18 Oct, 2014

Kartik 3, 1421 Zilhajjj 22, 1435 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 194

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

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AVENUE T

8 | PRESCRIPTION

09 | HERITAGE

13 | SPORT

ALL ABOUT MASSAGE THERAPY

BEATING BREAST CANCER

THE BANGLADESH RIVIERA

HOSTS CONTINUE WINNING SPREE

JMB using hidden IPs to command sleeper cells

NEGLECTED RESPONSIBILITY

Tech-savvy agents are recruited to help mask identities of leaders n Mohammad Jamil Khan Hidden IP addresses are now being used by JMB leaders to communicate with its members and disseminate directives to kill selected targets; the entire process is being carried out evading the eyes of law enforcement agencies.

These hidden IP addresses are also used by the leaders of the banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh to communicate with its “sleeper cell” members, who remain dormant in strategic positions until receiving an order to attack.

The information was unearthed during the interrogation of Khorshed Alam Rubel, a JMB operative arrested on Wednesday and currently on a threeday remand.

JMB was now trying to establish links with militant organisations in India, Pakistan and Nepal to create a network A website with a hidden IP address and individual passwords for sleeper cell members was used to recently disseminate orders to kill two teachers of the capital’s Monipur High School and College, who the JMB leaders blamed for having “atheist” views.

Only those who knew the specific IP address and password were able to access the server and read the “secure text” that was uploaded by senior leaders of the organisation who maintained their anonymity by using untraceable IP addresses, DB sources said.

Soon after the arrest of Rubel, the website was found down.

Officials of the Detective Branch of police, meanwhile, claimed that they had been able to prepare a list of suspected senior JMB leaders who might have been passing on directives to the organisation’s sleeper cells.

By using the hidden website to ad-

dress the clandestine cells, the senior leaders managed to create a buffer between them and the field-level operatives – a strategy the police are calling the “cut-out system.”

Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of DB police, said the JMB was creating sleeper cells based on strategies adopted by international militant organisations. Although militants had plans to attack persons who were important to the state, the police were aware about those efforts and took steps to foil the plans, he added.

Investigators said the JMB sleeper cells included members who were well-educated and experts in technology. These people provided the organisation with necessary technological support in hiding the identities of the top leaders.

Commenting on the latest developments, Mahfuzul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of DB (north), told the Dhaka Tribune that the police had already started carrying out raids in different areas based on Rubel’s information.

“Today [Friday] morning, Rubel took us to a remote area in the capital’s Dakkhinkhan, where he and two other JMB leaders had rented three rooms a month ago,” Mahfuz said, adding that the police found the rooms empty when they reached there.

The owner of the rented house did not collect any detail of his tenants while renting the rooms, the DB official said, adding that more drives would be carried out as Rubel had provided the police with information about some other locations.

On Wednesday, the Cantonment police arrested Rubel after the CNG autorickshaw he and his cohorts were on violated law enforcers’ directive to stop at a check-post near the Mirpur Flyover. A gunfight that ensued injured a police official and a pedestrian as well as Rubel, who was abandoned by his associates at the scene. The group was reportedly on their way to kill the  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

A caution sign hangs on one side of a foot overbridge to prevent people from using it in the capital’s Farmgate area. The bridge, which has been out of commission for around three months, needs immediate repair work, but little has been done in this regard, causing much suffering to the commuters in one of the busiests road in the capital NASHIRUL ISLAM

Hizb-ut-Tahrir making a comeback n Manik Miazee Banned Islamist militant outfit Hizbut-Tahrir is once again trying to come out of its cocoon in the name of registering protest against Abdul Latif Siddique’s recent comments on Hajj and Tabligh Jamaat.

Source in the Hizb-ut-Tahrir said the party will stage demonstration and hold Islamic programmes demanding capital punishment to the former posts and telecommunications minister.

According to the sources in the outfit more than 10,000 Hizb-ut-Tahrir members, divided in small groups, are currently active across the country.

These members are reportedly making direct contact with general people through organising small Islamic programmes in which they demand execution of Latif and distribute leaflets and video CDs having anti-government statements.

From such a programme Hizbut-Tahrir cadres yesterday clashed

with police on the Iqbar Road of Mohammadpur area.

The activists hurled hand-made cocktails to police while law-enforces fired rubber bullets to disperses them, said police.

During the clash Hizbut activist Md Nafiz (25) received injury. He was later admitted into Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Azizul Haque, officer-in-charge of Mohammapur Police Station said around 2pm some Hizb-ut-Tahrir activists were trying hold a demonstration.

As police obstructed they hurled improvised hand bombs to police.

This correspondent was managed to contact a Hizbut leader in Uttara area.

Requesting anonymity he said: “We are protesting several anti-Islamic acts. We have organised several demonstration in the capital.”

Intelligence sources said the members were inviting people to join the outfit and organise “subversive” activities by using Latif Siddique issues.

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

n AFP, Beirut

The three tiger cubs that were rescued from being smuggled out of the country in 2012. The government is planning to release one of them in the Sundarbans DHAKA TRIBUNE

Islamic State group jihadists are being trained by Saddam Hussein’s former pilots to fly three fighter jets captured from the Syrian military, a monitoring group said Friday.

The planes, which are believed to be MiG-21 and MiG-23 jets, are capable of flying although it is unclear if they are equipped with missiles, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The jets were seized from Syrian military airports now under IS control in the northern provinces of Aleppo and Raqqa, according to the UKbased group, which has a wide network of sources inside the war-torn country.

It said that former Iraqi army officers who once served under Saddam were supervising the training at the mili-

5 | News

12 | Entertainment

INSIDE 3 | News

Sheikh Hasina is scheduled for a UAE visit on October 25-27 with Foreign Ministry officials hoping her visit will help reopen the labour market there suspended since 2012.

4 | News

Left-leaning and liberal democratic forces in the country are yet to come under one single umbrella, a long-standing expectation of people irked by the negative politics of two major political parties.

Bangladesh and India have initiated a move to hold regular conference of deputy commissioners and district magistrates of the districts along the border of the two countries respectively to discuss local problems and their solutions.

As part of the initiative, the Cabinet Division is set to organise an orientation programme today to brief DCs on the government policy.

Sources in the Cabinet Division said 32 DCs would participate in the programme. Secretaries of home, foreign, commerce, land, internal resources, Road Transport and Bridges Division as well as divisional commissioners were also requested to attend the programme.

“We are going to organise a daylong orientation programme to give the DCs  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

IS jihadists training to fly warplanes

Conservation officials mull risky tiger release n Syed Samiul Basher Anik The country’s top wildlife conservation official has said a tiger release in to the Sundarbans had been planned despite criticism over such measures and the deaths of two similarly-released tigers in Bangladesh in 2005 and 2006.

The tigress intended for release, Jothi, is a 27 month old big cat weighing in at 75 kilogrammes. She is one of three tiger cubs rescued from smugglers in 2012. All three were reared by wildlife conservators.

“We plan to release the tigress to the Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary, but no time frame for the release has been decided. She will be released for ecological and home-range study purposes and will be fitted with a satellite radio collar,” Forest Department Conservator of Forests (wildlife) Tapan Kumar Dey told the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.

“The militant groups are carrying out their activities by dividing into small groups because they do not have any leader. Most of them have been arrested by RAB in massive crackdowns,” said Lt Col Abul Kalam Azad, director of the RAB intelligence wing.

“The outfit is trying to re-organise internally,” he said.

The group was formed in 2001 with an aim to establish an Islamic state in Bangladesh. In 2009, the group and all its activities were banned.

Since then, Hizbut members have been very much active on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Google and Yahoo.

In a recent drive in Chittagong city, Kotowali police detained seven alleged Hizbut activists when they were trying to bring out a procession.

The banned organisation is trying to build its network amongst the students of different reputed educational institutions in country. l

Dhaka, Delhi initiate move to hold DC-level meeting n Rabiul Islam

Resident students of a number of dorms at the University of Dhaka live with the constant fear of major accidents as the buildings remain largely vulnerable.

7 | World

Vladimir Putin attended a military parade in Slavic ally Serbia, where he held talks on economic issues, including on the South Stream gas pipeline opposed by the European Union.

11 | Op-Ed

We need people like Rais Bhuiyan right here in Bangladesh in order to spread the message of love, forgiveness, friendliness, kindness, and empathy.

Asif Islam and Faisal Roddy have joined hands for an experimental family drama film titled ‘Pathshala’ that deals with personal ambition, friendship and struggles faced by a young boy.

tary airport of Jarrah, east of the city of Aleppo.

Witnesses have reported seeing planes flying at a low altitude to avoid detection by radar after taking off from Jarrah.

The report comes as the United States and its allies carry out a wave of air strikes on IS positions in Syria and Iraq.

The jihadists also control two other airports in Syria: Albu Kamal near the Iraqi border and Tabqa in Raqqa province.

IS has captured large parts of Syria and Iraq, committing atrocities and declaring an Islamic “caliphate.”

After the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, some Sunni ex-officers from Saddam Hussein’s army are believed to have joined the ranks of the Islamic State of Iraq, a branch of al-Qaeda which later became IS. l

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Dhaka-Washington partnership dialogue likely October 29-30 n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman The third partnership dialogue between Bangladesh and the US is likely to be held in Washington from October 29-30.

The dialogue was supposed to be held from October 21-22, but it was deferred due to a schedule mismatch.

“Dhaka has proposed the date and so far the indication, we have, the dialogue will be held at the end of this month,” said a senior official of the Foreign Ministry.

A private sector delegation will go with the foreign secretary to have businessto-business talks in Washington Both the parties had taken an all-out preparation to hold the meeting, he added.

Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque would lead the Bangladesh delegation at the dialogue while State Department Undersecretary Wendy Sherman would lead the US side.

The dialogue was deferred as the secretary accompanied Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the Asia Europe Meeting held from October 16-17.

He would also attend the Compact Review meeting to be held in Brussels on October 20. Besides, the foreign

Prof Piash Karim laid to rest n UNB

secretary would visit the United Arab Emirates when Hasina would pay a visit to the Gulf country from October 26-27.

“The secretary will fly from the UAE to Washington,” another official said.

Partnership dialogue

Like the last two meetings, the third partnership dialogue would have similar pattern.

The first partnership dialogue was held in Washington in 2012 and the second one in Dhaka last year.

Major issues such as development and governance, trade and investment, and security would figure prominently at the dialogue, said another official of the Foreign Ministry.

Strengthening democratic institutions, civil society, the rule of law, blue economy, ready-made garment sector and labour, energy, regional cooperation and security related issues would also come up for discussion in details, he added.

A private sector delegation would also go with the foreign secretary to have business-to-business interaction in Washington, he said.

Shahidul would visit Canada after the partnership dialogue.

The foreign secretary had been invited by the Canadian authorities to have a bilateral visit to the North American country.

“It will create an opportunity to engage more with Canada,” said an official concerned. l

Well-wishers and admirers pay last respects to Professor Piash Karim after his namaz-e-janaza at Baitul Mokarram Mosque in the capital yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Dhaka campaigns hard for UNHRC, ITU elections n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Bangladesh is campaigning hard for the elections of UN Human Rights Council and International Telecommunications Union to be held this month.

“These two are very prestigious global bodies where Bangladesh was member earlier,” said an official of the Foreign Ministry.

Bangladesh has a very good track record in winning elections in global bodies as it was extremely rare for Dhaka to lose in any international elections, he said.

The UNHRC election will be held in New York on October 21 where all UN

members are eligible voters.

Bangladesh served in the UNHRC twice before and it was the third time Dhaka had expressed interest for council membership, said another official of the ministry.

Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Qatar and Thailand are vying for the membership, while only four would represent from the Asia-Pacific group in the UNHRC, he added.

Out of the five contenders, Thailand is currently governed by a military dictator who seized power in a coup on May 22.

If Bangladesh wins, it will become member for 2015-17 period.

Meanwhile, the ITU election will be held in South Korea where about 20 countries will fight for 13 posts from the Asia-Pacific region.

“Bangladesh was once a member of the ITU and we want to become member again,” the Foreign Ministry official said. If elected, the country will be member for 2015-19 period.

In recent times, Bangladesh Ambassador to Brussels Ismat Zahan has won the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) election, while Dhaka also won separate elections to become members of the Unesco executive body and the ILO governing body. l

BNP factions clash during meeting in capital, 1 shot n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Gonojagoron Moncho activists take part in a torch procession in support of their demands for stopping presidential clemency for war criminals and banning Jamaat at the capital’s Shahbagh yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Muggers push off sales rep to death from train roof n Our Correspondent, Gazipur The police has recovered the dead body of a young man near Dhriram rail station in Gazipur yesterday.

The dead body was identified as Abu Bakar Zillu, 24, the son of Moshiur Rahman of Jessore and was a final-year honours student of Islamic Studies at Kolorowa Sheikh Amanullah Degree college.

According to the victim’s cousin, on October 14 Zillu and his friend Jahangir went to Dhaka to appear for a recruiting exam for Pran Company and both were selected as sales representative for the company. On October 16, for the lack of enough ticket money, they hopped on the roof of the train to return home from Dhaka to Jessore.

During the journey, near Gazipur area at 9pm a group of muggers snatched their wallets and mobile phones. When Zillu tried to stop the snatchers, he was pushed off the train.

Jahangir got off the train on the next station and informed the incident to the his relatives and the station master.

Later, railway police kept Jahangir in custody for the whole night and rescued the dead body the next morning.

Tongi railway police SI Ziaur Rahman Zia said learning about the incident they recovered the Zillu’s dead body with cracked skull yesterday morning near the railway line.

Zillur’s body was found with an appointment letter of Pran company. l

One person was injured while seven arrested after a shooting took place during a meeting of BNP’s Dhaka City unit at Bhashani Auditorium in the party office in the capital last night.

According to witnesses, the meeting was on the formation of BNP’s committee for Dhaka Ward 15 (Cantonment area), where all of a sudden a BNP activist voiced his resentment over the party’s performance in the resistance movement against the January 5 election and criticised the party’s senior leaders.

Aggrieved by the activist’s vocal complaint, Mohammad Rashid, BNP leader in Cantonment area, attacked him. A clash broke out between two factions – one led by Rashid, and the other led by Liakat Hossain, general secretary of BNP’s Cantonment wing.

The dispute elevated quickly, lead-

ing to a shooting where five rounds of bullets were fired and one was shot.

The witnesses could not confirm who had fired the gunshots, nor could they say who had been hurt and whether he or she had been taken to hospital.

On information, police rushed to the spot and arrested seven persons, one of them named Nurunnabi.

Sources said the Social Welfare Member of BNP’s Executive Committee Abul Khayer Bhuyan was in charge of forming the Cantonment committee, but he did not attend the meeting due to illness.

In his absence, Khilgaon BNP President Yunus Mridha and former student leader ASM Jilani took charge of the meeting.

Addressing journalists after the incident, Yunus Mridha said: “Some miscreants of the Awami League caused this incident. Tough action will be taken against those who were involved.” l

BRAC University professor Piash Karim, who passed away Monday, was laid to eternal rest at Banani Graveyard in the capital yesterday.

Piash Karim, also a political analyst and TV talk-show panelist, was buried around 3pm after two namaz-e-janazas.

The second and final namaz-ejanaza for the deceased was held at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque after Jum’a prayers, attended by people from all walks of life, including politicians, journalists, teachers and students.

After the janaza, different political parties, organisations and persons showed their last homage to Piash Karim by placing wreaths on his coffin at the South Plaza of the national mosque.

His first Janaza was held at Baitul Aman Jam-e-Mosque at Dhanmondi in the city around 11:20am.

Piash Karim, a professor of BRAC University’s Economics and Social Sciences Department, died of cardiac arrest early Monday at the age of 56.

His body was kept at the mortuary of Square Hospital for his close relatives, including sisters, to return from abroad for the burial.

Hailing from Comilla, Piash Karim obtained his PhD in Sociology from Kansas State University, USA. He often took part in talk-shows on different TV channels and seminars as a resource person.

He came under fire by different quarters for his comments against Sahahbagh Gonojagoron Mancha and the trial procedure of the International War Crimes Tribunals.

Though there was a plan to bring his body to the Central Shaheed Minar to allow people to pay their their last tributes to him, however, his family members shelved it as the Dhaka University authorities denied permission to bring his body to the Shaheed Minar amid objection to the move by some student and cultural organisations.

As per the changed decision of his family members, the body of Piash Karim was finally taken to his Dhanmondi residence around 10am yesterday instead of Central Shaheed Minar from the mortuary. Later, the mortal remains were brought to the Baitul Aman Jam-eMosque premises where his family members, colleagues, students and well-wishers paid their tributes to him. l

Decomposed body of a woman recovered n Tribune Report The police recovered decomposed body of a woman from her home at Tilpapara Khilgaon area of the capital yesterday.

The body of the woman was identified as Masuda Parvin, 35, was an office secretary at Dhaka South City Corporation.

Khilgaon police station officer in charge Mustafizur Rahman said quoting the locals that hostility with her husband could be a reason of her death.

Her body was sent to Dhaka Medical College morgue for autopsy. l

Conservation officials mull risky tiger release

JMB using hidden IPs

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But Chief Conservator of Forests Yunus Ali, the country’s top forestry department official, denied that the department had any such plans.

Yet page 40 of the brochure from the Second Global Tiger Stocktaking Conference held in Dhaka between September 14 and 16 this year, signed by both Tapan and Yunus, says: “On experimental basis one tigress (Jothi) will be released in Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary with satellite collar for home range and ecological study. It is a good success story of Bangladesh Forest Department.”

The country’s leading wildlife and tiger experts say releasing the tigress is a bad idea because its chances of survival were very low.

Renowned wildlife expert Ali Reza Khan, a specialist at Dubai Zoo, said, “The experiment would cost the tiger its life.”

“It is an endangered species. The wildlife act does not permit experiments with endangered species,” he said.

“The tigress would not know how to hunt and would be vulnerable to other animals in the wild. If the tigress were released, it would be a serious crime,” said Khan.

He said only tigers and leopards cannot be released suddenly into the wild because they are individualistic animals; all other animals can be released.

Forest officials say the tigress can kill guinea pigs, goats and boars. But she was not trained to fight other predators, including wild tigers and crocodiles.

Tiger expert Dr Monirul Haque Khan

of Jahangirnagar University told the Dhaka Tribune that protocols had to be maintained to enable tigers to be reintroduced into the wild.

“The main challenge for releasing the tigress is cultivating her independence and self-reliance. Since she was raised by humans, Jothi remains unprepared for life in the wild,” he said.

“The protocols for re-introduction are a must. The tigress first needs to be acclimatised to the Sundarbans.

She needs to develop hunting skills, otherwise she may not survive,” said Monirul.

The tigress would be fitted with a satellite collar to study her movements, behaviour and home range, Tapan told the Dhaka Tribune.

When the correspondent reminded Tapan about previous failures with such releases and problems with collaring technology, he admitted that there had been some bad episodes earlier.

Researchers in 2005 and 2006 applied radio collars to two tigers after tranquillising them. The first tiger died within six months of radio-collaring and the second one died soon after it was tranquillised to remove the collar.

Tapan claimed the tigers died due to old-age complications but admitted that there were risks associated with collaring and there were problems with tranquillising tigers.

Conservationists oppose the use of satellite radio collar technology because such devices reportedly irritate the tigers and can lead to hormonal changes in them.

Tiger expert Ali Reza Khan said col-

laring should not be applied. Instead, the department should import tracking devices or micro-chip devices if officials insist on the release. If they do not use the new technology, they should abandon the release plan, he said.

He said if forest department officials press forward with a release, they should go for a soft release to enable Jothi to learn about her new habitat before fully releasing her into the wild.

But Khan said he would prefer it if the forest department raises the three tigers and uses them for breeding.

“Since there are both male and female tigers, the department should increase the number of this rare species through breeding programmes,” he said.

Rapid Action Battalion, on June 11, 2012 recovered three Royal Bengal Tiger cubs, including one male and two females, from a smuggler in the Shyamoli area of the capital.

The cubs were poached from the Kakra Khali area of Koikhali Check Station under Sathkhira Range of Sundarbans West Forest Division, forest officials said.

The three month old cubs – Joy, Jothi and Jui – were sent to a mini rescue centre at the Botanical Gardens.

When the tigers grew to a weight of 20 kilogrammes, the forest department transferred them to BSM Safari Park in Cox’s Bazar on October 13, 2012.

All three of them are now 2 years and three months old. Joy, the male, weighs 120 kilogrammes, while Jothi and Jui are now up to 75 kilogrammes each, according to forest officials. l

schoolteachers, who were supposed to be out on their regular morning walk.

A senior DB official, seeking anonymity, said Rubel and his cohorts had earlier held several meetings in mosques at Uttara, Abdullahpur and Mirpur, but did not know each other’s true identities because of the “cut-off” system. The leader of the operation was called Sohel alias Rahim, while the targets were Monipur school Principal Farhad Hossain and Vice-Principle Abdur

Rahim, the official added.

The activities of the JMB has reportedly received a boost in recent times after members of the banned outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad joined the JMB, while another militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team also agreed to share their resources with the JMB. Intelligence sources said the JMB was now trying to learn new methods of violence as well as establishing links with militant organisations in India, Pakistan and Nepal to create an inter-country militancy network. l

Dhaka, Delhi initiate move  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

an idea of the government policy and make the joint border conference successful,” Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

He said the governments of Bangladesh and India wanted to hold such conference on a regular basis. “From now, the conference will be held whenever it is necessary.”

Such conferences were not being held regularly for many years, he informed. “If conferences are held on a regular basis, many local problems could be resolved easily while the decisions made by both the countries could be implemented.”

Sources said deputy commissioners of border districts, including Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Netrakona, Meherpur, Sylhet, Jessore, Satkhira, Lalmonirhat, Habiganj and Sunamganj, would attend the orientation pro-

gramme to be inaugurated by the cabinet secretary.

An official of the Home Ministry preferring anonymity said border conferences would help strengthen the relationship between the two countries and expedite the economic development. “It will also help bring down border killings,” he added.

Talking to this correspondent, Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Md Shahidul Islam said: “We will be briefed on how we can handle the conference.”

He hoped that various issues, including smuggling, border killing, drug and human trafficking, would come up at the conference for discussion.

A senior official working at the cabinet division said the officials from police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and customs department would attend the joint border conference. Such conference would also be held with Myanmar, he added. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Saturday, October 18, 2014

‘PM’s October 25-27 visit might revive UAE labour market’ Various crimes committed by Bangladeshi workers irked the UAE government The official also said UAE is also n Rabiul Islam irritated by various crimes committed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to fly to United Arab Emirates (UAE) on October 25-27 with Foreign Ministry officials hoping that her visit will help reopen the labour market there suspended since 2012.

The premier will discuss many bilateral issues with the UAE government.

Foreign Ministry officials hope the visit would be fruitful and the suspended labour market for Bangladeshis may be reopened.

About 10,00,000 Bangladeshi citizens are staying for work in UAE. Of them, around 1,000 are languishing in jails.

Out of those prisoners 19 were awarded death sentences and 104 jailed for life

“During the meeting, issues related to the interest of both the countries would be discussed and we hope the visit would be fruitful and we are working on it,” Foreign Ministry Director General (West Asia) Md Nazmul Islam said over phone yesterday.

He also said a number of agreements may be signed during the meeting or afterward.

A senior official at the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry said the labour market of UAE for Bangladeshi migrants had remained suspended since 2012.

Bangladesh voted in favour of Russia to organise World Expo 2020.

As a result, the UAE government became annoyed with the Bangladesh government, a senior official of the Expatriate’s and Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry.

Voting in favour of Russia is one of the causes that might have irked the UAE government.

by Bangladeshi migrant workers.

Sources said about 10,00,000 Bangladeshi citizens are staying for work in UAE. Of them, around 1,000 are languishing in jails. Out of those prisoners 19 were awarded death sentences and 104 jailed for life.

Of the total expatriates in UAE, ten percent are from Bangladesh.

Bangladeshis are involved in 60 to 70 percent cases filed against expatriates of different countries.

“The expatriates’ welfare ministry tried to hold meetings of joint commission but UAE did not respond,” the official said.

However, Bangladesh mission in UAE carried out awareness programmes, the officials said claiming that tendency to commit crimes by Bangladeshi migrants is reducing.

The UAE government earlier proposed signing of two agreements – Transfer of Sentenced Persons and Agreement of Co-operation.

According to the draft, under the first agreement, Bangladeshis sentenced in UAE would be transferred to Bangladesh. At the cost of the government, the sentenced persons would be brought back.

A senior official at the Home Ministry said there are some differences in the first agreement.

The UAE government wants Bangladesh government to bear the cost of bringing the sentenced persons but Bangladesh are not interested.

A four-member delegation led by Home Ministry Additional Secretary Kamal Uddin Ahmed is going to UAE to discuss the agreements ahead of the prime minister’s visit. The delegation is scheduled to hold meetings with UAE on October 20 and 21.

“We are going to discuss some issues which are yet to be settled,” the official said preferring not to be named.

Under the second agreement, two countries would cooperate in various areas including anti-terror activities, curbing crimes, preventing illegal arms smuggling, tackling human trafficking, preventing financial crimes and so on.

There is very little differences in this proposed agreement, the Home Ministry official added. l

A fight breaks out between the new committee of Jatiyotabadi Chhatra Dal’s Sylhet wing and a rebel faction of the same party yesterday in front of Shaheed Minar

BSEC blames Bangladesh Bank for 2010 share market collapse

30 firms to audit listed companies n Tribune Report

n Tribune Report

In a bid to check false reporting, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission is going to select around 30 audit firms to audit financial statements of all the listed companies.

BSEC member Helal Uddin Nizami said this while addressing a seminar on separation of conventional and merchant banking yesterday in the capital.

The seminar was jointly organised by Bangladesh Young Economists Association and Emerging Credit Rating Limited.

“Out of 250 audit firms that we have in the market, some 30 will be allowed to audit the documents. False reporting by listed companies was one of the major reasons for the capital market collapse in 2010,” he said. Nizami said the listed firms set high premium of their shares by producing untrue reports with the connivance of audit firms.

“Investors at the time blamed the regulatory authority for market crash but the issue managers and audit firms were behind this. The regulatory authority just approved the premium based on audited documents submitted by the companies,” he said.

“In the wake of this anomaly, the BSEC has decided to form an audit panel in order to select the audit firms that will be allowed to audit the documents of all the listed companies,” he added. l

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Member Helal Uddin Nizami yesterday blamed the Bangladesh Bank for failing to regulate the country’s merchant banks properly in 2009 and 2010, which eventually led to the collapse of the capital market.

He made the comment while addressing a seminar – Economic Rationale for the Separation of Conventional and Merchant Banking – jointly organised by Bangladesh Young Economists Association and Emerging Credit Rating Limited in the capital.

State Minister for Ministry of Finance and Planning MA Mannan was the chief guest of the event.

Speaking at the seminar, Helal noted that the loan margin ratio rule for investors was 1:2 between the year 2008 and 2010. As per the rules, an investor was allowed to take a loan of Tk2 lakh to the maximum against his one lakh capital.

“But, we found that merchant banks provided up to Tk2 crore to an investor against his capital of Tk10 lakh, where he was only eligible for only Tk20 lakh,” he added.

Blamed the central bank for its inefficiency in regulating of commercial banks, he also claimed that banks made

15% to 35% of their profit from capital market by huge investing through merchant banks violating the exposure limit.

However, the over-investment of these commercial banks were not being monitored by the central bank at that time, Helal said.

“The capital market would have not collapsed if the central bank had proper supervision over the banks’ exposure level,” he said.

The BSEC member further stressed of forming a strong association for merchant banks to contribute to market reforms with the regulatory authorities.

“An association, however, have exists but they have no strong activities in the market.”

He also stressed the separation between retail banking and lending banking instead of separation between investment banking and conventional banking.

Claiming that banks were more interested in retail banking instead of lending due to a rise in defaulters, he further suggested separating retail banking and lending banking instead of separating investment banking and conventional banking.

“Merchant banks have blamed the BSEC for not allowing them to raise their capital through IPO. But, we think that

Female journalist killed in road crash n Tribune Report

A freelance female journalist died in a road crash in capital’s Rampura area yesterday.

The dead is identified as Sabiha Siddiqa, 32, daughter of late Sohrab Ahmed Siddiqui hailing from Faridpur.

She worked as a freelance reporter for different newspapers and was a member of the Quantum Foundation.

“A covered van hit Sabiha while she was crossing a road in Rampura bridge area around 3pm. Critically injured, she was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where duty doctors declared her dead around 5:30pm,” said Shobhon Debnath a witness of the accident who took her to the hospital.

“Sabiha was on her way to Quantum Foundation Banasree branch from her residence in Shekhertek,” said Rabyea Siddiqa Snigdha, elder sister of the victim. l

Prime Minister, who is currently visiting Italy, meets with Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands, in Bangladesh Meeting Room on Thursday FOCUS BANGLA

Yet another arms haul recovered in Saatchhari n Our Correspondent, Habiganj

RAB yesterday said it recovered a haul of firearms and ammunition from two bunkers in the hills of Saatchhari in Chunarughat.

The stuff were recovered in a drive that began on Wednesday night in the wake of a tip-off, RAB said.

Among the recovered arms were 80 magazines, five wireless devices, a high-powered radio and machine gun, and 9,754 rounds of bullets.

Addressing a press briefing in the afternoon, RAB 9 Commanding Officer Riyad Hasan Rabbani said there would be more operations to look for arms.

This was the latest in a series of drives conducted by RAB to recover arms from the hills of Saatchhari.

During the first drive, RAB on June 3 recovered a cache of arms and ammunition, including 222

FOCUS BANGLA

anti-tank rockets, a rocket launcher, four 7.6mm machine guns, five empty machine gun barrels, 1,376 rounds of 12.7mm bullets and 12,300 rounds of 7.6mm bullets. More arms were recovered the following day.

On June 19, the drive was suspended but RAB resumed it on August 31, recovering more arms and ammunition on September 2, including nine sub-machine guns, one SMC, a 7.62mm automatic rifle, six self-loading rifles, two light machine guns and a sniper telescopic sight.

On September 17, 15 sacks full of arms were recovered by digging the ground in a cowshed behind Ajit Dev Barma’s house in Tripura Palli.

112 powerful anti-tank rockets were among the recovered arms.

In yet another drive, RAB on Thursday claimed to have recovered three machine guns, four gun barrels, eight magazines, and a sophisticated radio. l

such will cause a conflict of interest as the organisation itself in an issue manager,” he said.

He advised merchant bankers to find out any other process to raise their capital.

However, Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan, who was present at the seminar, did not try to defend the role of the central bank in this regard and instead said depositors’ interest also fell in risk as the bank’s money went to the bubbling capital market through the merchant banks.

He said, the main duty of the Bangladesh Bank is to protect depositors’ interest.

During the open discussion session of the seminar, IDLC Investment Managing Director Md Moniruzzaman claimed that although investment banking has been separated from conventional banking, merchant banks continue to be regulated by both BSEC and the Bangladesh Bank which creates conflicts on various issues.

He also noted that as there were no accounting guidelines for merchant banks, chief financial officers of these organisations are not clear on the accounting norms.

“These merchant banks are also not complying with standard risk management procedures,” he added. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Left, progressive parties unlikely to form alliance n Manik Miazee Left-leaning and liberal democratic forces in the country are yet to come under one single umbrella, a long-standing expectation of people irked by the negative politics of two major political parties.

These parties sometimes carry out campaign together on some common national issues.

They were seen together while demanding a ban on the politics of Jamaat-e-Islami, protecting the Sundarbans and national resource gas and ensuring proper wages for RMG workers.

But they are yet to launch any protracted movement that could brighten up the political ambience of the country.

Over a month back left and other progressive political parties held meetings twice in the hope of forming a new alliance but failed.

The Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD), Biplobi Workers Party, and Ganatantrik Bam Morcha, a combine of a few left parties, on August 3 held their last meeting but the process was stopped and the meeting ended inconclusively.

However, CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim said they were trying to form a non-communal democratic alliance to free people from the dominance of the two major political parties.

“The effort is still on. There is no alternative to expanding the activities of left-leaning parties to ensure citizens’ basic rights. We are having meetings but yet to form an alliance,” he said.

Selim, BSD central leader Bazlur Rashid Firoz, Ganatantrik Bam Morcha leaders Saiful Haque and Junaid Saki, among others, attended the meeting.

A source in the CPB confirms that the party and BSD are not interested in forming an alliance with Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD-Rob) as ASM Abdur Rob joined the cabinet of military ruler HM Ershad.

Apart from that he was a cabinet

minister during the previous Awami League rule and formed an alliance with Bikalpha Dhara Bangadesh and Krishak Sramik Janata League led by Kader Siddique in December last year.

Gana Forum leader Subrata Chowdhury said Communist Party of Bangladesh, Gana Forum, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal, Jatiya Samatantrik Dal led by ASM Abdur Rob, and civil rights body Nagarik Oikya held meetings where CPB and BSD sought one month’s time.

They are yet to respond even though a month has already elapsed, he said.

Nagorik Oikya Convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna said formation of a new political alliance is a long-time process and it cannot be done overnight.

Both the CPB and BSD agreed in principle to launch street movement from a united platform on several issues but they are not interested in taking 5-party alliance with them.

BSD General Secretary Khalequzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune that a new alliance is now a matter of time.

“For the time being we are carrying out political campaign separately. Now we are trying to organise workers and peasants to drum up our support in favour of our demands.”

Zunayed Saki told Dhaka Tribune that the discussion was going on but there are differences of opinions over some issues.

Every party trying to form an alliance are involved in movement with separate agendas but that is not good enough. “We need an alliance for left-leaning and progressive parties and which is why the discourse is in progress,” Saki said.

About bringing all left and democratic forces together under one single banner he said it may not be possible as some left parties are there to carry out government agenda.

“There could be a united platform if all of them can uphold the same mission and agenda. Many are yet to come out of the government dominance,” he said. l

Outraged students gather in front of Raju Memorial in Dhaka University yesterday to protest the university authorities’ decision to allow only one chance for admission seekers to appear in the university’s admission test SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Students protest Dhaka University admission bar n DU Correspondent

A group of students have claimed the decision of the Dhaka University authorities to bar applicants from taking the admission test twice will deprive them of higher education.

Over a hundred students and guardians yesterday demonstrated near a memorial, known as Rajur Bhashkorjo, on the campus against the decision, and said the decision was made public after the admission test was held.

Chanting different slogans against the decision, the protesters also accused the university authorities of cheating them, claiming that almost half the seats were bagged by second-timers this year. They urged the authorities to cancel the decision.

Rubel Chowdhury, one of the protesters who completed his higher

secondary education from Milestone College, said: “Why should we be the victims of the new decision? Who will take our future responsibility?”

“The university could have made the announcement before the admission test. We then could have applied to other public universities,” he said.

Ahmed Noman, a former student of Rajuk Uttara Model College, termed the reasons mentioned in favour of the decision weak.

“It was said the decision was taken to stop the private coaching business, unequal competition, to address the problem of seats falling vacant in many departments and to stop fraud. But how do they plan to get rid of these problems as a chairman of a renowned coaching home is a syndicate member of the university?” he said.

“Like me, the majority of the stu-

dents go to the coaching centres before the HSC results are even published. So how is it possible to stop coaching business by implementing the decision?” he added.

In the session of 201314, 3,680 were secondtimers out of 6,890 admitted students Nazma Akthar, mother of an applicant, slammed the vice-chancellor, saying: “After the C unit results were published, he said the unsuccessful candidates should not feel hopeless as they have another chance next year. Now we have the new decision that runs

against his previous statement.”

Abul Hossain Talukdar, father of Anika Tabassum who took the test from A unit, said he was concerned about her daughter’s high education.

“I call on the university authorities to cancel the decision for the sake of the large number of prospective students,” he added.

Demonstrators wanted to gather at Shahbagh intersection but police barred them. They said they would form a human chain on Sunday morning at the same place.

Statistics show a significant number of students secure admission the second time. In the session of 2013-14, 3,680 were second-timers out of 6,890 admitted students while the number was 3,280 out of 6,620 in 2012-13 session and 3,340 out of 6,660 in 2011-12 session. l

Police yet to unravel mystery behind recovery of Tk57.92 lakh from Chittagong Court premises n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Observing International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2014, several activist organisations form a human chain in front of National Press Club in the capital yesterday, calling for attention and action to eliminate poverty and ensure the right to food for the impoverished people MEHEDI HASAN

Call to address constraints of small farmers n Tribune Report The three-day 8th international conference of the Asian Society of Agricultural Economists ended at Savar yesterday.

Three hundred and twenty-one agricultural economists, development practitioners, policy makers, academicians, and researchers from 30 countries including Philippine, Japan, China, Korea, and India participated in the conference that focused on “survival of small farmers.”

Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury inaugurated the conference as the chief guest while President of ASAE and Adviser to the Executive Director of Brac Dr Mahabub Hossain delivered the welcome speech.

Dr Mahabub Hossain said: “In our country, such conference can play a crucial role as our small farmer brothers freed the country from the grip of famine.” l

Investigators are yet to unveil the mystery behind source of the huge sum of money that was recovered from Chittagong Court Building area on Tuesday Following a bomb threat alert on Tuesday, Kotwali police nabbed Md Eliash, 32, hailing Kasba in Brahmanbaria district, with Tk57.92 lakh when he was entering the Ainjibi (Lawyers) Annex Building of Chittagong Court.

However, during the primary interrogation, police failed to extract any concrete information from Elias on where he got the money or where he was heading to with the sum.

Sources at law enforcement agencies and Chittagong DC office, adjacent to Chittagong Court Building, said Elias

Information minister calls for concerted efforts to fight cancer n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu has called on people to be united in fighting the deadly disease cancer, saying that early detection could prevent unexpected deaths.

“The majority of the people do not know much about the preventive measures.

“If someone in the family is diagnosed with cancer, other members become confused as to where to go for better treatment,” he said while addressing the first National Cancer Leadership Congress 2014 at Chhayanaut Bhaban in the capital yesterday.

“Bangladesh has made much progress in the health sector but treatment of cancer is provided by a handful of big hospitals in Dhaka. The government should take initiative to ensure low-cost cancer detection facilities at district hospitals and upazila health

complexes,” the minister said.

Inu said the number of cancer patients in the country stands at 1.2 million at present, and 100,000150,000 new cases are detected every year.

“Half of the total patients die within five years. If detected at the early stage, around 60% of them can be cured or they can live more,” he said.

Eminence Associates for Social Development, Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Forum, NCD Alliance and Bangladesh Cancer Support Group organised the congress.

Sultan Khaled Akhter, who has been a cancer patient for nine years, said solvency to receive treatment as well as mental support from family members are needed to fight cancer, adding that prevention is the best way to deal with the disease.

“The government should not limit the initiative within seminars. Real steps should be taken to fight the dis-

ease,” he said.

Nuhash Humayun, son of eminent author Humayun Ahmed, said he explored the cyber world to know about colon cancer after his father had been diagnosed with the disease.

Everybody should be aware of cancer, he said.

At the congress, a number of academics and researchers discussed the present state of treatment of cancer and facilities to detect the disease in the country.

Professor Dr Rashid E Mahbub, former president of Bangladesh Medical Association and convener of the congress, presided over the event.

SM Badrudduja, director general of National Institute of Population Research and Training, Arup Ratan Chowdhury, professor of dentistry at Birdem Hospital and Dr Qumrunnahar, associate scientist at Icddrb addressed the programme among others. l

brought the money as a bribe for an official at Land Acquisition (LA) section of DC Office.

“After analyzing the mobile phone call list of Elias, police have found some clues regarding the source of the money and its destination,” said Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) AKM Mohiuddin Selim.

“We are expecting to get more information about the incident within the next couple of days and then we will reveal the entire story behind the recoverd sum,” he added.

According to police investigation and DC office sources, the money belonged to Kadamtoli Flyover Construction Project Contractor Ziaur Rahman, owner of Zia Construction, which was being sent to Surveyor Shahidul Islam Murad of LA section of DC office, who

was transferred soon after the incident.

On October 14, the trio talked each other over mobile phone for more than 20 times between 9:00am and 1:02pm, a CMP high official, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He also said that some high officials of DC office might also be involved with the incident.

If court grants police with its remand plea for Md Elias next Sunday, Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) would be able interrogate him by a special team.

Meanwhile, Chittagong District Administration formed a one-member probe committee with Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Abul Hossain while the district administration transferred 12 staffs of LA section from Chittagong after the incident. l

Kidnapped youths rescued from Gazipur after two days n Our Correspondent, Gazipur Police rescued two young men, who had been abducted by some unidentified miscreants from the capital two days ago, in a critical condition from the Naskarchala area under Gazipur Municipality yesterday.

During the abduction, the abductors beat up the youths mercilessly, who were at first admitted to Gazipur Sadar Hospital in a sorry state and then shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital as their condition deteriorated.

The victims are Tuhin Miah, 30, son of Rafiz Uddin, and Basir Uddin, 29, son of Nasir Uddin. They hail from the Gabtali area of Taltali upazila of Barguna district.

Tuhin’s brother Liton Miah said the abductees had been staying in Mirpur for several months in search of job and one known person of them on Wednesday called them to Gazipur, promising to give a job.

At one stage, the man along with other miscreants confined them to a

room and they started demanding a ransom of Tk5 lakh from their family members to buy freedom for them. As the abductors failed to realise the ransom money despite passing two after the kidnap, they beat up Tuhin and Basir mercilessly and afterwards dumped them on a road of the area. Later, locals spotted them in the area in the morning and informed police.

Earlier, the family members in the incident lodged a general diary with Mirpur 2 police station when they did not return home on the day of abduction and found their mobile phone sets switched off as well.

Joydevpur Chakrabarty police outpost Sub-Inspector Jakir Hossain said Mirpur 2 police station would deal with the matter as the general diary had been filed there.

Liton said his brother and Basir were unable to make any statement as the miscreants inhumanely hit them as well as the head failing to realise the ransom. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

5

Saturday, October 18, 2014

DU dorm students live under shaky roofs Buet experts termed Surja Sen, Zahurul Haq, Rokeya, Fazlul Huq and Jagannath halls 'vulnerable' n DU Correspondent

About 21 students will vie for each seat in the upcoming admission test into first year honours course of Barisal University in the 2013-2014 season.

The intake test will be held under four units at 14 centres today.

A total of 32,372 students across the country have registered their names for intake test against 1,535 seats, administration sources said. The examination for Ka and Kha units will be held from 10am to 11am, Ga unit from 1pm to 2pm and Gha unit from 4pm to 5pm.

“The detailed seat plan for the applicants available on university website (www. barisaluniv. ac.bd and www. barisaluniv. edu.bd), said acting registrar of BU. The one-hour written test will be held in MCQ system with 120 marks and a candidate must score a minimum 48 in order to be eligible for passing intake test.

There are an additional 80 marks reserved for a candidate’s performance in his or her SSC and HSC examinations.

The result of the intake test would be published as soon as possible through the websites and notice board of the university. The selection would be held on the basis of marks obtained from the MCQ test as well as SSC and HSC results, BU acting register said.

Faisal Mahmud Rumi, public relation officer of the university, said, 7,662 students applied for the 510 seats under ‘Ka’ unit, in the ‘Kha’ unit, 6,530 students will vie for 490 seats, in Ga unit, 9,328 students registered against 300 seats and 8,852 candidates under ‘Gha’ unit applied for the 235 seats. l

Resident students of a number of dorms at the University of Dhaka live with the constant fear of major accidents as the buildings remain largely vulnerable.

As the ceilings have developed cracks and plaster is flaking, students fear there could be accidents any moment, including building collapse.

On October 15 in 1985, 39 resident students died when the roof of a room at Jagannath Hall collapsed.

Students say Buet experts and staff engineers of the university have also termed the buildings hazardous, warning that they could collapse if hit by earthquakes and even in the wake of small-scale disasters as most of them were erected decades ago.

They have already declared that some halls, including Surja Sen Hall, Zahurul Haq Hall, Rokeya Hall, Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall and Jagannath Hall, remain exposed to a high risk of earthquake.

Chief Engineer of the university Md Mofizul Islam has labelled four halls – Surja Sen Hall, Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall, Zahurul Haq Hall and Shahidullah Hall – as most vulnerable.

Plasters on the crack-ridden walls of the buildings are flaking off while iron rods in ceilings have become visible in many rooms.

Resident student of Shahidullah Hall Shahin Ehsan Limon said sitting in the hall library involves danger as plasters often flake off. He said the dorm is currently under renovation but students are yet to let go of fear.

The main building of Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall has developed many cracks. In May last year, three students while watching television in the TV Room were injured when plasters flaked off.

Provost of the hall Ali Akkas said minor incidents sometimes happen as the building is very old but it will be renovated and the work will start soon.

A few days ago, a part of the roof of Zahurul Haq Hall's south roof collapsed with a bang. The vice-chancellor, along with some experts, paid a visit to the

hall and ordered officials to repair it fast, but no step has yet been taken.

Students living in the hall pointed out that the authorities, in the wake of any accident, take initiatives to repair the damaged part instated of going for a permanent solution, leaving the structure again in a vulnerable state.

Nearly 16 months ago, the university authorities took steps to give the risky dorms a facelift. The renovation plan has been drawn up and a budget has also been allocated but the work has not begun yet.

University sources say, the authorities submitted a development project to the Education Ministry seeking approval to a three-year plan to repair the halls.

In May 2013, the ministry declared four halls – Surja Sen Hall, Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall, Zahurul Haq Hall and Shahidullah Hall - most vulnerable and allotted Tk10 crore for immediate repair.

In January this year, the Finance Ministry approved the money. Tk5 crore has been decided to be added to the current budget of the university while the remaining sum will be added to the next budget.

Director of the university's planning and development section Jibon Kumar Mishra told the Dhaka Tribune there had been discussions with Buet experts about the repair work and a draft plan was prepared accordingly.

“Work will start after we get a final design from the experts,” he said.

Mofizul also said the same but failed to categorically say when renovation would begin.

Vice-chancellor Professor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique admitted that living in the vulnerable halls involves an element of risk.

“Cracks have appeared in university buildings and halls, and our team is working to repair those. We, however, have some limitations which is why it will not be possible to do all the repairs within a short time,” he said.

The vice-chancellor said some new dorms for students were erected despite limitations and more halls would be built in the future which would benefit students. l

Section 144 imposed at Puthia n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi

Huge catch of Ilish in Barisal a day after ban

Local administration has imposed section 144 in Rajshahi's Puthia upazila as two groups of Awami League and BNP announced to hold separate events at the same spot in the upazila yesterday.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Khondoker Forhad Ahmad told the Dhaka tribune: “Awami League called for a football match while BNP announced to hold a seminar at the field of Domdoma Primary School in the evening yesterday.

The ban was imposed to avoid any kind of untoward situation.” l

n Our Correspondent, Barisal

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:30PM SUN RISES 5:58AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 31 31 31 31 31 30 31 31

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

Plenty of substandard Ilish poured in the wholesale markets of Barisal yesterday, indicating that netting of the popular fish went unabated during the 11-day ban that ended on Wednesday.

The government imposed a ban on catching, transporting and hoarding of Ilish fish from October 5 to 15 across the country to boost its production through the protection of the mother fish.

After visiting the wholesale market of Ilish at the Barisal Port Road area, this correspondent learnt that at least 26 fishing trawlers loaded with hundred mounds of Ilish arrived there from coastal areas under Bhola, Patuakhali, and Barguna districts yesterday morning.

However, qualities of these fishes were low and they were being sold at Tk120,00 per mound, much lower than the usual rate, said Nirob Hossain Tutul, a wholesale Ilish trader. Ajit Das

Seven houses gutted n Tribune Report

Plaster is falling off the ceiling in Mohsin Hall, a dormitory in Dhaka University. The photo was taken yesterday

Monu, president of Hilsa Wholesalers Association, claimed that the Ilish were netted after the ban period was over.

Barisal District Fishery Officer Bimal Chandra Das said: “Seeing the condition of the huge catch of Ilish fishes that has arrived from the coastal areas to Barisal, it can be assumed that they were netted during the ban period as it takes at least 2-4 days reach Barisal form those coastal areas.”

“We have nothing to do as the traders claim that the fishes were netted after the ban period,” he added.

The fishery officer said 415 fishermen were jailed, 440 were fined with Tk21.91 lakh and 855 cases had been lodged by 555 mobile courts in 845 drives, 14.33 metric tonnes of Ilish, 53.94 lakh metres of fishing nets worth Tk12.05 crore, and 24 fishing boats and trawlers were seized in Barisal division for violating Ilish fishing ban until Wednesday midnight. l

n FM Mizanur Rahaman On the occasion of World Food Day yesterday speakers at a seminar stressed on family farming to ensure food security and prevent food adulteration.

They said 17% of Bangladesh's population and around 92 crore people across the globe were suffering from food insecurity.

Most of the food items available in the market are poisoned with chemicals. The process begins during cultivation and harvesting. General people need to start family farming by cultivating corps at their yards or rooftops to get fresh food, they suggested.

Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and District Administration of Chittagong jointly organised the event at Chittagong Circuit House in line with this year's theme of World Food Day, “Family Farming: Feeding

PRAYER TIMES

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

'Most of the food items available in the market are poisoned with chemicals.

The process begins during cultivation and harvesting' willing to produce spices and peas despite getting assistance from agricultural offices. Government had been offering them bank loans at low rate.

Mobile courts have sentenced 106 persons to jail and fined TK36 lakh in

n Our Correspondent, Barisal

22.6ºC Sayedpur

4:42am 5:56am 11:44am 3:53pm 5:30pm 6:46 pm

the world, Caring the Heath.”

Addressing as the chief guest, Mezbah Uddin, deputy commissioner of Chittagong, said the farmers are not

last month for adulterating food, however, the trend of food adulteration continued, said the DC adding that only self productivity could stop the trend.

Mostafizur Rahman, senior programme associate of World Food Programme (WFP) said around 12%-44% of different types of foods get wasted in Chittagong in a year.

District Livestock Officer Abdul Hai said Chittagong had 1500 registered dairy farms, which is the highest number for a region in the country. These farms produces at least 2.25 lakh litres of milk daily but there was no preservation system in the district.

Chaired by Fazlul Rahman, deputy director of DAE, Abul Hossen, additional deputy commissioner of Chittagong, and Manik Mohammed, secretary of Chittagong Dairy Association addressed the programme in presence of hundreds of farmers. l

Inclusion of Manorama Basu's life sketch in curriculum demanded

21 24 20 19 20 21 19 24

Source: Accuweather/UNB

Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

NASHIRUL ISLAM

A fire gutted seven houses at Rampura area in Halishahar of Chittagong early yesterday. However, no causalities were reported in this incident.

Fire Service and Civil Defense sources said the fire originated from a kitchen oven of a house and soon engulfed the adjacent houses around 12:30am.

When informed, two units of fire fighters from Agrabad and Bandar fire stations rushed to the spot and doused the flame after one and half hour.

The fire service officials estimated that the extant of losses caused by the fire would be around TK6 lakh. l

Family farming stressed to prevent food adulteration

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34.0ºC Cox's Bazar

21 students vie for each seat at Barisal University n Our Correspondent, Barisal

On the occasion of World Cycling Day 2014, Dhaka University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor AAMS Arefin Siddiqui joins a cycle rally, organised by Bangladesh Cycle Lane Implementation Committee, on the university campus yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

The 28th death anniversary of politician and human rights activist Manoroma Basu, popularly known as Masima, from country's southern region was observed on Thursday night in Barisal.

A meeting on the occasion of her birthday to discuss the life of Manorama was organised by Manorama Basu Masima Memorial Trust at Matri-Mandir Primary School, which was founded by Masima in Kawnia Road area of Barisal city.

The programme was presided over

by Nikhil Sen. Speakers at the programme said Masima believed in work rather than words and sacrificed her life for the welfare and advancement of the society in spite of the religious binding and superstitions.

The participants at the programme paying tribute to the memories of Masima called for inclusion of life sketch and achievements of Masima in national curriculum to inspire the next generation.

Members of Udichi Shilpi Goshthi rendered performances at the end of the programme.

Manoroma Basu was born in 1897 at Narottampur village under Banaripara upazila of Barisal district. She was an active politician and fought against the British and Pakistani rulers, for which she was imprisoned several times. She established many educational, cultural and charitable organisations in her area. Manorama was involved in different progressive socio-cultural and political movements in the region till her death on October 16, 1986 at her residence in Barisal. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Gauripur Health Complex burdened with multiple problems

Six held with two tiger hides in Satkhira

n Our Correspondent, Mymensingh

n Our Correspondent, Satkhira

Gauripur Upazila Health Complex in the district has allegedly been struggling with various sorts of difficulties for long.

As a result, around six lakh people living in the upazila have been deprived from the medical service while the 30bed hospital has been running without due manpower and service.

In some cases, the patients have been compelled to go elsewhere for better treatment, which inflates their

spending vastly.

It was learnt that there are only five in lieu of 20 physicians and two of them also have been on a long vacation. Unfortunately, no paediatric and dentist was available in the hospital. On an average 10 posts of the physicians have remained vacant surprisingly for ten years, during which no specialist was appointed there as well.

On the other hand, currently only 10 nurses are regular in the 15 posts while about 45 posts of the whole manpower often remain vacant.

The suffering of the patients has increased more when they do not get ambulance service during emergency need owing to not having its driver for about eight months.

Despite having the X-ray machine out of order for long, its technician is being paid without any duty.

While visiting the correspondent, the patients alleged that service of the nurses were not satisfactory and the hospital ground was in shabby condition while the representatives of private pharmaceutical companies used to gather on

the entrance to check their prescriptions and try to influence the doctors to suggest their medicines.

Acknowledging the aforesaid problems, acting Gauripur health and family planning officer Dr Hossain Mohammad Julfiker said he has been trying best to improve the sorry scenarios since getting the onus, stating which he earlier sent a letter to the higher authorities.

Moreover, he urged upon the authorities concerned to fill up the vacant posts on an urgent basis, the officer continued. l

A clash takes place between two groups of the Bangladesh Chhatra League in Gopalganj district town yesterday that left 25 people injured

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Five killed in Tangail BCL factional clash leaves 25 injured road accident Police and Chhatra League which confronted each other Our Correspondent, Gopalganj n sources said the rivalry between the around 11:30am in front of press n Our Correspondent, Tangail At least 25 people were injured in a two groups started when a faction club in Gopalganj city. Activists of Five people were killed and six others injured in a road accident in Tangail Sadar upazila yesterday morning.

Of the deceased, two were identified as Moti Miah, 55, and Nur Hossain Manik, 35, supervisor of the bus. Both of them were residents of Kurigram. Sergeant of Elenga highway police outpost Kamruzzaman Raz said a Dhaka-bound bus from Bhurungamari had collided head-on with a goods-leaden truck in the Gharinda area on Tangail bypass road at about 5:00am, leaving three dead on the spot and eight others injured. l

clash between two factions of BCL in Gopalganj city yesterday.

During the clash several office premises were vandalised in the city. Police had to fire 30 rounds of rubber bullets to disperse the agitators.

Among the injured, BCL Gopalganj unit President Abdul Hamid was admitted to Gopalganj 250 Bed General Hospital and its General Secretary Foysal Ahammed Bony, who was hit by a bullet, was sent to Khulna for better treatment.

of BCL announced a committee for Kashiani upazila unit excluding the president and general secretary of BCL’s district unit.

Earlier, on September 22 BCL district unit’s president and general secretary formed three committees of BCL’s district unit, Gopalganj Sadar upazila unit and Bangabondhu University College unit.

The conflict reached its pick yesterday when the two groups brought out two separate rallies,

the two groups attacked each other with sticks and brick chips.

Dr Md Ujjal, duty doctor at the emergency unit of Gopalganj 250 Bed General Hospital, said one of the injured bore mark of bullet injury, but they could confirm it only after receiving the x-ray report.

Officer-in-Charge of Gopalganj Sadar police station Zakir Hossain Molla said the situation was under control and additional forces were deployed to the area. l

Community Clinic Widow raped for 3 years driven out of home staff demand job to know of their relationship une that Ziaul Haque alias Zilhaq, nationalisation n Our Correspondent, Gazipur came on October 13, Dilbor refused to the son of Khairuddin threw all the furniture out of her house and influential people drove a marry her. n Our Correspondent, Moulvibazar Local When the victim decided to locked it around 7am yesterday. widow, who was being raped by her The Community Clinic staff formed a human-chain yesterday in demand of nationalising their jobs.

Community clinic staff organized the human-chain in front of the 250bed hospital. The speakers called upon the people to remain alert of any propaganda against the memberes CC. They also demanded the government of nationalizing the jobs of community health care providers. l

neighbour for the last three years, out of her own house in Bartopa village in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur yesterday as she did not accept the arbiters’ offer of Tk50,000 for not making a complaint to the law enforcers.

The widow said Delowar Hossain Dilbor, the son of Mofiz Uddin Moff raped her promising marriage at some point. When the locals

Fake DB police arrested n FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong

Police arrested a fake personnel of Detective Branch from Kotwali area in Chittagong yesterday evening.

The arrestee was Md Anwar, 32, said AKM Mohiuddin Selim, officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station.

OC Mohiuddin said Anwar was arrested from Jela Parishad Market area around 3pm when he attempted to rob a man. Anwar has been involved with mugging and other crimes recently, introducing himself as a DB personnel, added the OC. A case was filed with the police station in this regard. l

lodge a case with the local police station, Maona union parishad member Shamsul Haque refrained her from doing so by saying he would resolve the issue in a meeting of the local arbiters. Later the arbiters decided that Tk50,000 would be given to the widow as a compensation, which she refused demanding a proper trial.

The victim told the Dhaka Trib-

When contacted, UP member Shamsul denied any involvment in the incident. Dilbor could not be contacted and his family members did not make any comment regarding the incident.

Officer-in-Charge of Sreepur police station Mohsin-ul-Kadir said the widow or her family members did not file any case regarding the incident. l

NEWS IN BRIEF Youth held with VoIP equipment in Sylhet Police have detained a youth with VoIP (voice over internet protocol) equipments from Dakkhin Surma upazila of Sylhet. Detainee Abdul Hannan, 30, son of late Samsul Islam of Negal village and a tenant at house of Burhan Mia of Daudpur. He was held with two laptop computers, two batteries, an IPS and huge amounts of SIM card on Thursday night.

Dakkhin Surma police station Senior Assistant Commissioner said Hannan’s neighbours filed a complaint regarding the illegal VOIP business on August 10. Dakkhin Surma police station Officerin-Charge Md Mursalin told the Dhaka tribune: “Acting on a tip off, we detained Hanna from the area. A case will be filed regarding the matter.”A case has been filed with Satkhira police station in this connection. –Our Correspondent, Sylhet

1,300 bottles of phensidyl seized in Munshiganj Police have seized 1300 bottles of phensidyl from an abandoned private car at Mawa ghat in Munshiganj. The phensidyl bottles were seized from the private car on Ramshree ferry Thursday night. Louhajang police station Officer-inCharge Md Tofazzal Hossain, said: “The ferry reached Mawa ghat around 8pm, but the vehicles on the ferry could not get off because of a private car that was stuck in the middle of the

ferry.” He said: “The duty traffic police removed the car with the help of others as its owner was not present in the vehicles. Later, police found the phensidyl bottles when they checked the car.” The OC said the drug smugglers might have left the car in the fear of being caught by the police. –Our Correspondent, Munshiganj

Two tonnes of fertiliser seized in Bhola Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard in a drive recovered two tonnes of smuggled fertiliser in Bhola Sadar upazila yesterday morning. Being tipped off, a team of cost guard, led by Lt Commander Ahmed conducted a drive at a boat in the Bhola canal and recovered the agri-inputs.

The recovered fertiliser included 27 sacks of urea and five sacks of TSP. The coast guard official said the fertiliser consignment was brought to Bhola from Barisal.–UNB

Police arrest 49 in Hobiganj Police arrested at least 49 persons from different areas in Hobiganj. The law enforcers also recovered 12 kilograms of hemp and five litres canabis during the drive. Assistant Police Commissioner of Masudur Rahman Monir said they had the conducted the drive as crime incidents made a sharp rise in the district. Of the arestees, 41 are fugitive and eight others are listed criminal in the district. –Our Correspondent, Hobiganj

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel detained six persons with two tiger hides at Itagacha in Satkhira town on Thursday night.

The RAB members also seized 10 rounds of bullets from the possessions of the detainees.

The detainees are Md Gazi Selim, 35, son of Mokhles Ali; Md Rabiul Islam, 35, son of late Wazed Ali Gazi; Sheikh Bakhliar Uddin, 42, son of late Mohiuddin Ahmed; Md Mostafizur Rahman,

36, son of late Shahjahan Ali Gazi; Md Faruk Sana, 48, son of Mohammad Ali Sana; and Md Amirul Islam, 25, son of Sekandar Ali Gazi.

RAB 8 Commanding Officer Maj Adnan said the detainees had been smuggling tiger and deer hides after collecting those from the thief hunters of Sundarbans for a long time.

“We have conducted the drive on the basis of secret information and detained the six smugglers from Itagacha area,” he added.

A was filed in this connection. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Fresh clashes in Hong Kong as activists regroup n Reuters, Hong Kong Hong Kong riot police used pepper spray and baton charged crowds of pro-democracy protesters on Friday evening as tension escalated after a pre-dawn clearance of a major protest zone in the Chinese-controlled financial hub.

Crowds of protesters headed to the gritty and congested Mong Kok district after work and school on Friday evening, across the harbour from the heart of the civil disobedience movement near government headquarters, to try to reclaim sections of an intersection that police had cleared in a surprise raid early on Friday.

Hundreds of protesters tried to break through police lines and they used open umbrellas to shield themselves from pepper spray. In the melee, police used batons and scuffled violently with activists.

Police hauled off several protesters as others shouted insults and chanted “open the road.”

The protesters, led by a restive generation of students, have been demanding China’s Communist Party rulers live up to constitutional promises to grant full democracy to the former British colony which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Syrian ambassador calls ISIS an ‘American myth’ n Hindustan Times The Syrian Ambassador to India claimed that ISIS was an American invention on Wednesday, among other controversial remarks.

The statements were made at a press conference hosted by the Indian Women’s Press Corps in New Delhi, the Hindustan Times reports.

“ISIS is an American myth, which gets direct support from Tayyip Erdogan’s [the president] Turkey and is funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” according to Ambassador Riad Kamel Abbas. “Al Qaeda appeared in Syria after the US invaded Iraq. Before that there was no al Qaeda in Syria. It is clear that al Qaeda was created by the US and it is supporting ISIS.” Abbas also said that several European nations, including France, the UK and Germany, have requested the Assad government to “take care” of Europeans who have gone over to fight with the Islamic State. Those nations view radicalized European Muslims who have received combat experience in Syria as a threat to their national security, the ambassador claimed.

“Intelligence leaders of many European countries came to Syria to meet officials” Abbas said, alleging that the Europeans proceeded to pressure Assad’s government with offers not to press against the regime’s human rights abuses if European citizens fighting in Syria are eliminated before they can return home.

The ambassador expressed appreciation for the position of India’s government, which has so far opted not to join the American-led coalition against ISIS, which includes Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as well as many other European and Middle Eastern nations. l

Biden’s son discharged from US Navy reserve n Reuters, Washington The son of Vice President Joe Biden was discharged from the US Navy reserve earlier this year after testing positive for cocaine, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The sources, who were not authorized to speak on the record, said Hunter Biden tested positive for cocaine in a drug test administered in June 2013.

Navy spokesman Commander Ryan Perry confirmed that Biden was discharged from the Navy reserve in February 2014 but said privacy laws prevented him from releasing any details.

Perry said Biden was selected for a direct commission in the Navy Reserve as a part-time ensign in 2012 and was assigned to a public affairs unit in Norfolk, Virginia in May 2013.

Biden, 44, a partner at an investment firm, said he regretted the incident. l

Before dawn on Friday, hundreds of police staged their biggest raid yet on a pro-democracy protest camp, charging down student-led activists who had held the intersection in one of their main protest zones for more than three weeks.

The operation came while many protesters were asleep in dozens of tents or beneath giant, blue-striped tarpaulin sheets.

The raid was a gamble for the 28,000-strong police force who have come under criticism for aggressive clearance operations with tear gas and baton charges and for the beating of a handcuffed protester on Wednesday.

Storming into the intersection with helmets, riot shields and batons at the ready from four directions, the 800 officers caught the protesters by surprise.

Many retreated without resisting.

“The Hong Kong government’s despicable clearance here will cause another wave of citizen protests,” radio talk-show host and activist Wong Yeung-tat said earlier.

In the evening, with more protesters streaming to the area, authorities closed the nearby underground train station, media reported.

Police raised red flags, warning the protesters not to charge. l

World

Putin cheered in Serbia, seeks pipeline backing n AP, Belgrade, Serbia Greeted by enthusiastic chants of “Putin! Putin!,” Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a military parade Thursday in Slavic ally Serbia, where he held talks on economic issues, including on the South Stream gas pipeline opposed by the European Union.

Waving Russian and Serbian flags and displaying banners “Thank You Russia,” tens of thousands came to see the parade in Belgrade, which marked the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Serbian capital from the Nazi German occupation by the Red Army and Communist Yugoslav Partisans.

Putin’s visit came as Serbia finds itself caught in the middle of Moscow’s dispute with the West over Ukraine. The Balkan nation is increasingly torn over whether to continue toward membership in the 28-nation EU or give up that goal and forge even closer ties with Russia.

Serbia is Russia’s main ally in the Balkans. The two countries have traditionally close historic and cultural ties, and Moscow has backed Belgrade’s bid to maintain its claim over Kosovo — a former Serbian province which declared independence in 2008 with the support of Washington and its allies.

“We have been united by many things in the past, and I hope we face good common future,” Putin told Serbia’s pro-Russian president, Tomislav Nikolic.

Nikolic responded: “Serbia sees Russia as its big ally and partner, and we

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Saturday, October 18, 2014

will always be on the same side.”

The country’s Western-leaning prime minister, Aleksandar Vucic, tried to reassure the EU, however, that Serbia is not changing its proclaimed course.

“Serbia is on its European Union path and it will not sway from that road,” he said after his meeting with Putin.

Although Serbian officials say they respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and do not support Russia’s annexation of Crimea, they have refused to impose sanctions against Russia like the EU and the US They say that would be disastrous for their country’s stagnating economy — especially since most of its energy sector is controlled by Gazprom, the Russian energy giant.

Instead — and despite warnings from the EU — Serbia is hoping to capitalize on Russia’s ban on Western goods by signing deals with Putin that would increase food exports to Russia.

During his talks with Vucic, Putin urged Serbia to profit from Moscow’s sanctions against the West.

“It’s a very good moment for Serbia to take a niche in the Russian market,” he said, adding that Russian businessmen could offer loans to Serbian food producers so they could boost exports to Russia.

He said Moscow could offer Serbia a guarantee for exporting a certain number of cars to Russia from Serbia’s Fiat factory.

Putin also stressed the importance of the Moscow-controlled South Stream gas pipeline, which would bypass Ukraine and transport Russian gas

into the heart of Europe. The EU has urged Serbia and member states like Bulgaria to not start building the project, citing concerns over Russia’s dual role as pipeline owner and gas supplier.

“I’m deeply convinced that this project is good for European consumers, because it allows for significantly reduced transit risks,” Putin said.

“Dragging the feet on its construction is linked exclusively with political factors. Politics are hurting the economy.”

Vucic said last week, however, “it makes no sense” for Serbia to start building its part of the pipeline without an agreement on its legality between the EU and Moscow. l

EU leaders to confront Putin over gas threats n AFP, Milan Vladimir Putin meets his Ukrainian counterpart and EU leaders here on Friday fresh from warning he could pull the plug on crucial Russian gas supplies to Western Europe this winter.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he hoped the breakfast meeting with the Russian leader would help shore up a patchy ceasefire between his government forces and pro-Moscow rebels in the east of Ukraine.

“Peace and stability in Ukraine, it is the only thing we expect,” Poroshenko told reporters late Thursday after talks with Angela Merkel.

The German Chancellor went to have a late night meeting with Putin, who on Thursday upped the stakes in his confrontation with the West by warning that the flow of Russian gas to EU countries could face “major transit difficulties” this winter.

The diplomatic shuttling over Ukraine is taking place on the sidelines of an Asia-Europe (ASEM) summit that has been completely overshadowed by the crisis, which has deepened in recent days.

Nato said it had seen no sign of any major Russian pullback from the Ukrainian border despite Putin saying earlier this week nearly 18,000 troops had been withdrawn from the frontier.

US and European Union leaders had welcomed that announcement as a positive gesture ahead of the Poroshenko talks but also reminded Putin that sanctions would remain in place until he stopped meddling in Ukraine completely. l

Obama to appoint Ebola ‘czar,’ no to travel ban

THE SMILE OF POWER

n Reuters, Washington President Barack Obama will appoint former White House adviser Ron Klain as the Ebola “czar” to coordinate the US efforts to combat the deadly virus, CNN reported on Friday, citing unidentified sources.

In choosing Klain, Obama is turning to a trusted former aide who had been part of the White House inner circle earlier in his administration.

Obama remained opposed to a ban on travel from West Africa.

Obama’s administration is facing sharp criticism from lawmakers over its efforts to contain the disease at

home. Obama authorized calling up military reservists for the US fight against Ebola in West Africa on Thursday.

US concerns have intensified after two Texas nurses who cared for a dying Liberian patient contracted the virus that has killed nearly 4,500 people. Federal health officials said they were broadening their outreach to people who may have come into contact with one of the workers.

Spain is also grappling with the spread of the disease, with four new patients with suspected Ebola symptoms admitted to hospitals. l

Senegal Ebola-free n Reuters, Geneva German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi smile during the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on October 16, 2014 in Milan. The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) was created in 1996 as a forum for dialogue and cooperation between Europe and Asia held every two years alternatively in Asia and Europe AFP

The outbreak of Ebola in Senegal is officially over but the country remains vulnerable to further cases of the deadly disease being imported, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

Twice the maximum incubation pe-

riod of 21 days, or 42 days, has passed since a Guinean man who traveled to Dakar was confirmed as having Ebola, it said in a statement praising Senegalese authorities for their “diligence.”

The man has recovered and his 74 known contacts have not caught the disease. l

Britain may use mediaeval Kobani key to US strategy against IS n law to tackle Islamists AP, Washington

n Reuters, London Britain may use a mediaeval law dating to 1351 to charge citizens with treason if they go to fight with Islamic State insurgents in Iraq and Syria, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said.

Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that Islamic State, whose fighters have seized large areas of Syria and Iraq, pose a grave threat to Britain while police and intelligence officers say they have seen a rise in potentially deadly plots.

Security officials say some 500 Britons - largely with Muslim immigrant backgrounds - are believed to be fighting in Iraq and Syria, though the true figure could be much greater and security officials worry that those who return could carry out an attack on Britain.

Hammond said any British citizen who had sworn personal allegiance to the so-called Islamic State could have committed an offense under the Treason Act of 1351, which was passed during the reign of English King Edward III. “We have seen people declaring that they have sworn personal allegiance to the so-called Islamic State,” Hammond told parliament on Thursday.

“That does raise questions about their loyalty and allegiance to this country and about whether the offense of treason could have been committed,” he said, adding he would bring the issue to the attention of Home Secretary (interior minister) Theresa May. Islamic State has released videos of the beheading of two American

and two British men which feature a masked, black-clad militant brandishing a knife and speaking with an English accent who has been dubbed “Jihadi John” by British media.

A member of parliament from the governing Conservatives, Philip Hollobone, has argued that using the old treason law that singles out those who commit acts of war would be more effective against jihadis than subsequent counter-terrorism statutes.

The maximum sentence for treason in Britain is life imprisonment; it was death until 1998.

The last person to be hanged for treason in Britain was William Joyce, a propagandist for Nazi Germany nicknamed Lord Haw Haw who broadcast to Britain during World War Two and who was executed in 1946.

Britain has been considered a major target for Islamist militants since the Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on its close ally the United States, as well as Britain’s participation in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein. Fifty-two people were killed when four young Britons carried out suicide bombings in London in 2005.

Earlier on Friday, Mark Rowley, Britain’s national policing spokesman for counter-terrorism, said police were carrying out security investigations at an “exceptionally high” rate with 218 arrests so far this year.

He said they were preventing several attack plots of “varied sophistication” a year, all inspired by terrorism seen overseas. l

Dusty and remote, the Syrian city of Kobani has become an unlikely spoil in the war against Islamic State militants — and far more of a strategic prize than the United States wants to admit.

Perched on Turkey’s border, the city of about 60,000 has been besieged for weeks by IS fighters. Kobani is now a ghost town: the UN estimates that fewer than 700 of its residents remain as its people flee to safety in Turkey.

The Obama administration has declared Kobani a humanitarian disaster, but not a factor in the overall strategy to defeat the Islamic State group.

“Kobani does not define the strategy of the coalition with respect to Daesh,” Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Cairo earlier this week, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group. “Kobani is one community, and it’s a tragedy what is happening there, and we don’t diminish that.” But, Kerry said, the primary US military focus is in neighboring Iraq.

But this week, the US dramatically upped its air power strikes against IS in and around Kobani, including 53 strikes over the last three days alone.

Several hundred IS fighters were killed, the Pentagon said. Now, the US cannot afford to lose Kobani, said Robert Ford, the former US ambassador to Syria. That means the city’s fate is tied, in part at least, to the success of the US-led strategy against the Islamic State.

“The most important thing about Kobani now is that if it falls to the Islamic State, it would be seen as a defeat for the Americans, and thus would touch on the credibility of the Ameri-

can policy to contain and degrade the Islamic State,” said Ford, now at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

A kurdish appeal

Despite the barrage of airstrikes, the US so far has been unable to help Kurdish defenders break the siege. The US and its allies have said that airstrikes alone will not be enough to beat back the extremists. That requires ground troops, both in Syria and Iraq.

Since President Barack Obama is adamant that American troops will not join the fight on the ground, the US has been working to help arm, equip and revamp training programs for national and Kurdish Peshmerga security forces in Iraq and moderate rebel fighters in Syria. The Peshmerga and other Kurdish forces have been key in containing — if not defeating — IS across much of northern Iraq. Making sure they keep up that front is a top priority for the US Irbil, the Kurdish capital in Iraq, asked the Obama administration to increase airstrikes in Kobani, said Mahma Khalil, a Kurdish lawmaker from northern Iraq.

While there’s no formal link between the government in Irbil and the Kurdish population in Syria, both dream of an independent nation for ethnic Kurds.

Where’s turkey?

Kobani also has become a symbol of Turkey’s reluctance to fight the Islamic State — even in a city right across its border.

If Kobani falls, the Islamic extremists will have a border way-station for militants to slip in and out of Turkey. Already, Turkey is grappling with how to tighten its borders against thousands of foreign fighters, mostly from Western and East-

ern European nations, who have traveled through Turkey to join the insurgency.

The US has tried for months to coax Turkey into providing more assistance, including border security, to the global coalition against the Islamic State group. So far, Turkey has provided sanctuary to an estimated 200,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees, and recently agreed to train and equip moderate Syrian rebel fighters trying to remove Syrian President Bashar Assad from power.

But Turkey is not expected to send troops or aid to the Kurdish fighters who are defending Kobani due to a decades-long dispute it has waged against a Kurdish guerrilla group linked to the city’s defenders.

The propaganda battle for kobani

The US isn’t sure why IS is fighting so hard for control of Kobani, a city with few resources and far removed from any capital. But like the US with Kobani, a loss to a ragtag group of Kurdish fighters would be a propaganda loss for IS. Much of the daily fighting in Kobani is caught on camera, where TV crews and photographers on the Turkish side of the border have captivated the world’s attention with searing pictures of refugees, black plumes of smoke from explosions, and the sounds of firefights on the city’s streets. In video after video, refugees just across the border can be seen and heard cheering as US airstrikes pound the extremists.

Last week, in pictures and Tweets, the militants’ supporters declared Kobani as theirs, and changed the city’s name to Ayn al-Islam, or Spring of Islam. The online jeering has quieted considerably after the airstrikes of the last several days. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Prescription

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Beating breast cancer

Breast cancer is the second-most common cancer among women worldwide. So, no matter who you are or where you live, understanding breast cancer is important for every woman. But the most important thing to know is this: a diagnosis is not a death sentence. Breast cancer can be treated cause breast cancer, have been widely debunked as unscientific. The consensus is that neither the type of bra you wear nor the tightness of your underwear or other clothing has any connection to breast cancer risk.

Breast cancer is cancer that starts in the tissues of the breast. Only 5% to 10% of breast cancers occur in women with a clearly defined genetic HEALTH FLASH predisposition for the disease. The majority of breast cancer cases are “sporadic,” meaning there is no direct family history of the disease.

The risk for developing breast cancer increases as women get older.

Most breast lumps are not cancerous

Roughly 80% of lumps in women’s breasts are caused by benign (noncancerous) changes, cysts, or other conditions. Doctors encourage women to report any changes at all, however, because catching breast cancer early is so beneficial.

What are the symptoms of breast cancer?

Breast implants can’t raise your cancer risk

According to research, women with breast implants are not in a greater risk of getting breast cancer. But standard mammograms don’t always work as well on these women; however, so additional X-rays are sometimes needed to examine the breast tissue.

BIGSTOCK

The symptoms of breast cancer include: l Lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm that persists through the menstrual cycle. l A mass or lump, which may feel as small as a pea. l A change in the size, shape, or contour of the breast. l A blood-stained or clear fluid discharge from the nipple. l A change in the feel or appearance of the skin on the breast or nipple (dimpled, puckered, scaly, or inflamed). l A change in shape or position of the nipple l An area that is distinctly different from any other area on either breast. l A marble-like hardened area under the skin.

ing familiar with your breasts. That just means regularly feeling them when you’re bathing or getting dressed. Most of the time, women don’t find tumors during a self-exam, but when they roll over in bed or soap up in the shower, presence of lump is noticed. If you feel something odd, talk to your doctor.

Mammogram, Ultrasonogram and MRI are the next tools

Previously, women were advised to get a monogram done every year after they reached 50 years of age. Now, the American Cancer Society and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ask that women start to start at 40.

If you have a significant family history

Self-examination of breast is encouraged

Formal breast self-exams are optional, but since 80% of cancers not spotted on mammography are found by women themselves, experts do endorse be-

BIGSTOCK

research has found that inactivity affects an adults’ brain health, but there have been few studies to test the connection between inactivity and brain health among children. The brain goes through extensive changes and development during childhood. An active lifestyle during those years may protect brain health throughout life, the researchers add. The researchers can’t say physical activity by itself led to the improved brain health, because the children may have benefited from interacting with other children and general education program. Researchers then suggested, kids need to be physically active about an hour per day.

New needle-free allergy treatment is better than shots Allergy sufferers have a new needle-free way to find relief. Oral immunotherapy pill for ragweed or grass allergies is available now for use.

The FDA-approved this treatment and said it works like shots. The immune system adapts and blocks the outof-control response that causes symptoms, says a researcher of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

The new therapy is very much convenient; just place a pill under your tongue to dissolve. You’re given the first dose in your allergist’s office but can take the rest at home. The pills are for people who have one dominant

BIGSTOCK

seasonal allergy to ragweed or certain grasses. Flu Shots can target multiple triggers at once. But you need to begin the tablets 12 weeks before the start of allergy season. On the other hand flu shots can give you immunity at least 6 weeks earlier than oral therapy.

Cutting down on salt in our diet can help save lives. Salt is 40% sodium by weight. Sodium intake accumulates water into blood vesLIFELINE sels, increases blood volume which in turn increases blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major risk inducer for cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Only 6% of salt is added at the table.

An additional 5% is added in cooking.

So this excessively salty problem is out of our hands, literally. More than 75% of sodium comes from processed and restaurant foods. This means that processed, including packaged, foods need sodium limits, and restaurants also need to lower salt added in their recipes. About 43% of sodium that children eat comes from just 10 common types of food: pizza; yeast bread/rolls/bun; cold cuts/cured meats; savory snacks, such as chips; sandwiches, including cheeseburgers; cheese; chicken patties/ nuggets/tenders; pasta mixed dishes, such as spaghetti with sauce; Mexican mixed dishes, such as burritos or tacos; and soups.

BIGSTOCK

don’t have that arrangement. Every person diagnosed with breast cancer should become the central focus of a team of medical and allied health ex-

Breast cancer is not caused by underwire bra

Claims that underwire bras compress the lymphatic system of the breast, causing toxins to accumulate and

A popular rumor is that antiperspirants increase the risk of breast cancer. The American Cancer Society denounces this rumor. Some researchers believe, needle biopsies can disturb cancer cells and cause them to spread to other parts of the body. But there’s no conclusive evidence for this claim.

There’s a lot that women can do to lower their risk, including losing weight if they’re obese, getting regular exercise, eliminating alcohol consumption, being rigorous about examining their own breasts, and having regular clinical exams and mammograms. l

perts who meet regularly to discuss the best plan for them – on this point breast cancer experts agree. Evidence has suggested that multidisciplinary approach, in which healthcare professionals together consider all treatment options and develop an individual treatment plan for each patient, is now best practice and has been shown to reduce mortality and improve quality of life for the patient. Multidisciplinary care occurs when all relevant clinicians work together in a coordinated way to care for a person with breast cancer. A team would most likely include a breast surgeon, who would probably act as the team leader, a breastcare nurse, oncologists (radiation and medical) and the woman’s general physician. Ideally this team would meet fortnightly to discuss a list of their shared patients.

| Compiled by Dr Kazi Mahbuba Akhtar

Avoid alcohol

A 5-ounce glass of wine or light beer generally packs about 100 calories. Consumed every day for one year, 100 extra calories adds up to a 10-poundweight gain.

Cut your carbohydrate

First you try to cut your carbohydrate consumption to half. Start to eat half of the bread or the rice or the pasta, you’d normally have, plus extra vegetable to make you full. It is better to choose whole grains, which generally contain more fiber, will also help you feel fuller for longer.

Have a salad every day for lunch

Talking a big bowl of salad with loads of fiber-rich vegetables, topped with a little lean protein (chicken, salmon or baked tofu) is appreciated by the nutritionist.

Research suggests that both fiber and protein are particularly satisfying.

Eat small amounts every 3 or 4 hours The United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency has implemented a “traffic-light” system for labeling sodium content, with labels on low sodium food given a green color and high sodium marked in red. The American Medical Association’s Council on Science and Public Health recommended at least a 50% cut in sodium in both processed foods and restaurant foods over 10 years.

The 2005 US Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines say our intake should be no more than 2300 mg of

sodium per day – about the amount of sodium in a teaspoon of salt (5.8 g salt).

On average, majority of Americans take in about 3900 mg sodium a day.

Raised blood pressure is a major cause of cardiovascular disease, responsible for 62% of stroke and 49% of coronary heart disease. Importantly, the risk of CVD increases throughout the range of blood pressure, starting at 115/75 mmHg.(7) Salt is the major factor that increases blood pressure and is therefore responsible for many strokes and heart attacks every year, a study said. l

When you’re cutting calories, it’s important to spread them out so that you don’t get too hungry.

Having a meal or snack every few hours keeps your hunger in check. Keep in mind, though: the more frequently you eat, the lower in calories your snack should be. Good choices: an apple and a few almonds or some raw vegetables with a few tablespoons of hummus.

| Compiled by: Shirsho Saaeadat

Cut heart attack risk by 86%! n Prescription Desk

Multidisciplinary care is better for breast cancer treatment Multidisciplinary teams have been found to be the most effective way to beat breast cancer. But two-thirds of hospitals in the developed country

Roughly 70% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors for the disease. But the familyhistory risks are these: If a first-degree relative (a parent, sibling, or child) has had or has breast cancer, your risk of developing the disease approximately doubles. Having two first-degree relatives with the disease increases your risk even more.

To lose weight, you need to cut calories. To lose weight fast, you need to cut more calories. For every 3,500 calories you cut, you lose 1 pound. (So minus 500 calories a day equals a loss of one pound a week).

How low can you go? Generally, not lower than 1,200 calories per day, say weight-loss experts.

But for a quick fix, you could shave off a few more going absolutely no lower than 800 calories for up to three days (no longer).

To achieve the goal you have to create your diet plan with your nutritionist. Before that you can follow some tricks for slimming down in a hurry.

Controversies about antiperspirant and needle biopsy

n Dr Fuad Shaheed

After-school exercise may improve brain health

tasks than kids who didn’t take part in the program. Additionally, the findings suggest that physical activity has a direct effect on brain health. Previous

Women without a family history of breast cancer are also at risk.

Halt the hidden salt

HEALTH NEWS

A new study said, children who participated in a physical activity programs after school did better on thinking

of breast cancer, you’ll need to get one 10 years before the age a first-degree relative (like your mother) was diagnosed.

If you’re considered high risk say you have mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes you may want to get MRI every year along with your mammogram.

An MRI is more sensitive at picking up cancers than a mammogram or ultrasound, but it also has a high rate of false positives, which is why it’s only recommended for women at high risk.

Mammograms fail to detect around 10% to 20% of breast cancers. This is why clinical breast exams and, to some extent, breast self-exams are crucial pieces of the screening process

Easy ways to lose weight fast

BIGSTOCK

n Dr Sajol Ashfaq

QUICK TIPS

BIGSTOCK

A new study has found that the chances of having a heart attack can be reduced by 86%. And to achieve this all you have to do is exercise regularly, eat lots of veggies, not smoke, barely drink, and watch your waistline. So why isn’t everybody doing it? That DID YOU is the basic question that health psycholoKNOW? gists have been examining for the past 30 to 40 years. And the short, simple answer is this: Just about everything we do that’s unhealthy in the long run — including eating, drinking alcohol, and not moving our bodies — feels good in the short run. And everything that’s good for us—exercising, eating less pasta and bread, not smoking if someone’s a smoker—takes effort, and that can be unpleasant. That is the basic problem.

A new study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found a clear reduction in heart attack risk for each way the participants lived healthily, which included the following guidelines: walking or bicycling for more than 40 minutes per day plus working out for more than an hour a week; sticking to a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, reduced-fat dairy products, and fish; drinking very little (an ounce or less of alcohol per day); not smoking; and keeping the circumference of one’s waist less than 37 inches. It is not surprising that healthy lifestyle choices would lead to a reduction in heart attacks.

But it is surprising how drastically the risk dropped due to these factors. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Heritage

9

Saturday, October 18, 2013

The Bangladesh riviera

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n Tim Steel

iviera, we are told, is a description that may be applied to any coastline, especially one “that is sunny, topographically diverse, and popular with tourists.”

Amongst the most famous such coasts are, of course, those of the French and, the original, the Italian riviera. Not to forget such as the Red Sea riviera, the eastern shore of Egypt; the American riviera, around Santa Barbara in California... indeed, there are many countries in the world who have popular tourism destinations that have earned the epithet.

Originally, riviera was an Italian word, meaning just coastline. But it has acquired a halo that requires the existence of established popular appeal, and a backdrop of hills, forests, lakes and rivers. If it also has heritage and culture, with places for tourists to seek and find interest, there is little doubt of the right to the title.

And what better way to describe Cox’s Bazar District , as the wonderful coastline and hinterland of the world’s longest continuous natural sea beach, backed by the verdant forests and an outstanding topography of the lakes, rivers and hills of the Bandarban?

From historic Chakoria, marked so clearly on the late 16th century map by a Flemish cartographer, through ancient Ramu, with its second century CE recognition by the great Roman cartographer, Ptolemy, to Teknaf on the broad banks of the Naf River, which is the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Along the whole coastline of which stretch endless beaches interspaced with Mangroves clusters, this is, unquestionably, a sunshine coast, popular with tourists, with hills to climb, rivers to cross, lakes to reflect in, and seawaters to enjoy.

But, rather like the Ligurian coast of Italy, which first earned the riviera epithet, it is, perhaps, the tangled, complex and ultimately fascinating history that would engage any thinking traveller in search of leisure, pleasure, and stimulation around historic Cox’s Bazar. Liguria’s rocky coast may hold more hidden scenic secrets that that of Cox’s Bazar, but no one who has travelled the coast here, in Cox’s Bazar, explored the beaches and fishing villages with their colourful fleets, or scrambled the hill country communities, and the coastal villages, can fail to see comparisons with that, original riviera coast, Cinque Terra and all!

The main see beach, Laboni point, Cox’s Bazar Even the inland bank of the broad sweep of the Naf, conjures up familiar scenic images of the French Riviera.

The ancient history of the area, sadly, lays, unlike that of Liguria, largely unexplored by archaeologists, and even the Ramkot Buddhist Temple on the outskirts of Ramu, claiming foundation by the third century BCE Emperor Ashoka has no evidence to support the claim. It is, however, not outside the realm of possibility to be true; no one knows for sure the real extent of the Mauryan Empire of which the famous Ashoka was

Originally, riviera was an Italian word And what better way to describe Cox’s Bazar District , as the wonderful coastline and backed by the outstanding hills of the Bandarban?

NAJMAL A NADVI

the third Emperor, and it is certainly possible it extended as far, even, as beyond the Naf River.

Leaving aside the likelyhood that these coastal lands were once witness to the aboriginal , “Out of Africa” migrants, who left traces in the lands of Bangladesh in the now largely extinct Santhal peoples, they certainly saw a great deal of historic traffic.

The documentary evidence for such traffic is fairly considerable, as one might expect from an area, and people, reputed to be amongst the earliest converts, in about fourth or fifth century BCE, to Buddhism.

Indeed, amongst others, the Buddha himself is said to have made his way to the ancient Arakanese capital of Pego, possibly by water, but just as probably, by land; in which case, he would certainly have travelled the ancient coastal route, now most familiarly referred to as Shah Suja’s Road. And who could miss the story of Shah Suja’s imperial flight along this coast to Arakan.

Since it is clear that most high status buildings hereabouts were historically

constructed, unsurprisingly, of the wood that is plentiful, rather than the local stone that is little more than hardened sea bed mud, it is scarcely surprising that ancient buildings do not abound.

However, one of the earliest, perhaps, is the great Stupa that dominates the northern skyline beyond Ramu, said to be 1,000 years old. Known as the Golden Hill because of the inevitable legends of buried treasure that seem to abound, everywhere in South Asia where there are ancient buildings, it is an ever impressive reminder of some of the rich history.

Adventurous tourists seem to enjoy the steep climb to the Stupa, with its outstanding views towards the Bakkhali Valley and the tree clad heights of the Bandarban.

That Ramu itself is an ancient trading centre there is little doubt, and some of the remaining, centuries old, small, wooden, Buddhist Temples, appeal to most visitors, many wondering why the kind of delicately decorated structures tourists queue to visit in Myanmar and Tibet are not more widely pictured in Bangladesh.

Although we know that Ramu was besieged, over the centuries, by Burmese and Mughal armies, at least, there is no sign of the, probably, mud ramparts that seem to have successfully protected the place, like so many other ancient cities in Bangladesh.

Historic wanderings are certainly there for a respite from the riviera’s

PtolemyWorldMap

WIKIMEDIA

nascent sea front, and Cultural, too.

Tribal peoples, such as Tripuran, Marma, Chakma are amongst groups within an hour or so drive from Cox’s Bazar, dwelling still in traditional houses, such as the stilt houses with the narrow notched steps up, that neither tigers nor reptiles can climb!

The colourful history of such peoples, believed, in some cases, to have originated in Mongolia a thousand and more years ago has been sadly dimmed through marginalisation and neglect, over the centuries, but their ancient culture is not hard to detect.

The Rakhine, themselves, the inhabitants of these lands in the

However, one of the earliest, perhaps, is the great Stupa that dominates the northern skyline beyond Ramu, said to be 1,000 years old was known as the Golden Hill

Top vew of Cox’s Bazaar from Himchori

NAJMAL A NADVI

A stretch of the Inani Beach

NASIM A NADVI

ancient Buddhist kingdom of Arakan, although mastered, over the years by Tripura, Burma, Bengal and Britain still have traces of their own heritage, another fascinating aspect of the diverse historic and cultural heritage of the coastal lands, and the topographical wonder of the hills behind.

Few of the internationally acknowledged riviera can offer elephants as a part of the visitor appeal, and, although the Elephant Point, acknowledged by Academy Awarded Cecil Beaton, has probably seen no such visits for many a year, the nearby Teknaf Wildlife park, it is believed, still harbours an all round the year herd, as well as visiting pachyderms from across the Indian border.

In every way in which the world defines riviera, certainly one of the most resonant appeals to international tourism in the world, the south east of Bangladesh merits the word, and in spades!

It may well be that, like Bangladesh’s neglect of its unquestionable possession of another of the tourism world’s great icons, “Silk Road,” such neglect owes more to lack of experience and expertise in the world of International Tourism, than for any other reason. However, the realisation of the true value of the world’s longest sea beach requires “packaging and presentation” in a way today’s worldwide consumer society can identify with. And when it comes to coastal holidays, shopping, cuisine and heritage and culture are up there amongst the lead attractions. No one doubts the potential for the first two, anywhere in Bangladesh, with its history of both attractions; but even Bangladeshis themselves appear to doubt their ability to meet the latter desires. A pity, when it can so readily be found, everywhere you look in Bangladesh.

And this “riviera” is no exception.

Heritage indeed! l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Saturday, October 18, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Remove UAE ban on work visas

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e hope the prime minister’s forthcoming visit to the UAE on October 26 will lead to progress on removing the ban on visas to Bangladeshi workers in the UAE. The UAE is one of the biggest employers of Bangladeshi manpower, accounting at one stage for over 1.2 million workers.

In the last two years, the number of Bangladeshis working in the UAE has been falling with workers from Bangladesh being replaced by workers from competing countries such as Nepal and Pakistan. Their number has reportedly declined closer to around three quarters of a million as the UAE has not issued work visas to Bangladeshi workers since August 2012.

We cannot afford to lose such a major source of the remittance flows which are vital for our economy. Bangladesh Bank recorded remittances of around $14.46bn in FY2012-13, contributing to around 10% of the national GDP. They account for two-thirds of the country’s total foreign exchange reserves and are a key driver for national development efforts.

Unless the ban on visas to Bangladeshi workers is lifted, the falling number of Bangladeshis working in the UAE will eventually have a serious impact on remittances, and on the Bangladesh economy.

The Bangladesh government’s top foreign policy priority should be to negotiate the end of the visa ban.

We hope the top-level visit will bring up this issue and make progress as the country needs to be able to send workers to the UAE.

Our top foreign policy priority should be to negotiate the end of the visa ban

Better drivers needed

B

angladesh has some of the grimmest road fatality statistics in the world.

The government’s move towards a Tk165,000 crore project to reduce highway traffic accidents is, then, a commendable and necessary one. Many spots identified as “accident prone” lie in a state of disrepair throughout our highway system.

However, it may not be enough to simply pour money into road repairs if we truly want to reduce our abysmal road casualty numbers.

It is imperative that drivers are trained on responsible driving.

Furthermore, the police should be given training on helping pedestrians – the group that consists of the highest proportion of traffic accident victims – to cross the roads.

Our road problem is vast and complex. According to BUET statistics, over 12,000 lives are lost annually and 35,000 are left injured. While spending money on fixing problem areas on our roads may make a dent in these unacceptably large numbers, we must look at all sides of the problem.

Developed nations around the world have cut down their road accident numbers, but developing countries like Bangladesh continue to deal with greater casualties.

In Bangladesh, pedestrians rarely have any safe way to cross the roads, and entire families often commute precariously on motorbikes, risking their lives.

We need to do more than just fix our roads. We must demand a higher standard for our vehicles, our traffic police, and rules for pedestrians. Once these mechanisms are in place and are enforced, we can hope to see fewer deaths in Bangladesh.

We need to do more than just fix our roads to see fewer traffic deaths

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

Metal venom in dental amalgam October 10

Karim The American Dental Association (ADA) maintains that dental amalgam remains a safe, affordable, and durable cavity-filling choice for dental patients.

In addition, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not recommend the removal of amalgam fillings from patients who have them because this could cause more harm to the tooth structure and pose other health risks to the patient. waraji Karim: The ADA is merely a trade organisation that continues to promote the use of the antiquated, mercury dental amalgam (aka “silver fillings”).

The recipe for mercury dental amalgam is mostly unchanged for over 160 years, being composed of 50% elemental mercury which by itself is undisputedly known by science to be extremely toxic.

Why then are we holding on to this antique, hole-filling material? We now know it is very toxic.

The US FDA has admitted that mercury dental amalgam (aka “silver fillings”) could not be recertified and proven safe today.

So the FDA is being passive to the ADA. Is this a good thing?

Robin P Clarke The amalgam weights in that article are out by a factor of 1,000. I have here my father’s chemistry weighing weights. The 2 gram weights are roughly the size of a typical amalgam. So the statements should be corrected as follows: “ … depending on the size, a tooth cavity may need up to ‘5 grams’ of amalgam, which can contain up to 2.5 grams of mercury.”

“Considering that 1 gram equals 1,000,000gm, a standard one-tooth filling therefore contains up to 2,500,000gm of mercury, which is more than

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 11 represents O so fill O every time the figure 11 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

22,000 times higher than the FAO/WHO daily limit and a staggering 357,000 times than the US EPA limits.”

Richard There are many different natural ways to detox/ remove the buildup of mercury in your body.

Some of the natural detox products include Chlorella, cilantro, milk thistle, DMSA and bentonite clay. All of these detox products will slowly detox and release mercury from the body.

However, the problem is that a good amount of the mercury being released from the body will become reabsorbed back in the body before it can be totally removed. The above detox products can make you feel sick often, with flu-like symptoms, when the mercury is being reabsorbed. This is called a Herxheimer Reaction, or a Healing Crisis.

The absolute best choice to safely detox and remove mercury and all other heavy metals from the body is with the naturally ingestible mineral called Clinoptilolite Zeolite. This type of zeolite is quite different and much better than all other mercury detox products and methods. This is because Zeolite has the unique ability to bond and bind onto the mercury and other heavy metals in your body and hold onto them all the way out of the body without re-releasing any of these toxins back into the body to make people feel ill like other detox products do. And there is no Herxhimer Reaction.

SUDOKU How to solve: 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.

waraji Richard: Not everybody who is against dental mercury amalgam (AKA “silver fillings”) promotes detoxing products.

First and foremost, I want mercury-safe, and mercury-free dentistry according to International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) protocols.

CROSSWORD Fight!

October 11

IS issues set of 11 rules for journos covering IS October 10

Mahmid Abdullah “Two rutting stags fight in a wildlife park in Aurach near Kitzbuehel, in the Austrian province of Tyrol.”

Nice picture!

Osmania Rubbish. Those people want publicity any way they can, and the media groups disseminating these so-called rules have fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. It doesn’t matter how bonkers their rules are; ignore them.

Trapping tourists October 10

Malala invites Modi, Sharif to attend award ceremony

ACROSS 1 Exhausted (6) 5 Melody (3) 7 Period of time (3) 8 Time of holding (6) 11 Mild explosion (3) 12 Tranquility (5) 14 Thin fog (4) 16 Brings up (5) 18 Aquatic furred mammal (5) 20 Drug-yielding plant (4) 21 Worshipped images (5) 23 Fairy (3) 24 Laboured (6) 27 United (3) 28 Prosecute (3) 29 Hire (6)

DOWN 1 Newt (3) 2 Marsh (3) 3 Broke out (7) 4 Biblical weed (4) 5 Call for aid (6) 6 Rest (6) 9 Way out (4) 10 Corn spike (3) 13 Stopping (7) 14 Mannequins (6) 15 Smother (6) 17 Acting part (4) 19 Decay (3) 22 Bird (4) 25 Meadow (3) 26 Stain (3)

October 11

Ziaul Ahsan The ISI chief, Mollah Omar, the Pakistan Army chief, the Saudi king and President Obama would be fitting guests.

Why were poor PM Sharif and PM Modi invited, who have nothing to do with this drama?

Nowadays, prize winners select the attendees.

What happened to the committee?

CALVIN AND HOBBES

Evil people politics As welcoming as Cox’s Bazar is, there are other potential destinations for tourists in Bangladesh which are worth talking about as well: Teknaf for instance.

Eid in the good old days October 10

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

Barely legal alien Celebrating Eid as a day of remembrance is a beautiful idea.

CROSSWORD

Malala, Kailash win Nobel Peace prize PEANUTS

October 10 Maus Malala might be getting most of the attention, but she’s not the only winner. There’s also Kailash Satyarthi who has been doing wonderful work for years in the fight against child labour and child trafficking in India.

The media can October 11

Nazmul Khair “The media can aid the government’s initiatives when it comes to creating social awareness.”

Indeed, it was a really good effort from the media at that time. But I suggest these types of articles be published weekly to develop awareness for the masses.

SUDOKU

Op-Ed

DHAKA TRIBUNE

11

Saturday, October 18, 2014

The gentle art of making enemies n Rubaiyat Kabir

C

unningham’s law: “The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, it’s to post the wrong answer.”

I have always firmly believed that the Internet as we know today is the real-life (virtual?) manifestation of the world envisioned in 1997’s Fallout – a nuclear-razed wasteland in which bits of discovery both wonderful and whacky can occasionally be made, which causes copious amounts of bodily fluids to fly around, and almost every living soul you encounter there is out to get you.

The drama of it all is hackneyed enough to make telenovela writers roll their collective eyes How do you respond to a bullet in the face?

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Rais, we need you here

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n Ekram Kabir

ais Bhuiyan was an ordinary dreamer when he left Bangladesh for America at the age of 27. He went there when the US government was offering immigrant visas to foreign citizens. He was trained both in a cadet college and in the air force. However, he wanted to be an IT professional in the land of possibilities. First, he went to Manhattan, and then he ended up in Texas. Rais started working at a gas station as well as in a mini-mart.

Things were pretty much okay on the way to his dreams.

But things didn’t exactly go as he wished. 9/11 attacks changed America and some of its people for good. After the attacks, a day labourer named Mark Anthony Stroman went on a killing spree against people who he viewed as Arab. His intention was to seek revenge for the attacks. On September 15, 2001, he killed Pakistani immigrant Waqar Hasan inside a Dallas grocery store.

On September 21, he walked into the mini-mart where Rais was working. Rais thought he was a simple robber, and was ready to hand over all the money that was in his counter.

But Stroman asked: “Where are you from?” Before Rais could answer, Stroman shot him in the face. Stroman left thinking that he was dead. Rais, bleeding from his head, ran to the

barbershop next door, and a man in the shop called 911.

During the police investigation, Stroman shot another man named Vasudev Patel on October 4. Stroman was arrested soon, but he called American TV stations from his jail cell and talked about how proud he was for killing those men. He thought he was the most patriotic American and started calling himself “the Arab Slayer.”

cause. And that changed the psychology of Stroman. He said in an interview with the New York Times: “I have the Islamic community joining in [my legal defence] ... spearheaded by one very remarkable man named Rais Bhuiyan, who is a survivor of my hate. His deep Islamic beliefs have given him the strength to forgive the unforgiveable ... that is truly inspiring to me, and should be an example for us all. The

We need people like Rais Bhuiyan right here in Bangladesh in order to spread the message of love, forgiveness, friendliness, kindness, and empathy

Rais had to go through several surgeries, and finally the doctor could save his eye, but the vision was gone. He was carrying more than 35 pellets on the right side of his face. It took several years to go through all these painful surgeries, one after the other.

This is when Rais showed the most amazing gesture that any human can ever show. He forgave his shooter and took up the cause of preventing Stroman’s execution. Rais organised the Muslim community behind his

hate has to stop, we are all in this world together.”

Rais reconciled with Stroman before his death. A few hours before Stroman’s execution, Rais spoke to Stroman over the phone, saying: “I forgive you, and I do not hate you.” Stroman responded: “Thank you from my heart! I love you, bro ... You touched my heart. I would have never expected this.” Rais replied: “You touched mine too.” Stroman was executed on July 20, 2011. On that day, Rais’s lawyers

had lost a final appeal in federal court to stop Stroman’s execution.

Now, what else could be the best example of forgiveness in the present-day tumultuous world? Isn’t it amazing that a person forgave another person who wanted to kill him? Indeed, this is remarkable.

Later on, Rais formed an organisation named World Without Hate and is presently running a USA-wide campaign against hatred. Anand Giridharadas wrote Rais’s story in his work The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas, which is now to become a Hollywood movie.

The reason I focus on Rais Bhuiyan is because he became an extraordinary dreamer from an ordinary one. We, as a Bengali nation, have much to learn from our own countryman who, after suffering the severest blow, could turn around and forgive his aggressor. The extent of hatred that is currently being practised in our socio-political life is phenomenal.

Our hatred towards one another, to my mind, seems to be the only stumbling block on the way to our true future. We need people like Rais Bhuiyan right here in Bangladesh in order to spread the message of love, forgiveness, friendliness, kindness, and empathy.

Come home and do something, Rais Bhuiyan. l Ekram Kabir, a journalist, is a DT columnist.

We’ve all experienced varying degrees of nastiness in dealing with other people, either known or unknown, over the Internet; but sometimes certain online events tend to spiral out of control, when “nastiness” mutates into full-blown toxicity, and the repercussions of which are felt in real life.

Despite my sheer distaste towards the trend, there’s no other way to refer to this one specific incident but to use the dreaded “hashtag” – #gamergate has been making a lot of Internet and video game-savvy folk violently scratch their heads in utter confusion since August. An Internet-wide crusade of sorts, to weed out unethical journalistic practices and their practitioners from the video game industry, #gamergate has seen an irreverent and irrational rise to choke the life out of coherent, meaningful dialogue … all the while leaving a bloody trail of harassment, doxxed information (the act of leaking one’s private information to a public space without the individual’s consent), and death threats.

Perhaps I’m not doing much to alleviate the confusion for the uninitiated, so I guess a little context is in order: All the way back in the hallowed days of August 2014, allegations rose against superstar indie video game developer Zoe Quinn – who is responsible for the critically lauded work-of-art that is Depression Quest – of having sexed her way into getting her work promoted and noticed. Already disenchanted by the annoyingly-growing tendency of video game critics attaching social commentary to their critiques, the “true appreciators” of the artform seized the opportunity to cry foul and dole out vigilante justice to the wrongdoers.

Trust me, the drama of it all is trite and hackneyed enough to make telenovela writers roll their collective eyes to exhaustion, what needs to be taken from this whole mess is the behaviour exhibited by the loudest of voices surrounding it. Screeching and barking

like rabid lab animals about to be experimented on, Internet-dwellers, safe behind the brittle walls of their various screens and computer monitors, let the expletives and epithets fly every which way, attacking the central individuals in question (and some other hapless folks who were unfortunate enough to get embroiled in all this), making desperate attempts at compromising their integrity (through information which may or may not be falsified), and of course, the aforementioned doxxing.

I can imagine that for any outsiders looking in, how this whole thing must look like one big festival of hatred and paranoia … but that is the Internet in a nutshell, after all.

And now for something a little closer to home: Just before Eid-ul-Azha, an opinion piece was published in this very paper, which was subsequently uploaded to its website, written by one Rainer Ebert. The article dealt with a subject that is considered to be fairly prickly within the context of our society’s religious views, but ultimately it meant well enough. But you see, us human beings (the regular kind anyway) have a biological mechanism which allows us to regurgitate whatever we consume into this malodorous, assumedly green coloured bile, and not a second was wasted until it started to spill over onto that article and its author in the form of online comments. As was expected, men and women of rationality (already a rare breed) were buried in a sea of zealotry, harebrained attempts at attacking the writer’s credibility, and of course cussing.

I don’t know if old man Cunningham Ward realised this when he came up with that bit of sage advice written above, but he’d made quite an observation about human interaction, not just within the realm of the Internet but outside it as well: It is a constant game of one-upmanship and domination, which is only exacerbated by modifiers such as fear and conservatism.

How does one go about having a calm, considerate, and rational discussion over the Internet?

It just goes to show you that behind every row of teeth and every encouraging word, we all harbour feelings of acute resentment towards one another; and the Internet, granting us the combined safety net of anonymity and untraceability, allows each and every one of us to be the proverbial Salvador Dalis in the art of fostering animosity.

So, how does one go about having a calm, considerate, and rational discussion over the Internet? You don’t. It’s the Internet – you either shut up or be prepared to put up one helluva fight. l Rubaiyat Kabir works at the Dhaka Tribune.

How we look matters n Nasim Uddin

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he readymade garment (RMG) industry of Bangladesh often makes headlines in the national media and sometimes in the international media for different reasons.

Most of the time, the news concerning the industry is not encouraging. After the unfortunate Rana Plaza collapse, all eyes were fixed on the apparel industry of Bangladesh, and a flurry of reports were published both home and abroad, instilling fear into the entrepreneurs that global buyers and retailers were all set to leave Bangladesh. But what we saw later was the complete opposite – the global buyers and retailers formed platforms, namely Accord and Alliance, to make the RMG industry safer for millions of workers.

The entrepreneurs and workers breathed a sigh of relief while many raised eyebrows. Questions arise as to what had led the buyers to make such a decision when they came under severe criticism after the Rana Plaza collapse. Our quest is not to look for the answer to this question, rather if we can imagine what would have

happened had the buyers left Bangladesh. Have we ever thought of how these workers would lead their lives after losing their livelihood? Does the country have the capacity to ensure jobs for the large number of workers in any other sector?

It is really heartening and encouraging seeing that the buyers have not left us; rather, they have come forward to ensure a safer and sustainable RMG industry in Bangladesh. They started inspecting the garment factories for structural, electrical, and fire safety and have already covered most of the factories. Their inspection found that less than 2% of the inspected factories were risky, which need to be relocated. However, there is no denying that safety concerns do still exist in a number of factories. But it is a great piece of news that now all the stakeholders – the government, factory owners, buyers, and development partners in the sector are determined to ensure a safer industry and are working together to make it true.

We have now regained our good image, which had been tarnished both locally and internationally. The clouds of apprehension about Bangladesh’s

RMG industry have cleared away with the inspection reports of Accord and Alliance. It is true that buyers and retailers never lost their confidence in us, and are still with us. But can anyone guarantee that the global buyers and retailers will not leave us if they continue to receive fearsome reports on the industry?

only a click of the mouse, misuse of information and misinterpretation are also that simple. It is unfortunate but true, that exaggerated and spicy news arouses more interest than the plain, true ones. Is it not wise to be more careful in spreading information about something since misinformation can seriously taint its image?

The buyers have not left us; rather, they have come forward to ensure a safer and sustainable RMG industry

There is a well-known adage – to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Well, this is what happens when any information is haphazardly disseminated and interpreted. In the era of globalisation, in which information-sharing is just a click away, life is easier for many. So, when the dissemination of news needs

Image is crucial when it comes to international trade, and our garment industry knows that well. After the Rana Plaza disaster, our RMG sector came under intense pressure from both national and international communities. Some media reports created a negative impression of our RMG industry. But there is no scope for

denying that Rana Plaza was the most tragic incident in our apparel industry.

However, after the tragic event, our garment industry was portrayed in such a way that people at home and abroad started thinking that almost all garment factories in Bangladesh were vulnerable and unsafe for workers. But data from Accord and Alliance tell a different story.

For many, the garment industry means only Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashion. How many of us know that we have a number of state-of-the-art garment factories in Bangladesh?

How many of us know that a Bangladeshi garment factory achieved the prestigious LEED Platinum certificate from the US Green Building Council (USGBC) for modern, green practices?

How many of us know that physically challenged people are employed in some of our garment factories? Or, how some garment factories provide free medical services and medicine to their workers?

It is sad but very true that most of us do not know this. Why? Because we have had a one-sided portrayal of our garment industry, which acts as the backbone of our economy and as

a source of our export earnings and employment generation. So, given the dominance of the RMG industry in the overall economy of Bangladesh, we have to protect this sector.

We cannot afford to let down the industry that has kept moving the wheels of our economy, brought glory to the country through its “Made in Bangladesh” tags, created employment for millions of people, liberated them from the curse of chronic poverty, and empowered millions of women.

To save our RMG industry, it is imperative that we brighten our image globally since it is image that matters when it comes to international business. However, boosting image globally does not mean presenting our industry in an exaggerated manner; rather, we have to portray our industry as it is – both the negatives and the positives. Reporting the negative side is also important since it paves the way for improvement. Initiatives like Accord, Alliance, and NAP for improving working conditions and safety in our garment factories are the shining examples of the fact. l Nasim Uddin is a freelance journalist.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Saturday, October 18, 2014

PATHSHALA: In pursuit of dream n Hasan Mansoor Chatak Filmmakers Asif Islam and Faisal Roddy have joined hands for an experimental family drama film titled “Pathshala” (Place of Learning) that deals with personal ambition, friendship and struggles faced by a young boy. The film, scripted by Faisal, is likely to hit theatres in December.

Asif Islam, one of the directors, told Dhaka Tribune: “It took more than a year for the story to be developed, but we’re quite happy with the progress so far. We’re particularly working on the audience’s areas of interest since a film’s success lies in how they receive it.”

The film will see a commercial release across the country as well as potential showings at some international film festivals. The producers are also planning to host special screenings of the film for non-resident Bangladeshis in several countries.

The story of the film revolves around tenyear-old Manik, who leaves home for an undisclosed reason, although it transpired that he was dutiful to his mother and was loved by teachers. He has a dream to pursue and an unfriendly city to live through all by himself.

As the days pass, Manik starts to realise that without education meeting his goal would be nearly impossible. He meets and befriends eight-year-old Chumki, who appears to him to have magical powers, and with her help, he continues his journey to fulfilling his dream.

The two vital characters, Manik and Chum-

Patrick Sandoval, deputy head of the Mission Embassy of Spain with one of the participants at the inaugural ceremony KHAN HASAN MD RAFI

SPANISH WEEK PRESENTS

INSPIRATION: A photography exhibition n Entertainment Desk As part of the Spanish Week 2014 celebrations, the Embassy of Spain has organised an exhibition titled “Inspiration” at the Drik Gallery. The exhibition will remain open until October 22.

“Inspiration” is the outcome of a photography competition that took place from August 27 to September 20. Enormous positive response was seen from photo enthusiasts of all age. From 4000 submitted photographs 57 photographs have been selected finally.

Luis Tejada Chacon, the of Spanish ambassador to Bangladesh, Patrick Sandoval, deputy head of the Mission Embassy of Spain, Shahidul Alam, the managing director of Drik were present in the

inauguration along with the photographers whose work have been chosen for the exhibition, and other guests.

The programme selected and awarded the best three photos of and launched a photo-book that contained all exhibited photographs.

Ashis Das's photograph “Friendship Forever” which depicted an old mother and her daughter was selected as the best photo. Kumar Bishwajit won the second prize for his photograph “The light within” that showed underprivileged children trying to study at a night school under a flashlight. The third prize went to “Turtles can fly,” photographed by Kaisar Ahamed, the photo is a snapshot of a group of boys playing football in a muddy field. l

Fast & Furious 6

Star Movies, 3:00pm

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast as the global blockbuster franchise built on speed races.

50/50

HBO Defined, 8:55pm

ki, are played by Habib Arinda and Ima Akter Kotha respectively, while other characters include Toufiqul Emon, Roksana Amin, Farahana Mithu, Rumy Huda Amirul Islam Babu and Selim Gatok.

There will be five songs in the 120-minute film, including an animation one, apparently the first of its kind in the Bangladesh film industry. The songs are rendered by Prithiraj, Tamim and Gareth Redford. l

Exhibition

Concert

Solo Painting Exhibition

By Gopal Ghoshe Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Shilpalaya, Dhanmondi

Girgiti Time: 6:30pm National Theatre Hall Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy

The Macabre World

By Subrata Das, Time: 9:30am – 8:00pm EMK Centre, MIDAS Center, Dhanmondi

Adam is diagnosed with a rare form of spinal cancer and with the help of his best friend, his mother, and a young therapist he learns what and who the most important in his life.

The Fighter

Zee Stdio, 9:30pm

End the Stigma Time: 2pm-7pm, Russian Cultural Center

Theatre

Based on a true story, two brothers against all odds come together to train a historic title bout that has the power to reunite their fractured family.

JACQUELINE to perform her own stunts in Definition of Fear n Entertainment Desk ADITI MOHSIN'S new album based on Tagore's plays released n Entertainment Desk Aditi Mohsin's latest album “Momo Rupe Beshe” in out on the market. The album is a collection of songs that were parts of Rabindranath Tagore's plays.

Hashem Khan uncovered the album at Bengal Shilpalaya, Dhanmondi, on Friday evening.

The album features ten tracks in total. Among them “Se Din Dujone Dulechinu Bone,” “Jete Jete Ekla Pothe,” “Na Bujhe Kare Tumi Bhasale,” “Gaanguli Mor Shoibaler Dol,” “Ogo Deko Na More Deko Na” are notable.

Pratyush Bandyopadhyay, from india, arranged music for the album produced by Bengal Shilpalaya.

Mohsin, a senior teacher at Chhayanaut, now has a total of nine albums to her credits. l

Second phase of NIRABHARAN Theatre's festival begins today n Enteratinment Desk

Nirabharan Theatre has arranged a six-day theatre festival titled “Sarat Sheeter Sondhi Sanje, Nirabharan Shakh Bajey” which will begin today at 6:30pm in the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA).

This is the second phase of Nirabhoron's eighth founding anniversary celebrations. “Samanta Nothi” is to be staged today.

Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez is gearing up to perform her own stunts in her upcoming debut Hollywood venture “Definition of Fear.” Jacqueline’s Bollywood colleagues Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone, too, have been known to cut a body double out. In the film “Gulaab Gang,” Madhuri Dixit had also performed her own stunts. Jacqueline has decided to crank it up a notch by doing the deed herself.

The makers of “Definition

of Fear” decided to use body doubles for two action sequences involving Jacqueline, but the fearless lady stepped in to perform the stunts on her own.

Ja c q u e l i n e’s Hollywood flick “Definition of Fear” is a thriller and she plays a psychology student in it. l

Mahakal Natya Sampradaya will also stage a protesting dance piece “Jago” on the inaugural day.

On the other hand, the troupe will stage “Nishimon Bisharjan” an adaptation of Tagore's Bisharjan tomorrow while Bunon Theatre will stage “Nakshi Kanthar Math” on October 20.

With the theme “Sarat Sheeter Sondhi Sanje, Nirabharan Shakh Bajey,” the first phase of the festival was held at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy from October 11 to13. l

DEEPIKA: Hero-heroine pay scale debate should not become a war n Entertainment Desk Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone says the payment disparity between male and female stars in Bollywood is a concern but it should not become a cause for conflict. The 28-year-old actress has had a dream run at the box office with back-to-back hits like “Race 2,” “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani,” “Chennai Express,” “Ram-Leela” and the latest “Finding Fanny” recently.

Deepika says actresses are trying hard to change the irregularity in pay scale in the film industry. "If you comparing our pay scale with the men, then yes it is very less. If you are comparing what girls used to get before and what they are getting in the last one or two years then I can say that there has been a major shift and we are hoping and trying. But this is not a war," Deepika said.

"At the end of the day we are all making movies because we all love films and we should not get into the space of negativity where we are discussing who is getting what amount of money.

In that process we are loosing the beauty of film making. Money is the least important to me, fans' appreciation is the most important thing to me," added Deepika. l

AL PACINO to return to Broadway in Mamet’s China Doll n Entertainment Desk Veteran Hollywood star Al Pacino will return to Broadway next year in the world premiere of "China Doll," a new play by David Mamet, its producers said on Thursday.

The play, which Mamet wrote for Pacino, will begin performances in October 2015, according to producers Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel and Steve Traxler.

"For me over the years the relationship and the collaboration with David Mamet has been one of the richest and most rewarding," Pacino said.

Pacino, 74, won an Academy Award for "Scent of a Woman" and

picked up Tonys for "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" and "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?"

He last appeared on Broadway in another Mamet play, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning drama "Glengarry Glen Ross," which ended its limited run in 2013.

Mamet, 66, gave a cryptic description of "China Doll," saying it is a play about a billionaire named Mickey Ross, who is thinking of semi-retirement and buys a new plane for his young fiance as a wedding present.

"He's in the process of leaving his office, and is giving last minute instructions to his young assistant," Mamet said. "He takes one last call." l

Did you know?

Daniel Sturridge has scored 32 goals in 46 PL games for Liverpool; twice as many as Luis Suarez had at this stage (16 from 46)

Sport

Saturday, October 18, 2014

14 Del Bosque plans

14 Messi eyes

to quit Spain after Euro 2016

record on anniversary

DHAKA TRIBUNE

13

15 West Indies

pulls out of tour of India

Bangladesh girls show how it is done n Raihan Mahmood

Hosts continue winning spree n Shishir Hoque A spirited Bangladesh Under-16 women’s football team continued their flying start in the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2015 Qualifiers as they handed United Arab Emirates (UAE) a crushing 6-0 defeat at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Right-winger Sanjida Akhter continued her amazing run of form by netting a brace in the opening half while forward Bipasha Mali also scored two in the either side of each half to put the home side in a comfortable position.

Krishna Rani, who had two assists to her name, grabbed one while substitute forward Lipi Akhter notched the final goal to give the home side their second victory in succession.

Bangladesh’s approach was to score as many goals as possible after seeing

UAE concede nine goals against Iran in their first qualifier. Despite shipping 15 goals in their opening two qualifiers, UAE won the hearts of the local crowd by playing a beautiful passing game in front of a holiday crowd of around 5,000 spectators.

The home side began the game brightly and it took them only six minutes to open the scoring after a brilliant effort by Rani. The winger ran through the left flank and showed great skill while dribbling past two defenders before cutting the ball back to forward Bipasha who placed home calmly from the six-yard box.

Sanjida doubled Bangladesh’s lead three minutes later with a superb finish. Collecting the ball from forward Razia, the in-form winger entered the box and fired a shot which deflected off a defender before sneaking into the top-right corner giving the UAE goalkeeper no chance.

The hosts almost scored their third in the 22nd minute when Razia’s right-footed powerful volley hit the woodwork following a cross from Rani.

Sanjida exhibited another great finish to net her second of the day a

RESULTS Bangladesh

6-0

UAE

Bipasha Mali 6, 68 Sanjida Akhter 9, 23 Krishna Rani 44 Lipi Akhter 90+1

Iran Fatemeh Hosseini 71 Fatemeh Ghasemi 88

2-1

India Premi Chiru 13

minute later. Breaking into the penalty area, Bipasha slid the ball towards the path of Sanjida who curled a shot which flew past UAE custodian Dalal Abdulla.

UAE defender Maryam Jaber then made a goalline clearance in the 38th

minute to deny Rani.

Rani, however, was rewarded for her lively display as the midfielder scored the fourth a minute before the halftime whistle sending the ball over the keeper to find the back of the net after a short pass by Razia.

Bipasha scored her second of the evening to extend the lead to 5-0 in the 68th placing home into an empty net on a rebound after Rani’s initial shot was parried by the keeper. The ball hit the sidepost before landing kindly at the feet of Bipasha.

Lipi was full of energy when she came off the bench. She completed the scoreline a minute into injury time as she thumped the ball home from the edge of the box.

Bangladesh are now likely to face an uphill task in their remaining two matches as they will play against India tomorrow before taking on Iran in their final Group B qualifier this Tuesday. l

Iran earn crucial win against India n Shishir Hoque

BFF says ‘Thank You’ to Koster n Raihan Mahmood

The chapter of Rene Koster in the book of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is most likely to be over as the Dutch assistant coach of the national team refused to return from Holland if his dues are not paid while the BFF said they will not pursue him if he intends not to return.

BFF general secretary Aby Naeem Shohag provided a detailed picture.

“With the head coach returning after responding to our urge, Rene Koster said he will not return without the clearance of his dues.

“We asked him to return and receive the ongoing month’s salary like De Kruif but he did not agree so we did not send any ticket for him and said thank you,” said Shohag.

The Dutch duo Lodewijk de Kruif and Rene Koster agreed to take the Bangladesh job in January 2013 and the official deal was inked in the following June. The Dutch duo’s contract was renewed for another year a few months ago. l

Iran Under-16 women’s football team came from behind to earn a vital 2-1 victory over India in their second qualifier of the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2015 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

India and Iran are the top two favourite sides to qualify from Group B as the table toppers and the victory means the latter are a step away from the final round. Iran, who thrashed UAE 9-0 in their previous match, will face Jordan and Bangladesh in their remaining two qualifiers.

Premi Chiru put India ahead in the 13th minute placing the ball into an open net after the midfielder’s initial effort was blocked by the diving Iranian goalkeeper Mobina Khodadadi.

Iran had a glorious opportunity to equalise the margin at the stroke of the opening half when Sana Sadeghy’s shot from the middle of the box flew over the bar following a cutback from striker Fatemeh Ghasemi before Indian custodian Shreya made a superb save to deny Fatemeh Motevalli’s precise free kick from 35 yards out.

However, substitute midfielder Fatemeh Hosseini levelled the margin in the 71st minute tapping home a cross from Ghasemi.

Tamim, Mominul among runs n Mazhar Uddin BCB Green skipper Tamim Iqbal shone with the bat on the second day of their three-day warm-up game against BCB Red as the southpaw scored 92 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. He was also involved in a 158-run second wicket partnership with Mominul Haque as the Green’s declared their first innings on 284 for four.

Resuming the day on 45/1, the left-handed duo went on to play a range of beautiful strokes and looked solid in the middle. Mominul was trapped leg-before by Abul Hasan on 84 off 152 balls before Bangladesh’s newly appointed vice-captain in the longer version Tamim also fell victim to Abul.

Attempting to clear the mid-on fielder for a maximum, Tamim only ended up scooping the ball in the sky for a simple catch to Liton Kumar on 92 from 178 balls

that included 10 beautiful boundaries.

However, Tamim will be looking to carry the momentum of scoring runs and end his four-year Test century drought in the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe starting from October 25.

Star all-rounder Shakib al Hasan was dismissed cheaply after scoring just five runs as he was cleaned up by Robiul Islam trying to play a cover drive.

Shuvagata Hom (34) and Soumya Sarkar (33) remained unbeaten as the BCB Green skipper Tamim declared their first innings with a lead of 64 runs.

In reply, BCB Red finished the day on 79/1 in their second innings and taking a slim 15-run lead. BCB Red lost Liton Kumar without scoring a run off fast bowler Al Amin Hossain as Mohammad Mithun and Sabbir Rahman took charge and made sure of no more casualties. Mithun remained unbeaten on 53 while Sabbir was not out on 17. l

Hero of the previous qualifier against UAE with four goals, Ghasemi, netted the winner two minutes before stipulated time to seal a crucial victory for Iran. A long ball forward by skipper Fatemeh Geraeli found the unmarked midfielder inside the box who made no mistake slotting home past Shreya into the near post.

Iran coach Shadi Mahini said after the game, “I know the India team. I told my players during the half-time break about the weaknesses of the Indian team and they executed on the pitch what I instructed them. This victory is not important but winning all four matches to qualify for the final round is more important for us.” l

‘Qatar report can’t be published in full’ n AFP, Zurich Fifa’s top judge said Friday that football’s governing body cannot release in full a controversial report into the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups for legal reasons.

Fifa has faced mounting calls, including from Michael Garcia, the former US federal prosecutor who led the investigation into the bid, for all of the report to be made public.

“Publishing the report in full would actually put the Fifa ethics committee and Fifa itself in a very difficult situation legally,” Hans-Joachim Eckert, chairman of the governing body’s adjudicatory chamber said. “What is more, we have to respect the personal rights of the people mentioned in the report, which in the case of full publication of the report would in all likelihood not be possible,” he added. l

MUMIT M

Bangladesh U-16 forward Bipasha Mali (L) celebrates with Krishna Rani (C) after scoring the opening goal against United Arab Emirates (UAE) during their AFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2015 Qualifiers match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MUMIT M

Buoyed by two consecutive wins, an unprecedented feat in the country’s women’s football, the Bangladesh Under-16 team are now looking forward to matching the prowess of powerhouses India and Iran in the ongoing AFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2015 Qualifiers.

Coach Golam Rabbani Choton, ace winger Sanjida Akhter and skipper Monika Chakma have not been complacent with their success so far. Rather, they are ready to fight it out for further glory. Success attracts people and it was evident at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. The occasion was U-16 women’s football, to be precise it should be called U-16 girls’ football.

However, due to the regulations of world football’s governing body Fifa, the word girls cannot be used. The ruling body of world football prefers the word women and that is why the qualifying tournament boasts such a title.

Around 5,000 fans cheered the local girls en route to their thumping 6-0 victory over UAE and it was indeed a rare phenomenon. In Bangladesh, a lack of spectators is a common sight in big matches but 5,000 fans and a gallery ticket costing Tk50 in U-16 women’s football was not supposed to attract

Sanjida Akther once again displayed a sparkling performance for Bangladesh U-16

many people. But it was a different story this time around. The team were supported throughout the match and the response was positive.

Sanjida, Krishna Rani, Monika and Razia showed exceptional footwork and courage to stamp their authority.

Super sub Lipi Akhter enthralled everyone with her quick dashes of pace and control. The crowd was enjoying the scenario and after the conclusion of the qualifying game, the players went in front of the gallery where they received a standing ovation. A rare sight to behold.

Following the end of the game, Choton expressed satisfaction over the success. “We took the field to win.

UAE was our target from the beginning and we did it in style. We are happy to achieve our target. We will try hard to continue the success story in the next two matches and obviously both India and Iran are very strong opponents,” said Choton.

Choton said what satisfied him most was the fighting spirit of his charges.

“From the very beginning I have been saying this team will not lose before taking the field. The Bangladesh team earlier lost the mental game but this team have a different temperament.

I hope in the two matches they will prove it,” said the coach.

Choton was left to rue Sanjida’s missed opportunity to grab a hat-trick.

“It is the only regret of the match. I thought she deserved a hat-trick but it did not happen,” said Choton.

The same tune was echoed by Sanjida. “Scoring three goals in two matches made me happy and I cannot express my feelings. However, I would have been happier if I was able to slam a hattrick,” said Sanjida.

Skipper Monika said both India and Iran are stronger than Bangladesh. “We will not be afraid. We will be fighting and hope we can notch at least a draw against India in the next match. Today (yesterday) our coach said we needed to score goals and we scored six. We are confident of playing good football in the next matches,” said the skipper.

UAE’s Ethiopian coach Samir Landolsi said his team have been practising for only two months and they are still learners. He praised Bangladesh’s approach and attitude. l

Zimbabwe arrive, pass Ebola-screening test n Mazhar Uddin The 24-member Zimbabwean contingent including 17 cricketers arrived in Dhaka yesterday to take part in three Tests and five one-day internationals against Bangladesh.

Brendan Taylor and his side landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International airport at 5:30pm and had to immediately face the Ebola-screening test at the airport after the deadly virus attack spread all over the Western African region.

All the 24 members went through the Ebola-screening test. Everyone passed the test after the Bangladesh government stepped up its measures in the ports to fight against the deadly virus which has so far killed over 4,500 people worldwide.

This will be a very important series for both the sides, especially for the visitors. If Zimbabwe lose the Test se-

ries then they will slip behind Bangladesh in the ICC Test rankings.

The visitors will play the first of three Test matches from October 25 at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium.

Before the opening five-day game, Zimbabwe will be playing a three-day practice match against the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) XI at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali stadium this Monday.

Meanwhile, BCB has announced a 14-member squad for the three-day practice match against the visiting Zimbabwe side yesterday. The captain, however, is yet to be declared.

BCB XI squad Shamsur Rahman, Shadman Islam, Marshal Ayub, Shuvagata Hom, Rony Talukder, Naeem Islam, Mohammed Josimuddin (wk), Dewan Sabbir, Shuvashish Roy, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Robiul Islam, Muktar Ali, Taiabur Parvez, Asif Ahmed l

Zimbabwe skipper Brendan Taylor (R) talks with his charges following their arrival at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday evening COURTESY

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Messi eyes record on anniversary In the week that he marked the 10th anniversary of his competitive debut for Barcelona, Lionel Messi could become the all-time top scorer in the history of La Liga.

The Argentine made his bow as a 17-year-old in a 1-0 win at city rivals Espanyol on October 16, 2004. Now he is preparing to face Eibar at the Camp Nou on Saturday needing just two goals to equal Telmo Zarra’s all-time Spanish top-flight record of 251, set in the 1950s.

Messi, who told fans he was “constantly trying to improve and win more titles,” has been back at his best in the early weeks of this season to help the Catalans to the top of La Liga with six wins and a draw in their opening seven games.

They are two points clear of Valencia and have yet to concede a goal so far, and they will want to keep that form going against Eibar before they go to Real Madrid for the first Clasico of the campaign next weekend.

“To go into the Clasico in the best possible condition we need to win on Saturday,” said left-back Jordi Alba.

“If we don’t win this one we we will suffer when we play in Madrid. Eibar have had good results away from home and if we don’t play at a high level they will make it difficult for us.”

Eibar will hope that Luis Enrique’s side are distracted by thoughts of Madrid and their Champions League meeting with Ajax in midweek, although the Basque side have had an impressive start to the season themselves.

The entire population of the town could fit into the Camp Nou three times and still leave empty spaces, but Gaizka Garitano’s side, in their debut top-flight season, currently have as many points as their far more illustrious neighbours

FIXTURES Levante Athletic Club Barcelona Cordoba

v v v v

Real Madrid Celta Vigo Eibar Malaga

Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad combined.

“This is football and it’s clear that if we defend well, don’t make mistakes and get a bit of luck, we can come away with at least a point,” said optimistic midfielder Dani Nieto, formerly of Barcelona B. Real Madrid are fourth, four points behind Barcelona, but the capital club are looking to extend their own fine run of form when they visit struggling Levante.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side have won six

ALL-TIME GOALSCORERS IN LA LIGA

n AFP, Madrid

games in a row in all competitions since losing at home to Atletico Madrid last month, and they have scored 27 goals in that time.

They have a huge week ahead of them, with a trip to Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday before they face Barca, but Ancelotti has confidence in his improving team.

“Since the defeat to Atletico things have gone well,” remarked the Italian.

“We have had balance to the team and scored a lot of goals. We have conceded more, especially from dead balls, but

Manchester City midfielder Frank Lampard believes Tottenham Hotspur are a much tougher proposition since Mauricio Pochettino took over as manager.

Premier League champions City welcome the perennial ‘nearly men’ to Eastlands on Saturday with retired England international Lampard looking to add to the eight goals he scored against Tottenham during 13 years at London rivals Chelsea.

However, the 36-year-old former England international claims City’s opponents on Saturday are more formidable since former Southampton boss Pochettino became Tottenham’s head coach during the close season.

“I’ve done well against Spurs over the years and playing them was always a big game at Chelsea,” Lampard said.

“Even when I was at West Ham, Tottenham were big rivals so I’ve always seen it is a big game and something to

S Africa or Ghana could replace Morocco as host n AFP, Johannesburg South Africa and Ghana have been asked by the Africa Cup of Nations organisers whether they are prepared to host the 2015 tournament if Morocco withdraw over Ebola fears.

A letter from African Football Confederation (CAF) secretary general Hicham El Amrani asks an unknown number of national associations whether they would be ready to organise the event.

The letter reads in part: “In case Morocco refuses to maintain the staging of the competition at the agreed dates, CAF would like to know whether your federation would be willing and able to organise the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. Kindly note that this letter is also sent to some other federations capable of staging the 2015 edition of the event. In case CAF receives two or more positive responses, a draw will be made by the executive committee to designate the host of the 2015 edition.”

A senior football official told AFP on condition of anonymity that South Africa and Ghana were among the countries who received the letter.l

Spanish international striker Rodrigo has played down their prospects of competing for the title ahead of their trip to Deportivo.

“Football is passion, but people need to be aware of what our aim is and be clear that we are not going to compete for the title this year,” he said, targeting Champions League qualification instead.

Sevilla in third go to Elche while Athletic Bilbao are looking to end a run of seven games without a win when they host Celta Vigo. l

251 249 234 228 227 TELMO ZARRA

LIONEL MESSI

HUGO SÁNCHEZ

RAÚL GONZÁLEZ

ALFREDO DI STÉFANO

Matches

278

284

347

550

329

Country

Spain

Argentina

Mexico

Spain

Argentina/Spain

Athletic Bilbao

Barcelona

Atletico/Real/Rayo

Real Madrid

Real/Espanyol

1957-1967

2004–

1981–1994

1994–2010

1953–1966

0.91

0.88

0.67

0.42

0.69

Clubs Seasons Ratio

Lampard eager to earn his Spurs again n AFP, Manchester

that is something we are tidying up little by little.”

Iker Casillas is expected to remain the club’s first-choice goalkeeper for now, meaning Keylor Navas will be on the bench against the club he left in the summer.

Meanwhile, champions Atletico host Espanyol on Sunday looking to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat at Valencia before they face Malmo in the Champions League.

Valencia are flying high in second after an unbeaten start, although new

mark on the calendar and that doesn’t change now I’m at City.

“I think they’ll be up and around the top six this season.

“They may go through a slight transitional period but I was very impressed with their manager when he was at Southampton and if he can bring the same imprint on Tottenham,

FIXTURES Man City Arsenal Burnley Crystal Palace Everton Newcastle Southampton

v v v v v v v

Tottenham Hull City West Ham Chelsea Aston Villa Leicester City Sunderland

who arguably have more quality within their squad, they’ll do really well. They are a good side.

“I’m sure their aim is to get into the Champions League, but it won’t be easy and there is a lot of competition and there are a lot of teams all trying to

achieve the same goal.”

Lampard, who revealed earlier this week he will not seek to extend his loan spell from New York City FC beyond January, was named City’s player of the month for September earlier this week.

And he said he can scarcely believe how well life has gone for him at City so far.

“If somebody had said I would be voted player of the month by the fans in my first full month playing I would have had difficulty believing them,” added Lampard, who has scored four goals in his last five appearances for City.

Manuel Pellegrini, the City manager, is set to be without French star Samir Nasri as he continues his recovery from a groin injury and he will also check on the fitness of midfielder Fernandinho, who has a hamstring problem.

Pochettino has dismissed concerns Spurs could be carrying the scars of two heavy defeats by City last season.

Spurs were beaten 6-0 in the corresponding fixture last while the 5-1 home loss was no less embarrassing.l

Roberto di Matteo begins his reign as Schalke 04’s coach on Saturday by attempting to turn around the Royal Blues’ fortunes when they host Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga.

Despite having qualified for the Champions League, Schalke are 11th in the table and brought in former Azzurri star di Matteo to replace the sacked Jens Keller.

Keller’s 22-month tenure ended last week after his side took eight points from their first seven games and their 2-0 defeat to Hoffenheim was the final straw.

Having won the Champions League title with Chelsea in 2012, di Matteo has trained Schalke behind closed doors

FIXTURES Cologne Bayern Munich Mainz Hanover 96 Freiburg VfB Stuttgart Schalke 04

v v v v v v v

Dortmund Werder Bremen FC Augsburg M’gladbach VfL Wolfsburg Leverkusen Hertha Berlin

and wants a good start against Hertha, who are 12th in the table.

“We want to play a well-organised game in defence and attack,” said Di Matteo.

“We have a lot of attacking potential, but we have to improve our organisation.

“I am really looking forward to the game, the stadium is amazing and the atmosphere will be unbelievable but it’s important to get a good start after the international break.”

The 44-year-old has two home games in quick succession as Schalke host Sporting Lisbon in their Champions League group on Tuesday with Schalke are third in the table.

Di Matteo has set the goal of progressing to the knock-out stage in Europe and finishing in the Bundesliga’s top three to guarantee their Champions League place next season.

The Swiss-born Italian says there are “no miracles in football” but he is Schalke’s fifth coach in five years and is under pressure to get results quickly.

At the top of the table, Bayern Munich are out to add to their fourpoint lead when they host bottom side Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.l

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has confirmed that he plans to stand down after La Roja bid for a third successive triumph at Euro 2016.

“In life you cannot be absolutely sure about anything but it is my intention to continue until France 2016 and then leave,” Del Bosque told Spanish newspaper As. “In my case, the federation will make a smooth transition and my plan is to remain involved in football and with the federation.”

Del Bosque is in the process of rebuilding the Spain team following their World Cup disappointment in Brazil.

The reigning champions failed to progress from the group stage and it led to veterans Xabi Alonso, Xavi and David Villa all announcing their international retirements. They have begun qualifying for Euro 2016 with a new youthful side that has registered two victories and a loss so far from qualifying Group C. Spain won their first game against Macedonia before slumping to defeat at the hands of Slovakia but they then beat Luxembourg, where Chelsea’s Diego Costa hit the back of the net for the first time for his country. The Brazil-born player had been in rich form for his club where he had nine from nine games but it took seven matches for him to register a goal for Del Bosque’s side.

Spain won the European Championships in 2008 and 2012 playing a quick-passing game and Del Bosque still fully believes it is the best way.

“Experiments with the national team are almost impossible as there is no margin for error,” said Del Bosque.l

Saints win double in monthly awards n Reuters, London

Juve go to Sassuolo as Roma remain defiant

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman and their striker Graziano Pelle were named on Friday the Manager and Player of the Month for September after the club’s bright start to the season.

The south coast club sit third in the Premier League table behind Chelsea and Manchester City with seven matches played.

Koeman, who was up against Crystal Palace’s Neil Warnock, Jose Mourinho of Chelsea and Leicester City’s Nigel Pearson for the award, guided Saints to three wins in the Premier League during the month as well as a Capital One (League) Cup win over Arsenal at the Emirates stadium.

His side beat Newcastle 4-0 and Queens Park Rangers 2-1 at St Mary’s, while also picking up the points with a 1-0 win at Swansea City.

Pelle, who scored on his international debut for Italy this week, also scored twice in the win over Newcastle and hit a spectacular overhead winner against QPR.l

n AFP, Milan Champions Juventus travel to struggling Sassuolo on Saturday looking to maintain their lead at the top of Serie A, while nearest challengers Roma insist the fight for the title has just begun.

Juventus moved three points clear at the summit two weeks ago after a bad-tempered 3-2 win over Roma in Turin which saw the Bianconeri concede their first goals of the campaign.

Despite their defeat, Roma goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis insists the top-of-the-table clash showed Massimiliano Allegri’s men the capital club are a force to be reckoned with as they prepare to host Chievo on Saturday.

“We don’t want to finish second, we want to win (the league). We can do it, we realised that after seeing their reaction,” De Sanctis said in an interview

Di Matteo starts Schalke era n AFP, Berlin

Del Bosque plans to quit Spain after Euro 2016 n Reuters, Barcelona

with Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday.

Almost a fortnight after an explosive encounter that saw five goals, three penalties and two red cards as well as the sending-off of Roma coach Rudi Garcia, the dust has yet to settle.

De Sanctis on Thursday repeated allegations, notably by Giallorossi captain Francesco Totti, that Juventus benefit

FIXTURES AS Roma v Chievo Verona Sassuolo v Juventus from favourable refereeing decisions.

While the champions have steadfastly rejected the accusations, Juve defender Angelo Ogbonna went on the charm offensive when he told Sky Sport: “We don’t underestimate any of our opponents.

“Roma are a top side, they’ve done well in the transfer market with a view to the Champions League.”l

Klinsmann says not criticising MLS, welcomes ‘debate’ n Reuters, Newport Beach

New head coach Roberto Di Matteo (L) leads his training session of FC Schalke 04 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany last week AP

United States coach Juergen Klinsmann said on Thursday that he was not criticising or disparaging Major League Soccer by expressing regret that key players Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley had switched to the MLS from two of Europe’s top clubs.

Saying he welcomed a growing culture of impassioned debate over soccer issues in the United States such as the one that erupted this week over his comments, Klinsmann added the MLS had improved a lot in recent years and was clearly on the rise.

In an interview with Reuters near his adopted home, Klinsmann said he simply wanted to see the best American players compete in the pressure-packed atmosphere of the world’s best leagues in Europe to be ready for the challenges of the next World Cup in 2018.

“It’s great to see that we have debates and public discussions like this because that shows that more and more people care about soccer in this country,” Klinsmann said. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

15

Saturday, October 18, 2014

WHAT LED TO THIS?

QUICK BYTES

TIME TO MAKE A DECISION

Blatter not serving football anymore, says Platini

SEPTEMBER 19 WICB and WIPA sign new bargaining agreement and Memorandum of Understanding. WIPA president Wavell Hinds says agreement “not perfect”, but brings stability to the system.

Uefa president Michel Platini hit out at FIFA chief Sepp Blatter on Friday, saying the Swiss has stopped serving the cause of football. “Sepp is not the president of FIFA anymore. He is FIFA,” Frenchman Platini, whose book “Let’s Talk About Football” was released this week, told sports daily L’Equipe. “Platini, Pele, Blatter, (former FIFA presidet Joao) Havelange must yield to the interests of football. “One must not use football, but serve football.” Platini, 59, has no regrets for not running against Blatter who is likely to secure a fifth term at next year’s elections. “It was not the time. I do not regret anything.

One day maybe. We will see,” he said.

–Reuters

OCTOBER 7 West Indies players threaten to sit out the first ODI against India and claim that Hinds “hoodwinked” them while signing the MoU. OCTOBER 8 West Indies play the first ODI, but the captain Bravo asks Hinds and other officials with conflict of interests, to tender their resignation immediately.

OCTOBER 11 Bravo writes to WICB president Dave Cameron seeking an “urgent intervention” over payment issues between the board, the players, and WIPA.

Newcastle reveal Ebola ‘strategy’ The manager of English Premier League strugglers Newcastle United said on Thursday the north-east side were making plans for the return of two key African players amid growing fears of Ebola. Ivory Coast midfielder Cheick Tiote and Senegal striker Papiss Cisse were both due to return to Newcastle on Thursday after playing in qualifying matches for the Africa Cup of Nations, with the finals due to be staged in Morocco from January 17 to February 8.

There are concerns that they may have been put at risk of exposure to the Ebola virus while on international duty, but Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said the club were taking steps to protect the players and those around them. “We would be naive to not have concerns,” said Pardew, with the Ebola death toll in West Africa now nearing 4,500.

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH Sony Six 6:30PM World Kabaddi League Jalandhar: 28th 12:00AM Major League Soccer Toronto FC v Montreal Impact

Star Sports 4 8:30AM MotoGP World Championship Qualifying

OCTOBER 15 The growing impasse between the players and WIPA intensifies, with the players and WIPA exchanging bitter e-mails with each other. Hinds refutes all the claims made against him and says that senior West Indies players had expressed “100% support” towards a resolution. Bravo denies that any such a resolution was passed.

BCCI

OCTOBER 16 WICB says it will “engage” only with the WIPA, and not the players, to resolve the issue. l

scheduled, a one-off Twenty20 and three tests.

“We will pursue the ICC to ensure that its interests and those of the game at large will not suffer any damage due to such acts of indiscretion,” the BCCI said.

The BCCI replaced the abandoned matches with five one-day internationals at home against Sri Lanka, starting on Nov. 1.

“The BCCI wishes to thank (Sri Lanka Cricket) for its swift response, and for extending its support to ensure that the international cricket season is not curtailed,” it said in a separate statement.

The dispute stems from a memo-

randum of understanding and a collective bargaining agreement signed last month between the WICB and West Indies Players Association.

Bravo, as the team representative, said WIPA president Wavell Hinds signed without the team’s knowledge and consent. Bravo sought answers from Hinds, but even after Hinds responded, Bravo demanded Hinds resign from his positions, and asked the board not to communicate with WIPA until a solution was found.

But WICB president Dave Cameron said he will keep communicating with Hinds, and will adhere to the MoU signed in September. l

West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo (C) speaks with his teammates behind while India captain MS Dhoni looks on during the toss of their 4th ODI in Dharamsala yesterday

West Indies pulls out of tour of India n AP, New Delhi West Indies is quitting its tour of India after the fourth one-day international on Friday because of a pay dispute at home with its national cricket board and players’ union.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India said it was shocked and extremely disappointed by the decision of its West Indies counterpart.

“The WICB’s inability to resolve internal issues with its players and allowing the same to affect an ongoing bilateral series does not reflect well on any of those involved,” the BCCI said in a statement.

The BCCI added it made “several appeals to the WICB to honor its commitment and complete the series.”

West Indies almost didn’t play the first ODI last week because of the pay dispute, and warned its players union that it might strike or pull out of the tour. The lack of agreement boiled over when team manager Richie Richardson informed BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel of the team’s decision by email early Friday, just before the fourth ODI began in Dharmasala. The West Indians apparently reluctantly agreed to play the match.

Before the match, West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo termed the situ-

ation as “tough,” as he hinted at the withdrawal.

“As you can see, my team is standing behind me,” Bravo said at the toss. “It’s been a tough tour for us. We don’t want cricket to suffer. We enjoy our fans in India and our fans back home.

“That’s the reason we represent the West Indies team, but there comes a time when we have to make a decision as a team, things are not going our way. We try our best, we do everything in our powers, and yet to come to an agreement we need to have a contract, or something might happen.”

West Indies will abandon the tour at the halfway point, with one more ODI

English Premier League 5:45PM Manchester City v Tottenham 8:00PM Crystal Palace v Chelsea 12:45AM Italian Serie A Sassuolo v Juventus

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Star Sports 1 Sultan of Johor Cup 2:00PM Australia v India 4:00PM Pakistan v Malaysia 6:00PM New Zealand v Great Britain Spanish La Liga 8:00PM Levante v Real Madrid 10:00PM Athletic Club v Celta Vigo 12:00AM Barcelona v Eibar 2:00AM Cordoba v Malaga

Star Sports 2 4:00PM BWF World Super Series 2014 India 7:30PM Indian Super League Mumbai v Pune

Australia coach Lehmann Triple century in limited overs match! wins contract extension n Agencies

n AFP, Sydney Ashes-winning Australian coach Darren Lehmann was Friday handed a oneyear contract extension, with senior officials hailing his influence on the team.

Since assuming the role from the sacked Mickey Arthur in June last year, Lehmann has steered Australia to seven Test wins out of 13, with two drawn and four lost.

His contract with Cricket Australia was due to end in mid-2016, but he has won an extra year.

“We have been extremely pleased with the results Darren has achieved with the team since he came on board,” CA’s performance manager Pat Howard said in a statement.

“He has helped create an excellent team environment that has seen players thrive. We want that to continue so we used the winter period to work

through an extension to his current contract.

“Importantly it provides continuity for the team and certainty for Darren heading into a critical period for Australian cricket.”

Lehmann was thrust into the spotlight a few weeks before Australia’s 2013 Ashes series in England began when he was appointed to replace Arthur.

The 44-year-old former Test batsman said he was proud of his achievements so far, which have included a five-nil Ashes triumph over England last summer and a 2-1 win in South Africa in March.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I have had in the job and am proud of what we have achieved so far,” he said.

“I want to continue with the work we have done on and off the field with the team, as I feel we are heading in the right direction. l

Pistorius should serve at least 10 years in prison: prosecutor

Ten Sports

n Reuters, Pretoria

12:00AM Sky Bet Championship Bradford City v Sheffield United

Prosecutors called on Friday for South African Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius to be jailed for at least

10 years for killing his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day last year, and sentencing in his sensational trial was set for Tuesday.

Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated as a baby and who was long

Ten Action French Ligue 1 9:00PM 56 Lorient v Saint-Etienne 12:00AM AS Monaco v Evian Thonon

Neo Prime German Bundesliga 7:00PM Bayern Munchen v Werder Bremen 10:30PM Schalke 04 v Hertha Berlin

Neo Sports 10:30PM German Bundesliga FC Koln v Borussia Dortmund

After the first ODI was played in 1971, it took a whole 26 years for an individual to score a double century in the format at the international level. Belinda Clark achieved that feat when she remained unbeaten on 229 against Denmark in a group stage game at the 1997 Women’s World Cup in Mumbai.

On Sunday, James Tull - a club cricketer in Australia - took it another level, when he scored 341 in a limited overs game for Mater Hill in a Queensland Warehouse Cricket Association competition. What makes Tull’s achievement even more remarkable is the fact that the match was 44-over a side and he was dismissed in the 42th over. To visualise someone scoring a triple century in ODIs itself seems an absurd thought, forget being able to hit 341 in just 42 overs.

Banking on Tull’s knock, Mater Hill scored 457/4 in their 44 overs, with the second top scorer in the innings being Troy Dean who scored just 36. l

South African Olympic and Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius leaves the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria yesterday REUTERS

admired as an inspiration for disabled people, was convicted of culpable homicide last month for the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old law graduate and model, at his luxury home. Pistorius said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder.

“The minimum term that society will be happy with will be 10 years imprisonment,” chief state prosecutor Gerrie Nel said at the close of a five-day sentencing hearing in Pretoria. “This is a serious matter. The negligence borders on intent. Ten years is the minimum.”

Judge Thokozile Masipa is to sentence the 27-year-old Pistorius on Tuesday, ending a six-month trial that has been televised from start to finish, captivating millions around the world.

The defence and prosecution teams spent much of the hearing arguing over whether Pistorius should go to jail or be punished with a suspended sentence, house arrest or community service. l

James Tull plays a shot during his record breaking 341-run innings for Mater Hill

INTERNET

Top seeds Raonic and Cibulkova fall in Moscow n AFP, Moscow Top seeds Milos Raonic and Dominika Cibulkova both crashed out of the Kremlin Cup ATP and WTA tournament following second-round defeats in Moscow on Thursday.

Canada’s Raonic and Slovak Cibulkova both went down in three sets to qualifiers Ricardas Berankis and Vitalia Diatchenko respectively.

Lithuanian Berankis, 24, ousted world number nine Raonic 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in one hour 52 minutes to level his record with the Canadian big server at 1-1.

Raonic, who enjoyed an opening-round bye, looked slightly rusty from the outset, while Berankis, 116th in the world, broke twice for a one-set lead after 34 minutes.

In the second set, Raonic picked up steam also breaking his rival’s serve twice to level at one set all after one hour 16 minutes on court.

But in the deciding set Raonic lost

his nerve again allowing Berankis to produce the decisive break to advance into the final eight.

In the women’s event, 2011 champion Cibulkova joined the exodus of seeds falling to Moscow resident Diatchenko, who advanced into the last eight with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory in their first ever meeting.

The opponents traded breaks throughout the opening set but this year’s Australian Open runner-up Cibulkova proved more accurate, earning a 1-0 advantage.

In the second set, Cibulkova, ranked 14th, suddenly produced a catalogue of unforced errors allowing unheralded Diatchenko to break three times to level at one set all.

Diatchenko, who is 140th in the world, broke twice early in the third set for a commanding 4-0 lead and kept it through to face her sixth seeded compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat American Alison Riske 6-2, 6-2. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Saturday, October 18, 2014

A FAT T Y A F FA I R

Animal fat, collected from the rawhides of sacrificed animals on Eid-ul-Azha, is heated up to make oil and then processed in an unhygienic environment. This lowquality animal fat is used in making soaps and other oil-based consumer products. The photos were taken at a factory in the capital’s Hazaribagh area Thursday RAJIB DHAR

DSCC, DNCC to designate spaces for animal sacrifice

TIB demands punishment of offenders, compensation

n Abu Hayat Mahmud

n Tribune Report

The slaughter of sacrificial animals will be limited to specially designated spaces and city corporation slaughterhouses from next Eid-ul-Azha, officials said, ending the era of sacrifices being performed in city thoroughfares and public spaces.

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation authorities said the decision to limit the sites for sacrifice was motivated by public hygiene considerations.

Every year animal waste and blood pollute the streets and playgrounds of Dhaka after the holiday, leaving a lingering stench.

City corporation officials of both Dhaka North and Dhaka South told the Dhaka Tribune that sophisticated slaughtering equipment would be imported from abroad and be put to use at city corporation abattoirs and designated spaces.

DSCC high officials held a meeting Thursday with DSCC Chief Waste Man-

agement Officer Captain Md Rakib Uddin in the chair and Administrator Mohammad Ebrahim Hossain Khan and others attending, to discuss plans for the future.

“The meeting decided that a six-member team lead by the DSCC administrator will visit Bengal Meat

‘Using modern techniques, the slaughtering and processing of each animal should take 15 to 20 minutes’ Processing Industries at Kashinathpur in Pabna, and take further steps after visiting the modern meat processing factory,” said Rakib Uddin.

“Another team will visit and observe the sophisticated methods of cattle sacrifice in the countries of the middle east,” he added.

Student’s hanging body recovered from school hostel, 2 detained n

Mohammad Jamil Khan

Police recovered hanging body of a 17-year-old student of Cambrian School and College from the institution’s hostel in the capital’s Bhatara area yesterday.

The deceased was identified as Md Jahidul Islam Rayhan, the son of Saker Ullah from South Bailpara of Kurshikul in Cox’s Bazar. Jahid was a first year HSC student.

“When informed, we recovered Jahid’s body from bed-614 in building 963 in Khilbaritek, Bhatara around 10:30am,” said Julfiqar Ali, sub-inspector of Bhatara police station.

“Jahid used to occupy bed-608, but students of bed-612, 613 and 614 were on vacation from October 16. Jahid committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan with the bed-sheet in the vacant room,” said Julfiqar.

The SI said Jahid’s roommates discovered the body and informed the hostel authority. The body was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for autopsy, he added.

Asked about possible reasons for

suicide, Helaluddin Hassan, the deceased’s uncle, told the Dhaka Tribune that he came to know from Jahids friend that he was caught with a pack of cigarettes by Assistant Hostel Super Ashraf Ali. Later, Ashraf and Hostel Super Omar Faruk rebuked Jahid, as cigarette was not allowed inside the campus, and threatened to inform Jahid’s father and take stern action, said Helal.

Helal also said Jahid’s father is a strict man. The mental shock caused by the hostel super’s behaviour and fear of his father’s reactions might have led Jahid to commit suicide, he added.

When contacted, Saiful Islam, Admission Officer of Cambrian School and College, told the Dhaka Tribune that they have heard about some misunderstanding between the hostel super and the student. They have formed a disciplinary committee and if anyone was found guilty then action would be taken against him, he added.

A general diary was filed with Bhatara police station in this regard and Hostel Super Faruk and Assistant Super Ashraf were detained for interrogation, said SI Julfiqar. l

“Using modern techniques, the slaughtering and processing of each animal should take 15 to 20 minutes.

Residents will take tokens ahead of Eid and queue up for the slaughter of their sacrificial animals. We hope to simplify the process,” Rakib Uddin, the chief waste management officer, said.

DNCC Chief Estate Officer Aminul Islam said Dhaka North officials had also decided to arrange for the sophisticated new method of slaughter to be put in place starting next Eid-ul-Azha.

The DSCC runs two slaughterhouses – one in Hazaribagh and another in Kaptan Bazar, while the DNCC operates three at Mohammadpur, Mirpur 11 and Gulshan kitchen market.

A visit to the city-owned abattoirs revealed that they were in bad shape, with potholed floors, dilapidated walls and rickety, ageing structures that had not been refurbished in a very long time.

DSCC and DNCC officials admitted to the poor condition and shortage of slaughterhouses in the city, and said the issue would be addressed. l

LIMON CASE DROPPED

Transparency International Bangladesh has demanded exemplary punishment be awarded to those responsible for maiming Limon Hossain, who saw the last case again him dropped on Wednesday.

Expressing relief over the event, the TIB in a statement yesterday also called for punishing those who acted as instigators and had direct roles in registering the conspiratorial and false case to harass him.

Besides, the anti-corruption watchdog demanded compensation for the youth, who lost one of his legs in a RAB shooting in 2011.

TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman in the statement said clearing Limon and his family of the charges in the false case would bring a slight relief to the people’s mind but it was a tiny step towards establishment of justice.

He said it happened much late but withdrawal of the case was not enough.

“Those who, without a reason, bru-

tally maimed the innocent boy for life must be subjected to legal proceedings and given exemplary punishment so that law enforcers do not repeat such an incident in violation of law and justice,” he said.

The TIB official called on the government to bear financial responsibilities for Limon and his family members until he completes his studies and establishes himself professionally.

“Such an incident that illustrates a flagrant violation of human rights of an ordinary citizen by law enforcers has shaken people’s reliance upon this law enforcement agency. There is no alternative but to bring those responsible for the incident to book after identifying them through a thorough investigation that should be conducted by an impartial and high-powered probe committee,” he said.

The government’s commitment to build law enforcement agencies with the aim of serving people will become an empty promise if the offenders cannot be brought to justice, he added. l

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa granted bail n Tribune Desk Supreme Court granted bail to former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa but she is expected to step out of the prison in Bangalore today.

The court also stayed her sentence for two months sparking celebrations in her home state.

The former Tamil Nadu chief minister was handed a four-year prison term and a Rs. 100-crore penalty in September in a disproportionate asset case.

The top court also ordered the senior politician, popularly known as Amma, to present all the documents related to the corruption case before the Karnataka High Court by December 18 or her bail would be cancelled, reported Hindustan Times.

“This case is pending since 1991. If we give you bail you would drag it for another two decades. You won't get even a single day’s extension if the paper book (appeal containing 35,000 pages of documents) is not ready,” the bench headed

by Chief Justice HL Dattu said.

"Jayalalithaa will be released... but tomorrow because we have yet to complete formalities for her release from the prison," Jayalalithaa's senior lawyer B Kumar told PTI in Bangalore.

Kumar said he would on Saturday approach the Bangalore special court, which had sentenced the former chief minister, to furnish surety for her release after receiving copy of the Supreme Court order.

"We will get the Supreme Court order copy by this evening. Tomorrow, we will approach the special court and furnish surety to secure my client's (Jayalalithaa) release," he said.

The Supreme Court also released Jayalalithaa’s close aide Sasikala and her relatives VN Sudhakaran and Ilavarasi on bail. Jayalalithaa was forced to step down as Tamil Nadu chief minister following the conviction by a Bengaluru special court and was replaced by close aide O Panneerselvam.

The top court warned Jayalalithaa against causing any delay by seeking an adjournment in her appeal before the Karnataka High Court.

Nariman assured the apex court that the matter would not be delayed, saying that he was willing to give the statement on affidavit that no adjournment would be sought by the AIADMK chief in the high court.

Jayalalithaa, a former movie star, has a cult following in her state and is renowned for distributing free laptops,

jewellery and fans to voters.

Following news of her arrest last month, her supporters clashed with the police and some even committed suicide as violence erupted in parts of Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court insisted in exchange for granting bail that the politician appeal to her supporters not to resort to violence over her case.

“I truly agree we need to maintain high degree of political morality,” Nariman told the court when it took note of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's contention that Jayalalithaa’s supporters had even threatened him with dire consequences for lodging the case against her.

Jayalalithaa, who was denied bail by the Karnataka High Court following her conviction, moved the apex court for bail on October 9. The high court denied her relief on October 7 despite the Special Public Prosecutor not objecting to conditional bail.

AIADMK supporters broke out into celebrations in Tamil Nadu following the Supreme Court order, flashing victory signs, bursting crackers and dancing on the roads.

"It is Diwali day for us," a party worker said outside the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai. l

Nigeria says deal struck with Boko Haram over abducted girls n Reuters The Nigerian government has reached a deal with Islamic militant group Boko Haram for a ceasefire and the release of around 200 girls kidnapped six months ago from a school in the northeast town of Chibok, its defence chief said on Friday.

"I wish to inform this audience that a ceasefire agreement has been concluded," Marshal Alex Badeh said in a statement after three days of talks with the militant group that has wreaked havoc in the northeast of Africa's biggest oil producer.

A presidency source said the agreement stretched to the girls, who were abducted from a secondary school in Chibok near the Cameroon border in April, sparking a worldwide outcry.

The girls have remained in captivity ever since, although police and a parent of some of the missing students said last month one of the girls had been released.

President Goodluck Jonathan has been pilloried at home and abroad for his slow response to the kidnapping and for his inability to quell the violence by the Islamist militants, seen as the biggest security threat to Africa's biggest economy.

Boko Haram, whose name roughly translates as 'Western education is sinful', has killed thousands of people in a five-year insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in the vast scrubland of Nigeria's impoverished northeast.

A senior Nigerian security source confirmed the existence of talks, but said it remained unclear whether Abuja was negotiating with self-proclaimed movement leader Abubakar Shekau, or another faction within the group.

"Commitment among parts of Boko Haram and the military does appear to be genuine. It is worth taking seriously," the security source told the news agency.

Several rounds of negotiations with Boko Haram have been attempted in recent years but they have never achieved a peace deal, partly because the group has several different factions.

"There are some talks but it depends on the buy-in of the whole group. I would be surprised if Shekau had suddenly changed his mind and is ready for a ceasefire," the source added.

The government was negotiating with Danladi Ahmadu, a man calling himself the secretary-general of Boko Haram, the presidency source said. It was not clear if Ahmadu is part of the same faction as Shekau. l

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