25 July, 2015

SECOND EDITION

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

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Shraban 10, 1422, Shawwal 8, 1436

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 100

www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

TWELVE MORE ROAD INSPECTOR CLOSED, TWO OTHERS HOPE FOR DIFFERENTLY DEATHS PAGE 3 SUSPENDED IN RAJON CASE PAGE 5 ABLED CHILDREN PAGE 32

Dhaka’s deadly groceries Study finds high amounts of harmful elements in most food items sold at city kitchen markets n Abu Bakar Siddique

Level of toxic heavy metal contamination found in three kitchen markets of the capital

Many food items sold in some of the most popular kitchen markets in the capital city have high concentration of substances that can be detrimental to human health, a study has found.

The study titled “Consumption of unsafe foods: heavy metal, mineral and trace element contamination,” conducted by Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), examined samples from the kitchen markets in Gulshan, Karwan Bazar and Hazaribagh and attributed the concentration on food chain contamination by heavy metals to the accumulation in biosystems through contaminated water, soil and irrigation water.

It detected at least one or more heavy metals – cadmium, arsenic, lead, mercury, antimony, nickel, aluminum and lithium – in five out of 16 food groups – cereals, fish, meat, vegetables and spices.

Concentration of minerals – calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium – and trace elements – iron, manganese, copper, zinc,  PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Health standards Markets

Cadmium (mg/kg fresh wt)

Arsenic (mg/kg fresh wt)

Lead (mg/kg fresh wt)

Mercury (mg/kg fresh wt)

0.025 (tolerable monthly intake)

No tolerance

No tolerance

1 part per million

Source: WHO

Gulshan

Karwan B Hazaribagh

Source: WHO

Gulshan

Source: WHO

Karwan B Hazaribagh

Gulshan

Karwan B Hazaribagh

Thailand yesterday said it would indict 72 people including a senior army officer over human trafficking after the plight of desperate Myanmar and Bangladesh migrants stranded at sea triggered an international outcry over the grim trade.

The move comes days before the release of an annual United States report ranking nations on their anti-trafficking efforts which last relegated Thailand to the bottom rung.

The kingdom has long been accused of ignoring official complicity in the multi-million dollar trafficking trade which had until recent months flourished through its southern provinces and onto Malaysia – the desired destination of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.

But a Thai crackdown in May led to the un-

PAGE 4 Girl abducted by boyfriend rescued from brothel

Gulshan

Karwan B Hazaribagh

Fine rice (Absorption)

0.222

0.151

0.166

0.327

0.185

0.225

0.832

0.587

0.749

0.085

0.074

0.071

Coarse rice (Absorption)

0.093

0.126

0.374

0.268

0.098

0.219

0.650

0.000

0.962

-

-

-

Puffed Rice

0.150

0.181

0.094

0.269

0.265

0.220

0.985

3.395

0.836

0.123

0.066

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

0.298

0.035

0.514

-

-

-

Ilish

0.022

0.025

0.052

2.204

2.445

1.117

0.019

0.053

0.124

-

0.013

0.011

Prawn

0.130

0.417

0.019

0.197

0.315

0.325

0.012

0.041

0.037

0.017

0.010

-

Rui

-

-

0.009

0.084

0.121

0.082

-

0.009

0.074

0.017

0.044

0.018

Beef

-

-

0.006

0.026

0.016

0.050

-

0.004

0.080

-

-

-

Mutton

-

0.062

0.046

0.005

0.005

0.005

-

0.030

0.063

-

0.005

-

Potato

0.011

0.023

0.029

-

-

-

-

0.005

0.056

0.017

0.013

0.012

Ripe banana

-

-

-

-

-

-

0.093

0.007

-

-

-

-

Liquid milk

-

-

-

0.013

0.007

0.013

-

0.026

-

-

-

-

Lentil

Thai general among 72 indicted over human trafficking n AFP

Source: FDA

ravelling of vast people-smuggling networks with thousands of migrants abandoned in open waters and jungle camps by traffickers, a crisis that eventually forced a Southeast Asiawide response.

Yesterday a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of Thailand said it had issued an order to indict 72 people charged on 16 counts mostly over human trafficking, including more than a dozen state officials of all levels.

“We will not let influential people rise above justice,” Wanchai Roujanavong told reporters at a press conference in Bangkok.

The charges include human trafficking, involvement in international crimes, taking and bringing illegal migrants and malfeasance.

“The OAG has given priority to the issue -- as it is a big group of people involving international systems. It has caused a lot of

PAGE 5 Intelligence: 100 rapes in six months, most unreported

Persistent rain ends Chittagong Test excitement

damage to the country as dead bodies were found,” Wanchai said, referencing the grisly discovery of dozens of migrant graves in abandoned traffickers’ camps along the border with Malaysia that sparked the trafficking crackdown.

n Minhaz Uddin Khan from Chittagong

A court in southern Songkhla province, where the graves were found, will formally process the indictments later yesterday.

Among the suspects is Lieutenant General Manas Kongpan, charged with being a major smuggling kingpin in the lucrative trade.

His alleged involvement raises awkward questions for junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who has repeatedly justified his coup last year as a much-needed antidote to graft that he says flourished under a series of elected civilian governments.

Prior to the fourth and penultimate day’s play yesterday, the ongoing first Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium between Bangladesh and South Africa had all the ingredients of being a fascinating affair.

However, persistent rain in the port-city put paid to all the those hopes as heavy showers washed out the entire fourth day without a single ball being bowled. Including yesterday, a total of 139 overs of the Chittagong Test were lost to rain.

Following the third day’s proceedings, the opening five-dayer was finely poised with the Proteas requiring 17 more runs to surpass the Tigers’ first-innings lead of 78. Day four was

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Dozens of suspects at large

PAGE 7 Bride’s body recovered from bridal chamber

PAGE 9 Gunman opens fire in US movie theatre, two dead

PAGE 10 Obama: Britain should stay in EU

DT

2 NEWS

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

BNP slams govt for law and order ‘downslide’ n UNB Alleging that the country’s law and order situation has been on downslide, BNP yesterday said the incidents of robbery, killing, and sexual assaults on women have marked an alarming rise as during the pre-1975 period.

“Those returning from their village homes are saying killings, hooliganism, robberies have marked a sharp rise. The incidents of robbery are taken place in rural areas as happened during the pre-75 period. Alongside the robberies, women are being sexually assaulted. This is an ominous sign,” said BNP spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon.

He came up with the allegations at a press briefing at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office.

The BNP leader called upon the government to take necessary steps to improve the law and order situation and ensure the security of public life and their property.

Mentioning that the Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader had said the eid-trippers journeys will be safe, Ripon said the minister has failed to live up to his promise as many people are now killed in road crashes every day. Ripon further alleged that the conditions of roads across the country, including the capital, are in a sorry state with cracks, potholes and ditches, causing immense sufferings to commuters.

“The government is spending thousands of crores of taka to develop the roads, but it doesn’t monitor the development works properly as it is only busy harassing and repressing opposition leaders and activists,” he observed. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Persistent rain ends Chittagong Test

all set to witness an intense tug-of-war between the two teams but relentless rain ensured that draw would be the most likely result heading into the fifth and final day’s play today. This is the first time in nine five-dayers that a Bangladesh-South Africa Test is entering the fifth day.

The Tigers were mightily disappointed with the inclement weather and were quite eager to get down to the field. It was learned that the whole team had woken up early yesterday and were desperately waiting for the rain to stop. Despite continuous rain, the Bangladesh support staff, along with 10 cricketers, reached the stadium at midday.

The group, which included Shakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque, Imrul Kayes, Jubair Hossain, Taijul Islam, Mohammad Shahid and Mustafizur Rahman came to the stadium and waited for a while in the dressing room only to see the officials call off the day’s play at 1:35pm. The cricketers then attended their Friday afternoon prayers at a local mosque before heading straight back to the team hotel.

“We were excited and wanted the match to go ahead. The game was at an interesting point. This was probably the first time Bangladesh had put up good competition against them (South Africa) in Tests. But rain is not under anyone’s control, we have to accept it,” said one of the Bangladesh cricketers, requesting anonymity, to Dhaka Tribune yesterday. l

National Garment Workers Federation members demonstrate in front of the National Press Club demanding the withdrawal of ‘false’ cases against 33 garment workers including labour leader Amirul Hoque Amin and compensation for 900 workers yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

AL leaders ask Khaleda not to celebrate fake birthday on August 15 n Tribune Report

Publicity and Publication Affairs Secretary of the ruling Awami League Hasan Mahmud has requested BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to stop celebrating her birthday on the day of the anniversary of death of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, from this year.

“Though your [Khaleda] actual birthday is not on the National Mourning Day, August 15,

you have been celebrating your fake birthday by cutting cakes on this day,” the former minister told a discussion at Shilpakala Academy in the capital yesterday.

“We hope that you will refrain from carrying out such deplorable activity from this year and seek apology to the nation for what you have done over the years.”

He also said the BNP should congratulate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her govern-

ment for the country’s economic growth.

“Bangladesh is marching ahead under the capable and far-sighted leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It is the achievement of Sheikh Hasina that the country has been elevated to a middle-income state,” he added.

Former state minister for Home Affairs Shamsul Huq Tuku was present at the meeting among others. l

Dhaka’s deadly groceries molybdenum, cobalt and selenium – varied widely across the foods and markets considered.

“As contamination does not show a clear pattern by market, purchasing food in wealthier markets [those in Gulshan] does not guarantee access to safe food,” said M Rafiqul Islam, professor of soil science at BAU who led the study conducted in late 2012.

“Findings signal that traders are not able to deliver safe food in the market … most likely due to the difficulty of recognising which foods are safer,” he added.

The concentration of heavy metals in rice appears to be high, influenced by the cooking

technique, lower for draining and higher for absorption methods. Muri – puffed rice – has higher concentration of sodium, potassium, iron, manganese and aluminum than ordinary rice.

Arsenic content appears higher in fine rice than coarse rice in Gulshan compared to Karwan Bazar and Hazaribagh.

The research says that all households are at high risk of violating the FAO/WHO (2010) “Zero” provisional Tolerable Weekly intake for arsenic and lead.

Cereals and fish contribute to 98% of the total intake of arsenic by both poor and nonpoor households. Non-poor households have

a higher risk exposure to arsenic contaminated rice.

Cadmium concentrations were highest in Rui and Ilish sold in the Hazaribagh market, with Ilish having almost twice the concentration at Karwan Bazar and Gulshan markets.

Poor households are at risk of minerals and trace element deficiency, but levels of manganese and molybdenum are above the recommended daily intakes, the study says.

Professor Rafiqul Islam suggested that the authorities should develop rice varieties that accumulate less arsenic and cadmium to minimise the transfer from irrigation water to the grains and from grains to the body. l

Thai general among 72 indicted over human trafficking Manas was promoted while Prayut was army chief. He remains the only military officer charged with complicity in people smuggling, an issue that has raised eyebrows among rights groups who say it is unlikely such an influential officer would have acted alone.

None of the suspects will be bailed, Wanchai added, while a further 47 suspects -mostly Thais but also including Bangladeshi and Myanmar nationals -- are still on the run.

Around 4,500 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants were stranded in Southeast Asian waters in recent months, ping-ponged between countries reluctant to accept them until finally landing ashore on Malaysian, Indo-

nesian, Bangladeshi, Myanmar and Thai soil.

In recent years tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s western Rakhine state where they are loathed by the Buddhist majority. Many Rohingya live in bleak camps with restrictions over employment and travel.

They have increasingly been joined on the perilous crossing in the Andaman Sea by economic migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh seeking better opportunities in Malaysia.

Thai police say they have now successfully dismantled the trafficking network through the kingdom.

But rights groups are waiting for the end of the monsoon season in a few months to see if

boats again set sail south from Myanmar and Bangladesh or if new trafficking routes emerge.

On Monday the US will publish its latest Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. Being designated to the bottom of the rankings can trigger sanctions, but this measure has not yet been imposed against Thailand.

The reporting period for TIP normally ends in March, before the Southeast Asia migrant crisis unfurled.

It is unclear if the US will reference the episode in the study, which comes as Thailand’s ruling junta faces mounting international opprobrium over the kingdom’s role in human trafficking. l

DT

NEWS 3

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

12 more meet their end on roads Around 130 get killed in accidents across the country in just a week

n Tribune Report At least 12 people including a policeman were killed in separate road accidents in Dhaka, Gazipur and Madaripur yesterday – just a day after the country had witnessed at least 26 people killed in accidents.

In another incident, a 25-year-old woman was killed in Kuril around 4am yesterday morning.

Victim Nasrin Akhter Nasima, daughter of Akhter Hossain of Barisal, was a garment worker and had just returned from Khulna with her brother Nasir Hossain,14.

Khilkhet police’s SI Shafiqul Islam said Nasrin reached Sadarghat by launch from Barisal early in the morning. They boarded a local bus named Suprobhat to go home at Tongi. When the bus reached Kuril the driver lost control and hit the central reservation. Three people including Nasrin went crashing out the window and Nasrin died on the spot.

Some five-six people were also injured in the incident.

Nasrin was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where the doctors declared her dead.

Her brother Nasir and other relatives later received her body.

A police constable named Sohel Rana, 36, son of Khalilur Rahman from Ishwardi, was killed at the Karwan Bsazar intersection yesterday.

Sohel was a constable of the security cell of the Police Headquarters, said Tejgaon police station Officer-in-Charge Md Mazharul Islam.

He said the policeman received fatal injuries as a Mirpur-bound bus rammed into his motorbike from behind near the Northern University campus at Karwan Bazar around 2pm.

He was rushed to the DMCH by a Navy vehicle around 3pm where doctors declared him dead.

His body was sent to the morgue, said the OC, adding that police seized the bus and held its driver and helper from Shewrapara of the city.

A pedestrian was killed after being hit by a bus while trying to cross the road in Shewrapara of the capital around 8am yesterday.

The victim Saiful Islam Selim, 45, died on the spot as a Gulistan-bound bus hit him, said Kafrul police Sub-Inspector (SI) Md Abul Hossain. Selim worked for a private company and was a resident of Shewrapara.

In the capital’s Jatrabari, one Mujibur Rah-

Clockwise from top left: In a risky manoeuvre on the Dhaka-Rangpur Highway, the driver of a covered van steers his vehicle onto the lane of oncoming traffic as he overtakes another van near Mithapukur area. In Jaldhaka municipality of Nilphamari district, a motorcycle and a truck fell into the river when parts of a bailey bridge over the Aoliakhana River collapsed. In Gazipur's Naujor, people gather around the wreckage of a human haulier that collided head-on with a covered van yesterday killing four people and injuring 13 others SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN / DHAKA TRIBUNE man, 53, died at the intersection under the flyover yesterday around 11:20am. He was on a motorcycle and was hit by a truck.

A pedestrian named Faruk took him to the DMCH around 12:10pm where doctors declared him dead.

Meanwhile, in Gazipur, four people were killed and 13 others injured when a covered van collided head-on with a human haulier at Naujor in Gazipur yesterday.

The deceased were identified as Saidur Rahman, 20, son of Hazrat Ali, a resident of Sherpur; Moni Akter of Naujor area; and Sohel Mia, an employee of Keya Cosmetics. Identity of the fourth victim could not be known immediately, reports our correspondent in the district.

Bahar Alam, sergeant of Naujor police outpost, said a Konabari-bound human haulier from Chandana hit the covered van coming from the opposite direction around 7:30am, leaving three people dead on the spot and 14 others injured. One of the victims died on the

way to hospital. The injured were taken to Shaheed Tajuddin Medical College Hospital.

Road communication on the highway remained halted for half an hour.

None was arrested as the covered van driver escaped.

In Madaripur, four people were killed and eight others injured in a collision between a bus and a microbus in Melkai area of Tarash upazila, reports our correspondent.

The deceased could not be identified immediately but all of them were passengers of the microbus.

Emdadul Haque, OC of Kalkini police station, said the Barisal-bound bus collided with the Dhaka-bound microbus on the Dhaka-Barisal Highway around 1pm, leaving four people dead on the spot and eight others injured.

The injured were admitted to Kalkini Upazila Health Complex.

A total of 128 people were reportedly killed in road and rail accidents in the country in the past week. l

Suranjit blames govt for road accidents n Tribune Report Senior Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta has blamed the government for the recurrence of road accidents across the country.

The government cannot evade shouldering responsibility for the road accidents.

“There can be no excuse for the deaths of 29 people on a single day [Thursday],” Suranjit, a member of the party’s Advisory Council, told a discussion at the capital’s Diploma Engineers’ Institute.

“Negligence of the law enforcement agencies in this regard is not acceptable. The government has to shoulder responsibility for the deaths,” said the former minister.

Dozens of people have died since the Eidul-Fitr vacation on the highways across the country, including in Sirajganj. l

DT

4 NEWS

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

28th BCL conference begins today n Abu Hayat Mahmud

To create awareness over climate change, BD cyclists and UNDP bring out a rally in the capital’s Manik Miya Avenue yesterday

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Teenager abducted by boyfriend, rescued from brothel n Our Correspondent, Savar A 15-year-old RMG worker was rescued from a brothel in Mymensingh by police early yesterday after being abducted by her boyfriend from Dhaka’s Ashulia area last week.

Police also arrested her boyfriend, Md Sentu Islam Shakil, 25, and his friend Alamgir Hossain, 26, on Wednesday and, based on their statement, found the victim at the brothel, sources told.

According to the victim’s family, the victim went missing on July 17 evening and after not being able to find her, they filed a case of missing person with Ashulia police station the next day – the day of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Seven held with Tk46 crore cobra venom n Our Correspondent, Sylhet Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested seven persons along with 12 pounds of cobra venom from Sylhet’s Kanaighat area yesterday.

Operation officer of RAB 9 Pankaj Kumar Dey said the venom was worth Tk46 crore.

Commanding Officer the force Wing Commander Tasin Ferdous Khan, at a press briefing, said the RAB members went on a drive after being tipped off.

Disguised as customers, they went to a house in the Bautgram area of Kanaighat and arrested the seven. They also recovered one foreign-made pistol, four rounds of ammunition, one magazine and a private car from their possession at the time, he added.

ASP Khayrul Alam, who led the operation, said they were investigating how they collected such huge amount of venom. l

Police then used the missing girl’s mobile phone’s call list to find the trace of her boyfriend, following which they arrested him from Nabinagar in Savar and then Alamgir from Konakandi in Ashulia, said Ashraful Azim, additional assistant superintendent of police (ASP) in Dhaka.

They confessed to abducting the girl and selling her to a brothel in Mymensingh Kotwali, from where police rescued her yesterday.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, the victim said she first met Shakil at National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar two or three months ago, and over time a relationship developed between them.

On July 17 night, Shakil called her on her phone and told her to go to Jirani Bazar in Ashulia to meet him for Eid shopping.

When she reached there, Shakil along with Alamgir, another friend Rashed and five others forced her into a microbus, raped her and took her to a house in Mymensingh Kotwali.

“They all raped me and sold me to Rimi [the house owner], who later forced me into prostitution,” the victim said.

She was later sent to a One-Stop Crisis Centre for treatment, ASP Ashraful said.

“Rimi fled the house when she sensed the presence of police. However, drives will continue to arrest her and the rest of the culprits,” he said. l

After a delay of two years, the 28th conference of the National Central Committee of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the ruling Awami League, will begin at the Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital today.

Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina will be present as the chief guest at the inaugural session while Sajeeb Wazed Joy, ICT adviser to the prime minister will be present as the special guest.

BCL President HM Badiuzzaman Shohag will preside over the two-day programme where a new president and a general secretary of this long-standing student organisation will be elected.

All preparations of the programme have already been taken, said convener of the Conference Preparatory Committee Jaydeb Nandi.

“We have also prepared the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) auditorium as an alternative venue in case of an inclement weather,” he said.

Meanwhile, allegations have surfaced that a syndicate has been controlling the organisation’s leadership for the last 15 years.

Several leaders of the present committee have divided into separate panels trying to get the leadership of the organisation. The syndicate is also allegedly active to back its preferred candidates.

Some BCL leaders and activists hoped for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention to break down the syndicate.

According to BCL sources, the Conference Preparatory Committee had cancelled candidature of 28 candidates including Shamsul Haque Rahat, Omar Sharif and Anisuzzaman.

However, there is a speculation that Sheikh Hasina is likely to extend the age ceiling of candidates from 29 to 30 year. In that case several candidates, including Shamsul Haque Rahat, will be back in race.

Earlier on July 11 in 2011, the incumbent central executive committee was announced with Badiuzzaman Shohag as the president and Siddique Nazmul Alam as the general secretary for two years as per the organisation’s constitution. l

Baby Moudud’s first death anniversary today n Tribune Report The first death anniversary of journalist and writer Baby Moudud will be observed today.

On the occasion, Sangbadik Samaj organised a commemorative meeting at the National Press Club recalling her contributions to journalism yesterday.

Baby Moudud, a former lawmaker of the ruling Awami League and one of the organisers of Women Rights Movement died of cancer at the age of 66. She was born in Kolkata on June 23, 1948. Her father Abdul Moudud was a Justice. Baby was third among her six brothers and three sisters.

To mark her death anniversary, milad and doa mahfil will be held after Asr prayers today, her family sources said.

Beginning her career as a journalist in 1967, Baby Moudud served as the head of Bangla Service of BSS and the acting editor of Saptahik Bichitra. l

On the occasion of first death anniversary of Baby Moudud, Sangbadik Samaj organise a commemorative meeting recalling her contributions to journalism at the National Press Club yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

DT

NEWS 5

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

RAJON KILLING CASE

Inspector closed, two SIs suspended for negligence

A group titled ‘Shishu Rajon er shokahoto bondhu samaj’ (aggrieved friends of child Rajon) forms a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday demanding capital punishment to the murderers of Rajon MEHEDI HASAN

n Our Correspondent, Sylhet An inspector of Jalalabad police station has been closed and two sub-inspectors have been suspended after a probe committee found them to be negligent in connection with the brutal murder of 13-year-old Rajon earlier this month.

The punitive actions were taken based on the report by the SMP committee, which found that the policemen had shown negligence in dealing with the case, behaved rudely with the plaintiff, and had assisted one of the suspects to flee the country.

Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) Additional Deputy Commissioner (media) Rahmat Ullah confirmed the news to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, saying Jalalabad Inspector (investigation) Alamgir Hossain has been closed and Sub-Inspectors Aminul Islam and Zakir Hossain have been suspended.

The SMP has already taken departmental action against the two SIs, but have recom-

mended the police headquarters to take action against Inspector Alamgir as it was out of the SMP’s purview.

On Thursday night, the probe committee led by SMP Additional Commissioner SM Rokon Uddin submitted a 424-page report to the SMP commissioner. Sources said the committee analysed post-incident call records from the suspects’ mobile phones and pursued other related leads to prepare the report.

Home minister promises stern action

Earlier in the day, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said any police personnel found to be negligent in dealing with the Rajon murder case would face stern departmental action.

Saying no leniency would be shown against any such police official, the minister assured that the ministry – if necessary – would issue directives on this regard if the probe report found proof of any massive negligence in the case.

Talking to reporters at Sylhet’s Osmani air-

port, Asaduzzaman Khan said if the extradition of Kamrul Islam – one of the key suspects who fled to Saudi Arabia – took too much time because of procedural complications, then the charge sheet may be submitted before his repatriation.

Meanwhile, a source in the police force, requesting anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that the home minister has held several rounds of meetings with top-ranking officials of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police regarding the Rajon murder case.

On July 8, Sheikh Samiul Alam Rajon was beaten to death in Sylhet’s Kumargaon by some men who falsely accused the teen of stealing a van. The video of the brutal beating soon spread on social media platforms, triggering massive outrage among the public.

Rajon’s family later also claimed that two police officials of the Jalalabad police station took Tk6 lakh in bribe to let Kamrul flee to Saudi Arabia. l

Jubo League leader suspended over tender snatching n Kamrul Hasan Bangladesh Awami Jubo League, youth wing of the ruling Awami League, has suspended one of its city unit leaders, a day after he was caught red-handed while attempting to snatch tender documents at Rajuk.

A press release signed by Office Secretary Kazi Anisur Rahman yesterday said Md Gazi Mazharul Islam Gofran alias Gazi Gofran, 51, had been suspended for violating the party charters.

Gofran, Liberation War affairs secretary of the Dhaka city (south) unit, was suspended as per the decision of the central executive committee for his involvement in the snatching of tender documents, the statement said.

Elite police force Rapid Action Battalion personnel detained Mazhar and five others on Thursday afternoon. A case was filed against them with Motijheel police under the Speedy Trial Act. A Dhaka court placed them on a one-day remand yesterday.

The other arrestees are Kazi Sohel Hossain, 28, Md Rasel, 29, Md Khairul Alam, 37, Md Mizanur Rahman, 56, and Md Selim, 51. Their affiliation with any political party could not be confirmed.

They were held by the RAB members for trying to snatch tender documents for Purbachal New Town Project from some Rajuk officials in Segunbagicha area. l

Body of missing boy found in Jaflong n UNB The body of one of the two college students, who went missing while bathing in the Piain River at tourist spot Jaflong on Wednesday, was recovered last night.

Police said the body of Abdullah Antar, 18, an HSC first year student of Kabi Nazrul College and son of M Sanaullah of Wari in the capital, had been fished out by the locals around 9:30pm. His friend Sohagh Ghosh, 17, still remains missing.

The duo and four of their friends went to Jaflong to spend their Eid holiday. All of them were bathing in the river at that time. l

Intelligence: 100 rapes in six months, most unreported n UNB

Women facing sexual offences prefer not to report in most cases for lack of support mechanism for the victims, political and social influence of the offenders, and a lengthy trial process, according to intelligence reports and rights activists.

A senior intelligence official, preferring anonymity, told UNB that they have recorded some 100 rape incidents in the first half of this year, but said the actual number of incidents is much higher than the recorded ones.

“In many cases, the victims do not disclose the incidents fearing social stigma. Even sometimes, the perpetrators record the rape scenes with their cellphones and threaten to spread the video through the internet,” he said.

Even when a victim is brave enough to file a complaint with law enforcers, the investigation and trial get blunted for various reasons.

Sheikh Nazmul Alam, deputy commissioner of the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said the victims in most cases are found reluctant about cooperating with investigators.

Sometimes the perpetrators go unpunished as the victims and their family members deny to testify in the court against the offenders, he said.

Advocate Fahmida Akter, a case manager of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association (BNWLA), identified the lack of victim and witness protection law as the main reason behind the reluctance of the victims in cooperating with the investigators or making depositions before the court that results in

lingering of the trial process.

“Sometimes, the public prosecutors do not receive the witness for deposition before the court in due time,” she said.

Prof Ayesha Mahmuda of psychology at Dhaka University said: “When a culprit goes unpunished, he thinks there is nothing serious and he gets encouraged for more sexual assaults.

“At times, we can see the culprits are somehow having a relation with political high-ups who try to protect the culprits. I think these days religious practice has also lost influence causing the recurrence of rape incidents.”

Easy access to drugs as well as pornographic contents can also be held responsible for building up sexually offensive mindset among youths, she added.

Nari Sanghati coordinator Shyamoly Shil

said rape and sexual assaults had been there before, but nowadays these things are happening more and more and even in open place, which is a big concern.

President of Dhaka University unit of Bangladesh Chhatra Union Liton Nandi, who is the main eyewitness to the incident of sexual harassment of several women on the campus, said if the culture of impunity increases, the tendency of committing such crimes also increases.

He expressed his surprise that months after the DU sexual assault, the DB police are yet to arrest any offender involved in that incident.

According to Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, a total of 492 rapes took place in the country from January to June this year. Last year, 939 rape incidents were recorded across the country. l

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6 NEWS

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

Heavy rain takes toll on Aman seedbeds n Our Correspondent, Khulna

The continuous heavy showers of the last few days have damaged the seedbeds of Aman paddy in nine upazilas of the Khulna.

The seedbeds are submerged as water cannot properly flow due to encroachment and filling up of the canals.

Many farmers, who have used seeds from their own stock to create the first bed of saplings, said they would not be able to make the second bed if water level did not recede. And if such situation occurs, the Aman cultivation in the region would be hampered to a great extent.

Though many of them are trying to build

protection around the beds, the 2-3 inches tall saplings are already under water.

Abdul Latif, deputy director of Khulna Department of Agricultural Extension, said they had targeted to grow Aman on 94,000 hectares of land in Khulna this year. And for that seedbeds are needed to be prepared on about 6,000 hectares.

“So far seedbeds on 60 hectares have been damaged. If the water level goes down in next 4-5 days, the saplings will survive,” he said adding that this might not have an impact on achieving the target.

“We have enough seeds to supply to the farmers.”

Former chairman of Magurthali union of Dumuria, Karthik Chandra Manadal, said he would cultivate Aman on about 2 hectares of land in Madurtola and that would require 120kg of seeds.

“My seedbeds have already gone under water due to the non-stop rain. The seeds were of good quality, not hybrid. It is really difficult to get good seeds nowadays,” he said.

Kamrul Fakir, a farmer of Rupsha upazila said he had a small seedbed for his land. But because of the land, the saplings were under water and he had been trying hard to save them.

Chairman of Shobhna union of Dumuria, Sardar Abdul Gani, said the canals running

through the fields needed to be dug again to bring back water flow.

The same situation has been prevailing also in Dacop upazila where a total of 760 tonnes of Aman seeds would be needed for the 19,000 hectares of land.

Agriculture officer of Dumuria upazila Nazrul Islam said the farmers were already facing problem as they could not prepare seedbeds in the beginning of the season as there was no rain.

“And now, excessive rain is damaging the seedbeds. The saplings could not grow to the preferred height as the seeds were sown late,’ he said adding that his office was ready to help the farmers if the need be. l

Man shot dead in Narayanganj n Tribune Report A man was shot to death allegedly by his rivals at Tagarpar in Fatullah of Narayanganj on Thursday night.

The deceased was identified as Ashraful Islam Babu, 36, son of Tofazzal Hossain, a resident of the area.

Locals said two rivaling groups of the area - one led by Rafiqul Islam and the other led

by Shahin-uz-Zaman alias Nada Shahin – had been at loggerheads over controlling the jhut business of the area.

The two groups engaged in clash several times earlier over the issue.

Family sources of the deceased said on Thursday night Rafiq gave a call to Babu, one of the supporters of Shahin group, over mobile phone and took him of the home.

No sooner had Babu left the house, he engaged in an altercation with Rafiq.

At a stage, Rafiq shot him from a close range, leaving him injured.

Later, he was whisked off to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where doctors declared him dead.

Officer-in-charge of Fatullah Model Police Station Asaduzzaman Khan confirmed the incident. l

Four of a family electrocuted in Patuakhali n Our Correspondent, Bhola Four members of a family died from electrocution at Dholapara village in Bauphal upazila, Bhola yesterday morning.

Quoting locals police said the pond water of Abdul Hye’s house got electrified as a live electric wire got snapped suddenly and fell into the pond. When Abdul Haye went to the pond for netting fish, he got electrocuted.

When his two daughters – Bina, 20 and Mohua 22, and his brother-in-law Ibrahim 40, of the village tried to save him, they got electrified. They died on the spot.

Officer-in-Charge of Bauphal police station said they had recovered the bodies and sent those to Bhola Sadar Hospital morgue for authopsy. l

A farmer cleans a bundle of jute in a canal in Duari area under Rajshahi’s Poba upazila yesterday. Although the jute growers are passing a busy time in processing the golden fibre, they are disappointed with the price at which the fibres are being sold this season. They told this photographer that jute was being sold at Tk1500-1700 in the local markets, a price range that hardly could help them recoup the production cost AZAHAR UDDIN

Sirajganj-Dhaka rail link halted for four hours n Our Correspondent, Sirajganj Rail communications of Sirajganj with Ishwardi and Dhaka remained suspended for four and a half hours after two bogies of a train derailed at Mahmudpur near Sirajganj Bazar yesterday morning.

Meanwhile, Senior Sub-Assistant Engineer Md Ashrafuddin was suspended while Assistant Engineer Abdus Sattar transferred for negligence on duty, said Railway West Zone General Manager Khalirul Alam.

Ahmed Hossain Masum, additional chief engineer of Bangladesh Railway, said two bogies of Dhaka-bound ‘Sirajganj Express’ train from Ishwardi veered off the tracks around 11 am, suspending train movements of Sirajganj with Dhaka and Ishwardi.

The incident might have taken place for

damage of rail slippers due to incessant rain for the last several days, railway sources said.

Rail communications on the routes resumed around 3:30pm after a salvage train removed the two bogies from the rail tracks.

Earlier, a bogie of a Dhaka-bound train derailed in the same area on Wednesday night.

Besides, a bogie of ‘Sirajganj Express’ train veered off the track in the same area on Tuesday.

Frequent incidents of train derailment have created panic among the commuters of the route.

Jahurul Haque Raza, convener of the Sirajganj Sarthorokkhya Songram Porishad, demanded immediate steps for repairing the rail tracks in the district.

With this, three incidents of train derailment occurred in the same area in the last four days since Tuesday. l

Lightning kills two in C’nawabganj n Tribune Report Two people, including a schoolteacher, were killed and a person was injured as lightning struck them in Parbatipur union of Gomastapur upazila yesterday afternoon.

The deceased were identified as Motahar Hossain Mukul, 45, son of Kashim Uddin of Adda village and the headmaster of Sonabar High School, and Sona Begum, 40, wife of Rafiqul Islam of Jugibari village in the upazila.

Moazzem Hossain, chairman of Parbatipur union parishad, said a thunderbolt hit Mukul around 12:30pm while he was working on the rooftop of his house, leaving him dead on the spot.

Lightning struck Sona Begum and Rafiqul while they were working at their courtyard at the same time, leaving the former dead on the spot and the latter injured. l

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SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

Another held over journalist Sayem killing n Our Correspondent, Chuadanga

Police arrested another person in connection with the killing of Dainik Samakal’s journalist Abu Sayem.

Police arrested Samajul from his residence on Thursday night. Meanwhile, another arrestee of the case Rajib Hossain was sent to jail yesterday afternoon after three-day remand.

Abu Sayem was stabbed to death at his own residence at Piaratala village in Jibannagar upazila on May 22.

An unidentified assailant wearing the attire of a sage entered the bedroom of Sayem around 1am while he along with his wife and two children was asleep. The attacker stabbed the journalist indiscriminately with a sharp weapon.

The miscreant also attacked Sayem’s father as he came forward in aid of the journalist hearing his screams, leaving both of them injured.

The injured were first taken to Jibannagar Hospital from where Sayem was shifted to Jessore Sadar Hospital. Later, he was sent to a hospital in the capital where he died around 4pm. Police arrested Rajib Hossain the following day. l

Dwellers suffer as incessant rain floods port city n FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong Residents of the port city of Chittagong have been enduring immense sufferings as nonstop torrential rain that began on Thursday night inundated lower parts of the city.

Though it was Friday, public holiday, the commuters had to brave knee-deep water that also disrupted traffic movements in various areas.

Most parts of the city including Halishahar, Beparipara, Sholoshahar, Muradpur, Aturar Dipo, Bibirhat, Bahaddarhat, Chawkbazar, Sulokbahar, Panchlaish, Saraipara, Pahartali, Sagarika and the lower parts of Patenga coast-

al zone were under water because of the rain.

The situation got worst when the rainy water got mixed up with sewage and garbage piled up by the Chittagong City Corporation on busy roads in some areas.

Though loading and unloading of goods at Chittagong port continued like others days, other port activities faced interruptions due to rain.

As there is possibility of landslide, district administration had been asking the hill-side dwellers to move to safe spaces like nearby school buildings and cyclone centres to avert possible causality.

Bride’s body recovered from bridal chamber n Our Correspondent, Natore

WEATHER RAIN OR THUNDERSHOWERS

SATURDAY, JULY 25 DHAKA TODAY

TOMORROW

SUN SETS 6:45PM

SUN RISES 5:25AM

FORECAST FOR TODAY Dhaka

30

25

Chittagong

28

25

Rajshahi

30

25

Rangpur

32

24 24

Khulna

29

Barisal

28

25

Sylhet

30

24

Cox’s Bazar

28

26

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34ºC

24.5ºC

Ishwardi

Kutubdi/Rangamati Source: Accuweather/UNB

Earlier, six persons including three children were killed in a landslide and a wall collapse caused by heavy downpour in Chittagong city’s Lalkhan Bazar and Baizid areas a day after the Eid-ul-Fitr.

Md Shahinul Islam, assistant meteorologist of Chittagong Met Office in Patenga told the Dhaka Tribune that his office had recorded around 224 millimetres of rainfall in the last 24 hours till 3pm yesterday.

He further added that the rainfall or thunder showers accompanied by gusty wind, which is common during monsoon, would continue for the next two or three days. l

In a bizarre attempt to get on the roof of a bus, these women put the life of this child at risk. During the mad rush of getting back to work stations after the end of Eid vacations, people are compelled to get on rickety buses seeing no other way. The photo was taken at Rajshahi-Dhaka Bus Stand yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

Body of a newly-wed girl was found hanging from the ceiling of the bridal chamber of a residence in Singra upazila of Natore on early Friday.

The deceased was identified as Marium Khatun Hira, daughter of Humayun Ahmed of Dhakdhor village of the upazila.

Police arrested the bridegroom, Jahangir Alam, son of Akbar Ali of Gowalbatan village of the same upazila, in this connection.

Singra police quoting the family members said, Marium and Jahangir were in a relationship for a long time. Jahangir used to go to Marium’s residence very often. At one stage, Marium’s family members arranged their marriage at Natore court on Thursday.

The bridal chamber was organised at Marium’s house on the request of Jahangir. Soon an altercation broke out between Jahangir and Marium on the very night. And on early Friday, the family members found Marium’s body hanging from the ceiling.

Upon information Singra police came to the spot and sent the body to Natore Sadar Hospital for autopsy. The bride’s father Humayun Ahmed claimed that Jahangir had killed his daughter and tried to disguise it as a suicide.

Nasir Uddin Mondol, officer in-charge of Singra police station said they could only comment on the death after getting the post-mortem report.

Meanwhile, Marium’s brother Mahabubur Rahman said they were going to lodge a murder case in this connection. l

RMCH gets six more dialysis equipment PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

3:58am 5:23am 12:05am 4:44pm 6:46pm 8:16pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

n Tribune Report

Six more dialysis machines capable of providing modern and improved treatment to the kidney patients are going to be added to the Kidney Department of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. The RMCH authorities procured three of the machines made in the USA and received three others made in Japan from the ministry of health.

Brig Gen AKM Nasir Uddin, Director of RMCH, told journalists the new dialysis centre is likely to go into function within next 15 days. With this breakthrough, treatment of kidney related diseases would be easier here. The number of service-recipients will increase to 24 per day instead of 10 at present.

President of RMCH Management Committee Fazley Hossain Badsha, MP, said the machines were procured for providing mod-

ern and improved treatment to the patients.

Around 96 percent people are deprived of the treatment due to lack of money. From now on, they will be benefited from the new centre.

The hospital had seven dialysis machines which became less ineffective for longtime use.

In Bangladesh about 30,000 kidney patients need dialysis, but the machines available at hospitals can provide the treatment to only around 5,000 patients a year. l

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8 WORLD

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

Malaysian daily suspended over reports on deepening scandal n AFP, Kuala Lumpur Malaysian authorities have suspended publication of a business daily whose aggressive reporting on a financial scandal has rocked the government, a move the newspaper and media groups yesterday decried as a grave breach of press freedom.

In a notice dated Thursday, the Home Ministry suspended the publishing permits of The Edge Media Group for three months, saying its reporting on the scandal swirling around stateowned company 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) threatened “public order.”

The Edge has published a series of exposes over the past year detailing alleged fraud,

mismanagement and misappropriation of funds surrounding 1MDB, which is closely linked to Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“This is nothing more than a move to shut us down in order to shut us up,” the Edge group’s CEO Ho Kay Tat said in a statement.

Earlier this week the government blocked the UK-based website Sarawak Report, which also has published reports on the scandal.

Najib is under mounting pressure amid allegations that hundreds of millions of dollars in 1MDB funds were siphoned off in complex overseas transactions.

The Wall Street Journal reported this month Malaysian government investigators

had discovered that nearly $700 million had moved through government agencies, banks and companies linked to 1MDB before ending up in Najib’s personal accounts.

Najib and 1MDB officials have vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

The premier has dismissed the Wall Street Journal report as “political sabotage,” while 1MDB has said it did not transfer any funds to the premier.

1MDB also is reeling under 11 billion dollars in debt, blamed largely on a drive to acquire power-industry assets.

Fears that it may collapse or require a massive bailout have contributed to a recent slide in the ringgit currency to 16-year lows. l

Somali, AU troops capture Shebab stronghold n AFP, Mogadishu

Somali government troops backed by African Union forces yesterday captured the Shebab stronghold of Dinsor, the second town seized from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamists this week, the defence minister said.

While Dinsor fell without a major fight, with Shebab gunmen fleeing ahead of the assault, witnesses have reported heavy casualties in the week-long offensive with civilians caught up in the fighting. Village elders reported that dozens of bodies have been buried.

“Our forces have secured control of Dinsor, and the insurgents have fled after losing the battle ... the troops are now conducting security operations to clear the town,” Somalia’s defence minster, General Abdulkadir Sheikh Ali Dini, told reporters.

The fall of Dinsor, in Somalia’s south-western region and near the border with Kenya and Ethiopia, comes after the capture by AU troops of the nearby town of Bardhere on Wednesday. The two towns were some of the last remaining Shebab strongholds.

Witnesses confirmed the takeover of the southern town, saying the Shehab fled ahead of government and Ethiopian troops with the AU force, withdrawing Thursday afternoon.

“Most of the residents fled so it looks like a ghost town,” said resident Mohamed Added.

“There are very few people remaining, most of them elderly.” l

India court refuses abortion for teen rape victim n AFP, Ahmedabad This picture taken on July 23 shows buses making their way through floodwaters in Wuhan, in central China’s Hubei province, as strong storms hit central and eastern China AFP

US officials seek criminal probe of Clinton emails n AFP, Washington

Two internal investigators have asked the US Justice Department to open a criminal probe into whether Hillary Clinton mishandled sensitive government information by using her private emails for State Department business, the New York Times reported yesterday.

Clinton - an ex-US senator and former first lady, in addition to being a one-time secretary of state - is running for the US presidency.

She is widely viewed as the Democratic Party’s candidate in next year’s White House election.

The Justice Department has not decided if it will open an investigation, senior officials told The Times.

Clinton used her private email account for State Department correspondence between 2009 and 2013, but says she had no classified information on the account. l

Nepal police arrest 247 in charter protest violence n AFP, Kathmandu Nepalese police arrested nearly 250 demonstrators yesterday as they torched vehicles and forced schools, shops and businesses to shut down in protest over government plans to pass a new constitution.

Police said they had arrested 247 Maoist activists over the violence and deployed heavy security during the first national strike since a devastating quake hit the country in April.

Nepal’s Maoists struck a deal with rival parties on a new constitution last month after years of bitter disagreement, spurred by an earthquake that killed more than 8,800 people in the Himalayan nation.

But a breakaway faction of the party says the deal betrays the principles of the Maoists, who fought a decade-long civil war with the state that ended in 2006 and led to the aboli-

tion of a centuries-old feudal monarchy.

“The draft is against the people and the spirit and hopes of the people’s war,” spokesman Khadga Bahadur Bishwokarma told AFP. “The constitution does not address the problems of the ethnic, racial and gender discrimination that we fought against.”

Dozens have been injured this week in clashes between police and protesters angered by the terms of the draft constitution.

A key sticking point concerns internal borders, with the opposition pushing for new provinces to be created along lines that could favour historically marginalised communities.

Other parties have attacked this model, calling it a threat to national unity.

Yesterday’s strike emptied Kathmandu’s usually packed roads of traffic and many Nepalis expressed frustration over the impact on livelihoods already devastated by the quake. l

An Indian court has denied a 14-year-old girl a late-term abortion after she was allegedly raped by a doctor in the western state of Gujarat, the victim’s lawyer said yesterday.

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday rejected the petition filed by the father of the girl, saying India’s abortion law does not allow termination of pregnancy after five months.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is more than five months pregnant.

“The father of the victim is a labourer and does not have enough resources to take care of the child to be born ...,” the teenager’s lawyer, Pradip Bhate, told AFP. Judge Abhilasha Kumari said it was a “difficult” decision, but added that “whatever be the circumstances in which the child was conceived, whatever the trauma of the young mother, the fact remains that the child is also not to blame for being conceived.”

“It did not ask to be born ... The child is innocent, just like the victim, its mother,” she said.

The father’s petition said his daughter became pregnant after she visited a doctor who injected her with sedatives and then raped her in February. The police subsequently arrested the doctor who is currently in custody.

In April, the same court denied an abortion to a 24-year-old gang rape victim, who was more than six months pregnant.

The woman later refused to keep the baby, giving custody of her newborn to the state government. l

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SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

Two dead as gunman opens fire in US movie theatre n AFP, Chicago

A gunman opened fire in a crowded US cinema killing two people and injuring several before turning the gun on himself Thursday, shortly after President Barack Obama deplored the nation’s weak gun controls.

Police yesterday said they had identified Thursday’s shooter as a 58-year-old white male, but did not release his name.

“We don’t believe there’s anybody else involved,” Louisiana State Police Colonel Michael Edmonson told reporters.

Nine people were injured, some critically.

More than 100 people were in the theatre when the man armed with a handgun began shooting indiscriminately into the audience about 30 minutes into a screening of “Trainwreck” at a cinema in Lafayette, Louisiana, police said.

President Barack Obama said earlier Thursday that a “distressing” lack of progress

on gun control legislation has been a great source of frustration during his time in office.

“If you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it’s less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it’s in the tens of thousands,” Obama said in an interview with the BBC taped before the shooting. “And for us not to be able to resolve that issue has been something that is distressing.”

The White House said the president was briefed late Thursday while en route to Kenya about America’s latest mass shooting tragedy.

“The president directed his team to keep him updated on the investigation and on the status of those injured,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.

“The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the White House, including the president and first lady, are with the community of Lafayette, Louisiana - especially the families of those who were killed.”

The violence came as a jury deliberated the death penalty for the gunman in a 2012 theatre massacre in Colorado that left 12 dead and 70 injured. The Louisiana shooting comes almost exactly three years after James Holmes, 27, opened fire on a packed screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colorado.

It also comes a week after Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, opened fire on two military centres in Chattanooga and killed four US Marines and a Navy sailor before dying in a shoot-out with police.

Authorities said the shooting victims range in age from the late teens to the 60s, and said police are in the process of notifying their relatives.

Bodies remained in the theatre while police conducted forensic analysis of the crime scene. That work was delayed, however, when a bomb squad was called in to examine the gunman’s vehicle after a suspicious package was detected inside. l

Turkish warplanes pound IS in Syria n Reuters, Ankara

Turkish warplanes pounded Islamic State targets in Syria and police detained hundreds of suspected militants across Turkey yesterday, a sign that Ankara may have shed its hesitancy in taking a front-line role against jihadist fighters.

Turkey has long been a reluctant partner in the US-led coalition against Islamic State, emphasising the need to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and saying Syrian Kurdish forces also pose a grave security threat.

But the attacks on Islamic State targets inside Syria and the early morning raids across 13 provinces at home, which also targeted Kurdish militants, are among its most robust operations yet.

One official said Ankara had moved to “active defence” from a passive strategy.

Turkey acted hours after officials in Washington said Ankara had agreed to let US jets launch air strikes from a base near the Syrian border, dropping its earlier refusal to allow manned American bombing raids from there. l

Attacks on the rise in Kashmir

n Reuters, Muzaffarabad and Srinagar A Pakistan-based militant group has disowned a splinter faction suspected of a string of killings in Indian-occupied Kashmir, with the rebuke followed swiftly yesterday by a string of attacks in the state’s main city.

The rivalry is fuelling concern that rogue insurgents could ratchet up tension between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. Hizbul Mujahideen, a Kashmiri separatist group whose leader, Syed Salahuddin, is based in Pakistan, said on Thursday it had expelled Abdul Qayoom Najar over his involvement in “gruesome murder” and “character assassination of established pro-freedom leadership.”

Indian security forces say Najar leads a breakaway group called Lashkar-e-Islam that has perpetrated a series of attacks around Sopore.

In an apparent escalation yesterday, three more attacks were carried out on telecoms facilities in the Muslim-majority state’s summer capital of Srinagar, one of them near the office of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. l

People hold placards denouncing Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's security-related legislation during an anti-government rally in Tokyo yesterday. Abe pushed through parliament's lower house legislation that could see Japanese troops sent to fight abroad for the first time since World War Two, despite protests and a risk of further damage to his sagging ratings REUTERS

Syrian FM: Iran deal won’t affect backing for Damascus n AFP, Damascus

An international agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme will not alter Tehran’s staunch support for the Syrian government and may even strengthen Damascus, Syria’s foreign minister said yesterday.

Speaking at a conference in Damascus on “confronting terrorism,” Walid Muallem said those who hoped to persuade Iran to abandon Syria’s government would be disappointed.

“There is a lot of talk about the Iranian nuclear agreement and its impact on the Syrian crisis,” he said.

“There are those, led by the United States,

who think that this agreement will enable the West to influence Iran’s positions on the Syrian crisis,” Muallem added, dismissing that prospect as “delusional.”

“Iran’s attitudes on the crisis in Syria have not changed,” the minister said.

Tehran “provided all kinds of support to the Syrian people in their struggle against terrorism before the nuclear deal, and during it, and will continue to do so after it.”

In fact, he said, the agreement could end up strengthening Syria.

The nuclear deal between Iran and six powers led by the United States has led to speculation that broader cooperation on re-

gional issues might now be possible.

But Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already insisted Tehran will continue to oppose “arrogant” US policies.

“US policies in the region differ from Iran’s by 180 degrees,” he said last week.

Tehran is a long-standing ally of President Bashar al-Assad’s embattled government in Damascus and has remained a strong supporter throughout the uprising against him.

It has supplied money, weapons and military advisers to Assad’s government.

Also yesterday, Muallem thanked another key government ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, for suggesting the creation of

a new regional and international alliance to fight “terrorism.”

Damascus considers all those seeking Assad’s ouster “terrorists” and is not part of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group with air strikes in Syria.

Syria accuses several of its neighbours, including Turkey and Jordan, of sponsoring “terrorism” in the country. It dismisses the efforts of the US-led coalition, accusing its members of fomenting extremism in Syria.

Muallem made no comments about overnight air strikes carried out by Turkey on Islamic State positions in northern Syria for the first time. l

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10 WORLD

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

Security issues delay new Greek bailout talks n Reuters, Brussels Talks on tying up a new bailout deal for Greece failed to start yesterday as had been expected, with officials blaming security worries for delaying the negotiations with international creditors who are detested by many Greeks.

Greek government officials had said this week that the talks on the third bailout programme worth up to 86 billion euros (£60.8 billion) would start in Athens yesterday.

But representatives of Greece’s creditor institutions - the European Commission, the European Central Bank and IMF - said they cannot begin until the right location is found, given the talks’ sensitivity and the wide public anger about austerity policies imposed under the first two bailouts.

“There are some logistical issues to solve, notably security-wise,” a European Commission official said.

“Several options are on the table,” the official said, without giving more details.

Greece’s parliament has already approved two packages of reform measures, a prerequisite for starting the formal negotiations to hammer out details of the new bailout.

However, a source close to the talks said Greece had been asked to do more on reforms before top international officials could come to Athens.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reacts as he attends an invitation for Greek political party leaders at the Presidential Palace in Athens yesterday REUTERS The government of leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras held five months of acrimonious talks with the creditors before they finally offered to start talks on a new bailout - and only after the government missed a debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund

and had to close local banks for three weeks.

Tsipras accepted the creditors’ terms even though Greek voters had rejected an earlier offer in a referendum.

Athens hopes this time the negotiations will be quick and can be concluded by Aug

Suspected jihadist killed, 16 arrested in Tunisia n AFP, Tunis Tunisian forces killed one suspected jihadist and arrested 16 others in a series of operations, the government said yesterday, as lawmakers studied tougher anti-terrorism laws following a spate of attacks.

Security forces launched an operation Thursday in Sejnane, in the northern Bizerte region, “against terrorists preparing terrorist acts,” said the interior ministry. It added that 13 suspects had been arrested and that one

person was killed when they tried to flee the scene. Another raid was launched yesterday at dawn in the town of Menzel Bourguiba, resulting in three further arrests.

The ministry said weapons including explosives, ammunition and several assault rifles were seized.

Tunisia has faced a spate of extremist attacks in 2015, including a massacre at a Tunis museum in March that killed 22 people, mostly tourists, and a mass killing at a beach resort last month that left 38 foreigners dead.

The attacks, both claimed by the Islamic State group, have impacted heavily on Tunisia’s vital tourism sector.

Authorities have pledged to crack down on extremism and lawmakers have this week debated a bill aimed at beefing up powers to confront the jihadist threat.

Parliament on Thursday approved the death penalty for those convicted of “terrorist” crimes, despite opposition from right groups and a de facto quarter-century moratorium on executions. l

Obama: Britain needs to stay in EU to support transatlantic ties n Reuters, London/Washington US President Barack Obama said he wants Britain to stay in the European Union and help maintain the post-war transatlantic partnership, prompting angry responses from Eurosceptic lawmakers in London.

“Having the United Kingdom in the European Union gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the transatlantic union,” Obama said in an interview with the BBC. He said Britain being inside the EU had helped make the world a safer and more prosperous place since World War Two. “We want to make sure that the United Kingdom continues to have that influence.

Because we believe that the values that we share are the right ones, not just for ourselves, but for Europe as a whole and the world as a whole.”

Prime Minister David Cameron is seeking reforms to Britain’s ties with the EU ahead of a membership referendum by the end of 2017, a bid to appease Eurosceptic voters and MPs within his own party. He has said he wants to stay in a reformed EU, but has ruled nothing out if his renegotiation is unsuccessful.

Obama has previously said it was hard for him to imagine the European project working without Britain or Britain prospering outside the union.

His latest intervention in the debate over a possible British exit from the bloc angered some politicians.

“President Obama is wrong about the UK and the EU,” John Redwood, an MP from Cameron’s Conservative Party, said on his website. He accused Obama of lecturing Britain. “If letting foreign countries impose laws on you, levy taxes on you, and spend your

money is such a good idea why doesn’t he create an American Union so Mexico can have common borders with the US?” he asked.

The Labour Party, which wants Britain to remain in the EU, also seized on Obama’s remarks, saying Cameron’s “weakness and indecision are putting our country’s future international influence and prosperity at risk”.

Cameron’s planned EU vote and British cuts to military spending in recent years have caused concern in Washington. But Obama congratulated the government on committing to NATO’s defence spending pledge of two percent of GDP for the next five years.

The United States is Britain’s second biggest trade partner behind the EU and has been its closest military ally for more than a century.

Cameron’s office defended the decision to hold a referendum. l

12 so the deal can get parliamentary approval before a bond repayment to the ECB falls due on Aug 20.

At the moment, only technical talks are underway to sort out logistical issues. One government official said he hoped negotiations with the institutions’ mission chiefs could start on Saturday.

A European Commission spokeswoman said only that negotiators from the institutions, including the European Stability Mechanism rescue fund, were expected to go to Athens “in the coming days.”

Sensitivities are high in Greece over the presence of top officials associated with the much-hated austerity policies which deepened the country’s long economic depression.

Mission chiefs from the Commission, ECB and IMF have not been back since Tsipras’s Syriza party came to power in January, with the then finance minister Yanis Varoufakis insisting at the time talks should take place in Brussels.

Varoufakis, who has since left the government and attacked the reforms, had said in May that “motorcades” of the creditors’ representatives moving around the Greek capital were humiliating.

When they get underway, the bailout talks will deal both with a new memorandum of understanding on actions Greece has to take and with the loans it should obtain in return. l

China says US trying to influence Philippines’ sea case n Reuters, Beijing

China’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday the United States was trying to influence a South China Sea arbitration case filed by the Philippines after a senior US official said China would be obligated to abide by the tribunal’s decision.

China has for years insisted that South China Sea disputes be handled bilaterally.

But this month, its claims came under international legal scrutiny for the first time when the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague began hearing a suit the Philippines filed in 2013.

China has refused to take part in the case.

US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel told a conference in Washington this week that as both Beijing and Manila are signatories to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, legally they have to abide by the tribunal’s decision.

China issued a position paper in December arguing the dispute was not covered by the treaty because it was ultimately a matter of sovereignty, not exploitation rights, and the Foreign Ministry said it stood by that.

“Attempting to push forward the arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines, the US side just acts like an ‘arbiter outside the tribunal’, designating the direction for the arbitral tribunal established at the request of the Philippines,” it said.

“This is inconsistent with the position the US side claims to uphold on issues concerning the South China Sea disputes,” the ministry added, calling on Washington to live up to its promises and not take sides. l

DT

EDITORIAL 11

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

INSIDE

A fundamental clash of values?

PAGE 12

Arts & Letters

BIGSTOCK

PAGE 15

A golden age PAGE 16-17

Climate Change PAGE 18-19

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email letters.dt@ dhakatribune.com

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Prioritise new gas connections fairly

T

he high level committee formed to scrutinise applications for new gas connections needs to take a transparent, rational approach to enable it to fairly and promptly allocate new connections.

With over 2,300 applications for new gas connections pending since 2009, it is overdue to facilitate allocations in order to provide certainty and help progress industrial development.

Most factories in Bangladesh suffer greatly from load shedding, which interrupts production and forces them to run costly diesel generators. An industrial gas connection is a key asset in ensuring the uninterrupted power which is taken for granted by factories in most countries.

As Bangladesh has a shortage of gas, the government has announced that initially only 450 applications will be approved. A rational approach is needed to guarantee new supplies are provided where they can bring the most benefit.

The government needs to remember that providing new industrial gas connections is more important than providing new household gas connections as it will create new jobs and increase funds available for investment. We hope applications for new industrial gas connections will be fairly assessed and precautions will be taken to root out any fraudulent applicants.

Our suggestion is to award connections to the applicants who can demonstrate the best record in paying taxes and providing high value jobs. The FBCCI’s request that RMG manufacturers who are relocating their factories from the capital to help meet compliance standards, should be prioritised should also be taken into account.

In addition, steps need to be taken to increase the reliability of future supplies by increasing investment in developing gas fields and improving distribution networks. This means cutting subsidies and bringing in metering for domestic consumption to cut waste.

New industrial gas connections are vital to create jobs and increase funds available for investment

DT

12 OPINION

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

Are Muslims ready to embrace core American values as they set for American shores?

BIGSTOCK

A fundamental clash of values? n Esam Sohail “Oh God, please let it not be a Muslim.”

T

hat is a prayer which is fairly common amongst Muslims in America every time yet another terror attack happens in the United States. With every such attack, as was seen earlier this month in Chattanooga, a little more of the image of Islam and Muslims goes under in the perception of American society.

Pundits and apologists can wax lyrical over “root causes” week after week after every such incident with profound -- and often unoriginal -- comments on how such is not the real Islam or how Muslims are unfairly targeted with a broader brush than others, or even how somehow such events are blowback for Middle Eastern tensions.

That kind of apologia is tiring, and has done less than nothing to change public perceptions for the better; if anything, it comes across as the typical set of canned excuses that fail the proverbial smell test. I have witnessed that sea change of American perception myself over the last quarter of a century, a change that has only accelerated, understandably so, in the aftermath of the 9/11 massacre.

If indeed one must harken back to discussing ephemeral root causes for such acts of terror, integrity would demand that the very concept of assimilation be scrutinised.

While most Muslims coming to these shores assimilate seamlessly into greater American society over a period of decades or a couple of generations, too many don’t, as has been abundantly clear from the revealed profiles of multiple recent terror peddlers whose angst against their new homeland seemed partially based on its incompatibility with

their religious mores.

Discussions on online forums, social media, and Friday sermons at too many mosques across America, taken together, form all too obvious evidence of the lack of such blending into mainstream society.

A fundamental sticking point in this process of assimilation is the incredible gulf between certain core civic values of American society and certain very deeply held Muslim beliefs about Islamic traditions.

Two such core American values stand out starkly.

and, therefore, incompatible for those Muslims who find it equally offensive that certain books be banned, certain insults to religious personalities severely punished, or some social media videos taken down by some government entity.

The other glaring incompatibility concerns gender equity. While the glass ceiling still exists in some parts of corporate America, a government entity cannot differentiate in law between a man and a woman; hence polygyny or gender-based statutory provisions for divorce and child custody are considered

For Muslims who would be temporary migrants or permanent immigrants to the US (and indeed to the rest of the liberal democratic world), some very tough questions need to be discussed thoroughly

While, by and large Americans are an incredibly hospitable, tolerant, and diverse people who abhor causing offense to the beliefs of others, the constitution of the country puts a premium value on the almost unfettered right to the freedom of speech and publication, including the burning of books, making offensive cartoons, and insulting personalities that others may revere.

Thus, the idea that any government entity can censor, punish, or prevent Americans from using supposedly offensive expression is utterly at odds with a core civic value here

simply repugnant here. Far more important is that, increasingly, American society finds it utterly reprehensible that men should dictate what women should wear outside their homes or who they should marry or where they should work.

Again, this kind of a bedrock American civic value clashes fundamentally with many mainstream Muslim traditions that condone polygyny and a secondary status for women, notwithstanding the usual “but … but ... Islam gave rights to women a long time before ...” defensiveness to the contrary.

In fact, at its basic level, the “gave rights to” refrain is quite un-American because the American intellectual tradition, going back to the Founding Fathers, has held that individuals are born with certain “unalienable rights” that are not “given” by anyone.

Taken to its logical conclusion, as the United States Supreme Court did this summer, such notions of equity mean that same-sex marriage -- an anathema to Muslim beliefs -is legal all over America now and supported by a vast majority of Americans.

For Muslims who would be temporary migrants or permanent immigrants to the US (and indeed to the rest of the liberal democratic world), some very tough questions need to be discussed thoroughly: Are they willing to abide by and accept wholeheartedly the laws, values, and civic obligations in their new homeland, even if these expectations run radically opposite to their religious belief systems?

If not, is the lure of opportunity worth the inevitable tension and stress that these incongruities will create for them and their families? Would new hubs of advancement like Malaysia or Dubai be better suited for them in providing a better blend of opportunity and religiosity?

The issue herein is not one of what value system is better … that is best left up to historical metrics of success. Rather, it is a practical matter of making informed decisions that are good in the long run for the individuals concerned and their families.

Isn’t it better to ask and answer these questions before taking a long leap across the oceans? l Esam Sohail is an educational research analyst and college lecturer of social sciences. He writes from Kansas, USA.

DT

OPINION 13

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

Greece’s way out? than what he had turned down before.

The contents of the “new” accords precisely lack any newness. The same old measures, viz budgetary surpluses through pension cuts, increase in the VAT and other taxes, further privatisations and rapidly, additional “market reforms,” restraint on collective bargaining (read: Wages to be kept as low as possible), etc. As Stathis Kouvelakis, a central committee member of Syriza who teaches political theory at King’s College London points out that the deal included “(...) a handful of measures to give it a slight flavour of ‘social justice’ (eg an increase in the corporate tax rate by two points).”

Sensing rebellion in his own ranks including senior ministers like Panos Kammenos, head of the Independent Greeks party (ANEL), and Panagiotis Lafazanis, the leader of the Left Platform Tsipras, colluded with three right-wing parties -- PASOK, Potami, New Democracy -- to get the deal passed in Greek parliament on July 16. 32 Syriza MPs voted against and seven abstained.

Is there a way out?

Anti-austerity protesters may face a tough road ahead

If the Greeks want to get out of this imprisonment, they have to adopt radically different measures -- fiscal, financial, economic and of course, political. They must also be prepared to leave the Eurozone voluntarily

n Sushovan Dhar

T

he Nobel laureate Jose Saramago, speaking about the Venezuelan opposition once said: “It is difficult to understand these people who democratically take part in elections and a referendum, but are then incapable of democratically accepting the will of the people.”

Meanwhile, a little more than a decade later, the Greeks could not believe that not only the opposition, but their prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, who called for a referendum to challenge the Troika’s absolutism -- found it difficult to accept this “will of the people.”

True, there was no lack of apprehension that Tsipras and his close collaborators intended to utilise the Greek refusal of the reprehensible austerity to get the crumbs earlier refused to them. As morally “good negotiators,” they wanted to return to the tables and the green rooms on the shoulders

of a resounding NO vote. However, very few -- both in Greece and outside -- could believe that Tsipras could capitulate with such ruthless “efficiency.” The euphoria and the hope surrounding the referendum turned into shockwaves, and that too, barely within a week.

Tsipras accepted a deal that 61% of the Greek voters rejected. Not only the new “accord” is worse than what creditors offered earlier, the new memorandum exacted much more from this Hellenic government than its pro-austerity predecessors. The creditors are resolute on demanding more than “one pound of flesh.”

It is indeed hard to believe that this historic victory for the Greeks and its democratic accountability was sold so cheaply, and that even, sans resistance or confrontation. None were prepared to see their government imploring, beseeching, begging on its knees for a “deal.” The Greek people were once again defeated, let down, sold out, betrayed, double-crossed, stabbed in the back, and cheated, by a government they considered their own.

Syriza came to power in January, riding on the crests of mass movements calling for a NO to the Troika’s failed policies and an end to austerity. Once in power, the leadership decided to solve matters through “better negotiations,” and disband the masses.

There were already signs of despair and frustrations. Hopes were rekindled the moment Tsipras announced the referendum.

The mass movement was genuinely revived, but all that Tsipras and his trusted aides were prepared to do was to fight for the best possible terms of their continuing enslavement.

They badly coiled up with even harsher terms than that were originally offered.

The erstwhile finance minister, Yanis

REUTERS

Varoufakis, resigned (under the creditors’ pressure) to be replaced by the Oxford educated Euclid Tsakalotos, who, from the first minute started acting as the creditors’ finance manager. His German counterpart, Herr Wolfgang Schäuble’s praise for him as a more conventional and acceptable figure is barely a surprise.

The EU, earlier terrified by Tsipras’ call for referendum could see Greece’s resistance miserably crushed, enabling them to play the Grexit card and impose stronger austerity measures. Disregarding the total rejection of their devastating policies imposed on Greece for the last five years, they could impose an “accord” to extend the damage of the Greek state and immiserise the population. A black deal was signed on Monday, July 13 at the Eurozone heads of state meeting, sums up this sordid tale.

Of course, there are still resistances and protests against this wholesale tragedy inside Greece. There were huge mobilisations in the streets of Athens, Thessaloniki and other places. A general strike against the third memorandum was called by the public sector trade union federation. The “notorious” riot police, which Syriza had earlier pledged to disband, was sent out to disperse protesters as the leadership was afraid that unlike the previous “no” rallies, the new ones would never be in their favour.

While the president of the Hellenic Parliament, Zoé Konstantopoulou, in a speech, declared her staunch refusal to accept this humiliating “accord,” 109 members out of 201 of the Syriza Central Committee, signed a statement condemning the capitulation.

Nevertheless, caving in to the creditors’ threats and blackmails, Tsipras decided to oblige them ignoring his comrades. With this surrender he accepts terms even harsher

The EU hawks successfully spread the canard that suspending debt payment was synonymous with exiting the Euro. Their spin doctors were successful in blackmailing Tsipras into conceding to their demands and more, but the reality lies elsewhere. A series of sovereign measures of self-defense, viz control on banks, currency, and taxation could work strongly for a Greek economic recovery and make the threat of Grexit irrelevant. However, the current measures mean that the crisis would recur from time to time and Troika would successfully use the threat to subordinate the Greeks incrementally.

Greece is also used as a precedent to warn current and potential rebellion in Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and of course, the whole of Europe.

While it was perfectly possible to reject the European Central Bank, the Eurogroup and the European Commission’s nefarious designs expressed through unbearable and illegitimate injunctions, Tsipras squandered his chances and converted a prospective advantage to a deficit. His tragic subordination to EU’s arm-twisting would result not only in more austerity -- misery, pauperisation, and impoverishment -- but a sell-out of the country’s national heritage.

However, one thing is for sure, if the Greeks want to get out of this imprisonment, they have to adopt radically different measures -- fiscal, financial, economic, and of course, political. They must also be prepared to leave the Eurozone voluntarily.

Reports suggest that there might not be any overwhelming endorsement for the latter idea at this point of time -- a vulnerability well-exploited by the creditors as well as the pro-deal political actors.

Nevertheless, the terms and conditions of the agreement would sooner or later convince a majority of Greeks, that a future that includes justice and emancipation, or in other words, a prospect where they cease to be guinea pigs but survive as decent human being doesn’t lie in the Eurozone. l Sushovan Dhar is an activist based in Kolkata.

DT

14 OPINION

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

An ice cube in hell n SM Shahrukh

W

hat an Eid the Muslim world has had!

On Friday, in Khan Bani Saad of the Diyala province in Iraq, a suicide bomber killed 120 people with 130 injured, and the death-toll seems likely to rise. He had promised the parched-throat Iraqis in the desert heat ice relief, only to end up relieving them of having to live in that hell-hole of a country.

ISIS claim responsibility -- of course they do -- for they are on a mission to cleanse the world. They started this Eid by killing some neighbourhood Shi’as. The truck driver was probably dreaming of a heaven full of all the “good things in life” that this life had so far failed to offer -- a heaven he had been assured of.

And over to Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that it had arrested 431 suspects connected to “IS” and foiled several plots for suicide attacks.

The interior ministry said in a statement that the majority of those arrested were Saudi citizens who belonged to “cluster cells” managed from abroad with the aim of “sowing sectarian strife and spreading chaos” in the kingdom.

Even though the majority of those arrested are Saudi citizens, there are also people from other countries as well, mainly Yemenis and North Africans. Maybe the Saudis should think hard of the harvest they are reaping from years of sowing seeds of terrorism all over the world. Now that ISIS has grown to be the veritable monster at its doorstep, Saudi Arabia is looking for allies in unusual places.

Israel, for example, purported to be the ultimate enemy of Islam. Oh, how the world spins with its mysterious twists, creating strange bed-fellows!

The Saudis may also think of the Shi’as residing in their part of the desert, maybe give them a greater share of the prosperity the royals are enjoying by lifting crude oil from their region; maybe get rid of the discrimination meted out to Shi’as throughout history.

Maybe. It may placate the Iranis somewhat and make Hezbollah a little more amenable to peace efforts. Just maybe.

It seems ISIS is activating sleeper cells all over and their campaign via social media is making a huge impact among the disenfranchised, disillusioned, and alienated Muslim youths all over the world. The shooting and killing of five marines in Chattanooga by an otherwise normal Muslim man, who was radicalised recently, may just be the prelude to a developing pattern.

The pernicious organisation may activate more sleeper cells in the US in the coming months, and even Europe. This would make the lives of Muslims living in the West, just working and going about their lives, more precarious, and some may end up at the receiving end of “racial” hostilities, overt or subtle.

The Grand Ayatollah Khomenei kept up his hate-filled rhetoric in an Eid day speech to his nation. Khamenei delivered a fiery speech at a Tehran mosque, punctuated by chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

He said he wanted politicians to examine

the recent agreement with the international community (read: The US) about conditions tagged to lifting of sanctions to ensure national interests were preserved, as Iran would not allow the disruption of its revolutionary principles or defensive abilities.

He is likely to approve the nuclear agreement signed in Geneva. After all, it took ten years of hard-fought negotiations, and the Irani economy has suffered instead of prospering on the back of her substantial oil reserves. The sufferings of the people of the ancient civilisation of Persia need not be mentioned. The notion that sanction-free Iran will use the $100bn to $150bn that it is likely to earn to spread terrorism is foolish.

They have a lot of catching up to do for the betterment of its citizens.

One must realise that the majority of Iranians today were born after the 1979 revolution, and they are desperate to join the 21st century, and a sanction in place will never allow such dreams to materialise.

But still the old guard led by the Grand Ayatollah reiterated Iran’s three-decade old vitriol against the West and Israel; he is a pass-master at posturing, needless to say. He voiced from the podium: “Whether the deal is approved or disapproved, we will never stop supporting our friends in the region and the people of Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, and Lebanon.”

“Even after this deal, our policy towards the arrogant US will not change,” he further added.

The Americans are hoping, some say foolishly, that Iran will somewhat reduce the help it extends now to “virulent” groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. It is hoped that Iran will principally think of improving its economic situation with the billions that the lifting of sanctions will bring in. But the US also realises that Iran, being a Shi’a state, will

With ISIS going head to head with Khomeini's Iran, peace in the Middle East seems a far cry

It seems ISIS is activating sleeper cells all over and their campaign via social media is making a huge impact among the disenfranchised, disillusioned, and alienated Muslim youths all over the world

this, as already mentioned.

News reports say: “The US has offered to increase military aid to Israel by another $1.5bn per year … The proposed increase would see Israel getting an additional squadron of F-35 fighter jets, funding for research and development of missile defense systems, and ammunition to replenish the stocks used in last year’s bombing of Gaza, Israeli sources told Jerusalem Post.”

Peace in the Middle East? Well, an ice cube has better prospects in hell!

Post-script always oppose ISIS, and currently they are the ones with “boots on the ground” in Iraq, fighting the terrorist group.

The vicious and rapacious mad dog of the Middle East, Bibi Netanyahu (who else?), has been screaming at the proposed lifting of sanctions against Iran, and the US conservatives and liberals, in unison, are busy consoling his rants like the favourite albeit insolent child and trying to appease him with “candy” to rein in his tantrums. Republican presidential hopeful Lindsey Graham has called Obama a naive leader and someone who has worsened the existential threat to Israel.

Well, what about all the others living in

the region, Mr Senator? And the defense industries are already counting future profits from all the arms to be supplied to Israel with aid from the US likely to reach $4.5bn.

Of course, Obama’s deal with Iran that sanctions would be lifted if the Gulf nation only pursues atomic programs for peaceful purposes would face a hurdle if the Republican-controlled Congress votes against it.

Then he would have to use the veto to block the actions of Congress. Congress would, in that case, need the help of a substantial number of Democrats to overturn that veto. But it seems that Obama will win the day. Israel, however, will not go empty handed from all

REUTERS

Since writing this piece, a suicide attack has occurred in Turkey. It is purported to be an ISIS-influenced attack.

It happened in the Turkish town of Suruc.

Apparently a female suicide bomber carried it out. At least 30 people are reported to have been killed with around a hundred others wounded in the explosion. The attack was perpetrated at a meeting place where young activists congregated to discuss the reconstruction of the neighbouring Syrian town of Kobane. Kobane has seen heavy fighting between ISIS militants and Kurdish fighters and was retaken by Kurds from the IS forces earlier in the year. l SM Shahrukh is a freelance contributor.

DT

ARTS & LETTERS 15

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

From my time to yours Thomas Milden skidded to a halt, just on the cusp of Covent Garden Square. He rested his palms on his knees, panting. His lungs felt heavy, struggling for breath. He glanced behind him. Thick mist swirled into the alley, its fingers wrapping around the single, dingy streetlight. He could hear the market sellers packing up for the night, shouting, fighting, or laughing at each other. Their stench of raw meat, fish, eggs, and fruit still wafted across the Square.

Thomas kept his back pressed against the wall and took a quick peek over it. Ladies wearing the tightest corsets, and spilling out from all sides, sashayed across the Square with baskets of flowers slung across their wrists. They called out to “customers,” one or two, occasionally lifting up the hem of their skirts, exposing thick, pudgy ankles.

Thomas felt for his leather pouch. He tipped the contents into his open palm. His stomach clenched as the one silver coin slid out. One shilling. That was all he had to his name. That’s it. He’d be thrown into the Marshalsea, paying off his debts until he died.

Dead at twenty.

Just like all the other men in his wretched family.

Clearly the poor man whose pocket he’d pilfered this from was no better off than himself. “There he is!”

The cry of fury ripped across the entire Square. Thomas caught the sight of two policemen charging down the alley, batons raised, ready to take him down. Thomas forced his legs into motion, uttering a soft curse. He hurtled across the Square, knocking into traders, crashing into carts, leaping over crates.

“Stop! Thief!”

Thomas ran faster, he ducked under the arm of a well-rounded butcher and skirted around a couple engaging in a very private act up against the wall. They sprang apart, allowing the policemen to charge past.

“I said stop!”

If he could just make it to the other end of the street. It was so close …

The Salisbury public house beckoned from across the street. Amber lights flickered against the translucent window. The landlord. Jack Gareth. He’d help. He’d have to.

Thomas clutched the leather pouch to his chest, glanced to his right, leapt onto the road…

He heard an ear splitting scream.

A horse’s squeal.

A carriage smacked into him, knocking him to the ground. The horse and carriage tumbled over him, crushing him into the worn road. Thomas Milden lay sprawled across the road, just outside his beloved pub.

His head cracked, blood pooling onto the cobbles, leaking into the drain. * “Is he dead?”

“No, look he’s moving!”

“No, he isn’t!”

“His hand twitched, I saw it!”

“What is he wearing?”

“He’s an actor. Duh!” Voices. Too many damned voices poking in his ears. He wished they’d shut up. A peculiar sound of angry bees also jammed into his ear. His head throbbed with an irksome pain.

Thomas groaned, stirring ever so slightly.

“See! Told you he’s alive!”

Thomas prised open an eye. A tiny circle of light gently guided him awake. Was he dead? Who were these people? Were they angels? Had they come to take him away? He lifted his lids. A group of colourful faces bore down upon him, some twisted in concern, others in light relief.

“He’s awake!” A young woman … an odd, green … hooded cloak-type garment smiled at him. “You had us all worried there, bruv!”

A brown skinned man wearing a grey cloaktype garment, reached out a hand to him.

“Move! Let him have some air.” An airy voice, Thomas didn’t see who she was, commanded the group. They obediently parted, most of them scattering back as far as they could. Thomas allowed himself to sit up. His head still strummed with pain.

Another young man, similar age and hair colour to himself, crouched down in front of him, offering an oddly shaped bottle.

“Drink some water, you’ll feel better.” He ordered, pushing the bottle into Thomas’s slack hands. “I’m Joe by the way.”

“Thomas.”

“Drink it, Thomas. It’s only water.”

Hesitantly, Thomas brought the bottle to his lips. Once it touched his lips, he glugged the water back, savouring every second. He pressed his fingers onto the bottle. What an odd texture. What kind of bottle was this?

“So … which theatre are you from?” Joe asked, gazing directly into his eyes.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You’re in a play right?” Joe gestured to Thomas’s dated attire. “Something set in Victorian times?” Thomas gaped at him. “Are you talking about the Queen?”

Joe released a laugh. Then catching the blank look on Thomas’s face, the laughter vanished. “Oh … you weren’t joking. Hmm, maybe you’ve hit your head harder than you thought …” He turned, calling out over his shoulder, “Dude may be concussed!”

Confusion rattled Thomas’s brain. The young man, Joe, was talking to him again, but Thomas stopped listening. A dark green door had pulled his attention away.

“The Salisbury …” Thomas muttered,

starting to climb to his feet.

“Whoa, take it easy!” Joe tried to steady him. Thomas swayed, his mind swimming with dizziness. It was slowly starting to filter back now. The robbery, the chase, the crash.

He glanced around. There were people here, but they weren’t people. Not really.

They were dressed too outrageously. And the noise of angry bees he’d been hearing.

They weren’t bees. Far from it. Tiny, horseless carriages scuttled across the road. There were hundreds of them, all different colours.

A bright red giant, crammed with people, jostled past. It could be a bus. But again … no horse!

“I ... I don’t understand … what’s going on?” Thomas asked, clutching onto Joe tightly. Then he turned his head. He was in the

same place he’d been hit. Same road, same pavement, same pub. Only it wasn’t. It can’t be. It was far too different.

Thomas suddenly grabbed Joe by the shoulders, his grip tightening with panic.

Joe’s eyes widened in alarm.

“What year is this?” Thomas asked, a knot of dread tightening in the pit of his stomach.

Joe swallowed. When he spoke, it was a voice of forced calm tinged with worry. “It’s 2014, mate.”

Thomas didn’t even hear the scream this time, his mind clouded, his legs buckled and he collapsed into Joe’s waiting arms. l Christina Algaratnam is a writer for Doughnut Productios and is currently working on her first novel.

ART WORK: ZAHED RASUL

n Christina Algaratnam

Send your submissions to: anl@dhakatribune.com

I missed you when May decided to skip its last day of the month -sped past it to a reluctant First of Juneand I, falling through the cracks of time Landed On a mere calendar date that marks the day you left.

A day summer refuses to be part of.

Syeda Samira Sadeque is a journalist at Dhaka Tribune. You can follow her on twitter @Samideque.

DT

16 HERITAGE

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

A golden age The sub-continental empires owe a lot to the wealth generated in the Ganges delta in Bangladesh

n Tim Steel

T India continues to ignore the fact that the gateway for that civilisation was the Ganges delta, the heartland of Bangladesh.

he average citizen of modern India very evidently, not only chooses to openly ignore the importance of the lands of ancient India that are now Bangladesh in the development of the rich history and heritage of the sub-continent, but even, often, in the writing of open history in places such as Wikipedia, bend it, or even pervert it.

Boasting of the development of one of the world’s first industrialised civilisations in the Ganges basin, India continues to ignore the fact that the gateway for that civilisation was the Ganges delta, the heartland of Bangladesh.

That the Brahmaputra, because of its deltaic gateway to the world, was probably the world’s first of the famed “Silk Roads,” is also widely ignored, presumably, to acknowledge it would involve admitting the vital importance of the heartlands of Bangladesh in its existence.

That it may well have been the flourishing international centre of trade around the delta, brought Alexander the Great into India, and subsequently attracted both the Khilji and Mughal conquerors, can readily be glossed over with more attention to minute detail than strategic overview of such history.

That it was, also, probably the annual outwash of the rural and industrial communities of the basin that left the fringes of the

eastern basin the world’s greatest source of the crystalised residue of human and animal waste that is saltpetre, the vital ingredient of gunpowder, a resource with which the inhabitants of the lands for years resisted the Mughals, and which certainly attracted the Europeans, is also widely ignored.

The Europeans, of course, used the saltpetre, not only to create, and maintain, for nearly two centuries, the world’s greatest ever Empire but also to turn the subcontinent from a patchwork of principalities into a cohesive, and largely democratic, whole that, in 1947, could be given the freedom of self-governance as three major nations is also something most, it seems, would rather forget.

When we say that the lands of Bangladesh have been, in every real sense, the foundation stone of both empires, and today’s nations, as an overview of the history and heritage, it cannot be readily contested.

But even within the history of the subcontinent itself, the lands of north-east India seem to have contributed more than a reasonable share to the remarkable heritage.

Some of the greatest Indian empires had their roots in these lands, and that certainly argues for, above all, the wealth that can generate such cohesive power.

The ancient Magadha Empire and the Mauryan Empire both grew out of Patna on the banks of the Ganges. There seems little doubt that it was the wealth generated in the

area that supported such imperial ambitions, and to which, no doubt, the developing cities that are now located in the lands of Bangladesh made major contributions.

But, in terms of the first of the greatest of the empires of the common era, especially, first the Gupta, and then the Pala, it seems that proximity to the delta became even more important.

The first of these, the Hindu Gupta dynasty, probably had its roots firmly in, or around, the lands of modern Bangladesh and its immediate environs.

There is much debate about the origins, but there are substantial historians who attribute the origins of the dynasty to the lands of Varendra, those of modern Rajshahi and Rangpur.

Sadly, Indian and Hindu nationalism can be identified as playing a role in a great deal of historical debate such as that of the Gupta origins, so it is difficult to regard many opinions as being entirely objective.

However, logically, it would seem that power bases are likely to be more closely aligned to wealth bases, and greater proximity to both the trading wealth of the Delta lands, and to the great cities that we have every reason to believe developed around the deltaic lands, might support assumptions of origin closest to the delta.

The Gupta Empire seems to have been founded in the second part of the third century CE, and, as it blossomed, and spread, became historically famed for “inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy.”

It need, however, hardly be said that such evolution, and rapid social, cultural, and intellectual development cannot have emerged, quite suddenly, from nowhere.

Despite the strong Hindu influence of the dynasty, and the many attempts by Hindu historians to point to this “golden age,” as the fruit of Hindu development, it seems reasonable to recall that, with, at that time, already over 800 years of existence, the Buddhist faith group had made remarkable strides forward in their links with such developing cultures as those of China, that had probably already begun to embrace the Buddhist beliefs and practices.

Rather, one suspects, the Gupta were good at avoiding the communalism of the Brahmin culture, embracing, rather, all that the history of the environment of the foundation places of the Empire had to offer.

We have evidence, from pre-Gupta period crafts and artefacts, that these lands around the delta were far from uncivilised. Indeed, museum collections around Bangladesh reveal the advanced skills of sculptors, jewellers, metal workers, and terracotta workers, amongst others, who have left enduring traces. And we cannot forget the literature that originates in that area, too.

Even scientific and engineering skills of a much earlier period are manifested in the enduring “lost wax” sculptural and casting

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HERITAGE 17

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

Despite the fact that this ‘golden age’ may have had its birth in the lands that are now Bangladesh, there appears to be little tangible evidence of its far reaching influence remaining in these lands

work, still practiced, largely as a tourist craft, in Bangladesh.

Sad to say, despite the fact that this “golden age” may have had its birth in the lands that are now Bangladesh, there appears to be little tangible evidence of its far reaching influence remaining in these lands.

However, it has often been suggested that the lands around the Ganges delta were, in the last millennium BCE, and for centuries

of the common era, a perfect example of the great Baron de Montesquieu, the early 18th century, French philosopher’s premise that “peace is the natural consequence of trade.”

It certainly appears that the golden age of the Gupta empire differs most significantly from the brief, early second millennium Hindu rulers, the Senas, who adhere to a more militant, Brahmanic tradition of exclusion of others, in its evident tolerance of Buddhist

development, and even rule of parts of its empire.

In this tolerance, it more closely mirrored another 500 years earlier Hindu ruling dynasty, the Sunga dynasty, in keeping the peace to protect the flourishing international trade from which it derived so much of its economic power.

A strong economy, and a largely peaceful environment is, of course, a generally

recognised prerequisite to cultural and social development. And it was, doubtless, such an environment that saw an early flowering of educational attainment, including, probably, the mathematical assertion of such contentious issues as the decimal system, and the concept of zero. These were mathematical achievements that, through a millennium of exchange between Indian sub-continent and the Middle East, laid the foundation for later Arab supremacy in such disciplines.

The mathematical skills probably also lay at the foundation of significant advances in both architecture and engineering, as well as a wide array of artistic achievement.

In such an advanced culture, especially, it seems that these lands that are now Bangladesh, may well lay claim, through its trading expertise, to have laid a foundation stone to cultural development that was, to eventually become a hallmark of historic Indian culture as a whole. l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.

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18 CLIMATE CHANGE

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

Seasonal migration and its effects on poverty: Evidence from the Shiree program n AKM Fazlur Rahman, and Sohel Rana Seasonal migration is common among Bangladeshis living in extreme poverty (less than $1.25 a day) to cope with difficulties finding sufficient employment in their villages. Attracted by the availability of jobs, many move to urban and rural areas in other districts.

The land-use patterns of the southwestern coast of Bangladesh has changed over the last 30 years, with commercial shrimp farming replacing traditional rice farming. The local demand for labour has decreased as shrimp cultivation is not as labour intensive. The situation is further aggravated by the cyclones that hit coastal Bangladesh leaving many people without homes and property.

In 2009, Save the Children, funded by UK Aid, started the Shiree program in Khulna and Bagerhat districts in Southern Bangladesh. The programme found that people living in extreme poverty find it difficult to find work in their locality and migrate for one month to a maximum of six months. In the Shiree program area, the agricultural male day labourers migrate during harvesting season to nearby districts while others migrate to brick kilns during dry seasons.

Findings of the study shed an important light on the plight and conditions of people who migrate from different levels of poverty.

In the Chanmari Slum of Khulna city, we interviewed Farzana who migrated to Khulna after Cyclone Aila. “Rice cultivation no longer exists in my community and expansion of shrimp farming reduced labor demand,” she says. In her village, people seasonally migrate to different

A family of seasonal migrants working in a brick kiln in Dumuria, Khulna parts of the country to work in the brick kilns.

They work there for six months and remain unemployed the rest of the year. Most of the people do not have cultivable land. Before coming to Khulna, her husband also used to work in brick kilns. In Farzana’s village, most of the male members go alone in the brickfields; however, there are few households that move together to brick kilns. In her case, she could not move with her husband because she had to look after her mother-in-law. Seasonal Migrants perceive that migrating their entire family is beneficial since with more labourers, their income will be high-

AKM FAZLUR RAHMAN

er.

Improvements in physical infrastructure, telecommunication, and higher wages in the urban areas of Bangladesh have facilitated the increase in this type of seasonal migration. However, research shows that seasonal migration does not necessarily support migrants to improve their life circumstances. Indeed in some cases, they become further impoverished after migrating because of exploitation. Our analysis shows that seasonal migration creates an obstacle for a child’s education as the entire household migrates to a brick kiln before their year-end school

exams. Child labour is also increasing.

Able-bodied men from extreme poor households migrate to the urban areas and nearby district towns to ensure food security.

The majority of them are not able to experience a decent improvement in their wellbeing through seasonal migration. Most of their income is used up for household consumption back in the village because their family is highly dependent on their income, lack of other income sources, no savings, and very much vulnerable to climatic shocks and hazards.

However, able-bodied men from moderately poor households (relatively better position than extreme poor) are often able to experience upward mobility in their wellbeing through seasonal migration.

Those households sometimes have other income generating activities such as small businesses in their village that are usually managed by their wife in their absence. Their entire income from seasonal migration is not used by the household and they are able to save some portion of it. When they return to their villages, they usually buy livestock, repair houses, and invest to expand the small business with the money they have saved.

Seasonal migration is a temporary solution against the crisis of earning opportunities in areas affected by climatic hazards. There is little evidence found about the long term positive impact on extreme poor households. l AKM Fazlur Rahman and Sohel Rana are working in the Research team of Save the Children – Shiree Program.

The climate change and migration nexus in Bangladesh Organisation for n International Migration, Bangladesh Bholar Bosti is a slum located in Mirpur, at the outskirts of Dhaka City and houses about 550 families, most of whom have lost their homes and land to the River Meghna. The migration from Bhola, a fast disappearing island in southern Bangladesh started with 13 families as early as 1996, but over the last two decades, the slum has grown 40-fold. Most have come looking for better employment opportunities. Surprisingly, unlike other slums of Dhaka, the slum-dwellers of Bholar Bosti actually live in a friendly and comparatively clean environment, where they have electricity and gas, piped water supply and paved alleys. Various NGOs and donors have assisted the slum dwellers to put in place these facilities and provided them with training in skills such as embroidery and handicrafts. The people of Bholar Bosti are fairly well-informed of their rights through various awareness raising activities conducted by NGOs. Their children go to schools established specifically for the slum dwellers. The displaced people who were previously farmers or fishermen are now employed in low skilled jobs such as rickshaw pullers, domestic workers, and garments workers. Bholar Bosti inhabitants feel that their children have a promising future since they can go to school and live with basic amenities.

Bholar Bosti is just a fraction of the total movement of people from climate affected parts of Bangladesh to the urban centers. Needless to say, more needs to be done to understand the ramifications of these

migration flows and to improve the lives of those living in these settlements. The 1991 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change, warned of the grave impact climate change would have on human migration. Just 22 years later, the 5th IPCC report in 2013 confirmed that “the migration and mobility dimensions of the impacts of climate change and the central role of mobility in adaptation has become apparent.”

South Asia is one of the most affected regions and Bangladesh ranks 1st in the Climate Change Vulnerability index (2014). Bangladesh has been experiencing the impact of weather extremes and increasing natural disasters for some years and is formulating development plans to try to mitigate the climate change-induced migration patterns. Development plans include

Md Farooq looks on as his wife talks about leaving Bhola and rebuilding their life in Bholar Bosti IOM BANGLADESH

the National Adaption Plans of Action (2005) and the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (2009), both of which make references to migration due to climate change and outlines actions to develop a monitoring mechanism for internal and external migration. The Disaster Management Act, 2012 makes an indication for the need to rehabilitate affected people to other regions of the country so that they can resume their natural way of life. However, in a country as densely populated as Bangladesh, available space remains an issue, and the real question remains: Where can the people go?

Every year, Bangladesh goes through at least one natural disaster that displaces people either temporarily or permanently. Cyclone Aila in 2009 displaced over two million people in the Southwest many of whom have still not been able to return to their homes, and who live in very poor conditions.

With the exacerbating effect of rising sea waters and river bank erosion, the permanent solution for some Aila affected people has been to relocate to slums in Khulna City. There are floods in the north and northwest, resulting frequently in riverbank erosion, forcing people to move their homes.

Villagers living near riverbanks are forced to migrate a number of times in their lifetime from their disasters for example Abul Khair (40) and Md Ahsanullah (33) of Shibalaya upazilla in Manikganj district remembers moving their homes at least 3-4 times in their lifetime. They lost their land and assets, but since they had other skills and education they could recoup and re-establish themselves in their home upazillas as teachers. Many are not so

fortunate and end up relocating to a totally different locality like Dhaka city. The very poor usually end up living in the urban slums, where access to services of health, water, and sanitation or education is limited.

In addition, their social safety networks have been removed, which leaves the displaced very vulnerable to local pressures and crime.

Given the current evidence for climate change, it is inevitable that in the future more people will be on the move as result of natural disasters as well as slow erosion of their living habitat. Bangladesh needs to find ways to make migration a “transformative adaptation” strategy for its people who are facing the brunt of climate change, rather than an experience that pushes them further into poverty.

The challenge for Bangladesh is to identify and adopt climate-adaptive and resilient measures suitable to the local context. Bholar Bosti could be an ideal example, where external assistance and timely interventions changed the lives of environmentally affected and displaced communities for the better. We have to move towards focusing on how to better serve these people not only through policy interventions, but concrete actions to make migration a positive experience. l The IOM project on Assessing the Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and Migration Nexus in South Asia, is a research project aiming to assess and then advocate for the incorporation of the Migration-Environment-Climate Change in national and regional polices in South Asia, particularly Bangladesh, Nepal and the Maldives.

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CLIMATE CHANGE 19

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

River deltas and climate change: Reducing vulnerability through a better understanding of migration and adaptation in the Ganges delta in Bangladesh n Jon Lawn and Michele Leone An abundance of scientific evidence shows that the people living in deltas have an increased vulnerability to sea-level rise and effects of climate change. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that low-latitude and less developed areas generally face greater risk, for example in dry areas and mega-deltas. These risks increase vulnerability of specific groups such as the poor.

The poor and vulnerable have migrated in different forms to cope with the disruptions climatic changes has brought upon their lives.

Research is crucial to understanding the suitability of migration as an adaptation option to the threats of climate change, and the implications migration has on society and the environment. There is a new project tackling these issues in Bangladesh: a research collaboration between the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and the University of Southampton in the UK, which is part of a larger initiative studying migration and adaptation across Africa and South Asia.

The “Deltas, vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation” (DECCMA) project is a five-year long program of applied research which started in early 2014, focusing on the potential and limits of adaptation options in deltaic environments. The project will analyse the impacts of climate change and changes in other environmental pressures (such as demand for agriculture or damming rivers) across three contrasting deltas: The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna in both Bangladesh and West Bengal, the Mahanadi delta in India, and the Volta delta in Ghana. The University of Southampton provides the overall lead on the project, partnering with BUET, Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India and the University of Ghana, who lead research in the delta study sites.

We aim to understand the effectiveness of adaptation options for individuals and communities in the coastal zone of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, whilst also evaluating the potential for migration to be an active and positive response to climate change. Ultimately, the project team anticipates that the uptake of a robust scientific evidence base for decision-makers and practitioners will lead to improved livelihoods and reductions in poverty in delta regions.

Which areas of deltas will be hardest hit?

Defining a boundary for a delta is a complex task! Where does it start and is all of it going to be affected by sea-level rise? After discussing many parameters the project team concluded they would focus research in areas that lie between zero and five metres above mean sea level. They acknowledge that areas where people migrate to (major cities and international destinations) would be outside of the 5m contour. Experts in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and biophysical environmental modellers are collecting data on

In Bangladesh the levels of salinity in the soil is a growing concern for farmersI. Increasing soil salinity reduces the productivity of farmland, putting pressure on families to abandon their homes for other sources of income, often in the cities DEREK CLARKE multiple hazards such as flooding, salinity levels, and land subsidence to map which areas of deltas have historically experienced the worst exposure to environmental risks. Combining these maps with a geographical analysis of census data (for example where levels of education or income per household are lowest) creates detailed vulnerability maps for each delta, giving an indication of where those most likely to be adversely affected by climate related hazards are located.

How do delta residents decide whether to move?

Initial results from the study reveal that there is much greater out-migration from coastal zones in deltas and the greatest portion of migrants are female. We will be investigating these results further to understand the reasons why individuals and families chose to migrate, and conversely the factors involved in men and women’s decision to stay. Focused interviews with thousands of delta residents will enrich the project’s understanding of community decision-making and how open people are to migration and other adaptation schemes (such as constructing polders or financing new technology). One of the key questions we hope to draw attention: are policies planned by central governments (such as the Bangladesh Delta Plan) understood and utilised by those living in the coastal zone? Interviewing migrants in their final destinations, will allow researchers to define whether migration has been successful for families by looking at the specific criteria that made migration a success.

To fully understand decisions made by households, we also need to understand the economic condition of the delta. Future development of deltas will depend on employment opportunities, the price of tradable commodities and economic growth.

We are the first research project to attempt to scale down national economic statistics to a sub-national level to classifiy the economic value of the delta to the entire country.

Economic factors are linked to the availability of jobs and livelihoods, and in turn, the potential for migration.

A key component of this scientific research is to understand what has already happened (a baseline). Inventories of adaptation schemes have been collated by local research teams, and in the case of Bangladesh, these inventories are already being utilised in conjunction with the United Nations Development Program.

Integrated assessment, a method of evaluating multiple factors together, will be utilised to combine the vast range of elements that contribute to decision-making, from government level through to the household level. Regular stakeholder engagement in each delta is vital to understand the key and relevant issues, and to validate and implement project results for the benefit of deltaic communities, especially those most vulnerable to climate change.

The larger picture

In these efforts DECCMA is not alone; we are one of four research projects funded under the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in

Africa and Asia (CARIAA) program, which focuses on three climatic hotspots across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia: Large river deltas, Himalayan fed river basins, and semi-arid regions. In Bangladesh, BUET is working with the Refugees and Migration Movements Unit (RMMRU, University of Dhaka), Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organisation (SPARSSO), Water Resources Planning Organisation (WARPO), Jagrata Juba Shangha (JJS), South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM), and Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Systesms (CEGIS) to study the Bangladesh delta.

The CARIAA initiative is funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), aiming to build the resilience of vulnerable populations in these hot spots by supporting collaborative research to inform adaptation policy and practice. The program will run until 2019.

This research has dual importance; to provide a basis for the poorest delta residents to make informed decisions when considering how they respond to the effects of climate change, and to work with policy-makers to ensure the most vulnerable communities are identified and included in the highest level discussions. l Jon Lawn is the Consortium Coordinator for the DECCMA Project, based at the University of Southampton, UK. Michele Leone is a CARIAA Senior Program Officer at the International Development Research Centre. He is based in Nairobi, Kenya.

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.

DT

20 FEEDBACK

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

Punish Rajon’s twisted murderers July 14

L

etter

July 23

Nafis Ahsan: In a perfect world, perhaps.

But we don’t live in that world. Let’s be honest, no one cares about doing the right thing anymore. If we want these people to come forward, we have to give them reasons to, from which they can derive benefits.

a blind eye is normal in our society.

This is the real sickness -- most victims of murder and rape know or are even related to their tormentors, and the instinct in our nation is to cover crimes up.

Until that changes, we cannot be shocked when something like this sick murder happens outside our homes, and people do not intervene.

Also, as there was a large group of brutal perpetrators, only a large number of policemen could have stopped the killing, I think.

Shireen Ahsan: Yes, they should. But turning

Mitu Hang them all.

Ahsan They took the boy and were openly torturing him in broad daylight. Other people must have noticed or heard. If they did, they must come forward.

How many roads must a city lay down?

July 14

TaraG Dhaka’s sewers are too few and too small to allow alligators to breed. They must house some snakes though, if the rat population is anything to go by.

RetiredBUET A realistic and measured assessment of the issues. This debate needs more understanding to allow good decisionmaking.

Osmania RetiredBUET: The Lalbagh wall scandal proves it is too easy to get away with bad choices at the top in Bangladesh.

How this will change depends on voters’ conscience.

Meanwhile, I advise taking up cycling if you’re brave enough to get on the road. It’s always the quickest way.

Shafiq You have some pretty good points. I’d love to see the day when they come to life.

Cylechick Shafiq: It will only happen if politicians and inessentials start obeying traffic rules and stop expecting escorts to

I am writing with respect to the article “Why our media has to peddle blood and death,” by Zyma Islam published in the opinion section of your paper on July 16.

The article argues that because we in Bangladesh are so desensitised to death and violence, international norms of media ethics do not apply to our outlets.

I would like to bring to your attention that the sensitivities of the viewer are only one side of the ethical argument against sharing videos of victims of graphic violence. The other, and in my opinion more important side of the argument is about consent. The video in question is of a person’s body being brutally defiled, until death. That person has not consented to having their image, taken in a state of utter subjugation, being shared in public. We would not share a video of a woman being raped and murdered, to raise awareness. Nor should we share this video, regardless of the degree of insensitivity of the audience.

The article provides examples of other instances of violence that resulted in death of their victims that did not result in public action, arguing this was due to the lack of video footage. I ask you to consider that perhaps it was due to a lack of concerted journalistic effort. There are other ways to stir the public conscience than the lazy social media journalism of sharing an already viral video. Media houses could interview witnesses or the parents and other family members of the deceased or find other ways of reporting murder with more than 97 words.

They could follow up on cases that have not been solved or punished. They could compile periodic statistics that show how widespread such crimes are. Of course, pursuing such avenues requires actual journalism of actual journalists. The exemplary work our media otherwise does suggests this should not be a problem.

If the objective of media houses was to raise awareness, they could have done so for the many other victims of such crimes in the ways described above, without the accompanying video evidence. At the very least they could have blotted out the victim’s face. If the objective was to help catch the perpetrators, they could have frozen frames of the perpetrators’ faces and shared these. The only remaining reason to show this video, in its entirety, despite the disregard for the dead that this act entails, is to profit from the frenzy of ghoulish voyeurism it created. In doing so, the Bangladeshi media houses have not only desensitised us further, but have also created an incentive for the witnesses of the next act of heinous violence in our society to stand by and video rather than intervening, in the hope that their clip gets social and mass media fame.

Standards of ethical journalism apply to us all, even if we fail to fully understand them. Despite all the other fantastic work the Bangladeshi media has done to take our society forward, in this particular instance, they have fallen short.

Chowdhury Rashaad Shabab PhD student, University of Sussex, UK Emilie Louise Wells Fellow, Vassar College, USA

breeze them past traffic jams.

Ahmedullah Shafiq: Agreed. One urban legend the author misses out which you see in many op-eds is the idea that the city has to clear stalls from pavements. As if all the customers of chai and cigarette stalls are driving to them instead of just popping out of their buildings to the nearest one outside. And its not as if car owners walk much as far as I can tell -- otherwise clear pavements would always be full of walkers ...

Baracks O’ Bummer Hah! Great one! Navigating Dhaka’s roadways is a Sisyphean challenge that no one should be put through.

Rajib Well, at least over Eid, car users can expect to make crosstown journeys in less than 45 minutes. But I agree with the author that this isn’t necessarily a good thing when there are so many dangerous, anti-social drivers about. I still hear horns in the early hours when the roads are empty and find it more risky to cross them as plenty of idiots drive faster then.

DT Teenager caught with 76,000 yaba tablets

July 22 Faisal Khan Make him take those pills for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and nothing else.

Bangladesh-origin scientist leads discovery of massless particle

Youth mercilessly beaten by traffic policemen July 21 KoKaKola That’s a super achievement ! Our “gobore poddo/gulap ful.”

Time to stop condoning violence

July 16 Petros Mendes The public should beat the lights out of those cops. That will be fair.

July 16 Nazneen Yes, this is the real hidden problem! Normal people hittng or letting others hit a bit. Social acceptance of some assault by normal people gives sickos like Rajon’s killers the ability to hide in plain sight.

INSIDE

NEWS

Prof Dr Yousuf Mahbubul Islam joins as vice chancellor of DIU A life-long educationist, IT researcher and international trainer professor Dr Yousuf Mahbubul Islam joined as the vice chancellor of Daffodil International University (DIU) on July 23. He joined after Prof Dr Lutfar Rahman, the immediate past vice chancellor successfully completed his term. A ceremony was organised to welcome the new VC to receive charge from Prof Dr M Lutfar Rahman at the office of the vice chancellor. Founder Vice Chancellor and Emeritus Professor Dr Aminul Islam welcomed him with bouquet of flowers.

The new vc received a warm and formal reception

DT

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

T-JUNCTION

On the branding bandwagon

21

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

by Prof Dr M Golam Rahman, pro-vc, Hamidul Haque Khan, Treasurer, Prof Dr SM Mahbub–Ul Haque Majumder, dean, Faculty of Science and Information Technology (FSIT), Prof Dr Rafiqul Islam, dean, Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE), Prof Dr M Shamsul Alam, dean, Faculty of Engineering, Prof Dr Ahmed Ismail Mustafa, dean, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences (FAHS), Prof Dr Engr A K M Fazlul Hoque, registrar, Mohamed Emran Hossain, along with members from the board of trustees, heads of the departments, directors and others. l

22

drama mama

My daughter’s boyfriend is a cheater

23

letters to Mars

Dealing with Moaning Milly

24

Interview

The lions of innovation

DT

22 T-JUNCTION

Tell

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

drama mama

My daughter’s boyfriend is a cheater n T-Junction Desk My 23 year old daughter is in a relationship with a man who has another woman but she won’t believe it. She keeps saying she trusts him and knows he’s “the one” for her. He’s never around, always says he has “work,” whether it’s 12:30am or 7 in the afternoon. He’s not available during Eid and is also working through the weekend. Sometimes he disappears for days and when he’s with her, he’s always walking to the balcony to take “personal calls.” He acts very strange and I know something is wrong but my daughter won’t hear any of it.

From the looks of it, your daughter desperately wants to stay with him, turning a blind eye to his suspicious behaviour. Perhaps deep down inside she knows he is playing games with her. However, if she doesn’t want to admit the truth to herself and come to terms with the situation, you need to take a backseat too. There’s no point trying to force your opinions on her.

Let her draw her own conclusions for now. It must be upsetting to watch her make these mistakes, but remember that she is a young lady now. It’s her choice how she decides to live her life, you can only say so much to her. l

Photo: Bigstock

doing that you will not be able to resist yourself from redecorating your place a little and adding a little zing and character to everything around you.

HOROSCOPE

ARIES (MAR 21-APR 19) A swarm of

admirers are headed your way with hearts filled with the truest of feelings, the boldest of gestures and the wisest of words. You can either stick with what you’ve got or look around at your options.

TAURUS (APR 20-MAY20) You’ll be a

home bird this week, catching up with family and old friends. While you’re

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20) The holidays are over and while that was glorious for all of us, it is time to get back to the regular, old, mundane, strictly scheduled days of life. But that does not necessarily mean you’ll not be having fun, you will be a busy bee this week attracting just about everyone from the colony.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JUL22) This may sound like advice you may not want to hear but try really hard to spend only on those products that are going to be investments. Saving at a time like this is crucial for you.

LEO (JUL 23-AUG 22) It’s the time to get

up, stand up and start polishing that brand and image that makes you who you are. Start pulling your own weight even if you feel like you have been slightly

dependent on others lately.

VIRGO (AUG 23-SEP 22) Holidays are

tough which is why you need to breathe: breathe out all the negativity, all the lost money, the weight you’ve gained. Inhale the fact that you’ve actually enjoyed yourself, looked like a stunner and be thankful for the wonderful life that you have.

LIBRA (SEP 23-OCT22) If you allow yourself to thrive then this week is just the beginning of an amazing journey for you. With your popularity, you can become a part of something within your society and neighbourhood.

SCORPIO (OCT23-NOV21) Haven’t you been pampering yourself with all the comfort that food, festivities and fun can offer? Knowing you, you’re probably clutching on to your laptop right now and have gone back to work mode and left those friends of yours to laze around on their own. Well done!

SAGITTARIUS (NOV22-DEC 21) Run out of fun things to do this week? Well it’s never too late to learn. You’re always up for a challenge alongside being keen on discovering new things.

CAPRICORN (DEC 22-JAN19) Your creativity may lead you to establish a very special bond with people from different cultures. Perhaps this could be indicative of a prospering business venture.

AQUARIUS (JAN 20-FEB 18) You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be right now.

Having doubts? Mind fleeting? Happens to the best of us. Give it time and you will know exactly what to do then.

PISCES (FEB 19-MAR 20) It’s time for you to get back in the game and fall back in love with your work. Yes, this is the week where you bury yourself in work and forget about everything else in life. l

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issues

Dealing with intrusive friends n T-Junction Desk I am 32 year old man who ended a six year long relationship with M. In a city like Dhaka, everyone knew we were dating and we also had several common friends and circles. We are often invited to the same gathering and parties. Lot of people ask me why it’s over and what happened. They just think it’s their right to know what happened to my private life. I don’t want to be rude, but they keep asking. What’s the best way to let people know we’re over and that I don’t want to talk about it?

Six years is a long time and you can’t help but feel like you owe people an explanation for your relationship. If telling people feels like a burden to you, it’s best you get it out of the way as soon as possible. Tell your close circle of friends that it’s over between you two. If they insist on knowing what happened, just tell them simply that you two had irreconcilable differences and you’re not comfortable discussing it. That should ward off any overly curious friends. As for others, do not worry about others – this is Dhaka city after all, they will come to know it’s over sooner or later. Don’t let them bother you. l

Photo: Bigstock

letters to Mars

letterstoVenus

The overly adventurous man

Dealing with Moaning Milly

Photo: Bigstock

n T-Junction Desk

unendingly – how can I fix this?

For the past couple of months I have been extremely depressed. I feel really down and out all the time. I have a stable job and a girlfriend of two years but somehow I feel something is missing. I even went to see a psychiatrist and he asked me to go meet up with old college friends. I haven’t met them in a while and it felt so good to catch up. I realise now that the problem is that I’m surrounded with negativity every single day. My colleagues are always complaining, my parents are always complaining and my girlfriend is constantly moaning about every little thing. This is bringing me down to

It’s like you have the answer in your hands. Do you really want to waste away your life with friends and a girlfriend who lowers your spirits? Try to find a new job or a new department at work. As for your girlfriend, if you really love her and think you need her in your life, tell her she needs to change her attitude. If you two want this relationship to succeed, she has to make a few changes or else it won’t work out.

Lovingly explain to her how you feel and what this situation is doing to your wellbeing. Good luck! l

Photo: Bigstock

n T-Junction Desk My husband and I have been married for eight months now. When we first began dating, we both lived in Canada and were both very adventurous (in and out of the bedroom). We would get it on in outdoor spaces and it would really excite him. Now that we’re married and living in Dhaka, nothing seems to excite him anymore. He keeps suggesting getting frisky in places like hotel washrooms or even lifts! I don’t find this fun anymore – it’s terrifying to even think of doing something like this in this city. I’m not a prude and I hate saying no all the time but how else can I explain this to him?

It’s clear that you want to please your partner – both in and out of the bedroom.

This is part of maintaining a healthy relationship however, there are limits and clearly you’ve reached yours. If you don’t really enjoy the idea of doing it in hotel washrooms and lifts then just go ahead and say so. I fear there’s something greater than just incompatible sex drives that is hampering your relationship. If you’re still trying to give your husband the impression that you’re adventurous and enjoy taking risksw that you actually don’t, you aren’t being totally honest with him. You need to be true to yourself and who you are and he needs to learn to accept that. If not, there’s more than just trouble brewing in the bedroom. l

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SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

Interview

The lions of innovation In conversation with the leading man behind Grey Global Group

n Ishtiaque Mahmud Per Pederson, Deputy Worldwide CCO of Grey Global Group, recently paid a visit to Dhaka on an official tour from July 14 to 16, 2015. With 113 Golden Lions wins at Cannes this year, Grey Global has achieved immense success and the need to become a globally aligned creative network has become a priority for the renowned agency.

Pederson’s visit to Dhaka, straight from the Cannes Awards, is a manifestation of the importance of Bangladesh’s participation on a creative global platform. During his short visit, Dhaka Tribune had the good fortune of having a conversation with him. What followed were his insights into the realm of advertising in the context of Bangladesh and by extension the rest of the world.

What made you choose Bangladesh for a tour?

In my opinion Bangladesh has a job to do to put the country on the map, because most people think only of poverty and overpopulation when they think of Bangladesh. I’m happy to be here because not only is Grey Dhaka the number one agency in the country, even within the Grey global network it’s quite successful.

I’ve been following Grey Dhaka for some time and when I found the opportunity of coming here I took it. The most exciting things happen in places and markets that are going through stages of development, and I believe that’s exactly what’s happening here.

Now that you have seen Bangladesh with your own eyes, what is your opinion of the country? Was there anything in particular that surprised you?

My experience of the creative industry of Bangladesh tells me that it’s a nation that is still discovering itself. Advertising is often the kaleidoscope of a nation, what you see in ads is what’s reflected in the prevalent culture; so in a way, the creative industry is a mirror into the soul of a nation. Unfortunately, through your advertising, I haven’t had a feel of the

real Bangladesh, instead I was surprised to see a predominant fascination with the western culture, not to mention the fact that it seems the entire nation is bent on showcasing cricket players. If we are to solidify the identity of our nation we need to delve into the underbelly of it and pull out that which defines us as true Bangladeshis.

Is there anything specific that our creative industry may be doing wrong?

The Bangladeshi market is still too traditional with its massive focus on TV commercials, and extremely basic printed communications like posters and such.

I miss the creative utilisation of other means such as subtly tailored PR work and the use of digital media. As one of the most connected nations in the world with 3G technology, I have yet to witness this opportunity maximised for everyone’s benefit.

In your opinion what should Bangladeshi advertising agencies do in order to find our true identity?

As an agency when we work for brands, we need to make them relevant for the people in terms of habits, religions and traditions, which is precisely why I’m not interested in your fancy malls and posh restaurants. I want to see the steamers at the harbour, and the busy roads of old Dhaka, people returning to their villages by train for Eid - places that truly capture the soul of Bangladesh. Advertising is all about understanding what people are doing. The love for a brand is created when people can easily identify with it, be it through pride, habits or cultural background – whatever makes them feel something strong and positive.

You acheived immense success at Cannes Lions. Please share some experiences from the festival with us.

The Grey network is a small one compared to some of the really big names, and in spite of that for us to have achieved such huge success is truly inspiring.

Furthermore, what makes me really proud

Photo: Courtesy is that we didn’t win Cannes Lions for sticking to traditional media, our Lions were awarded particularly for our skills at being innovative with what we could do as part of our communication campaigns.

The creative industry looks at Cannes for inspiration as something that will influence the industry in the future, and I’m glad to say we did that just right. We explore uncharted territory and try to do things that would makes others say, “I had no idea you could do something like that.”

In which direction is the global advertising trend currently moving? What changes are taking place?

The current global advertising trend no longer looks or feels like advertising at all. It’s more about getting involved with pressing social issues. Volvo for example, popular for being the safest car out there, is now catering to bicyclists with fluorescent spray paint to reduce bicycle accidents; Lego’s advertising is actually its collection of witty and intelligent Lego movies and video games which people gladly pay good money to enjoy. Advertising is slowly but surely moving away from imposing itself forcefully on its customers to becoming more deserving in customer attention by solving more and more real problems.

Advertising in its future facing trend has essentially become “solvatising.”

Grey Dhaka is already the top creative

agency in the country. Where do you want to see it reach next?

I want this agency to be the first in the country to integrate digital and mobile media in their future campaigns. As a market leader it has a special obligation to show the way forward for the rest of the industry. When an agency gets to a certain size, it can begin to take bigger and more responsible ambitions. I believe that’s where I want to see Grey Dhaka reach next.

There are markets larger than ours in countries like India, Japan, and China etc.

Do you see possibilities that even with the presence of such influential markets, Bangladesh can draw attention in globally acclaimed platforms?

In my experience the size of a country doesn’t matter, ideas come from everywhere. All it takes is to find the most creative minds of the nation and put them together to come up with brilliant and innovative ideas that will focus on making a brand relevant for the people and often go out of its way to think out-of-the-box and come up with plans that will really solve difficult prevalent issues for a nation.

For even better results, teams should have inherent diversity in order to break away from the trap of the sea of sameness.

If Bangladesh focuses its efforts in this manner I see no reason why it shouldn’t be able to draw attention in globally acclaimed platforms. l

Guatemalan footballer Pablo Villatoro, 33, a defender on the Mixco club, was shot dead Thursday in a road rage incident. He had survived a 2007 shooting, when he was shot twice by thieves trying to steal his car.

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MAHMUD CURSES INCESSANT RAIN

27

OMAN AND AFGHANISTAN IN WORLD TWENTY20

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I’M READY FOR GATLIN IN BEIJING: BOLT

RELENTLESS RAIN PLAYS SPOILSPORT ON DAY FOUR

A bird’s eye view of the rain-soaked, under-cover Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday during the fourth and penultimate day of the ongoing first Test between Bangladesh and South Africa.

Incessant rain washed out the entire day’s play yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Hopeful Kayes draws the positives n Minhaz Uddin Khan from Chittagong Bangladesh opener Imrul Kayes believes they were in a position where they could dictate the ongoing Test against South Africa at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium but expressed disappointment at not being able to do so as persistent rain washed out the entire fourth and penultimate day’s play yesterday.

Kayes however, stated that they would gladly take the positives attained from the Test match, including the requirement of the fifth and final day for the first time in a Bangladesh-South Africa five-dayer.

“It is disappointing, given that we were still leading. The lead was not big but the game was finely balanced and could have gone either way. To some extent, we dominated the game. But bad luck that we did not get to play the five days. Still, I think this is a positive for Bangladesh cricket that we have

been able to compete for five days against a team like South Africa,” Kayes told Gazi TV, the official broadcaster of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

Ahead of the final day’s proceedings today, draw seems to be the likeliest result but Kayes informed that they would go allout in order to skittle out the visitors as soon as possible.

“Our target will be to dismiss them as soon as possible and chase down the target. But time and rain will be crucial factors in deter-

mining the outcome of the game,” said Kayes.

The left-hander was counting on the side’s spinners to initiate early inroads into the South African batting order.

“The whole pitch is covered now and it will remain the same for many hours to come.

It will catch moisture so its behaviour will change drastically I guess. If our spinners like Shakib [al Hasan] and Taijul [Islam] manage to take help from the wicket and bowl to their ability, I think we will be able to get them allout quickly,” said Imrul. l

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(L-R) Bangladesh cricketers Tamim Iqbal, Jubair Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib al Hasan leave for their team hotel after attending the Friday afternoon prayers in Chittagong yesterday

Mahmud curses incessant rain n Minhaz Uddin Khan from Chittagong

Bangladesh manager and former captain Khaled Mahmud yesterday said they are extremely distraught as constant rain washed out the entire fourth and penultimate day of the ongoing first Test against South Africa at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

The visitors, batting on 61 without loss in their second innings, would have resumed yesterday’s proceedings looking to write off the home side’s remaining first-innings lead while the Tigers were targeting early breakthroughs but relentless showers forced the abandonment of the fourth day’s play without a single ball being bowled.

“No one has control over rain. It feels bad

not to play, we had a 17-run lead. Anything could have happened, given the fact that the wicket was entering its fourth day. We created a window of opportunity after taking the lead. It was open for both teams and it could have been an exciting finish,” Mahmud informed the media at ZACS. This is the second instance in recent times that a Test match in Bangladesh was hit hard by rain. Last month, rain played spoilsport as the lone Test against India ended in a draw.

Many blamed the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s decision to schedule matches during this time of the year when monsoon is at its peak but Mahmud begged to differ.

“Here, you need to consider their (South Africa) schedule as well. It has to match

everyone’s schedule and only after that a decision is made. Not all big teams want to play against us. They were free at this time of the year and that is why the series was arranged,” explained Mahmud.

Mahmud however, believes the situation will soon change for Bangladesh. The side’s recent successes, especially in ODIs, have attracted the attention of the leading cricket-playing nations and Mahmud is of the opinion that it is only a matter of time before the established powers play more often against the Tigers.

“I think the way we played is a signal that the team is gradually developing in this format as well and not just limited-over cricket,” said the BCB director.l

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Siddikur misses European Masters cut n Tribune Desk Premier Bangladesh golfer Siddikur Rahman missed the cut following the second round of the Omega European Masters at Crans-surSierre Golf Club in Crans Montana Switzerland yesterday.

Siddikur, who carded five-over-par 75 in the first round last Thursday, exited the $3,000,000 event after hitting a par score of 70 yesterday.

The 30-year old golfer from Madaripur traded two birdies against as many bogeys in the second round and ended with an overall five-over-par 145.

South Korea’s Yang Yong-eun leads the standings with an overall 12-under-par 128. l

STEYN-GUN ENJOYS STREET FOOTBALL IN POURING RAIN

Incessant rain might have washed out the entire fourth day’s play of the Chittagong Test between Bangladesh and South Africa, forcing the cricketers to stay behind at Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View Hotel, but speedster Dale Steyn did not miss the opportunity to play some street football amid the persistant showers. A bored Steyn, who was confined to his room, saw some kids playing football barefooted at Chittagong Club, adjacent to Hotel Radisson, and immediately joined them. The 32-year old, a self-confessed fan of English Premier League champions Chelsea, thoroughly enjoyed the outdoor game of futsal and took a lot of pleasure threading countless passes to his teammates. The right-arm fast bowler tweeted yesterday: “Stuck in my room all day, watching these kids playing soccer in the rain looks like plenty fun... #shouldigo.” He also tweeted later: “I may have just broken every security protocol, my coach won’t be happy, but this was just to good to… https://instagram.com/p/5hKOtWQk_j/”, Steyn also posed for a photo with the over-excited kids

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QUICK BYTES Shirin clinches Rapid Rating Chess Women’s Fide Master Sharmin Sultana Shirin emerged as the unbeaten champion of the 2nd Women’s Rapid Rating Chess Tournament that concluded at the Bangladesh Chess Federation hall-room yesterday. Shirin earned 4.5 points to clinch the title while Zahuratul Zannat Zisha finished runners-up. Kiswara Shajrin Evana became third with four points while Sabikun Nahar Tanima was placed fourth with 3.5 points.

Jannatul Ferdous became the best player in the Under-12 category while Nowshin Anjum was adjudged the best unrated player. A total of 15 players took part in the event which was held in the five round Swiss-League system.

–TRIBUNE REPORT

Al Jazira sign Peru’s Farfan from Schalke Al Jazira have signed Peru international Jefferson Farfan from Schalke 04 on a three-year contract, the United Arab Emirates club said on Friday. “Farfan joins Al Jazira for three-years contract,” the club said on Twitter.

–REUTERS

Aussie great Kewell joins Watford’s coaching staff Former Australia and Liverpool star Harry Kewell was appointed as the Under-21 coach of Premier League club Watford on Thursday.

Kewell retired last year after a short spell with Melbourne Heart and has returned to England for his first major coaching role at Watford, who won promotion to the top-flight last season.

–AFP

Chelsea sign Serbian teen Pantic Chelsea signed Partizan Belgrade midfielder Danilo Pantic on Thursday and immediately sent the highly-rated Serbian teenager out on loan, the Premier League champions confirmed. Pantic was originally linked with Chelsea in January and the 18-year-old’s move to Stamford Bridge has now been completed.

–AFP

Hamilton fastest, Perez survives accident Three days after the funeral of Jules Bianchi, Formula One experienced another “heart in mouth” moment on Friday morning when Sergio Perez survived a spectacular accident in opening free practice for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix. The Mexican driver lost control of his Force India car, hit the barriers and flipped upside down, but was able to walk away unhurt.

–AFP

Palace sign McCarthy from QPR Crystal Palace have signed former England Under-21 goalkeeper Alex McCarthy from QPR, the Premier League club announced on Thursday. McCarthy agreed a four-year contract with Palace, who are reported to have paid around £3.5 million for the ex-Reading player, who will compete with Argentine veteran Julian Speroni to be the Eagles’ first-choice keeper.

–AFP

Italian international Andrea Pirlo is greeted by a leaping young footballer while visiting a camp after being introduced by Major League Soccer club New York City FC as their newest player, at an event in New York, on Thursday REUTERS

Oman and Afghanistan grab final World Twenty20 spots n

AFP, Dublin

Oman’s fairytale rise as a cricket nation continued Thursday when they qualified for next year’s World Twenty20 in India.

A five-wicket win over Namibia at the ICC qualifying event in Malahide near Dublin saw the Gulf minnows reach their first major international tournament.

Victory also saw the International Cricket Council grant Oman, coached by former Sri Lanka captain Duleep Mendis, and with ex-England all-rounder Derek Pringle recently recruited as a technical advisor, full Twenty20 status.

Oman had previously beaten Canada, the

Netherlands and Afghanistan, all far more experienced associate or non-Test cricket nations, at the qualifying tournament.

Afghanistan sealed the other qualifying spot on offer Thursday with a six-wicket win over Papua New Guinea.

It was the fourth successive time that Afghanistan -- who competed at this year’s 50over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand -- had qualified for the World Twenty20.

The 16 teams who will compete in the finals phase of the World Twenty20 are the 10 Test sides, plus qualifiers Scotland, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Afghanistan and Oman. l

Injury to sideline Gayle till December n Cricinfo West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has said that he will be out of action for “two to three months” to address his long-standing back problem with surgery.

Speaking after Jamaica Tallawah’s loss 27run loss to Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel in the Caribbean Premier League, Gayle said: “I have a charity game on the 2nd, but after that I will be out of cricket for two to three months. I am going to do a surgery on my back.

“So I need some time for recovery.

Maybe December, before I actually get back in cricket as well. You have got to wish me luck with that surgery and then I will be back strong. Who knows, we will see what happens.”l

Retirement panic keeps Wenger motivated n AFP, London Arsene Wenger has banished any thoughts of retirement as the Arsenal manager fine-tunes his preparations for his 20th season with the Gunners in the Emirates Cup this weekend.

With his 66th birthday looming in October, Wenger could be forgiven for being seduced by the stress-free lifestyle that would await him in his golden years if he turned his back on the pressures of the Premier League rat race.

But Wenger, who took charge at Arsenal in 1996, has dedicated his entire existence to his job and the Frenchman says he is terrified at the prospect of walking away from the sport for good.

“Retirement? Yes, it crosses my mind sometimes but for no longer than five seconds because I panic a little bit,” Wenger told.

“When we played at Man United, Ferguson came to meet me after the game. I said: ‘Come on, you don’t miss it?’ He says: ‘No.’ He had enough. He goes to every game. But he has horses. I have no horses.

“Enthusiasm? That is not a problem, honestly. I am more committed than ever for that. I just think the number of times you have done it doesn’t count. It is how much you love what you do that counts. And the love of what you do is not necessarily diminished by the number of times you’ve done it. Football is new every day. That’s a big quality.”l

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Guardiola guarded on Vidal as Bayern lose on penalties n AFP, Guangzhou

Ronaldo dazzles as Real rip City apart n AFP, Melbourne Cristiano Ronaldo was at his dazzling best as Real Madrid proved a different class to Manchester City winning 4-1 before a record crowd in the International Champions Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

World footballer of the year Ronaldo showed his sublime skills and was among the goalscorers as Real demolished the 2014 English Premier League champions in a blistering first half performance before more than 99,000 fans at the vast stadium.

The 10-time European champions revelled in the atmosphere, opening up Man City with dazzling touches, flicks and clinical finishing for three goals in the first half. French striker Karim Benzema put the Spaniards ahead with a spectacular finish in the 21st minute.

Benzema hooked in Gareth Bale’s cross over his left shoulder in a brilliant piece of finishing after a fine run down the right wing

by Daniel Carvajal. Ronaldo pounced four minutes later, getting a sublime first touch to bring down German Toni Kroos’s long pass before poking home.

England goalkeeper Joe Hart was unable to keep the ball from crossing the line for a double Real sucker punch after piecemeal City defending as Ronaldo thrilled the crowd his trademark goal celebration.l

Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola refused to comment Thursday on the imminent arrival of Chile’s Copa America-winning playmaker Arturo Vidal from Juventus.

Guardiola had just watched his side beaten 5-4 on penalties by Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande after a goalless friendly and the Spaniard preferred instead to praise the efforts of his opponents while lauding the success of his team’s pre-season China tour. Just before kick-off on Thursday, Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed he had agreed a deal for Vidal bringing an end to the speculation that had followed his club on their three-match tour.

“I can confirm that there is an agreement between the two parties (Bayern and Juventus).

He still needs a medical but if everything goes as planned, he should be training with us next week,” said Rummenigge. The deal is reported to be worth 35 million euro ($38.5 million).

But Guardiola was adding nothing.

“There’s no comment because he has not signed,” said the manager at the post-match press conference.

Bayern had beaten Valencia 4-1 in Beijing last Saturday, and Inter Milan 1-0 in Shanghai on Tuesday before their defeat in Guangzhou. l

RESULT G Evergrande

0-0

Bayern Munich

Guangzhou Evergrande win 5-4 on penalties

SEEDINGS IN FULL Pot 1: Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, England, Wales, Spain, Croatia Pot 2: Italy, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Iceland, Denmark, Bosnia-Herzegovina Pot 3: Poland, Ukraine, Scotland, Hungary, Sweden, Albania, Northern Ireland, Serbia, Greece Pot 4: Turkey, Slovenia, Israel, Republic of Ireland, Norway, Bulgaria, Faroe Islands, Montenegro, Estonia Pot 5: Cyprus, Latvia, Armenia, Finland, Belarus, Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Moldova Pot 6: Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Georgia, Malta, San Marino, Andorra.

RESULT Real Madrid Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring against Manchester City during their International Champions Cup match in Melbourne yesterday AFP

England, Wales among top seeds for World Cup draw n AFP, Saint Petersburg England and Wales will take their place among the top nine European seeds for Saturday’s World Cup qualifying draw in Saint Petersburg on Saturday.

The top seeds are based on the FIFA world rankings from June meaning previous World Cup winners Italy and France are only second seeds.

World champions Germany, Belgium, the

Who can qualify?

Of the 208 FIFA eligible nations, 183 can still qualify and 141 will be involved in Saturday’s draw with the Asian confederation the only absentee as their qualifying process has already begun.

Russia are the only already qualified side thanks to their position as hosts.

What happens at the draw?

In all there will be six draws. One for each of the European (UEFA), African (CAF), North and Central American (CONCACAF), South American (CONMEBOL) and Oceania (OFC) confederations with an additional draw determining which confederations will be paired The FIFA WC trophy at the podium in St. Petersburg

Netherlands, Romania, Portugal, Spain and Croatia are the other top seeds.

Along with hosts Russia, 13 other European nations will qualify for the World Cup with the nine group winners from Saturday’s draw being joined by the winners of four playoffs between the eight best second-placed teams.

Scotland and Northern Ireland will be in the third of the six pots, whilst the Republic of Ireland are in pot four.

The qualifying groups will take place between September 2016 and October 2017 with the playoffs in November 2017.l

in the two inter-confederation playoffs.

How are the remaining 31 places allocated?

Russia will be joined by 13 European sides, five African nations, four from the Asian confederation, four South American countries and three from North and Central America.

The remaining two places will be filled by two play-offs between Oceania’s best side and the fifth-best sides from Asia and South America as well as the fourth-placed side from CONCACAF.

When and where does the draw take place?

Saturday July 25th at 1500GMT at the Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg l

Benzema 21, Ronaldo 25, Pepe 44, Cherychev 73

4-1

Manchester City Toure 45+3-P

Outspoken Hulk dropped from draw n AFP, Saint Petersburg Brazil and Zenit St Petersburg forward Hulk has been dropped from Saturday’s star-studded lineup for the 2018 World Cup qualifying draw just 24 hours before the draw takes place, FIFA confirmed on Friday.

The 28-year-old was set to feature alongside the likes of compatriot Ronaldo and Samuel Eto’o, but has been replaced by former Russia captain Alexey Smertin.

FIFA attributed Hulk’s absence from the ceremony due to his commitments with Zenit, who play away to Urai on Sunday.

“Former Russia captain Alexey Smertin has replaced Hulk as a draw assistant for Saturday’s Preliminary Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, due to the Brazilian’s club commitments with FC Zenit,” they said in a statement.

However, Hulk has also been an outspoken critic of the problems Russian football faces with racism and suggested it could blight the World Cup in three years’ time.

Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong was the latest player to claim he had suffered racial abuse in Russia whilst playing for Ufa in the season opener of the Russian Premier League against Spartak Moscow last weekend.

The Ghanaian was sent off after just half an hour for reacting with an obscene gesture towards the Spartak fans. Frimpong was banned for two matches, but no further action has been taken against Spartak. l

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Marsh presses Test case as Clarke falls to teenager n AFP, Derby

ON-SONG MARSH BROTHERS

Australia’s Shaun Marsh (R) and Mitchell Marsh are seen during their 77-run partnership against Derbyshire at 3aaa County Ground on Thursday

DAY’S WATCH Gazi TV, BTV, Star Sports 1, HD1 9:30 AM South Africa Tour of Bangladesh 1st Test, Day 5

Star Sports 1 5:55 PM FIA F1 World Championship Qualifying

Star Sports 2 8:20PM Bengaluru v Pune 9:30PM Kolkata v Delhi

Star Sports 4 6:00 AM International Champions Cup ACF Fiorentina v S.L.Benfica 2:30 PM ICC World T20 Qualifier Semi Final 1: Hong Kong v Scotland 6:45 PM Semi Final 2: Ireland v Netherlands 1:50 AM International Champions Cup Manchester Utd v FC Barcelona 3:50 AM Chelsea v PSG

Ten Sports 8:00PM Tour de France 2015: Day 20 9:30 PM ATP World Tour 250 Konzum Croatia Open SF 1 12:00 AM Konzum Croatia Open SF 2

Sony Six 2:00 AM Caribbean Premier League T20 Eliminator: 2nd vs Winner

Shaun Marsh scored his second hundred in as many tour matches as Australia made 413 for nine on the first day of three against Derbyshire at Derby on Thursday.

But skipper Michael Clarke’s quest for lengthy time in the middle was cut short when he fell for 16 to 19-year-old paceman Will Davis.

Clarke has scored just two hundreds in his past 26 Test innings but Marsh said: “He’ll be fine. He’s been a world-class player for a number of years now.

“A big one is just around the corner, there’s no worries there.”

Marsh, who is in line to replace Chris Rogers should the veteran opener be ruled out of next week’s third Test at Edgbaston, made 101 before retiring out as did fellow opener David Warner.

Davis and fellow Derbyshire debutant Harry White shared five wickets in their maiden first-class innings.

The 19-year-old Davis led the attack with three for 63, dismissing both Adam Voges and

West Ham scrape through on penalties in Europa League n Reuters, London West Ham United, reduced to 10 men after defender James Tomkins was sent off in the first half, won 5-3 in a penalty shootout against Maltese Cup winners Birkirkara to scrape into the Europa League third qualifying round on Thursday.

The English Premier League side, who entered the competition via the Fair Play League, lost 1-0 on Thursday leaving the tie at 1-1 on aggregate with extra time failing to break the deadlock after Birkirkara were also

reduced to 10 men.

West Ham scored all five of their penalties in the shootout with substitute Diego Poyet netting the winner for Slaven Bilic’s side in the heat of Malta.

Tomkins, who scored a last-gasp winner in the first leg at Upton Park last week, was sent off for throwing Nikola Vukanac to the ground before halftime at the Ta’ Qali National Stadium in Valletta.

West Ham now face Astra Giurgiu of Romania, who beat Scottish side Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1-0 on aggregate after a 0-0 draw on Thursday.

They must get through that tie plus a playoff round to reach the group stage of Europe’s second-tier competition. l

Peter Nevill for one.

Meanwhile 20-year-old Derby-born leftarm paceman White had two for 85 from 19 overs.

Rogers’s place at Edgbaston has been called into question after he suffered a dizzy spell on the final day of Australia’s 405-run win over England at Lord’s on Sunday that levelled the five-match Ashes series at 1-1.

Cricket Australia said Wednesday that, following examination by a London-based specialist, Rogers was suffering a balance problem in the inner ear. The first innings at Lord’s saw Rogers score a Test-best 173.l

BRIEF SCORE Australians first innings 413 for 9 declare (S Marsh 101, Warner 101, Watson 61, M Marsh 53) Derbyshire first innings 81 for 2 in 21 overs (Slater 20; Waton 1-5)

Croatia deducted point, fined for swastika symbol n Reuters, Zagreb Croatia have been deducted one point, ordered to play two matches behind closed doors and fined by UEFA after a swastika was imprinted on the pitch before last month’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Italy.

The swastika became visible during the match after a chemical agent was put on the grass at Split’s Poljud stadium days before the June 12 game.

“The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body today decided to impose a deduction of one point on the Croatian Football Federation (HNS),” European soccer’s governing body said in a statement, adding that the punishment was for “racist behaviour”.l

I’m ready for Gatlin in Beijing: Bolt n AFP, London Usain Bolt insisted Thursday he would be ready for the challenge of toppling the inform American Justin Gatlin at the World Championships in Beijing next month.

The Jamaican track king made the pledge on the eve of his return from injury in the 100m on the opening night of the Anniversary Games Diamond League meeting in London on Friday. Bolt has not raced since winning the New York Diamond League 200m race on June 13 because of a pelvic problem.

The world record holder at 100m and 200m also said that he had “a problem” with Gatlin’s United States team-mate Tyson Gay about his doping past but not with Gatlin, who has served two doping suspensions and who has run the four fastest times of 2015 at both 100m and 200m.

Asked whether he had lost respect with rivals who had failed drugs tests in their sprinting careers, the 28-year-old Jamaican replied: “The only person I really had a problem with was Tyson.

“The reason is I competed with Tyson throughout the years and I had so much re-

spect for him. I looked at him as one of the greatest competitors I competed against. He was dedicated. He worked hard.

“When it happened (Gay tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2013 and served a one year ban) I was really disappointed. That really hurt me.”

Gatlin has run 9.74sec for 100m this year and Bolt a modest 10.12sec in his only race at the distance in 2012 – in Rio de Janeiro in April.

However, the Jamaican maintained he was not daunted by the prospect of facing the US sprinter when he defends his World Championship 100m and 200m titles in Beijing, despite his lack of form and lack of competition this year.

“I never doubt myself,” he said. “I look forward to competition. Beijing is a month away I’m not worried about that. I’m trying to take it a step at a time.l

DT

30 DOWNTIME

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Halt (4) 5 Ornamental stone (4) 10 Dutch cheese (4) 11 Depressed (3) 12 Stories (5) 13 Metal-bearing rock (3) 14 Woody plants (5) 16 Paper handkerchief (6) 18 Disconcert (6) 21 Jury (5) 23 Spinning toy (3) 24 Silly (5) 26 Compass point (init) (3) 27 Employed (4) 28 That following (4) 29 Swarm (4)

DOWN 2 Narrates (5) 3 Lyric poem (3) 4 Grazing ground (7) 6 Drug-yielding plant (4) 7 Of the back (6) 8 Female sheep (3) 9 To let stand! (4) 15 Practical person (7) 17 Set as a burden (6) 19 Commerce (5) 20 Water pitcher (4) 22 Summit (4) 23 Perfect score (3) 25 Born (3)

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 3 represents N so fill N every time the figure 3 appears.

You have one letter in the control grid to start you off. Enter it 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, JULY 25, 2015

Anushka and Virat hit the town again

CELEBS ON SOCIAL

n Mithul Roy The Vogue Beauty Awards held in Mumbai on July 21 saw newly professed lovebirds, actress Anushka Sharma and star cricketer Virat Kohli beaming at each other despite the presence of numerous cameras. The couple, who kept the relationship under wraps for quite some time are now openly flaunting their whirlwind romance. They recently took a vacation together in London too. The actress even commented on Virat, “He’s my very, very good looking arm candy.” “The holiday,” a beaming Anushka said, “was good, it was relaxing and much needed for both of us.”

The duo was also spotted alongside Mr and Mrs Tendulkar at the Wimbledon championship as well. When asked if they had colour co-ordinated their outfits at the event, Anushka said, “I wear mostly whites, blacks and greys and so does he and so we automatically look like we have done something but it’s just because we don’t like colour. I don’t see anything wrong in wearing blacks, whites and greys.”

Anushka will soon start filming Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil with co-stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Ranbir Kapoor. She also let slip that she was stressed by her back-to-back films. “I’m glad I’ve been on a holiday. I had four films releasing back to back. Now I’m feeling a little more relaxed and really looking forward to Karan’s films.” It’s been quite a hectic year for the actor, who has

Eva Longoria@EvaLongoria Congratulations to my friend @SandovalDocs on his @newsemmysnomination for @StateofAZdoc! pic.twitter. com/14NiLhoYBY Abhishek Bachchan@juniorbachchan But first... Let me take a selfie!! #ProKabaddiLeague#RoarForPanthers instagram. com/p/5gLfRLs1Qj/ Ryan Seacrest @ RyanSeacrest just had the honor of hosting @kendalljenner @kyliejenner’s graduation. congrats proud of u pic.twitter.com/ LvwV7GDP8j had PK released end of 2014, followed by her home production Anushka’s NH10, then finally Bombay Velvet and Dil Dhadakne Do over the span of less than a year.

At the Vogue awards, she also said,

“Beauty has nothing to do with the products you apply. If I can have good and positive thoughts and not fall into a negative state of mind a lot of us get into, then you end up being a really positive person.” l

WHAT TO WATCH

Scandal n Mithul Roy Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes is behind yet another enthralling drama series called Scandal. The show is based on the struggle for power, the secrets and the scandal that come with it in DC. The show stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, a woman who used to be the White House “fixer” but resigns to open her own firm where she specialises in crisis management and image rebuilding for the rich, famous and powerful.

Katie Lowes plays Quinn Perkins, who is a frail and timid character who seems an unlikely associate to Pope but she hires her anyway for reasons untold (loophole alert). It later becomes apparent that Quinn has had some terrible experiences in the past and stands in awe of Pope’s cut throat attitude. Henry Ian Cusick and Joshua Malina play right-hand man and her district-attorney nemesis respectively, in demure roles with little diversity but with developing back stories revealed in later seasons.

The show revolves around Pope and her associates dealing with image problems that top tier workers ranging from governors to international dictators with a secret or problem threatening to

Batman Begins WB 1:30pm After training with his mentor, Batman begins his war on crime to free the crimeridden Gotham City from corruption that the Scarecrow and the League of Shadows have cast upon it.

Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Katie Holmes ruin the president’s image. Washington is brilliant in her portrayal of Pope, a beautiful and tough woman with more on her conscience than most others in real life. She takes great pains to be away from her ex-lover, the president, but it is a relationship that is inevitable - turning up at every corner of her life. Pope is constantly tormented by what she did to get Fitz elected, and by what she’s done to keep him there.

Gradually Pope’s own layers are peeled back to reveal that although she seems like Capitol Hill’s golden girl, she is a woman with many skeletons in her closet, with a skeleton appearing at every turn across the seasons. Her co-worker’s closets are also not void of skeletons; Huck was a former black ops marine with a past involving torture and murder; Harrison

served time for insider trading; and Quinn has dark impulses. Highlights of the show are Mellie Grant, the President’s wife and the strained relationship between her, the president and Pope.

The show is flawed, yes and it is nowhere near as captivating as Grey’s but it is a promising story. It must have done something right as it has now passed the four season mark after it’s début in 2012, with only seven episodes in the first season. However, the last few seasons have experienced lower viewership which can be a cause for concern for ABC. Though the plot is over-the-top and the twists are sometimes ludicrous, often seeming like the plot was forced into the show, it still manages to be appealing.

Overall, the show acts as a reminder of the impossible world we live in. l

Kung Fu Panda 2 ZStudio 6:10pm Po and his friends fight to stop a peacock villain from conquering China with a deadly new weapon, but first the Dragon Warrior must come to terms with his past.

Cast: Jack Black (Po), Angelina Jolie (Tigress), Dustin Hoffman ( Shifu), Gary Oldman (Shen), Jackie Chan ( Monkey) Ride Along Star Movies 5:00pm Security guard Ben must prove himself to his girlfriend’s brother, top cop James. He rides along James on a 24-hour patrol of Atlanta.

Cast: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, John Leguizamo, Bruce McGill, Tika Sumpter, Laurence Fishburne

DT

32 BACK PAGE

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2015

FROM MY TIME TO YOURS PAGE 15

HOPEFUL KAYES DRAWS THE POSITIVES PAGE 25

ANUSHKA AND VIRAT HIT THE TOWN AGAIN PAGE 31

Sopno Kuri: A unique place of learning for differently abled children n Ashif Islam Shaon Jhara Moni Biswas had a world of opportunities before her when she graduated with a degree in music 2011, to build a career as musician and enjoy the serenity that comes with music.

Instead, she chose to share that serenity and hope with children – not of the privileged quarter of society, but from the rather underprivileged and often neglected one.

Jhara joined Sopno Kuri, an organisation devoted to the welfare of differently abled children in Muktagachha, Mymensingh, as a music teacher in 2012.

“I came to know about Sopno Kuri in 2011; I was writing a story on the organisation for a national daily, where I worked as a reporter.” Jhara reminisced.

The then chief of Sopno Kuri was Debashish Ghosh Bappi, who established the organisation in the same year.

“Learning about my background in music, Sopno Kuri offered my a job of a music teacher,” Jhara said.

Needless to say, she accepted the offer, and three years later she runs the organisation with the belief that differently abled children, if provided with a little care, love and cooperation, can shine and contribute a lot to the progress of society.

“We have found that music motivates differently abled children a lot; so does sports and other forms of activities. Children in our school are allowed to take part in district-level music and sports competitions. Although they cannot usually outperform the normal children, they can hold their own,” Jhara said.

Sopno Kuri now has 400 differently abled students and 16 regular teachers to provide voluntary service to the school. There are also therapists to

For differently abled children who are often ridiculed for being ‘not normal,’ Sopno Puri offers a stress-free environment where they can be who they are – children. The teachers at Sopno Puri use an amalgamation of care, learning and play to train the children to become valuable parts of society DHAKA TRIBUNE provide physiotherapy to the children.

The fact that motivates Sopno Kuri organisers to continue their efforts is that a considerable portion of the total population of this country are differently abled. According to World Health Organisation, as much as 10% of the world population are differently abled in one way or another, and most of them belong to very poor families.

“We hope to continue our work so that we can merge the differently abled children with the mainstream and that no such children can be regarded as a burden on their families.”

To achieve that goal, Sopno Kuri has undertaken a number of initiatives, such as offering scholarships to its students, improving mothers’ healthcare

facilities, and educating and empowering parents of differently abled children.

“Most parents of differently abled children here are often seen to have very negative attitude towards their children. But we believe that these children have a lot of potential to grow into good citizens if provided with proper guidance and care.

“That is why we involve them so much in music, sports and other activities with a view to convincing them that they are normal, just like other children,” Jhara said.

She also urged both government and non-government organisations to launch awareness-raising programmes for mothers to help avert the possibility of a child being physically challenged.

“It is true that the government is willing to involve differently abled children with the society.

But the scenario will not change overnight,” she said. “Children living in remote areas have yet to receive due attention.”

Sopno Kuri’s efforts were recently recognised by Youth Bangla, the largest platform of change makers in the country under the patronage of Centre for Research and Information – Jhara was one of 30 awardees in the Joy Bangla Youth Award ceremony.

Jhara strongly believes that Sopno Kuri – which literally mean “bud of dreams” – will bloom and continue to grow through the contributions of differently abled children. “The process has begun,” a proud Jhara said. l

Heavy rainfall likely in next Indian state sets schoolbag couple of days weight limit n Abu Bakar Siddique

The country is likely to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next couple of days, while the Met Office has warned that the downpours might also trigger landslides in the hilly regions of Chittagong and Sylhet divisions.

In a warning yesterday, Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said because of the active monsoon over Bangladesh, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely occur at places over Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions during 24 hours from Friday 10am.

“Light to moderate rain or thunder show-

ers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at most places over Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions with moderately heavy to very heavy falls at places over Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions,” according to the Met Office forecast.

The country might also continue to experience heavy rainfall up until Monday, said BMD Director Shah Alam.

The intermittent rain may continue until the end of this month, Shah Alam added.

The Met Office also said there might be flood in north, mid-north, or north-east of Bangladesh by the end of the month due to the continuous rainfall over the month. l

n AFP

Children struggling under the weight of an oversized schoolbag is a common sight the world over, but now one Indian state has ordered parents to ensure kids lighten their load.

The government of Maharashtra, in the west of India, has passed a resolution saying no child must carry to school a backpack that exceeds 10% of their body weight.

Five-year-olds in grade one are being asked to pop their satchels on weighing scales when they arrive for class so teachers can check they don’t exceed 2.5kg. Grade eight pupils aged 12 are limited to carrying 4.2 kilograms, all in a bid to prevent lasting injury, the state government

said in a resolution passed earlier this week.

“As a rule of thumb the bags must be ten percent of the child’s body weight,” local Education Secretary Nand Kumar wrote in the executive order.

“But we have found bags that weigh 2030% due to thick notebooks, textbooks, unrequired stationery and even cosmetics.

“It causes spine and joint problems as well as stress and fatigue. They adversely affect the well being of the child,” he added.

Without mentioning any punishment for violators, the government ruling said teachers should stagger homework and timetables so children don’t need to carry several textbooks to school every day. l

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