turns brackish during dry season.

There is a high vulnerability to salinisation due to pumping-induced mixing of preexisting fresh and saline groundwater. Fresh groundwater is also vulnerable to vertical infiltration of saltwater due to periodic storm surge flooding, Dr Zahid said.

Because of its low-lying topography, he said, Bangladesh will be more vulnerable due to climate change impacts in the future.

He said rising sea levels will cause the tidal saltwater wedge to intrude further upstream in rivers, bringing changes in salinity affecting coastal groundwater aquifers.

“Salinity is also increasing gradually in the surface water of the coastal rivers. The agriculture will face trouble due to salinity rise in river water. If freshwater availability decreases in the coastal belt, food grain production will face setback creating food crisis in the country.”

Dr Zahid said in the coastal areas where availability of fresh and safe water is a big problem due to arsenic con-

able impact of sea-level rise on deep freshwater is of utmost important.

He said the government is going to complete a study (January 2011 to December 2013) to assess surface water as well as groundwater resources of two pilot areas of the coastal belt.

Directorate of Ground Water Hydrology, Bangladesh Water Development Board with fund from Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund of the Ministry of Environment and Forests is implementing the project titled, ‘Establishment of Monitoring Network and Mathematical Model Study to Assess Salinity Intrusion in Groundwater in the Coastal Area of Bangladesh due to Climate Change’.

The project area covers 19 coastal districts that include Bagerhat, Barguna, Barisal, Bhola, Chandpur, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Feni, Gopalganj, Jessore, Jhalakati, Khulna, Lakshmipur, Narail, Noakhali, Pirojpur, Satkhira, and Shariatpur having a total of 140 upazilas.

The main objective of the project is to determine different hydro-geologic parameters in coastal groundwater resources in order to assess both the quality and quantity of groundwater highlighting extent and intensity of salinity requiring for irrigation and safe water supply planning, development and management as well as for model development and also assess the impacts of climate change.

About the outcome of the study, Dr Zahid said, “We’ve found limited freshwater in costal aquifer. It should not be used in irrigation.

The freshwater in the coastal region must be preserved to meet the demand for safe drinking water.”

He said a monitoring network has been established and some 600 observation tubewells installed under the project to monitor both groundwater quality (including distribution of salinity) and quantity (measuring water table).

Groundwater users, farmers, planners, policymakers, scientists and researchers will get benefit from the data and analytical results gained from the study and investigation for sustainable development and management of groundwater considering the climate change aspects, he said.

Dr Zahid said the installed tubewells will help strengthen the existing network monitor any change in groundwater recharge and quality as well as saline front movement in the coastal belt.

Model simulations under different hydro-geologic and variable climatic parameters will predict future changes that will provide valuable guideline for planning of water use and agriculture considering changing cropping pattern, he added. l

Hide traders are doing brisk business after Eid-ul-Azha at Rajarhaat in Jessore

Poverty in landless households declining: Study n Tribune Desk

A study reveals significant fall in poverty level in landless families and households headed by uneducated people.

The incidence of poverty among zero landowners reduced from 58.2% in 1995-96 to 35.4% in 2010 with an annual rate of 2.61%, Unnayan Onneshan says in a publication titled “Measuring Multidimensionality: State of Poverty in Bangladesh 2013.”

The incidence of poverty among uneducated household head has reduced from 67% in 1995-96 to 42.8% in 2010 with an annual rate of 3.2% whereas the incidence of poverty at national level has reduced to 25.1% in 2010 from 48% in 1995-96 with an annual rate of 2.4%.

The rate of overall poverty reduction in Bangladesh has slowed down in recent years despite remarkable increase in people’s participation in economic activities, it points out.

Poverty declined by 9.8 percentage points during the five years of 20002005 while during the successive five years (2005-2010) the total decline was 8.5 percentage points.

It says the depth of poverty or poverty gap and severity of poverty or squared poverty gap, a measure sensitive to the income distribution among

the poor -- have also witnessed a slower rate of reduction in last few years.

The research organisation attributes the slower rate of poverty reduction at national level to unemployment, inequality, environmental degradation and climate change, decreasing agriculture land etc.

It underscored that current antipoverty strategies have not been able

The rate of overall poverty reduction in Bangladesh has slowed down in recent years despite remarkable increase in people’s participation in economic activities to comprehend poverty as a process interlinks to, and emanates from, the functioning of society.

It also points out that the central framework seems to promote dominant neoliberal policies which have questionable effects on people’s lives and the institutions have failed to address the power imbalances that exist between different classes.

The Unnayan Onneshan proposes a set of indicators based on new five fundamental principles of rights, equality, justice, sustainability and partnership for development through historic re-

Former High Court judge Justice Marziul Huq died of heart attack in the city yesterday. He was 68.

Family sources said Justice Marzi-ul complained of chest pain in the morning. He was rushed to Square Hospitals where doctors declared him dead.

He left behind his wife and two daughters to mourn his death.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed deep shock at the death of former High Court judge Justice Marzi-ul Hug. In a condolence message, the prime minister recalled his invaluable contribution to the judiciary.

He would be buried at Azimpur Graveyard following a namaz-e-janaza at Dhanmondi Eidgah after Zohr prayers.

Marzi-ul, also brother of journalist AN Mahfuza Khatun Baby Moudud, MP, went on the retirement as an HC judge on September 9, 2012. l

The Kulkhani of Habibur Rahman, former secretary of the Establishment Ministry, will be held tomorrow at his residence (Apartment 303, House 20, Road 62, Gulshan 2) after Maghrib prayers.

Habibur Rahman, 74, died on Friday, according to a press release. Habibur left behind his wife and three sons. l

sponsibility for a zero-poverty post 2015 development framework.

The book, which was launched marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, has identified some important problems associated with the different approaches of measuring poverty such as estimation, selection and targeting biases.

Considering capability approach, broadly measured by human development index (HDI), the research finds that the HDI value has increased with annual rate of 4.56% between 2010 and 2012.

“On the other hand, the inequalityadjusted HDI (IHDI) increased to 0.374 in 2012 from 0.331 in 2010 with a rate of 4.33% per annum. This lower rate of increase in IHDI over HDI indicates that inequality has a greater impact on poverty reduction since under the perfect equality condition, the HDI and the IHDI are equal,” observes the study.

The reduction rate of hunger (3.67% per annum) is slower than the rate of reduction in extreme poverty (4.87% per annum) during the period of 2000-2010.

The number of hungry people as a percentage of extreme poor has increased over the years, adds the research.

Pointing out that the gender inequality has decreased at decreasing

rate of 1.66% annually over the period of 2005 to 2012, the Unnayan Onneshan states that the value of Gender Inequality Index in 2012 suggests that Bangladesh is yet far from equality because of deprivation of women in equal access to education, health care and decisionmaking.

Observing that the participation of people in economic activities has been increasing over the years, it, however, detects that the rate of reduction of poverty is not matching the similar pace in Bangladesh.

“The participation of population in income generating activities increased from 39.0 million in 1999-2000 to 54.1 million in 2010 with an annual rate of increase of 3.87% whereas the rate of poverty declined from 49.8 to 31.5% with the decrease rate of 3.67% per year during the same period,” added the research.

Observing that the country is still experiencing social exclusion on the basis of ethnicity, descent, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, and region, the Unnayan Onneshan finds that the rate of poverty among the widowed, divorced and separated people has decreased at a lowered rate from 59.7% in 1995-96 to 33.9% in 2010 with an annual rate of 2.88%. l

Skilled persons without formal education to be given certificates

Justice Marzi-ul Huq passes away n UNB

Habibur Rahman’s kulkhani tomorrow n Tribune Report

BANGLAR CHOKH

n Rabiul Islam

The capsized BIWTC tugboat in Chittagong’s Karnaphuli River yesterday

DHAKA TRIBUNE

BIWTC tugboat capsizes in Chittagong n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong A tugboat belonging to the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) capsized following a collision with a fishing trawler in the Karnapuli River at the BIWTC steamer jetty in Chittagong city yesterday.

However, no casualties were report-

ed, BIWTC officials said.

Nasir Uddin Bhuiyan, assistant manager (passenger) of the BIWTC, Chittagong, told the Dhaka Tribune that the fishing trawler FV Usha, after tearing its anchor chain in stormy winds, hit the BIWTC tugboat, BT-235, at the jetty around 3:45pm.

After the collision, half of the tug-

boat was submerged within just 10 minutes, he said.

Around 14-15 crew were on the tugboat and they succeeded in reaching the jetty without incurring any casualties, he added.

The tugboat was being used to salvage other BIWTC ships, said the official. l

The government plans to provide certificates to skilled workers who do not have any formal education to help them get better-paid jobs at home and abroad.

A large number of workers in informal sectors who have expertise in certain fields will get the certificates, officials said.

Over one million people work in 270 informal sectors in the country, according to estimates by the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.

Many skilled people go abroad for jobs, but their skills are not recognised and they get lower wages, the officials said.

“We have taken a decision to give skilled people institutional recognition, and their certificates will be evaluated abroad,” Md Mojibur Rahman, joint secretary of labour and employment ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune recently.

Citing an example, he said a local barber knows how to cut hair, but he cannot prove it on paper.

“If we give him a certificate, he will be recognised and he can prove his skill,” Rahman said.

He added that there were thousands of skilled people in various occupations, including wielding, mobile phone servicing and car repairing.

Rahman said the certification pro-

gramme will be implemented under the secretariat of the National Skill Development Council (NSDC).

NSDC, which was formed to strengthen vocational and technical education in the country, is a high power committee headed by the prime minister. An executive committee implements the council’s decisions.

Abul Kashem, chairman of Bangladesh Technical Education Board and a member of the executive committee, said a massive campaign about the certification programme will be launched soon.

Over one million people work in 270 informal sectors in the country, according to estimates by the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training Kashem said a certificate-holder can easily change his or her job at home and claim higher wages.

The media and non-government organisations will be utilised to create awareness about the programme, he said.

Kashem said skilled workers would have to qualify pre-vocational 1 and pre-vocational 2 tests to get certificates. The tests will be held at different assessment centres, he said.

Different institutions, including technical training centres, will be given approval for assessment, he added. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Students risk lives to attend classes at Laxmipur school n Our Correspondent, Laxmipur

BNP observes day-long strike in Kachua n Our Correspondent, Chandpur

The students said they could not attend classes as rainwater entered the rooms.

Three of the four rooms at the school are being used as classrooms and an office, while the other room has been declared too risky due to its dilapidated condition.

President of the school managing committee Md Kamal Uddin said: “The school building is very risky. We sent a letter to the chairman of the Upazila Parishad in this regard.”

Sadar upazila Primary Education Officer Jagadish Chandra Deb Nath said: “We told our upazila engineer to visit the school after getting the application.

We have sent a list of 194 risky school buildings to the concerned ministry.

The problem will be solved after getting allocation of funds.” l

Local BNP leaders of Chandpur district have observed a dawn to dusk hartal in Kachua upazila yesterday, protesting the death of its upazila vice-president in jail.

Sources said the protesters brought out separate processions in the upazila in support of the hartal. They barricaded the Kachua-Dhaka Highway at Palakhal and Comilla Highway at Jagatpur in the morning.

Later, the activists torched a tree trunk to block the Kachua-Comilla-Chandpur Highway at Subidpur.

The incident halted road communication on the highways and traders were forced to keep their shops closed.

On information, police went to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Flower farmers count cost of heavy rainfall

Couple found dead in Manikganj n UNB, Manikganj

Low prices hit cattle fatteners’ Eid celebration

n Tribune Desk

A couple was found dead at Dhalla village in sadar upazila yesterday morning.

The deceased were Dhalu Miah, 40, and his second wife Rokeya Begum, 32.

It was suspected that Rokeya committed suicide after stabbing her husband to death. Already married to Monwara Begum, Dhalu Miah tied the knot with Rokeya, who had three children with her former husband, barely one and a half years ago, locals said. However, their marriage was not a happy one as the couple had frequent brawls.

Family members and locals found Dhalu lying dead with stab marks on the body while Rokeya hanging in their room. Later they had informed police.

A team of police, led by Sub-Inspector Shafiqul Islam of sadar police station, rushed in to recover the bodies.

Contacted, Shafiqul declined to make any comment, saying the actual reason behind the killing of the couple could be known after investigation. l

n Our Correspondent, Magura

The students of Chorthamita Government Primary School in Laxmipur’s sadar upazila risk their lives every day, as they attend classes in a building that may collapse at any moment.

The ramshackle school building has not had any repairs carried out since it was built in 1994, with cracks on the roof causing rainwater to seep through and dampen the walls.

The dilapidated condition of the school has also been hampering the education of the school’s 130 students.

Md Arif Hossain, a student of class V, said he has to focus on protecting his books when it rains.

Tanjin Begum, another class V student, said: “Plaster from the ceiling often falls on us. So we avoid sitting in

Incessant rainfall last month damaged flowers worth Tk5m across 300 hectares of land at Gadkhali in Jhikargachha upazila of Jessore.

Met Office sources said 412mm of rainfall was recorded in the district in September. This caused heavy losses to around 200 farmers, who have been producing around Tk500m of flowers annually for the last few decades as it is more profitable than cultivating paddy, reports UNB. Gadkhali Flower Farmers Welfare Association President Abdur Rahim said Rajanigandha are mostly cultivated in Krishnachandrapur and Kamar Ali village of Gadkhali, while marigold and gladiolus flowers are cultivated in Panisara, Chandpur and Narangli villages.

Water damages included tuberose and gladiolus on 300 hectares of land

the middle of the classroom.”

She said students attend classes in constant fear that the building may collapse at any time.

Archana Rani Majumder, headmistress of the school, acknowledged the situation. She said: “The building is very old. We have sent a letter to district education office and upazila education office to renovate the building.

The upazila engineer has visited the school recently, but the concerned department has not taken any steps because of the lack of funds.”

She said teachers were holding classes in the building as they had no alternative. During a recent visit, this correspondent found that rainwater had leaked into the library and the classrooms, and students were trying to clean the rooms.

and marigold flowers on 150 hectares, and losses were exacerbated by a fall in the market prices due to transport problems caused by the rain.

One bundle (of 100 pieces) of gladiolus usually sells for Tk150, but the price had fallen to just Tk50. Similarly, the retail price of a bundle of 1,000 pieces of marigold had also tumbled, to Tk150.

Affected farmer AzizurSardar of Panisara village said half of his flowers on three bighas of land had been damaged. Haider Ali of the same village had cultivated tuberose on two bighas and their condition was also bad.

Hemayet Hossain, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Extension in Jessore, said in every season, flowers are cultivated on 15,00 hectares of land in Gadkhali of Jhikargachha. To prevent parasites, he advised farmers to spray Ridomin Gold or Tilt on Ganda flower plants when the sun rises after heavy rainfall. l

Milk Crisis hits sweetmeat production in Rajbari

7

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Two months ago cattle-fattener Abul Khayer bought three cows with Tk60,000 to grow and sell them in the cattle market of Eid-ul-Azha in the hope of making a quick profit.

He spent a total of Tk20,000 more on fattening them. But in the Eid market when he went to sell them customers did not even offer him his net cost of Tk80,000, let alone profit.

Finally, he sold the cows for Tk72,000 much to the frustration of his family members as the loss shattered their dream of enjoying the Eid. Like Abul Khayer, at least 7,000 cattle fatteners’ family members were deprived of fair price in Magura as they could not make any profit out of cattle growing business.

Chand Ali, another cow fattener from the Abul Khayer’s village, said he also grew three cattle to sell but could

Kachua BNP leaders and activists put up barricade at different points of the KachuaDhaka Highway at Palakhal and Comilla Highway at Jagatpur DHAKA TRIBUNE The arrested BNP Vice-President Delwar Hossain Dulal of Kachua upazila passed away on Friday.

not sell more than one as the price was much lower than the investment.

So, he came back home with two cows unsold.

Kuddush Khan, a deprived cattle-fattener from the village Rautara under Magura sadar, said farmers or seasonal cattle-fatteners who grow cows before Eid-ul-Azhla to make profit, got deprived of fair prices as Indian cows flooded the markets.

About 20 thousand cattle were fattened in Magura before Eid-ul-Azha.

And almost half of the fatteners were deprived of getting fair prices.

Cattle fatteners of the district estimated that there loss was about Tk100m while more than 5000 cattle worth about tk115m went unsold.

Thus thousands of people’s hope of Eid celebration was dashed. Kanay Lal Sharnaker, acting livestock officer of Magura, admitted that fatteners could not make expected profit. l

However, BNP claimed that the leader was allegedly tortured to death in police custody. l

150,000 metre of nets, 200 mother hilsa seized in Munshiganj n UNB, Munshiganj Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard in their overnight drive on Friday seized 150,000 metres of current nets and 200 mother hilsa from the Meghna River in Gazaria upazila.

Samsur Rahman, a petty officer of Munshiganj Coast Guard, said they conducted the drive in Char Balaki and its adjoining areas from Friday night to yesterday morning and seized the nets and mother hilsa.

However, no one was arrested during the drive, the officer said, adding that the seized nets were taken to Pagla in Narayanganj where those would be destroyed in the presence of an executive magistrate.

The government imposed an 11-day ban on the catching, transportation and marketing of hilsa on October 13. l

Rape case filed on SP’s instruction n Our Correspondent, Narsingdi

Tiger census in Sundarbans begins today

Belabo police of Narsingdi filed a rape case against a fake village doctor yesterday, four days after the incident took place on the night of October 15.

A housewife was allegedly violated by the doctor of Jangua village under Narayanpur union of the district’s Belabo upazila.

Police and medical sources said the so-called doctor Nazrul Islam of the same village went to the victim’s house for her husband’s treatment. The ailing husband had been suffering from fever.

The doctor drugged the husband into unconsciousness and violated the housewife. As the 24-year-old victim shouted for help, locals rushed to the house and rescued the couple who were later sent to Narsingdi Sadar Hospital in critical condition. l

n UNB, Khulna Tiger census using camera trapping method under Bengal Tiger Census and Monitoring project begins in the Sundarbans today.

Eighty nine infrared cameras will be used to count the total tiger population in the Bangladesh part of the world’s largest mangrove forest, which also covers parts of India.

The project is being implemented with financial assistance from the World Bank. A 2004 survey showed that the total Bengal Tiger population in Bangladesh part was 440. The UNDP conducted the census using pugmarks (footprints).

Divisional forest officer (DFO), Khulna M Zahir Uddin said the project has

been undertaken to detect the number of tigers in the Sundarbans and protect them.

He said the World Bank has allocated Tk 30 lakh for the project for the current fiscal under the ‘Strengthening Regional Co-operation for Wildlife Protection Project’.

Each camera will take photos of 300 square kilometres of area. One camera will be set up at a particular point for 20 days. It will taken eight months for completing the work, the DFO added.

Sources at the Forest Department said the major threats to the Bengal Tiger are poaching and habitat loss.

A team of Wildlife Institute of India provided training to forest staff on setting camera in the forest in April this year. l

NEWS IN BRIEF Woman killed in Magura road crash A woman was killed in a road accident on Magura-Jessore highway in Kechuadubi area of Sadar upazila on Friday. The deceased was Kanchan Bala Das, 50. Magura highway police station member Mashiur Rahman said the accident took place on the highway around 3pm when a speedy truck collided head-on with a human hauler leaving Bala dead on the spot and its driver critically injured. Police recovered the body and sent it to hospital morgue for post mortem examination. – UNB File photo

n Our Correspondent, Rajbari Production of cow milk has declined to a great extent in all the upazilas of Rajbari district in recent years, hindering the mouth-watering quality sweetmeat production in the district, sweetmeat produces said.

Milk production, both dairies and domestic, marked a sharp fall in the district because of disappearance of grasslands due to massive farming, rapid construction of dwelling and trading house buildings, mills and factories and brick mills, in last few years.

The district has a wide reputation of exquisite production of sweetmeat.

However, less milk production resulted in adulterated cattle milk, and consequently the traditional sweetmeat industry of the district were not being

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

able to ensure quality production, the sweetmeat producers claimed.

Veteran sweetmeat traders of the district Kuddus Kha, Kanu Sanker and Ziten Shaha told the Dhaka Tribune

Once upon a time, the district was famous for its sweetmeat industry. Relatives of the Rajbari residents who live in other districts always expected that their relatives would bring sweetmeats during their visits that pure milk was not available in the market, alleging that around 30% of the milk found in the markets was adulterated with tube wells waters.

Once upon a time, the district was famous for its sweetmeat industry. Rel-

atives of the Rajbari residents, who live in other districts, always expected that their relatives would bring sweetmeats during their visits.

An 80-year-old veteran Karim Mollah told this correspondent that there were famous sweetmeat shops: “Lalmontewary Mistannao Bhandar” and “Sankor Mistannao Bhander,” located at Rajbari Jhali Patti area. However, in passage of time these shops had lost their fame of quality sweetmeat production, he said and blamed milk production crisis and adulteration of milk for the current situation of the traditional industry.

On the other hand, several sweetmeat traders said frequent mobile court raids could prevent milk adulteration, resulting a quality production of sweetmeats. l

Phensidyl, drug injections seized in Chapainawabganj Members of Border Guard Bangladesh seized 455 bottles of Indian Phensidyl syrup and 4,466 drug injections along Pirojpur frontier in Shibganj upazila on Friday. Commanding officer of BGB Battalion-9 Lieutenant Colonel Manjurul Alam said a team of the border force challenged a group of 5/6 smugglers who entered into the territory of Bangladesh from India through pillar-185 around 2:30pm. Sensing danger, the smugglers fled the scene leaving three sacks behind. Later, the BGB members recovered the Indian contraband syrup and injections from the sacks. – UNB

6 shops gutted by Noakhali fire Six business establishments were gutted

and four others partially damaged by a fire at Sonapur Bazar in the district town on Friday. Maizdi fire station officer Humayun Kabir said the fire originated at a scrap metal shop at the bazaar around noon and it soon engulfed the adjoining ones. On information, three fire fighting units rushed in and doused the blaze after 40 minutes. The affected shop owners claimed that the loss caused by the fire would be Tk10m. – UNB

Phensidyl seized in Satkhira Members of Border Guard Bangladesh in a drive seized 1,100 bottles of Indian Phensidyl syrup at Kulia in Debhata upazila early yesterday. Acting on a tip-off, a BGB team, led by Padmasakhra border outpost Nayek Subedar Abul Kashem, conducted a drive at Kulia playground at about 5 am and seized the Indian contraband syrup. However, the border force could not arrest anyone as the smugglers managed to flee the scene sensing their presence. Operation officer of BGB Battalion-38 Major Anwarul Mazhar said the value of the seized contraband is Tk440, 000. A case was filed with Debhata police station in this connection. – UNB

4 workers sustain burn injuries in Chittagong Four workers of a food factory sustained burn injuries due to the overheating of its oven at Kalurghat BSCIC industrial area in the port city on yesterday. The injured were Bimal Tripura, 25, Shahadat Hossain Rubel,

24, Razib Das, 25, and Mabin, 18. Abdur Rauf, officer-in-charge of Chandgaon police station, said the four workers of the Thai food factory received injuries while trying to start the oven around 8:30 am. The injured were rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital. – UNB

Baby drowns in Sherpur A one-year-old baby boy drowned in a pond at Palashikura village in Nalitabari upazila on Friday. The deceased was Shahril, of the village. Police said Shahril crawled along the pond near their house in the morning and fell into it. Later, family members retrieved the floating body of the boy. – UNB

2 police members hurt in Chapainawabganj attack

Two cops were injured in an attack by the relatives of an accused in a case filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act in Nachole upazila yesterday.

Officer-in-charge of Nachole police station Sayeed Iqbal said a local court recently issued a warrant for the arrest of Masud Rana, son of Abdul Momin of Surjapur village, in the case. As a four-member team of police, led by assistant sub-inspector Monirul Islam, conducted a drive at the house of Masud on Friday morning to arrest him, Masud’s relatives, numbering 7-8, attacked the law enforcers. They beat the policemen, leaving Monirul and Razzaque injured. In the meantime, Masud fled the scene. – UNB

8 WORLD WATCH Death toll in Mali boat sinking rises to 68

A community official helping to bury victims from the Mali boat sinking one week ago says the death toll has risen to 68. Hamadoun Cisse told The Associated Press on Saturday that fishermen had been able to recover more bodies though the true toll will likely never be known. Passengers on the capsized boat said they believed hundreds of people were on the overladen vessel when it sank but the ship’s owner did not have a full list of who was on board. The boat traveling from the central Malian town of Mopti to Timbuktu in the north sank on the Niger River. The accident took place near the village of Koubi, about seven kilometres from Konna.

Authorities said 210 survivors had been registered.

Titanic violin set to fetch record price

The violin played by the bandmaster of the Titanic as it sank beneath the waves is expected to fetch a world record fee for memorabilia from the doomed liner when it goes on sale Saturday. The instrument belonging to Wallace Hartley was found strapped to his body after he drowned with his seven bandmates and some 1,500 others on board the supposedly unsinkable ship in 1912. The violin has a reserve price of £200,000 to £300,000 but is expected to fetch as much as £400,000 when it goes on sale at Titanic specialist auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, southwest England. The instrument carries an inscription from the 33-year-old’s fiancee Maria Robinson to mark their engagement. It is on sale with its leather luggage case initialed WHH. For decades the violin was believed lost but it was found in the attic of a house in northwest England in 2006, prompting a debate about its authenticity which experts only recently resolved.

Chinese man accused of killing wife, six relatives

Chinese authorities have arrested a man they suspect fatally stabbed his pregnant wife and six of her relatives, including two elderly grandparents and two young nieces.Police in China’s northwest autonomous region of Ningxia announced the arrest of 24-year-old Ma Yongdong late Friday night on its official microblog.State media said the suspect had quarreled Monday with his wife, LanXiaohong, who was six months pregnant. They said he found her later that day at her parents’ home in a village in Pengyangcounty, and that he clashed with his in-laws before killing all seven victims with a knife.The victims were Lan, her parents, grandparents and two nieces — ages 4 and 1½.

‘Bionic man’ makes debut at Washington’s Air and Space Museum A first-ever walking, talking “bionic man” built entirely out of synthetic body parts made his Washington debut on Thursday.The robot with a human face unveiled at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum was built by London’s Shadow Robot Co to showcase medical breakthroughs in bionic body parts and artificial organs.The 1.83 metre-tall,77kg robot is the subject of a one-hour Smithsonian Channel documentary, “The Incredible Bionic Man,” airing on Sunday.

Dog that crashed half marathon dies a week later

A dog that became an Internet sensation after crashing an Indiana half marathon has died just a week after receiving a medal for completing the race. The 100-pound chocolate Labrador retriever named Boogie ran most of the 21.08km in the October 5 Evansville event after escaping his leash the night before. Owner Jerry Butts made an appointment for the dog to be neutered after the race to curb his wandering ways. The Evansville Courier & Press reports that Boogie died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack. He was 10.

Putin’s crane is found after losing its way

One of the Siberian cranes that Russian President Vladimir Putin helped teach to fly south last year lost its flock along the way, but has been found and brought to Moscow.

In September 2012, Putin flew on a motorized hang glider as part of a project to teach the endangered birds who were raised in captivity to later follow the aircraft on their migration south to Central Asia. The crane was flown by airplane to Moscow, where its arrival Friday was covered by state television. The white bird, called Raven, will spend the winter in a wildlife reserve.

DHAKA TRIBUNE

International

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Car bomb, clashes kill over 30 near Syrian capital n Reuters, Beirut Syrian rebels blew up an army checkpoint outside Damascus on Saturday and more than 30 combatants from both sides died in the blast and ensuing clashes, a monitoring group said.

The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 15 rebels and at least 16 soldiers were killed.

Elsewhere near the capital, Syrian forces tried to storm the suburb of Mouadamiya, which the army has blockaded for months, leading to a rising death toll from hunger and malnutrition.

The British-based Observatory said the checkpoint explosion, near the suburbs of Mleiha and Jaramana, was detonated by a suicide bomber from the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.

Nusra supporters on Twitter, however, said the bomber had intended to blow himself up in the car, but instead got out before setting off the explosives inside. They said rebel forces had captured the checkpoint hit by the car bomb and were battling to take a second one nearby.

Syrian state television reported the blast but gave no death toll, saying only that several people had been killed or wounded in a “terrorist bombing”.

The Observatory, which has a network of activists across Syria, said Syrian fighter jets retaliated by striking nearby opposition-held areas such as Mleiha.

Video uploaded by activists showed a huge column of smoke billowing up from the scene and the sound of fighter jets streaking overhead could be heard.

Rebels also fired rockets into Jaramana, a suburb held by the government, according to the Observatory. It said the air force carried out four strikes on adjacent rebel-held districts.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria’s 2-1/2-year-old conflict, which began with popular protests against President Bashar al-Assad before degenerating into civil war.

In Mouadamiya, activists said they were facing heavy bombardment during an assault by Assad’s forces. The army had advanced, but had yet to enter the suburb, said Qusair Zakariya, an activist there.

“Our rebels are fighting hard to repel the regime ... We’ve been doing our best to try to evacuate civilians from the western front of the town because they’re now exposed to shelling and tank fire,” he said, speaking by Skype over audible bursts of rocket fire.

Like most rebel enclaves in the suburbs that ring Damascus, Mouadamiya has been under an armyimposed siege for months, causing a particularly acute shortage of food and supplies.

Doctors in the town have reported an increasing number of deaths from malnutrition, especially among children.

The United States condemned the siege on Friday, saying the Assad government had only allowed a limited number of civilians to escape from Mouadamiya and that it must allow food, water and medicine to reach those still inside. l

Police fire tear gas to disperse university students demonstrating against reconstruction plans that include a part of their campus in Ankara REUTERS

Turkish students tear-gassed at road project demo n AFP, Ankara Turkish police fired tear gas canisters on students gathered to protest the beginning of controversial works on a road through their university campus in Ankara, an AFP photographer reported.

Security forces shielded workers and diggers as they began uprooting trees in a park on the site of Middle East Technical University (METU) in the Turkish capital on Friday night.

Dozens of students massed behind the gates of the establishment, Turkey’s Dogan press agency reported,

angry with the planned destruction of 3,000 trees.

The ongoing battle against the Ankara development has raged for weeks, with police using rubber bullets and tear gas in protests that drew in hundreds of students in early September.

METU’s campus is one of the largest green spaces in the Turkish capital.

The latest protests come as Turkish authorities stand accused of committing “gross human rights violations” during anti-government protests that rocked the country in June.

Amnesty International said in a report released on October 2 that “a

string of human rights violations on a huge scale” were perpetrated by police.

What started as a relatively small environmentalist movement to save Istanbul’s central Gezi Park from re-development evolved into a nationwide wave of protests against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is seen as increasingly authoritarian.

At least six people were killed and more than 8,000 people injured following the three weeks of demonstrations across the country in June, presenting Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) with its biggest challenge since it came to power in 2002. l

Muslim Brotherhood facing wave of trials Al-Shabab behind Somalia n AP, Cairo Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood faces a wave of trials unlike any it has seen in its history, threatening to put a large number of its senior leadership behind bars for years, even life, as military-backed authorities determined to cripple the group prepare prosecutions on charges including inciting violence and terrorism.

The prosecutions are the next phase in the wide-scale crackdown on the Brotherhood following the military’s July ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, who goes on trial next month.

Morsi’s trial, the most high-profile case, is setting the pattern for the others, aiming to show the Brotherhood leadership as directing a campaign of violence.

Morsi is charged with inciting murder in connection to a protest during his year in office in which his supporters attacked protesters outside his palace.

But leaders may also be charged with fomenting violence in post-coup protests by Morsi’s Islamist supporters demanding his reinstatement. Security forces have cracked down heavily

on the protests, claiming some participants were armed, and have killed hundreds of Morsi backers.

With each new round of protests and violence, prosecutors consider new charges that include incitement and arming supporters, Brotherhood lawyers say.

From nine to more than a dozen cases so far are being put together, each with multiple defendants, according to a prosecution official and Brotherhood lawyers. So far four cases, including Morsi’s, have been referred to trial with a total of at least 34 defendants, though a few are being tried in absentia. Ahmed Seif, a human rights lawyer following the investigations, predicted around 200 Brotherhood leaders and senior officials could eventually end up in court.

Brotherhood lawyer Mohammed Gharib denounced the cases as simply “a fig leaf by authorities to cover over their scandal” — to justify the coup and the crackdown, pointing out that no police have been investigated for killing protesters.

“They are going after their main political opponent,” he told The Associated Press earlier this week.

On Friday, the Brotherhood legal team said Gharib, who was tried under previous Egyptian administrations, left the country for security reasons and has been replaced by another lawyer.

Dozens of Brotherhood lawyers have already been detained. Gharib represented the Brotherhood’s jailed top leader Mohammed Badie and other senior members.

Some 2,000 high- and middleranking Brotherhood figures have been detained, and Gharib estimated another 6,000 rank-and-file members and supporters are also in custody, questioned for material to use against the leadership.

Among the biggest figures in custody are Morsi, Badie and his deputy Khairat el-Shater, and almost half the group’s main leadership council and many of its former parliament members. Rights lawyers say they are struggling to keep track, amid the high numbers jailed and prosecutors who are keeping a tight lid on information.

Even rights lawyers who see a strong basis for prosecuting Brotherhood figures over violence and abuses of power expressed concern over the scope of the projected trials. l

suicide bombing that killed 13 n Reuters, Mogadishu The Somali Islamist militant group alShabab claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on Saturday that killed at least 13 people at a restaurant popular with Ethiopian and Somali troops in the town of Baladweyne in central Somalia.

“Our main target was Ethiopian and

Djibouti troops who invaded our country. They were sitting there,’ Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al-Shabab’s military operation spokesman said.

He put the death toll from the attack at 25, including troops from Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia.

There was no independent word on whether any foreign soldiers were among the casualties in the bombing. l

Obama: After fiscal crisis, Washington must change n AP, Washington President Barack Obama says the way business is done in Washington must change. In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama is telling Americans their frustration with politics is understandable. He’s referring to the fiscal crisis that shut down the government and brought the US close to default.

Obama says even with the crisis over, Republicans and Democrats

won’t agree on everything. But he says they should find areas of agreement.

He’s pushing Congress to act this year on a budget, a farm bill and an immigration overhaul.

In the Republican address, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says Obama’s health care law is an affront to freedoms. He says its implementation has been a national embarrassment.

Cuccinelli is running for governor of Virginia. l

Out of the spotlight, Obama ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author in legal nurtures his faith battle over book n AP, Washington

n Reuters

President Barack Obama is not an overtly religious man. He and his family rarely attend church, and he almost never elaborates in public about his own relationship to his Christian faith.

But far away from the public eye, his longtime advisers say, the president has carefully nurtured a sense of spirituality that has served as a grounding mechanism during turbulent times, when the obstacles to governing a deeply divided nation seem nearly insurmountable.

Every year on August 4, the president’s birthday, Obama convenes a group of pastors by phone to receive their prayers for him for the year to come.

During the most challenging of times, prayer circles are organised with prominent religious figures.

And each morning for the past five years, before most of his aides even arrive at the White House, Obama has read a devotional written for him and sent to his BlackBerry, weaving together biblical scripture with reflections from literary figures like Maya Angelou and CS Lewis.

“I’ve certainly seen the president’s faith grow in his time in office,” said Joshua DuBois, an informal spiritual adviser to Obama who writes the de-

An Alabama museum in the town that inspired the setting for the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” is fighting back against a lawsuit by author Harper Lee that accuses it of exploiting one of America’s best-loved books.

The lawsuit filed last week by the book’s Pulitzer prize-winning author, 87, claims the Monroe County Heritage Museum of illegally profiting from the book. It contends the museum earned more than $500,000 in 2011 by selling goods including aprons, kitchen towels, clothing and coasters emblazoned with the book’s title.

Even the museum’s website is named for “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a novel about small town racism and injustice. The 1960 book has sold more than 30 million copies and has been translated into more than 25 languages.

The 25-year-old museum, located in Monroeville, Alabama, draws thousands of fans each year and includes an old courthouse that served as a model for the courtroom in the movie version of the novel that earned Gregory Peck the Academy Award for Best Actor.

The author has said that the novel’s fictional town, Maycomb, and its courthouse were based on Monroeville.

“Every single statement in the lawsuit is either false, meritless, or both,”

votionals and ran Obama’s faith-based office until earlier this year. “When you cultivate your faith, it grows.”

The image of Obama as someone who draws heavily on faith to guide his daily life contrasts with his public persona.

An intensely private person, Obama has shied away from all but the most general descriptions of his spiritual life.

“Sometimes I search scripture to determine how best to balance life as a president and as a husband and as a father,” Obama said in February at the National Prayer Breakfast. “I often search for scripture to figure out how I can be a better man as well as a better president.”

In his final years in office, Obama plans to continue with the morning meditations, the birthday call with pastors and ad hoc prayer circles, said a senior administration official, who wasn’t authorised to comment by name on Obama’s spiritual life and requested anonymity. l

the museum’s attorney, Matthew Goforth, told Reuters.

The museum earned only $28,500 from its merchandise sales last year, Goforth said, adding that “every penny of that is being used to further the museum’s mission of educating the public and preserving the area’s history.”

“I find it curious that her handlers suddenly want to profit by suing the museum for essentially preserving and promoting what Ms Lee helped accomplish for this community,” said Goforth.

“The museum is squarely within its rights to carry out its mission as it always has,” he added. An attorney for Lee declined to comment.

The lawsuit in Alabama district court cites a history of challenges between the author and the museum. For example, the museum once created “Calpurnia’s Cook Book,” named for one of the book’s characters. After Lee protested, the book was withdrawn.

When the author sought to register a trademark for the book’s title to be used on clothing, the museum opposed it, the lawsuit states, accusing the museum of bad faith and withholding information.

The museum had no intention of denying a share of the museum’s profits to the author if that is what she wants from the museum, Goforth said, and was only doing what was necessary to protect its

trademark rights in the merchandise it has been selling for many years.

Goforth argued that Monroe County’s history cannot be understood without an understanding of the impact of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

“Those pieces were based on Monroe County and are part of its history,” said Goforth. If Lee’s lawsuit prevailed, the museum would be put out of business, ending its mission to educate local residents and visitors.

“I don’t think that’s what Harper Lee would want,” he said.

The lawsuit argues that despite the museum’s declared historical mission, “its actual work does not touch upon history. Rather, its primary mission is to trade upon the fictional story, settings and characters that Harper Lee created.”

In the book, a small-town lawyer, Atticus Finch, defends an African-American man unfairly accused of rape during the 1930s “Jim Crow” era, complete with courtroom drama.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and demands that the museum surrender all of its items with the book’s title and the author’s name and for them to be destroyed.

Lee, who has suffered a stroke, is in declining health and lives in an assisted living facility in Monroeville, according to the lawsuit. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

India charges 33 aboard armed US ‘anti-piracy’ ship n Reuters India has charged 33 men aboard an armed ship operated by a US maritime security firm for failing to produce papers authorising it to carry weapons in Indian waters, police said on Saturday, a move that could trigger diplomatic tensions.

The captain and the chief engineer were not among those arrested in Friday’s action.

The crew have been charged with illegal procurement of diesel and possession of arms and ammunitions without required documentation.

“The captain kept saying that he would produce the required documentation, but whatever was produced was inadequate,” a police officer, who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters from the southern city of Chennai.

Police are still checking the authenticity of the documents on the ship, Chacko Thomas, a spokesman in India for Virginia-based AdvanFort, which owns the Sierra Leone-flagged ship Seaman Guard Ohio, told Reuters.

India detained the ship last week and it was being held in the port of Tuticorin along with its crew and armed security guards, which included British, Estonian, Indian and Ukrainian nationals.

The US embassy in New Delhi could not be immediately reached for comment.

The southern tip of India is close to major trading routes from Asia to Europe. Many cargo ships now travel with armed guards to deter pirates.

Sri Lanka, close to Tuticorin, is a popular boarding point for private armed guards. l

International

Sunday, October 20, 2013

9

Police force postponement Pakistan says civilian killed by Indian military of Maldives vote n

n AFP, Islamabad

AFP, Malé

Police in the Maldives forced the postponement of Saturday’s presidential polls, declaring the vote illegal and blocking ballot papers from leaving the offices of the independent Elections Commission.

The commission just hours earlier announced the vote would go ahead as planned despite 11th-hour court challenges by two candidates who were expected to lose to a former president.

“We continued with preparations for voting, but the Maldives Police Service have said no documents connected to the election can leave the commission’s offices,” Commission Chairman Fuwad Thowfeek said in a statement. “A new date for elections will be informed later.”

Police spokesman Abdulla Nawaz told AFP that they considered it illegal to stage the election in violation of a Supreme Court order that required all candidates to approve electoral lists.

“Only one candidate had signed the voter register and therefore it would have been a violation of the Supreme Court guidelines for the election to go ahead,” Nawaz said.

The Supreme Court last week annulled the first round of voting on September 7, citing irregularities – even though international observers said the polls were free and fair – and ordered a re-run.

There was no immediate reaction on the narrow streets of the rain-soaked capital island Male. Few vehicles and people could be seen on the road as heavy monsoon showers lashed the archipelago.

Former president Mohamed Na-

Maldivian soldiers ride motorbikes on a flooded street in Male, Maldives sheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) slammed the latest scuttling of the elections and called for foreign intervention in the young democracy.

“We see a clear mandate for the international community to intervene and to restrain these undemocratic forces that are preventing a peaceful democratic political transition of the Maldives,” MDP spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor told AFP. He said an “interim arrangement” should be sought through international intervention, but did not elaborate.

Forty-six-year-old Nasheed, who says he was ousted in a coup involving rogue elements in the police last year, won 45.45% of the vote in September – short of the 50% threshold needed for outright victory.

The election was meant to end political tensions that followed the con-

AP

troversial downfall of Nasheed in February last year, but it has caused more instability in a country that embraced multi-party democracy in 2008.

Nasheed, the frontrunner, insisted Friday that the poll go ahead as planned, dismissing the challenge by business tycoon Qasim Ibrahim, who came third in last month’s aborted poll, and Abdullah Yameen, who was a distant second.

The police announcement meant that the Elections Commission could not transport some ballot boxes to remote islands in the archipelago of 1,192 coral islands, of which 202 are inhabited.

The United States and regional power India had called for the election in the tourist paradise to go ahead without further obstacles. There was no immediate comment from either after the latest developments. l

Pakistan accused Indian troops of killing a civilian and wounding two others in “unprovoked firing” across the border Saturday as New Delhi voiced “grave concern” about the new military flare-up in disputed Kashmir.

In Islamabad, a Pakistani military official said a civilian was killed and two others injured by “unprovoked firing of heavy weapons including mortars by Indian Border Security Forces” near the eastern city of Sialkot in eastern Punjab province. On Thursday, Pakistan accused India of killing a paramilitary soldier in “unprovoked firing” across the border in the same region.

Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid in New Delhi described the military flare-up as a “serious matter.”

“This is a serious matter, a matter of great concern to India,” Khurshid told

India’s NDTV channel as the Press Trust of India said two paramilitary soldiers of the Border Security Force (BSF) were hurt in overnight Friday attacks by Pakistani troops. BSF troops “retaliated strongly”, the national news agency report said, and added the attack was the latest in a string of five violations in the past 24 hours of a 2003 truce along Kashmir’s disputed border.

“We will handle it (the new flareup) with the greatest sagacity, greatest firmness and determination to protect both the sovereignty and the safety and security of our citizens,” the Indian foreign minister said.

The clashes follow a pledge a few weeks ago by the prime ministers of the two countries at a meeting on the sidelines of a UN conference to restore calm along the Line of Control (LoC), the heavily militarised de facto border dividing Kashmir. l

Tainted liquor kills 32 in northern India; 50 ill n AP, Lucknow, India Police in northern India say a batch of toxic bootleg liquor has killed at least 32 people, mostly poor labourers, and sickened dozens more.

Police officer Arvibnd Sen says the victims bought pouches of tainted liquor Thursday from a shop in Adampur village in Azamgarh district, in Uttar Pradesh state.

They started falling sick immediately after drinking the liquor and were

taken to local hospitals. Sen said Saturday that 32 people were dead by Friday night.

He says another 50 were treated in hospitals, and that eight state government officials and four police officers have been suspended as authorities investigate the deaths.

Deaths from drinking illegally brewed alcohol are common in India since the poor cannot afford licensed liquor. Illicit liquor is often spiked with chemicals to increase potency. l

Afghan peace on the table as Pakistan PM heads to US n AFP, Islamabad Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif departed Saturday for talks in the United States, with the Afghan peace process and the prickly issue of Washington’s drone campaign likely to top the agenda.

Relations between Pakistan and the US, fractious allies in the “war on terror”, have been on the mend this year after lurching from crisis to crisis in 2011 and 2012.

Sharif meets President Barack Obama on Wednesday with Washington keen to press the Pakistani premier to help faltering efforts to secure peace between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban.

Sharif will use the trip to seek help for his country’s ailing economy and dysfunctional energy sector. Daniel Markey, a senior fellow at US thinktank the Council on Foreign Relations, said that since coming to power in May Sharif had impressed Washington with his willingness to be a partner.

In the past Pakistan has been accused of being unhelpful in the Afghan peace process and of maintaining links with the Taliban, whose government in the 1990s Islamabad formally recognised.

The release of Afghan Taliban prisoners from Pakistani custody, including senior rebel leader Abdul Ghani Baradar last month, had gone some way to diminish these accusations, Markey said. He said Obama would likely appreciate any new ideas from

Soldiers, journalists hurt in bombings in Thailand n AP, Hat Yai, Thailand Eight soldiers and five journalists have been injured in two consecutive bomb blasts in Thailand’s insurgency-plagued south.

Police Col Jiradet Phrasawang says the first bomb went off Saturday on a road in Ra-ngae district in Narathiwat province, injuring six soldiers who were on foot patrol.

The second exploded an hour later about 100 metres from the first blast as a bomb squad and journalists were arriving at the scene.

Jiradet says two Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers were hurt in the second blast, and five journalists — a photographer for AFP and two reporters from Thai television stations — were slightly wounded.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in predominantly Buddhist Thailand’s three Muslim-dominated southernmost provinces since an Islamic insurgency erupted in 2004. l

Pakistan on how to jump-start the Afghan peace process as the United States and NATO prepare to withdraw combat troops next year.

“If the Pakistanis come armed with some ideas on that front, they may win some points. If there are specific things that they can offer, they can show themselves to be helpful,” said Markey, author of the new book “No Exit from Pakistan” on the two nations’ relationship.

Pervez Rashid, Pakistan’s information minister and spokesman for the government, told AFP the delegation would use the trip to raise the issue of drones. The CIA’s campaign of missile strikes from unmanned aircraft targeting suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas along the Afghan border has been a significant thorn in relations.

The drone strikes are deeply unpopular in Pakistan and Islamabad publicly condemns them as counter-productive and a violation of sovereignty, though previous governments are known to have given their tacit support to them.

The US regards the strikes as a highly effective tool in the fight against Islamist militancy and Pakistani analyst Hasan Askari said there was little obvious room for progress on the issue.

“The US will refuse to stop these attacks, stressing that Pakistan must improve their control in the tribal areas, which Pakistan is unable to do at the moment,” Askari told AFP. l

An Afghan girl looks on as she holds her doll on the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif on October 13, 2013. Some nine million Afghans or 36 percent of the population are living in “absolute poverty” while another 37 percent live barely above the poverty line, according to a UN report AFP

20 killed in Philippines Writer Hosseini condemns Western ‘fortress mentality’ road accident n

AP, Manila, Philippines

A truck carrying hog feed smashed into the rear of a passenger bus on a remote downhill provincial road in the northern Philippines early Saturday, setting off a series of wrecks that left at least 20 people dead and injured 44 others, police said.

The bus driver lost control of his vehicle after the first collision and hit two buses and four vans coming from the opposite direction before toppling over on the narrow downhill road in Quezon province on Luzon island, about 115 kilometres of Manila, Atimonan town police chief Jonar Yupio said.

Parts of the bus pinned many of the victims, and others were killed by flying metal debris, including the engine.

All those killed — including four children, the truck driver and his assistant — were in either the truck or the first bus that was hit.

Social workers said a 1-year-old girl was among the survivors.

Rescuer Jun Panuil said he found the baby muddied and covered in blood from other victims on the side of the road near the bus.

He said the blood had made rescuers suspect the child was seriously hurt, but she had only a few scratches.

Yupio said it was dark and raining when the accident occurred early Saturday morning, shortly past midnight.

He said the bus and truck involved in the first collision rolled over before stopping on their sides.

The injured, most of them passengers on the first bus that was hit, were brought to separate hospitals, Yupio said. An investigation has been launched.

Road accidents are common in remote areas in the Philippines, largely because of poor vehicle maintenance and bad road conditions. l

n AFP, Milan

Writer Khaled Hosseini called for more tolerance for the plight of refugees, as the author of the bestselling “The Kite Runner” spoke to AFP about his latest book “And The Mountains Echoed.”

“There is a kind of fortress mentality in the West,” said the Afghan-born American novelist, whose new novel has a complex plot spanning from Kabul to Paris, a Greek island to California.

“I think it’s important for us to remember the humanity of these people,” he said during a visit to Milan after twin shipwreck tragedies off Italy in which over 500 asylum seekers are feared dead. “Nobody says you have to open your door and the whole world can come and settle in your country. Refugees have not chosen their fate, their fate has been forced upon them,” Hosseini said.

The author regularly travels to his war-torn homeland as an ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) but said he wanted his

new book to be “less Afghan-centric.”

The book begins with a disturbing folk take about a devil kidnapping children in Afghan villages. The first setting is an Afghan village in the 1950s and the conclusion is in California where Hosseini, a trained physician, now lives.

It revolves around the story of two children from a poor family who are forced into a heart-rending separation that will forever mark their lives. The writer said the book had a “non-linear, un-traditional” plot with lots of characters.

“The war in Afghanistan is not such a looming presence in the book. The impact on a lot of characters is less pressing, less urgent.

“It’s more a personal story having more to do with human struggles,” he said, adding that the characters he wanted to create were “morally ambiguous” and “not quite so black and white.”

The award-winning novelist is a literary phenomenon whose star shows no sign of fading. His first two books, “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns,”

sold 38 million copies worldwide.

His latest book has already sold three million copies since first coming out in the United States in May and is due to be translated into 40 languages including Malaysian and Icelandic.

While the writer said the book had less of a focus on Afghanistan and its future, he is certainly not forgetting his homeland and chief inspiration.

“I feel I have a debt to Afghanistan because of my success. I think it obligates me to be socially conscious but the books are written for very personal reasons,” Hosseini said.

“Books are always about some kind of human enigma, some truth I’m trying to get out,” said the writer, who pointed out that he has not lived in Afghanistan for 33 years although he travels there. “It’s neither my intention nor my ambition to alter thought in Afghanistan. I want to be very respectful of the fact that if any significant change comes in Afghanistan it will not be spurred by an Afghan in exile,” he said. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Letters to

www.dhakatribune.com

the Editor

LETTER OF THE DAY

Let actions follow the words

T

he PM’s overtures to the opposition during her speech on Friday came across as a real desire to find workable solutions to the political impasse, but slapping a ban on all demonstrations and rallies the very next day is a hasty about-face that will further erode the BNP’s faith in her words or intentions.

It’s regrettable that the government has chosen to deepen its democracy-deficit by banning the right to demonstrate ahead of elections, and even more unfortunate that it did so at a time when the crucial priority ought to be the restoration of confidence in the political process, as the AL’s claims to be The government’s able to hold fair and free unwillingness to be elections hinges on it. both genuine and A blanket ban on all consistent in its assemblies in response to attitude towards the the BNP’s call for constant opposition is very far resistance is also profrom the respect that is vocative, as it leaves the required to build trust opposition with no cause to rescind its statement, nor with an opportunity to meet the government half way. Instead, it puts its back against the wall again, and encourages it to return to the hostile course it has already vowed to chart.

The government’s unwillingness to be both genuine and consistent in its attitude towards the opposition is very far from the respect that is required to build trust.

It would have been preferable had the government created a congenial atmosphere that would have aided Sheikh Hasina’s call for a democratic, peaceful, political solution that paved the way for a free, fair election that would be accepted by all.

The shame of modern slavery

A

sobering report by Australian human rights organisation Walk Free Foundation reveals that 314,000 Bangladeshis are living in conditions that qualify as “modern slavery.” This puts us in 71st place in the world ranking of countries by number of slaves as a percentage of their population.

While the word slavery is often used as a grim reminder of the injustices committed against groups of people in a bygone era, conditions that fit the definition continue to exist today. Modern slavery is defined as “the possession and control of There can be no doubt a person in such a way as that there is substantial to significantly deprive truth to the charge, and that person of his or her that even one person individual liberty,” a state who qualifies as a slave usually achieved through is one too many coercion, violence and threats.

It is unclear precisely which segments of Bangladeshi society qualify and the methodology used to come up with the figure of 314,000 remains vague. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that there is substantial truth to the charge, and that even one person who qualifies as a slave is one too many.

This problem must be combated head-on by ending human trafficking which enables so much of slavery to go on both within our borders as well as abroad, particularly in the Middle East.

The government must crack down on all human trafficking and put into action a widespread plan which protects our vulnerable groups from falling prey to human traffickers. Educational and training programmes can also go a long way in raising awareness on the dangers of victimisation.

Slavery, in whatever form it takes, is an abomination, and cannot be tolerated in today’s Bangladesh.

Malala wants to be PM October 15 How many adults, let alone children, could speak so eloquently before the most powerful people in the world about the benefits of education for women? How many of us could be as forgiving of someone who tried to kill us as Malala has been with her assertion that she wouldn’t raise a hand to her attackers if given the chance?

Few would argue that a firefighter who runs into a burning building is a hero. She is. But millions of Malalas figuratively live in burning buildings and will so for the rest of their lives until someone rises up and does something for their liberty. Malala Yusufzai is such a possibility, born to fight for them. She is today’s modern figure espousing peace. So, we should all support her to succeed in whatever she wants to become. sirajul_islam_1

October 13

Trimita Chakma No, hijab won’t solve the matter. I know hijabi women who are harassed on the street and abused at home. Street harassment is against the law. Choosing not to wear hijab is not against the law. Men learning to respect the law/women’s rights and behaving like civilised humans will solve the issue.

So much work already? Oh yes indeed. For starters, BDR massacre, Sagor-Runi murder, Hall-Mark and Destiny scams, Rampal project, politicisation of Shahbagh and the ensuing division among people, arrest of opposition leaders, record number of missing people, politicisation of the war crimes trial, damaged highways all over the country, terrorism by so-called student leagues, abusing Prof Yunus, the billboard postering all over Dhaka city, politicisation of the court, the ICT law, quick rentals’ failure to alleviate our electricity problems, and not building a bridge and wanting to build it with our already strained resources.

This has been an era of vindictive attitudes, cheap comments, false statements, sucking up at the cost of our own dignity, brutal murders, and violent terrorism by student outfits. The one reason for voting for BNP? The reason is Awami League.

Anything is better.

Patriot Couldn’t agree more Matthew Islam. And as you stated in your article, the first two comments here are proof of all the points ever so carefully, clearly and patiently written, but it matters not to most Bangladeshis. So we are condemned to repeat this vicious cycle! This is surely hell.

Naheed

Nogorbandi Mahbub Never hide. Protest. It’s inhumanity. And hijab is not a solution for this type of harassment. Males should change their attitude.

Meher Afrose Ete Mohammad Ridoyan: What about those girls who wear hijab but are being harassed? Hijab isn’t the only solution. It’s about the lack of morality of humans. It’s about the ruin of morality.

Our lack of a coal policy

October 13 If due to an act of nature, or unavoidable reasons, imported coal does not reach the power plant, then power production will have to be shut off. This is not a wise decision at all. Rather we should put much more emphasis on the coal produced at Boropukuria, in Dinajpur.

Mahbub Alam

Local tourism dashed due to political fears October 14

Awami League releases ‘unfinished revolution’ song October 13

This is one of the best features the Awami League has. None of the other parties of Bangladesh really care about peaceful coexistence.

Nadira Shah

Be Heard

Write to us at: Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email us at: letters@dhakatribune.com Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion@dhakatribune.com Visit our website: www.dhakatribune.com Come join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

I had a very big company bringing visitors here in early December – many thousands of Australian dollars would have come into the country and Bangladeshis would have benefited. But alas they have cancelled because of fear in travelling around. They said this fear is because of the political unrest.

Malcolm Arnold

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU ACROSS 1 Has being (6) 4 Plant juice (3) 7 Vestige (5) 8 Landed property (6) 11 Spirit (3) 12 Tidy (4) 13 Honey drink (4) 15 Biblical quotations (5) 16 Snake (5) 20 Separate (4) 23 Grotto (4) 24 Vehicle (3) 25 Oozes out (6) 26 Assumed name (5) 27 Beverage (3) 28 Essay on a theme (6)

October 13

Mohammad Ridoyan Only veils (hijabs) can solve this matter.

Try continued governance What exactly has the current government succeeded in doing? BAL has grossly failed to deliver on all fronts in its 2008 manifesto. The Padma Bridge example is a major one as it has failed to even initiate work in that sector, not to mention the main culprits involved in that scandal simply seemed to have gotten away with it. The RMG sector is also in complete disarray. Nobody is doing anything about these poor workers’ wages and civil rights but instead talking about unproven non-existent instigators of violence in the RMG sector.

Working conditions and safety standards have not yet been improved after the Rana Plaza disaster, as another recent fire shows. The Hall-Mark and Basic Bank scandals have almost crippled our banking system, but instead of assessing these situations and taking preventive and punitive measures here, the government is rather fixated on Grameen Bank and Prof Yunus. The government is yet to explain to the public about what caused the share market disaster. And we are yet to receive explanations on what caused the BDR massacre.

Although I admit that our opposition political party is not providing us with the best alternative.

But has our current government succeeded in meeting the minimal requirement? Forget development, but I fail to see even an intention to improve.

Dissatisfied Citizen

Sexual abuse of women takes an alarming form

DOWN 1 Happening 2 Break 3 Slender support 4 Long, detailed story 5 Sour 6 Female swan 9 Bishop’s territory 10 Financial burden 14 Person of refined taste 17 Cushion 18 First woman 19 Reposes 20 Wan 21 Operatic air 22 Examine 24 Domestic animal

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS Crossword

How to solve Sudoku: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

Code-Cracker

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Terrorism in the context of Bangladesh n Hafeejul Alam

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TANMOY

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Your move, BNP

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n Matthew Islam

f our past was an indicator of our future, then I had no hopes for an understanding between our main political parties for the days ahead. Having announced programmes to hold rallies on the same day (October 25) with several belligerent adult politicians even suggesting the type of armaments in fighting and taking down government opposition, whatever little hope I had for a peaceful solution to the coming elections, evaporated.

The clashes of 2006 dubbed “Logi, Boitha” still manage to haunt our memories in 2013 because of the level of violence perpetrated by the parties.

For the not so “Khoka” in age, Mr Sadeque Hossain to suggest that BNP will take harsher steps than 2006, fills the country with dread about the upcoming rallies.

BNP’s continued posture that a “civil war” was imminent if the government didn’t heed their warnings is nothing short of audaciously deranged and a slap on the face of all those who think 2006 was a chapter never to be repeated.

In the face of such threats by the opposition and violent rhetoric, my expectations were subdued about the prime minister’s impending national address. I thought in the best case scenario our PM would offer an incon-

sequential olive branch in the form of an offer to dialogue and highlight her government’s successes because she doesn’t have a history of backing down from threats.

It was therefore, a massive surprise at least for me, that in her address to the nation, that the olive branch was more of a tree and much more than anyone really anticipated and very significant in nature.

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The PM, despite opposition claims is legally empowered to continue as the head of government until January 2014 and can therefore continue in that position even during elections. Is it ideal within the context of Bangladesh politics? No. Do other countries manage elections similarly and that we must aspire or begin to set those standards in Bangladesh? Yes. Will it be easy? No.

It was therefore, a massive surprise at least for me, that in her address to the nation, that the olive branch was more of a tree and much more than anyone really anticipated and very significant in nature

Let’s not forget that to even suggest running the administration preceding and during elections with a party, with certain elements that were within it, that have been alleged by law enforcers to have attempted an assassination on the present PM herself is by itself is a gesture unheard of anywhere else in the world.

To run jointly a cabinet to oversee the period between now and the elections with an obnoxiously obstructionist opposition is fraught with political risks that the PM is considerately overlooking.

Has the PM done enough to allay fears of unfairness? Yes, having been in government, a period in which 5,777 polls were conducted and considered fair, of which many, won by BNP during that time in significant positions does warrant an attempt to believe that the national polls will be fair and impartial.

So is it unreasonable for the people of this nation to demand that BNP take the government’s offer at face value and to sit and discuss the modalities of a unity cabinet/government? No. Is

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it possible for BNP to postpone their battle-ready posture to consider a peaceful solution? Yes. Will they? Early signs from party spokesmen indicate they don’t think anything proposed in the PM’s speech was significantly alluring or different. Initial reactions suggest they have rejected the notion that the proposal of a unity government will end the present political stalemate.

Yet, one has hopes that when opposition leader Khaleda Zia sits on Saturday night with her party high command, that she will see this as a significant gesture and at least act to consider exploring the seriousness of the offer for the sake of the people of this country whom she serves.

To recognise within the meeting that this was a significant move because even BNP in the end of their government term never offered such a wide open solution to AL, who were on a war path in 2006.

To not do so would be petty and silly. There is now a clear path to avoid conflict and mindless violence. To that direction unity and peace is a stone’s throw away. Your move, BNP! l Matthew Islam is a Barrister-at-Law, a textile businessman and a columnist at the Dhaka Tribune. He can be contacted on twitter via @matthewislam.

t is said that terrorism starts when humanity decays. Religion alone seldom spreads terrorism. Whenever religion was interpreted in a political way, it killed humans and ruined humanity.

Terrorism thrives in vicious political, economic, religious and psychological environments. Applying statistical and historical tools to terrorism trends, it can be seen that there are multiple causes of terrorism.

The starting point is perceived or real injustice. The next layer triggers when the elites validate violence by both state and non-state actors. This explains how individual behaviour is heavily influenced by ideas dominating the religious, political, social and psychological environment.

Obviously, before these powerful groups, even the majority of peace-loving people become helpless.

This provides a strong understanding of the rapid spread of terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Driven by Cold War goals, the Western countries along with Pakistan supported and glorified non-state violent groups fighting in Afghanistan against the former USSR. They called their fight a “jihad” in stark contrast to the real meaning of the word. Thus, the perverse political strategies of these countries rather than religion have contributed to making terrorism so common among Muslims today.

No one would be much surprised if large-scale lawlessness and terrorism set in this country within a foreseeable future because of any possible disagreement

Dumped subsequently by their state supporters, many of these rebels and their direct descendants scout the sub-continent and beyond, today, searching for new causes.

Taking into consideration all of these factors, Bangladesh appears to be on the threshold of terrorism.

It’s not only the greed for power but the basic ideological difference of two major political parties, Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party, hardly bring their leaders to any fruitful negotiation leading to a peaceful general election in Bangladesh, despite repeated calls by the conscientious media and the civil society.

While a last minute solution of the election process cannot be ruled out, no one would be much surprised if large-scale lawlessness and terrorism set in this country within a foreseeable future because of any possible disagreement.

In any case, political problems should be solved politically and the

party activists must not be encouraged to take the law into their own hands under any pretext.

In this respect, the present government should not confine itself to mere election strategy but act immediately to save the lives and properties of innocent people and religious minorities or else it will lose its right to govern this nation any more.

Despite much criticism, may we not forget that the present Election Commission very successfully conducted several major civic and innumerable local bodies election

Time is running fast. The pro-liberation forces should also rise to the occasion and must not give in to those that are intent on turning the country into a haven for the terrorist outfits.

On the other hand, the opposition political parties should not resort to violence even if their demands are not met by the government, for violence never gives any solution except breeding more violence.

It is believed that if the opposition parties publicly renounce religious bigotry and assure the people of a clean government, people will massively vote for them even if the election is held under an interim arrangement with the incumbent prime minister as the head.

Despite much criticism, may we not forget that the present Election Commission very successfully conducted several major civic and innumerable local bodies election.

It may be worth mentioning here that Pakistan’s military is alleged to still use many of the terrorist groups for furthering its “regional goals”.

Having let the genie out, the generals are battling to simultaneously put it back into the bottle in some places while continuing to utilise it for other battles.

The countries of South Asia and Bangladesh in particular must be cautious about these “regional goals”.

Appeasing or arranging political talks with the militants rarely succeeds because of their flawed ideologies and core demands about applying their ideology countrywide undermines democracy and modern governance.

Sweet talk may not get this particular genie back into the bottle. The only way to contain them is to go for mass awareness against religious bigotry and terrorism, and of course, with massive spread of modern education in schools and madrassas.

Military action may eventually be required to counter terrorism of all kinds and shapes. l Hafeejul Islam is a former civil servant and an occasional contributor.

Militia rivalries threaten new war in post-revolt Libya Laessing and n Ulf Suleiman Al-Khalidi

W

hen gunmen snatched Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan from his Tripoli hotel last week, it was a rival armed militia he thanked for his rescue hours later.

Even for Libyans accustomed to their democracy’s unruly beginnings, the drama at the Corinthia Hotel was a startling reminder of the power former fighters wield two years after they ousted Muammar Gaddafi, and the dangers of their rivalry.

Police and troops from Libya’s nascent army were at the scene, but the former militiamen showed they are the arbiters in a struggle between rival tribal and Islamist leaders over the post-revolution spoils of the North African oil producer.

Between them, they have edged Libya close to a new war that threatens the democratic gains of the NATO-backed revolt.

Too weak to take back control of a country awash with Gaddafi-era weapons, Libya’s central government has been forced to try to co-opt militias into semi-official security services over which it exercises little control.

“We want to build a state with an army, police and institutions, but there

are some people who want to obstruct this,” Zeidan, still in his pyjamas, told reporters after his release, referring to critics in parliament who had been planning a vote of no confidence, accusing him of failing on security.

Zintan militia, part of a loose alliance of mostly secular Bedouin groups from the desert interior, once recruited into Gaddafi’’s security forces, control an area around Tripoli’s international airport.

Even for Libyans accustomed to their democracy’s unruly beginnings, the drama at the Corinthia Hotel was a startling reminder of the power former fighters wield two years after they ousted Muammar Gaddafi, and the dangers of their rivalry

Tripoli has been spared the major militia clashes seen in the eastern city of Benghazi. But the standoff is evident; gunmen from two rival groups sit in pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft cannons in different parts of the capital.

In the east, the Libya Shield Force and Islamist militias drawn from anti-Gaddafi fighters based in the country’s fertile coastal areas and their commanders from Misrata city are entrenched at the Mittiga air base.

Across the city, powerful tribal

The militia rivalries mirror a struggle within Libya’s fragile government, where the secular tribal alliance controls the defence ministry and the Islamist-leaning Libya Shield Force works under the interior ministry.

Parliament is split on similar lines, with a secular National Forces Alliance at loggerheads with the political wing of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood over Libya’s future.

Zeidan’s captors, allied to the Shield Force, said they were motivated by anger over a US raid to capture a top al Qaeda suspect in Tripoli. The premier, freed by

a defence ministry-allied militia, called his abduction an attempted coup.

Tensions with the Islamists have risen since the premier’s September visit to Egypt, where they accused him of endorsing the military’s ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

“The political outcome of the revolution hasn’t been finalised and people still think there are things to be won and things to be lost,” a Libya-based Western diplomat said.

Zeidan had been held in a government office by gunmen from an Islamist militia allied to the Shield Force.

Details of his release are still hazy, but a loyal militia fired rocket-propelled grenades outside the office just beforehand.

Riccardo Fabiani, a North Africa analyst with Eurasia Group said militias appeared to be using their muscle for specific demands. But that might spin out of control if accusations Zeidan’s political foes orchestrated his abduction proved true.

“That would significantly alter the outlook and could plunge Libya into chaos, as other groups would have a reason to rise up against an attempted coup.”

In Benghazi, regional capital of the oil-rich eastern Libya, where Islamist militants attacked the US embassy a

year ago, militiamen backed by the army clashed earlier this year with the Libya Shields Force. More than 30 people were killed.

For months, militiamen commanded by a former security chief have held key ports in the east, halving the oil exports of the OPEC member, Africa’s third largest producer and a key supplier to Europe. A powerful western tribal militia has kept Gaddafi’s captive son in its desert stronghold.

Even before the premier’s abduction, the fight had come to Tripoli when Zintan fighters went on a rampage of looting in July in Abu Salim, a residential area, to avenge the death of several of their men by their Islamist leaning rivals.

The Zintans brought out heavy armoured vehicles looted from Gaddafi’s bases and burned down the Islamist office. Only intervention by tribal elders averted a wider militia war.

More than 225,000 Libyans are registered in dozens of militias under nominal state control. They receive government salaries but act autonomously, taking orders from local commanders or their affiliated political leaders and have resisted campaigns to recruit them into the security forces. l This article was syndicated from Reuters.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Sunday, October 20, 2013

ON TV Single-episode plays The Lost Phone

“The Lost Phone” will air on Channel i at 7:50pm today.

Written and directed by Dipankar Dipon, the single episode drama features Bidya Sinha Saha Mim, Arif and many more.

Plot of the drama revolves around a love story that happens via mobile phone. When the phone-relationship gets serious, the girl becomes desperate to meet with her boyfriend, but he couldn’t find time away from work. She becomes more insistent and calls him again and again. l

Nire Pakhi

“Nire Pakhi” airs on ATN Bangla at 8:50pm today. Written

by Ferdous Hasan and directed by Mostafa Wahid Reza, the drama features, Apurbo, Nadia, Hasin, Doli Johur and many more. Plot of the story revolves around three individuals who were university friends. Nowadays, the rush and push of everyday life kept them so busy that they completely fell out of touch with each other. One of them takes the initiative to get in touch with his old friends. With the help of his son, he finds his friends and discovers that one of them has passed away and his daughter is a sex worker. Heartbroken, he tries to help her live a decent life. l

Band members of Chirkut

Chirkut to perform live today n Afrose Jahan Chaity Chirkut will perform live on today’s phone-live concert “Close Up Call” at 9:45pm on DeshTV. The band has made quite an impact in the music arena of Bangladesh with rock, alternative rock and soft music.

Chirkut’s fame has transcended the borders of Bangladesh and reached foreign shores. They performed at various reputed international music festivals, such as the India Music Week and the Jaffna Music Festival, Sri Lanka, Norway, Brazil, Palestine, India and Bangladesh, with more than twenty international artists, where they have presented new dimensions of Bangladeshi band music to acclaim.

Recently, Chirkut just came home from a grand tour of Norway with Norwegian rockers Casa Murilo. They performed in six live concerts in different cities, and participated in studio recording sessions in collaboration with Casa Murilo, one of the best bands in Norway.

Recently Dhaka Tribune caught up with the vocalists of the band, Pintu (vocal, violin and flute) and Sharmin Sultana Sumi (vocals, lyrics) to learn about their newfound experience and recent ventures:

How was the experience?

Sumi: It was amazing to say the least. The tour was a mark of respect for us and we are very grateful to our Norwegian and international fans. The organisers excelled and exceeded all our expectations; all the arrangements were professional and top notch. The best part was when we heard our remix of “Kanamachhi” and Casa Murilo’s “Take no more” being played in the Norwegian national radio and they were talking about Bangladesh. We felt like international celebrities.

Pinto: It was excellent. The experience was overwhelming as many Bangladeshis residing in Scandinavian countries came from far and away to enjoy our show. I think, it is by far our best performance platform. It was a very respectable event.

What was the response from foreign music lovers?

Sumi: Music has its own language. They did not understand

the meaning of our lyrics as they were from different countries. But, they communicated with us through our music.

We have done live shows on Norwegian National Radio and our performance was covered by the newspapers as well.

Tickets of our shows were all sold out. We have been offered to perform in other European countries as well.

Pinto: It was great. It was our first tour in Europe. The response was huge. Although the crowd was not Bangla speaking, they sang our songs with us.

Since Akshay Kumar’s last release “Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Dobara” failed at Box Office all eyes are on action thriller “Boss.”

In “Boss,” the 46-year-old actor plays a Haryanavi gangster with veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty playing the role of his father.

The film also stars Aditi Rao Hydari, Shiv Pandit of “FIR” fame and Ronit Roy in lead roles.

In Akshay’s own words “Boss” had the toughest action sequences that the action genre maestro had to handle.

“It is the best action movie as it has no computer graphic action. It is much raw, man to man, real action. Also, the

“Tobu” will air on SATV at 7:30pm today. Written by Shaymol Bhaduri and directed by Shamrat Nasir, the drama features, Shahiduzzaman Selim, Toukir Ahmed, Badhon and many more. The story is a love triangle. Khawja Nasir is a well known NGO worker in Bangladesh. He goes to Afro-Asia NGO conference and meets Zambia’s representative Akash.

They became good friends. Nasir takes Khawja to meet his wife Nandini. After the meeting, Akash and Nandini starts to fall for each other. They try desperately to keep their feelings at bay. l

How has the trip enriched their music? What do they think about the prospect of folk fusion genre in the international platform?

Sumi: The synchronisation with Casa Murilo was great. They found our music very versatile and unique. The concerts were grand events with best instrument, sound system and equipment. We learned a lot at this tour about the art of performing live and our drummer Pavel Areen, has learnt many things about sound producing through this tour. We are very thankful to our audience, band Casa Murilo and the organisers. The international audiences gave a standing ovation after our performances.

Pinto: They were very interested about our folk fusion genre. They wanted to learn our tones of music and wanted to know the meaning of our lyrics. Their appreciation reached such heights that they learned a Bangla song and performed with us.

How is the response for the new album Jadur Shohor?

Pinto and Sumi: The album was released on August 2 and so far, the response is great.

Tell us about your upcoming projects.

Pinto: We are planning to perform in more international shows in different countries. Also, we are taking some time to work on our music.

Sumi: We will release a documentary on our last three international tours and we have completed shooting of a music video. l

Akshay’s Boss scores big at box office n Entertainment Desk

Tobu

climax is very different from the rest of the movies.”

“In the climax, I do not come with an army of people to fight Ronit in the end. Nor he has a army to deal with me.

It is a fight between me and him, man to man,” he added.

The film’s music is also well appreciated, with the special club track – “Party All Night” – already a favourite among Honey Singh’s fans.

The other number is a rendition of classic song “Har Kissi Ko Nahin Milta.”

Both songs feature Akshay’s “Rowdy Rathor” co-star Sonakshi Sinha.

Akshay Kumar also seems to have learnt from his mistakes as the actor has left stone unturned to promote the film. “Boss” has scored well in sin-

gle screens, according to film analyst Taran Adarsh.

Early estimates suggested that the Anthony D’Souza’s latest directorial venture averaged around Rs 15 crore on Wednesday.

Boss had a midweek release, aiming to cash-in on the Eid holiday. The film opened to 75%-80% occupancy across all nationwide territories. Not just the masses but even the multiplex audiences have been flocking the theaters.

Ajit Andhare (COO, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures) said “This film is for the masses, while we have a whole lot of urban slick heroes, there is always room for the desi hero. In a way this film is revisiting the roots, by making cinema that our industry is so known for.” l

Oshomapto Jibon

“Oshomapto Jibon” will air on GTV at 6:00pm. Written and directed by Ahmed Sushmoy, the drama features Richi Solaiman, Shoyeb and many more. The story is about a boy who graduated from BUET and works in a private company.

He owns a flower shop as it is his hobby. One day, he meets a girl named Liza and they become good friends. Gradually, friendship turns into a love affair. The twist of the story is that, both the young lovers are cancer patients and they try to fight the deadly disease for their love and life. l

Jhograpur

On the fifth day of Eid, the drama “Jhograpur,” written by Golam Rabbani and directed by Zahid Hasan, will be aired on Banglavision at 8pm. Zahid Hasan himself acted in the drama, along with Romana and others. The drama is a satire based upon a village named Jhograpur, a place where everyone fights. The actual name of the village is Anondopur, a place of happiness. After the arrival of a man called Abbas, the name has been converted to Jhograpur. Abbas is a mysterious man who attempts to set up fights with and between everyone. He is in love with a woman called Rahela, but with the arrival of a man named Zafar, there is trouble between the couple. The locals of the community become fedup with their conflict and the complexity. In an attempt to bring about peace, the villagers isolate Zafar to punish him. l

Telefilms Ar Kichhu Nai Baki

“Ar Kichhu Nai Baki” will air on SATV at 3:00pm today.

Written by Touhin Hasan and directed by Dipankar Dipan, the star studded telefilm features, Zahid Hasan, Sadia Islam Mou, Kalyan and many more. Raihan is a film maker who loves Tithi. They get married. For financial solvency, Tithi starts working and she becomes busy with her job.

Left alone by himself, Raihan starts to miss Tithi as she was his inspiration while writing stories. The story takes a turn when Raihan’s ex-girlfriend comes back into the picture. She left Raihan to marry a rich man. Unhappy in her marriage, she gets a divorce and starts spending time with Raihan, which becomes unacceptable to Tithi. l

Bibaho Rashir Jatok

“Bibaho Rashir Jatok” will air on Channel i at 2:30pm today. Written

by Farari Farhad and directed by Robin Khan, popular soap actors such as, Chanchal Chowdhury, Bindu, Shadhin Khasru, Rosy Siddique and many more acted in the telefilm. The story is about a man named Mohammad Salauddin. His track record with women shows that he was previously involved with thirty-two women. He was quite unfortunate as most of his relationships ended with the girl getting married to someone else.

One day, Salauddin is approached

by Shona Mia who is very fond of his wife and has a sister, who is a spinster. He requests Salauddin to have a relationship with his sister and adds that Salauddin will be paid for the job. l

Tobu O Bhalobashi

The telefilm “Tobu O Bhalobashi” will be aired today at 4:05pm on ETV. Written by Rudro Mahfuz and directed by Sakhawat Hossain Monir, the telefilm features Amin Khan, Kusum Sikder and many more. The story revolves around a man named Rumi who works in a corporate office. He is popular with the ladies and they always try to catch his attention. But, Rumi is indifferent to them as he is in love with someone else. l

Did you know?

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard scored his 100th Premier League goal against Newcastle yesterday to become the 13th player to reach the feat for a single club

Sport

Sunday, October 20, 2013

14 Pjanic double as Roma hand Napoli first defeat

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

14 Kiessling apologises 15 United stumble, for scoring Arsenal keep flying “phantom goal”

Sohag eyes special feat n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Off-spinner Sohag Gazi concentrates on his bowling during Bangladesh’s training session, ahead of their second Test against New Zealand from tomorrow, at SBNS yesterday

MUMIT M

Bangladesh’s record making off-spinner Sohag Gazi eyes another memorable performance when the hosts take on New Zealand in the second Test from tomorrow at his favourite ground Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Sohag returned with a six-wicket haul on his debut for the national side against West Indies at the same venue, not even a year ago in November 2011, and his second haul of five wickets or more was even more special. This time he created history as he became the first cricketer in Tests to score a hundred and also pick up a hat-trick, a part of his 6 for 77, against New Zealand at Chittagong during their first match of the ongoing two-match Test series.

The 22-year-old has already made it a habit in the first-class arena of taking five-wickets or more in an innings, 12 hauls of five or more in 29 matches, and now he wants to develop the same habit in the big stage.

“This (SBNS) is my favorite ground so my target will be to make this game special by taking as many wickets possible and be the highest wicket taker in the series,” Sohag said to the media at

SBNS yesterday.

“I want start from where I left in Chittagong. Though I don’t know if I will be able to register another record, but I will look for another five-wicket haul in the upcoming game,” added the right-arm spinner.

The offie further informed, “I am now working on the little rooms that I found in the previous game. I am spending good sessions with the coaching staffs in the nets, hopefully it will pay off in the second Test.”

Sohag’s unbeaten 101 in the first innings of the Chittagong Test boosted the home side to bounce back and take the lead in the game after a shaky start.

The feat also frustrated the Kiwis who had their eyes on a win after putting up 469 runs in their first innings.

The milestone gave Bangladesh room to come off the shoes of playing with eight batsmen and relieved the management who gambled with seven batters in the game. However, in spite of the heroics Sohag considers himself as a bowler and said, “Scoring the hundred never meant that I will start working on my batting. I try to spend more time with the ball and in between try to make my batting right.” l

Siddikur slips to second to join his idol

Giants begin new season preparation

n Tribune Desk

The local football arena is all set to feel the heat of the new season at last with the giants ready to complete the player’s registration formalities and start their practice from today.

Reigning champions Sheikh Russell, however, have already started their practice session yesterday. Coach Maruful Haque commenced his practice session with all local players including the players who have allegedly taken money in advance from two clubs.

They are Zahid Hossain, Nahidul Islam, Shakil Ahmed, Mithun Chowdhury and Mamun Miah. The players are in a pond of dispute as Dhaka Moham-

Bangladeshi ace golfer Siddikur Rahman slipped to second place to join his golfing idol Ernie Els in the Venetian Macau Open after playing a two-underpar 70 in the 3rd round yesterday.

Despite a fine start where he carded three birdies in the front nine, overnight leader Siddikur played a double bogey in the 12th hole and a bogey in the 17th.

Meanwhile, Australian Scott Hend carded a blistering eight-under-par 63 to open up a four-shot lead over Ernie and Siddikur. Big-hitting Hend, who has won twice already this season,

charged up the leader board with an eagle, seven birdies against a lone bogey for a three-day total of 12-under-par 201 in the $800,000 Asian Tour event.

Four-time Major winner Els battled to a 69 despite a hot start when he birdied two of his opening three holes while Siddikur got his wish of playing with the Big Easy after a 70 for a 205 aggregate.

“I need the putter to get hot. Today, it wasn’t good. Yesterday, it was excellent. I’m hoping it will be perfect tomorrow. Today, I just couldn’t putt although I had several birdies today. It’s just a matter a few putts,” said Siddikur after the 3rd round.

Pint-sized Siddikur is relishing a dream final day pairing with his idol, Els. “I’m so excited,” said Siddikur. “I can’t mention about the score tomorrow, I’m just always going to keep trying to hit more greens. Yes, I’m so excited that I will play with Ernie tomorrow.

“I’m not going to put pressure on myself. I’ve got the experience of playing many times in the leader group.

I’m just going to play my own game and that’s probably the best for me. If I can hold the putts, then I may have a chance. I need the putter to get hot.

Today, it wasn’t good. Yesterday, it was excellent,” he added.

Meanwhile, India’s Rahil Gangjee (66), Filipino Elmer Salvador (70), Daisuke Kataoka of Japan (69) and BaekSeuk-hyun of Korea (70) all share fourth place, a further stroke back going into the final 18 holes today. l

n Raihan Mahmood

Women’s refereeing course tomorrow n Shishir Hoque Fifa Women’s Refereeing Course 2013, organised by Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) women’s football committee, will begin at the BFF House tomorrow afternoon. BFF women’s wing chairman Sirajul Islam Bachchu will be present on the occasion as chief guest. BFF vice-president and chairman of referees’ committee Badal Roy and AFC executive committee member and deputy chairman of BFF women’s wing Mahfuza Akter Kiron will also be present. l

ICC sets final deadline for WT20 venues n Minhaz Uddin Khan The International Cricket Council (ICC) granted Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) request to extend the time of the deadline of the work at the venues of the World Twenty20 2014. Bangladesh is scheduled to host the mega event for the first time and already had troubles meeting the deadline for the past two months. However, the final deadline has been set on November 30 during an ICC board meeting at London yesterday.

In total now a three-month extension to complete work at the new stadiums in Sylhet and Cox’s Bazar has been given to Bangladesh who will host the major tournament from March 16 to April 6, 2014. A media release from

the ICC also informed that the tournament schedule and the format will be released in Dhaka on October 27.

However, no indication was made by the ICC on approval of the Sylhet Stadium to hold the lone Twenty20 game between Bangladesh and New Zealand on November 6. BCB sources informed the Dhaka Tribune that the ICC is not responsible for such approval as the series is bilateral. At the same time the BCB also wants to cut off the plan of holding the game at the venue as it will further delay the construction work.

“Holding a game there will delay the work-in-progress by at least five more days. The Board (BCB) is already running short of time so the Twenty20 game will be held at Mirpur (Shere-Bangla National Stadium) on the

scheduled date,” informed Lokaman Hossain Bhuiyan, a director of BCB, to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The ICC board was also updated on the investigations of match-fixing allegations in the Bangladesh Premier League 2013. The ICC had earlier charged nine individuals with various offences out of which seven were charged for fixing-related offences and the two others for failing to comply with their obligation to report corrupt approaches that were made to them.

In the meeting the ICC Board was also informed that a revised version of a more robust and strengthened ICC Anti-Corruption Code which will be submitted for discussion and approval at the January 2014 meeting of the organisation. l

medan claimed that Zahid, Shakil and Nahid have taken money from them to feature for the black and white jersey in the upcoming season. “We have retained the same strength of last season and with the inclusion of the foreigners I hope the team will again be the best,” said Maruf.

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, last year’s runners-up, will start their practice today at their own yard. All the local players were at the tent and the yellow-green outfits have five foreign players including Haitian hit-man Sony Norde, who left Sheikh Russell for a record signing of 73,000 dollars. Another Haitian striker Anselme Wedson, who played in the Haitian first division, and Nigerian midfielder Ali Abdullah,

who played in the Conference Division League, are also in the tent for nearly two months. Last year’s players Okemerie and Femi are the other two signings of Sheikh Jamal.

Abahani Ltd will get a taste of the Aussie flavour as new Australian coach Nathan Hall will conduct his first session today. He arrived at the capital one day prior to his scheduled arrival yesterday and will take the charges today.

Traditional crowd pullers Dhaka Mohammedan will also resume practice today, but they are yet to seal a deal with their last season coach Saiful Bari Titu who guided them to lift the Super Cup. Titu said some informal talks had taken place between the two sides, but the final deal is yet to be signed. Titu

also added he does not want to continue the job without any final deal.

Team BJMC, who finished fifth place last season with coach Zakaria Babu, has signed Ali Asgar Nasir this year and kicks-off their practice today. Zakaria who guided the team to a 4th and 5th placed finish and a Federation Cup second place in the last two seasons was not picked by the club management this year and Nasir has filled the shoes for the upcoming season.

The BFF extended the local players’ transfer window for the next season from October 23 to October 31 following the requests from the club officials.

The window for the foreign players remained unchanged and will end on November 15. l

We are keen to win: Fulton n Minhaz Uddin Khan New Zealand opening batsman Peter Fulton expects for a better outing that will ensure them a win against the hosts in the second and final Test staring from tomorrow at the Sher-eBangla National Stadium.

The right-handed also expressed that they are looking forward to the wicket in Mirpur which they think will offer some turn to the spinners.

“We (New Zealand) are definitely keen to win the match,” said Fulton to the media yesterday. “The wicket may turn more than it did in Chittagong. We are preparing for every scenario. It is not necessarily easy to get results. Five days is a long time in a Test match. If

we improve on our first Test performance, we can get a result,” he added.

Earlier, the flat wicket at Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium was frustrating for spinners of both the sides.

A draw loomed in Chittagong until Sohag Gazi’s hat-trick on the final afternoon sparked hope for Bangladesh.

In contrast, the New Zealand spinners, Bruce Martin and Ish Sodhi, were a work-in-progress throughout the Test as both were playing their first Test in the subcontinent. Fulton believes the bowlers need to be more patient.

“The Bangladesh spinners bowled well, as we expected them to. They kept it quite tight. They probably came into it a bit more on the last day when

we were pushing for a declaration. Our spinners got better as the game went on. They can learn from the first Test.

As a bowling unit, if we can be patient for a little bit longer, we will pick up wickets,” said Fulton.

The heat and the humidity have troubled the visitors since their arrival, but Fulton sees hard work and patience as the key for the success. His pair of fifties in the Chittagong Test were what gave the Kiwis a smooth start in both the innings.

“It is not easy to bat here with the heat. You have to work hard for runs. We have to get off to a good start which will set the team up for a result. I found it hard in the first innings with the heat. Like all the guys, we adjusted little bit and found things a little bit easier,” he said. l

New Zealand players take a drinks break during their practice session at the Mirpur Indoor yesterday

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Sunday, October 20, 2013

Pjanic double as Roma hand Napoli first defeat n AFP Miralem Pjanic scored twice, once from the spot, to hand Roma a 2-0 win over Napoli and extend their lead in Italy’s Serie A to five points on Friday.

Napoli, under the watchful eyes of former star Diego Maradona, began the match two points off the pace and hoping to upset Rudi Garcia’s early season pacesetters.

However, Rafael Benitez’s men spurned two great chances in the first half when both Goran Pandev and Lorenzo Insigne missed the target from scoring positions.

After Pjanic’s curling free kick gave Roma a 1-0 lead late in the first half, the Bosnian midfielder made it two -- this time from the spot -- after Napoli defender Paolo Cannavaro saw red for a clumsy challenge on Marco Borriello.

Roma now sit top with a maximum 24 points from eight games with Napoli, conceding their first defeat of the season, losing second place to Juventus, who visit Fiorentina on Sunday.

Pjanic fired a warning early on when a goalbound rocket was blocked and after Gervinho scuffed his shot high and

wide with Pepe Reina at his mercy Pjanic hit a low angled drive from distance which whizzed past Reina’s upright.

Pandev somehow spurned Napoli’s best chance of the half after escaping his marker in midfield to run on to Insigne’s superb long ball.

The striker was clear on goal but former Napoli ‘keper Morgan De Sanctis shut down the angle and got a hand to Pandev’s shot, which was then cleared acrobatically by Daniele De Rossi.

Result Roma

Pjanic 45+4 71-pen

2-0

Napoli

Florenzi’s angled low drive went just a metre wide of Reina’s upright and Gervinho had claims for a penalty waved away after he tumbled in the area as he cut in from the left.

Roma finally broke the deadlock late in injury time, Pjanic stepping up to send a sublime curling free kick past Reina after Gervinho had been upended and won a free kick 25 metres out.

Higuain finally made his appearance on 68 minutes, replacing Pandev, but Napoli suffered a blow moments later when Cannavaro was sent off. l

AS Roma's Daniele De Rossi (C) celebrates with his teammates at the end of their Serie A match against Napoli at Olympic stadium in Rome on Friday

Late show Vidal set for Conte grilling

Troubled Mexico name fourth coach in six weeks n AFP n AFP, Mexico City Mexico named their fourth coach in six weeks in a bid to save their dismal World Cup qualifying campaign, hiring Miguel Herrera on Friday ahead of a last-chance playoff against New Zealand.

The Club America boss replaced Victor Manuel Vucetich, who was sacked two days after the team lost 2-1 to Costa Rica, a defeat that nearly killed their hopes of going to Brazil next year.

“We are in a crisis situation,” Mexican Football Federation president Justino Compean told a news conference.

Mexico’s new manager inherits a team that have under-achieved despite a handful of European-based talent such as Manchester United forward Javier Hernandez and Villareal playmaker Giovani dos Santos.

Mexico have not missed the World Cup since 1990. l

Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal is set for a grilling by coach Antonio Conte after returning late from international duty.

Vidal missed a flight from his native Chile, where his national side beat Ecuador 2-1 in midweek qualifying for the World Cup, and missed two training sessions after returning a day late to the Serie A club.

Juventus face Fiorentina away on Sunday, when the champions will be looking to reduce their deficit to Roma after the capital side stretched their league lead to five points with a 2-0 win over Napoli on Friday.

Conte did not say whether Vidal, one of Juventus’s key players and the club’s top scorer last season, would make the squad for Sunday’s visit to Florence.

But the Italian said: “The Vidal question is very simple: I haven’t spo-

ken to him yet but I will be asking him why he returned a day late and missed two training sessions.”

Conte added: “There are rules at this club, and the same rules apply to everyone.”

Juventus’s preparations have been less than perfect and although they face a Fiorentina side which is winless in their past three games La Viola striker Giuseppe Rossi was buoyant.

“We’ve had two horrible draws at home against Cagliari and Parma. We need the three points,” Rossi, formerly of Manchester United and Villarreal, told the Gazzetta dello Sport sports daily.

“The priority now is try to beat Juventus. They are in a strong position for the title, but the other teams are not far behind.”

While Fiorentina are seven and nine points behind Juventus and Roma respectively, other contenders for a place among the top five places which offer entry to Europe have far more ground

to make up.

AC Milan sit 12th with a 13-point deficit to Roma and host Udinese in Saturday’s late game with concerns over striker Mario Balotelli.

Fixtures Atalanta Fiorentina Genoa Livorno Sassuolo Verona Torino

v v v v v v v

Lazio Juventus Chievo Sampdoria Bologna Parma Inter Milan

Balotelli was set to return from a three-game ban but may now be sidelined due to a right thigh injury.

With Barcelona on the Champions League horizon on Tuesday, the setback could not come at a worse time for Massimiliano Allegri’s side, who have garnered only four of a possible nine points in their last three league encounters.

Milan’s woes were compounded by a shock 3-0 defeat to French Ligue 2 side Caen in a friendly last weekend, a result which infuriated club bosses and prompted a lockdown at their Milanello training ground as of Thursday.

“It was the coach’s decision but one endorsed by the club, so no players complained,” Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani told Milan Channel.

“When the results are lacking there is usually a reason and we have to root it out.”

Lazio are in action in Sunday’s early game away to Atalanta and will be hoping goalkeeper Federico Marchetti has recovered from shipping two goals in Italy’s final World Cup qualifier against Armenia, which finished 2-2.

Inter, who sit fourth at five points adrift of Napoli and Juventus, travel to Torino in Sunday’s late game hoping to get back on the winning trail following a 1-1 draw with Cagliari and a 3-0 home reverse to Roma two weeks ago. l

REUTERS

Januzaj signs 5-year Man United deal

n AFP, London

Manchester United’s teenage starlet Adnan Januzaj has signed a new fiveyear contract with the club, the English Premier League champions announced on Saturday.

The 18-year-old Belgium-born winger shot to prominence prior to the international break when he scored twice to secure a 2-1 win at Sunderland on his full United debut.

“I’m delighted that Adnan has committed his future to United,” manager David Moyes told the club website.

“He is an outstanding talent and has impressed me consistently since I came to United in July.

“It’s great that he recognises that this club, with its tradition for developing young players and giving them a chance on the biggest stage, is the best place for him to be.”

Januzaj, who joined United from Belgian side Anderlecht in 2011, said he had never considered leaving Old Trafford. l

Ospina stars as Nice edge Marseille n AFP, PARIS

Bayer Leverkusen's Stefan Kiessling's (unseen) header at the near post from a corner narrowly missed the target, the ball hit the outside of the net but rolled into the goal through the hole in the netting. (Inset) This photo made available Saturday shows a makeshift repaired net of a goal after the German first division Bundesliga match on Friday AP

FIFA advice sought Kiessling apologises for on ‘phantom goal’ scoring “phantom goal” in Bundesliga “I’m sorry for all sports fans... Natun AP n Reuters rally, it’s not nice to win like that. FairThe German football federation (DFB) will consult with FIFA as it investigates Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-1 win over Hoffenheim which featured a goal that should not have been allowed.

Hoffenheim lodged an appeal against Friday’s Bundesliga result after losing the game to Stefan Kiessling’s headed “goal,” which was awarded despite clearly missing the target.

The ball hit the outside of the net and rolled into the goal through a hole in the netting.

The DFB said in a statement on Saturday that it will consult both teams, the referee, its control committee and football’s governing body FIFA “to clarify the legal position for such cases internationally.”

Hoffenheim wants a replay, as has happened before. In 1994, Thomas Helmer famously scored a “phantom goal” for Bayern Munich against Nuremberg, with his side winning the match 2-1. That game was replayed and Bayern won 5-0 to capture the title. l

Bayer Leverkusen forward Stefan Kiessling has apologised for his goal against Hoffenheim on Friday after television pictures clearly showed that the ball had entered the net through a hole in the side.

The German federation (DFB) confirmed that Hoffenheim had lodged a protest and said it would contact FIFA before deciding whether or not to order a replay.

“I can fully understand the reactions from many of you and I myself am absolutely gutted,” Kiessling said on his Facebook page after his so-called phantom goal helped his team to get a 2-1 win.

“After seeing the replays on television, I can clearly see that it was not a legitimate goal.

“During the game, after heading the ball and turning my head, I did not exactly see whether the ball had gone into the goal or not. Somehow, the ball was lying in the goal and I said exactly that to the referee.

ness is important in sport, for us in the club and for me personally.”

The confusion arose when Kiessling’s 70th-minute header flew just wide of the post, hit the side-netting and ended up in the back of the net to put Leverkusen 2-0 ahead.

He initially put his hands on his head when the ball went wide and looked confused when the referee awarded the goal and his team mates ran to him to celebrate.

The Bundesliga does not use goalline technology, which a FIFA source said would have spotted the mistake, or the additional goal-line assistants who are used in European club competitions.

A replay was ordered after Bayern Munich were awarded a goal against Nuremberg in similar circumstances in 1994.

The DFB confirmed in a statement that Hoffenheim had lodged a protest and said that its tribunal would speak to Bayer Leverkusen and will take statements from referee Felix Brych, the clubs and the match delegates. l

Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina shrugged off his World Cup jet lag to star in Nice’s 1-0 Ligue 1 win over Cote d’Azur rivals Marseille on Friday.

Ospina, who played in Tuesday’s 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Paraguay in Asuncion, pulled off a string of fine saves as Nice moved into fifth place in the table, four points off the lead held by Monaco.

Marseille remain fourth, ahead of Nice on goal difference.

Another South American, Argentine striker Dario Cvitanich, grabbed the only goal of the game in the 40th minute.

A minute’s applause was held before kick-off in memory of former Senegal coach and Nice player Bruno Metsu, who died of cancer earlier this week.

Results Nice

1-0

Marseille

Reims

1-2

Toulouse

Cvitanich 40 Oniangue 59

Trejo 42 Braithwaite 87-pen

Marseille, defeated by bitter rivals Paris Saint-Germain last time out, had the first decent chance of the game after 15 minutes.

Florian Thauvin made a sweet, accurate connection with a left foot volley from a Jeremy Morel cross.

The ball was heading towards the

corner of the goal before Ospina made a smart, diving save.

But Nice were even closer on the half-hour mark when Jeremy Pied saw his volley beat Steve Mandanda in the Marseille goal but crashed back off the post.

Mathieu Valbuena, Marseille’s creative spark, was then booked on the stroke of half-time as his frustrations boiled over.

They should have been level 12 minutes from time but Ospina tipped over a close-range header from Andre Pierre-Gignac, who had met Andre Ayew’s cross virtually unchallenged.

Ospina was on hand again in the third minute of injury time to collect a header from the acrobatic Ayew. l

Townsend says monkey joke a ‘compliment’ n AFP, London

Maradona served with 39m-euro tax bill

Andros Townsend has said the comment from England manager Roy Hodgson that prompted a racism row should be viewed as a “compliment”.

Hodgson came under fire after press reports he’d told a racially offensive joke at half-time during England’s 2-0 win over Poland at Wembley on Tuesday that clinched World Cup qualification.

The manager’s aim was to get his side to pass the ball to the in-form Townsend more often and the Tottenham Hotspur winger told the BBC on Friday: “The manager just told the players to give the ball to me so that’s a compliment.

“Everyone should be focusing on England qualifying for Brazil, not on negative silly news.”

Although there is no racist overtone to the joke, ‘monkey’ can also be an insulting way of describing black men such as Townsend, who scored on his England debut in a 4-1 win against Montenegro last Friday.

Hodgson apologised but was furious his remark had been leaked to the press. l

Italian tax agents have served football legend Diego Maradona with papers over a 39-million-euro ($53-million) debt that the feisty Argentinian disputes, ANSA news agency reported on Friday.

Maradona was in Milan for an event organised by best-selling sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport for the publication of a DVD collection on his life.

A source at the Equitalia tax recovery agency said the move was simply formal procedure since the papers only have a 180-day validity and therefore have to be renewed whenever Maradona is in Italy.

They would theoretically give legal premise for Italian authorities to seize Maradona’s assets in Italy, which the international star does not have.

“This is not putting pressure,” the source said.

Maradona’s tax woes go back to when he played for Napoli between 1984 and 1991. In 2005, he was ordered to pay 37.2 million euros, 23.5 million euros of which were interest on the debt.

But Italian prosecutors resumed the

n AFP, Rome

trial from scratch in 2011 in what was seen as a victory by Maradona’s lawyer in Italy, Angelo Pisani.

A final ruling on January 10 this year from a court in Naples has now made the sentence definitive.

“I am not a tax fraudster,” Maradona protested last year. “I was playing football and someone else was signing for me,” he said.

Maradona scored 115 goals in 259 games with Napoli, where he is still adored to this day. With him on the team, Napoli won their only two Italian league titles in 1987 and 1990.

The former cocaine addict is now a roving sports ambassador for the United Arab Emirates following his departure from local club Al Wasl in 2012. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Sunday, October 20, 2013

Unbeaten Bayern close in on record n AFP, Berlin

Quick Bytes

Ferguson has no regrets about retirement Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says that he does not regret his decision to retire and is happy to provide assistance to his successor, David Moyes. Ferguson retired in May after a record-breaking 26-and-a-halfyear spell at United in which he won 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League crowns, five FA Cups and four League Cups. It made the 71-year-old Scot the most successful manager in the history of the British game, but he said he knew that the time had come for him to step down. “My reaction was that I knew it was the best thing for me.

I knew I’d done my time,” Ferguson told Saturday’s edition of British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. “My attitude was: ‘The only way I could really enjoy my life was to forget it,’ because you can become withdrawn about what you’re going to do. “’Am I going to miss this?’

My attitude was, ‘I’m not going to miss it. My time has come.’ I’d picked the right moment. The successes were mindboggling, to think what had happened to me in my career at United. Forget the past. It’s no use to me.”

– AFP

Lorenzo smashes Phillip Island lap record

Defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo shattered the Phillip Island lap record in claiming pole position ahead of championship leader Mark Marquez Saturday for the Australian MotoGP. The Spanish Yamaha racer clocked a best lap of one minute 27.899 seconds, 0.221sec ahead of fellow Spaniard Marquez. It is Lorenzo’s 28th career MotoGP pole and his third of the season, giving him an edge in Sunday’s third-last race of the season as he bids to prevent Marquez from clinching the world title in Australia. In a development late Saturday, Race Direction said as Bridgestone were unable to guarantee the safety of their rear slick tyres beyond 14 laps on the track’s new asphalt surface the distance of Sunday’s MotoGP would be reduced to 26 laps. Officials said riders would be required to enter the pits and change to their second machine with fresh tyres at least once during the race.

Australia’s two-time world champion Casey Stoner had previously held the Phillip Island lap record of 1:28.665, set in 2008 among his six consecutive Australian MotoGP victories.

– AFP

Dad-to-be Amla heads home

South Africa are likely to be without Hashim Amla for next week’s second Test against Pakistan in Dubai after the world’s leading batsman left for home Friday to attend the birth of his second child. “Amla flew back to South Africa on Friday morning for the birth of his second child. His wife is expected to give birth soon,” a South Africa team statement said. However, it remains unclear whether or not Amla will make it back in time for the second Test starting in Dubai from October 23. Amla, ranked the number one batsman in the Test rankings, made 118 in the first Test which Pakistan won by seven wickets on Thursday. But Amla said South Africa will be ready for the next match. “We’ll probably have a few net sessions, but the biggest change will be mental,” Amla said prior to his departure.“We know where we went wrong and this team is without a doubt a fantastic team. We take a lot of pride from our performance and this loss hurt, we set high standards for ourselves.”

The Proteas will not add a player to the current squad in his absence.

– AFP

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil (R) celebrates after scoring against Norwich during their EPL match at the Emirates Stadium in London yesterday

United stumble, Arsenal keep flying n AFP, London Manchester United’s disappointing start to the Premier League season continued on Saturday as the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at home to high-flying Southampton.

United’s teenage winger Adnan Januzaj celebrated his new five-year contract by creating the game’s opening goal in the 26th minute with a superb through ball for Wayne Rooney.

The England striker’s shot was blocked by Southampton goalkeeper Artur Boruc, but Robin van Persie was on hand to sweep the rebound home.

Both Rooney and Van Persie hit the woodwork thereafter, but the hosts were prevented from recording consecutive victories for the first time in the league this season when Southampton defender Dejan Lovren poked home from an 89th-minute corner.

The point kept Mauricio Pochettino’s Southampton in the top four,

Results Arsenal Wilshere 18, Ozil 58, 88, Ramsey 83 Chelsea Hazard 33, 82, Eto’o 66, Oscar 78 Everton Mirallas 8, Pienaar 57 Man United Van Persie 26 Newcastle Cabaye 23, Dummett 56

4-1

Norwich Howson 70

4-1

Cardiff Mutch 10

2-1

Hull Sagbo 30

1-1

Southampton Lovren 89 Liverpool 05 Gerrard 42, Sturridge 72

Stoke

0-0 4-0

Swansea Bardsley 57-og, De Guzman 58, Bony 64-pen, Chico 80

2-2

West Brom Sunderland

through the first half with a fine 30yard drive that plunged into the bottom-left corner.

Visiting captain Steven Gerrard equalised from the penalty spot just before half-time, taking his tally of Premier League goals to 100, after Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa was sent off for impeding Luis Suarez.

Against the odds, Newcastle restored their lead through 22-year-old substitute Paul Dummett, only for Daniel Sturridge to head home a 72ndminute equaliser from Suarez’s cross.

Gus Poyet’s tenure as manager of bottom club Sunderland began in lamentable fashion as his side crashed 4-0 at Swansea City.

Steven Pienaar scored within seconds of coming on to earn Everton a 2-1 victory at home to Hull City, while West Bromwich Albion were held to a 0-0 draw at Stoke City.

The late game sees Manchester City visit West Ham United. l

Aamer grateful as PCB bat on his behalf

Real ease past Malaga on Bale return

n AFP, Abu Dhabi

Gareth Bale got his first taste of being on a winning side at the Santiago Bernabeu as Real Madrid moved to within two points of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid with a 2-0 win over Malaga on Saturday.

After Angel di Maria’s intended cross had found the back of the net to give Madrid the lead just after halftime, the Welshman was introduced for the final 13 minutes on his return from a thigh injury.

And it was Bale who was brought down by Weligton in stoppage time to allow Cristiano Ronaldo to seal the three points from the penalty spot.

It was a much improved all round performance from Madrid, who were

Mohammad Aamer thanked Pakistan cricket chiefs after officials confirmed Friday they will renew their efforts to have the severity of his match-fixing ban reduced by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

“I am very happy at the news,” Aamer told AFP. “I am desperate to play the game I love -- I have not lost hope that good news is just around the corner.”

“I made a mistake and got the punishment. I am thankful to the PCB for taking up the matter with the ICC,” Aamer added. Earlier this year the PCB asked the ICC to relax Aamer’s punishment, with the bowler currently banned from cricket at all levels.

The global governing body responded by forming a five-man committee led by England’s Giles Clarke to look into Aamer’s case and this is expected to meet on the sidelines of the ICC board meeting in London on Friday and Saturday.

Now the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hope Aamer will be allowed to train at their facilities and play some club level matches before his ban expires.

The PCB are also optimistic an opinion they’ve received from a senior English lawyer will encourage the ICC to show leniency towards Aamer.

“We have taken the opinion of a Queen’s Counsel (QC) in London and his report will be put before the working committee of the ICC this weekend,” PCB legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi told AFP. l

n AFP, Madrid

Real Madrid's midfielder Angel di Maria (R) celebrates after scoring against Malaga during their Spanish league match at the Santiago Bernabeu yesterday AFP

Faulkner blitz downs Dhoni heroic

Day’s Watch ESPN

n Agencies

10:00am Duleep Trophy 2013 LIVE Match 4 Day 4 6:55pm Italian Serie A 2013/14 LIVE Fiorentina v Juventus 8:50pm Barclays Premier League 2013/14 LIVE Aston Villa v Tottenham Star Sports 3:55pm La Liga 2013/14 LIVE Granada CF v Getafe CF Star Cricket 4:25pm Italian Serie A 2013/14 LIVE Atalanta v Lazio Ten Action 5:55pm French Ligue 1 2013/14 LIVE Sochaux v AS Monaco

while United were left in eighth place, eight points adrift of leaders Arsenal.

Having seen Liverpool temporarily take claim of first place earlier in the day, Arsenal returned to the summit with a 4-1 win at home to Norwich City.

Jack Wilshere scored his second goal in two games to give Arsenal an 18thminute lead, volleying home from Olivier Giroud’s flick following a dizzying exchange of passes involving Santi Cazorla.

Mesut Ozil scored his first league goal for the club with a header from a Giroud cross in the 58th minute and although Norwich midfielder Jonathan Howson replied for the visitors, Aaron Ramsey came off the bench to make sure of victory before Ozil added a fourth.

Liverpool, who trail Chelsea on goal difference, twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw at 10-man Newcastle United.

French midfielder Yohan Cabaye gave Newcastle the lead mid-way

AFP

Bayern Munich extended their unbeaten Bundesliga run to 34 games on Saturday by coming from behind for a 4-1 home win over Mainz to go back top of the Bundesliga.

Having last lost in the German league back in October 2012, Bayern are now just two matches short of Hamburg’s 30-year-old, 36-match streak.

Bayern were punished for a poor first-half in Munich when Mainz striker Shawn Parker fired home after capitalising on a mistake by centre-back Jerome Boateng. But Bayern roared back when Germany midfielder Mario Goetze came off the bench for the secondhalf and played a key part in the hosts’ first three second-half goals.

His dream pass through to Arjen Robben allowed the winger to equalise on 50 minutes and two minutes later, Goetze combined with the Dutchman for Germany’s Thomas Mueller to fire home to make it 2-0.

With Bayern finally making their 80 percent possession pay off, Goetze fired in a cross for Mario Mandzukic to score their third on 69 minutes.

And when Bayern vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger was fouled in the area, Mueller stepped up to drill home the penalty for his second of the game eight minutes from time to make it 4-1.

Schalke, who host Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday, needed a 91st-minute winner from Roman Neustaedter to seal a 3-2 win at bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig.

Having only picked up their first win of the season a fortnight ago against Wolfsburg, Braunschweig gave Schalke an almighty scare before Germany’s Neustaedter hit the winner.

Borussia Dortmund, who are at Arsenal on Tuesday in the Champions League, stayed second with a hardfought 1-0 win at home to Hanover 96.

Germany winger Marco Reus hit the winning penalty after just four minutes when Hanover’s Japan defender Hiroki Sakai fouled left-back Erik Durm in the area. Sakai was shown a yellow card for the foul and Reus blasted home the spot kick as Dortmund picked up the three points.

Borussia stay second and level on 22 points with third-placed Leverkusen, just a point behind Bayern. l

James Faulkner plays a shot against India during their 3rd ODI at Mohali yesterday

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s blistering unbeaten 139 went in vain as Australia came from behind to pull off a sensational four-wicket victory over India in the third cricket one-dayer to take a 2-1 lead in the seven match series here today.

Chasing a stiff target of 304, the Australians rode on James Faulkner’s brutal unbeaten 29-ball 64, which was studded with two fours and six sixes, to dramatically change the complexion of game and take his side home with three balls to spare.

Adam Voges made a valuable contribution of 76 not out from 88 balls, which was studded with seven fours.

A hugely costly over by out-of-form pacer Ishant Sharma who gave 30 runs in the 48th turned the tide in Australia’s favour after the Indians seemed cruising comfortably. It was a commendable show by the Australians and the Indians paid the price of the lack of quality death bowlers in a high scoring match on a good batting track at the PCA Stadium.

Earlier, Dhoni produced a magnifi-

cent late onslaught as he rescued India from a precarious 76 for four at one stage to single-handedly take the score to 303 for 9 after the home side were asked to bat. His unbeaten knock came from 121 balls with the help of 12 fours and five sixes. Virat Kohli was the other notable contributor with a 73-ball 68.

Brief Score India: 303/ 9 in 50 overs (Dhoni 139*, Kohli 68; Johnson 4/46).

Australia: 304/6 in 49.3 overs (Voges 76 not out, Faulkner 64*, Vinay2/50) But it was not the day for the Indians as Faulkner hit four sixes and a four in the 48th over bowled by Ishant to turn the match on its head. R Ashwin bowled a very good penultimate over just giving away five runs as Australia needed nine runs from the final over.

Faulkner ended the match in style with a six in the third ball of the final over as Australia reached 304 for six to win the match to the disappointment of the capacity crowd. l

only denied a far more comfortable margin of victory due to a series of wonderful saves by Malaga keeper Willy Caballero.

Despite his return to fitness, Bale was left on the bench by Carlo Ancelotti due to his lack of match practice.

An injury to Karim Benzema also gave Alvaro Morata his chance to start and the Spanish under-21 international was highly involved in the first period as Madrid did everything but score.

Ronaldo saw a curling effort come off the top of the bar after just seven minutes and then ought to have opened the scoring when he skewed wide with just Caballero to beat.

Morata headed straight at the Malaga keeper from Di Maria’s cross and Caballero was again called into action by Ronaldo as the pressure continued to build. l

Tsonga struggles past home hope in Vienna n AFP, Vienna French top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga survived against hyped-up local wildcard Dominic Thiem to reach the Austrian Open semi-finals with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3) win Friday.

Tsonga, winner of the 2011 title, saw his 20-year-old opponent, ranked 149 in the world, save a match point in the third set.

The victory took nearly two and a quarter-hours as Tsonga stayed on course to secure one of the four remaining spots in the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals next month.

Tsonga ended with 16 aces but had to save seven break points against Thiem, who was facing his first top 10 opponent.

“He was a young guy playing in front of his home crowd with nothing to lose,” said Tsonga.

“I had to fight and stay strong.

“My game was pretty poor from the baseline but I served well. I’m a top 10 player and it’s my job to win matches like this. Experience made the difference at the end.” l

16

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Sunday, October 20, 2013

Historic Chilmari port disappears Erosion threatens banks of the Brahmaputra in Kurigram have already disappeared into the river ferent points on the river’s banks on n Abu Bakar Siddique due to the faster rate of erosion on the a regular basis, but nothing stops the Momtaj Ali points towards the middle of the Brahmaputra River when asked for the location of the famous river port of Chilmari.

The 70-year-old, who lives on the west bank of the Brahmaputra in Kurigram, explains that the once thriving colonial-era port has been devoured by the mighty river.

Like the Chilmari port, both banks of the Brahmaputra, which is popularly known as Jamuna in the area, face the wrath of erosion every day, especially during the rainy season.

The ultimate result of river erosion is that the land areas of Kurigram and Gaibandha districts on the west bank, and Jamalpur in the east, are gradually shrinking.

The river port was situated at Chilmari upazila of Kurigram, the northern district where the Brahmaputra enters into Bangladesh from India. Now, its ruins lie underwater, some 10km from its original location.

Out of the upazila’s six union parishads, three, including Chilmari union,

west bank, said Mohammad Mamunul-Hasan, upazila nirbahi officer of Chilmari.

Every year, the people of the area fall victim to erosion and lose everything – from agricultural lands to homesteads – and are left destitute, he added.

The people of the other upazilas located along the river bank, including Nageshwari, Bhurungamari, Ulipur, Rajibpur and Roumari, also face the same perils.

The average width of the river increased from 8.5km in 1973 to 12.2km in 2009. The rate of erosion of its banks was particularly high between 1973 and 1992, says a study by the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS).

Every year, around 10,000 people living on both sides of the river lose their homes and livelihoods as a result of the river erosion, according to Bangladesh Water Development Board estimates.

“We have been trying to build embankments with sacks of sand at dif-

erosion,” said Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman, sub-divisional engineer of Kurigram Water Development Board.

Every year, around 10,000 people living on both sides of the river lose their homes and livelihoods as a result of the river erosion, according to Bangladesh Water Development Board estimates However, Vice-Chancellor of Brac University Ainun Nishat, who is an expert on water resources and hydrology, said protection efforts such as sand bag embankments will not yield any good result.

“Such erosion of the river bank is the natural process of a braided river like Jamuna (Brahmaputra), as it is still passing its formation period,” he said.

Nishat said proper training of the river could be done to reduce the risk of erosion of its banks.

He said concrete embankments along both sides of the river could stop erosion, but it would be an expensive option for a country like Bangladesh.

Nishat referred to the Flood Action Plan, which recommends setting up “hard points” across both sides of a river to manage water flow and reduce erosion in a particular course.

Deputy Executive Director of CEGIS Maminul Haque Sarker, who is a morphology expert, said river training could be a solution to prevent erosion, but the government has to consider many other aspects as it would be a huge task.

In addition, matters such as navigability, ecology, environment, land reclamation and fishery resources should be considered before undertaking a huge project like river-training, as a river has a natural ecosystem, he added.

The length of the Brahmaputra/ Jamuna River in Bangladesh is about 240km, as measured from its international border at NageshwariRowmari, Kurigram to the point where it meets with the Padma River at Aricha, Pabna. l

SOURCE: CEGIS

‘Rape victims need long-term mental treatment’ n Udisa Islam

A rape victim can show outward signs of physical abuse but little is done to alleviate the debilitating psychological trauma she is going through.

Rehana (not her real name), a rape victim from Dhamrai, has never opted to go for a legal battle since she was violated in 2011.

She strongly opposes the idea of lodging a case and says no victim should initiate legal proceedings as they never receive justice.

“A rape victim can recover from physical injuries but what about the mental trauma? Every day she passes in torment as people taunt her with unkind and unpleasant words,” says Rehana.

Amina (not her real name) was raped by her cousin. When her family became aware of the incident, they gave her in marriage to him, even though Amina had never come to terms with the horrors of her sexual violation.

A Pakistani health worker marks a finger of a child after giving her polio vaccine in Rawalpindi AP

Pakistan polio outbreak puts global eradication at risk n Reuters, London A Taliban ban on vaccination is exacerbating a serious polio outbreak in Pakistan, threatening to derail dramatic progress made this year towards wiping out the disease worldwide, health officials say.

Health teams in Pakistan have been attacked repeatedly since the Taliban denounced vaccines as a Western plot to sterilise Muslims and imposed bans on inoculation in June 2012.

In North Waziristan, a region near the Afghan border that has been cordoned off by the Taliban, dozens of children, many under the age of two, have been crippled by the viral disease in the past six months.

And there is evidence in tests conducted on sewage samples in some of the country’s major cities that the polio virus is starting to spread beyond these isolated pockets and could soon spark fresh polio outbreaks in more densely populated areas.

“We have entered a phase that we were all worried about and were afraid might happen,” Elias Durry, head of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in Pakistan, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

“The risk is that as long as the virus is still circulating, and as long as we have no means of reaching these children and immunising them to interrupt virus transmission, it could jeopardise everything that has been done so far – not only in Pakistan, but also in the region and around the globe.”

CORNERING THE VIRUS Polio is a highly infectious disease that invades the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis in a matter of hours. A $5.5bn global eradication plan was launched in April with

the aim of vaccinating 250 million children multiple times each year to stop the virus finding new footholds, and stepping up surveillance in more than 70 countries.

The virus has been cornered to just a handful of areas in Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the three countries where polio is endemic. Global cases have dropped by more than 99.9% in less than three decades, from 350,000 in 1985 to just 223 last year, according to the GPEI. But so far in 2013, there have already been 296 cases worldwide. Forty-three were in Pakistan, the vast majority in children in the semi-autonomous Pashtun lands along the Afghan border known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which include North Waziristan.

Accusations that immunisation campaigns are cover for spies were given credence when it emerged that the United States had used a Pakistani vaccination team to gather intelligence about al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was found and killed by US special forces in Pakistan in 2011.

The Taliban ban, and associated security threats, mean the polio virus could easily escape and spread back into previously cleared areas.

Tariq Bhutta of the Pakistan Pediatric Association said there was little prospect that the militant Islamist group would change its stance. He said attacks on health teams attempting to reach children to immunise them were becoming both more frequent and more violent. “The vaccination teams are still going out, but at risk to their lives,” he told Reuters. “People can come up on motorbikes and shoot them, and they’ve also started attacking the police put there to protect the vaccination teams.” l

KSA to deport expats who went for illegal hajj n Tribune Desk The Passport Department has sent text messages to sponsors and employers to fire their expatriate employees who performed hajj illegally this year, in preparation for their deportation.

The Kingdom’s security agencies used new fingerprinting devices in Makkah and the holy sites this year to detect expatriates without hajj permits, Arab News reported yesterday.

Ali Massoud, who has a barbershop in Jeddah, told Arab News he received a message to fire his workers.

“I have two Egyptian workers who went to hajj without permits. They did not tell me about their plans. I received a text message to end their contracts because they will be deported following their return from hajj,” said Massoud.

Khaled Abbas, a human resources supervisor at a private company, said his office also received SMSs from the passport department. l

A study on rape in Bangladesh has found that 84% of victims suffer from severe injuries resulting in unconsciousness or even death. And many victims who choose to start a legal battle fall victim to a different form of harassment when they are called to appear in the witness box.

Reshma (not her real name) from Manikganj fell mentally sick from the unpleasant questions she had to field from defence counsel of her tormentor, Shahin.

Reshma later cried her heart out and said: “I might have recovered from my physical sickness and social harassment but it was more disgraceful the way the defence counsel asked me obscene questions.”

“Not only is a girl or woman harmed physically by rape; she is also harassed socially. Her behaviour can change and she can start to hate herself and distrust others,” says Mehtab Khanom, a clinical psychologist.

“After being raped, a woman devel-

ops a number of psychological problems along with physical problems.

And beyond this she is again embarrassed when she is asked filthy questions in court,” she says, adding that more should be done to consider the mental support needed by rape victims in a legal battle.

The Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2003 included a section to prevent rape victims from having to face humiliating questions during cross-examination.

Under this section, the victim is supposed to be questioned in a closed room in the presence of only the judge and the lawyers from both sides. The victim’s statement is recorded and heard again, if necessary.

But this is hardly practiced, said Fahima Nasreen, executive member of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association.

She says: “The questions defence lawyers ask the victims are very shameful, disgraceful, humiliating

and objectionable. In most cases, defence counsels intentionally ask obscene questions to get some sort of pleasure.”

Sometimes they ask some questions to humiliate the victim and to try to prove that the victims are of bad character. And that is why mental support centres are necessary to rebuild their lives, she noted.

President of Bangladesh Mohila Parishad Ayesha Khanam says: “We do not have any proper clinic where these victims can go and take support. At the same time we need to make our society aware.”

Meher Afroz, state minister of ministry of women and child affairs, however said the government has support centres, one stop crisis centres and many others like that.

“We are trying to provide mental support to the victims. But this is not sufficient at all as we can only reach 50% of the victims while others are still beyond service,” she says. l

Wind power ‘is effective carbon saver’ n Tribune Desk One of the most often repeated arguments of the anti-wind lobby is that the turbines produce electricity only intermittently, when there is enough wind to turn them.

This, the critics argue, means that so much gas has to be burnt to provide a reliable supply of electricity that there is no overall benefit to the environment, according to Climate News Network.

But extensive research in Spain means this claim can now definitively be declared a myth. Wind, the researchers found, is a very efficient way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

A study of 87 of the country’s coal and gas plants and how they were run alongside Spain’s very large wind industry found that adjustments made to the fossil fuel plants to compensate for variable wind strengths made little difference to their C02 emissions.

The anti-wind campaigners claim that fossil fuel plants have to be kept running at a slow speed, all the time producing CO2, just in case the wind

fails. At slow speeds these plants are less efficient and so produce so much CO2 - the opponents of wind say - that they wipe out any gains from having wind power.

But a report published in the journal Energy by researchers at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid says this is simply not true. There are some small losses, the researchers say, but even if wind produced as much as 50% of Spain’s electricity the CO2 savings would still be 80% of the emissions that would have been produced by the displaced thermal power stations.

At lower penetrations, particularly when the number of wind turbines was small, each megawatt hour produced by wind replaced 100% of the CO2 that would have been produced by each displaced thermal megawatt.

This is the opposite of reports reproduced repeatedly by right-wing think tanks and campaigners opposed to renewables.

The Spanish report adds that even the small losses caused by running thermal power plants at less than maximum

efficiency to safeguard the grid if the wind drops can be reduced by better management of renewables. Spain for example has wind, solar and wave power among its portfolio of renewables, each of which can support the others.

The findings are important for governments trying to calculate the amount of CO2 they have saved by the introduction of wind power. Countries like Spain, which are struggling to meet EU targets on reducing emissions, need to know how much CO2 saved can be credited to their wind industries. This research provides the answers.

The paper says: “The finding has generated the first comprehensive analysis on interaction between wind parks and thermal power plants in Spain and has concluded that the global balance of CO2 reduction is still significant.

Besides, the study suggests how to enhance the effectiveness of potential sources that can be helpful for promoters of renewable technologies.

“Renewable energy is capable of replacing fossil fuels and of reducing emissions dramatically.” l

Informal letters will not be accepted for UK visas n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Firefighters yesterday douse the fire on the 6th floor of Biswas Builder’s multi-storied complex in the capital’s New Market area. The fire, caused by a short-circuit around 11pm, was doused by three units of Fire and Civil Service MAHAMUD HOSSAIN OPU

The British High Commission in Dhaka has formally informed the foreign ministry that it would not accept any informal communication or letter of introduction (LoI) as far as visa applications for private citizens are concerned.

A British High Commission spokesperson confirmed that it had already informed the ministry saying it would only accept formal communications or note verbal from the ministry when it endorses a visa application.

“The British High Commission continues to accept endorsement of visa applications from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Any implication that we don’t would be incorrect and misleading,” Warren Daley said.

“What we have said is that we require such endorsements to be sent by note verbale, in other words as a formal communication between governments, rather than through sending informal [letters of introduction].”

No foreign ministry in any country except Bangladesh issues letters of introduction for private citizens as it is the right of the respective country to issue visa or not and that the LoI has little value during visa processing, said a foreign ministry official. Letter of Introduction is an informal communication issued by consular wing of the ministry, which is attached with a visa application in a hope that as the foreign ministry has issued a letter for the person, his or her visa application would have a higher probability of being accepted. l

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