May 23, 2015

SECOND EDITION

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

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Jyoistha 9, 1421, Sha’ban 4, 1436

FARMERS SUFFER IN A TIME OF PLENTY PAGE 3

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 41

STRIKE AT MONGLA PORT REMAINS UNCHANGED PAGE 4

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www.dhakatribune.com | 36 pages | Price: Tk10

3R WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY FAILS PAGE 32

Last 5 years see steady rise in murders Statistics show police’s Dhaka Range as the most crime-prone area in the country n Mohammad Jamil Khan Over the last five years, the country has been experiencing a steady rise in the number of murders resulting out of all kinds of reasons including political and personal feuds.

Dhaka being the most densely populated and important area in the country has registered the highest number of murders during this period.

Statistics from the Police Headquarters showed that In the first four months of 2015, a total of 1,302 people had been killed across the country - 327 in April, 337 March, 309 February and 329 in January.

In the area that police describes as its Dhaka range, 98 people were killed in April, 114 in March, 93 in February and 100 in January.

Criminology experts said that the law enforcement agencies have been busy tackling political unrest for the most part of the first quarter of this year; as a result, they have not been able to control general crimes.

When contacted, SM Mahfuzul Haque Nuruzzaman, deputy inspector general (DIG) of police’s of Dhaka Range, claimed to have solved a number of cases in recent times

and there was nothing to worry or be scared about.

He mentioned the case filed in connection with the recent bank heist in Ashulia, in which robbers killed a number of local people, as one of their successes.

“Our officials are always alert about any kind of untoward incidents. There is patrolling and police presence at every major spot [in Dhaka]. But sometimes incidents

dodge our eyes because we have manpower shortage,” the DIG said.

Documents show that people get killed for all kinds of reasons including family feuds, drug trade, land grabbing, illegal possession, arms dealing, extortion, competition over tender, mugging, establishing supremacy and political conflicts.

Only those lawsuits filed with police stations in connection with deaths these inci-

Rescued migrants pay ransom to get back home n Abid Azad from Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar Following a two-month ordeal of uncertainty and torture, 28-year-old Nabi Hossain has finally set foot on Bangladesh soil again; but he had to pay Tk50,000 to secure his freedom from the smugglers who are still holding hundreds captive at sea.

Nabi is among 17 Malaysia-bound people who were picked up by the BGB forces yesterday from Shah Porir Dwip’s Jaliapara area in Teknaf upazila. The rescued men had all earlier set out for a better future in Malaysia, leaving the country in two separate groups from Moheshkhali and Ukhia’s Sonapara beach.

The rescued people – who landed in Shah Porir Dwip in two boats – are: Yunus Ali, Abu Bakkar, Shahjahan from Chittagong’s Satkania, Hiron Momin, Alam, Sohel, Rokib, Shahabuddin, Kazi Ilias, Yusuf, Asad Mia, Safiq Mia, Billal, Kawsar Mia from Narsingdi, Nabi Hossain and Manik from Narayanganj.

They, however, are the lucky ones. The fate of hundreds of their travel companions  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

PAGE 2 Muhith: Everyone to get power connection by 2021

Malaysia-bound men who had to pay ransoms to secure their freedom from human traffickers – wait to be processed at the Teknaf police station yesterday. Smugglers dropped them off in the jungles of Myanmar, from where they arranged for passage to Shah Porir Dwip in Teknaf DHAKA TRIBUNE

PAGE 3 Food subsidy to get only 10% increase

PAGE 5 Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati bus begins trial run

dents are listed in police’s books as general murder cases.

In the political unrest that lasted from January to March this year, nearly 150 people were killed in various kinds of violence such as firebombing of crowded vehicles and crude bomb blasts. But most of these deaths are not included in the numbers mentioned above.

Only a handful of incidents reported as  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Myanmar rescues 200 ‘Bangladeshis’ as US for Rohingya recognition n Agencies Myanmar’s navy yesterday brought ashore 200 migrants – calling them Bangladeshis – found in a boat off its coast, after its military chief said some of the thousands of migrants that have landed in Malaysia and Indonesia this month are pretending to be Rohingya Muslims to get UN aid, Reuters reports.

In response, a senior US official said yesterday that the majority of the more than 3,000 migrants that have come ashore are Rohingya fleeing desperate conditions in Rakhine State in western Myanmar.

The senior US diplomat yesterday urged Myanmar to extend citizenship to the oppressed Rohingya minority.

“They should have a path to citizenship,” US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken

PAGE 9 Suicide bomber attacks Shiite mosque in Saudi Arabia

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

PAGE 32 World authors for end to blogger attacks

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2 NEWS

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Muhith: Everyone to get power connection by 2021 n BSS

Stating that the country’s 67% people are now getting power, Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday vowed that all the people in the country would have access to the power connection network by 2021.

“We are generating power as per the necessity and the country has no power crisis at this moment. But power generation needs to be increased to meet new demand,” he

said while inaugurating the newly-built office building of Gram Samiti under the initiative of Social Development Foundation (SDF) at Dholoipara in Sylhet.

Terming natural gas as a valuable resource, the finance minister said: “Factories operate by gas, so no one will get new gas connection.”

Referring to the government’s different initiative to cut poverty, Muhith said SDF project was a successful one for eliminating poverty and its activities would run for another six

years in the country.

Mentioning present poverty rate is 24%, he said: “The government has various initiatives to rehabilitate beggars, “but now those who are begging, they have chosen it as a profession willingly, no one can motivate them to change the profession.”

Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet M Shahidul Islam chaired the programme while SDF Managing Director A Z M Sakhawat Hossain gave welcome speech. l

Matia: Sheikh Hasina stands for democracy n Tribune Report Agricultural Minister Matia Chowdhury yesterday said the ratification of Indira-Mujib deal by Indian parliament is a rare success and pride for the country.

Addressing a rally as the chief guest she said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stands for democracy and Sheikh Hasina means Bangladesh’s achievement. The rally was held at Bangabandhu Avenue yesterday afternoon. After the rally AL activists brought out a colourful procession to mark the 34th Homecoming Day of the party’s President Sheikh Hasina. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Myanmar rescues 200 ‘Bangladeshis’ as US for Rohingya told reporters in Yangon, referring to the Rohingya – 1.3 million of whom live in Myanmar yet are dismissed as Bangladeshi illegal immigrants by the authorities, AFP reports.

Noble Peace Prize winning opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is yet to comment on the current crisis.

Yesterday’s naval rescue by Myanmar could be a sign of compromise after widespread criticism for not taking any responsibility for the crisis. “The people on the boat were all from Bangladesh,” said Rakhine State government executive secretary Tin Maung Swe. “We will deport them.”

Southeast Asia’s migrant crisis blew up after a Thai crackdown on human trafficking led criminals to abandon overloaded boats in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. “The majority are, in fact, from Rakhine State, are Rohingya and have left because of the desperate conditions they face in Rakhine State,” Blinken told reporters yesterday, speaking of the thousands of migrants that have come ashore in the region.

Most of Myanmar’s 1.1 million Rohingya are stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions in the state. Almost 140,000 were displaced in deadly clashes with majority Buddhists in

Rakhine in 2012. They are denied citizenship and have long complained of state-sanctioned discrimination.

Myanmar military chief General Min Aung Hlaing cast doubt on the origin of many of the refugees in comments carried in Myanmar’s state media yesterday, hinting that most migrants claimed to be Rohingya from Myanmar in the hope of receiving assistance from UNHCR. Myanmar has seen surging Buddhist nationalism in recent years and spates of violence targeting Muslim minorities. Both the US and UN have raised concerns about laws proposed by Myanmar President Thein Sein, seen as a response to campaigns by hardline Buddhist monks in a key election year.

A raft of laws spanning interfaith marriage, religious conversion and birth rates, are seen by activists as particularly discriminatory against women and minorities.

Monsoon looms

The rescue by Myanmar’s navy was welcomed by the UNHCR which said it was helping local authorities provide assistance to the migrants.

But fears remain for many more still left on boats in the Bay of Bengal with monsoon rains looming.

“We hope that this recent positive development will be followed by other disembarkations in Myanmar and across the region, well in advance of the coming monsoon rains,” UNHCR spokeswoman Vivian Tan told AFP. The imminent monsoon season, when heavy rains and cyclones lash the region, usually lead to a significant drop off in regional boat migrant numbers.

In the Bay of Bengal, the UNHCR believes up to 2,000 migrants are still stuck on vessels controlled by people smugglers who have been unwilling to begin the journey south because of the crackdown.

Giving updated figures the International Organization for Migration said that over 3,600 people had disembarked in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh since the beginning of the crisis. Scores of Rohingya are paying off people smugglers and returning to the squalid camps they used to live in after being held for months on overcrowded ships off the coast of Myanmar.

Earlier this week, Malaysia and Indonesia relented on a hardline policy of pushing back the boats, and said their nations would accept the migrants for one year, or until they can be resettled or repatriated with the help of international agencies. l

Rescued migrants pay ransom to get back home remain uncertain as they continue to be held in crammed boats at unknown locations at sea; in order to secure passage back home, they have to meet ransom demands of their captors.

Nabi said that even though his ransom was paid to a bKash account in Bangladesh, the smugglers dropped them off in a hilly jungle area in Myanmar instead of carrying them to Bangladeshi shores.

“As the ship could not enter Thailand territory, the brokers in the ship decided to return us to our country. But not free of charge; at first they demanded Tk1 lakh, then Tk50,000 for each of us,” Nabi told the Dhaka Tribune at the Teknaf police station.

“Twelve of us first boarded a small boat and after 25 hours we boarded another chocolate-coloured vacant ship in the Myanmar sea. The boat had 66 people [captives] including four women – three of them Burmese and another woman from Teknaf aged around 26.

“Five among the captives jumped overboard to escape torture and died in the water.

It made us give them the money only to save our own lives,” Nabi added.

Despite paying the ransom, the smugglers only brought them as far as Myanmar before dropping them off in a remote area.

“When they left us in Myanmar along with the three Burmese women, one broker took the Bangladeshi woman with him and headed to another direction inside the jungle,” said Nabi.

Shahabuddin, who was also among those left in the jungle, said: “We walked for a long time. Then after three hours of swimming, we found a barb wired fence in front of us. Within a few moments, two people appeared and tried to force us to go with them. A scuffle ensued and we all started beating them and managed to rescue ourselves from another enslavement.

“Later we passed eight more fences and swam across three more rivers to reach a Muslim area in Myanmar. The locals gave us clothes and foods. They also helped us reach Shah Porir Dwip by hiring a boat” he added.

Different ship, same struggle

Yunus Ali, who left from Sonapara beach and returned on a separate vessel than that

of Nabi, said there were around 220 Malaysia-bound Bangladeshis, including 120 people who hailed from Narsingdi, on the vessel where he was held captive.

The ship also had around 105 Rohingya people; among them, 70 were women including a pregnant woman and around 20 other children of under 10 years of age.

“We initially climbed into a boat which had ‘Tarek’ written on it, before reaching the ship near a hill called Shital Pahar in Myanmar,” Yunus said.

The nine Bangladeshis from that ship who managed to return to Bangladesh said each of them had to pay Tk50,000 to be dropped off in Myanmar, before paying another Tk20,000 to reach Shah Porir Dwip.

All of the rescued people said they had earlier been promised by their agents that they would not have to pay a single taka to be transported to Malaysia.

The rescued men are currently being kept under the custody of Teknaf police station, and are expected to be produced before local courts today. l

Steady rise in murders in the last 5 years murder cases have been taken into account; others were mostly listed under the explosives and terrorist acts.

Col Ziaul Ahsan, additional director general of RAB, also claimed to have gotten success in solving many cases and arrested a number of local and foreign professional criminals this month.

According to sources in the prosecution of various courts, not a single case has gone as far as the execution stage in the last three and a half to four years in the Dhaka metropolitan area.

The same sources also said that charge sheets had been filed in a maximum of 100150 murder cases during this period.

Families of murder victims have often reported getting threats from the accused, who come out on bail.

On Thursday, after coming out on bail, the accused persons in the 2011 Nazrul Islam Babu murder case in Narayanganj abducted and killed his father Jalaluddin, the plaintiff.

Zia Rahman, chairman of Dhaka University’s Criminology Department, said: “Our justice system is not advanced. Police and criminal justice system are related. As the criminals are not getting punished, crime is increasing.

“In such a situation, the total system needs to be reformed, otherwise things will keep on going worse and eventually out of control,” he said.

Rights activist and lawyer Elina Khan said: “We are seeing criminals storming into people’s bedrooms and killing them right in front of their family. These clearly speak for the law and order situation in the country.”

Human rights workers have also been voicing alarm about law enforcers’ failure in tracing the culprits in some of the most sensational murders in recent times such as those of journalist couple Sagar-Runi, Islamic teacher and media personality Nurul Islam Faruqi, secular writers Oyasiqur Rahman, Avijit Roy and Ananta Bijoy Das. When contacted, AKM Shahidul Hoque, inspector general of police, said that drives against the criminals behind the murders of bloggers and all others are under way.

Following a directive from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the relevant offices of the government are now processing the creation of 50,000 new posts in the police force by the end of this fiscal year. The recruitment of nearly 10,000 more personnel in the first phase has already got the necessary approvals. l

DT

NEWS 3

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Food subsidy to get only 10% increase n Asif Showkat Kallol For the next fiscal year, the government has decided to raise its outlay for subsidies under the Food Ministry by only 9.89%, far less than the amount demanded by farmers for recovering from their continuing losses.

Sources said the subsidy amount for the Food Ministry is expected to be increased to Tk1,981 crore for the next budget, a slender rise from the existing Tk1,806 crore, official sources said.

“We wanted food subsidy to be increased by 28% from the last fiscal year, as local farmers had failed to meet even the basic production cost of their crop over the last three years because of political turmoil,” said a Food Ministry official.

Seeking anonymity, he added that the three items which receive subsidised procurement rates – paddy, rice, and wheat – have seen their production costs rise significantly over recent years, while the negative influence of cheap Indian rice in the domestic market has also been hurting rice prices.

Finance Division sources however said the Food Ministry failed to present any strong arguments for increasing the allocation of subsidies.

The decision, however, has caused strong criticisms in the grassroots level. Farmers and traders alike said the new amount of subsidies will be far less than they anticipated. l

Police evict a makeshift sapling stall a woman, left, tried to set up on a footpath near Doyel Chattar on Dhaka University campus yesterday

Farmers suffer in a time of plenty n Abu Bakar Siddique A decision to allow rice to be imported this year following a surplus crop last year has hit the Boro paddy market, with farmers seeing the lowest prices for the Boro harvest in recent memory.

Millers, the primary buyers of paddy from farmers, are reluctant to procure more from local markets because they are already wellstocked with rice and paddy from last year’s yield.

Excess stocks of low-price Indian rice imports have deterred millers from procuring paddy from the local market. And depressed market prices for local paddy are now lower than the cost of production.

“We have around 100,000 tonnes of rice and paddy collected last season in our godowns in Naogaon district alone and imported rice is also available in the market causing millers to back away from fresh purchases of new paddy. This is ultimately causing paddy prices to fall this season,” said Nirod Baraon Saha, convener of Noagaon Rice Mill Owners’ Association.

Experts said permitting the private sector to import rice this fiscal year despite surplus local production last year was the reason for this season’s fall in the domestic price of Boro paddy.

Quazi Shahabuddin, an agricultural economist, said the government should not have permitted the importation of such a huge volume of rice while there were available food grains at home.

He said the government had mismanaged the rice procurement situation, ultimately causing farmers to suffer.

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and the Directorate General of Food (DgoF) say the country produced 34.465 million tonnes of rice last season, against a demand of 31 million

tonnes.

But data from the Ministry of Food shows that private sector traders were permitted to open Letters of Credit (LC) to import 1.524 million tonnes of rice this fiscal year.

Bangladesh Bank data shows that the private sector imported rice worth $416 million between July 2014 and March 2015. By contrast, the corresponding figure in fiscal year 2013-14 was just $71 million.

Ministry of Food data shows that the government’s rice reserve as of yesterday was 776,000 tonnes; the previous year the reserve was 593,000 tonnes.

Paradoxical procurement

Experts noted a paradox in the government’s policies, as the import order came at a time when the government itself declared a food production surplus in the country and took the initiative to export 50,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka last year.

Meanwhile, the government has fixed a Boro procurement target of 1,000,000 tonnes of rice and 100,000 tonnes of Boro paddy from May this year.

Quazi Shahabuddin suggested the government procure large amounts of rice from the fields instead of stopping at the fixed procurement target, otherwise farmers may not survive.

Too little, too late

At the beginning of the month, the National Board of Revenue imposed a 10% import duty on rice imported from India, a measure rice millers have been calling for since the beginning of the fiscal year.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith told the media on May 10 that the government had taken the step to slow rice imports because the coun-

try had achieved self-sufficiency in the production of rice.

For the last three years, the government itself has not imported rice although some quantities were imported by the private sector.

Farmers widely believe they are not getting fair prices because of the importation of rice from India at low prices.

Criticising the government’s imposition of a 10% import duty so late in the day, Quazi Shahabuddin, a former director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said the government should have imposed the duty much earlier.

He said a 10% import duty was not enough to fix the situation, adding that the government should impose an import duty nearer 30%, otherwise imported and local rice prices would be unevenly matched, benefiting importers and achieving little gain for farmers.

Producers’ plight

This season, Boro farmers have seen the lowest prices – Tk450-500 per maund (40kgs) – for their product, the lowest levels in the last few years.

Boro is the largest rice harvest in the country with a production of around 18.9 million tonnes out of a total of 34.6 million tonnes of paddy in 2013-14.

At these prices, farmers are at serious risk of losing big.

Currently, while the market price per maund of Boro paddy is Tk450-500, the production cost is Tk650.

“This means, ultimately, the farmers will be the losers,” Masud Chowdhury, a farmer from Dinajpur, said. l

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Indigenous girl claims rape in microbus n Kamrul Hasan An indigenous girl yesterday filed a case against five unidentified men, who she claimed had forced her into a microbus and gang-raped her on Thursday night.

The girl, who lives in the capital’s Uttara with her elder sister and has a sales job at a store at Jamuna Future Park, was waiting at Kuril bus stop to board a bus to return home when a microbus stopped in front of her around 9:25pm.

“Two youths came out of the microbus, forced her into the vehicle and a total of five men, including the driver, raped her before dropping her at Jasimuddin bus stop,” the victim’s elder sister said.

The case was lodged with Bhatara police station and Sazzad Hossain, inspector of the station, said the probe would take some time.

“The criminals are completely unknown and police have no clues. This makes the task of nabbing them difficult.

“We will send the victim to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for medical examination tomorrow (today),” he added. l

DT

4 NEWS

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Strike at Mongla port remains unchanged n Our Correspondent, Khulna Export-import activities at Mongla port have come to a halt as usual yesterday as the indefinite strike called by local C&F agent organisation, demanding a three-point demand entered the third day.

Owing to the impasse, not only the organisation also the government exchequer has been depriving Tk9 crore daily.

In the evening, a meeting between the C&F leaders and the port commissioner to come out from the crisis ended with no solution as both sides remained rigid to their points.

The demands mainly included halting “the long-running harassment” what the strikers claimed by the port authorities in the name of examining the goods haul.

When contacted, Mongla Customs Clearing and Forwarding Agents’ Association President Sultan Hossain Khan threatened the strike would continue as long as their demands are not met.

Sultan Hossain alleged the Chittagong port authorities examine only ten percent products of a haul whereas the Mongla port authorities have been harassing them through testing the whole consignment.

The association’s General Secretary Mahmudul Ahsan Titu echoed the voice of Sultan Hossain telling that the purview of the strike would be increased unless “the harassment” at the country’s vital port in the south-western part sees the end urgently.

They have already sent a memorandum to the Finance Ministry in favour of their demand, the leader went on.

The port’s Customs Commissioner Md Al-Amin Promanic said they have been trying to solve the stalemate through discussion and he urged upon all to conform the port law. l

Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (Desco) disconnects different types of illegal wires on Green Road in the capital yesterday

Brac University launches chess club n Tribune Report Brac University Chess Club was inaugurated and Brac School Chess programme was held on Thursday at the university’s auditorium, said a press release.

The club aims at utilising chess as a tool to develop analytical skills and cognitive abilities of students while the chess programme is designed to hunt chess talents from the under-privileged children currently studying at different Brac schools.

Professor Syed Saad Andaleeb, vice-chancellor of the university, was present as the chief guest on Thursday while

Grandmaster Niaz Murshed, the first grandmaster in South Asia and also the trainer of the club, delivered the keynote speech.

Mahmud Hasan of Brac Education Project and Saiful Tariq, secretary general of Bangladesh Chess Federation, attended as special guests.

Dr Aparna Islam, director of the Office of Co-curricular Activities, Shams Ud Duha, the club’s adviser, and Sameer Hossain, president of the club, spoke at the programme among others.

The vice-chancellor and Niaz Murshed played a rapid chess match after the inauguration. l

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

15 hurt as BCL runs amok at CU dorms n CU Correspondent At least 15 people were injured when Chhatra League and Islami Chhatra Shibir activists chased each other on Chittagong University campus yesterday.

Chhatra League members later engaged in vandalism and ransacked 150 rooms of two dormitories – Alaol Hall and AF Rahman Hall – dominated by Shibir.

Twelve of the injured were sent to Chittagong Medical College Hospital while the rest were given first aid at the university’s medical centre, said Dr Jahir Ahmed of the medical centre.

Police sources said the incident took place around 4pm as Chhatra League men beat up students and Shibir members of the two halls before leaving the furniture of the rooms in a muddle and taking away some as well.

Witnessed said some members of the CFC (Choose Friend with Care) faction of Chhatra League got into an altercation with Shibir men in Alaol Hall’s playground over a cricket match, triggering a brawl.

Other CFC members had weapons and firearms when they arrived at Alaol Hall shortly afterwards and began to vandalise rooms indiscriminately.

They fired several blank shots while Shibir men hurled stones at them, said witnesses.

Chhatra League members of Shahjalal and Shah Amanat dormitories soon joined the CFC men and attacked AF Rahman Hall, going on another rampage and damaging around 100 rooms.

Professor Sheikh Jahir Ahmed, provost of Alaol Hall, told the Dhaka Tribune that police managed to calm the activists after around one and a half hours.

Md Salauddin Chowdhury, inspector (investigation) of Hathazari police station, said additional police were deployed at the dormitories to avert further unrest.

Police also detained three students but did not disclose their identities.

Moazzem Hossain James, former assistant secretary of Chittagong University Chhatra League unit, said Shibir men assaulted a junior student to create unrest on the campus but Chhatra League members resisted them. l

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NEWS 5

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Dhaka-ShillongGuwahati bus begins trial run n Shohel Mamun The trial run of a new bus service between Dhaka and Guwahati via Shillong began yesterday to facilitate the movement of the people of the two neighbouring countries.

The trial run of the first bus on the route was ceremonially flagged off from the capital’s Kamalapur Bus Stand around 4:30pm.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader inaugurated the bus service.

Starting from Dhaka, the bus will run through Sylhet to Shillong in Meghalaya to Guwahati in Assam.

The total straight line distance between Dhaka and Guwahati is 309km. If a bus runs at a speed of 50km per hour, it will take around seven hours to reach Guwahati.

A bus service between Bangladesh and India was earlier launched in July 1999 connecting Dhaka and Kolkat.

Currently, two buses having a seating capacity for 40 run between Dhaka and Kolkata every day.

These are fully air-conditioned and super deluxe buses of international standards with the fare fixed at Tk1,500 per passenger for a round trip.

The bus service between Dhaka and Agartala started on September 22, 2003. An air-conditioned super deluxe bus having a seating capacity of 40 passengers runs on the route. Its fare was fixed at Tk600 (round trip).

Earlier, both the countries agreed to introduce bus services between Dhaka and Guwahati when Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made the proposal during her three-day visit to Dhaka in June last year. l

A stall of the three-day-long International Tourism Fair organised by Bangladesh Tourism Development Foundation at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Tourism fair gets huge response, ends tonight n Tribune Report The three-day long Bangladesh International Tourism Fair 2015 that began on May 21 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center will end tonight.

Tour operators from Bangladesh and other countries participated in the fair, offering various national and international tour packages. Yesterday, the fair saw crowds of visitors booking travel packages and collecting information for their next vacation.

FBCCI election today n Tribune Report The biennial election of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) will be held today.

Voting will begin at 9am and will continue till 5pm while the Election Board chairman, Professor Ali Ashraf, will announce the results after counting ends.

Three panels will contest the elections under the banner of Unnayan Parishad led by Nitol Niloy Group Chairman Abdul Matlub Ahmad, Swadhinata Byabshayee Parishad led by Monowara Hakim Ali, the incumbent first vice-president of the FBCCI, and Byabshayee Oikya Parishad led by Syed Moazzam

Hossain, president of Bangladesh Indenting Agents Association.

The FBCCI Board will comprise 52 directors, of which 32 will be elected through direct votes and the remaining 20 will be nominated from different chambers and associations.

Of the 32 posts, 16 will be filled from the chamber group and another 16 from the association body. On the day after tomorrow, the elected and nominated directors will select the president, first vice-president and vice-president among themselves.

According to the voter list published on March 30, the number of total voters stands at 2,193, with 430 coming from 78 chambers and the rest from 355 associations. l

Swechchasebak League leader killed n CU Correspondent A leader of Swechchasebak League was hacked to death by miscreants at Charomba union of Lohagora upazila in Chittagong on Thursday night.

The deceased Kamal Uddin, 22, president of Charomba union unit of Swechchasebak League, was attacked by unidentified miscreants when he was returning home on Thurs-

day around 10pm, said Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Shahjahan of Lohagara police station.

He was taken to Lohagora upazila health complex where he succumbed to his injuries around 11:30pm.

OC Shahjahan said Charomba union Jamaat president Nurul Alam Helali, 45, and Jamaat activist Md Afsar were arrested in this connection and a case was filed with the police station. l

Md Suman Rahman, sales executive of Cosmos Holiday said: “Because of the political situation, the last tourism season was lifeless in our country. People did not travel anywhere for fear of violence; that would continue to affect the tourism sector for the next few months.”

However, our foreign tourists were almost the same as before this year, he added.

Rakibul Hasan, a businessman, came with his family to the tourism fair to collect information on tour packages for Bangkok.

HM Hakim Ali, chairman of Bangladesh

Foundation for Tourism Development (BFTD) said: “We are getting huge response from the people and we hope it will reinforce our tourism sector.”

However, participants in the fair expressed dissatisfaction as the first day of the three-day long fair was closed at 6:30pm because of the PM’s programme at the conference centre.

Rezaul Ekram, CEO of the tourism fair, said the situation was unavoidable as we came to know of the programme four days before the tourism fair. l

DT

6 NEWS

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Chandrabati’s memorial fading away n Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj The people of Kishoreganj are very proud of their rich cultural heritage as the district is enriched with many archaeological sites. It is also the birthplace of one of the first female Bangali poets, Chandrabati.

Chandrabati was born in the 16th century into a Brahman family in Patuair village of Maizkhapon union in Kishoreganj sadar. Her house, now a memorial, is located beside the Fuleshwari River. Chandrabati’s poems were translated into 21 languages of the world. She was very popular for gathas and odes.

The house of Chandrabati and the adjacent

Shiv temple is a popular tourist spot where people from all over the country and abroad flock everyday. However, this heritage site now lies in a ruinous condition.

Residents of Kishoreganj have been demanding restoration and preservation of her house and the Shiv temple but all the Archaeology Department did was hang a notice board; meanwhile a lot of valuables of the temple have been stolen. There is not even an initiative to fix the approach road to her house which is in very poor condition, or make it wider.

Chandrabati’s memorial house has become a parasitic plant garden as there is no actual maintenance, the preservation work remains

only on paper.

Shamima Akter Jahan, a primary school teacher and a social worker of Gaital area in the town, said: “It is necessary to restore the house of the poet and the temple immediately as their condition are worsening. Otherwise we will not be able to conserve our heritage. And a wide road to the house from Kishoreganj town is a must so that the visitors can move easily with their vehicles.”

Md Rejaul Habib, president of Kishoreganj Itihas Oitijjo Songrokkon Parishad, and Md Saidur Rahman Kanchan, president of Chandrabati Smrity Sahitta Sangha said they applied to the LGRD ministry for a wide carpet-

ed road to the poet’s memorial house from the Nilganj area and to set up a museum for preserving memories of Chandrabati.

Rakhi Ray, regional director of Archaeology Department said: “We already sent a proposal to the concerned ministry to preserve the historical site of Chandrabati’s temple and house.

The government will take initiatives to preserve Chandrabati’s heritage and a stage will be set up very soon for organising cultural events, an application for which has been already submitted to the concerned ministry, said SM Alam, Deputy Commissioner of Kishoreganj. l

Seven jailed for running illegal hospital n Tribune Report A mobile court here on Thursday sentenced seven people, including a physician, to one year jail on charge of fraud through setting up an unauthorised hospital in Khetlal upazila of the district.

The convicts are Sultan Mahmud, manager of Asthma Hospital, its staff Faruk Hossain, physician Rasheda Begum, supervisor Nasima Ezaz, accountant Rokhsana Begum and drug supplier Masud Reza and Shahidul Islam.

Sources said Ekram Hossain, chairman of Asthma Foundation, launched the hospital named Asthma Hospital at Nischinta Bazar in the upazila.

Later the authorities of the hospital conned a number of gullible women out of Tk10 lakh promising to provide jobs to 32 of them at union-level and 288 at the ward level.

Besides, they also took Tk5 lakh more for five upazila-level posts.

The authorities also cheated 32 supervisors and 288 nurses assuring them of providing fixed salaries if they supply 6,000 patients to the hospital every month.

Tipped off, Khetlal UNO Abdullahel Baki along with police conducted a drive at the hospital on Thursday.

As the authorities failed to show any legal documents, police arrested its seven staff including the manager and a physician of the hospital. l

Clash over land kills two in Gazipur n Our Correspondent, Gazipur Two people were killed and five others injured in a clash that took place at Kandipara village of Gafargaon upazila, Mymensingh yesterday morning.

There had been a long-standing dispute between Abdus Samad Khan and his arch rival Liakat Mir for long over the ownership of a piece of land in the area, said Badrul Alam, officer-in-charge of Gafargaon police station.

As a sequel to the dispute, supporters of Liakat attacked Samad when he was returning home from kitchen market in the morning, triggering a clash that left Samad dead on the spot and six others injured. Later, Kalu Mia, 47, died on the way to hospital. l

Growers busy in selecting the litchi, freshly grown this season in abundance in Mongalbaria village under Pakundia upazila of Kishoreganj district DHAKA TRIBUNE

6 killed in road accident n Our Correspondent, Panchagarh Six people, including three members of a family, were killed in a road accident on the Panchagarh-Tetulia Highway at Charmile village in Panchagarh sadar upazila yesterday morning.

Quoting witnesses, Officer-in-Charge of Panchagarh police station Mominul Islam Momin said a Tetulia-bound speedy truck had collided head-on with a Panchagarh-bound battery-run auto-rickshaw which was coming from Jagdal Bazaar.

Six persons - Amirul Islam, 36, son of Joyen Uddin, his wife Jesmin,25, and daughter Orpi,06, auto-bike driver Mostafizur Rahman, 35, Monirul Islam Monir, 15, son of Mizanur Rahman of Jamuribari village, and Mollika,

65, wife of late Mohammad Ibrahim of Goalpara village in Panchagarh sadar upazila died on the spot.

On receiving information, police, fire service and civil defence personnel rushed to the spot, recovered the body and sent those to Panchagarh Sadar Hospital’s morgue.

Police seized the truck, but its driver and helper managed to escape soon after the accident.

Of the injured, condition of Tahmina Begum, 35, and her daughter Mohsina, 7, of Charmile village is critical. Firstly, they were taken to Panchagarh Sadar Hospital, Later, they were shifted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital as their condition deteriorated.

A case was filed with Panchagarh police station in this connection, said the OC. l

Burn victim of lighter vessel dies n Tribune Report A worker who suffered severe burn injuries in fire at a lighter vessel early Thursday at Karnaphuli River died at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) on Thursday night.

Joynal Abedin, 35, succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of the CMCH on Thursday night, said Hamidur Rahman of CMCH police outpost.

The three workers – Joynal Abedin, 25, Akhter Hossen, 26 and Al Amin, 26, sustained critical burn injuries after a fire broke out at the engine room of ‘OT Tasvir-3’ in Matubbarghat area under Karnaphuli police station in the city, said Md Rafiqul Islam, officer-incharge of Karnaphuli police station. l

DT

NEWS 7

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Buses charging increased fare amid transport strike n Our Correspondent, Khulna Buses are charging increased fares to passengers on seven routes of Khulna division, using the ongoing transport strike in the region as an excuse.

Transport owners and workers called a transport strike yesterday on all routes of the Khulna division after having observed a threeday strike on Dhaka-bound transportation.

Ticket Manager Md Mosharrof Hossain of Ruposi Paribahan at Sonadanga Inter-district bus terminal in Khulna said: “Buses are running on Satkhira, Bagerhat, Paikgacha, Kaliganj, Gopalganj, Tekerhat-Madaripur, Pirojpur, Barisal routes since the morning. No buses are running through Jessore from Khulna. However, the fares are charged as usual.”

He said all the bus services on these routes are operational and microbuses are available at the bus terminal to take Dhaka-bound passengers up to Mawa.

Md Sohel, a passenger of Ruposi Paribahan heading for Tekerhat, said he was charged Tk180 for the fare whereas it is usually Tk120. Gopalganj-bound passenger Md Shamim said the bus services are charging Tk50 more than usual.

Superviser Md Shoaib of a Satkhira-bound bus said the passengers are not facing any trouble despite the transport strike, but the fixed fares are not being followed under the circumstances. Khulna Bus minibus coach Owners’ Association General Secretary Anowar Hossain Shona said: “Buses have not been going to Dhaka since Tuesday, May 19. Yesterday, transport owners and workers called for the strike in all routes of Khulna division.”l

Construction of two schools yet to finish in four years n Our Correspondent, Barisal The construction of the two new secondary government schools in Barisal city has yet to be finished, even though Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave the directive to the Ministry of Education four years ago.

The process of establishing the schools started two years ago and has been running at a snail’s pace, sources told the Dhaka Tribune.

There are currently 19 government secondary schools in Barisal division – which consists of six districts – and 11 of them were established in two disctricts only, said Dr Mustafiur Rahman, director at the Barisal office of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education.

The number of government secondary

school have not increased much over the years, despite the fast-growing demand for secondary education in the region. The last government school that was established in Barisal district was 54 years ago, sources said.

Despite being the divisional district, Barisal currently has only two government secondary schools – one each for boys and girls, the directorate sources told the Dhaka Tribune.

Due to this scarcity of high schools, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised to establish two more secondary schools in Barisal city during her visit on February 22, 2011.

Nazrul Islam Khan, then secretary of the prime minister, sent a letter in this regard to the Ministry of Education on March 2 the same year.

Shawkat Hossain Hiron, the then Barisal

mayor and city Awami League’s president, visited many sites for the schools along with Barisal City Corporation officials, and decided on Kawnia Housing area for the boys’ school and Rupatali Housing area for the girls’ school.

Preparation to construct the schools began in early 2013, with the procurement of one acre land at Tk1.44 crore for each school, said Abul Bashar, executive engineer at the Education Engineering Department of the Ministry of Education.

The construction work of the boys’ school is in progress and is expected to be finished within this year, with the possibility of student intake next academic year, Bashar said.

In case of the girls school, the land acquisition has been finalised and the construction is expected to start next fiscal year, he added. l

WEATHER THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN

SATURDAY, MAY 23 TODAY SUN SETS 6:38PM

DHAKA

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:12AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY 37 35 40 35 38 37 31 34

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

28 27 29 25 28 29 24 28

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

39.8ºC

22.0ºC

Chuadanga

Rangpur/Sylhet Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

3:45am 5:12am 11:55am 4:35pm 6:38pm 8:08pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Gemcon Group Director Ameenah Ahmed cuts ribbon to inaugurate an outlet of Meena Sweets in presence of her son Dr Kazi Anis Ahmed, director and chief strategy officer of Gemcon Group, in the capital’s Panthapath area yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Meena Sweets inaugurates outlet at Panthapath n Abu Hayat Mahmud Meena Sweets launched its new Panthapath outlet with a new and improved range of items in all other branches through fanfare and a colourful inauguration programme yesterday.

The newly launched Meena Sweets and Confectioneries Limited, a sister concern of Gemcon Group, was inaugurated by Ameenah Ahmed, a director of Gemcon.

Kazi Anis Ahmed, Director and Chief Strategy Officer of Gemcon, was also present along with prominent singer Fahmida Nabi, high officials of Gemcon Group and their other concerns.

“Step by step we have come a long way with Meena Bazar. Now Meena Sweets started a journey on its own and I hope it will also achieve success,” said Ameenah Ahmed.

Kazi Anis Ahmed said: “After discontinuing Meena Sweets temporarily, a large number of regular customers expressed dissatisfaction.

However, it was done to improve the quality and range of our products.” He also said Meena Sweets is famous for freshness, hygiene, and quality of its products.

Apart from the new standalone outlet in Panthapath and its seven branches in Meena Bazar, Meena Sweets will also take online orders through www.upoharbd.com and deliver all over Bangladesh. l

Shamsher Mubin freed from Kashimpur jail n Our Correspondent, Gazipur Shamsher Mubin Chowdhury, vice-chairman of the BNP, was freed from Kashimpur jail on bail yesterday afternoon.

Nasir Ahmed, jailer of Dhaka Central Jail part 2, said the BNP leader was released around 1:30pm.

BNP vice- chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury was arrested from his Banani Old DOHS residence on January 8 in a case filed over December 24 Bakshibazar violence. On January 14, he was sent to jail. The High Court granted him bail on May 6.

On May 20, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court orders which granted bail to the BNP leader in two criminal cases, clearing the way for his release from jail. l

DT

8 WORLD

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Australia rejects criticism over migrant crisis n AFP, Sydney

Australia yesterday hit back at criticism of its response to thousands of migrants stranded at sea in Southeast Asia, saying it was generous towards refugees in the region.

When asked Thursday whether Australia would offer to resettle the migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar’s oppressed Rohingya minority, Prime Minister Tony Abbott replied, “nope, nope, nope.”

The reaction led an Indonesian official to suggest the country was shirking its responsibilities under the United Nations Refugee Convention.

But Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said Australia’s hardline policy, which includes refusing to resettle asylum-seekers who arrive on boats and turning back vessels, had helped stop people risking their lives at sea.

Australia was a significant donor to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International

Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Indonesia, he said.

“The fact is we provide, by way of donor support, the largest amount of money to the IOM and to the UNHCR in Indonesia,” Dutton said.

He added that the Australian government offers “significant support to the settlement of refugees in this country.”

Australia currently takes in about 13,750 refugees under its humanitarian programme each year.

Dutton said that with millions of people displaced around the world, Australia could not help everyone.

“We cannot be in a situation, having the most generous humanitarian programme in the world, to then... pretend cruelly to people that somehow we can take millions of people from regions around the world that would be displaced, we just can’t do that,” he said.

As the migrant crisis unfolded, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand were heavily

‘Nut rage’ woman freed

criticised for refusing to take in boats overloaded with passengers fleeing poverty or persecution.

Canberra had also been under pressure to help, and Abbott’s comments prompted Indonesia’s foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir to say countries such as Australia, which are signatories to the Refugee Convention, should shoulder their responsibilities.

“If you believe in that when you signed it, then you should act upon it and carry out your responsibility,” Nasir told reporters on Thursday.

Dutton dismissed the criticism, saying it was not representative of the views of the government of Indonesia, which along with Malaysia has since agreed to accept the boat people for a year or until they can be resettled or repatriated.

Abbott also stood by his earlier statement, saying Friday it would be “utterly irresponsible” to do anything that could encourage people to take to the sea in boats. l

n Reuters, Seoul Former Korean Air Lines executive Heather Cho walked free yesterday after nearly five months in prison as an appeals court suspended the sentence she was given for her outburst over the way she had been served macadamia nuts.

Cho, the daughter of the airline’s chairman, was sentenced in February to one year in prison over the December 5 incident at New York’s John F Kennedy airport, where she forced a plane to return to its gate in order to expel the flight’s crew chief.

The “nut rage” case provoked mirth as well as outrage in South Korea, where many people are fed up with what they see as heavy-handed conduct by the rich and powerful.

Her lawyer said after the ruling that Cho felt remorse for the suffering she caused among the crew members who were subjected to her outburst.

Cho, 40, did not answer questions from reporters as she left the court surrounded by Korean Air employees.

She is the oldest of Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho’s three children. Her siblings are executives with the airline. l

EU for relocating 40,000 refugees from Italy, Greece n Reuters, Brussels A protester fights with a policeman during a protest against the military rule in central Bangkok yesterday

REUTERS

Thai junta detains opposition activists n Reuters, Bangkok

Thai authorities detained 20 student activists protesting against military rule yesterday, a year after the army seized power from an elected government.

The military has quashed public demonstrations and any sign of resistance to the May 22, 2014, coup which it says it was forced to undertake to end violence between rival factions.

The military government has promised a general election next year though critics worry about constraints on politics under a new constitution that they say is undemocratic.

Activists staged small shows of defiance

to mark the anniversary of the take-over.

Soldiers detained seven students, some who held anti-coup signs, after they gathered in the northeastern city of Khon Khaen.

“We invited them to talk but they would not back down so we are sending them to the police,” said a soldier in the area who declined to be identified.

In Bangkok, police detained 13 members of the Young People for Social-Democracy student group who were protesting against the coup. The activists were later released, the group said on its Facebook page.

Thailand has been mired for a decade in rivalry between the Bangkok-based estab-

lishment and ousted premier Thasksin Shinawatra, a former telecommunications tycoon who broke the mould of politics with propoor policies that won him the support of the poor but the hostility of the elite.

The government ousted last year was led

by Thaksin’s sister, the country’s first woman prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra.

A year later, the captains of industry remain firmly behind the junta, despite a lacklustre economy and a delayed return to democracy.

Human Rights Watch yesterday said the junta had systematically repressed human rights by banning political activity, censoring the media and trying dissidents in military tribunals. l

The European Commission is set to propose next week that 40,000 asylum seekers who have arrived by boat in Italy and Greece should be relocated across the continent in response to what it considers an emergency situation in both countries.

The EU measure is due to be finalised on Wednesday and would need majority support from EU nations taking in migrants.

The Commission had not provided the number of proposed relocations. The 40,000 figure could have been set to guarantee acceptance after some EU states, notably France, had initially baulked at the idea of opening their doors to migrants.

The term “quotas” has been latched onto by anti-immigration groups as a sign that refugees are being imposed on France from outside. Last year, the EU had 600,000 asylum claims.

Britain, Ireland and Denmark, which have exemptions on matters concerning asylum, immigration, visas and border controls, would not be expected to vote. l

DT

WORLD 9

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Dutch cabinet backs partial burqa ban n AFP, The Hague The Dutch cabinet yesterday approved a partial ban on wearing the face-covering Islamic veil, including in schools, hospitals and on public transport.

“Face-covering clothing will in future not be accepted in education and healthcare institutions, government buildings and on public transport,” the government said in a statement after the cabinet backed Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk’s bill.

The ban does not apply to wearing the burqa on the street, but only “in specific situations where it is essential for people to be seen” or for security reasons, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said after the cabinet meeting.

“The bill does not have any religious background,” Rutte said. A previous bill banning the burqa even on the street, dating from Rutte’s last government and supported by anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders, will be withdrawn. l

Tibetan man sets himself alight in China n AFP, Beijing Saudi policemen gather around debris following a blast inside a mosque, in the mainly Shiite Saudi Gulf coastal town of Qatif yesterday

Suicide bomber attacks Shiite mosque in Saudi Arabia n AFP, Riyadh

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives vest during weekly prayers yesterday at a Shiite mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia, killing and wounding several people, officials said.

First reports by witnesses said the suicide bomber appeared to be from Pakistan but others said he was wearing traditional Afghan clothes.

The kingdom’s Eastern Province has been hit by previous attempts by Sunni extremists to foment sectarian tensions with its large Shiite community, including a deadly shooting in November.

The interior ministry said a suicide bomb-

IS cements grip on Iraq-Syria border n AFP, Damascus The Islamic State group consolidated its control of the Iraq-Syria border yesterday after capturing an Iraqi provincial capital and a famed Syrian heritage site in an offensive that has forced a review of US strategy.

The jihadists, who now control roughly half of Syria, with the capture of the Al-Tanaf to Al-Walid crossing on the Damascus-Baghdad highway late on Thursday. It was the last border crossing with Iraq still held by the Damascus government.

President Barack Obama denied the US-led coalition was “losing” to IS. But French President Francois Hollande said the world must act to stop the extremists and save Palmyra. l

er detonated a bomb at the mosque in Shiite-majority Qatif, SPA news agency reported.

“An individual detonated a bomb he was wearing under his clothes during Friday prayers at Ali Ibn Abi Taleb mosque in Kudeih in Qatif province,” the ministry spokesman said in a statement.

He did not give a specific casualty toll but said several people were killed and wounded in the attack.

An activist said at least four worshippers were killed and others wounded, and news websites in eastern Saudi Arabia posted photographs of bodies lying in pools of blood.

Naseema Assada, a resident of Qatif, said

AFP

worshippers were celebrating the birth of revered Shiite Imam Hussein when the blast occurred. “The people are very angry,” she said, adding that they tried to stop police from entering the Kudeih area.

Residents had feared such an attack was coming, she said, because the government was failing to curb hate speech on social media against the Shiite community.

“We don’t want a repeat of what is happening in Syria or Iraq here. This is our country and we love it.”

The mufti of Saudi Arabia, the highest-ranking Sunni cleric, denounced the attack in a statement broadcast on state television. l

China declares victory in US surveillance overflight n AFP, Beijing China declared victory yesterday over an encounter with a US surveillance aircraft overflying the contested South China Sea, saying its military “drove away” the intruder with radio warnings.

Beijing is in the throes of a rapid land-reclamation programme in the area, building artificial islands and facilities including an airstrip - raising tensions with Washington and the risk of a standoff on the high seas.

China regards almost the whole of the South China Sea as its own and the foreign ministry condemned the overflight as “highly

irresponsible and dangerous,” warning that such actions could cause “unwanted incidents.”

The US Navy has released video footage taken from the P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane, which received several warnings from the Chinese military to retreat as it flew over the South China Sea - home to vital shipping lanes.

The footage showed a flotilla of vessels carrying out reclamation works in one lagoon, and an airstrip under construction on another island.

The US does not recognise China’s claims to the artificial islands. l

A Tibetan father-of-four set himself on fire in protest at China’s rule over the Himalayan region, overseas media and rights groups said, adding it was unclear whether he survived.

Tenzin Gyatso attempted to self-immolate after being “upset” by tightened security ahead of the 80th birthday of exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, sources told Radio Free Asia, which is backed by the US government.

The 35-year-old staged his fiery protest on Wednesday in Daofu, in a Tibetan-majority area of the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, RFA said.

“While he was burning, security personnel stationed in the area rushed to put out the fire and took him away,” a source named Tawu Tenzin told the media outlet. l

French supermarkets barred from throwing away food

n Reuters, Paris

France is cracking down on food waste with a new law banning big supermarkets from destroying unsold food or face fines and even jail sentences.

Under a bill approved on Thursday as part of a broader law on energy and the environment, supermarkets of over 400 square-meters will be forced to sign contracts by July 2016 to donate unsold but edible food to charities or for use as animal feed or farming compost.

Failure to comply could expose them to two years in jail and fines of 75,000 euros.

The French federation for commerce and distribution (FCD) said it was a mistake to only target big supermarkets, which they said represented only 5 percent of total food waste.

French people throw away 20 kilos of food per person per year, costing an estimated 12-20 billion euros ($13.4-22.4 billion) annually, according to the French Environment Ministry.

The full law still has to be voted by the lower house of parliament on May 26 before it goes to the Senate. l

DT

10 WORLD

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Gaza’s economy ‘on verge of collapse’ says World Bank n Reuters, Jerusalem Gaza’s economy is in a worse state than any other in the world, with unemployment at a global high, output contracting sharply and the long-term prospects worrying, the World Bank said yesterday.

Repeated rounds of conflict, internal divisions and the embargo Israel and Egypt impose have left the territory “on the verge of collapse,” the report sad, with its 1.8 million population facing poverty and destitution despite vast aid.

“Blockades, war and poor governance have strangled Gaza’s economy and the unemployment rate is now the highest in the world,” said the report, drafted by Steen Lau Jorgensen, the World Bank’s director for Gaza and the West Bank.

It is to be presented in Brussels on May 27.

“Gaza’s exports virtually disappeared and the manufacturing sector has shrunk by as much as 60 percent. The economy cannot survive without being connected to the outside world.”

Some statistics cited in the report l Overall unemployment now stands

l

l

l l

at 43 percent, and 68 percent among those aged 20-24.

Gaza’s current real GDP is only a couple of percentage points higher than it was 20 years ago. Over the same period, the population has increased by 230 percent.

Last year’s war between Israel and Hamas led to a 15 percent contraction in GDP for the year.

Real per capita income in Gaza is now 31 percent lower than it was in 1994.

Between 1994 and 2012, Gaza’s manufacturing sector, which should be the driver of the economy, shrank by 60 percent.

Disease a threat

While the World Bank tracks Gaza’s malaise back more than 20 years, the economic deterioration has accelerated since 2006, when the Islamist group Hamas won elections and began running the territory, taking over full control in 2007.

Since then, there have been three wars between Hamas and Israel, with Hamas firing rockets across the border and Israel responding with artillery, air strikes and ground forces.

The war in July-August 2014 was the most devastating, with more than 2,000 Palestinians killed and 120,000 houses damaged or destroyed. More than 70 Israelis were also killed.

On top of the conflicts, internal divisions have conspired against Gaza, with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank determined to freeze out Hamas and its authoritarian rule.

And then the blockade, first imposed by Israel in 2007 and later joined by Egypt, has compounded the problems: exports from Gaza have fallen to almost zero since 2007, while imports are equally small and heavily restricted.

As well as the raw economic impact, the World Bank highlighted the socioeconomic and mental toll the situation is having.

More than 80 percent of Gazans receive some form of aid, but 40 percent remain below the poverty line.

Mental health and trauma experts estimate that a third of children displayed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder even before the 2014 conflict.

“The status quo in Gaza is unsustainable,” Jorgensen concluded in the 40-page analysis. “The feeling of hopelessness is pervasive, in particular following the summer 2014 war.

“The access and quality of basic services such as electricity, water and sewerage is rapidly deteriorating and pandemics of infectious diseases are a real threat.” l

Saudi extends air strikes on Houthis n Reuters, Cairo

Saudi-led warplanes extended air strikes on Iranian-backed Houthi militia in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday, residents in the area said.

They told Reuters that the strikes focused on the presidential compound district in Sanaa, which the Shi’ite Muslim rebels seized in September, and Houthi military sites in mountainous areas on the outskirts of the city.

Sanaa residents said air strikes also continued overnight on fighters loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh who are allied with the Houthis in the conflict. There were also 10 air raids overnight on Houthi and proSaleh forces in Marib, according to residents in the region.

In Saada province the Houthis said they had seized several Saudi-controlled military sites and taken weapons and equipment there. l

DT

EDITORIAL 11

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

INSIDE

Become more like India? Why not?

PAGE 12

Diamonds in the sky PAGE 14-15

REUTERS

Climate Change PAGE 16-17

World must stand up for Rohingya’s rights

L Unearthing Buddha PAGE 18-19

Be heard

Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, 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

ittle by little, belated efforts are being made to address the humanitarian crisis of thousands of people from Bangladesh and Myanmar stranded on the high seas by human traffickers.

We hope the global media attention which has been attracted will help highlight the plight of the Rohingya people.

Most of the migrants at sea, presently, are from Myanmar’s Rohingya minority. It is the deprivation of their rights as citizens and persecution which has pushed them into the hands of smugglers.

Bangladesh has a major interest in this matter as it has long hosted some 300,000 people who have fled communal violence and discrimination in Myanmar.

While many Bangladeshi citizens have also been trapped on these boats as illegal migrants, and the Bangladesh government can directly help repatriate them and work with other governments to fight people traffickers, we need the international community’s help in addressing Myanmar’s policy towards its Rohingya citizens.

The whole world must unite to put more pressure on the Myanmar government to end its discriminatory policies and allow for the safe return of Rohingya refugees to their homeland.

Democratic politicians within Myanmar, such as Aung San Suu Kyi, must show more leadership in demanding that the Myanmar government reverses its apartheid-like policies.

The Rohighya have lived as one of Myanmar’s many ethnic communities for centuries. It is unconscionable that the Myanmar government should be persisting with discriminatory policies that drive many Rohinghya to flee their homeland.

All countries in our region must support efforts to end the injustice sufferred by the Rohinghya.

The international community must unite to put more pressure on the Myanmar government to end discrimination against Rohingya people

DT

12 OPINION

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

BIGSTOCK

Become more like India? Why not? n Esam Sohail

T

hat India’s competitively-elected parliament finally approved the constitutional amendment to make the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh a reality is indeed something to be praised.

While I have not reviewed the most recent version of the LBA and am not unaware of the judicial pitfalls which still lurk before its implementation, it is a step in the right direction by South Asia’s giant. Unless, of course, you ask the instinctive Indiaphobes who, along with the pathological Pakistan-bashers, form a very real part of the chattering classes in Bangladesh.

Come to think of it, those obsessed with India-centric or Pakistan-centric conspiracy theories can be found in just about every corner of middle-class and upper-middle class Bangladeshi society. Hence, it is hardly a surprise that one of the first themes of reaction from the Indiaphobes in this instance was along the lines of “see, see, I told you, the Awami League is India’s agent and wants to make Bangladesh into India by giving everything away.” I wish.

Please take a deep breath and hold off tarring and feathering me as some kind of RAW agent or an apologist for the ruling regime.

Au contraire, I am the grandson of men and women who left it all in 1947 in what became the Republic of India, and never looked back.

The “I wish” is a tongue-in-cheek comment.

But truth be told, from a cold and evidentiary perspective, there is indeed a whole lot that Bangladesh could have emulated in

terms of governance from a neighbour that has defied two long-held hypotheses in the theory of democratic consolidation.

The first such hypothesis, drilled into the heads of political science students in graduate school in any respectable North American university, is that countries where a majority of the population lives under the poverty line are unlikely to have their democracies

has not backed down from jailing sitting ministers, and agency heads, and an Election Commission which performs miracles by holding the world’s largest electoral exercise every five years with a transparency and fairness that is breathtaking.

None of this is to suggest that India’s rowdy, noisy, and often ugly democracy is perfect; far from it. Indians have probably

India has continued as a vibrant pluralist, multi-party, representative democracy from her first moments of Independence in the August of 1947

take root; the second hypothesis, obviously favoured by today’s rulers in Dhaka for very transparent reasons, is that economic progress has to happen before there can be a pluralist democracy.

India stands as a proud counterpoint to both these otherwise reputable -- if not exclusive -- claims of scholarship. Barring the aberration of the 21-month Emergency period in the mid-1970s, India has continued as a vibrant pluralist, multi-party, representative democracy from her first moments of Independence in the August of 1947.

This phenomenon has been helped by a thoroughly professional civil service, a fiercely independent and activist judiciary which

only a little more respect for their politicians than Bangladeshis have for theirs.

But Indians can and do take rightful pride in knowing that they are governed with the consent given freely at the ballot box in a process guarded jealously by a highly respected Election Commission which has no compunction punishing anyone and everyone summarily when found tampering with the conduct of elections.

And should those who govern them not be proper guardians of their liberties, Indians do have access to a higher judiciary which is not only actually independent but actively involved in ensuring that the rule of law holds everyone accountable, be it the common

man, ministers, or so called “student wings” of any incumbent ruling party.

Joining the independent judiciary is a plethora of truly autonomous and effective organisations like the Human Rights Commission, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the University Grants Commission, all of which work entirely independently of what this or that minister pronounces on a given day.

And look where this faith in strong institutions, pluralist democracy, and independent judiciary has gotten India: An economy where the confidence of investors and the creativity of entrepreneurs has created a foundation upon which a giant is set to enter the exclusive OECD club of major democratic economies very soon.

Even with the glaring income inequality and large pockets of almost medieval backwardness, India lifts up more people from poverty to respectability each year than the entire population of some countries.

When I think of India, I look at a country whose cultural and linguistic heritage is not too dissimilar to Bangladesh, but whose governance has consolidated, albeit imperfectly, all the things we wished we had in Bangladesh: Strong autonomous institutions, fair elections, multi-party democracy, independent judiciary, and a free press.

If anyone wants to make Bangladesh more like India in that sense, I say all the power to them. l Esam Sohail is an educational research analyst and college lecturer of social sciences. He writes from Kansas, USA.

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OPINION 13

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

REUTERS

Sweet revenge n FS Aijazuddin Mary Queen of Scots has been avenged. Her Scots have stormed the Parliament at Westminster.

A first cousin of the Protestant English Queen Elizabeth, Mary, although a Catholic, would have succeeded her, had she not allowed herself to be ruled by her heart instead of her mind. Elizabeth imprisoned her impatient rival for over 18 years, finally executing her in 1587.

In 1602, Elizabeth slipped into a “settled and unremovable melancholy,” and died.

Mary’s only son James (already King of Scotland) succeeded her, straddling both kingdoms as King James VI of Scotland and James I of England. In 1707, both kingdoms united to become the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Since then, the policy of the English ruling classes has been to let sleeping Scots lie. Dr Johnson’s condescending remarks about Scotland and the Scots have always found a ready audience across the border. Which Englishman has not chuckled over Dr Johnson’s dismissal of Scotland as a “vile country, though God made it, but we must remember that he made it for Scotsmen, and comparisons are odious, but God also made Hell”? Or his concession that “much may be made of a Scotchman, if he be caught young.”

The Scottish National Party did just that in September 2014. It caught 124,000 young Scots (mainly 16 and 17 year olds), allowing them to vote in the referendum. At stake was whether Scotland should remain within the United Kingdom. The turnout of 86.4% -- the highest in any election since adult suffrage was introduced in the United Kingdom -indicated the intense level of interest.

The narrow gap between the “No, we should remain” (55.3%) and “Yes, we should go” (44.7%) revealed that Scots were not in two minds about separation. They were of one mind, a Scottish mind that needed more time to make up its mind.

Eight months after that referendum, the SNP in the 2015 general elections captured 56 out of 59 Scottish seats in parliament. Scotland’s first minister and SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon’s first reaction was Churchillian: “In victory, magnanimity.”

Unlike Mary Queen of Scots once silenced in Fotheringay Castle in the English county of Northamptonshire, Sturgeon’s Scottish accent will now be listened to all over England.

She represents a significant lobby within the opposition, now that the parties who should be leading the opposition are in disarray.

“In defeat, resolution,” Churchill once thundered. Three opposition leaders heard it differently, as “in defeat, resignation.”

Ed Milliband (Labour), Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrats) and Nigel Farage (United King-

How far the SNP will push for meaningful devolution depends on Ms Sturgeon’s will, and Mr Cameron’s won’t.

She has threatened him already that recourse to a second referendum will be his fault, not hers

She held out that she would not press for complete autonomy. Her colleagues in the new parliament welcomed her declaration.

Trojans tripped over each other to find her wooden horse a permanent parking bay at Westminster.

How far the SNP will push for meaningful devolution depends on Ms Sturgeon’s will, and Mr Cameron’s won’t. She has threatened him already that recourse to a second referendum will be his fault, not hers.

dom Independence Party) surrendered their leaderships, leaving the SNP in a stronger bargaining position.

Every country undergoes the stress of separatism. Democracies are particularly susceptible. When divisions become unavoidable, nations (to quote the well-worn lines of Kahlil Gibran) “divided into fragments/ each fragment deeming itself a nation.”

We know. We have been through that trauma twice -- once in 1947 and again in 1971.

Whether we will perform a hat-trick depends on the sagacity of our prime minister.

He rules over a nation that is gradually splitting into fragments, each deeming itself a nation. Sindh is controlled by bands of war-lords, Balochistan by tradition-bound clans, KPK by a third group of tribals, and the Punjab by a kinsman Shogun. No distinction is made in government between public policies and private pique, between bloodied buses and toy trains. The attention span of this elected government is not five years; it is 15 minutes.

Prime ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif share a characteristic. Both prefer to keep their cabinet ministers where they cannot see them. Who would have thought that feisty External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj could be cowed? Or that her fellow ministers would become indistinct ciphers?

Our federal cabinet is equally invisible.

Except for the PM’s favourites -- Khawaja Asif, Saad Rafique, and the partisan Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, whose doings (and misdoings) are reported on daily -- others skulk in the shadows.

It may take us 400 more years of political maturity to see our leaders accommodated peaceably in the same chamber. Today, Queen Elizabeth I and her victim Mary Queen of Scots lie on opposite sides of the central aisle in Westminster Abbey. Across the road, in the House of Commons, Cameron and Sturgeon sit on either side of the same aisle.

It is not inconceivable that they might soon be sitting on either side of Hadrian’s Wall. l FS Aijazuddin lives in Lahore and is a columnist for Dawn, Pakistan’s main English-language newspaper.

This article was first published in Dawn.

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14 LONG FORM

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Diamonds in the sky

n SM Shahrukh

T

errorism is a word that has become synonymous with violent acts perpetrated by Islamist groups in order to create a utopian world of the Caliphate where the Sharia laws will rule supreme and all other existing systems of governance will be declared inferior and therefore expunged from existence. The success of such a world in terms of basic human rights, women’s rights, the rights of citizens to adult franchise or not etc remains a debate for clerics and proponents of democracy and pluralism. Let us shelf that debate for now.

But the general definition of terrorism covers a wider area. I glean from Wikipedia “Terrorism is commonly defined as violent acts (or threat of violent acts) intended to create fear (terror), perpetrated for a religious, political, or ideological goal, and which deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (eg, neutral military or civilians). Another common definition is political, ideological or religious violence by non-state actors. Some definitions now include acts of unlawful violence and war.

The use of similar tactics by criminal organisations for protection rackets or to enforce a code of silence is usually not labeled

terrorism, though these same actions may be labeled terrorism when done by a politically motivated group. Usage of the term has also been criticised for its frequent undue equating with Islamism or jihadism, while ignoring non-Islamic organisations or individuals. In the international community, terrorism has no legally binding, criminal law definition.”

actors as immoral, indiscriminate, unjustified or to condemn an entire segment of a population. Those labeled terrorists by their opponents rarely identify themselves as such, and typically use other terms or terms specific to their situation, such as separatist, freedom fighter, liberator, revolutionary, vigilante, militant, paramilitary, guerrilla, rebel,

This is a manifestation of the domestic terrorism that has been brewing since 1971 and has been a major threat in the new century

The word terrorism often has a pejorative use. There is often a tendency of a ruling political party to use the words terrorism and terrorists to vilify opponents. “These terms are often used as political labels, to condemn violence or the threat of violence by certain

patriot, or any similar-meaning word.”

During our war of independence in 1971 the brutal Pakistani regime termed the heroic freedom fighters with words that are tantamount to calling them terrorists. But we know better as to which party was terrorising

the people. The acts of “terrorism” wrought

by Surjo Sen, Khudiram, Priti Lata et al were also condemned by the British as such but it was only a ploy to downplay or defame the urge of the people of the subcontinent, albeit with some exceptions, for emancipation from the British Raj. The end sought, by the means adopted, in both cases, were what the people wished. It should be remembered that in the cases mentioned the targets of the attackers or freedom fighters were the occupation or imperial forces and any casualties that would fall in the category of innocent bystanders, were just that -- innocents who fell in the way and perished hence. The innocent parties were never targeted to gain political mileage.

Here we come to the crux of the matter in the political crisis of present day Bangladesh.

To be more precise, the happenings since January 6 of the New Year, bus burnings, wanton use of petrol bombs and other heinous acts of violence. A high death toll has already resulted on the streets, scores dead from acts of arson. There have also been cases of “crossfire” or “encounter,” take your pick, deaths too.

The law enforcers are not only stretched to the end of their tethers but are at wits end too. Their neutrality is also being questioned.

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SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

But the fact remains, that whatever the agitation program was on that day in January, you may call it political, it has fast descended into pit of sheer terrorism. Who would gain from this terrorism? In the context of Bangladesh, the people who opposed our independence from Pakistan in 1971 and who want their aging leaders to be released from prison.

New elections for the parliament would be a by-product that they would present their main political ally.

This is a manifestation of the domestic terrorism that has been brewing since 1971 and has been a major threat in the new century. This terrorism has non-state players as we have seen recently from the activities of some officials of the Pakistan High-commission and the ever present clouds of al-Qaeda and IS. The activists of the main opposition party, some say the biggest political party in the country, have also joined the bandwagon and they are only looking at short-term political gains, overlooking the fact that the monster that is trying to usurp the current regime would also do these acts of hacking, killing and arson to topple the new regime, if there is a change in power.

They would not rest till their dream of a totalitarian state of terror is established.

These terrorists need to be dealt with in the short term and also in the long. The main two political parties have always bickered so much that they have never made a united effort to face the looming danger posed by the fundamentalists. However, the process of eliminating the threat of these terrorists needs to be at full steam when the overall political situation is calm and decisions are made with calmer heads that do not have to deal with arson on a daily basis. All attempts at political dialog between the two major parties with the current acts of terrorism wreaking havoc are not acceptable. The violence must stop post haste.

There is a burning question whether we should give any quarter to the terrorists. Terrorists do not give any to people they blow up or burn to charcoal. We should shoot anyone whom we suspect as a possible terrorist, seems to be the general consensus among many. What questions? What human rights?

Shoot first and ask questions later!

Well, we cannot. Stooping to the uncivilised levels of the terrorist will make us just as bad. We should always retain humanity, a rule of conscience, a lot of tolerance. Catch them and prosecute them to the full extent of the existing laws always, but to act as the judge, jury and executioner with a gun in hand! There seems to be something wrong with that.

We are going through tough times. Nerves are frayed. But we will never get peace, ever, by an attitude of “an eye for an eye.” We must remain at the higher ground compared to the fundamentalists who spew toxic ideology.

Rushdie wrote: “The fundamentalist seeks to bring down a great deal more than buildings. Such people are against, to offer just a brief list, freedom of speech, a multi-party political system, universal adult suffrage, accountable government, Jews, homosexuals, women’s rights, pluralism, secularism, short skirts, dancing, beardlessness, evolution theory, sex.”

It’s a rule of tyranny that they seek and we must always fight that with laws and actions that are civilised and never aim at eliminating, recklessly, someone we don’t like.

“Peace is not a season, it’s a way of life” I read online. I wonder if whoever thought of that line was watching events in Bangladesh for the last few decades and uttered them in wishful thinking.

has been maintained while people work with resilience to bring prosperity to themselves and the country.

Enough of these periods of peace only to be followed by protracted periods of

Stooping to the uncivilised levels of the terrorist will make us just as bad. We should always retain humanity

Every few years we end up with this toxic mix of violence, blood and gore of our political battles, lives turned upside down, the country resembling hell. This status quo

mindless political games (read battles)! There is a limit to all the hypocrisy in the name of nationalism or religion or the spirit of this and that. If the human wisdom is “summed

up in two words -- wait and hope” then I am tired of waiting and sick of hoping for a bright future! I do not wish to be wise; I want peace in a congenial political atmosphere. Life will provide me enough sufferings as it is; no one needs to stoke the fire!

Let the people enjoy peace, they have trouble achieving that without any help from machinations that do not, in most cases, have anything to do with them. The country belongs to them, according to the constitution and common sense as well. Let them enjoy its prosperity without any gaps that result from the interests of a few. Anton Chekhov wrote the words: “We shall find peace. We shall hear the angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.”

Expecting too much? Why not? Are we so naive that we do not realise the actual agenda behind all the ostensible display of patriotism? Let us be and we SHALL dream of diamonds in the sky. l SM Shahrukh is a freelance contributor.

DT

16 CLIMATE CHANGE

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Women’s frontier in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction n Dilruba Haider The options to earn a living in Buddhamari village, where Mahera lives, are limited and full of peril. The Mongla upazilla in the Bagerhat district where the village is located suffers from high salinity which makes fishing, crab farming, collecting, and selling fuel wood from the Sundarbans some of the few livelihood options. Croplands often get inundated with saline water rendering them less productive each day, so farming and vegetable cultivation are no longer viable sources of income.

Married at the age of 14, Mahera had to join her husband in the Sundarbans to make enough for their family. “It’s not easy to wade through the deep mud, and roots of mangrove forest,” she says, showing marks of cuts and bruises on her legs.

In 2013, BRAC, in association with United Nations Women (UN Women), started a project called “Reducing Vulnerability of Women Affected by Climate Change through Livelihood Options.” The project aimed to build women’s resilience against climatic onslaughts by providing livelihood support skills training, disaster preparedness and tree sapling distribution.

The entrepreneur in Mahera opted to run a grocery shop in front of her house. Within a year, she managed to accumulate a little profit, took out a small loan with which she expanded her merchandise and moved her shop to the local market. She sells tea, snacks, stationeries, soft drinks, kerosene, petrol, and is adding new goods, to meet the growing demands.

Since she leaves for the shop early, her husband leaves for his work late taking care of the household and the children. With the accumulated income she has bought livestock and a tiny shrimp farm. Her husband is happy to see a growing income for the family. Their two sons are going to school and the parents’ eyes are shining with dreams of a happy future.

Mahera’s story is one of an empowered woman who took charge of her life and has been working hard for it on her own terms. Despite being uneducated and unskilled from the most remote corner of the country, grinding under climatic extremes, she has refused to give in to the ravages of climate change.

Women like Mahera have shown that we need to take women’s perspectives into account when tackling climate change ROSHNI KAPOOR

In climate change adaptation, the most important element is people, meaning men and women. It is important to demystify “people” and “community,” and actually say men and women instead. Otherwise we end up thinking and acting as if climate change is a “men’s problem.” So from the outset we leave out half of the “people” from our planning and actions.

Women and men are affected by disaster and adverse cli-

matic impacts differently -- their risks, vulnerabilities, and capacities are different due to the socioeconomic and cultural differences created and nurtured by society. “Prevalent gender inequalities and power differences in the Asia-Pacific region limit women’s abilities to respond and adapt to disasters and climate change impacts” (UN Women’s Asia Pacific Strategy on gender, Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction & Recovery). Initiatives without acknowledging this reality are bound to be partial and ineffective. The gender and climate change project of UN Women understood this and focused on a woman’s perspective first when it reached out to them.

The national women’s development policy, the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP), and other key national policies acknowledge the importance of integrating women in DRR and climate change adaptation. However, when we plan to reduce inevitable climatic impacts and account for disaster loss and damage we tend to think of things that have economic value: Embankments, roads, bridges, crops, etc. Women have very little to do with these assets, thus their needs get sidelined. The assessments do not look at informal livelihood loss, where most women’s income actually come from, eg loss of Mahera’s income. The loss of non-paid domestic work, largely the women’s domain, also remain outside the purview of such assessments. It never looks at the loss of utensils or the small kitchen gardens, which are also the women’s domain. These might not have an instant impact on a country’s economy, but the nutritional status of poor families do suffer.

It’s high time we look at the needs, capacities, and opportunities that lie in including women in policies and programmes to ensure a complete response to climate change and disasters. We need to make sure that strong, resourceful, hardworking women like Mahera do not slide back into poverty and undue hardship, because policies and responses failed to take her into consideration. l Dilruba Haider is the Coordinator, Gender and Climate Change Program for UN Women.

Women’s sexual and reproductive health hazards during floods Mostofa Kamal and n Abu-Hena Umme Umama Every year at least two climatic disasters occur in Bangladesh causing significant losses to life and property of those affected. Over the years, the number of deaths caused by natural disasters has fallen sharply with 31,105 deaths in 2011. A study conducted by Professor Dr Mahbuba Nasreen from the University of Dhaka shows that most people in flood prone areas live under the poverty line and among them, women are disproportionately affected due to lack of proper social services.

The impacts of a disaster are more profoundly felt by the poorest and most disadvantaged people, who have the least amount of assets and capacities to bounce back with. Women and girls have lesser knowledge on disaster preparedness and receive disaster warnings much later than men. Consequently, they suffer more and have higher death rates following a disaster. The flood of 1991 is a cautionary indicator of the plight of women following a disaster.

Of the 140,000 reported dead in the country, 90% were women.

Women are unable and sometimes unwilling to evacuate before a disaster strikes. Many cyclone shelters lack separate rooms, cooking spaces, and toilets for females, which stops them from seeking shelter during a storm. Women living in the char (islands) areas are especially vulnerable, where reproductive

health facilities are not available at all. In the absence of any proper healthcare facilities, traditional unhygienic practices (using torn and dirty clothes during menstruation, for example) are performed.

Poor living conditions and institutional responses during floods cause immense sufferings for women especially to their sexual and reproductive health. A study conducted by researchers from the University of Dhaka looked at the reproductive health status of women and the effectiveness of existing health care services during a disaster. The study collected data from 46 women in six villages in the study area: Faridpur, Shariatpur and Sirajgonj.

Women in these areas suffered from menstruation problems, urinary infection, leucorrhoea, waist pain, pregnancy related complications, and malnutrition during disasters. Most of the respondents mentioned that they did not get any type of support regarding their reproductive health during disasters. Our study findings reveal that the biggest problem women face is not being able to visit health care centers due to disrupted communication systems during a disaster.

The study reveals the issues faced by women in their sexual and reproductive health during disasters are mainly due to the absence of institutional support and the effectiveness of existing institutional services. Providing suitable healthcare services in affected areas requires more attention from policy makers. Women in these areas reported that

Sabita Biswas, 45, runs a women’s group in Mongla. The crops Biswas grows and sells to support her family are constantly at risk of being swept away in floods and sea-water has made her land salty and infertile. Help from CAFOD has empowered her and her community with simple solutions to improve their crops ELEANOR CHURCH/ CAFOD, OCTOBER 2012 they would benefit from having boats or a similar service that would help them get emergency treatment. Having an emergency medical team at the shelter centre could also reduce their suffering. It is our recommendation that raising awareness among women on sexual and reproductive health care services can help women know how to reduce their suffering. Based on the findings of our study, we

recommend mobile health care services to serve the sexual and reproductive health care needs of women living in these areas following a disaster.

Abu-Hena Mostofa Kamal is a researcher from Jagannath University in Dhaka and Umme Umama is a principal researcher from the Univeristy of Dhaka in Bangladesh.

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Women and girls are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. To address this, a local NGO, INDAB, has set up a special disaster management course for girls in the coastal district of Barisal. Participants are taught how to be better prepared, pictured are participants of these classes MICHAEL CHEW

Gender equality a fundamental principle for effective international climate policy n Janna Tenzing The impact of climate change on people depends on factors such as geographic location, social status, level of income, age, race, class, and, of course, gender. Existing and pervasive social inequalities deeply influence how vulnerable or resilient a certain group of people is to climate change, and how quickly they are able to recover from adverse effects. Climate change impacts and responses to them also perpetuate and exacerbate these inequalities.

After more than a decade of conspicuously “gender-blind” decision-making on the global response to climate change, countries have only now started to pay serious attention to gender equality at the international climate change negotiations. Just as countries need to develop gender-sensitive policies at home, international negotiations must also make strides to address the priorities, interests and needs of both women and men. At the 20th Conference of the Parties in Lima, Peru last year, high-level officials adopted a new work program to address this issue. The decision was put forward by the Least Developed Countries Group (LDC Group) comprising of 48 of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries.

This has set a progressive direction for talks on gender equality at the international climate negotiations. Importantly, it also provides further basis for integrating gender equality in the future climate agreement, which is currently at a negotiating stage, expected to be finalised in December this year.

Gender equality and climate change issues are inextricably linked. Women and girls are feeling the brunt of climate change on their lives due to differences in access to and rights over resources, including land and finances, job

A girl attentively listening to the training on disaster management opportunities, education, health services, and social protection, information and technology.

Socially or culturally ascribed roles and responsibilities also limit their participation in decision-making and leadership roles. Gender inequality is further exacerbated by poverty, and therefore women and girls in the LDCs experience double injustice.

Floods and droughts are occurring more frequently due to climate change. Women and girls, as the primary collectors of water and fuel in many parts of the world, have to walk far longer distances and spend more time on these tasks. This also increases their vulnerability to violence, including sexual violence, aside from reducing their time for productive purposes

MICHAEL CHEW

such as going to school, visiting a doctor, or engaging in gainful employment. As the majority of smallholder farmers, women also tend to have fewer resources and opportunities to engage in more climate-resilient agricultural practices, making them less able to recover from crop failures. As many societal and cultural norms and values dictate what behaviours are appropriate, women and girls often lack essential survival skills such as swimming and climbing trees when floods suddenly hit. The evidence for how impacts of climate change are gendered continues to grow.

Far from being passive victims of climate change impacts, women and girls are active leaders, managers and agents of change,

possessing an array of knowledge and capabilities necessary for building resilience to climate change. Responding to gendered impacts of climate change and involving women in decision-making and action at all levels are key to ensuring policies and interventions address the interests, contributions, needs, and priorities of both women and men in an equitable manner, without reinforcing, but rather reducing inequalities.

This leads us back to climate change negotiations at the UN. The Lima decision taken last year is a step forward from previous efforts to simply increase women’s numerical participation at the negotiating tables. This is a start to ensure a more gender-responsive climate policy. Countries need to build on this recent gain and ensure they integrate gender equality fully into a future global climate agreement, as this will have an important bearing on what happens on the ground in the many years to come. This not only means agreeing on gender equality as a key guiding principle for all future decisionmaking processes and actions on climate change, but also including gender considerations with respect to all elements of the agreement, including mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, finance, technology development and transfer, and capacity building, among others.

The ongoing negotiations on the new agreement presents a unique opportunity to turn a so far “gender-blind” global decisionmaking process on climate change into a global framework that is equitable, engages women and men, and responds to their needs and priorities equally. l Janna Tenzing is a researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development’s Climate Change Group.

This page has been developed in collaboration with the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) and its partners Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

This page represents the views and experiences of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of Dhaka Tribune or ICCCAD or its partners.

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18 HERITAGE

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Unearthing Buddha

There is also very little doubt that the ‘Indian’ monks to which he refers would, today, many of them, be referred to as Bangladeshi monks

n Tim Steel

A

n exhibition of Buddhist Art, “Buddhist Art of Myanmar,” has recently opened in New York.

In his review of the exhibition, Guardian correspondent, Jason Farago, quotes from the fascinating work by George Orwell, the famous British writer and author of the immortal 1984, his first novel, Burmese Days, “Beauty is meaningless until it is shared.”

Farago goes on to write of the flowering of Buddhism in Myanmar, “since the establishment of Buddhism by ‘Indian’ monks around 500AD.” In fact, according to a number of Buddhist authorities, the Buddha himself made his way to Pegu, in today’s Myanmar, which would date the arrival of Buddhism in Myanmar to some time around sixth century BCE; and since it is also believed that Ashoka, the

third of the Mauryan emperors, pushed the frontiers of his Empire at least as far south as the Naf river, today’s border between Bangladesh and Myanmar, in the fourth century BCE, there seems little doubt that the Buddhist tradition in Myanmar dates to at least eight centuries earlier.

There is also very little doubt that the “Indian” monks to which he refers would, today, many of them, be referred to as Bangladeshi monks.

Ramkot Temple complex on the outskirts of Ramu, in Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh, asserts a foundation by Ashoka in the third century BCE. And it is worth recalling that, for much of its history, Ramu was, in fact, located in the Kingdom of Arakan, the greater part now in today’s Myanmar.

For Bangladesh, for whom a burgeoning inbound tourism business, such as that which Myanmar is currently experiencing,

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SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

supported by such as the New York exhibition, could, by World Tourism Organisation figures of international value and employment statistics, create up to four million new jobs, and generate up to $10bn income annually, there is every reason to feel neglected.

But, clearly, if there is neglect, it is founded in Bangladesh itself.

Buddhist traditions in the lands around the Ganges delta, which is now at the heart of Bangladesh, as well as the significant part of ancient, “north east India,” especially the Ganges basin, much of which is also now in the lands of Bangladesh, are certainly more ancient than those of Myanmar, and just as rich; indeed, historically, far richer.

Whether the Buddhist tradition in Myanmar commenced with the arrival of monks from north of the Naf river as late as the sixth century AD/CE, or far earlier, there can be little doubt that they arrived, by land from today’s Bangladesh, and, if by water, from around the Ganges and its delta, and they brought with them centuries of expertise.

In fact, we have clear evidence of the development of art forms in the lands around the Ganges about 4,000 years ago. The “vanishing wax” system of metal casting continues to be practised at Dhamrai, close to Dhaka, producing, in brass, astonishingly lovely works of art.

There seems, in fact, little doubt that the bronze and brass images of Buddhist tradition that is abound in Myanmar, as elsewhere in south east Asia, including Thailand and Cambodia, have their origins in skills developed in that early industrialised civilisation around these lands of the Ganges.

But it is in the museums of Bangladesh, as well as in the monuments, the temples, vihara and early Islamic constructs, which are abound in these lands of Bangladesh, that architectural, sculptural and monumental works of art can be so readily admired.

There is little doubt that the creation of what we might reasonably refer to as art significantly predates even Buddhism.

Evolving, like the early Sanskrit language, and the art of such written form as the famous stories of the Mahabharata, at least a millennium before the Common Era, and artefacts, such as those excavated from the mid to last millennium BCE site at Wari Bateshwar, near Narsingdi, bear testimony to the social environment that had sufficiently

Whether the Buddhist tradition in Myanmar commenced with the arrival of monks from north of the Naf river, there can be little doubt that they arrived by land from today’s Bangladesh

evolved to regard both religious images, and personal decoration, as accessible.

There is also little doubt that, even more so than the Hindu, and later, Jain period, it was the Buddhists who certainly began the flowering of a tradition of sculpture in both stone and cast metal that almost certainly lies at the foundation of much East Asian art for the next thousand years; and, arguably, right up to modern times.

It is said that it was the Mauryan period, the first ruler of which converted to Jainism, and the third, famously, to Buddhism, that saw the evolution of such art forms as architecture and sculpture, especially, from wood and clay, to the more enduring materials that have, for the most part, lasted until today.

Certainly, no one visiting the site museums, and such collections as those as Varendra in Rajshahi, or the National Museum in Dhaka, can doubt that the skills of both builders and artists of the late centuries before the Common Era, and the first millennium of the Common Era, working in the Indian subcontinent, in any way compare unfavourably to those working in ancient Persia, ancient Greece and Rome, amongst many other sites of artistic flowering.

The astonishing intricacy of carved basalt, and other hard stone of volcanic origin, of, largely, religious imagery, from Hindu, through Jain, Buddhist and even Islamic periods, compare, in their very evident skills, with those from any other part of the world.

Such works have, of course, been extensively looted, and continue to be so, whole

troves of Hindu brasses reappearing on the markets of USA having been, “removed for renovation,” from South Asian, and, no doubt, East Asian sites and museums, too.

It seems a pity that the work of such skilled artists, many of whom certainly originated from, and worked in, the lands of Bangladesh, are not receiving the international recognition they deserve.

The policy of the Archaeology Department in Bangladesh, to forbid photography of collections under their care, ostensibly to protect the materials, both inhibits a wider audience for the tremendous ancient talents, from which many others, including those from Myanmar being celebrated in New York, undoubtedly developed, and, of course, facilitates illegal trade.

To see, advertised online, from California, Hindu works of art, with a certified origin of Bangladesh, at prices from $65,000, speaks volumes for the illegal trade in such works of art, which are more likely to adorn private mansions than the galleries where they could awaken a popular appreciation of the great traditions of the lands of Bangladesh.

But it is perhaps the architectural detail of Buddhist Vihara frequently to be found, recycled, in such masterpieces as Kasumba Mosque, and cladding the Golden Mosque, which can most readily compare with contemporary works anywhere in the world.

And the sculptural masterpieces, perhaps

with less secular focus than some of that in the Mediterranean world, also compare in their intricate detail, with any contemporary work from Greece and Rome.

The remnants of that tradition may only linger in places like Dhamrai, and possibly the woodcarving expertise to be found in so many furniture shops around the country.

However, it might be with pride that Bangladeshis could admire the craftsmanship and art of their unidentified ancestors, and potentially share them with the more developed world from which originates tidal waves of tourists, of usually high value, who continue to travel the world seeking evidence of the talents of our forefathers.

The cream of it all is, undoubtedly, the work of Buddhist tradition, much predating, even, the famous four centuries of the famous Pala dynasty. Unquestionably, a tradition of art, and sculpture, especially, to be proud of.

Incredible beauty that, if we could only bring ourselves to share, would certainly acquire greater meaning here in the lands in which so much of it was created, and which gave birth to skills and traditions shared across the world, but could also do so much for both the social and economic prospects of Bangladesh today. l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

DT

20 INTERVIEW

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

We need more than summits Saleemul Huq is a veteran of climate diplomacy -- and tired of multilateral talks, as he told Hans Dembowski in an interview. In his eyes, the climate summit in Paris will not solve the problems humankind is facing.

n Hans Dembowski Will there be a comprehensive climate agreement in Paris?

Yes, I think so. No one wants to repeat what we experienced in Copenhagen in 2009, when everyone expected to conclude an agreement, only to see the talks collapse.

However, I do not think the result in Paris will really be satisfying. It is hard to find consensus among the governments of 200 different countries.

So the parties will not agree to keep global warming below two degrees on average?

Well, they have already agreed to do so, so that is not on the agenda. The real issue is whether the commitments they make to achieve that goal will be sufficient. So far, the direction is good, but the ambitions are far too low. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has asked all countries to declare to what extent they will reduce carbon emissions, and you can add up all pledges that have been made so far. It is not enough. If we don’t want to end up with three or four degrees of global warming, more needs to happen.

Who is responsible for raising the bar?

We are facing a collective-action problem.

This issue cannot be solved by individual countries. All parties must act, and no party can escape the consequences of doing too little too late. Consider the USA, for instance, where there is a long history of climate-change denial. California is suffering an unprecedented, multi-year drought.

Governor Jerry Brown has had to impose restrictions on the use of water. Farmers are struggling. No country can escape the impacts of climate change, so all countries must play their part.

Are you thinking of mitigating global warming or adapting to the phenomenon?

Both, obviously. Countries must adapt to the change that can no longer be avoided, and at the same time, they must limit the change, for otherwise adaptation will prove impossible. This plain truth applies to all countries.

Will funding be an issue in Paris?

No, why should it? That issue has been resolved. The advanced nations have pledged to make an annual $100bn available from 2020 onwards, and that will not be reconsidered. The Green Climate Fund has been set up. The advanced countries are currently making about $10bn available per year, not exclusively to the fund, and they will have to put more money in the pot.

The advanced nations have a history of not living up to pledges concerning the volume of official-development assistance, so perhaps they won’t fulfil their climate-finance pledges either.

Well, they’ve made the promise, and climate-finance is different from ODA because it is based on the polluter-pays principle. Those who did the most to cause climate change and who have also benefited most from the use of fossil fuels since the industrial revolution must rise to their responsibility. Any failure to fulfil climate-finance pledges will undermine the credibility of the OECD nations and any claim they have to leadership -- not only in climate matters, but in global affairs in general.

But does it make sense for a country like India, for instance, to still rely on coal and even expand the use of coal?

Questions of this kind are a bit annoying.

Look, on average, Indians emit about two tons of carbon per year. Germany emits almost five times more per head and the USA almost ten times more. Who are you to hector India? India is a huge country with a huge population. It is an emerging power. Its leaders have to assess their options, and they want to develop the country. They know that renewables matter and they are interested in modernising their infrastructure. The same is true for China, Indonesia and other emerging markets. These countries are more likely to change their ways and take the lead globally than the developed world, which is locked into how it has been doing things for decades.

In Germany, we feel we are setting the right example.

It is true that Germany has done a lot to promote renewables and that your government used to drive international debate forward. And the pledge to phase out fossil fuels is welcome too. That said, you are currently burning more coal in the short-term because your priority is to phase out nuclear power. Your economy, moreover, thrives on exporting expensive cars. It is also well understood that the collapse of east German industries helped your country meet its emission targets. I don’t want to belittle German achievements, but it is necessary to point out that your government should be more ambitious if it wants to set a global example.

It often looks as if the emerging markets were copying the Western model.

Well, they need to catch up with the OECD in terms of productivity, technology etc, but it is a mistake to believe that they are merely copying your example. China is investing

heavily in renewables, and so are other emerging markets. Where China and India go, the world will follow. That does not mean that they will not keep using coal for some time, but they are planning to move on. The Chinese government has a long-term vision for a non-fossil future, and it does not worry about short-term election cycles. And as China moves forward, you’ll see the USA move forward too. The main concern in Washington will not be the climate, however, but the fear of being beaten by China. Ultimately, this is about global leadership.

But don’t China, India and the developing world in general have a decades-old history of demanding climate action and leadership from the rich world?

Yes, they do, but their approach has changed.

They are fully aware of what climate change means. They are very serious about climate issues at the national level. My own country, Bangladesh, has already spent nearly $1bn on tackling climate change. That is a lot of money for a least-developed and desperately poor country. Private-sector companies are taking action, local governments are doing so too.

This really is an issue of national concern.

You seem to be tired of global summits.

Yes, I am very tired. After Paris I will not be engaged in similar meetings anymore. I will spend more time on the ground and work with communities to actually change something. The time for talking was 20 years ago.

It has passed. The international community has spent far too much time debating the matter. We had the chance to stem climate change, but that chance was not grasped. We must now deal with global warming on the ground -- in California, in the Ganges Delta, everywhere.

So you think Paris will be meaningless?

No, the summit will not be meaningless, but it will not suffice. We’ll do our best to make the summit as ambitious as possible. The weaker the result, the less it’ll contribute to solving the problems that lie ahead. We must acknowledge, however, that the commitments made so far are much too small and that multilateral talks are very complex.

Therefore, it would be folly to expect Paris to actually solve the problems. We will all have to face reality and deal with climate change on the ground. l Hans Dembowski is an author. Saleemul Huq is the director of ICCCAD and a senior fellow of the International Institute for Environment and Development in London.

DT

21

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

ILLUSTRATION: MAISHA ANIQA

T-JUNCTION

You can’t pretend to be serious

INSIDE

22

letters to Mars

Maddening love

23 News

Fair and Arla

24

Written in the Stars

Dream chaser

DT

22 T-JUNCTION

Tell

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

letters to Mars

Maddening

love n T-Junction desk

I am a 24 year old man who is still completing his undergrad from a reputed government university. I have been in a relationship with K for 2 years now. Although we have the ideal relationship she has recently begun pressurising me to get married, to finish my graduation and find a job quickly. She’s doing her masters and is in a far better position in life than I am in. She often threatens to leave me and marry someone of her parents choice – this is driving me crazy. I am in no position to be able to marry and take care of her, especially not financially. This has driven me insane on numerous occasions and I’ve even tried to take my life because I couldn’t deal with the pressure.

Sincerely, S

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK Dear S, First and foremost, please listen to what you have read and see what you’ve done to yourself. You need to really acknowledge yourself, your abilities and your life before you drown yourself in this never ending pit of self pity. Have the strength to live

and love yourself first. Think about your parents, your family and loved ones – they need you. Please try to think of the life you have been gifted with and appreciate this life given to you by God. Only when you realise your own self Worth, you will be able to progress in life and really be able to

face any hassle you come across – be it your incomplete graduation or your girlfriends impending threats. Be strong, only then will you be able to take every hurdle in your stride. l

letters to Venus

Long distance ties

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

n T-Junction desk I’m a 26 year old woman who got into a very serious long distance relationship with M for a year and half now. When we first began dating he lived in the same city and things were just plain and simply magical! It felt like a dream and we were so into each other- we would talk all the

time, share our lives together. Even after he left, we met twice in between and fell back into our routine of chatting/texting/ skyping. Recently he has gotten into the habit of being very unresponsive, showing little to no interest in video conferencing and almost always has an excuse ready when I ask him what’s wrong. Is he cheating on me? Or does he have another girl on

the side? He’s turning me into this overly possessive, jealous mess but I can’t help but be anything else.

Have you ever given the alternative a thought – that perhaps he actually is busy? Maybe you should consider giving him a little bit of space. It’s alright to feel possessive from time to time, but the

problem arises when you let that feeling fester. It could be your possessiveness that is creating an issue and harbouring negative feelings. Trust your partner or find a way to communicate with him. If he wants time, give him time and space and see what he has to say. Over here communication is the key. l

T-JUNCTION 23

DT

Tell

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

news

BRAC University Chess Club & BRAC School Chess programme

The inauguration program of BRAC University Chess Club & BRAC School Chess programme was held on May 21, Thursday at BRAC University Auditorium.

The club aims to utilise chess as a tool to develop students’ analytical skills and cognitive abilities. In addition, BRAC School Chess Program intends to hunt chess talents from under-privileged children who are currently studying at different BRAC schools. Honorable vice chancellor of BRAC University Professor Syed Saad Andaleeb attended as the chief guest of the programme and Grandmaster Niaz Murshed, the first grandmaster

from South Asia, along with the trainer of the club, presented the key-note speech. Mahmud Hasan, from BRAC education project, and Saiful Tariq, secretary general of Bangladesh Chess Federation attended as special guests.

Among others, Dr Aparna Islam, director of office of co-curricular activities; Shams Ud Duha, sdvisor of the club and Sameer Hossain, president of the club also spoke on the occasion. Apart from inauguration, there was also a rapid chess match between the vice-chancellor and Grandmaster Niaz Murshed. l

ARIES (MAR 21-APR 19)

Fair and Arla

Fair Food & Lifestyle recently signed an agreement with Arla Foods Bangladesh Limited.

Md Ruhul Alam Al Mahbub, Managing director of Fair Food & Lifestyle, and Mr. Peter Hallberg, deputy general manager of Arla Foods Bangladesh Limited signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.

Under this agreement Fair Food & Lifestyle will distribute Arla Foods

LEO (JUL 23-AUG 22)

You might find yourself in miscommunication with people this week, so choose your words carefully.

Time for you to get your old self back and get together with the gang or the band.

TAURUS (APR 20-MAY 20)

A few conversations with people at the workplace might change your opinion and your thoughts about what you might want to do about certain aspects in life.

VIRGO (AUG 23-SEP 22)

Taurus! Time for you to train others around you to help you with your work, you can’t expect yourself to carry the entire load now, can you?

HOROSCOPE

LIBRA (SEP 23-OCT 22)

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUN 20)

While change is good, you can’t expect yourself to run away from things of the past, accept them, embrace them and move on.

CANCER (JUN 21-JUL 22)

This week visions of fantasy and reality will collide. Have no fear, just think to your self when the going gets tough, the tough don’t just get going, they run like a sale on Chaad Raat or Black Friday.

You’re a very neutral person and sometimes people don’t really like that.

Bangladesh Limited products to their key accounts across the country.

Mr FR Al Mamun, head of sales & marketing from Fair Food & Lifestyle and Tarique Kamal, senior sales manager, Md Shahriar Hossain, trade marketing and key accounts manager from Arla Foods Bangladesh Limited and other high officials of both the organisations were also present during the signing. l

SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22-DEC 21)

Stand up, flex those muscles and start working on those brain Cells. Extra layers of fat in the body and extra time that you have can be used to do something fruitful.

CAPRICORN (DEC 22-JAN 19)

Rely on your closest friends for advice on the things that are on your mind.

AQUARIUS (JAN 20-FEB 19)

You do not the slightest chance of getting bored this week as a lot of drama will be hovering around you.

SCORPIO (OCT 23-NOV 21)

You’re currently going through a whirlwind of mixed emotions, try not to get too overwhelmed or get blown away by the late kalboishakhi jhor. Remember the kacha aam may taste good but the paka aam tastes better and is sweeter.

PISCES (FEB 20-MAR 20)

You are what you eat, therefore look after yourself and do it well. l

DT

24 T-JUNCTION

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Written in the Stars

Dream chaser

With great power comes great responsibility, a chit chat with the passionate Syed Yousef

n Baizid Haque Joarder You’ve proven your entrepreneurial qualities through Jarvis Digital, RollOut clothing and your collaboration with Saadi Rahman for Dhaka Comicon.

Tell us about your journey.

It’s been a fun ride so far, I have to admit.

When I left school, I was clueless. When I was about to leave university, no points for guessing, I was still clueless. Then one fine day, while I was going through my internship stint, I ended up drawing some superhero characters and logos on my work diary as at that particular hour I had nothing better to do. Whilst at it, a certain thought crossed my mind. The thought being, why not give these characters more exposure here? Why not make people wear them? Why not bring out some superhero t-shirts? And then RollOut happened. RollOut had a month-long sales booth at the Bench and seeing the massive response, we ended up opening up a store selling pop-culture centric merchandise - the country’s first one. RollOut products can also be delivered to different parts of the country, courtesy of its website, www.rollout.com.bd.

What followed next, or should I say, simultaneously took place was Dhaka Comicon! I still remember the moment when Saadi Rahman (partner/mentor/brother/ friend) came up to my store one day and asked me to step outside and said, “Abu, I have something to tell you.” I was dying of curiosity. And the next words that came out of his mouth were to be life-changing. He said, “Let’s do a Comic Con!” Dhaka Comicon 2012 turned out to be the country’s first comic book convention and since then, we’ve had two more and gearing up for a fourth one!

And very recently, in late 2014, Jarvis happened. Jarvis Digital is a full-service digital agency which specialises in content marketing, mobile and web apps, social media activation and engagement, rich media marketing and online ad placement.

It’s an initiative that four of my friends came up with last year, as most of us had prior advertising agency experience and thought why not give this a shot. We’ve been holding up pretty well since then. The name though, has been inspired from Iron Man’s AI Jarvis.

Can’t keep those superheroes too far away.

And which superhero is your favourite?

I can’t be monogamous in this case. Like how parents can’t choose their favorite child (at least they don’t say it openly), it’s next to impossible for me to come up with a favorite

out of the three. Okay maybe it’s…Nah, I love them all equally!

Interestingly, most of your initiatives revolve around pop culture. Care to explain?

I guess it all began with the first cartoons.

The first comic books and the first action figures. I know every other kid had fairly similar beginnings but I just got hooked to them or the idea of superheroes like a magnet, and the rest as they say is history. I would really thank my parents for “igniting the fire.” I remember them dedicating an entire room (which they fondly called playroom) for me and my siblings, which

I never underestimate my opponent, but I never underestimate my talents.

– Hale Irwin

consisted of all our toys and video cassettes.

So yeah the love is ever-present and my initiatives revolving around pop-culture is my way of paying homage to them.

Secret for success?

Now, I wouldn’t wanna make everyone’s life easier by sharing secrets would I? Jokes apart, I stuck to my guns and went for the things I’ve always been passionate about and I’ve been fairly consistent with my choices on that regard, my passions rather. And I know this has been said countless times, but it’s very important you enjoy what you do.

Then again, there’s so much more that can be done!

Any plans for the future?

Ideally, I should have drawn a roadmap of where I would want to see myself in the next 10 years. However, I would love to see all my babies be the industry leaders in their respective fields. How you may ask? Perhaps by dishing out one great work after the other.

PHOTO: COURTESY What are you busy with right now?

It’s been mostly Jarvis for the last couple of months. It’s new and it requires special nurturing so my parents and I have been striving for constant improvement. And with a growing clientele and much appreciation of our work, we can safely assume that our efforts are paying off. RollOut came up with its new line of summer tees as well, which received plenty of praise. And why forget Dhaka Comicon? Recently, we were promotional partners for the Avengers: Age Of Ultron premiere. l

Tips/advices for our teen readers: Don’t let societal norms discourage you. Chase your dreams. Be where the heart is.

Name the last song you listened to: “Shut up and Dance” by Walk the Moon

The favourites: Hobby/activity: Cricket, collecting and following pop-culture stuff, socialising (there I said it).

Movie: The entire Lord Of The Rings Trilogy.

Food: Anything related to Awadhi cuisine.

Favourite part of your job: Constant mental stimulation.

Chelsea forward Eden Hazard is expected to miss the champions’ final Premier League game of the season against Sunderland after undergoing emergency dental surgery

Sport 26

MUSHFIQ MIGHT MISS INDIA TEST

28

I WON’T GIVE MEDAL AWAY THIS TIME: MOURINHO

29

25

DT

HAZARDOUS

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

DISRESPECTFUL TO TALK ABOUT NADAL’S DOWNFALL

LA LIGA POINTS TABLE Team Name

P

W

D

L

GF

GA Pts

Barcelona Real Madrid Atletico Madrid Valencia Sevilla

37 37 37 37 37

30 29 23 21 22

3 2 8 11 7

4 6 6 5 8

108 111 67 67 68

19 35 29 30 43

93 89 77 74 73

Villarreal Athletic Bilbao Malaga Espanyol Rayo Vallecano Celta Vigo Real Sociedad Elche Getafe Levante Granada Deportivo Eibar Almeria Cordoba

37 37 37 37 37 37 37 37 37 37 37 37 37 37 37

16 14 14 13 15 12 10 11 10 9 7 7 8 8 3

12 10 8 10 4 12 13 7 7 9 13 13 8 8 11

9 13 15 14 18 13 14 19 20 19 17 17 21 21 23

48 38 40 45 44 44 40 35 30 34 29 33 31 33 22

33 41 45 48 64 42 49 62 57 67 64 58 55 61 65

60 52 50 49 49 48 43 40 37 36 34 34 32 32 20

FIXTURES

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi smiles next to his teammates (L-R) Pedro and Luis Suarez during a training session at the Barcelona training grounds Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper in Sant Joan Despi near Barcelona yesterday REUTERS

Relegation, Europe to play for n AFP, Spain Almeria, Deportivo la Coruna, Eibar and Granada will fight it out to avoid the two remaining relegation places when the Spanish league season comes to a close tonight.

The makeup of Spain’s representatives in next season’s Champions League will also be decided with Valencia and Sevilla still vying for fourth place, whilst Atletico Madrid need a point to secure third and avoid a tricky qualifier in August.

Deportivo and Granada hold the advantage in the battle to avoid the drop as they lead Eibar and Almeria by two points.

However, they both face tough tasks this weekend as Depor travel to champions Barcelona, whilst in-form Granada host Atletico.

“It is difficult to get anything at the Camp Nou. We are facing the best team in the world,” said Deportivo striker Oriol Riera.

Barca, though, may not be in a forgiving mood despite having the title sewn up as the

Camp Nou is expected to pay homage to Xavi Hernandez on his final league game for the club after a 17-year playing career.

Having previously won just twice in the league since September, Granada have won their last three games since Jose Ramon Sandoval took charge earlier this month to keep their survival hopes alive.

Atletico will definitely achieve their objective of qualification for the Champions League group stages with a point, but could still be usurped should they lose and Valencia win at Almeria.

Almeria’s chances of staying up could be decided both on the pitch and in the court room in the coming days.

Even should they beat Los Che to avoid the drop, a final decision on whether they are to be docked three points for unpaid sums to Danish club Aalborg for the transfer of Michael Jakobsen in 2010 will be made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday.

A Valencia slip-up in Almeria would also have consequences at the top as Sevilla could move into fourth with victory at Malaga.

However, Sevilla also have a second chance at Champions League qualification as they will go straight into next season’s group stages even if they finish fifth should they retain the Europa League.

On paper, Eibar have by far the easiest task on Saturday when they host the already relegated Cordoba.

The Basque minnows have won just one of their last 19 La Liga games, but remain confident of surviving in their first ever season in the top flight with a little help from Barcelona and Atletico.

Athletic Bilbao can also seal the final Europa League place with victory at home to Villarreal. The Basques are currently seventh, which would yield a European place if Barca beat them in the Copa del Rey final next weekend. Anything other than a win, though, would allow Malaga to snatch seventh by beating Sevilla.

Meanwhile, at the Santiago Bernabeu, Carlo Ancelotti could take charge of his final match as Real Madrid coach when Los Blancos play out a meaningless final game of the campaign against Getafe.l

Levante Barcelona Granada Rayo Vallecano Eibar Celta Vigo Almeria Malaga Athletic Bilbao Real Madrid

v v v v v v v v v v

Elche Deportivo Atletico Madrid Real Sociedad Cordoba Espanyol Valencia Sevilla Villarreal Getafe

I want to continue at Real Madrid: Ancelotti n Reuters, Madrid Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will discuss his future with the club after Saturday’s final La Liga game of the campaign at home to Getafe and said he wants to stay on despite a season without a major trophy.

Speculation that Real president Florentino Perez is poised to discard Ancelotti has been rife since the holders were eliminated from the Champions League and Barcelona secured the La Liga title last weekend. Ancelotti’s post-training news conference on Friday had the air of a farewell, with journalists applauding the Italian at the end, but he insisted he is ready and willing to continue.

“I understand that this is a key moment for the club because they are taking an important decision,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“If I don’t carry on I will have spent two fantastic years here and each will go their separate ways, the club one way and me the other. I have the confidence and the desire and the excitement to carry on because I like this club and these players and I like this city,” he added.l

DT

26 Sport

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

INTERNATIONAL CRICKET RETURNS TO PAKISTAN AFTER 6 YEARS

Pakistan’s Anwar Ali bowls the first delivery of the match to Zimbabwe’s Hamilton Masakadza during their first International T20 match at the Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore yesterday

Ambrose issues IPL warning n AFP, London

West Indies great Curtly Ambrose has told leading Caribbean cricketers taking part in the Indian Premier League they cannot expect to come straight back into the Test side.

The legendary fast bowler is now a member of the West Indies’ coaching staff and saw first hand how a team without IPL stars such as dynamic opener Chris Gayle still managed to hold England to a 1-1 series draw, thanks to a five-wicket win inside three days in the third and final Test in Barbados earlier this month.

Ambrose, while conscious of the lucrative contracts on offer in the Twenty20 tournament, said all players who signed up for the IPL had to understand the consequences of their actions.

“First of all, I believe we should try our best to feature our strongest team,” Ambrose told reporters at Lord’s on Thursday during the first day of the first Test between England and New Zealand.

“Unfortunately, some of our top players are in the IPL at the moment. You can’t really stop someone, or you shouldn’t stop someone, from making decisions,” added the 51-year-old.

“They’ve got to decide if they want to play for the West Indies or go to the IPL,” said Ambrose, who in 98 Tests from 1988-2000 took 405 wickets at an average of just 20.99 - a mark of an all-time great. I know it is a lucrative thing, the T20 and the IPL but, at the end of the day, we have to work with who we have.l

Mushfiq might miss India Test n Tribune Desk

Bangladesh Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim faces a race against time to be fit for the oneoff Test against India slated from June 10-14 after the wicketkeeper-batsman was advised a week’s rest to recover from a finger injury.

The 28-year-old injured the third finger on his right hand in the first Test against Pakistan at Khulna last month and ignored advice to skip the next match at Dhaka to deny himself full recovery.

“Since he was complaining of pain we did the necessary medical examinations again on his right hand,” said Bangladesh Cricket

Board (BCB) physician Debashish Chowdhury. “The report confirmed that the internal damage is yet to completely heal and that’s why the swelling and the pain is still there.

We have advised him to take full rest for one week before further assessment.”

If Mushfiq is unable to regain full fitness in time for the Test match then it will open the doors for Liton Kumar Das. The 20-year-old has been impressive in the domestic circuit recently with the bat while he was also a part of the Test squad against Pakistan. Though he is yet to make his debut in the whites, Liton fielded for more than nine sessions in both the Test matches in place of injured Mushfiq in Khulna and Shahadat Hossain in Dhaka.

Mushfiq’s absence will also mean his deputy in the format Tamim Iqbal will lead the side, but the left-handed himself is under rehabilitation from a sore knee.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh think-tank is also concerned over the fitness of seamer Rubel Hossain for the Test match at Fatullah and the three one-dayers at Mirpur on June 18, 21 and 24 respectively.

“He is not fully fit. Rubel could not reach our expected level of fitness today, so we can not declare him 100 percent fit,” Chowdhury said.

“He has failed to achieve the desired level of fitness on time as he missed few important sessions owing to his personal problems.” l

AFP

Enamul brace propel Muktis n Tribune Desk In-form striker Enamul Haque netted a brace as Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra eased past Farashganj MFS by 3-0 to conclude their first phase of the Manyavar Bangladesh Premier League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

The victory took the All Reds to the fifth place leapfrogging Abahani Limited. The Muktis now have earned 19 points from 10 matches.

It was an unusual match in the history of the Bangladesh Premier League as it was a continuation from its original fixture the day before. Scheduled to play on Thursday, the game was abandoned after 40 minutes from start due to heavy rainfall. The match resumed yesterday from the 41st minute.

Resuming goalless, Enamul broke the deadlock in the 57th minute, 17th minute on the day, as the veteran striker darted in to the box and fired the ball past Farashganj keeper Sujan Chowdhury.

Zahed Pervez Chowdhury extended the lead seven minutes later before Enamul celebrated his second of the day and ninth in the league by converting a penalty a minute before the final whistle was blown. The Old Dhaka outfits, Farashganj, remained at the bottom of the table with only four points.l

RESULT Muktijoddha SKC Enamul 57,89, Zahed 64

3-0

Farashganj MFS

DT

Sport 27

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

QUICK BYTES Allardyce stoic on West Ham future Straight-talking West Ham coach Sam Allardyce will fly out to a family holiday in Spain this weekend, leaving delicate contract negotiations with the club owners in the hands of his agent. The 60-year-old has lifted the club to mid-table security but has won few fans on the terraces with his no frills football style, and reports say owners David Sullivan and David Gold are to replace the former Bolton boss.

–AFP

Ibe and Flanagan extend Liverpool contracts

Winger Jordon Ibe and defender Jon Flanagan have signed new contracts at Liverpool, the Premier League club announced on Thursday. The pacy 19-yearold Ibe, who has signed a “long-term” deal, has enjoyed a breakthrough season at Anfield, making 13 appearances since being recalled from Championship side Derby County in January.

–Reuters

Israel briefly detains travelling Palestine player

The Palestine Football Association (PFA) has complained to world soccer’s governing body FIFA that Israeli authorities held up a national team player as the squad travelled from the West Bank to Tunisia on Thursday. The PFA said player Sameh Maraabah was temporarily detained by Israeli authorities at Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan late on Thursday.

–Reuters

Playoffs go ahead despite unexploded bomb

This weekend’s English promotion playoff finals will go ahead at Wembley stadium as planned despite an unexploded World War II bomb being discovered nearby, officials said. “This weekend’s games remain unaffected and we look forward to welcoming supporters of all six @football_ league Play-Off finalists to #Wembley,” a Twitter message read on Friday.

–Reuters

Bangladesh national football coach Lodewijk de Kruif (2R) briefs the players during the national camp at Sheikh Jamal DC ground in Dhanmondi yesterday COURTESY

Guptill, Latham fifties keep Kiwis in touch n Reuters, London Openers Tom Latham and Martin Guptill made fluent half centuries to lead New Zealand to 173 for two in reply to England’s 389 at tea on the second day of the first test at Lord’s on Friday.

Latham and Guptill shared a solid partnership of 148 before the former, on 59, was trapped lbw by spinner Moeen Ali. Three balls later Guptill drove Stuart Broad loosely to cover where Gary Ballance took a fine sprawling catch to dismiss the elegant right-hander for 70.

Kane Williamson was on 11 not out at the interval with Ross Taylor on seven.

New Zealand took three wickets in the first hour to wrap up the England innings after the

Sterling will see out Liverpool contract: Rodgers

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers expects Raheem Sterling to see out the remaining two years of his contract despite claims made by the winger’s agent that the England international will snub any new deal.

–Reuters

Wenger rewards Rosicky Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger is to recognise the continued importance of veteran playmaker Tomas Rosicky by extending the veteran midfielder’s contract until the end of the 2015-2016 season. The deal takes the 34-year-old into a tenth season with Arsenal.

–AFP

New Zealand opener Martin Guptill plays off the hip during their first Test against England at the Lord’s yesterday REUTERS

DAY 2, TEA New Zealand First Innings 173 for 2 (Guptill 70, Latham 59)

England First Innings 389 all out (Root 98, Stokes 92, Boult 4-79, Henry 4-93) hosts resumed on 354 for seven.

Moeen reached his fifty before edging leftarm seamer Trent Boult to stand-in wicketkeeper Latham for 58.

Broad’s miserable batting form continued when he nicked Boult through to Latham for three and James Anderson, on 11, was caught and bowled by Matt Henry.

Boult completed figures of four for 79 and Henry took four for 93 on his debut.

Guptill and Latham started watchfully and took New Zealand to 44 for no wicket at lunch, though Guptill had a big let-off when he was caught by Alastair Cook at first slip off Mark Wood.

The pace bowler was denied his first test wicket, however, because replays showed he had over-stepped the crease and the delivery was called a no ball.

The batsmen grew in confidence in the afternoon session as the England pace attack struggled to swing the ball in overcast conditions.

Latham was dropped by Ian Bell in the slips and Guptill was first to reach his fifty which came from 87 balls and included seven fours.

Latham also raised his half-century, including nine fours, and Guptill greeted Moeen to the attack by launching him over mid-wicket for a huge six.l

BKSP athletes dominate opening day n Tribine Desk Four new national records were made in the boy’s 200m, boy’s and girl’s 4x100m relay and long jump on the first day of the 31st National (Age Group) Junior Athletics Championship at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Athletes of BKSP dominated the first day and won eight gold, three silver and one bronze medal.

BKSP’s Ashrafuzzaman and Aysha Siddika became the fastest boy and girl in the 17-18 age-group by winning their respective 100m sprint. Ashrafuzzaman took 10.90 second to set new national record while Aysha Siddika took 12.75 seconds to finish as first.l

Shermin Nahar Laboni Of BKSP won gold medal in shotput event yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

DT

28 Sport

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

I won’t give medal away this time: Mourinho n Reuters, London Jose Mourinho will receive a third Premier League winners’ medal on Sunday but the Chelsea manager is not feeling so charitable this time -- meaning no surprise souvenir for a lucky fan at Stamford Bridge.

After claiming a second English title in 2006 following a 3-0 win against Manchester United, Mourinho launched his medal and blazer into the crowd.

Chelsea host Sunderland in their final game of the season on Sunday where they will be presented with the Premier League trophy for the first time since 2010.

“My son now is collecting all my stuff,” the Portuguese told a news conference on Friday.

“He keeps everything.

“At that time (2006) he was too young, but in this moment he is collecting everything.

Shirts, medals - he steals everything from me.”

Mourinho was named Premier League manager of the season for the third time following previous triumphs in 2005 and 2006.

“I was not waiting for it, I was never manager of the month, but I’m happy with it,” he said.

“It’s a club trophy, not an individual one.

It’s for me, my assistants, my players, everybody who works with me. It’s something you don’t just get by yourself.

“It’s the icing on the cake but I work for the cake. The Premier League is the real cake but

José Mourinho, centre, celebrates the Manager of the Year trophy with (from left) goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon, first team fitness coach Carlos Lalin, assistant first team coach Silvino Louro, assistant first team coach Rui Faria, assistant first team coach Steve Holland and first team fitness coach Chris Jones obviously to be the manager of the season is nice.”

Forward Eden Hazard, who has played in all 37 of Chelsea’s league fixtures, is unlikely to feature against Sunderland after undergo-

ing emergency dental surgery on Wednesday to have three wisdom teeth removed.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech is struggling with a muscle injury but Mourinho said the 33-yearold, who could leave at the end of the season

after being used as back-up to Thibaut Courtois, will play some part against Sunderland.

Young defender Andreas Christensen and 18-year-old attacking midfielder Jeremie Boga will be given a taste of first team action.l

German relegation battle goes down to the wire n Reuters, Berlin

Gent’s players celebrate after winning the Belgian championship for the first time in their 115-year history in Gent on Thursday AFP

Napoli face Champions League acid test at Juve n AFP, Milan Napoli face a crucial weekend in their fight for a Champions League place with Rafael Benitez’s men away to treble-chasing Juventus and rivals Lazio hosting Roma in the city derby.

Napoli, in fourth place three points off a Champions League place, visit a Juventus side

SERIE A FIXTURES Juventus Genoa

v Napoli v Inter

still bubbling with joy after their 2-1 Italian Cup final victory over Lazio on Wednesday.

Napoli would be forgiven for hoping Massimiliano Allegri rests several of his players for Saturday’s clash in Turin.

A win for Benitez’s men would pull them level with Lazio ahead of the city derby on Monday when Roma will be looking for the win that would secure runner-up spot and automatic entry to the Champions League.

However it has been anything but a relaxing week for Benitez, who suffered heavy criticism for Napoli’s semi-final exit from the Europa League at the hands of Dnipro.l

A third of the Bundesliga’s 18 clubs will be sweating it out until the last final whistle of the season on Saturday, hoping they will be one of the lucky sides to survive one of the most closely contested relegation battles in recent history.

The sextet comprises former European champions Hamburg SV, the only club to have never been relegated in the league’s 52-year history, former champions VfB Stuttgart, as well as Freiburg, Hanover 96, Paderborn and Hertha Berlin.

Hamburg are in 17th place on 32 points, one ahead of basement-dwelling Paderborn and just below Stuttgart, and could see their top-flight status finally broken even with a win over Schalke 04 as they need other results to go their way.

Stuttgart, who were champions as recently as 2007, have a simpler task, knowing that a victory at Paderborn would secure a at least a relegation playoff spot (16th) but more likely a guaranteed place in the top flight for next season.

Paderborn, in their first Bundesliga season, also need to win to have any chance of climbing into the playoff spot. Any other result will not be enough for the Westphalian club to avoid a quick return to the second division.

Freiburg and Hanover are both on 34 points and could be safe with a draw, while a win for either side would confirm Bundesliga football for next season.

Hertha are the best placed of all the strugglers, needing just one point at Hoffenheim to be certain of avoiding the drop.l

BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES Bayern Munich Dortmund M’gladbach Hoffenheim Hanover 96 Frankfurt Hamburg Cologne Paderborn

v v v v v v v v v

Mainz Werder Bremen Augsburg Hertha Berlin Freiburg Bayer Leverkusen Schalke 04 VfL Wolfsburg VfB Stuttgart

POINTS TABLE Team Name

P

W

D

L

GF GA Pts

Bayern Munich VfL Wolfsburg M’gladbach

33 24 33 20 33 19

4 8 9

5 5 5

78 70 52

Bayer Leverkusen 33

18 36 23

76 68 66

17

10

6

61

35

61

Schalke 04 Augsburg Dortmund

33 13 33 14 33 12

9 4 7

11 15 14

42 40 44

38 42 40

48 46 43

Werder Bremen Hoffenheim

33 33

11 11

10 8

12 14

48 47

62 54

43 41

Mainz 05 Frankfurt Cologne

33 9 33 10 33 9

13 10 12

11 13 12

45 54 32

45 61 38

40 40 39

Hertha Berlin Freiburg

33 33

9 7

8 13

16 13

35 35

50 45

35 34

Hanover 96 VfB Stuttgart Hamburg

33 33 33

8 8 8

10 9 8

15 16 17

38 40 23

55 59 50

34 33 32

Paderborn

33

7

10

16

30

63

31

DT

Sport 29

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

Disrespectful to talk about Nadal’s downfall: Sharapova n Reuters, Paris

Maldini beats Beckham to Miami n AFP, Los Angeles Former Italy defender Paolo Maldini has beaten England icon David Beckham to the punch in launching a professional football club in Miami. As Beckham’s plans for a Major League Soccer franchise in Miami remain in limbo, Maldini announced Thursday he was joining entrepeneur Riccardo Silva in launching Miami FC to begin play in the North American Soccer League in 2016.

“I strongly believe in the growth of soccer in the USA, and this is the perfect project to develop a top-class soccer team in one of the most important cities in the world,” Maldini said.

“We believe that the fast-growing NASL will be the perfect platform to develop a successful team and a valuable business.”l

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 1 10:00 PM Italian Serie A Juventus v Napoli

Star Sports 2 4:00PM New Zealand Tour of England 1st Test, Day 3 12:25 AM Spanish La Liga Real Madrid v Getafe

Star Sports4 2:55 PM FIA F1 World Championship Practice Sessions 3: Monaco 5:55 PM Qualifying: Monaco Grand Prix 10:25 PM Spanish La Liga FC Barcelona v Deportivo de La Coruna

Star Sports HD 1 10:25 PM Spanish La Liga Granada CF vs. Atletico de Madrid

Ten Action 1:00 AM French Ligue 1 Paris Saint-Germain v Stade De Reims

Ten Cricket 1:00 AM French Ligue 1 Stade Rennais v Olympique Lyonnais

Ten HD 1:00 AM French Ligue 1 Olympique De Marseille v S.C. Bastiais

Ten Sports 1:00 AM French Ligue 1 FC 56 Lorient v AS Monaco

Neo Prime 7:30 PM Bundesliga FC Bayern Munchen v FSV Mainz 05

Neo Sports 7:30 PM Bundesliga Borussia Dortmund v SV Werder Bremen

Defending champion Russia’s Maria Sharapova picks up a token during the draw for the French Open at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris yesterday. The French Open starts Sunday AP

Predicting Rafa Nadal’s downfall as he prepares to try and win a record-extending 10th French Open title is disrespectful to the Spaniard, double Roland Garros champion Maria Sharapova said on Friday.

For the first time in the build-up to the tournament Nadal has failed to win a claycourt title in Europe, his best result being a defeat in the final of the Madrid Masters against Briton Andy Murray this month.

“Everyone expects so much of Rafa at this time of the year. An individual loses a few matches, someone who’s won this event, what is it nine times, I believe?

To put so many question marks, I almost think it’s a little bit disrespectful,” former world number one Sharapova of Russia told a news conference after the French Open draw ceremony.

“He’s an incredible champion, and he has no reason to be here doing it again, and his will and motivation to keep doing it and to keep proving to himself that he can do it again is pretty remarkable.

“It’s actually been a little bit sad, because if I was in his shoes I’d be a pretty accomplished and satisfied player. Here he is just grinding away and proving everyone wrong. I think that’s pretty respectful.”

Fourteen-times grand slam champion Nadal, who has struggled to rediscover his top form after injury and illness last year, was handed the toughest route in Friday’s draw.

He could have to beat Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Murray and 17-times grand slam champion Roger Federer, in that order, to win his 10th Roland Garros title in 11 years.

The tournament starts on Sunday. l

Blatter challengers down to one after Figo, Van Praag withdraw n Reuters, Berne Luis Figo and Michael van Praag pulled out of the FIFA presidential election race on Thursday, leaving Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein as the only challenger to incumbent and runaway favourite Sepp Blatter.

Figo went out with a bang as he launched a blistering attack on the electoral system of soccer’s governing body, saying it was a “plebiscite for the delivery of absolute power to one man - something I refuse to go along with.”

The former Portugal forward added: “Over the past few months I have not only witnessed that desire (for change), I have witnessed consecutive incidents, all over the world, that should shame anyone who desires soccer to be free, clean and democratic.

“I have seen with my own eyes federation presidents who, after one day comparing FIFA leaders to the devil, then go on stage and compare those same people with Jesus Christ. Nobody told me about this. I saw it with my own eyes.

“I am firm in my desire to take an active part in the regeneration of FIFA and I will be

available for it whenever it is proven to me that we are not living under a dictatorship.”

Blatter, 79, is widely to expected to be re-elected for a fifth term on May 29, even though, under his watch, FIFA has been plagued by a wave of scandals and controversy.

These have ranged from allegations of corruption in the 2018/2022 World Cup bidding process to a row over $25,000 watches gifted to executive committee members at the World Cup in Brazil last year.

UEFA, with 53 of the 209 votes at the election, have said they will not back Blatter, but the Swiss has widespread promises of support from the rest of the world.

Dutch FA president Van Praag pledged to back Prince Ali and, in a joint press conference in Amsterdam, said that the only way to unseat Blatter was for his opponents to unite.

Van Praag said Prince Ali had agreed to back his human rights and governance commitments, including ensuring better protections for migrant workers in 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar. “He is the one candidate who has the biggest chance to challenge Sepp Blatter,” Van Praag said.

“If the football family follows their desires, and if things are done in a correct way with no interference, we have a great chance of making that change,” Prince Ali said.

Figo complained that Blatter’s rivals were prevented from speaking at the Congresses of the continental confederations, apart from UEFA, and that Blatter had failed to present a manifesto or engage with his opponents.

“After a personal reflection and sharing views with two other candidates in this process, I believe that what is going to happen on May 29 in Zurich is not a normal electoral act.

And because it is not, don’t count on me.”

“There has not been a single public debate about each candidate’s proposals,” said the 42-year-old Figo, Portugal’s most capped player with 127 appearances.

“Does anyone think it’s normal that an election for one of the most relevant organisations on the planet can go ahead without a public debate?

Figo said he had received an “incredible wave of support from soccer players, former players, coaches, referees and administrators.” l

DT

30 DOWNTIME

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Destiny (4) 5 Stringed instrument (4) 10 Social event (4) 11 Close friend (3) 12 Trap (5) 13 Eyelid affliction (3) 14 Manservant (5) 16 Musical dramas (6) 18 Wearying (6) 21 Trembling poplar (5) 23 Piece (3) 24 Angry (5) 26 Frozen treat (3) 27 Soon (4) 28 Tidings (4) 29 Female sheep (4)

DOWN 2 Lessen (5) 3 Sailor (3) 4 Lift (7) 6 Church recess (4) 7 Climbing palm (6) 8 Employ busily (3) 9 Norwegian capital (4) 15 Like an ass (7) 17 Flatfish (6) 19 Silly (5) 20 Merriment (4) 22 Meat dish (3) 23 Container (3) 25 Argue (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 17 represents Y so fill Y every time the figure 17 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.

A B C D E FG H I J K L M N O P Q RST UVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

DT

SHOWTIME 31

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

An evening of Lalon song with Farida Parveen

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

PRIYANKA Aka Ayesha @priyankachopra I was called silly for doing Fashion, as if it would harm my career! Ha! Look at us now! This movement will soon be a revolution! #ProudFemale Rebel Wilson @RebelWilson Happy Red Nose Day, love #HowToBeSingle x

n Showtime Desk Indira Gandhi Culture Centre has arranged a musical soiree of Lalon song by Farida Parveen, which will take place today at the cultural centre’s auditorium in the capital’s Gulshan area at 6:30 PM. In the event, Farida will render some of the great numbers written and sung by legendary Lalon Fakir, an icon of religious tolerance and secularism who

Marc Jacobs @marcjacobs #tbt to last week.

Can you guess where?

is remembered for his rejection of all distinctions of mankind based on caste and creed. Farida, the recipient of the prestigious Ekushey Padak in 1987, is one of the most popular vocal musicians and a leading exponent of Lalon songs in the country. Her melodious rendering has contributed significantly towards making Lalon song s, a popular interest both at home and abroad.

The musical event is open for all. l

WHAT TO WATCH

The Once and Future King of Late Night Retires The Hunger Games: Catching Fire A HBO, 11:30pm Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Jack Quaid, Taylor St. Clair, Sandra Ellis Lafferty, Woody Harrelson

n Showtime Desk After a long run of thirty-three years, David Letterman retires from television with the final episode of Late Show with David Letterman airing on May 21. In the run-up to the finale, tributes poured in from other late night fixtures such as Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon but some of the most poignant remembrances came from Conan O’ Brien and Jimmy Kimmel, with the latter deciding not to air an original episode of the show as a gesture of respect towards his comedic hero.

The late night playing field looks very different today compared to when Letterman debuted on Late Night with David Letterman on NBC in 1982. His first show was unlike anything seen on late night before. The episode opened with Larry “Bud” Melman making a strange and somewhat out-of-place appearance, the kind that would be expected from an episode of The Twilight Zone rather than from a show on late night. Following that, a group of girls wearing peacock costumes perform a small number with Letterman finally walking out on stage and wasting no time delivering an opening pitch filled

with his characteristically acerbic wit.

The late night playing field has changed radically since then with the likes of Fallon and Meyers establishing a feel-good vibe on their respective shows as opposed to Letterman who stubbornly maintained his curmudgeonly demeanor and natural sense of humor that broke down the aura of celebrity in his guests.

With the departure of hosts like Letterman and his rival Jay Leno last year, a different era of late night television

now starts with the likes of James Corden and Stephen Colbert (taking over for Letterman) joining Meyers and Fallon.

While these hosts and their shows are focused on producing content that is designed to go viral on social media, the retirement of these legends highlights the end of an era of late night television that, in an age free of YouTube, was the only source of a brand of humor that was not only breathtakingly new-age but also refreshingly intelligent. l

What Happens in Vegas B+ Movies Now, 7:30pm A man and a woman are compelled, for legal reasons, to live life as a couple for a limited period of time. At stake is a large amount of money.

Cast: Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Lake Bell, Dennis Farina, Queen Latifah, Rob Corddry Monsters University BStar Movies, 3pm A look at the relationship between Mike and Sulley during their days at Monsters University; when they weren’t necessarily the best of friends.

Voice: Billy Crystal (Mike), John Goodman (Sullivan), Steve Buscemi (Randy), Helen Mirren (Dean Hardscrabble), Peter Sohn (Squishy)

DT

32 BACK PAGE

SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

DIAMONDS IN THE SKY PAGE 14

RELEGATION, EUROPE TO PLAY FOR PAGE 25

AN EVENING OF LALON SONG WITH FARIDA PARVEEN PAGE 31

3R waste management strategy fails

Under the 3R project of DoE, buildings in different parts of the capital were provided with four types of waste bins for different types of wastes. However, the wastes ultimately go to the dumping ground altogether. The photos show the four bins located at an apartment on United Nations Road and wastes randomly dumped on one side of Progoti Sarani MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

n Shadma Malik A waste management project worth Tk21 crore, financed by Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund, has failed to reach its desired goal due to lack of awareness on parts of both city dwellers and waste collectors.

Under the initiative, which prescribes the 3R method – recycle, reuse and reduce – for better waste management, residential buildings in different parts of the capital were provided with four types of waste bins coloured green, yellow, red and blue for different types of wastes.

Cleaners working at the buildings were supposed to divide the wastes in four types – organic, inorganic, hazardous and mixed – and put them in the corresponding bins.

However, a recent visit to the city’s Baridhara residential area revealed that most of the waste collected from households was not disposed following the prescribed 3R method.

In most cases, the wastes are not separat-

ed and ultimately go to the dumping ground altogether.

“At the beginning of the project, when the waste bins were supplied to the buildings, most cleaners used to separate wastes regularly. But later they lost their enthusiasm,” said Taher Uddin, a security guard at an apartment house in Baridhara.

The Department of Environment took up the 3R project in 2012.

Moududur Rashid Safder, deputy director of the project, told the Dhaka Tribune: “I would not say that it is a completely failed project. The problem lies with the lack of knowledge about 3R strategies. We have extended one more year from the government to make people aware of waste separation. We will be conducting 3R practice principles with workshops. We hope that we will overcome this challenge soon.

“Clean recyclable fetch a higher price in the market and leads to a growing recycle sector.

As less waste needs to be landfilled, environment pollution is reduced too,” he said.

“When people are aware of correct separation of waste, the project will contribute to urban environmental project and, more particularly, climate change adaptation,” he added.

AH Md Maqsood Sinha, co-founder of Waste Concern, a social business enterprise for waste recycling based in Dhaka, blamed the ignorance and lack of motivation of people for the initiative’s ineffectiveness.

“The house-keepers or cleaners lack motivation to separate waste according to their types, because even though they do so, the waste ultimately gets mixed up at the dumping areas,” he said.

The potential solution to this problem could be a strong connection between the city mayors and the communities, Maqsood believes.

“To inspire each community, the mayors and the municipalitieshave a key role to play.

They should encourage the society to have a

clean and hygienic environment.”

On the behavioural pattern of the city dwellers and waste collectors, the newly elected Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Annisul Huq said implementing the 3R method to manage the city wastage is a must, even though it has several challenges.

“We can recycle both organic and inorganic waste. This waste can be used to produce biogas, electricity and so on,” he said, adding that a rapid awareness among the concerned people is imperative to make the initiative successful.

About 4,500 tonnes of household waste is produced every day in the capital of Dhaka, home to around 12 million people, according to a study conducted by Waste Concern.

As per the 3R initiative, organic household waste is supposed to be used to produce biogas and organic fertiliser, and inorganic waste like plastic and glasses is supposed to be recycled. l

Dhaka joins march against Monsanto World authors urge Bangladesh government to halt blogger attacks n Tribune Report

Joining hundreds of thousands of people at 428 cities in 38 countries, protesters in Bangladesh will march against Monsanto in Dhaka today to raise awareness of the dangers of genetically modified food crops.

Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) and Poribesh Bachao Andolon (POBA) will lead the event, joined by other organisations and civil society members, where the protesters will also stress the danger of using Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup which has been linked to cancer.

A human chain will also be formed in front of the faculty of fine arts at Dhaka University.

In connection with this event, a musical question-and-answer night about the environment and genetic modification in Bangladesh

took place last night at Jatra Biroti in Banani.

In 2013, Bangladesh became the first country in South Asia to allow the cultivation of the genetically modified Bt Brinjal, despite the indefinite moratorium imposed on its cultivation in India and a ban on its field trials in Philippines.

The development of Bt Brinjal was aided by Monsanto, a US multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation.

The many indigenous varieties of brinjal in Bangladesh are now exposed to transgenic contamination by Monsanto’s genetically modified version, organisers said in a press release.

The march will also protest the use of Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide Roundup, which is currently used in Bangladesh’s tea gardens. A recent WHO report lists Roundup as a probable cause of cancer. l

n AFP Leading authors, including Salman Rushdie and fellow Booker prize winners Margaret Atwood and Yann Martell, called on Bangladesh’s government yesterday to put an end to a spate of deadly attacks on atheist bloggers.

Three bloggers have been hacked to death by suspected Islamist militants since February, with the latest victim, Ananta Bijoy Das, attacked with machetes during morning rush hour in the city of Sylhet earlier this month.

In a petition published in the London-based daily The Guardian, 150 authors called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and

her government “to do all in their power to ensure that the tragic events of the last three months are not repeated, and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“We are gravely concerned by this escalating pattern of violence against writers and journalists who are peacefully expressing their views,” said the petition.

“Freedom of expression is a fundamental right under Bangladesh’s constitution and under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

Other signatories included the leading Indian authors Amitav Ghosh and Rohinton Mistry along with the Irish writer Colm Toibin and Norway’s Karl Ove Knausgaard. l

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