November 16, 2015

SECOND EDITION

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

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Agrahayan 2, 1422, Safar 3, 1437

NOW SHAHRIAR RUMI LEAVES BNP PAGE 3

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 210

OBAMA VOWS TO ELIMINATE IS PAGE 8

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DHAKA LIT FEST BEGINS THURSDAY PAGE 32

France names three attackers Police conduct manhunt for Paris gunman believed to have escaped n Agencies French police have issued an arrest warrant for a fugitive terror suspect believed to have been involved in the Paris attacks, which left 132 dead and hundreds more injured.

Forty-two victims remain in intensive care, hospital authorities told AFP. Police Nationale have issued a wanted poster for Abdeslam Salah, believed to be one of three brothers believed to be involved in the attack. All are French nationals, two of

whom lived in the Belgian capital Brussels.

Three terror suspects have now been named: Saleh Abdeslam, who is on the run, his brother Ibrahim Abdeslam, and Omar Ismaïl Mostefai. Mostefai, 29, was one of three men who blew himself up, killing 89 people in the deadliest attack on Friday evening, The Guardian reports.

Six people close to Mostefai are in custody, including his brother, father and sister-in-law.

French police yesterday questioned his relatives as the row over Europe’s refugee crisis

Only mayor, chairman candidates to get party symbols n Tribune Report The government has decided to allow only the mayoral and chairman candidates to use party symbols in municipality, upazila parishad and union parishad elections, shifting from its previous stance to make the polls partisan for all candidates.

LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain yesterday placed a bill titled Local Government (municipal) (amendment) law, 2014 in parliament incorporating the latest changes.

The bill was later sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on LGRD Ministry for scrutiny and the committee was asked to place the draft bill within three days.

The minister, earlier in the day, at his office hoped that the amendment would be passed on Wednesday.

The cabinet on November 9 approved a proposal for turning the Local Government (Municipality) (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 into an Act of parliament allowing registered political parties to nominate their candidates in the local body polls.

On October 12, the cabinet endorsed draft amendments to the local government laws incorporating provisions for allowing registered political parties to nominate their candidates in the local body elections.

When contacted, Minister Mosharraf yesterday said that it would be a tough and complicated task to select candidates for the councillor and the member posts whereas the number of mayoral and chairman candidates is not much less.

Election Commission sources said if mayor, councillor and reserved seat women councillors contested with party symbols, it might create confusion among the voters as the aspirants of the three categories would use the same party logo.

Apart from this, there is time constraint as ballot papers for each wards would be separate and have to be distributed within 10-12 days after the election schedule is announcement.

A cabinet member said seeking anonymity that the bill was placed hurriedly as the elections to around 240 municipalities are likely to be held by December 30. l

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Hasina cancels trip to France n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

re-ignited, with conservatives demanding an end to “the days of uncontrolled immigration.”

France remains on the highest security alert after an official day of mourning.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters that three jihadist cells staged co-ordinated the hits on Friday night at bars, a concert hall and soccer stadium.

Prosecutors have said the slaughter was claimed by Islamic State as revenge for French military action in Syria and Iraq.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has cancelled her three-day schedule trip to France.

She was supposed to fly to Paris today to attend the Unesco General Conference and a bilateral meeting with French President François Hollande.

But after considering the overall situation, she yesterday decided not to go, said sources.

Around midday yesterday, the Foreign Ministry cancelled its scheduled 3pm press briefing on the PM’s trip.

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Now writer Hasan Azizul Huq threatened n Tribune Report Hasan Azizul Huq yesterday become the second respected former university professor to get death threats in less than a week.

A celebrated fiction-writer, former professor of philosophy at Rajshahi University and a secular figure, Prof Hasan received the threat over phone around 4:30pm yesterday, said his daughter-in-law Sultana Razia.

On November 10, Dhaka University Profes-

sor Emeritus Dr Anisuzzaman, widely known for his secular writing, received a text message on his mobile phone that threatened to kill him.

Both Prof Hasan and Prof Anissuzaman were among the 38 individuals who issued a statement, also on November 10, condemning and demanding exemplary punishment for those who attacked and killed bloggers and publishers recently.

Yesterday, the unknown caller asked Prof Hasan whether he would continue being and

doing what he has been or would be change himself.

In reply, the writer said neither was it possible for him to change at this age, nor did he want to. Then the caller told him to be prepared for “any consequences.”

Razia also said that the caller’s number was not displayed on her father-in-law’s phone and so they suspect that the call might have come from abroad.

This is not the first time that the winner of

Doctor found dead in DMCH dormitory n Kamrul Hasan A female doctor was found dead in a dormitory of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) yesterday night.

Police suspect she committed suicide.

The deceased was identified as Dr Tanzila Jahan Mithila, 27, daughter of Firoz Ahmed of Kandirpar, Comilla.

The wife of DMCH department of medicine Assistant Registrar Dr Mizanur Rahman, Mithila lived with her husband in a dormitory behind the hospital’s burn unit. They were married ten months ago, her relatives said.

She completed her MBBS at Bangladesh

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Hasina cancels trip Hasina also had an unscheduled meeting with French Ambassador to Dhaka Sophie Aubert yesterday afternoon.

After two days of consultation, the Foreign Ministry and other stakeholders explained the situation in Paris to the prime minister.

“The Foreign Ministry has explained to her the ground reality in Paris and the possible options about the trip and in the end, she made her choice,” said a government official.

After the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night in which 129 people were killed and over 350 injured, French authorities declared a state of emergency.

“We understood Saturday that the bilateral meeting with the French president would not be possible in this situation as France had declared three-day mourning,” said another government official.

Bangladesh ambassador to France M Shahidul Islam sent at least two reports to the ministry on the situation in Paris and about the visit, he said.

“On Saturday, we thought of going ahead with the visit and expressed our solidarity with French in this grave situation.

“We knew that there would be no bilateral talks and we would have an opportunity to meet the president to express our condolence,” he added.

But, the prime minister had a meeting with the officials after attending Bangladesh Development Forum meeting yesterday and gave her decision, the official said.

Another government official said, Unesco is also not comfortable with the situation.

PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told BSS yesterday that the visit would be rescheduled at a mutually convenient time.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid will represent Bangladesh at the Unesco forum, the press secretary said. l

Medical College Hospital and joined Noakhali Government Hospital as an intern. On November 6, she took the exam for the post of honorary doctor of the hospital.

Police said they were informed about the incident by her husband, Mizan, over the phone.

Police officials told the Dhaka Tribune that Mizan said he found his wife’s body hanging from the ceiling by a scarf, through a ground floor window of the five storey building.

The police quoted Mizan as saying: “After my wife failed to come to the door despite my repeated knocking on the door … I saw her body through the window. I then called the police.”

Mithila’s uncle Khandakar Sharifuddin told the Dhaka Tribune that he saw that his niece’s legs were touching the floor.

The body will be sent for autopsy today and has been kept at the Dhaka Medical College morgue.

Khwaja Abdul Gafur, assistant director of DMCH, forensics department Assistant Professor Sohel Mahmud, DMP Assistant Commissioner (Ramna zone) Shibli Noman and police officials of Shahbagh police station visited the crime scene.

AC Shibli told the Dhaka Tribune that the police would take the appropriate course of action after receiving the autopsy report. l

France names three attackers The day ended with two false alarms in central Paris, including one at the Place de la Republique that sparked a crowd of hundreds to flee the square in panic. The false alarm appears to have been caused by firecrackers.

The death toll rose to 132 after a further three people died in hospital from their injuries, medical officials said. The attack left 352 injured, 99 critically.

A stash of weapons were found in a getaway vehicle believed to have been used in the Paris attacks. Detectives found three Kalashnikov rifles along with fingerprints in the abandoned vehicle, discovered in the eastern Parisian suburb of Montreuil. The discovery heightened fears that one or more of the attackers are still on the run.

Greek authorities say a passport found near the body of one of the Stade de France attackers was used by someone in Greece to register as a Syrian refugee. Serbia’s interior ministry said the holder of the passport crossed into Serbia in October before claiming asylum there.

The British Home Secretary Theresa May told BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show that arrangements were in place to provide “military support” in the event of a terrorist attack.

Turkish authorities yesterday said they had foiled a terrorist attack in Istanbul the same day as the deadly attacks in Paris, AFP reports. Five people have been detained in Istanbul, one of them a close associate of the notorious IS militant know as “Jihadi John.”

The close associate has been identified as Aine Lesley Davis, a London-born British Muslim who allegedly guarded foreign prisoners in Syria.

Belgian prosecutors said two of the gunmen were French nationals who had been living in Brussels. They also said they had arrested seven people in the Belgian capital.

Police staged raids on Saturday in Molenbeek, a poor, immigrant quarter.

In a sign that at least one gunman might have escaped, a source close to the investigation said a Seat car believed to have been used by the attackers had been found in the eastern Paris suburb of Montreuil with three Kalashnikov rifles inside.

A local resident said police had cordoned off the area around the car around midnight and brought in an anti-explosives vehicle in case it was boobytrapped. The car was taken away after the guns had been removed.

One attacker appears to have arrived in Europe alongside Syrian refugees, seeking asylum in Serbia. But with the European Union deeply split over the migrant crisis, European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker stressed the attacker was not a refugee but a criminal.

Museums and theatres remained closed in Paris for a second day yesterday, with hundreds of soldiers and police patrolling the streets and metro stations after French President Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency.

Seven gunmen, all of whom were wearing suicide vests packed with explosives, died in the multiple assaults.

The first to be identified was named as Ismael Omar Mostefai, a 29-year-old who lived in the city of Chartres, southwest of Paris.

French media said he was French-born and of Algerian descent. Molins said the man had a security file for Islamist radicalisation, adding that he had a criminal record but had never spent time in jail. He was identified through tests on his severed finger.

A judicial source said Mostefai’s father and brother had been taken in for questioning, along with others believed to be close to him.

’Paris changes everything’

One of the attackers seems to have followed

Ekushe Padak, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Bangladesh, has got a death threat.

In 2006, Jamaat-e-Islami’s student front Islami Chhatra Shibir threatened to kill him.

That sparked serious condemnation and a huge protest by his peers, fans and followers.

With yesterday’s threat, Prof Hasan and Prof Anisuzzaman join 12 other university teachers who had received different kinds of threats this year. l

Massive reshuffle after promotion in ACC n Tribune Report The government yesterday transferred 86 officials including eight directors of the Anti-Corruption Commission, only five days after promoting 58 officials.

An order signed by ACC Secretary Abu Md Mustafa Kamal issued yesterday came into effect immediately, Public Relations Officer Pranab Kumer Bhattacharya said. Of the 86 officials, eight are directors, 16 deputy directors, 45 assistant directors and 17 deputy assistant directors. The government promoted 58 ACC officials on November 10. l

the route taken by hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers who have crossed by boat from Turkey to the Greek Islands, before heading for EU countries to the north, mainly Germany and Sweden.

The attacks have reignited a row within the EU on how to handle the flood of asylum seekers from Syria and other countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

But European Commission President Juncker said EU states should not give in to base reactions: “The one responsible for the attacks in Paris ... he is a criminal and not a refugee and not an asylum seeker.”

Nevertheless, Bavarian allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a reversal of her “open-door” refugee policy.

“The days of uncontrolled immigration and illegal entry can’t continue just like that.

Paris changes everything,” Bavarian finance minister Markus Soeder told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

In Vienna, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said his country’s intelligence services had shared information they had which indicated that France, the United States and Iran were among countries being targeted for attack.

Young victims

The names of the first victims have started to filter out on social media, many of them young people who were out enjoying themselves on a Friday night. The dead included one US citizen, one Swede, one Briton, one German, two Belgians, two Romanians and two Mexicans, their governments said.

Members of the U2 rock group laid flowers at a makeshift memorial near the hall, including its singer, anti-poverty campaigner Bono. The Irish band had been due to perform in Paris on Saturday, but cancelled the concert following the attacks. l

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Preparing candidate list a struggle for the BNP n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla After hinting that it might participate in upcoming municipal elections, the BNP is struggling to prepare a possible candidate list because so many of its grass-roots leaders are either on the run or behind bars, party insiders said.

Continuing arrests of its grass-roots leaders and activists have cast doubt on the fairness of the coming elections, they said.

Although the party boycotted the January 5 parliamentary elections, it participated in local government elections.

Now Shahriar Rumi leaves BNP n Tribune Report MM Shahriar Rumi has become the second BNP leader to cut ties with the party in two weeks, following Shamsher Mubin Chowdhury’s footsteps.

Rumi, who is now a former member of the central executive committee of the BNP, has also expressed willingness to come back to his former tent, the Awami League.

He told the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday that he had sent his resignation to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, who is now in London, via courier service.

He also said that he had stepped down from all party posts including that of the senior vice-chairman of Faridpur district unit BNP. “I think all pro-Liberation War forces and those who fought the war under the leadership of Bangabandhu should get united. That is why I have resigned from the BNP,” he said.

Rumi left Awami League after the party denied him nomination to run for the MP of the Faridpur 5 constituency in the 2001 parliamentary election. He joined the BNP next May. He said his family has been involved with the Awami League’s politics; his father Shamsuddin Molla was a close associate of Bangabandhu.

“In 2002, I joined BNP and have been in discomfort since then. That discomfort is gone now through this resignation.”

On October 29, now former senior vice-chairman of BNP, Shamsher Muhin Chowdhury, resigned from BNP citing ill health. l

“This time the situation is different. We are yet to reorganise the party. Many of our leaders are on the run and many are being arrested every day. Despite all this, we should participate in the elections,” a senior party leader, seeking anonymity, said.

“If we leave the field unchallenged, the party will suffer politically and local level leaders will be demoralised,” he said.

A mid-ranking party leader claimed “hundreds” of the party’s grass-roots leaders and activists had been arrested in daily mass arrest drives by the police ahead of the polls.

He said BNP members facing cases, behind

The parliament yesterday passed the Development Surcharge and Levy Bill 2015 keeping the provision for imposing 1% surcharge on services obtained by mobile phone SIMs, RUIMs and memory cards.

The bill was passed through voice vote after it was placed by Finance Minister AMA Muhith.

On September 1, the minister submitted the bill and it was sent to the standing committee on the Finance Ministry for scrutiny.

According to the bill, 1% surcharge will be imposed on the amount charged by mobile operators for providing services – talk time, SMS

Khaleda Zia, who is now in London, has not given any direction to the party on participating in the polls.

BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed on November 7 told reporters that his party would not leave seats uncontested.

Mohammad Shahjahan, joint secretary general of the party, said: “When our leader [Khaleda Zia] returns to Bangladesh, a decision on participating in the elections will be taken. We are taking pre-election preparations so that we can avoid last minute complications.” l

PM seeks international cooperation to alleviate poverty n Tribune Report Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged the international community to boost cooperation to alleviate poverty, while inaugurating the Bangladesh Development Forum 2015 at the Bangabandhu International Convention Center in the capital.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Jin Liqun, Vice-President of the Asian Development Bank Wencai Zhang, Finance Minister AMA Muhith and Deputy Director General of the Japanese Foreign Ministry Kingo Toyoda also addressed the meeting.

The prime minister said Bangladesh has enormous potential and that work was under way to achieve the country’s sustainable development targets.

“Our main goal is to become a middle-income country by 2021 and to build a developed and prosperous nation by 2041,” Sheikh Hasina said. A combined effort is required to eliminate poverty from the world, she opined.

Toyoda said ensuring the security and safety of development partners who work in Bangladesh is crucially important.

“I would like to express my gratitude for the ongoing efforts made by the Government of Bangladesh to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens including the assistance personnel and strongly hope that such measures be continued,” he said.

JS passes bill on SIM, memory cards surcharge n Tribune Report

bars or on the run would not be candidates.

Since local government elections will be contested on partisan lines for the first time ever, district committee leaders and local former lawmakers will finalise the candidate lists, they said.

On Thursday BNP spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon alleged that the government was conspiring to hold the elections without any contest.

He said his party doubts that fair elections can be guaranteed by the incumbent Election Commission.

Party insiders said BNP Chairperson

and other services enjoyed by subscribers.

Although the bill proposed to impose 1% surcharge on SIM and RUIM cards, Jatiya Party lawmaker Fakhrul Imam proposed to impose the surcharge on memory cards as well and it was accepted.

However, the mechanism for collecting surcharge on memory cards was not made clear as the finance minister did not say anything about this.

It is projected that the 1% surcharge on SIM and RUIM cards will generate an additional Tk140 crore revenue for the government per year. The amount collected from surcharge would be spent on education and healthcare. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visits a stall during yesterday's Bangladesh Development Forum at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital BSS During a visit to Bangladesh last year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged another $5.9 billion in financial assistance for Bangladesh over the next couple of years.

Toyoda said: “The Japanese government will provide all out support to help Bangladesh achieve middle-income country status.”

Under Japan’s Bay of Bengal Industrial

Growth Belt scheme, Japan plans to assist in building up industrial areas in Dhaka, Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar.

Security was tight at the BDF meeting attended by high officials of the Japanese government after Japanese national Hoshi Kunio was gunned down by unidentified assailants in Rangpur in October. l

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Manju acquitted of charges n Tribune Report

The Supreme Court yesterday reinstated a High Court verdict on Environment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Manju in a case filed on illegal wealth accumulation charges.

A four-member bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha gave the order in the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Barrister Rokan Uddin Mahmud and Ahsanul Karim stood for Manju while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Khurshid Alam Khan represented the prosecution and the ACC respectively.

On October 7, 2007, the ACC filed the case accusing Manju of making Tk1.72 crore illegally.

During the military-backed caretaker government, Manju was sentenced to 13 years in jail and was also fined Tk10 lakh.

In 2010, a High Court bench acquitted him of the charges and the ACC later appealed.

Employees file embezzlement case against GP n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu Five Grameenphone employees have filed a case against the private mobile phone operator on charges of misappropriating Tk691 crore by forgery.

The case was filed yesterday with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Yusuf Hossain under sections 406, 417,418,426, 477(a) and 34 of the penal code.

After recording deposition from the complainants, the court directed the officer-incharge at Vatara police station to investigate the

matter and submit a report before the court.

According to the case statement, the defendants embezzled the money from the Grameenphone Workers Profit Participation and Welfare Fund through forgery in 2011 and 2014. They also assaulted workers in different ways when they asked for their money.

The complainants alleged that in 2010, government announced for distributing 5% profit of the company among the labourers and workers and it was also passed at a meeting of Grameenphone’s board of directors.

But the defendants later embezzled the mon-

ey through forgery.

The defendants are Grameenphone Ltd, its chief executive officer, the board of trustee chairman for Grameenphone Workers Profit Participation and Welfare Fund, and trustee board members Quazi Mohammad Shahed Ahmed, Md Mainur Rahman Bhuiyan, Md Mainul Kader and Ahmed Manjuruddawla.

The five complainants are transport workers Md Mehadi Hasan, Md Masud Hasan, data entry operator Md Shohag, office assistant Md Afzal Hossain and optical fibre operator Nizam Uddin. l

Goyeshwar gets bail n Tribune Report

The High Court has granted bail to BNP leader Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, allowing him to be released from prison.

The High Court bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Md Khosruzzaman issued the order yesterday after hearing his petition in a case filed with Ramna police station on December 30, 2013, over bombing of a vehicle during the anti-government agitation by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

The BNP leader is an accused in a total of 27 cases, and with yesterday’s ruling, he has secured bail from the High Court in all of the cases.

He can now be released from Kashimpur jail in Gazipur after the due paper works are complete, said his lawyer Nitai Roy Chowdhury.

Goyeshwar secured bail in the same case from the High Court on May 7 last year.

He was asked to appear before a trial court on November 3 in the case, but he failed. The next day he went to the court and sought bail, but his bail plea was rejected. He was indicted on March 20 this year.

The BNP leader filed an appeal with the High Court against the trial court order; after hearing his appeal, the court granted him bail. l

Baby with two heads dies at DMCH n DMCH Correspondent

A baby girl who was born with two heads in Brahmanbaria died last night at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Dr Kaniz Hasina, associate professor of the paediatric department of the DMCH, told the Dhaka Tribune that the baby died around 7:30pm due to respiratory difficulties.

She was brought to Dhaka from Brahmanbaria on November 11, hospital sources said.

A DMCH medical committee held a meeting to decide whether surgery could be performed on the child. But the committee decided it was not possible, Dr Kaniz told the Dhaka Tribune.

“The baby had two fully functional heads and two hearts, but she had only one set of most of her other organs. That made it impossible for us to operate on her,” she said.

Her parents said she would be buried in Brahmanbaria. l

Members of Jatiyo Nobanno Utsab Udjapan Committee greet the season of harvest with music and dancing at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

MPO teacher selection commission Acid-burnt victim dies at DMCH accords with policy, says Nahid n n Tribune Report

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid yesterday defended his ministry’s decision to take charge of the managing committees of non-government Monthly Pay Order-listed educational institutions, saying it was in line with education policy and the prime minister’s wishes.

On November 12, several lawmakers criticised the education minister for planning to take over the authority of non-government MPO-listed educational institutions’ managing committees in teacher recruitment.

“I was stunned listening to lawmakers’ criticisms. In the national education policy, there is a provision to form a Non-government Teachers Selection Commission to appoint meritorious teachers. The prime min-

ister has urged everybody to cooperate in appointing meritorious teachers,” Nahid said in parliament.

He said: “There are 36,071 non-government MPO-listed educational institutions across the country. A lawmaker can be the president of four institutions. If all 300 lawmakers became presidents of four institutions, it will cover only 1,200 institutions.

What about the other institutions?

Earlier, the education minister said a Non-government Teachers Selection Commission would appoint teachers at primary, secondary and higher secondary schools, madrasas and colleges following a merit list based on an examination.

Each lawmaker heads four managing committees in their constituencies and nominates people to head the others. l

Kamrul Hasan

A woman, who was attacked with acid allegedly by her husband three weeks ago, died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s burnt unit early yesterday.

Sajeda Begum, 25, of Salisha village in Magura, lived in Ashulia with her husband Sohag Munsi and son Akash.

Sajeda sustained 25% burn, said the burn unit’s resident surgeon Dr Partha Shankar Paul.

Sohag has been absconding since the attack, police told the Dhaka Tribune.

Sajeda will be buried in her hometown in Magura. Her son Akash is currently staying with her parents.

Sajeda’s cousin Ekramul Kabir claimed that Sohag threw acid at her while she was asleep on October 25. “Sohag demanded Tk2 lakh in dowry days before the attack.” l

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Shibir man held in Niloy murder case n FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong Detectives have detained the former general secretary of Sitakunda upazila unit Islami Chhatra Shibir from Chittagong’s Panchlaish area for his alleged involvement in the murder of secular blogger Niladri Chatterjee Niloy.

CMP Deputy Commissioner (north) Paritosh Gosh told the Dhaka Tribune that a team of DMP’s DB police had nabbed Tarikul Alam Tarek, 36, from Panchlaish area early yesterday.

Panchlaish police Inspector (investigation) Giasuddin told the Dhaka Tribune that Tarek had been taken to the capital around 11am.

When contacted, Assistant Superintendent of Police Saiful Islam of Sitakunda police said that Tarek

had been accused in at least 23 cases filed for arson attacks, vandalism, subversive activities and attack on police.

Secular writer Niloy Neel was hacked to death at his flat in the capital’s Goran area on August 7 by three unidentified assailants.

The detectives have remanded a number of suspects in the case for interrogation.

DB police earlier said that the witnesses had identified one of the killers from the photos of suspected militants.

A supporter of Gonojagoron Moncho, Niloy said that he had been named in a hit list prepared by Shafiur Rahman Farabi, a leader of outlawed Hizb ut-Tahrir.

He also wanted to file a general diary with the police in May as he felt insecure. l

Tribunal seeks probe report on Netrakona war crimes suspects n Tribune Report The International Crimes Tribunal 1 yesterday asked the prosecution to submit the probe report against seven war crimes suspects from Netrokona by January 15 next year.

Of the suspects, only Abdur Rahman, 68, is in jail while Sheikh Md Abdul Majid, 67, Md Abdul Khaleq Talukder, 67, Kabir Khan, 70, Md Nuruddin, 70, and Salam Beg, 65, are on the run.

The other suspect, Ahmmad Ali, 72, died in October while undergoing treatment at DMCH.

According to the prosecution, the suspects had committed crimes against humanity including mass killings, murders, looting and arsons at different places under Purbadhola during the country’s Liberation War in 1971. The suspects also allegedly forced people to leave the country.

Prosecutor Tapos Kanti Baul said that they had submitted a report on progress of the investigation to the tribunal in the morning.

“The investigators have so far recorded statements of 17 witnesses,” he said, adding that the prosecution sought two months to file the final report. l

Russell’s Viper, one of the most dangerous snakes in Asia, was thought to be nearing extinction until it reappeared after 25 years and started populating in Rajshahi district last year. This year, too, a number of these poisonous snakes have been sighted across the Barendra area in the district – in farmlands, inside houses, in barns. Until Saturday, the farmers have killed six Russell’s Vipers after finding them in their lands. Terribly frightened by the snake’s reappearance, farmers are now reluctant to go to the crop fields and collect their harvests AZAHAR UDDIN

Teenage girl found dead in shelter home n Kamrul Hasan Police early yesterday recovered the hanging body of a teenager from her room inside the office of a shelter home in the capital’s Mirpur area.

The victim is Khadija Khatun Sima, 15, a student of class VII. She was brought to the NGO named Association for Correction and Social Reclamation (ACSR) one and a half years back.

Both police and officials of the NGO suspected that she had committed suicide.

The body was recovered from a room on the fourth floor of the four-storey building in North Bishil area of Mirpur around 5am.

The NGO helps female victims in cooperation with the police’s Victim Support Centre in Tejgaon. Currently, 41 girls aged between 12 and 21 are staying at the centre.

ACSR Executive Officer Shahid Hasan told the Dhaka Tribune that the girl might have committed suicide sometime between around 1:30am and 3:30am. She came to the centre from Shishu Palli of Shyamoli.

He said that one of Sima’s room-mates had found her hanging from the ceiling fan around 4:15am and informed him about the matter.

Mirpur police station’s Sub-Inspector Matiur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that they had sent the body to Dhaka Medical College morgue for a post-mortem examination. He added that they had not found any signs of torture or injuries on the victim’s body. l

TEMPERATURE FOREC AST FOR TODAY

DRY WEATHER MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16

Dhaka

30

21 Chittagong

29

22

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 5:12PM

31

18

Rangpur

29

18

Khulna

31

19

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 6:14AM

32.6ºC Jessore

15.6ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

30

20

PRAYER TIMES

Sylhet

29

16

Cox’s Bazar

29

21

Fajr: 4:53am | Zohr: 11:43am Asr: 3:36pm | Magrib: 5:12pm Esha: 6:42pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

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Prime Minister Gold Medal Award 11-12 ceremony on January 7 n Tribune Report

Members of Jatiya Adivasi Parishad brings out a long march from Nachol upazila in Chapainawabganj district yesterday demanding an independent land commission for indigenous people living in plain lands AZAHAR UDDIN

Two children burnt in capital n Tribune Report

Two children sustained burn injuries in a fire caused by an explosion of a stove at a tea stall in the capital’s Jatrabari yesterday.

The victims - Lamia Akther, 5, daughter of Abdul Karim and Tania Akhter, 5, daughter of Nurul Islam – were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s burn unit. The accident took place at Matuail.

Lamia received 30% burn while Tania sustained 20%, said Dr Partha Shankar Paul, resident surgeon of the burn unit. He said the victims were in a critical condition.

Lamia’s father Karim said he took her daughter along to a tea stall in the afternoon.

“The owner of the tea stall was working on the stove when we went there. The stove suddenly exploded in a while and caused a fire, which burned Lamia and Tania, who was also at the stall,” he added. l

112 more held in Chittagong special drive n FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong Police in an overnight drive arrested another 112 people from different areas in Chittagong yesterday as part of the special operations that began a few days ago.

During the drive, police also seized 234 litres of liquor in Patiya upazila and 700 grammes of cannabis in Sitakunda upazila.

Md Naimul Hasan, Chittagong district police’s additional superintendent of police (Special Branch), told the Dhaka Tribune 86 of the 112 detainees had arrest warrants against them.

The remaining 26 had been accused in various cases, he said.

Chittagong police have been carrying out special operations for the past several days.

They said the objective of the operations is to arrest members of the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir who have been accused in different subversion cases. l

Public university students who secured the top positions in different departments in 2011 and 2012 will be given the Prime Minister Gold Medal Award in a ceremony on January 7, 2016, says a press release issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

The UGC will arrange the programme, in which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be present as the chief guest.

The ceremony will be held at the Prime Minister’s Office, according to the press release.

In 2012, two students of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology – Jobaida Akter of electrical and electronic engineering and Md Sajib Ullah of civil engineering – received the Prime Minister Gold Medal Award 2010. l

Japan: Security prerequisite for int’l dev works n Tribune Report Security is a prerequisite for smooth implementation of assistance activities by development partners, which is why Bangladesh government must keep up its efforts to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens working in Bangladesh, a Japanese foreign ministry official said yesterday.

Kingo Toyoda, deputy director-general at the International Cooperation Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said as a major development partner of Bangladesh, Japan aims to aid the acceleration of sustainable economic growth with equity in Bangladesh.

Toyoda was in Dhaka to address the Bangladesh Development Forum (BDF), which started yesterday at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the capital and will end today.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Finance Minister AMA Muhith and other high-ups of the government as well as donor representatives were present at the ceremony, among others.

In his statement, Toyoda said The BDF meeting was very time-appropriate.

“Bangladesh approved the ‘Seventh Five Year Plan’ in October, just after the United Nations General Assembly had adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs) and targets, in September,” he said.

“Therefore, this meeting comes at a very timely moment, and I look forward to fruitful discussion among the participants from the government of Bangladesh, the development partners and the civil society.”

He further said Bangladesh and Japan launched a comprehensive partnership to further expand the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

“Japan also recognises the importance of cooperation with Bangladesh in the regional context. Expanding economic ties between our two countries through trade and investment will contribute to steady development of South Asia,” Toyoda added. l

Minister: 68% of country’s fertiliser imported n Tribune Report Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu yesterday told the parliament that 68% of the country’s fertiliser had been imported in the 2014-15 fiscal year.

Replying to a starred question from ruling party lawmaker Enamul Huq, Amu said that as of November 3, 2015, the ongoing fiscal

year’s demand of urea fertiliser was 2.8 million tonnes while Bangladesh had produced 213,000 tonnes.

The demand was 2.7 million tonnes in 2014-15 fiscal year while domestic production was 878,000 tonnes, the minister added.

Replying to another query, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told the parliament that there

was no possibility of a fuel oil crisis in Bangladesh under the existing fuel management system.

Responding to another query, the state minister said the amount of coal storage in Bangladesh was 3,565 million tonnes in the five coalfields; and among the five coalfields, coal was being extracted only from Barapukuria coal mine. l

1,000 sued over four Faridpur mob attack deaths

Nasim urges Khaleda to get ready for polls n Our Correspondent, Lalmonirhat

n Tribune Report

Health Minister Mohammed Nasim yesterday urged BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to participate in the upcoming municipal elections.

He also asked her to get ready for the next general elections.

“The national polls will be held after 2019.

The BNP chief, instead of conspiring, should be prepared for that,” Nasim said while speaking at a function of Lalmonirhat unit of Swechhasebak League Council. l

A case was filed against 1,000 villagers in connection with a lynch-mob attack that left four suspected robbers dead in Sadar upazila on Saturday.

Shah Alam, sub-inspector of Sadar Police Station, filed the case against 1,000 villagers on Saturday.

The four suspected robbers were beaten

to death by a mob at Chowdhurydangi village under Charmadhabdia union in Sadar upazila early Saturday.

Assistant superintendent of Kotwali police station, FM Mahiuddin, said one of the deceased was identified as Khokon, son of Abdus Salam of Chatul village in Boalmari upazila of the district while the bodies of three other robbers have been kept at the morgue of Sadar Hospital. l

DT

World 7

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

INSIDE

Obama vows to eliminate IS as G20 seeks common Syria strategy US President Barack Obama vowed on Sunday to step up efforts to eliminate Islamic State in Syria and prevent it from carrying out attacks like those in Paris, while European leaders urged Russia to focus its military efforts on the radical Islamists on the opening day of the G20 summit.

PAGE 8

A rose placed in a bullet hole in a restaurant window the day after a series of deadly attacks in Paris on Friday. The note reads: ‘In the name of what?’

REUTERS

FACTBOX

Paris attacks show Syria war cannot be contained

The attacks on civilians in Paris were proof that the war in Syria and Iraq will not be contained there, analysts assert on Sunday.

The deaths and the propaganda victory from the Islamic State jihadist group will intensify pressure on world capitals to find a resolution to the conflict.

PAGE 9

Paris attacks: Updates so far French investigators believe there were three teams involved in Friday’s attacks on Paris and are probing possible links to the conflict in Syria in a joint inquiry with Belgium.

Seven of the gunmen and suicide bombers who took part in the carnage, which killed 129 and was claimed by Islamic State jihadists, died in the bloodshed.

But the discovery of a black Seat car containing several AK47 rifles, which was used by the attackers at several locations, has raised questions about others who may still be at large in a probe which is increasingly pointing to Belgium.

How were the teams organised?

Key moments of Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate The terrorist attacks in Paris cast a heavy spell over Saturday night’s second Democratic debate, but that didn’t stop the three Democratic presidential candidates onstage from engaging in tense and at times heated exchanges over foreign policy, gun control and Wall Street.

PAGE 10

Investigators are working on the theory that there were three teams. The initial strike was by a team of suicide bombers outside the Stade de France where the first blew himself up at 9:20pm (Paris local time).

The other two set off their explosive belts at 9:30pm and 9:53pm. It remains unclear why the first attacker blew himself up outside the stadium in an area with no people.

The second team entered the Bataclan concert hall at around 9:40pm. Among them was 29-year-old Paris native Omar Ismail Mostefai. Three attackers were killed during a counter-assault by French security forces.

According to a source close to the inquiry, the third team carried out three shooting attacks on several bars and restaurants in

central Paris at 9:25pm, 9:32pm and 9:36pm, firing hundreds of bullets. A suicide bomber also blew himself up in a bar at 9:40pm on Boulevard Voltaire. The question now is-- was this third team made up of suspects arrested on Saturday in Belgium? Until this is confirmed, the hypothesis that some attackers are still at large cannot be ruled out.

The Syrian connection

Since 2012, jihadists heading to Syria have been the biggest concern for Europe’s counter-terror services, with France and Belgium among the countries most concerned by the phenomenon. Although the security forces had opened an “S file” on Mostefai -- a category for suspects who are potentially radicalised -- he passed under the radar, and in all probability spent some time in Syria in 2014. At the Bataclan, the attackers were overheard speaking about both Iraq and Syria. Investigators remain cautious over the Syrian passport found near the body of the first suicide bomber to blow himself up by the stadium. The name on it is unknown to French anti-terror authorities. And a source close to the inquiry said it remained unclear whether the holder of the passport was in fact one of the suicide bombers. Greek police said they have been asked for information on two Syrians who registered as refugees in recent months, but the figure of two has not been confirmed, with French inves-

tigators seeking information on just one name, the source said.

Complexities

The attackers used automatic weapons and a number of Kalashnikovs were found on Saturday evening in an abandoned black Seat car in the eastern suburb of Montreuil. The car is believed to be the one in several of Friday’s attacks. There must also have been an explosives specialist involved who put together the explosives belt and he is unlikely to have taken part in the operation since his skills are too precious, expert said. The inquiry will also focus on the funding used by the assailants and its sponsors.

Inter-European cooperation

International cooperation is the Achilles’ heel of European counter-terror operations. IS has recognised this and called on its militants to hit neighbouring countries where they are less likely to be known and identified. The inquiry into an abortive attack on a high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris in August showed major weaknesses in the exchange of information between the respective intelligence services. The Paris attacks will shine a light on whether efforts to improve intelligence-sharing have born fruit. l

Source: AFP

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan warns pilots to avoid alcohol while flying!

The pilot of a Pakistan passenger plane that skidded off the runway last week was intoxicated, officials confirmed Saturday, as the country’s civil aviation authorities warned carriers not to let their pilots fly drunk. The private Shaheen Airlines plane carrying more than 100 passengers was landing in the eastern city of Lahore when one of its tyres burst causing it to skid off the runway. The tests showed the pilot was fatigued and highly under influence of alcohol, an official said.

-AFP

Obama vows to eliminate IS as G20 seeks common Syria strategy

INDIA

Ultra-right Hindu group showcases Mahatma’s killer!

To commemorate November 15, the day Nathuram Godse, killer of Mahatma Gandhi, the members of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha launched a website for “Nathuram Godse - The Real Forgotten Hero” on Sunday morning. The website, members say, has been put up on the internet so as to inform the general public about the “good deeds” that Godse indulged in.

-TOI

CHINA

Turkey cancels $3.4bn missile deal with China Turkey has cancelled a multi-billion-dollar deal with China to build its first anti-missile system that had alarmed Ankara’s allies in Nato, a Turkish official said on Sunday. “The deal was cancelled,” the official from Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s office said.

“One of the main reasons is that we will launch our own national missile project,” added the official.

-AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

Obama set to challenge China at APEC summit US President Barack Obama is set to challenge China when Asia-Pacific leaders gather in the Philippines this week, speaking out on a territorial row and lobbying to set pro-American trade rules. Chinese President Xi Jinping will also be in Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, an annual event that is meant to forge unity on free trade within the region. But this year’s meeting risks becoming entangled in various US-China power struggles, including over the South China Sea where Chinese island building in disputed waters has caused alarm in the US and with its Asian allies.

-AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Iraq shared intel on threats to France, US, Iran Iraq shared intelligence on threats of attacks on France, the United States and Iran, Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said on Sunday, after jihadists killed at least 129 people in Paris. “Sources in Iraqi intelligence obtained information that some countries would be targeted, especially France, America and Iran, and they were informed of this,” Jaafari said in a statement.

Asked if the intelligence was directly related to Friday’s attacks, ministry spokesman Ahmed Jamal said it had indicated that a number of countries, especially in Europe, were at risk of attack by the Islamic State jihadist group.

-AFP

n Reuters, Belek, Turkey US President Barack Obama vowed on Sunday to step up efforts to eliminate Islamic State in Syria and prevent it from carrying out attacks like those in Paris, while European leaders urged Russia to focus its military efforts on the radical Islamists.

Speaking at a G20 leaders summit in Turkey, Obama described the killings in Paris claimed by Islamic State as an attack on the civilised world and said the United States would work with France to hunt down those responsible.

The two-day summit brings Obama and fellow world leaders just 500km from Syria, where a 4.5-year conflict has transformed Islamic State into a global security threat and spawned Europe’s largest migration flows since World War II. “Traditionally the G20 has been a forum primarily to discuss economic issues facing the globe ... (but) the sky has been darkened by the horrific attacks that took place in Paris just a day and a half ago,” Obama said in a statement after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

“The United States and its allies will redouble efforts to find a peaceful solution in Syria and prevent Islamic State militants from perpetrating attacks like those in Paris.”

Obama and his Western allies now face the question of how the West should respond after Islamic State again demonstrated it posed a threat far beyond its strongholds in Syria and Iraq.

Obama-Putin handshake

Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have no formal bilateral meeting planned. As the leaders moved into place for a group photo on Sunday, Putin approached Obama and they shook hands, exchanging words for only a few brief moments.

Obama is also seeking to coax other European and Middle Eastern countries into more tangible steps to show their military commitment and will hold a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, US officials said. In a call late last month, the two leaders affirmed the need to cooperate in fighting Islamic State.

Obama said he had also discussed in his

meeting with Erdogan the progress made by foreign ministers in Vienna, who on Saturday outlined a plan for a political process in Syria leading to elections within two years, although differences over Assad’s fate still remained.

Migration concerns

The Paris carnage also poses a major challenge for Europe, with populist leaders rushing to demand an end to an influx of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa.

In a diplomatic coup for Europe and for Turkey, the G20 leaders will agree that migration is a global problem that must be addressed in a coordinated way, according to a draft communique, although it has yet to be accepted by all and is due to be published only on Monday.

Europe and Turkey had been pushing for the G20 to recognise the issue as a global problem and help to deal with it financially, despite opposition from China, India and Russia. According to a separate statement due to be released later on Sunday, they also agreed to step up border controls and aviation security in the wake of the Paris attacks. l

Syria opposition warns of ‘unrealistic’ Vienna plan n AFP, Beirut Syrian opposition members on Sunday said an ambitious plan by world powers for a political transition in their war-ravaged country was unrealistic, though some reacted with cautious optimism.

Global diplomats gathered in Vienna agreed Saturday on a fixed calendar for Syria that would see a transition government in six months and elections within 18 months.

A final statement after the meeting said the goal was to bring Syrian government and opposition representatives together by January 1.

Samir Nashar, a a member of the opposition National Coalition, derided the Vienna plan as “frustrating and unrealistic,” insisting it “will not lead to a political solution.”

“How do they expect that after everything that has happened in Syria, people will just kiss each other in the streets?” he said.

He warned that the omission from the Vienna statement of a key aim of the uprising -- the departure of President Bashar al-Assad -- would strengthen claims by jihadist groups that the international community is “conspiring against the Syrian people.”

‘Paving the way’ for peace

On Sunday, a top Iranian official said several countries involved in the peace talks had tried to bar Assad from future elections, but Tehran, a key backer of Syria’s regime, insisted the demand be withdrawn.

Saturday’s talks in Vienna were the second round of the broadened diplomatic efforts to reach an end to Syria’s war, which has left more than 250,000 people dead.

Top diplomats from 17 countries as well as three international organisations met the day after a deadly coordinated assault claimed by IS in Paris left at least 129 people dead. l

9

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

ANALYSIS

USA

Clinton urges war on IS, not Muslims

Paris attacks show Syria war cannot be contained

White House hopeful Hillary Clinton called for global unity to crush the Islamic State group, as the carnage in Paris took center stage at Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate. Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley united in calling for the destruction of the jihadists accused of massacring at least 129 people in the French capital. “We are not at war with Islam,” she said, choosing her words with care as she warned ordinary Muslims should not be viewed as a threat. “We are at war with violent extremism.”

-AFP

n AFP, Washington, DC The attacks on civilians in Paris were proof that the war in Syria and Iraq will not be contained there, analysts assert on Sunday.

The deaths and the propaganda victory from the Islamic State jihadist group will intensify pressure on world capitals to find a resolution to the conflict.

But they will also exacerbate political disputes over how to deal with the refugee influx, the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and military intervention on the ground.

And this comes against the backdrop of an intensified counter-terrorism campaign on the streets of Europe which could alienate Muslim minorities and stir anti-refugee sentiment.

“It’s not a war of ideas anymore,” said Patrick Skinner, a former CIA case officer now with security consultancy the Soufan Group, of Europe’s struggle with extremism.

Initial signs point to the attack being exactly of the kind experts have been warning of for years: European Islamists radicalised in Syria and returning home.

“That it happened was not a surprise. You cannot have this kind of situation lasting for years and not have this kind of attack,” Skinner said.

French security forces have a good reputation in counter-terrorism -- “world class,” Skinner said -- but even they missed an eight-strong cell planning a complex attack.

“It’s inevitable, and it’s going to happen again,” he said.

Whether by coincidence or design, the Paris attacks were launched on the eve of

THE AMERICAS

Brazilians strip off to expose violence against women

People light candles during a vigil in Kathmandu on Saturday, following the deadly attacks in Paris REUTERS talks in Vienna among 17 countries to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

Notorious mouthpiece Had the assault not taken place, the debate would have come against the backdrop of two victories for the US-led coalition against the Islamic State -- the fall of the Iraqi town of Sinjar to Kurdish forces and the death in Syria of notorious IS mouthpiece “Jihadi John.”

Saturday brought another tactical victory when the Pentagon announced that the IS leader -- an Iraqi -- in Libya had been killed in an air strike.

But instead, European powers attended the talks amid a terrifying new security environment in which lone wolf jihadists and organized IS cells could strike at any time.

The apparent IS bombing of a Russian

passenger jet leaving a Sinai resort on October 31 -- along with bomb attacks in Beirut and Ankara -- also underline how the war in Iraq and Syria has spilled over and is spreading.

Already, US and European anti-immigration politicians have begun citing the attacks as a reason to block the flow of refugees from Syria.

Refugee advocates insist Syrians are fleeing violence, not seeking to spread it, while the best way to counter jihadist propaganda is to show Western compassion.

The polarised debate will only increase tensions ahead of tests such as France’s regional elections next month, which could see victories for the anti-immigrant Front National. l

Q&A

Q1. What are the nation’s key challenges?

Myanmar has not experienced a democratic transfer of power since the 1960s so the country is sailing into uncharted waters in modern times.

Suu Kyi’s supporters are not taking a smooth transition for granted and expect a torrid period of political horse-trading before a new government takes power in March.

Q2. Who will lead?

For millions of Myanmar voters who flocked to the polls on Sunday Suu Kyi would be a natural choice for president. But she is barred from the post by the constitution -- a legacy of the former junta that the military has resisted changing. To circumvent this Suu Kyi has said she will rule “above the president,” a legally uncertain position that she has not fleshed out in detail.She will effectively choose a president as she controls the NLD which will in turn dominate

parliament. Lawmakers will elect the head of state from three candidates selected by the lower house, the upper house and the military. Suu Kyi, who could take on a prominent role like the parliament speaker, has also indicated that she will direct policy.

Q3. How the military will be managed?

One of the most important aspects of this transition is easing the nerves of a still enormously powerful military. Suu Kyi has repeatedly said that she is very fond of the military. She has made it very clear that she wants to slowly prize the army away from politics. But she has also stressed she wants to build a government of “national reconciliation” and has no intention of pursuing revenge for the hardships meted out by the country’s former junta kingpins. And the friendly overtures are flowing both ways at the moment. Both President Thein Sein -- a former junta prime minister -- and army chief Min Aung Hlaing have promised that they will respect the vote and have even gone so far as to congratulate Suu Kyi on her win.

Q4. How the broken economy will be fixed?

Getting down to the business of government is crucial in a nation burdened with deep poverty

Topless, with slogans scrawled on their bare skin, feminist protesters in Rio made a colorful sight Saturday, yet their worries about horrific violence against women were deadly serious. The 200 to 300 protesters from the international SlutWalk movement blocked traffic along Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beachfront avenue in various states of undress. The raunchy tone is a key element of SlutWalk demonstrations, targeting what activists say is the widespread blaming of women for their own rape on the grounds that their behavior or clothing supposedly encouraged the assault. “My body, my rules,” was the principal slogan.

-AFP

UK

UK deploys special forces after Paris attacks Special forces have been deployed to back British police after Paris attacks that killed 129 people, British newspapers reported on Sunday, as part of a wider boost in security measures. Interior minister Theresa May did not deny the reports, telling the BBC that “arrangements” had been made to give the police military support where necessary. Unsourced British media reports said special forces were dressed in plain clothes and supporting police at busy public locations. -AFP

EUROPE

Five challenges ahead for Myanmar Victory for Mynamar’s Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party holds the hope of a new beginning for a nation that was choked for years under repressive military rule.

But tribulations lie ahead for the country’s first civilian-led government in generations.

DT

World

after years of neglect under the army. International investors are clamouring to get a slice of Asia’s next emerging market. But industrialisation needs roads, rail and functioning electricity -- all of which are sorely lacking. While the challenges are staggering, Myanmar has rich natural resources as well as a key strategic location between China and India.

Q5. How the ethnic rebellions can be tamed?

Conflict has tormented Myanmar’s ethnic minority borderlands for more than half a century. A much vaunted peace process under Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian rule has made some progress, signing up a clutch of armed groups to a broad ceasefire seen as a stepping stone to political dialogue. But fighting in northern Shan and Kachin states continues to rage. A Suu Kyi government comes with a strong mandate of votes from ethnic constituencies -- but ethnic armed groups are likely to be wary that a deal with her government may not be honoured by the army. Myanmar is also facing the pernicious rise of hardline Buddhist nationalists who have helped to stir anti-Muslim bloodshed in recent years, which has hit the Rohingya minority hardest. l

Source: AFP

Poland: Paris attacks undermine EU refugee policy Poland’s new government has responded to the Paris attacks by demanding security guarantees before accepting its allocation of refugees under a EU quota system, and saying the carnage puts the EU’s entire migrant policy in question. Saturday’s comments seemed to align the new government of the conservative and eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party with others in eastern Europe who bitterly oppose the welcome given to the refugees. -AFP

AFRICA

Top Sunni Muslim cleric condemns ‘hateful’ Paris attacks The head of Sunni Islam’s leading seat of learning, Cairo’s Al-Azhar, on Saturday condemned “hateful” attacks in Paris that killed more than 120 people. “We denounce this hateful incident,” Ahmed al-Tayyeb told a conference in comments broadcast by Egyptian state television. “The time has come for the world to unite to confront this monster.

Tayyeb said at the opening of the conference in the city of Luxor focused on combating “extremist thought.”

-AFP

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

Democratic US presidential candidates Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley (R) participate in the second official 2016 US Democratic presidential candidates debate REUTERS

WHO SAYS WHAT

Key moments of Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate The terrorist attacks in Paris cast a heavy spell over Saturday night’s second Democratic debate, but that didn’t stop the three Democratic presidential candidates onstage from engaging in tense and at times heated exchanges over foreign policy, gun control and Wall Street.

Here are the biggest moments from the Democratic debate, hosted by CBS News--

Clinton distances herself from Obama

Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state in the Obama administration, wasted no time contrasting with her former boss when asked about confronting Islamic State in the wake of Friday’s attacks in Paris. “ISIS (another acronym for IS) cannot be contained, it must be defeated,” she said. On Thursday, before the attacks in France, President Barack Obama said of ISIS, “from the start, our goal has been first to contain, and we have contained them.”

Jihadists? Yes; Radical Islamists? No

Clinton was pressed on whether she would agree with the notion, held by many Republicans, that the US is at war with “radical Islam.” But she appeared uncomfortable using that term, a dynamic on which Republicans on social media were quick to pounce.“I don’t think we’re at war with Islam, I don’t think we’re at war with all Muslims, I think we’re at war with jihadists,” she said. “…You can talk about Islamists who clearly are also jihadists.”

Clinton takes heat over Wall Street support

Both Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley tore into Clinton over the support she enjoys from Wall Street donors. Her explanation— that she has a record of pushing reforms on financial institutions, and has a tough plan to further rein in Wall Street, so her donors know what they’re getting into—is “not good enough,” Sanders said. “Why, over her political career, has Wall Street been…the major campaign contributor” to Clinton, Sanders asked. “Maybe they’re dumb, they don’t know what they’re going to get, but I don’t think so.” Clinton suggested that part of her support from Wall Street goes back to the work she did as a US senator from New York in the wake of September 11, which directly affected Manhattan’s financial district.

Sanders under attack on guns

Sanders was next up to feel the pressure, as both Clinton and O’Malley criticised him over his relatively conservative record on gun control. In one of the better moments for Clinton, the front-runner went after the Vermont senator for his position on gun control, forcing him to review his record over and over again. “I know that Senator Sanders had a different vote than I did when it came to giving immunity to gunmakers and sellers,” she said. Sanders, trying to defuse the moment, said at one point in the exchange, “I don’t know if there’s any disagreement here.” “Oh yes there is,” interjected O’Malley, who also sought to denigrate Clinton’s record on gun control, saying that when she last ran for president she portrayed herself as “Annie Oakley,” and accused her of being on “three sides of this” issue. l

Source: POLITICO

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Editorial 11

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

INSIDE

However many they kill, they will fail They are terrifying because delusions of grandeur and utopian fantasies make their recruits driven enough to kill themselves and uphold cruelty and murder as their divine right to inflict. But the world also needs to recognise that their brutality and nihilism are a sign of weakness, not strength

PAGE 12

Paris could have been avoided Dropping bombs and sending military aircraft for thousands of sorties can do widespread material damage, but maybe the first priority has to be a candid dialogue with Muslim expatriate communities in Western societies about foreign policy

PAGE 13

What does Paris mean for Islam?

The oft-used line ‘Islam is the religion of peace’ will become a hard sell in the Western countries after Paris

PAGE 14

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

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MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Zimbabwe shows the way

W

e would like to commend the Zimbabwean national cricket team for visiting and touring with us, playing three one-day internationals and two T20 matches. It was a fine week of cricket that was just what the doctor ordered.

In fact, it is not only the Zimbabwe national team that is here in Bangladesh, the under-19 cricket team and the national women’s cricket team are also on tour here. It is a bold statement of confidence in Bangladesh, and we appreciate the vote of confidence.

We would also like to applaud the authorities for organising a smooth and well-managed tour. It, without question, inspires confidence in Bangladesh’s security issues, which have of late been under the magnifying glass due to recent events, and has provided a much needed shot in the arm for the entire country.

In fact, Bangladesh has been host to various successful festivals recently, with the Bengali Folk Festival the most recent, boasting a crowd of close to 50,000 people on Saturday night.

It is a matter of great satisfaction for the nation that artists from all around the world, such as the ones we saw in the Jazz and Blues Festival the week before, are performing in front of us and helping to put Dhaka on the map.

In the coming weeks, we will also see the Bengali Classical Music Festival at the Army Stadium and the Dhaka Lit Fest at the Bangla Academy.

We hope that our visitors, current and future, all leave with an appreciation for the cultural richness and welcoming nature of the Bangladeshi people, and are proud to play host to them and show them the best of what this country has to offer.

We are similarly pleased to note that the Australian national football team, who are slated to play a World Cup qualifier match here on Tuesday, have not changed their minds regarding the visit, and that the match is very much on the cards.

Our ambitions as a safe, stable, middle-income nation will only be fulfilled when the world takes note of our continued development and continued engagement with the rest of the world, and these events and festivals attest to the fact that we are well on our way.

We hope that our visitors, current and future, all leave with an appreciation for the cultural richness and welcoming nature of the Bangladeshi people, and are proud to play host to them and show them the best of what this country has to offer

12

DT

Opinion

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

However many they kill, they will fail Intolerance and sectarianism are the real enemy. They must be defeated and overcome everywhere

Keeping calm and not overreacting is the best way to respond to terrorist attacks

n Niaz Alam

I

s there anything one can say about Friday’s sickening terrorist attacks on the people of Paris, that has not already been said?

Many times. Repeatedly.

The attacks on Paris are an attack on us all. It is natural to feel numb and revolted.

Terrorists, irrespective of their creed, ideology, race, or religion, have no place in civilised society. IS and soulmates like al-Qaeda represent neither Islam nor a state, but are nihilistic death cults seeking to sow division, incite hatred, and spread panic.

All true, but we have been here before.

Bali, London, Madrid, Mumbai, New York -- everyone knows, not least Islamist terrorists themselves, for that is what they are, however little they care for the ordinary Muslims whose faith they claim to represent, that they get far more attention when they manage to attack Western targets.

And so it comes to pass that a small group of people has again succeeded in taking the brutality and carnage their brethren inflict with impunity on conflict-driven, wardisrupted societies across the Middle East and Afghanistan, to the streets and ordinary citizens of more peaceful, democratic states.

We should realise by now that these types of fanatics will not stop if peace suddenly dawns on Syria. They will always find a cause or conflict to adopt, to nurture transnational terrorism, as similar groups like Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram have managed across Africa.

They are terrifying because delusions of grandeur and utopian fantasies make their recruits driven enough to kill themselves and uphold cruelty and murder as their divine right to inflict. But the world also needs to recognise that their brutality and nihilism are a sign of weakness, not strength.

The then mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, got it right in his poignant speech hours after four suicide bombers killed 52 people in co-ordinated attacks on London’s public transport system on July 7, 2005.

After thanking emergency services and providing reassurance, the mayor addressed the bombers directly to point out that, not only would the city get back to normal, but it would continue to draw in people in from all around the world, and that “whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.”

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Unless you think the Bush administration’s reaction to 9/11 did more good than harm to the US, when it trampled on the fundamental values it was meant to protect in Guantanamo Bay, and used the atrocity to hype the 2003 invasion of Iraq, nobody should need to be told that keeping calm matters.

But, of course, that is not enough. France was resolute in warning of the unintended catastrophic consequences of regime change in Iraq, yet its people today still suffer a form of blowback from that same war.

They are terrifying because delusions of grandeur and utopian fantasies make their recruits driven enough to kill themselves and uphold cruelty and murder as their divine right to inflict. But the world also needs to recognise that their brutality and nihilism are a sign of weakness, not strength

It is this we should seek to remember when Islamist terrorists murder defenseless people. They do so not because they have strong moral claims or are militarily capable of overwhelming the world, but because they know that inflicting brutality and terror is the only means they have of cowing and controlling ordinary people, whether in the Middle East, Europe, or elsewhere.

That is why, difficult as it is to say sometimes, I believe that keeping calm and not overreacting is the best way to respond to terrorist attacks.

It’s a messy world. And murderers without pity or remorse like ISIS do not hesitate to try and make matters even more complex.

Lest anyone forget, they are mirrored in their goal of driving a wedge between Muslim and non-Muslim communities by fascists and fundamentalists of other faiths and stripes who dislike Islam or use Islamaphobia as cover for prejudice against other ethnic groups.

The uncomfortable truth remains, however, is that it will be difficult to bring about a complete end to the threats Islamist terror groups pose to the world at large.

Heightened vigilance and security measures can help in the short term, but ending the geo-political and socio-economic conflicts, upon which their propaganda feeds, will take much longer.

This requires long-term peaceful political solutions to regional local conflicts. Military means can only go so far and can often make peace harder to find. Witness the feelings of victimisation which anti-militant droneattacks-gone-wrong regularly cause in Pakistan and elsewhere.

Most difficult of all will be fulfilling the need to persuade the oil-rich states and emirates of Arabia at the heart of the Muslim world to reform their societies. It is from them that much of the funds and ideological support for radicalisation, both official and anti-state, as in the case of al-Qaeda, has often flowed.

The influence of oil money, the jobs it creates for migrants, and the investments it makes in the economies of the West has long dampened the criticism they deserve for breaching human rights and spreading intolerant ideals. Mutually assured collusion is the order of the day in a globalised world.

We must not get away from the fact that this background has only made it easier for extremists to cultivate feelings of alienation from society and prejudice towards other groups among Muslim communities. It is from such sectarianism that the hatred arises which enables groups such as IS to influence and embolden recruits to commit murder in the name of religion.

Intolerance and sectarianism are the real enemy. They must be defeated and overcome everywhere. l Niaz Alam has worked on ethical business issues since 1992 and is a former vice-chair of War on Want.

He is Chief Editorial Writer at the Dhaka Tribune.

13

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Opinion

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

Paris could have been averted More than fighting groups like IS, the West should perhaps look closer to home

n Towheed Feroze

I

t’s hugely disturbing to see mobile phone footage capturing unarmed, unsuspecting, often wounded civilians in Paris running away from assailants.

What is even more disconcerting is the fact that the targeted people were killed, reportedly, as a protest against a country’s foreign policy. It seems the standard rule of warfare followed in the days of canons, muskets, and horses, where two sides faced each other, is lost. Despite many historical wars having layers of subterfuge preceding them, the actual battle eventually was face to face.

Here, in modern times, the fight has taken a diabolical form. With so many civilians dead in Paris, and France in a state of emergency, one is compelled to think beyond banal fiery rhetoric. From what we have heard in the news, the killers were on a suicide mission: Kill and then kill yourself.

The question that immediately comes is: How can one fight or expect to win against an opponent that wants to die? Just a few days ago, while listening to the news, the French government’s decision to send her aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to fight IS militants came and, for a second, the thought of possible reprisal surfaced and disappeared. It seems now that my premonition was not just a fleeting apprehension.

With so many dead, the French government has issued a declaration of war. While this sounds courageous and resolute, the question remains: War against whom? As a global citizen, do we have any idea about the structure of IS or its area of operation? In fact, if we take several unconnected incidents across the world which were claimed by one militant group or the other with some form of allegiance to IS, then the realisation is that any individual, working alone, in a state of disenchantment bordering on hatred or xenophobia, can carry out a massacre in the name of doing his or her part for IS. If that is so, the first war many Western nations have to fight is within their own country, addressing the stark social divisions which resulted in many people taking up the radical cause. An international channel, after the Paris carnage, stated that, despite France having the largest concentration of Muslims in Europe, there is a sense of resentment among a vast number of Muslims over the country’s foreign policy.

Now, this disapproval will not compel most people to carry out acts of violence, however, there will be some, maybe a handful, who will be inclined to take the extreme path.

In the UK, there was a visible social outcry when young girls were seen to be heading for Syria, and while many in the families of those who left later on said they had no clue about the intentions of their sons or daughters, it can’t be denied that failure to integrate into British society and disillusionment arising from possible prejudiced treatment at work, or other

France’s foreign policy is what led to Paris mourning places, provided the foundation for the UKdeserting motivation.

Dropping bombs and sending military aircraft for thousands of sorties can do widespread material damage, but maybe the first priority has to be a candid dialogue with Muslim expatriate communities in Western societies about foreign policy, which appears to be the single, most plausible reason for resentment to brew and erupt.

Let’s go back a decade: When the coalition forces, on the basis of fallacious information and deluded beliefs, attacked Iraq, there was simmering discontent all over the Muslim world. Saddam was never an untainted man, but for over a decade he was made, armed, and controlled by the powers that later killed him. In the Iraq-Iran war, the first acts of bellicosity were carried out by Iraq, evidently with Western blessing.

The much-needed ally then turned into a global threat plus pariah because, reportedly, a defector from the Iraqi cabinet provided “undisputable” information about the presence of weapons of mass destruction.

The Iraq invasion may seem ages ago, but that and the Libya escapade, in which large number of pro-Gaddafi fighters left with sophisticated weapons to a safer place, gave birth to severe ideological plus political polarisations -- one of the results of which is the IS Well, that is what most laypersons, including this writer, understand. Can anyone show any positive outcomes of an invasion? Afghanistan is unstable, Somalia dysfunctional, Libya torn by ethnic conflict, and Iraq hanging by a thread.

One should look up the vociferous arguments that Tony Blair put up before

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Dropping bombs and sending military aircraft for thousands of sorties can do widespread material damage, but maybe the first priority has to be a candid dialogue with Muslim expatriate communities in Western societies about foreign policy, which appears to be the single most plausible reason for resentment to brew and erupt

the British parliament to justify engaging in Iraq. With so much evidence now suggesting that the notion of WMD’s was just a hoax, Blair is left blushing.

Meanwhile, the damage has been done.

Problem is, these acts sowed deep hatred in many of the Muslim communities within Western countries. Extremists do not have to come in, they are often home-grown.

It’s deeply upsetting that people out for fun at the beginning of the weekend should be gunned down just 10 months after a similar attack on a magazine in the same city.

The war that France has declared should be aimed not overseas but within the country first, because, unless social cohesion is ensured with trust won from the Muslim sections, warplanes, ships, and soldiers will only prolong a savage confrontation with no side coming out victorious.

May the souls of those killed in Paris rest in peace. l Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

Opinion

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14

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

What does Paris mean for Islam?

Paris is burning, and so is the Muslim world

After Paris, where will the terrorists strike next?

The oft-used line ‘Islam is the religion of peace’ will become a hard sell in the Western countries after Paris. NonMuslims will become wary of the term ‘moderate Muslim.’

Millions of Muslims live and work in the West, abiding all the laws of the country. Their livelihoods may now be at a peril

n SM Shahrukh

E

arly Saturday morning, when Dhaka was under a warm blanket in the mild chill of a November night, I was reading a book and on whim, switched the TV on to catch up on some news. I looked for BBC, saw the news highlights on the crawl, but went back to reading my book. All of a sudden, my attention was drawn to the bold letters of the dreadful phrase “breaking news.”

I put down my book and raised the TV volume. It started with the news that gunfires were heard on a Paris street, and then, over the next hours, the gruesome acts of mayhem unfolded.

Armed attacks were perpetrated in restaurants, night clubs, and the Stade de France where a football match was in progress between France and Germany.

Attackers armed with AK-47s and explosives were too much for the French security forces to contain. More so, because there were suicide bombers who set off bombs in the vicinity of the stadium. One thing that has been proven over the last two decades is that it is well nigh impossible to stop people who are launching attacks with no intentions of preserving their own lives.

As events were being reported, the death

toll which started from a figure in the single digits, started to climb and then we heard the siege of the Bataclan concert hall with hundreds held hostage inside. The overall death toll was reported to be as high as 153 at one point, with another 180 grievously injured. However, this number is likely to go up. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for this attack, but from the very beginning, IS was implicated.

There were three possibilities. Firstly, Al-Qaeda could have done it. Go back to January and the attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo. Of the three gunmen, one was affiliated with IS while two others had links with Al-Qaeda in Yemen. Al-Qaeda could have carried out the attacks in Paris if only to regain their formerly held top position in the Jihadi movement scale around the world.

Secondly, it could have been a local group of French jihadis, but given the firearms used and the military style of the attacks, it did not seem likely to be the work of a local splinter group of extremists.

And thirdly, there is the Islamic State.

We know now that the IS started celebrating the Paris attacks online, with hashtags and everything, saying these attacks were done in retaliation to airstrikes made on them, and the French President Hollande, subsequently, promised

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“merciless” reprisals as he declared a state of emergency throughout France and the closure of her borders. He also implicated that the attacks were planned by IS higherups in the Levant and carried out by jihadis with IS affiliations within France.

Thousands have travelled from Europe and the US to join ISIS and hundreds of them have come back with the specific agenda dictated to them by ISIS high command.

French President Hollande warned of thousands being radicalised within France and the French intelligence were already on high alert.

How did they get hold of the weapons? It is believed that the Schengen Agreement of a borderless Europe allowed the weapons to be smuggled to the terrorists in Paris. And why Paris? The city of lights, the city of arts and literature, a city loved by Beckett, Hemmingway, Maugham, Scott Fitzgerald, well, it is a city that, an attack on which, would shake the world. And it did. An attack on Paris, New York, London, or Rome impacts geopolitics. A US drone attack on a Baghdad bridal party killing several innocents does not have the same impact. Such is the way of the world we live in.

The attacks were planned very carefully to cause maximum damage and carnage: A Friday night was chosen, when revelers were out and about dining, wining, fraternising, enjoying a concert, sitting at open air cafes and there was a football match in progress with around 80,000 spectators, including the French President. Soft targets were picked and the mayhem was complete.

The question that comes to my mind in the immediate aftermath of Paris is: Where next? One may recall the suicide bombing in Ankara last month killing over a hundred, and before that the attack on the Tunisian resort where scores of British tourists were killed. All of them, the results of the nefar-

ious terrorist attack scheme of the highly radical Sunni group called the Islamic State.

It is a time for grief, a time to stand beside the families of victims, not only in Paris but in Beirut and elsewhere too. The Western world will spew rhetoric about the evil that is Islamic terrorism, more so about the alBaghdadi-led IS and its drive towards the establishment of a Caliphate. But the West does not have its hands clean.

Even if we overlook the colonial presence in the early to middle part of the 20th century and the drawing of the borders of Iraq, Syria, and the region, and the creation of the state of Israel, we will still have to go back to the Cold War era to seek the root of Islamic terrorism.

But I digress. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims and the hundreds of thousands who had to flee their homeland in the Levant and seek refuge elsewhere.

But the new reality of the world is a place where there are no guarantees of safety and security.

The oft-used line “Islam is the religion of peace” will become a hard sell in the West after Paris. Non-Muslims will become wary of the term “moderate Muslim.” Millions of Muslims live and work in the West and lead their lives peacefully abiding all the laws of the country where they have become permanent residents. Their livelihoods may now be at a peril.

If Muslims living in the West face very negative, almost offensive remarks from people, they may call it “Islamophobia” and they will have to suffer and bear suspicious looks or outright curses. Tolerance and acceptance may be in short supply, and life will become difficult for them living in peace and harmony in a culture that is essentially alien. l SM Shahrukh is a freelance contributor.

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

INSIDE

ADB: Better regulatory frameworks, policies necessary to see FDI The Bangladesh government needs to improve its regulatory framework and improve its policies to attract more private sector investment- including FDI- in the country, said Asian Development Bank Vice President Wencai Zhang said. PAGE 16

Global markets brace for short-term hit after Paris attacks Global stocks are set for a short-term selloff today after Islamist militants launched coordinated attacks across Paris that killed 129 people, but analysts said a prolonged economic impact or market reaction was unlikely. PAGE 17

China’s new Silk Road: Boom or dust for Pakistan?

A glossy highway and hundreds of lorries transporting Chinese workers by the thousands: the new Silk Road is under construction in northern Pakistan, but locals living on the border are yet to be convinced they will receive more from it than dust. PAGE 18

Capital market snapshot: Sunday DSE Broad Index

4,424.2

-0.2% ▼

Index

1,065.3

-0.2% ▼

30 Index

1,686.4

-0.2% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

2,218.5

-27.1% ▼

63.9

-27.2% ▼

All Share Index

13,524.2

-0.1% ▼

30 Index

12,015.3

0.3% ▲

8,228.5

-0.0% ▼

166.9

-18.4% ▼

5.8

-16.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Volume

CSE

Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk Turnover in Mn Volume

Finance Minister AMA Muhith among panellists at a keynote session of Bangladesh Development Forum yesterday at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital. Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman is seen addressing session DHAKA TRIBUNE

Muhith: AIIB to consider financing fast-track projects in January n Tribune Report Bangladesh is holding talks with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to get finance for nine of the country’s fast-track projects.

The projects include Padma Bridge, MRT-6, Ruppur Nuclear Power Plant, Sonadia Deep Seaport, LNG Terminal, Matarbari Power Plant, Rampal Power Plant and Paira Port.

“The decision will be taken in the bank’s board meeting in January,” AIIB President Jin Liqun was quoted to have told Finance Minister AMA Muhith.

Muhith was speaking at a press briefing after the first day of Bangladesh Development Forum meeting at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital yesterday.

In his written speech presented at the event, the minister said in the new phase of economic development of the country much greater importance has been assumed by transformational projects whose financing is the biggest challenge for the next few years.

The finance minister had been briefing the journalists on the outcome of the firstday meeting of Bangladesh Development Form yesterday.

Highlighting the socioeconomic situation in Bangladesh, he said the biggest problem in the country is poverty and highly underdeveloped physical infrastructure.

At the moment, the poverty rate is 24.8% while the extreme poverty rate is 12.9%, he said, adding that the gross domestic investment rate is 28.97% in which public share is 6.9%.

“A noteworthy but disturbing feature is that private investment has not been able to keep pace with the growth in overall investment.”

‘This will demand a Herculean effort in domestic resource mobilisation as also development effectiveness’ “We plan to increase the rate of our growth to 8% by 2020. This is planned to bring down poverty rate to 18.6% and extreme poverty to 8.9%. This calls for added efforts for the development partners in keeping with our planned accelerated efforts,” he said.

Muhith said these goals are necessary to accelerate investment, of which the target is Tk31,902 billion, equivalent to about $400 billion.

“This will demand a Herculean effort in domestic resource mobilisation as also development effectiveness.”

The finance minister said annual performance agreement has been devised by all ministries in order to emphasise implementation of development programmers.

“We have at the same time reformed the right to

information regime to improve transparency and accountability and thus ultimately the quality of governance.”

“I can assure you that political commitment could not be any stronger than it is now,” he said.

Inviting foreign donors to finance the projects under Seventh Five Year Plan that will begin from next year, Muhith said the Plan urges all development partners to align their country assistance strategies with the goals and sectoral targets of the government.

“Under the 7th FYP, the investment requirements will sharply increase to finance a more rapid pace of GDP growth,” he hoped.

The minister said the increased requirements of foreign resources, especially investment, will pose a challenge for Bangladesh during the Seventh Five Year Plan and beyond.

“We hope that we will get our development partners on our side as before to overcome those challenges and to make our journey from lower to higher middle-income country possible.” l

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

Banks to get two more years to limit stock exposure n Tribune Report The government will extend the deadline for cutting banks’ investment exposure in the stock market by two years more.

“Banks will get another two years for bringing down their investment exposure in the stock market,” said Finance Minister AMA Muhith while briefing about the outcome of the first day meeting of Bangladesh Development Form (BDF) held in the city yesterday.

“We have already drafted it,” said the minister. The Finance Minister’s announcement came soon after the top brokers ata meeting recommended for the extension of the deadline for bringing down banks’ investment exposure in the stock market for stabilising the market.

As per rules, the banks will have to bring down their stock market exposure to 25% of their capital by June next year. If allowed, banks will get until July 2018 lowering their exposure to the permissible limit.

Previously, it was 10% of a bank’s liabilities or deposits.

Earlier, speakers ata meeting with the Dhaka Stock Exchange, stakeholders including brokers and merchant banks, fear that they might have to sell a sizeable amount of shares, which could be good enough to create a crash like in 2011, if the banks have to bring down their investment to the limit set

by Bangladesh Bank.

According to the Bangladesh Bank, about 27 banks have 25% investment of their capital in the stock market as of now. l

OTOBI gets new CEO n Tribune Business Desk Bidyut Kumar Basu has joined the OTOBI group of companies as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) onNovember 1, 2015.

Basu has been successful with leadership role for more than 20 years in Telecom and adjacent industries.

He has worked with three Telecom start up to development and 4 large-scale company transformation programs.

He has enabled multi-sector business development like mobile banking, mobile Insurance, mobile health, community information centre etc. l

Asian Development Bank Vice President Wencai Zhang (centre) speaks at a press conference in the Bank’s Dhaka office yesterday

Rajib Dhar

ADB: Better regulatory frameworks, policies necessary to see FDI n Tribune Report The Bangladesh government needs to improve its regulatory framework and improve its policies to attract more private sector investment- including FDI- in the country, said Asian Development Bank Vice President Wencai Zhang said.

“It is a long area where improvements can be made,” he said responding to a query about insufficiency of private investment required to achieve the country’s future economic goals.

“Bangladesh will also have to look into how to do more in Public-Private Partnership projects,” he added at a press conference at the ADB resident mission in Dhaka yesterday.

ADB Country Director for Bangladesh Kazuhiko Higuchi was also present.

Wencai Zhang came to Dhaka on a threeday visit to attend the Bangladesh Development Forum meeting, a platform where the Bangladesh government will place its 7th FiveYear Plan before its development partners.

“I know that the country has already set up a PPP office and enacted its PPP law in support of ADB. When the legal framework is in place, there will be more PPP projects,” ADB vice president said.

In regards to help the country’s capital market and banking sector, he said the government need to improve policies and also

have to streamline its projects to register entrepreneurs for private investment where focus can be made more.

According to him, Bangladesh has great potentials, but it also faces a lot of challenges.

“The government has clear visions- medium and long-term strategies - and it has to have stable political environment to improve the business environment. The country has a huge potentials, and we are looking forward to be one of its international partners.”

ADB vice president met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Finance Minister AMA Muhith, in which they discussed fiveyear plans and ADB’s possible ways to help achieve the goals. Wencai Zhang said focus was being given on railway and regional road connectivity.

He said he had talked with Muhith about the tax revenue and improvement of taxGDP ratio.

ADB has been working with Bangladesh since 1973 and over the last 42 years, it has lended $18bn to Bangladesh.

“For 2015, we have projected $1.2bn and are trying to invest $5bn in next three years.

In the coming years, we are trying to increase lending in transport including regional road and railways, also in energy and power generation.

“Other infrastructures like urban water sanitation, capacity building for sanitation

will also get priority where primary, secondary and vocational educations are among major areas of investment by ADB.” Responding to a question about Asian Infrastructure Development Bank (AIIB), Wencai Zhang said ADB is committed to work closely with its co-agencies. “We will continue to share information and knowledge in the co-financing projects,” he said, adding “ADB is happy with progress of its co-financed projects in Bangladesh.”

ADB official continued: “We already have three-year business project plans in Bangladesh. We have lots of project and there are some standby projects as well. We have very concrete business plan with Bangladesh for next three years and we are ready to plan for next five years which will be made next year.”

“Bangladesh has improved in lots of sectors including reduction of people living in poverty, which is a great achievement.

“It’s also a great achievement that the country has graduated from low-income status to lower middle income status. Achievements have also been made in infrastructure development and education. The country is gradually building up with some specific sectors like energy and infrastructure.”

He suggested the government working out plans for human resource development as the country has a huge number of youth citizens. l

Swedish minister for ensuring RMG workers’ rights n Tribune Report Swedish Deputy Minister for Employment Irene Wennemo has urged Bangladesh to train up mid-level workers especially in the country’s RMG sector to ensure workers’ rights and enhance their skills.

The visiting minister made the call at a meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Md Mujibul Haque Chunnu, state minister for Labour and Employment, at his office yesterday.

Irene came Dhaka to participate in the Bangladesh Development Forum 2015 held yesterday at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the capital.

During her meeting, she wanted to know about the recent development and progress made in the country’s RMG sector particularly about workplace safety and workers’ rights after the Rana Plaza building collapse that raised question about safety, a meeting source told the Dhaka Tribune, wishing anonymity.

The minister also wanted to know whether the workers are allowed to form trade unions and practice unionism in Export Processing Zones, he said.

In response, Mujibul Haque Chunnu said: “The government is working to ensure workers’ rights and develop their living standard.”

Currently, in all the industries including

the ready-made garment sector, the largest employment sector, workers are allowed to form trade union if they fulfill the criteria as per the law of the land, he said.

Commenting on the safety issues, the junior minister said all factories have been brought under the inspection net and the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and ILO had provided support for inspection to assess the safety standard.

Chunnu informed his Swedish counterpart that the inspection has been completed by the global retailers platform in association with the national initiative, which found less

than 2% factory risky.

Urging the Swedish minister to provide cooperation for workers’ training, he said the government is providing different types of training to enhance workers’ skills through International Labour Organisation and other development partners.

Senior Secretary Labour and Employment Mikail Shipar and Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Johan Frisell were present during the meeting.

According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), in the fiscal year 2014-15, Bangladesh’s export to Sweden stood at $460m with an over 9% rise. l

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

Global markets brace for short- Stocks back in red with volatility term hit after Paris attacks n Tribune Report

n Reuters, Sydney

Global stocks are set for a short-term sell-off today after Islamist militants launched coordinated attacks across Paris that killed 129 people, but analysts said a prolonged economic impact or market reaction was unlikely.

President Francois Hollande has declared a state of emergency, ordering police and troops into the streets, and set three days of official mourning after the attacks he called an “act of war” by Islamic State.

The carnage prompted condemnation by world leaders and outpourings of support for Parisians from around the globe, but would likely have only a knee-jerk impact on investment decisions, said Shane Oliver, chief economist at Australia’s AMP Capital in Sydney.

“History will tell us that if the economic impact is limited - and I think it will be - that markets will quickly recover and go on to focus on other things,” Oliver, who is also head of strategy at the A$156bn ($111bn) wealth management firm.

While news of the attacks hit after markets closed on Friday, S&P 500 Index futures were still trading and shed about 1% in light volume.

“If this had happened during market trading hours there could have been a panic but markets had a weekend to digest all the information,” said Eiji Kinouchi, chief technical analyst at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo.

With Wall Street closing more than 1 percent lower after weak US retail sales figures, Asian and European share markets would have been expected to fall even without the Paris attacks.

French stocks, particularly those exposed to the country’s large tourism sec-

The New York Stock Exchange flies a French flag, in New York tor, are likely to suffer the biggest falls.

“These Paris terrorist attacks and the larger scale of this attack could have a meaningful negative impact on the travel and tourism sector,” said Robert T Lutts, president and chief investment officer at Cabot Wealth Management in Salem, Massachusetts.

France has the largest number of tourists in the world and the sector accounts for almost 7.5% of GDP. “Given that France has a big tourism industry there may be some damage to the economy if this leads to a fall in visitors to France, or in tourism in general after the crash of a Russian plane,” said Hidenori Suezawa, financial market and fiscal analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities.

“I do not expect this impact to go so far as to affect the Fed’s monetary policy though at this point.”

Europe has suffered similar coordinated attacks on public transport systems previously, in Madrid in 2004 and

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London in 2005. Almost 250 people were killed and more than 2,500 injured in those bombings on trains and buses by Al Qaeda-inspired militants.

“The knee-jerk reaction in other terrorist attacks over the last decade has been a rush to safety, including aggressive buying in the US Treasury markets,” said Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia.

“I sincerely hope these attacks will prove short in duration and will abate in intensity, in which case the market reaction will likely only include a brief safety bid in Treasuries.”

US 10-year Treasuries notes yielded 2.273 percent at Friday’s close. The euro ended the week little changed at $1.0777, and is down 11% this year against a resurgent greenback.

French financial markets will be open as usual today, stock and derivatives exchange Euronext said on Saturday. l

Stocks were back in the red amid volatility yesterday, a day after rally in previous session, as anticipation of extending the deadline of the bank’s stock exposure turned into confusion.

The market opened on firm note in the morning trade backed by promising quarterly earning declaration by few consumer good stocks. However, sell pressure in the middle of the session diminished the liveliness of the market.

The benchmark DSEX rose 9 points or 0.3% to 4,424, hitting highest 4,444 in the first hour and lowest 4,418 in the final hour.

The Shariah index DSES was down 2 points to 1,065. The blue chip comprising index DS30 closed at 1,065, shedding around 3 points or 0.2% to 1,686.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX fell almost 4 points to 8,228.

As investors got confused, the turnover plummeted to Tk220 crore—its lowest since March this year on DSE. Cement and power sectors suffered most as both lost 1% each.

Almost all other sectors ended flat. Telecommunication sector dropped 0.7%, followed by food and allied 0.5%, NBFI 0.3% and life insurance 0.2% while power, bank, pharmaceuticals and textile were up marginally.

LankaBangla Securities said the market is still slogging through to get into positive terrain. “The market turnover value hits near an eight-month low as investors’ confidence remained battered amid steep correction in index.”

IDLC Investments said obscurity about timeframe extension of banks’ capital market exposure adjustment engrossed the investors’ sentiment with uncertainty.

The top turnover leaders were Titas Gas, BSRM Steel, Qusem Drycell, Olympic Industry, Saif Powertec and Shahjibazar Power Company Limited. l

Officials cowed by graft crackdown stall China stimulus push n Reuters, Hong Kong Local officials in China are dithering over project approvals and business deals, some to avoid the spotlight of an anti-corruption campaign, impeding Beijing’s plans to use infrastructure spending to arrest slowing economic growth.

Though the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) approved 1.9tn yuan ($300bn) of investment projects in the first 10 months of 2015, the country’s top auditor estimates $45bn of projects are behind schedule, including a railway line in Yunnan delayed five years by official sloth.

Provincial and city officials were once in the vanguard of China’s breakneck expansion, and they didn’t always play by the rules for procurement or when awarding contracts or rights for land use.

Now, when central government is trying to lift growth from 25-year lows, they fear drawing attention to themselves in case their past comes back to bite them.

China has stepped up inspection and auditing of big projects to curb graft since late 2012, when President Xi Jinping declared war on corruption, vowing to go after powerful “tigers” and lowly “flies”.

“Many people fear that the more they do, the more likely they will get into trouble,” said an official in southern Jiangxi province, who requested anonymity.

“Local officials are not fully implementing the central government’s policy measures,” said the official.

Prosecutors investigated 4,040 civil servants at the county level or above in 2014, an average of 11 a day, parliament was told in March.

But keeping their heads down is also getting them into trouble.

State media reported in September that nearly 250 officials had been punished for failing to spend government funds, delaying projects or sitting on land earmarked for development. l

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Business

China’s new Silk Road: Boom or dust for Pakistan? n AFP A glossy highway and hundreds of lorries transporting Chinese workers by the thousands: the new Silk Road is under construction in northern Pakistan, but locals living on the border are yet to be convinced they will receive more from it than dust.

The town of Sost is gateway to millions in customs duties, with its rickety stalls of corrugated iron engraved in Mandarin and Urdu, its cross-border secret agents and its dusty petrol station’s abrupt service.

It is the first stop along a new $46bn “economic corridor” designed by China in Pakistan.

Drivers from China arrive through the Khunjerab Pass, the world’s highest paved border crossing at 4,600 metres (15,000 feet) above sea level, and unload their goods encircled by the magnificent Karakoram mountains, swirled with snow.

From there, Pakistani colleagues pick up the goods and transport them the length of the country - currently to Karachi, some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) away on the Arabian Sea, but in the future to Gwadar, where Beijing has been given management of the port in a grand project allowing China greater access to the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

But, until recently, the highway was cut off just south of Sost, blocked for five years by a landslide that dammed the Hunza river and birthed the 10 kilometre long lake of Attabad, with its ice-blue glacier water.

Unable to drive around the mountain, China simply tunnelled through it, sending thousands of workers in a titanic effort that took more than three years and cost at least $275m.

“We have suffered because of the lake,” joked Amjad Ali, a round-faced trader who sells clothing in the Sost bazaar, where the new Chinese highway has replaced the old Silk Road - a tortuous dirt track travelled for

inhabitants do not have the right to vote in national elections, hence the feeling of alienation from Islamabad and the lack of a voice on the economic corridor.

But for the head of local government, Hafiz Hafeez ur-Rehman, the project is a “game-changer” for a region that should be the “prime beneficiary” as it is located on the threshold of China.

The government plans to install commercial areas and invest in hydroelectric dam projects along the future super-highway to the south, he told AFP.

The Uighur question

Chinese labourers work on the Karakoram highway in Gulmit village of Hunza valley in northern Pakistan AFP centuries by trade caravans.

Before the tunnel, residents of Sost had to cross the lake by boat in a journey that took at least an hour. Traffic in winter was meagre.

“With the tunnel, we hope business will take off and tourists flock here,” said Ali. “We are once again connected by road to the rest of Pakistan,” rejoiced another resident, Mohammed Israr.

But their optimism is tempered by fear that the trucks will simply drive on by, leaving Sost to receive, as Ali put it, “nothing but dust”.

“The Chinese care only for their own economic interest,” said Noor-e-din, another trader with a russet moustache. “We risk spending our days counting trucks as they drive past.”

Islamabad, he predicted, is set to collect millions in customs duty from Sost while doing little or nothing for the town.

Israr, for his part, evoked a land grab by wealthy Chinese and Pakistanis “from below” (the south). The latter have already approached farmers in the region in a bid to snap up their fields.

‘My land, not China’s’

Sitting on the border of his potato field under the shade of an apple tree, Ali Qurban fears losing his beloved region in Islamabad’s grand dance with Beijing.

“This is my land of Gilgit-Baltistan -- not that of Pakistan or China,” the local activist and occasional poet cries.

A land of peaks and glaciers, of verdant valleys and azure lakes, Gilgit-Baltistan was long a collection of small kingdoms before being attached to Pakistan in the 1970s.

It does not have provincial status and its

Other, more shadowy political and security factors also contribute to the sense of alienation in Gilgit: such as Beijing and Islamabad’s apparent efforts to clamp down on the restive regions that surround the corridor.

In Gilgit-Baltistan, the most famous local militant nationalist, Baba Jan, has been imprisoned for “terrorism” since 2011 for organising an anti-government demonstration.

In the neighbouring Chinese region of Xinjiang, Beijing is closely monitoring Muslim Uighurs, saying that extremists from the minority are in hiding in Pakistan - a claim that has been supported by local security sources.

For locals, it all adds up to a lack of agency.

The government and the military have “paralysed the people here”, the activist Qurban said, adding they are suppressed “as Uighurs are suppressed by the Chinese government in Xinjiang”.

“The decision-makers will decide for themselves what the benefit of the economic corridor is,” he says.

Muhammad Qasim, a Uighur now living in Gilgit whose angular face is woven with wrinkles, remembers leaving Xinjiang as a child to seek refuge in Pakistan after China’s communist revolution. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Training academy of Jamuna Bank Limited has recently organised a daylong workshop on people management. The bank’s EVP and head of human resources division, Mamun Mahmud conducted the workshop

Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB) has recently awarded ‘Gold Award’ in insurance category to Green Delta Insurance at ICSB Corporate Excellence Award. Managing director and CEO of Green Delta Insurance, Farzana Chowdhury received the crest from chief guest, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith

Prime Bank Limited has recently signed an agreement with Action In Development (AID) on providing agricultural loan of Tk 4 crore. The bank’s MD, Ahmed Kamal Khan Chowdhury and founder & chief executive of AID, Tarikul Islam Palash signed the agreement

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

People suffer as Rajshahi transport workers on strike n Tribune Report An indefinite transport strike demanding an end to the illegal vehicle plying has been going on across the district, creating immense sufferings to the people.

The strike, called by Rajshahi Poribahan Malik-Sramik Oikkya Parishad following a protest rally on the ground in the city’s Shiroil bus stand area, came in force from 6am on Sunday.

Consequently, the passengers there have been facing immense suffering due to the unavailability of vehicular movement.

When contacted, Rajshahi district Motor Sramik Union General Secretary Mahatab Chowdhury said: “We have long been urging upon the local administration to stop the illegal vehicle plying on the Rajshahi highway, but not fruitful move to the concern appeared yet. So, at last we have been compelled to call the strike.”

While visiting the bus stand, the correspondent found that people who came from different areas of the district to visit the capital were in waiting with a hope to return normalcy in the sector. The situation worsened as there was no Dhaka-bound train on Sunday from the district. l

Transport Owners and Workers Oikya Parishad activists yesterday demonstrate at Sheroil Bus Stand in Rajshahi demanding withdrawal of three wheelers from highways. The parishad has begun an indefinite strike to protest plying of unauthorised vehicles AZAHAR UDDIN

SEVEN-MURDER CASE

Victims’ families in fear, demand security n Our Correspondent, Narayanganj

Family members of victims demanded security as accomplices of Nur Hossain, the prime accused in seven-murder case in Narayanganj, have been threatening them since he brought back to the country from India.

Family members of the victims made the allegations while addressing a rally at Siddhirganj, Narayanganj yesterday morning.

During the one-hour rally, they demanded remand for Nur Hossain to know the name of perpetrators who were behind the killings of seven people.

Selina Islam Beuty, widow of slain councillor Nazrul Islam, said: “It is our demand to place Nur Hossain on remand. If the government does

so, many unknown stories will be revealed.

Who were financiers of the killings? Who were the planners? Everything will be revealed.”

Demanding security, she said: “We are living with insecurity. The government should ensure security for us.”

Mijanur Rahman Ripon, brother of slain Moniruzzaman Swapan, said: “Cohorts of Nur Hossain have been threatening. We want remand for Noor Hossain. We also demand capital punishment of him.”

Abul Khayer, father of slain driver of Moniruzzaman Swapan, said: “We want to know the real incident from Nur Hossain. So, he should be placed on remand.”

Apart from this, Abdus Salam, brother of Nazrul Islam, and Shafiqul Islam, brother-in-

law, addressed the rally.

Nur Hossain was brought back to the country from India on Thursday, a day after Ulfa leader Anup Chetia was handed over to the Indian government.

On Friday, he was produced before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Shahidul Islam. He was shown arrested in 11 cases, including the seven-murder case.

After hearing, the court has sent seven-murder case prime accused Nur Hossain to jail.

On April 27, 2014, Narayanganj City Corporation panel mayor Nazrul Islam and six others were abducted. Later, their bodies were recovered from Shitalaykha River on April 30. Nazrul’s wife filed an abduction case against Nur and several others on April 28. l

Indian citizen held with 4kg gold at Dhaka airport n Tribune Report An Indian citizen was arrested in possession of four kilograms of gold at Hazrat Shahajalal International Airport yesterday evening.

Acting on a tip off, custom officials searched Rowshon Ali, 32, after he got down from a flight of Thai airways and found the gold in his bag.

Riyadul Islam, assistant commissioner of Dhaka customs house, told the Dhaka tribune that Rowshan had come to Dhaka from Bangkok by flight number BG 089.

The detainee was handed over to police. A case was filed with Airport police station. l

Formalin testing service in Ctg kitchen markets turns irregular n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong The presence of formalin in daily commodities purchased from the major kitchen markets in Chittagong is not as frequently tested as before as the formalin detection service has become irregular over the last couple of months.

The service, which was widely hailed in the port city and costs customers nothing, was launched at some big kitchen markets located in Bahaddarhat, Chowmuhani, Kazir Dewri and Sholoshohor.

Following reports of widespread use of formalin in food items by unscrupulous traders to increase shelf life and also to make those look more fresh, Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) launched the service in association with different trade bodies.

In November 2012, the CMP authorities declared three kitchen markets in the city

as formalin-free - Chowmuhani Karnaphuli market, Kazir Dewri market and Sholoshohor Karnaphuli market.

Soon after his appointment as the CMP commissioner, Abdul Jalil Mondal inaugurated a formalin detection booth at Bahaddarhat kitchen market in November last year.

But less than a month into the formal inauguration, the service was no longer being provided regularly.

In May this year, the CMP authorities fully resumed the service but it continued for a short period.

Traders at the kitchen markets in Kazir Dewri and Sholoshohor told the Dhaka Tribune the service became irregular once CMP’s formalin detection staff stopped coming to the booths on a regular basis.

Abdur Razzak, president of Kazir Dewri Kitchen Market Traders’ Association, said

the CMP authorities had been urged to ensure regular presence of the formalin detection staff at the booth in the market.

“It is true that in most cases, customers are rather reluctant to avail the service.

Nonetheless, how are they expected to be interested in having their purchases tested if the service is not always available?”

Yakub Chowdhury, Karnaphuli Kitchen Market Traders’ Welfare Association, said around 4,000-5,000 people come to the market every day on an average to buy daily food items.

“But it is the CMP staff who are absent at the formalin detection booth. The service thus lost its appeal among customers,” he said.

Yakub said the CMP authorities had assured that they would make arrangements to offer the service regularly.

“But it is also true that the CMP staff often pass idle times at the booth as the customers

do not show much interest in having their commodities tested,” he added.

SM Nazer Hossain, president of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) for Chittagong division, told the Dhaka Tribune it was regrettable that the service had hit a snag.

“Now the dishonest traders will be taking advantage of the situation and the customers will lose their trust in the service,” he said.

“The CMP authorities should involve Chittagong City Corporation, the CAB and the kitchen market associations to ensure smooth functioning of the service,” suggested Nazer.

AKM Shahidur Rahman, CMP additional commissioner (finance, administration and traffic), told the Dhaka Tribune the service was introduced with financial assistance from different trade organisations and members of the business community. l

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

Illegal sand lifting from Alenzani River goes rampant n Our Correspondent, Tangail A section of influential people have been lifting sand illegally from different spots of the Alenzani River in the district causing risk to the river bank, nearby cultivable lands and establishments.

Sources said hundreds of houses, schools, mosques and markets are at risk due to dredging illegally from the river in Silimpur, Atia, Fazilhati and Dubail of Delduar upazila.

The important Shahdharipara-Moista Road and different establishments including a vast area of croplands have already gone into the rivers.

Nurul Islam of Shadharipara said: “We are facing setback since the road has been damaged. We demand immediate steps to repair the road so that people as well as students of the areas can use it like before.”

When visited, it was found yesterday a huge amount of lifting sand was piled up on the ground of Sonarbangla High School in Meruaghona village near the river.

Requesting anonymity, a teacher of the school said the people in the did not dare to bring allegation against the sand lifting as lo-

Sand lifted illegally from Alenzani, has been piled up near the bank of the river at Meruaghona village in Delduar for sale. The photo was taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE cal influential persons were involved with it.

Flow of water in the river is changing courses, and locals are becoming subject to multifarious losses.

Teenage girl found dead, reason yet to be known n Our Correspondent, Jessore

A teenage girl was found dead at Nadra village, Monirampur upazila, Jessore in the early hours of yesterday.

But reason behind her death could not be known immediately.

Deceased Champa, daughter of day labourer Abul Kashem, was working at a local sewing centre.

Jhorna Begum told the Dhaka Tribune that her youngest daughter Champa had passed the HSC from Bhaturia College this year and she had applied to get enrollment at Government MM College for BA pass course.

“Having dinner with us Champa went to sleep. I noticed around 1am that Champa was not in her room and then I told my other family members and started looking for her.

“Then, we found her burnt body under a coconut tree at our courtyard.”

On receiving information, a team of police from Monirampur police station went to the spot and recovered the body.

Sub-Inspector (SI) of Monirampur police station Asaduzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune that they were yet to know the reason behind the suicide.

“We recovered a lighter box and a bottle of petrol in her room,” said the SI. The body was sent to Jessore Sadar Hospital for a post-mortem examination. An unnatural death case was filed in this connection. l

3 of a family die in accident n Tribune Report

Three persons of a family were killed and three others injured in a road accident in Devpara area, Nabiganj upazila, Hobiganj yesterday.

The accident took place when a bus of Mamoon Paribahan knocked down an auto-rickshaw at Devpara causing instantaneous death to female passenger Safina Begum.

The five injured passengers were taken to Sylhet Osmany Medical College Hospital.

Later, two passengers – Mukhles Bibi and Sheikh Sufian – succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. The other three passengers, including the auto-rickshaw driver, are undergoing treatment in the hospital. l

But, administration is deaf to the matter which has triggered the illegal practice, alleged locals.

Recently, panic gripped inhabitants of

Lalhara village under the upazila due to the large scale erosion. Locals informed that earlier a vested quarter lifted sand illegally from the river banks with ‘bangla dredger’.

As a result, huge areas of Kalabagan and Kathalbagan have gone into river, they added.

On the other hand, thousands of people of Shahdharipara, Elachipur, Kamanna, Armoista, Dhanki and Kumarjani areas use the important Shahdharipara-Moista road regularly, but due to the erosion, some riverside houses and croplands have gone into river.

Aminur Mian of Dhanki Mohera village said they had informed the incident to the local administration several times. But no steps were taken.

Delduar Upazila Parishad Chairman SM Ferdous Ahmed said: “One portion of the road has been damaged. Besides, some houses and croplands have also been destroyed.”

“The ruling party men are involved with the illegal dredging,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner Mahabub Hossen said: “We have already taken steps to stop illegal sand lifting. Mobile courts conducted drives in several areas and destroyed dredger machines.” l

Studying in Europe FAQ on applying to European universities Khan Pallob, managing director of Dreams Consultant, hosts this week’s Q&A session to shed light on the basic requirements to apply and get into European universities.

I will be appearing for my HSC exam next year and my brother has already finished his BBA from a private university here. We’re both really interested in pursuing higher education from Europe, and I was thinking Germany would be a good choice. Could you please tell me what the requirements are to get into a good university in Germany? Thanks in advance.

- Arefin Masud, 18

Germany is definitely a very good choice because education in Germany is free of cost. Now first and foremost, you need at least 14 years of education to get enrolled in an undergraduate programme in Germany.

Typically in Bangladesh, you’d be able to get into a university right after you’ve completed your 12th grade - meaning right after you’ve obtained 12 years of education.

So those looking to go to Germany for a bachelor’s degree may get into a university here in Dhaka first and complete two years of education and then apply for admission in a German university.

However, if it’s for Master’s, you can apply right after your undergraduate programme.

To get into any good university for Master’s in Germany, the basic requirements include a GPA of 3.5+ in your undergraduate programme. Additionally, you may also have to sit for GMAT for business programmes and GRE for science programmes, whereas for Bachelor’s, SAT will suffice. Also, please

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Education

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

IELTS

dates and locations

note that when you’re applying for your bachelor’s in Germany, you need to complete at least 60 undergraduate credits for business programmes, and 65-70 for science programmes. This should be easy to attain given the fact that you’d be enrolled in an undergraduate programme for two years in Bangladesh, before you can transfer your credit to Germany.

Lastly, to get into a high-ranking university in Germany for bachelor’s, a GPA of 4+ in HSC is crucial. You’d be competing with the best, so the better your GPA is, the higher your chances are to get into a good university.

have a knack for and are good at. If there’s any particular field of education your heart desires to explore, you should go for it.

If I wanted to go overseas for higher studies after my intermediate exams, especially to the UK, do I have to sit for TOEFL, IELTS, SAT or any other test? Thanks.

Anis, 18 Generally, in order to get into a university in the UK, you’d need to sit for IELTS and obtain at least a band score of 6. But many top-ranked universities may require tests such as SAT. Try to jot down the names of

Hi there, I have just finished my A-levels, and I am really confused about where to apply and what to study, with so many universities, home and abroad, offering so many courses. Which subject do you think I should study that will help me land a good job later in my life?

- Rabeya, 19

Venue: Bashundhara, Baridhara Test date: December 5 Module type: IELTS General Training Registration deadline: November 23 Test date: December 5 Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: November 23

IT professionals are on the rise right now, and so are medical officers and engineers.

Cyber security courses can be a very good option, as well as nursing and other medical degrees. They are all at a premium at the moment as their industries are growing and will continue to do so for a very long time.

Their options will be endless in the job market. That being said, at the end of the day you should always pursue something you

IELTS

Test date: December 12 Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: November 30 Test date: December 12 Module type: IELTS General Training Registration deadline: November 30 the universities where you want to apply and find out about their requirements before actually going ahead with your application. For more information, please contact Dreams Constant at +8801876397805 and khanpallob@ dreamsconsultants.com. l

Writing Task Practice with us to step up your IELTS game.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

Test date: December 5 Module type: IELTS General Training Registration deadline: November 23 Test date: December 5 Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: November 23 Test date: December 12 Module type: IELTS General Training Registration deadline: November 30 Test date: December 12 Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: November 30 Venue: Dhanmondi Test date: December 5 Module type: IELTS General Training Registration deadline: November 23

Write about the following topic: The threat of nuclear weapons maintains world peace. Nuclear power provides cheap and clean energy.

The benefits of nuclear technology far outweigh the disadvantages. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Venue: Banani

Here’s a sample of the IELTS General Training Writing.

Read the instructions for each task carefully.

Write at least 250 words.

You have 40 minutes.

Test date: December 12 Module type: IELTS General Training Registration deadline: November 30 Test date: January 9, 2016 Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: January 2, 2016 Test date: January 9, 2016 Module type: IELTS Academic Registration deadline: January 2, 2016

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Feature

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

Photo: Bigstock

My French friend An unexpected encounter with an unusual acquaintance

n Faisal Mahmud On Saturday morning, while checking my facebook notifications, a usual routine of mine during the after sleep repose, I saw one - “Eric Butruille was marked safe during Paris terror attacks.” I remember Facebook introduced that option (marked safe) during the Nepal earthquake to notify near and dear one’s about the safety.

I iOn Saturday morning, while checking my Facebook notifications, a usual routine of mine during the early hours, I saw one update from Eric Butruille, who was “marked safe during Paris terror attacks.”

I remember Facebook introduced the “marked safe” option during the Nepal earthquake to notify friends and family about one’s whereabouts.

I immediately went on to my Twitter feed and found out that all the news media in the world was uploading the latest updates about the terrorist attacks in the French Capital. I messaged Eric on Facebook, asked him about his whereabouts. He replied, “In Paris and still alive; and more resolute than ever to fight those Allah fanatics.”

That sort of reply by Eric could have started another long debate between us, but on Saturday morning, I didn’t do that. I just wrote, “I understand.”

A strange meet Eric Butruille is not my friend. He is in his late 50s and I am in my early 30s, and friendship usually doesn’t form with such an age gap, at least not in my opinion.

However, we have built this strange bond.

If people read our conservation (we usually maintain contact through Facebook messenger), they would think that all we do is debate. But a peculiar sort of friendship developed between since we were both fond of each other, accepting all our similarities and differences.

I first met Eric on a bus. A no-6 bus (route

no-6 that runs from Motijheel to Gulshan) in Dhaka, to be more specific. Those who are familiar with no-6 buses in Dhaka know that it’s not usual to find foreigners on those buses, especially a Caucasian one. However, inside that packed bus, I saw one Caucasian guy reading a book. When I looked at the title of the book, I realised it was about trekking in Nepal Himalayas. I also saw that he was wearing a trekking boot from Timberland.

I am an avid trekker and I immediately wanted to strike up a conversation with him. It was hard to do so inside the congested bus. I asked him where he would get down, he replied, “Kawran Bazar.”

Fortunately that was my stoppage too. We both got down from the bus there. He was in a rush, so was I, but we exchanged our numbers and he told me that he would call me in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, he called indeed and we met. I came to know that he was from Paris and he was a theater production coordinator there. He lost his job (it had been eight months when I met him in 2014), and the amount of money that he received from the government was too little to survive with, in an expensive city like Paris. So he chose to roam around in South Asian countries like India, Nepal and Bangladesh for every three months because, apparently, doing so is cheaper than living in any of the French cities. However, he has to go back to Paris every three months to draw money from the social security department.

Before he came to Bangladesh, he was in Nepal for a month, trekking in different parts of Himalayas. In Bangladesh, he chose couch-surfing because here, he couldn’t live in a tent like he did in Nepal. I didn’t know what couch-surfing was until he told me. He was crashing on someone’s couch in Baridhara, whom he had found through a couch-surfing website. My parents were out of town for a week during that time and I

All this time, Eric and I had long conversations about Islam, atheism and religion in general. He tried to tell me about the futility in practicing religion; I tried to convince him into realising how beautiful Islam is.

They were long discussions of intellectual depth and we both enjoyed them

invited him to stay at my place for two days.

He accepted my invitation.

A friend I respected It was an exciting thing for me to invite a Frenchman to live in my house. I remember that I was much psyched about it. I called many of my friends and they came to meet Eric. Most of them were fellow trekkers and they were very excited to hear Eric’s experience in the Nepal Himalayas. My cousin, a poet, had a long conversation with him about France’s theater and their underground literary magazine society.

Interestingly, after he came to my house, I found out that Eric was a staunch atheist.

He was so strong an atheist that I called him a “religious atheist.” He considered Richard Dawking’s The God Delusion his bible. I read that book earlier, so I knew what it was about and we would spend hours arguing about our religious views, or the lack thereof. I am a religious, practicing Muslim man and was trying to defend my religion.

I remember during those two days, we spent hours after hours debating. After that, he stayed for another five days at my cousin’s house (the poetic cousin of mine liked him so much that he took Eric to his home). We also travelled to Rangamati for three days. All this time, Eric and I had long conversations about Islam, atheism and religion in general.

He tried to tell me about the futility in practicing religion; I tried to convince him into realising how beautiful Islam is.

They were long discussions of intellectual depth and we both enjoyed them. We had very different views and even if we were debating constantly, we never felt any sort of hostility towards each other. Rather, we felt like that our knowledge had improved through those conversations.

Eric went back to Paris after spending a month in India and got a job. We have been maintaining contact through Facebook ever since. Every time he sees any act of terrorism, he knocks me and starts the debate. I too, vehemently, defend with my views. I talked about Western hypocrisy on the Palestine’s issue; he condemned Islam when Charlie Hebdo was attacked. I told him that the cartoonist shouldn’t have mocked the prophet. He didn’t agree and the debate went on.

Those debates were something that we both enjoyed and didn’t mind having. But on Saturday, I did not feel like starting another one. He probably didn’t either. I just asked him about how things were in Paris. He replied “Well, Paris is under shock, but life goes on.” l

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

I skip to the loo Stomach flu and simpler-than-usual steps to prevent it

n Pragya Rahman Regardless of how silly the title of this piece is, please take the rest of this work of prose very seriously.

The gut is one of the most sensitive parts of the human body and is responsible for helping us digest all the food we eat.

However, when the gut is upset, things tend to get really ugly, really fast. You may not have to use your imagination for this but when the gut is out of order, we start spewing out food like busted gutter pipes (with an opening in each end).

Now that we’ve given you a visual of an upset stomach, let’s move on to what stomach flu actually is. The stomach flu is a food-borne virus that can affect both children and adults. Some shellfish, especially undercooked or raw oysters, can also cause one to get sick.

Here’s a clearer look at the causes and symptoms: Like any flu-like disease, stomach flu is a nasty one and is one of those villainous types which can come from someone who has it. Or in other cases, it can come from contaminated food or water, unwashed hands from going to the bathroom or changing diapers. Salmonella, for example, is the most common form of the stomach flu virus that comes from raw chicken, eggs and live reptiles, so go figure. The next time your chicken is undercooked or tastes

Photos: Bigstock

It can come from contaminated food or water, unwashed hands from going to the bathroom or changing diapers. Salmonella, for example, is the most common form of the stomach flu virus that comes from raw chicken, eggs and live reptiles

a bit bloody from your local restaurant or fried chicken shop, and your stomach starts feeling wobbly right after that first bite, you know exactly what you’ve got.

The symptoms are pretty bad so try not to feel repulsed by what we are about to describe.

The initial symptoms are severe dehydration followed by slippery diarrhea and stomach pains, cramping, vomiting, nausea and headaches and a high fever may also be present. You will feel extremely weak, lightheaded and thirsty, and it may be a good idea to keep drinking a lot of fluids (especially fruit juices such as orange juice and sports drinks like lucozade) and of course water as you’ll be losing a lot of bodily fluids whilst vomiting and taking trips to the

bathroom. It would also be wise to keep a loved one close to you so that they can look after you. Remember, while you are sick with this horrible ailment, sleep should be your best friend and your bed your constant companion. If you are alone and have no one with you, please be sure to call a doctor and have them come see you. Do everything they tell you to and don’t forget; even though we are self sufficient, sometimes we work better when we rely on others. The world would not function without unity. It may be a good idea to call a friend or a relative and ask them to come and stay with you for a little while, if not, to look after you perhaps just to brighten up your mood a little bit.

You can’t always get through everything alone now, can you? l

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

Apollo saves the life of an infant While playing with toys, an infant swallowed a coin-shaped battery (a button battery) on a late afternoon. The parents noticed the boy chocking and immediately rushed the child to the local general physician. The child got lucky since his parents were doctors, who knew the immediate actions, which were needed to prevent the serious burns caused due to a buildup of chemicals from the battery.

Then the search for a gastroenterologist consultant began. Their general physicians, however willing to help, were unable to offer safe facilities for the child’s sedation needed for the battery to be safely removed without hurting the child.

After going from pillar to post and exploring all the options, the parents finally learned about gastroenterologist, Hafeeza Aftab, at Apollo Hospitals Dhaka. After a detailed discussion with the parents on risks benefits, alternatives and complication in case of non-treatment, the parents decided to undergo the procedure, while making arrangements for travelling overseas, as a contingency plan.

Hafeeza immediately began the procedure to retrieve the battery at the hospital’s safe and child-friendly operation theatre, with the availability to sedate and recover the battery without the child feeling a single moment of pain. The procedure was done under one roof with a team of specialists including a specialised pediatric anesthesian and surgeon, with pediatric services round the clock.

The team led by Hafeeza, accepted the challenge assisted by expert technicians and anesthetist, and the battery was retrieved from the stomach of the baby without any complications. Dr Hafeeza expressed her heartfelt gratitude to her colleagues, endoscopy assistant, nurses, management and staff of anesthesia department of Apollo Dhaka.

“It would not have been possible to finish the task without continuous support from our entire anesthesiology team,” said Hafeeza. She also added, “If an accident happens, parents need to seek immediate help. The batteries can also leak a corrosive chemical called alkaline electrolyte and this can damage the

delicate lining of the stomach.”

Injuries to children caused by batteries have been documented in the medical literature and by poison control centres for decades. A particular concern is the ingestion

of button batteries, especially those greater than or equal to 20mm in diameter (coin size), which can lodge in the esophagus, leading to serious complications or death (refenerence: CDC gov). l

‘Reign Over Wintertide‘

Photos: Courtesy The community development group of SAYS (South Asian Youth Society) took a great initiative to spread awareness among the underprivileged community about the process of staying healthy and disease-free in winter. Climate change impedes the habitual living sequences of peoples’ lives. The indigenous strata of the community mainly bear the load of malign effects of climate change. Remarkably, during winter, cold hits the entity of the destitute community, and causes morbidity to a great extent which is sometimes overlooked.

Keeping that in mind, the panoramic objective of the awareness campaign “Reign Over Wintertide” was to anatomise disease prevalence, food intake pattern, expenditure, knowledge of proper hygiene and sanitation, misconceptions of food taboos, attitude towards treatment and intra household food distribution.

The area chosen was specific, being

Lalbagh in Dhaka city.

The nine compeers of the team, namely Nandeeta Samad, Maisha Reza, Iqra Iqbal Priyata, Jannatul Ferdous Miftah, Forijul Islam, Azizul Haq, Mustak Ahmed Shimul, Oishee Mujtaba and Nishat Salsabil, carried out a day-long survey in the targeted area and recorded the wretchedness of the population. The incorrect food intake pattern, unnecessary expenditure and improper ways of treating diseases during winter have been mirrored through the survey. Moreover, the survey has also reflected the conventional perception of lifestyle of the necessitous section of the society.

The team rendered basic knowledge and delivered lectures on healthy eating during cold with low to moderate income, minimising food loss and re-utilising food scraps if safe and healthy. They were also guided on common diseases of winter and

how to prevent and combat them, take precautions for the cold and the importance of sufficient water intake in winter.

Spontaneous and affirmative responses were received during the feedback session.

Through this awareness campaign, one thing was clarified that distributing warm clothes and other materials can cover stress, temporarily. But guidance and direction can help influence a permanent maintenance of sustainable living. SAYS empowers youth by giving them inspiration to sculpt their ambition and notion for erecting a better world. SAYS members of the community development team have made a contribution in depicting the dejected condition and affliction of disadvantaged groups in the society and at the same time, this event shall encourage the youth of the country to participate in bringing positive change in the society. l

DT

Sport 25

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

INSIDE SCORECARD

Siddikur falls hard from the top Siddikur Rahman suffered a huge setback in the fourth round of the inaugural World Classic Championship as the Bangladeshi golfer carded 11-over-par 82 to finish jointly at 30th place. Carding 71, 71 and 69 in the first three rounds, Siddikur sat in the number one position before the ultimate round in Singapore yesterday. PAGE 26

BANGLADESH INNINGS (20 overs) Tamim c Chigumbura b Madziva Imrul c Williams b Chisoro Anamul run out (Williams/Chakabva) Mushfiqur c Williams b Cremer Sabbir lbw b Cremer Nasir b Panyangara Mahmudullah c Jongwe b Panyangara Mashrafe b Madziva Arafat c Jongwe b Panyangara Mustafizur not out Al-Amin not out Extras (b 4, lb 2, w 3, nb 4)

R 21 10 47 9 17 3 8 0 5 1 1 13

Total (9 wickets; 20 overs;)

135

B 15 11 51 8 18 5 4 1 8 1 2

Fall of wickets 1-34, 2-35, 3-59, 4-98, 5-113, 6-121, 7-122, 8-130, 9-134

Bowling Panyangara 4-0-30-3, Madziva 4-0-25-2, Chisoro 4-0-27-1, Williams4-0-26-0, Cremer 4-0-21-2

Socceroos arrive today under security blanket

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Asian champions Australia will land in the capital today evening ahead of their 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifying match against hosts Bangladesh at the BNS tomorrow.

The Bangladesh team returned home on Saturday night after playing their sixth match in the qualifier away to Tajikistan on Thursday. PAGE 27

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza and Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura pose with the shared trophy after the two-match international Twenty20 series ended 1-1 in Mirpur yesterday

DT’s Best Bangladesh Test XI To make 15 years in Test cricket more memorable, Dhaka Tribune put together a Best XI based on the performances and contributions of all the cricketers. In order to tighten up the selection process, we selected players who fared for Bangladesh in 10 or more Test matches. PAGE 28

Starc bowls fastest ever Test delivery Mitchell Starc bowled what is believed to be the fastest delivery in Test cricket history yesterday, the third day of the second Test against New Zealand at the WACA Ground in Perth. Starc joined an exclusive club with a sizzling delivery, with the fourth ball of his 21st over to Ross Taylor clocked at 160.4 km/h. PAGE 29

ZIMBABWE INNINGS Sikandar c Mushfiqur b Al-Amin Chakabva c Sabbir b Mustafizur Williams b Al-Amin Ervine run out (Mashrafe /Nasir) Jongwe c Imrul b Al-Amin Chigumbura c Mahmudullah b Sunny Waller c Sabbir b Nasir Madziva not out Cremer not out Extras (b 4, lb 2, w 2, nb 2)

R 5 4 0 15 34 0 40 28 0 10

Total (7 wickets; 19.5 overs)

136

B 6 11 1 17 38 2 27 19 0

Fall of wickets 1-7, 2-7, 3-15, 4-33, 5-39, 6-94, 7-118

Bowling Mashrafe 4-0-27-0, Al-Amin 4-0-20-3, Mustafizur 4-0-12-1, Sunny 4-0-26-1, Nasir 3.5-0-45-1 Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets, level two-match series 1-1

Chandika keeps year-long success ahead of T20 defeat n Minhaz Uddin Khan and Mazhar Uddin It was a remarkable 2015 for Bangladesh which makes the defeat to Zimbabwe yesterday more acceptable to Tigers coach Chandika Hathurusingha. The Tigers dominated throughout the year at home soil and despite the three-wicket defeat to the visitors in the Twenty20 international yesterday, Hathurusingha thinks it is nothing compared to the success.

Bangladesh won five one-day international bilateral series at a stretch, a tough task for even the leading teams in the world.

“I think this is arguably the best year that Bangladesh had after achieving the Test status (in 2000) and arguably the best team we have had. I am very happy with the progress of the players. Winning five series in a row is not easy, because you tend to have a bad game down the line but we were very consistent and that’s got to do with their mental ability to concentrate and come back and train hard,” said Chandika to the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Bangladesh have come a long way in the ODIs and have also made notable progress in Tests, but when it comes to Twenty20Is the Tigers still lag far behind.

Be it their approach with the bat or ball, they have always struggled in the shortest format and yesterday was no exception.

Bangladesh struggled with the willow after opting to bat first and could gather only 135 runs while with the ball, skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza’s gamble of not keeping a specialist bowler at the end of the Zimbabwe chase cost heavily. As a result Zimbabwe picked their lone win in the tour slating occasional spinner Nasir Hossain for 18 runs in the last over.

“I think we still need to find our best approach and best combination. We are still developing in the Twenty20 cricket so in that sense I think we have to probably a long way to go to be consistent.

“As a batting unit we need to find our best approach individually. Individual players should understand how to build Twenty20 innings I don’t think we can find our way

out. The next two months we need to do a lot of work on approach and the mental approach the skill is there I think we cant win ODI matches if we don’t have skills. It is all about the approach,” said the former Sri Lanka cricketer.

Mashrafe disappointed with loss

“I think 150 would have been a good total to defend as the wicket was difficult for stroke-making. But still, I think our batsmen should have batted more sensibly. And I think our bowlers did a pretty good job in both the T20 games,” Mashrafe told the media after the game.

The Narail Express however, believes dashing opener Soumya Sarkar and maverick all-rounder Shakib al Hasan’s return to the side will make them a stronger unit.

“We have finished a memorable year in 2015 where we have displayed some brilliant cricket. I hope we can continue our good run and display better cricket in 2016,” he added. l

DT

26

Sport

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

Chigumbura elated with consolation win n Minhaz Uddin Khan Zimbabwe limited-over captain Elton Chigumbura duly expressed happiness following their three-wicket consolation win over Bangladesh in the second and final Twenty20 international at Mirpur’s Sher-eBangla National Stadium yesterday.

In pursuit of Bangladesh’s modest 135/9, the visitors reached their destination with only one delivery of their innings remaining.

“We were looking for this win when we came here. It is a good feeling to finally win again in Bangladesh. We did well in all departments. Guys worked hard. The five guys who bowled [yesterday], helped us chase a low score,” Chigumbura told the media after the game.

“We knew they were going to be one bowler short. We thought maybe Nasir [Hossain] will bowl the second last over. Before he (Neville Madziva) went in, I told him that one spinner will bowl in the last three overs. We had to take as many as we could from that spinner. It was great to see him (Madziva) bowl and bat the way he did,” he added.

Meanwhile, player of the match Madziva, who struck the winning six off the penultimate delivery, said, “When I saw Nasir bowling, I told myself to get on strike. I had that self-belief that we will win this game. I enjoy facing spinners more. I said to myself, this is it. I will go back to my country with a win.

Last over I had no pressure at all. I had hundred percent belief in myself.” l

The Panthapath main road is narrowed down to just one lane as hundreds of pedestrians stop in front of a TV show-room to watch the second T20I between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe yesterday evening MEHEDI HASAN

WORLD CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP

Siddikur falls hard from the top

Shanto recalls batting alongside centurion Bulbul

n Tribune Desk

n Mazhar Uddin

Siddikur Rahman suffered a huge setback in the fourth round of the inaugural World Classic Championship as the Bangladeshi golfer carded 11-over-par 82 to finish jointly at 30th place. Carding 71, 71 and 69 in the first three rounds, Siddikur sat in the number one position before the ultimate round at the Laguna National in Singapore yesterday.

Siddikur was held to his first double bogey in the second hole and to his surprise, he carded three more double bogeys in the 9th, 11th and 12th hole to finish the meet scoring a total nine-over-par 293.

The golf course is one of the toughest for the participants as Siddikur was not the only one to face such miseries. Indian S Chika also moved down to 30th from 3rd place carding nine-over-par 80 in the fourth round.

19-year-old Thai golfer Danthai Boonma emerged as the winner after carding two-under-par 69 with a winning total of two-under-par 282 which was enough to give him a slender one-shot victory over Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung.l

Hasibul Hossain Shanto played a vital role in Bangladesh’s triumph in the ICC Trophy in 1997.

The next year he played the World Cup and subsequently led the Tigers pace bowling attack in the inaugural Test match against India in 2000.

Although he managed just one wicket in the match, Shanto had several other memories that he shared with Dhaka Tribune on the occasion of Bangladesh passing 15 years in Test cricket.

LEADERBOARD Name

R1 R2 R3 R4 To Par

1 Boonma (THA)

72 69 72 69

2 Fung (MAS)

74 67 70 72

3 Wang (KOR)

69 75

4 Brazel (AUS)

69 74 72 70

30 Siddikur (BAN) 71

71 69

71 69 82

-2 -1 Par +1 +9

Leading the Bangladesh pace-attack in the inaugural Test, describe the feeling.

It’s a great honour to be a part of the inaugural Test match for Bangladesh. It has been the biggest achievement of my career by far and one can hardly describe the emotions.

You had to wait for the second innings to get your first wicket. What was going through your head?

I was not able to take any wicket in the first innings and it was a bit frustrating for me to be honest. I was really looking for the first victim. Eventually it came in the second innings. I finally had a wicket. I have learned a lot after playing that match.

After scoring 400 in the first innings, did you all hope you could draw the match?

Yes! We thought we could, we were boosted after the brilliant batting performance. Unfor-

tunately we failed to deliver and that’s how Test cricket teaches you to be more patient.

As I said we had no idea of playing five-day cricket, let alone against a big side, and we got a good taste of what Test cricket can be.

Any personal dreams achieved?

Bowling to Sachin Tendulkar was one of my biggest dream come true.

Any special moment?

I was the batting partner of [Aminul Islam] Bulbul bhai when he scored his century, that is one of my best memories from the match.

Watching him playing so well from the other end was special and one thing I would like to add is that I also scored 28 runs, which was also very special for me.l

27

DT

Sport

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

QUICK BYTES

Sachin’s Blasters 219/5 in 20 overs (Tendulkar 56, Ganguly 50, Jayawardene 41, Vettori 3/33)

Diarra’s cousin killed in Paris attacks

Warne’s Warriors 224/6 in 19.5 overs (Kallis 47, Ponting 43, Sangakkara 42, Swann 2/21) Warne’s Warriors won by 4 wickets, sweep series 3-0

France midfielder Lassana Diarra says his cousin was killed in the attacks in Paris on Friday. “It is with a heavy heart that I heard this news,” ex-Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth player Diarra tweeted. Several sporting fixtures in France were postponed after 129 people were killed in attacks across the capital.

–AGENCIES

Merkel to attend German friendly after Paris attacks Germany will face the Netherlands in a home friendly on Tuesday with chancellor Angela Merkel set to attend in the wake of the deadly terror attacks across Paris. At least 129 people were killed in a series of violent incidents across the French capital on Friday, with several deaths taking place near the Stade de France where France were playing Germany in a friendly international.

–AFP

Phelps wins 200 IM in Minneapolis Olympic superstar Michael Phelps ended the Minneapolis Pro Swim Series meeting on a high note on Saturday with a wire-towire victory in the men’s 200m individual medley. After defeats in the 100m and 200m butterfly on the first two days of competition, the 18-time Olympic gold medalist cruised to victory in the 200 IM, his winning time of 1min 59.30sec putting him just over a second ahead of Conor Dwyer (2:00.73).

–AFP

Pietersen ends South Africa stint with a 59 Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen completed his five-match South African Twenty20 Challenge contract by scoring 59 runs for the Dolphins in Centurion yesterday.

The 35-year-old South Africa-born batting star struck six fours and three sixes in a 35ball innings at SuperSport Park beside the Johannesburg-Pretoria highway.

–AFP

Rain halts India-South Africa Test Bad weather washed out the entire day’s play at the second Test between India and South Africa in Bangalore yesterday, with more rain forecast that could see the match end in a draw. The scheduled start was initially delayed by an hour as constant rain since early morning left the outfield too wet for play at the Chinnaswamy stadium.

–AFP

Sharapova puts Russia ahead in Fed Cup final Maria Sharapova took Russia within a point of winning the Fed Cup after coming back from a set down to beat Petra Kvitova in a tense final rubber in Prague yesterday. In a clash of the teams’ number-one players, Sharapova, the world number four, edged sixth-ranked Kvitova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in two and a half hours.

–AFP

Warriors captain Shane Warne delivers a ball to Blasters captain Sachin Tendulkar during the final game of a 3-match 3 city US tour of Cricket All-Stars Series at Dodger Stadium in California on Saturday. Sachin’s Blasters were swept aside 3-0 by Warne’s Warriors AFP

2018 FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

Socceroos arrive today under security blanket n Tribune Report Asian champions Australia will land in the capital today evening ahead of their 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifying match against hosts Bangladesh at the Bangabandhu National Stadium tomorrow. The Bangladesh team returned home on Saturday night after playing their sixth match in the qualifier away to Tajikistan on Thursday.

The Socceroos are currently in Singapore and will be visiting without their attacking midfielder Tom Rogic and striker Tomi Juric as the duo were ruled out with minor injuries they picked up on Thursday in their 3-0 away win over Kyrgyzstan.

Rogic, who scored the second goal in their 5-0 rout in the first leg in September, is suffering from quad soreness while Juric is trou-

bled by groin injury. Australia coach Ange Postecoglou, however, will not replace the pair for tomorrow’s game.

This is the first time the Socceroos will visit Bangladesh. They sit second in Group B with 12 points, one less than leaders Jordan who have a game in hand. Jordan will travel to Kyrgyzstan for their sixth game tomorrow.

Bangladesh are lying bottom in their group with just one point from six matches.

Meanwhile, an unprecedented security is on the card ahead of the big day which was not even the case when Argentina and Nigeria played in a friendly here in 2012. The game which is considered as one of the biggest ties in Bangladesh’s football history will kick off at 5:30pm at the Bangabandhu National Stadium with Fox Sports broadcasting the match live.

The match was earlier thrown into doubt after Australian cricket team cancelled their tour to Bangladesh over security fears and Socceroos officials flagged their concerns to FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation.

Two security officials of the Football Federation Australia, in Dhaka since last Monday, and a FIFA security officer met Bangladesh’s home affairs minister and the law enforcement agencies before giving the match the go-ahead.

Markets will be sealed off for two days before the match and sniffer dogs and bomb disposal units deployed in the stadium as Maruf Hasan, Dhaka’s deputy police chief said, “The security for the match will be at unprecedented level - much higher than any other international matches ever held in Bangladesh.” l

Beckham sympathises with Zidane, Vieira over absence n AFP, Manchester David Beckham said he understood the decision of former France internationals Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira not to play in his charity match on Saturday in the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks.

Zidane and Vieira pulled out of the game on behalf of United Nations children’s charity UNICEF staged by Beckham between a Great Britain and Ireland XI and a Rest of the World XI at Old Trafford after at least 129 people lost their lives in the Paris tragedy.

“There was slight concern (about the

game going ahead) obviously once the news hit last night,” Beckham said.

“Obviously it was terribly devastating to see the scenes we all saw but unfortunately we see those around the world and it is devastating to see.”

Beckham said he had no complaints about the withdrawals of retired French greats Zidane and Vieira, both members of the France side that won the 1998 World Cup final at the Stade de France - where fans watching the France-Germany international on Friday heard explosions at nearby sites which were later confirmed as having killed several people. l

David Beckham stands with his arm around his son Brooklyn after the Unicef Match for Children charity match at Old Trafford on Saturday AP

DT

28

Sport

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

DT’s Best Bangladesh Test XI Bangladesh cricket last Tuesday, November 10, completed its 15 years in the most valued format of the game; the Tests. The slow and painful journey, with glimpses of hope every now and then, has not been a pleasant one, but that is what five-day cricket brings to the table. A lot have changed since the winter morning in 2000 when Naimur Rahman Durjoy walked out to the centre wicket for the toss alongside Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly at Bangabandhu National Stadium. The appeal of the game never went unheard as it is the hard work from the players, administration and support from the beloved fans that turned cricket from an “amateur” sport to a “career opportunity” in Bangladesh.

To make these 15 years in Test cricket more memorable, Dhaka Tribune put together a Best XI based on the performances and contributions of all the cricketers. In order to tighten up the selection process, we selected players who fared for Bangladesh in 10 or more Test matches. Still, it was not at all an easy task to pick the best combination and in the process we had to overlook several key figures of the Tigers. Here goes:

TAMIM IQBAL

SHAHRIAR NAFEES

MOMINUL HAQUE

MOHAMMAD ASHRAFUL

Age: 26 years old Batting style: LHB

Age: 30 years old Batting style: LHB

Age: 24 years old Batting style: LHB Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox

Age: 31 years old Batting style: RHB

Mat

Runs

HS

Avg

100

50

Mat

Runs

HS

Avg

100

50

42

3118

206

39.46

7

18

24

1267

138

26.39

1

7

Tamim’s aggression is perfect for the limited overs, but in the past five years he grew to become a complete cricketer. Tamim enjoyed a superb run of form against England in two series led to five scores of more than fifty in six Test innings, culminating in his stunning 103 at Lord’s in 2010.

As a left-handed opener, Shahriar is a rarity among Bangladesh cricketers, and at the age of 19 he was thrust into the Test squad. His Under-19 coach Richard McInnes reckoned that he had the talent and temperament to become a future Test captain. His career highlight includes a fine century against the Aussies.

Mat

Runs

HS

Avg

100

50

17

1456

181

56

4

9

Mat

Runs

HS

Avg

100

50

61

2737

190

24

6

8

Mominul is one among very few cricketers from the coastal town of Cox’s Bazar. It has been a little over two years since he began his Test career, but his composure and temperament has already enabled him to be compared with the great Sir Donald Bradman. Despite being just 17 Tests old, Mominul is an easy pick.

Ashraful took the cricket world by storm when he became the youngest debutant in the history of Tests to score a century. His 158 against India in Chittagong more than a decade ago will live long in the memories of the Bangladesh fans.

The right-hander is an automatic choice in the middle-order.

HABIBUL BASHAR (C)

MUSHFIQUR RAHIM (WK)

SHAHADAT HOSSAIN

MASHRAFE BIN MORTAZA

Age: 43 years old Batting style: RHB

Age: 28 years old Batting style: RHB

Age: 29 years old Batting style: RHB Bowling style:

Age: 32 years old Batting style: RHB Bowling style: Rightarm mediun fast

Right-arm fast

Mat

Runs

HS

Avg

100

50

Mat

Runs

50

3026

113

30.87

3

24

48

2650 200

In the earlier times, consistency was a rarity in Bangladesh cricket but Bashar was perhaps an exception and three hundreds and 24 fifties attest to that. A great hooker and puller of the cricket ball, Bashar has presented many glory days to his nation, either through his batting or captaincy.

HS

Avg 100

50

Ct

St

Mat

32.31

15

76

11

38

3

Mushfiqur might be diminutive in stature but his performances speak volumes about his mental strength and character. The first Bangladesh cricketer to bag a double century, he is equally potent with the gloves behind the stumps.

Khaled Mashud came close but Mushfiq was a unanimous choice due to his batting strength.

Mat Runs

HS

Avg

100

50

Wkts

BBI

5W

10

101*

21.66

1

0

38

6/74

2

325

Gazi was selected for his variations as a right-arm off-spinner. With that said, the Patuakhali cricketer is no slouch with the bat either.

Coming in to bat at No 8 against the Kiwis two years ago in Chittagong, Gazi blasted a fine unbeaten 101. Naimur Rahman Durjoy nearly missed out.

BBI

Econ

SR

5W

72

6/27

4.16

74.7

4

36

HS

Avg 100 50

797 79 12.85

0

3

W BBI 5W 78 4/60

0

To put it simply, a braveheart cricketer in his own admission. He succumbed to several career-threatening injuries but scripted a comeback every single time. A courageous leader, Mashrafe will lead the pace bowling attack and his big-hitting exploits will come in extremely handy down the batting order.

MOHAMMAD RAFIQUE

SHAKIB AL HASAN

Age: 45 years old Batting style: LHB Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox

Age: 28 years old Batting style: RHB Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox

Mat Runs

HS

Avg

100

50

Wkts

BBI

5W

33

111

18.57

1

4

100

6/77

7

1059

Mat R

A tall fast bowler, Shahadat can be dangerous on his day. He became the first Bangladesh bowler to script his name in the Lord’s honour board while he is also the first Tigers bowler to take an ODI hat-trick. His 6/27 against the Proteas is one of the finest piece of fast bowling one can ever see.

SOHAG GAZI Age: 24 years old Batting style: RHB Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak

Wkts

Rafique just about edged veteran campaigners Enamul Haque Jr and Abdur Razzak due to his batting strength. Either in the top-, middle- or lower-order, Rafique has provided plenty of entertainment to the Bangladesh fans over the years while his left-arm spinners are accurate to say the least.

Mat Runs

HS

Avg

100

50

Wkts

BBI

5W

42

144

39.76

3

19

147

7/36

14

2823

Not only Bangladesh, maverick cricketer Shakib is arguably the world’s best all-rounder. Revered for his consistency and self-belief, he has come to his side’s rescue many a time, be it with the willow or leather. It was no surprise therefore, when the entire DT team picked Shakib in their line-up.

29

DT

Sport

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

MITCH STARC’S THUNDERING 21ST OVER Ball 1

: 149.2km/h to McCullum

Ball 2

: 150km/h to McCullum

Ball 3

: 150km/h to McCullum

Ball 4 : 160.4km/h to Taylor (record) Ball 5

: 149km/h to Taylor (dropped at gully)

Ball 6

: 150.9km/h to Taylor

CRICKET’S FASTEST DELIVERIES Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan — 161.3km/h v England, 2003, World Cup (Newlands) Shaun Tait, Australia — 161.1km/h v England, 2010, one-day int’l (Lord’s) Brett Lee, Australia — 161.1km/h v New Zealand, 2005, one-day int’l (Napier) Mitch Starc, Australia - 160.4km/h v New Zealand, 2015, Test (WACA) Jeff Thomson, Australia — 160.6km/h At a 1976 fast bowling study at WACA Andy Roberts, West Indies — 159.5km/h v Australia, 1975 (WACA)

Starc bowls fastest ever Test delivery n AFP, Perth

SCORECARD

Australian paceman Mitchell Starc bowled what is believed to be the fastest delivery in Test cricket history yesterday, the third day of the second Test against New Zealand at the WACA Ground in Perth.

Starc joined an exclusive club with a sizzling delivery, with the fourth ball of his 21st over to Ross Taylor clocked at 160.4 kilometres per hour (99.7 mph).

Only four other fast bowlers have officially been recorded with deliveries at more than 160 kpm, but none of those were in Test cricket.

However, Kiwi batting coach Craig McMillan, who once faced a 161 kph delivery from Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar, questioned the accuracy of the reading, suggesting it might have been the result of a technical fault in the broadcast van.

“I was surprised when it came up on the TV... maybe someone in the truck was having a bit of fun,” he said.

“The delivery came out of nowhere. It looked pretty similar to a lot of the other deliveries throughout the day that were closer to 150 than 160.

“I’m not sure whether the wrong button was pushed... you’d have to ask Rosco if it felt 10k quicker than every other delivery he faced.”

While Starc didn’t comment on the specific ball, he said it was one of his fastest spells.

“It was nice to have rhythm and have the ball coming out nicely,” he said.

“It felt really good and I was trying to bowl fast.” l

AUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS 559/9 dec in 133 overs Warner 253, Khawaja 121, Voges 41, Craig 3/123 NEW ZEALAND 1ST INNINGS (140-2 overnight) M Guptill lbw Starc T Latham c Smith b Lyon K Williamson c Johnson b Hazlewood R Taylor not out B McCullum b Marsh BJ Watling c Lyon b Starc D Bracewell c Neville b Johnson M Craig not out Extras (b7, lb10, w5, nb3)

R

B

1 5 36 85 166 250 235 308 27 54 1 12 12 40 7 23 25

Total (6 wickets, 129 overs)

510

Fall of wickets 1-6, 2-87, 3-352, 4-432, 5-447, 6-485

Bowling Starc 30-6-5-83-2, Hazlewood 27-2-98-1, Johnson 24-2-131-1, Lyon 30-4-93-1, Marsh 15-1-73-1, Smith 3-0-15-0

Starc breaks McCullum’s bat

Williamson century sees him join elite

Embarrassing delay at WACA Ground

Double centurion Taylor hailed by Kiwis

Questions will be asked about the quality of the WACA wicket after more a than a thousand runs were scored in three days but Mitchell Starc showed there was life in the track with one frightening spell of new-ball bowling. The left-arm paceman took a chunk out of New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum’s bat with another and created a string of chances which all failed to go to hand.

Williamson made 166, his second century in as many matches, before mistiming a pull shot from the bowling of Josh Hazlewood and being caught at mid-on by Mitchell Johnson to end a record 265-run stand with Taylor, a new benchmark for New Zealand in Tests against Australia. It was his 12th Test century and only three other players have scored as many centuries at the same age - Sachin Tendulkar (16), Don Bradman (13) and Alastair Cook (12).

The ageing WACA Ground was the scene of an embarrassing delay yesterday. The day’s opening session was held up for 17 minutes because ground staff were unable to move the sightscreen at the northern end to facilitate a change of approach by Starc. Players stood and waited while WACA staff worked to fix the problem with the sightscreen, which was above an advertisement for Cricket Australia’s website, with the slogan “Where play never stops”.

Taylor was unbeaten on 235 at stumps on the third day of the second Test against Australia at the WACA Ground yesterday.

New Zealand batting coach Craig McMillan said he always believed Taylor would return to his best. “It was an immense innings and it had been brewing for some time,” he said. “(Taylor) had been a little bit short of time in the middle and runs, but as they say form is temporary and class is permanent.

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 1 10:00AM South Africa Tour of India 2015 2nd Test, Day 3

Star Sports 2 8:30AM New Zealand Tour of Australia 2nd Test, Day 4

Ten Sports 7:30PM Barclays ATP Men’s Round Robin Day 2, Session 1 & 2

HOLM SILENCES ROUSEY IN STUNNING KO WIN Holly Holm of the US (R) lands a kick to the neck to knock out compatriot Ronda Rousey and win the UFC title fight in Melbourne yesterday.

Holm tamed the world’s most feared female prizefighter Rousey with a stunning knockout victory for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight title. Holm, 34, made a blistering start to the title fight before 56,000 fans at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium, becoming the first fighter to win a round against her fellow American, a former judo champion.

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Young horse (4) 4 Short gaiters (5) 9 Lyric poem (3) 11 Operatic air (4) 12 Snake (4) 13 Stagger (4) 14 Heavy horse-drawn vehicle (4) 15 Select group (5) 19 Coral isle (5) 21 Encourage in crime (4) 25 Innermost part (4) 26 Proverb (5) 28 Golf club (4) 29 Fermentation vessel (3) 30 Irritable (5) 31 Seeks charity (4)

DOWN 1 Fuel (4) 2 Strange (3) 3 Shelf of rock (5) 5 Container (6) 6 Tract (4) 7 Rank (4) 8 Saline (5) 10 Satellite’s path (5) 16 Hid (6) 17 Gem (5) 18 Unspoken (5) 20 Permission (5) 22 Make a hole in (4) 23 Love god (4) 24 Wagers (4) 27 Joke (3)

Downtime CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 1 represents T so fill T every time the figure 1 appears.

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

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

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

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

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

Indian Pamela and Bangladeshi Ambrin to be the faces of BPL

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

WHAT TO WATCH Sherlock Holmes HBO 6:35pm Sherlock and Dr Watson have just closed the case of the occult magician Lord Blackwood. But when he comes back from the dead and goes killing again, Holmes and Watson must begin their search again. They have to fight against the stupidity of Scotland Yard. To add to his problems, Sherlock has to cope with the temptation of Irene Adler.

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams

n Showtime Desk Indian model-turned-actress Pamela Singh Bhutoria has been chosen as the face of the third edition of Bangladesh Premiere League (BPL) alongside Bangladeshi model-anchor Ambrin.

Pamela, the semi-finalist of Miss India 2006 who has gathered experience anchoring with Star Sports, will report live from the stadium during the matches and will also be a part of the studio interviews.

Sheena Chohan, the anchor of the previous two editions, won’t be seen in the role this time around, as Channel 9, the broadcasting authority of BPL, cancelled the agreement with the Piprabidya actress.

Ambrin, one of the top 10 contestants of Lux-Channel i Superstar 2007, has been selected as the sole native anchor of the international sports event while local anchors from the previous editions including Nawsheen, Nabila and Moonmoon apparently have been eschewed from the job.

Tanveer Khan, the head of programme of Channel 9, said: “While selecting anchors for this edition we have gone through a lot of scrutinised processes and taken several screen tests to select Pamela and Ambrin.

About the cancellation of agreement with the anchor of previous two editions,

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Tanveer revealed that the management did not expect to see their former BPL girl on the big screen.

The opening ceremony of the third edition will launch on November 20 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium and the tournament will kick off next Sunday. Channel 9 will telecast all the match live. l

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 WB 9:00pm The film revolves with final chapter begins as Harry, Ron, and Hermione continue their quest of finding and destroying the Dark Lord’s three remaining Horcruxes, the magical items responsible for his immortality.

But as the mystical Deathly Hallows are uncovered, and Voldemort finds out about their mission, the biggest battle begins and life as they know it will never be the same again.

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

AIIB TO CONSIDER FUNDING FAST-TRACK PROJECTS PAGE 15

SOCCEROOS ARRIVE TODAY PAGE 27

PAMELA, AMBRIN TO BE THE FACES OF BPL PAGE 31

Dhaka Lit Fest begins Thursday

Zimbabwe win brings curtain down on 2015 n Mazhar Uddin

n Nure Alam Durjoy The Dhaka Lit Fest will take place at the historic Bangla Academy premises this weekend, November 19-21, with the participation of nearly 250 talented culturally significant figures from around the globe.

The three-day festival will remain open to visitors from 9:30am to 7pm every day, according to the organisers.

A press conference was held at Bangla Academy yesterday afternoon, where festival co-directors Sadaf Saaz Siddiqi, Ahsan Akbar, and Kazi Anis Ahmed highlighted the three-day programme, the schedule for which is available at http://dhakalitfest.com.

This year’s event is being especially anticipated for featuring Nobel Prize Laureate Dr Harold Varmus, cancer researcher and author of The Art and Politics of Science.

Among the roster of speakers, the event will also include: Iconic literary figure Nayantara Sahgal, Pakistani human rights lawyer Asma Jahangir, famed British journalist Jon Snow, bestselling Indian author Shobhaa De, and Indian author Ramachandra Guha.

The festival is set to present a wide array of international talents of diverse origins and genres – top Cuban science fiction writer Yoss, Kenyan children’s author Muthoni Garland, Palestinian poet Ghassan Zaqtan, novelist Amit Chaudhury, poet Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, and acclaimed film-maker Leslee Udwin.

Speakers at the press conference includ-

ed the Director General of Bangla Academy Shamsuzzaman Khan, Secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs Aktari Mamtaz, Managing Director and CEO of City Bank Sohail RK Hussain, and Editor of the Dhaka Tribune Zafar Sobhan.

This year’s event is being especially anticipated for featuring Nobel Prize Laureate Dr Harold Varmus.

Other speakers include Nayantara Sahgal, Pakistani human rights lawyer Asma Jahangir, famed British journalist Jon Snow, bestselling Indian author Shobhaa De, and Indian author Ramachandra Guha Sadaf thanked the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Bangla Academy for being part of this initiative to promote Bangladeshi literature. “The Dhaka Lit Fest will mark a resurgence in Bangladeshi literary culture, while vigorously engaging other cultures beyond our own borders,” she said.

Ahsan Akbar presented possible high-

lights from the packed schedule, featuring a smattering of renowned writers: “We are very excited about the line-up this year, which includes living legends like poet Nirmalendu Goon Mohammad Nurul Huda, and Indian poet Arvind Krishna Mehrotra.”

Shamsuzzaman Khan said the initiative taken by the youth has paved the way for a new era in which promising, talented individuals from around the world would come to share their knowledge, saying that the festival seeks to be a part of our culture.

“From the very beginning, through this festival, we aimed to build a bridge between the world and our literature,” according to Kazi Anis, echoing the sentiments of his fellow organisers.

“This initiative will brand Dhaka as a city of culture,” said Sohail RK Hussain.

The festival will also host the launch of a special Bangladesh issue of the world-renowned journal Wasafiri. This is the first time an international literary journal has devoted an entire issue for Bangladeshi writing.

This year will also mark the launch of the Library of Bangladesh by the Dhaka Translation Centre, featuring the English translations of three Bangla works by local authors.

“During the festival, we will listen, we will talk, we will argue, and we will appreciate,” said Zafar Sobhan, Editor of Dhaka Tribune, which is the title sponsor. “In these three days, the festival will represent the very best of Bangladesh.” l

MAINOORISLAM MANIK

Aktari Mamtaz, secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, speaks at a press conference held by the organisers of the Dhaka Lit Fest at Bangla Academy in Dhaka yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Zimbabwe clinched a cliff-hanger and brought parity in the two-match Twenty20 international series yesterday following their three-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second and final game at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Player of the match Neville Madziva (28 not out) smashed a six off the penultimate delivery of their innings to chase down the modest target of 136 set by Bangladesh. He received valuable support from player of the series Malcolm Waller, who chipped in with a quickfire 27-ball 40, while Luke Jongwe more than played his part with his 38-ball 34.

Together, Jongwe and Waller added 55 match-winning runs for the sixth wicket and Madziva later put the finishing touch in the final over bowled by Nasir Hossain.

The Bangladesh bowlers however, tried their level best to defend the small total. Al Amin Hossain starred with the ball, taking 3/20 while pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman gave away just 12 runs from his four overs.

Earlier yesterday, the Bangladesh batsmen repeated their same mistakes from the first T20I after skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza won the toss and decided to take first guard.

Right from the word go, the Tigers batsmen were looking to smash each and every single delivery out of the park as Tamim Iqbal (21), Imrul Kayes (10) and Mushfiqur Rahim (nine) all departed in quick succession.

Anamul Haque (47) was the highest scorer for the Tigers but none of the middle- and lower-order batsmen, with the exception of Sabbir Rahman (17), put up any sort of resistance as they eventually managed 135/9 from their stipulated 20 overs. l

Player of the match Neville Madziva

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com