November 22, 2015 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Agrahayan 8, 1422, Safar 9, 1437

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 216

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

SQ Chy, Mujahid hanged Islam Shaon, Arifur Rahman n Ashif Rabbi and Kamrul Hasan The government has executed notorious war criminals Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid after completing all legal procedures, in line with the International Crimes Tribunal verdicts. Throughout yesterday, the families of the war criminals made repeated efforts to stop the execution, but in vain. Finally, after meeting the convicts for the last time, both families claimed that the duo had not sought presidential clemency admitting their crimes, as was announced by the jail authorities. Former BNP MP Salauddin and top Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mujahid were the third and fourth high-profile political leaders to be executed for the crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War – the first two being Jamaat leaders Abdul Quader Molla and Muhammad Kamaruzzaman. “They were hanged simultaneously at the Dhaka Central Jail at 12:55am,” Inspec-

ready for executing the war criminals while 12 officials including Dhaka Deputy Commissioner Tofazzal Hossain were present inside the jail to oversee the process. DB Deputy Commissioner Sheikh Nazmul Alam said that the duo were kept on the same execution dock while the hangman, Raju,

Jamaat calls nationwide hartal for Monday

Four ambulances two of which carry the coffins of the two executed war criminals come out from the Dhaka Central Jail at 2:57am today MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU tor General of Prisons Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune. The official announcement was made by Senior

Last minute dramatics Islam Shaon and n Ashif Ibrahim Hossain Ovi The last day of the two condemned war criminals, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, saw concerted efforts from their respective families to halt the executions. Salauddin’s younger son Hummam Quader Chowdhury tried to reach a prayer to the President’s Office in person in the afternoon demanding retrial, arguing that the trial was not fair. The President’s Office did not receive the application. The family members then went to the jail gate to meet Salauddin, but they were denied a visit. They earlier met Salauddin on Thursday. Meanwhile in a press conference, Mujahid’s family members urged the president to halt his execution until the end of the trials in August 21 grenade attack cases, in which he is an accused. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam observed that the moves were made only to misguide the countrymen and create controversies. “The president is not such a position which will be available to the family members of death-row convicts to send any letters or meet him in person to discuss the trial issues,” he said. “The president is a constitutional post, and as per the constitution, the condemned criminal has the constitutional right to send his mercy application to the president, admitting crimes, pleading for life. “They [Mujahid and Salauddin] can go for it if they want and can seek cooperation

from the prison authorities. There is no need of lawyers as the mercy issue is fully constitutional thing, not part of a legal procedure,” the attorney general said. During the press conference, Mujahid’s family members claimed that as the Jamaat leader had been implicated in the grenade attack case, they would request the president not to execute him before the case was disposed of. “As a citizen of Bangladesh, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid has the right to continue the legal battle in this case,” said his wife Tamanna-e-Jahan. “He wants to clear his name from the charges.” The attorney general said he found the argument “irrelevant.” “No one is proven guilty if the state presses charges against him. If the verdict says so then he will be convicted, otherwise not,” Mahbubey said. “If someone is accused in five cases and is executed in one of them, then the other cases against him will become invalid as a deceased person cannot be tried,” he added. Officials in Bangabhaban turned down the retrial petition from Salauddin’s family and asked them to submit it to the Law Ministry. On his way back from Bangabhaban, Hummam alleged that the trial had not been fair. “The president is the guardian of the constitution of the republic, and that is why we have come here with a petition seeking retrial of my father’s case,” he told reporters. In the application singed by Salauddin’s wife Farhat Quader Chowdhury, they said: “As you know, the international community  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Jail Superintendent Jahangir Alam at 1:50am. Seven hangmen – Shahjahan, Raju, Abul, Mokter, Hazrat, Iqbal and Masud – were kept

pulled the lever of the gallows that removed the floor on which the convicts were standing. Earlier, imam of the jail mosque, Monir Hossain, conducted customary rituals including performing Tawbah or repentance. After their bodies were hanged for some time, prison doctors examined the bodies and confirmed their death. Later doctors conducted post mortem tests.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

News

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

SQ Chy, Mujahid hanged Four ambulances carrying the dead bodies left the jail premises around 2:50am amid Joy Bangla chants. Pro-liberation activists also showed disrespect for the war criminals by waving shoes. As per their families’ wish, they would be buried at their ancestral homes – Salauddin in Chittagong’s Raozan and Mujahid in Faridpur town. However, freedom fighters and local Awami League chapters have vowed to resist the burials. Police and RAB personnel accompanied the ambulances. Local district police were asked to escort the vehicles to the destinations. After the news broke, war crimes trial campaigners, gathered outside the jail, at Shahbagh and Raozan, celebrated by distributing sweets and bringing out processions. Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP condemned the executions and claimed that the trial was flawed. Jamaat called a countrywide shutdown for Monday. They enforced another shutdown on Thursday. Earlier, the US Department of State and London-based rights group Amnesty International urged the Bangladesh government to halt the executions alleging that the trial had failed to meet international standards. Security in and around the Dhaka Central Jail was tightened ahead of the executions. Media crews thronged the scene to cover the historic incident. Pro-liberation activists who gathered outside the jail kept on chanting slogans demanding quick execution of the war criminals. Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and additional policemen were deployed in Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Faridpur to avert any untoward incident. Salauddin, a standing committee member of BNP, was hanged for killing Nutan Chandra Singha and orchestrating three other genocides at Raozan during the war with an intent to exterminate the Hindus and his political opponents from that locality. He was part of a para-militia force raised by his father Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, a leader of the anti-liberation Convention Muslim League, after the bloody Operation Search Light on the night March 25, 1971. Mujahid, who had been at the helm of infamous al-Badr force for the last few months of the war, was hanged for the systematic killing of intellectuals. The war crimes tribunal awarded the Jamaat secretary general death sentence for the killing of Hindus in Faridpur, but the Supreme Court later commuted it to life-time jail sentence.

Clemency debate

The two war criminals lost their last resorts as the president turned down their mercy petitions last night. The jail authorities began their final preparation for executing the duo after that. They also asked their families to meet the convicts for the last time. “The president has rejected their petitions. We have got the order through the home secretary,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said around 10pm. At least 35 people including Salauddin’s wife Farhat Quader Chowdhury and sons Hummam Quader and Fazlul Quader arrived at the jail gate in the evening. Eighteen of them were allowed to enter the jail around

EXECUTED

QUADER MOLLA

WAR

KAMARUZZAMAN

Executed December 12, 2013

Executed April 11, 2015

CRIMINALS MUJAHID

MUJAHID

Executed November 21, 2015

Executed November 21, 2015 ASMAUL HOQUE MAMUN/DT INFOGRAPHIC

8:50pm. Coming out of the jail around 10:45pm, Hummam alleged that his father had not signed any mercy petition. “Who said this rubbish? … After my execution, they [government] will say many new things. They are killing me for failing to defeat me in the elections,” six-time lawmaker Salauddin was quoted by Hummam as saying. Later the BNP in a statement echoed Hummam. Acting spokesperson Asaduzzaman Ripon claimed that Salauddin’s seeking pardon was nothing but a propaganda. Salauddin also told his family that he would get justice in the court of Allah, reads a BNP press release. Salauddin served as the parliamentary affairs adviser to then prime minister Khaleda Zia in 2001-06. His family is accused of leaking draft verdict from the tribunal’s computer. Mujahid’s family members reached the jail around 10:30pm. A total of 30 members of the family entered the jail in three teams around 11pm and came out nearly one and half hours later. Ali Afzal Mohammad Khalis claimed that his father had not sought president’s mercy. In the afternoon, Law Minister Anisul Huq told reporters that the convicts had sought presidential clemency. Family members rejected the announcement. They also criticised the government for not allowing the lawyers to meet the convicts yesterday. Hummam tried to reach a prayer to the President’s Office in person in the afternoon demanding retrial, arguing that the trial was not fair. The president’s office did not accept the application. The family members then went to the jail gate to meet Salauddin, but they were denied a visit. They earlier met Salauddin on Thursday. The BNP earlier claimed that Salauddin had been denied justice. “He has contributed in the country’s independence and sovereignty. He is a clean and honest politician; he is committed and uncompromising in the question of democracy,” Asaduzzaman Ripon said on Thursday. The chief justice on November 18 lambasted the defence for submitting “fake” documents at the review petition hearing. Meanwhile, Mujahid’s family from a press conference yesterday urged the president to halt the execution saying the trial in the 2004 grenade attack case was still pending. Mujahid, social welfare minister during BNP-Jamaat’s 2001-06 tenure, is an accused. However, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam observed that there was no legal obligation for the government to allow the con-

victs’ lawyers to meet them at this stage. “There is no need of lawyers as the mercy issue is a fully constitutional thing, not part of legal procedure,” he told reporters at his office. He alleged that the convicts’ families were trying to misguide the countrymen and create controversies. Regarding the appeals for mercy, Salauddin’s lawyer Muhammad Huzzatul Islam Khan said in the evening: “We came to know through media that he [Salauddin] sought presidential clemency. The matter seems dubious.” Fazlul Quader Chowdhury Fayaz, the elder son of Salauddin, said: “We do not believe that our father has filed an application seeking mercy.” Mujahid’s son Ali Ahmed Mabrur said: “It seems shady and incorrect. It is not authentic … the authorities did not allow the lawyers to meet my father.” Earlier in the day, two magistrates went to the jail and met the convicts to know about their opinion about filing the mercy petitions. They did not talk to reporters waiting outside while coming out after over four hours. Wishing anonymity, a high official of the Home Ministry said that Deputy Jailer Md Arif Hossain of Dhaka Central Jail handed the copies of the mercy petitions to Smriti Rani Gharami, additional secretary for home, around 3pm. The petitions were later sent to the law secretary for the minister’s opinion. Anisul forwarded the petitions to the home ministry. Later those were sent to President Abdul Hamid through the Prime Minister’s wing at Bangabhaban. After the president rejected the petitions, the papers were sent back to jail through the home and law secretaries.

The legal battle

Mujahid was sentenced to death for masterminding the torture and murder of intellectuals at the al-Badr camp set up at Mohammadpur Physical Training Centre in Dhaka, sensing the defeat of the Pakistani occupation forces. On the other hand, Salauddin was awarded capital punishment for murders of freedom fighters and Hindus in Chittagong. Mujahid’s lawyers argued that he could not be sentenced for the crimes committed by al-Badr. On the other hand, the state argued that Mujahid must shoulder responsibility for superior command as the chief of the paramilitia force. Salauddin claimed that he had been in Pakistan from March 29, 1971-April 20, 1974

when the offences had taken place. But their claims were rejected by the International Crimes Tribunal and the Appellate Division while the prosecution proved the charges by placing witnesses and documentary evidence. “Cold-blooded murderer” Salauddin was awarded death penalty on October 1, 2013 for killing Kundeshwari Oushadhalay founder Nutan Chandra Singha and three incidents of genocide – at Unosottor Para, Banik Para and Madhya Gohira of Raozan. The Appellate Division upheld his sentence on July 29 this year. On July 17, 2013, the now-defunct tribunal 2 ordered to hang Mujahid by the neck for the massacre of intellectuals including scientists, academics and journalists, and his involvement in the murder and torture of Hindus in Faridpur. He appealed against the verdict on August 11, 2013 and hearing began on April 29 this year. On June 16, the Appellate Division delivered its judgement, upholding death for the Jamaat leader for the murders of intellectual. Hailing from Khabaspur of Faridpur, Mujahid is the son of Muslim League leader Maulana Abdul Ali, who was a member of the Pakistan Provincial Assembly in 1962-64. He participated in the general elections of 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2008 but was never elected. He was made social welfare minister (technocrat) during the BNP-Jamaat’s 200106 tenure. l

Last minute dramatics has been very critical of the trails and many have condemned it for the lack of fairness. “Rather than criticising the trial directly, my husband has instructed me to highlight what the international community has said about the trial.” The convicts’ family members and Jamaat-e-Islami expressed doubts yesterday when the jail authorities told the media that Mujahid and Salauddin had appealed for the president’s mercy. “We came to know through media that he [Salauddin] sought the presidential clemency. The matter seems dubious,” said Salauddin’s lawyer Muhammad Huzzatul Islam Khan. “We do not believe that our father has filed an application seeking mercy,” said Fazlul Quader Fayaz, the elder son of Salauddin. Mujahid’s son Ali Ahmed Mabrur said: “It seems shady and incorrect. It is not authentic ... the authorities did not allow the lawyers to meet my father.” l

Khaleda returns home n Tribune Report Wrapping up her two-month-long London trip, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday returned home. Earlier, speculation ran rife that she might not return home. An Emirates Airlines flight carrying the former premier landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 5.12 pm. BNP chairperson’s advisers Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and Abdul Awal Mintoo and Mintoo’s son Tabith Awal accompanied Khaleda from the airport. Khaleda left Dhaka on September 15 for medical treatment. During her visit to London, Khaleda had a family reunion with her elder and only living son Tarique for the first time since 2008. Her younger son Arafat Rahman Koko died of cardiac arrest in January this year. Koko’s wife and two daughters accompanied Khaleda to London. The BNP chief returned Bangladesh when one of BNP’s top leaders Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury’s execution is a matter of time.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia waves at her followers as her car leaves Dhaka airport yesterday. The BNP chief returned home yesterday after more than two months’ stay in the UK MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU Ahead of Khaleda’s return to Dhaka, huge security measures were taken in the airport

and adjacent areas. Huge number of law enforcers were deployed in the airport area. Vehicles were checked before their entry to offices. From Mohakhali to Airport area law enforcers were seen searching vehicles. BNP leaders and activists lined up along the road from the airport to her Gulshan house to greet Khaleda Zia. A long traffic tailback was created on either side of the road leading to the airport amid massive security measures. Earlier, the party had urged the government to take steps to ensure security of the BNP chairperson in and around the airport. Senior BNP leaders Moudud Ahmed, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Shah Moazzem Hossain, Chowdhury Kamal Ibn Yusuf, Abdullah Al Noman, Selima Rahman, Osman Farruk and other senior leaders welcomed Khaleda at the airport. Party sources said Khaleda left Hitherto Airport at 10pm in London time while her son Tarique Rahman and his family members saw her off. l

News

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Punishment of attackers on Christian priests demanded n UNB Bangladesh Christian Association on Saturday demanded punishment of the perpetrators involved in the attacks on Christian priests in different parts of the country. The Association’s members came up with the demand from a human chain in front of Jaitya Press Club protesting the recent attacks on pastors. Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad General Secretary Advocate Rana Dasgupta, its presidium member Hubert Gomez, Bangladesh Christian Association Secretary General Nirmal Rozario and its secretary Hemanta I Corraiya, among others, spoke on the occasion. On the issue, Nirmal Rozario said if the government can not stop perpetrators and attacks on foreigners it would create questions about the country’s secular identity. He urged the government to provide security to the Christian community members living and working in the country. l

Government to install 50MW solar power plant projects n Aminur Rahman Rasel

The government is going to install solar panel-based power plant projects with 50 megawatt production capacity to supply power to the national grid under unsolicited deals in the Mymensing district. The HETAT-DITROLIC-IFDC Consortium (Singapore-Malaysia) will set up the power project and supply per unit of electricity at Tk13.26 for 20 years with 18.5 percent plant factor. The consortium will supply power under no-electricity-no-payment basis, an official said, adding that the Power Division agreed to a proposal for purchasing power spending Tk2,148 crore from the plant for 20 years. The Power Division has already prepared a proposal to send for approval to the cabinet

PSC, equivalent exams begin today

n Tribune Report The Primary School Certificate and madrasa equivalent Ebtedayee examinations for fifth graders is set to begin around the country today. According to sources, 3,254,514 students are expected to take part in the exam, among whom 2,949,063 are PSC candidates and 305,451 students are Ebtedayee candidates. The students will begin with English test on the first day. The exams will be held from 11am to 1:30pm on the scheduled days until it ends on November 29. In the wake of massive allegations of question paper leaks, the government will introduce region-based question papers this year, a first of its kind in the country’s history of board exams. l

committee on public affairs. The projects will mitigate the existing power crisis by enhancing generation of renewable energy in the public and private sectors.

As per the renewable energy policy 2008, the government has a plan to source 800MW of electricity from renewable energy “We have taken initiatives to reduce dependency on fossil fuel-based electricity generation by developing solar panel-based power plants,” Power Division Secretary Monowar Islam told the Dhaka Tribune.

The Power Division will place a proposal for the approval of the construction of the 50 MW solar power plant at the next meeting of the cabinet committee on public purchase. The state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) under Power Division will implement the projects. On October 1, 2015, the Cabinet Committee on Purchase approved a proposal for setting up a 200MW solar park in Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar, the largest in the country, on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis with the private sector. SunEdison Energy Holding (Singapore) Private Ltd, a subsidiary of American solar power giant SunEdison, will carry out the project as an independent power producer (IPP), as part of the government’s mega plan to increase production.

The state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) will buy electricity from the project at 17 cents or Tk13.26 per kilowatt hour (each unit) for 20 years. The government will have to spend about $1.1bn or Tk8,595 crore. SunEdision will set up the power plant on it’s own land and has agreed to install 50-km transmission lines from it’s own fund. A section of businessmen proposed to set up solar-fired power plants to get public and private land easily instead of setting up the plants. Later, they use the land for other purposes, internal sources said. As per the renewable energy policy 2008, the government has a plan to source 5% or 800MW of electricity from renewable energy. Another 10% or 2,000MW from renewable energy has been targeted. l

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

News

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina place floral wreaths at Shikha Anirban (the Eternal Flame) in Dhaka Cantonment to mark Armed Forces Day yesterday

PM: Modernization of armed forces to continue n UNB

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her government is taking all necessary steps for the modernisation and expansion of the armed forces which will continue in the future. The prime minister said this at a reception organised at Senakunja, Dhaka Cantonment marking the Bangladesh Armed Forces Day 2015. Hasina also said necessary initiatives are being taken so that all the plans taken for the modernisation and expansion of the armed forces can be completed within the tenure of the present government. She said the armed forces earned recognition from the international arena for maintaining peace, stability and security and Bangladesh is now the highest peacekeeper contributing country of the UN. “I pray for you so that you earn appreciation everywhere for your discipline and skill and you could uphold your pride through your contributions towards building the country and in its defence.” Many peacekeepers of Bangladesh embraced martyrdom while performing duties for world peace, she said offering prayers for their departed soul, she added. Hasina said members of the armed forces have set a unique example of patriotism through their services during natural disasters and internal crisis alongside protecting the country’s independence and sovereignty. She said Forces Goal-2030 has been prepared in light of the defense policy of the Father of the Nation. The prime minister paid her glorious tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, four national leaders and all martyrs of the War of Liberation and prayed for their eternal peace on this occasion. She also recalled the sacrifice of around two lakh mothers and sisters who were oppressed by the occupation forces and conveyed sympathy to the family members of the martyred and wounded freedom fighters. The prime minister sought cooperation of all in building a happy, prosperous self-defendant country to live with dignity among the world comity. l

BSS

Bangladesh fires up large-scale solar to boost power generation n Thomson Reuters Foundation, Dhaka The government of Bangladesh has approved construction of a large-scale solar park as part of a push to increase the share of power from renewable sources in this electricity-starved country. The new solar park, which is due to begin generating within the next 18 months, will supply up to 200MW of electricity to the national grid. Sun Edison Energy Holding (Singapore) Pte Ltd will build the park in Teknaf upazila (sub-district), the southernmost point in mainland Bangladesh. The solar power will be cheaper than electricity from conventional power stations. The tariff rate has been fixed at Tk13.26 per kW/ hour ($0.17), two-thirds the price of electricity generated by oil-fuelled plants. Teknaf is one of several large projects in the pipeline as the government aims to reach a target of 2,000MW, or 10% of overall capacity, generated from renewable sources by 2020. Current daily grid generation is 7,000MW, against a peak demand of 8,500MW, although the actual need is certainly higher since only 62% of the population have access to electricity through the grid. The government plans to increase installed capacity to 20,000MW by the end of the decade. Ahmad Kaikaus, an official at the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources, said in an interview that the government hopes that 500-600MW of this will be generated by public-sector solar power plants. “We have asked public-sector power companies to set up equipment for generating electricity from solar,” Kaikaus said. “They are carrying out feasibility studies.” Kaikaus said that in addition, scores of local and foreign private-sector companies are submitting preliminary proposals to invest in solar power generation, with projects ranging in size from 5-100 MW, and the government is

so far considering 14 of these. Taposh Kumar Roy, chairman of the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA), identified a shortage of uncultivated land in this densely populated country as a significant constraint to planning large-scale solar plants.

Current daily grid generation is 7,000MW, against a peak demand of 8,500MW, although the actual need is certainly higher since only 62% of the population have access to electricity through the grid “Large-sized solar power plants need a huge area of land to install solar panels. In Bangladesh such barren field is hardly available. Our policy is to set up such plants only in non-agriculture lands to keep food production unhampered,” he said. Among the places solar panels could be placed is on rooftops of residential, commercial and industrial buildings, he said. At present, renewables account for 405MW, or around 5.7%, of Bangladesh’s total daily electricity generation. This includes 150MW from solar home systems, and 11MW from rooftop systems. A further 230MW are generated by hydropower. The government also is collecting data on wind power potential from 13 locations, he said.

Cost of the change

According to Roy, some $2.76bn will be required to implement both large- and smallscale solar projects in the country, of which $2.23bn is expected to come from development partners, with the rest from government and the private sector.

Ruhul Quddus, a World Bank consultant on solar home systems in Bangladesh, said renewable energy has become cost-effective as technology constantly improves. Quddus said an investment of around $1bn by the state-owned Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL) has enabled the installation of some 3.7m solar home systems since 2009, as well as solar-powered irrigation pumps and mini-grids. The home systems have eliminated the need for 180,000 tonnes of kerosene fuel, saving an estimated $225m annually, he said. According to IDCOL, more than 65,000 solar home systems are now being installed each month. The company aims to finance 6m systems by 2017, increasing the estimated generation capacity from the systems to 220MW. Quddus said there also are about 1.4m diesel-fuelled irrigation pumps in Bangladesh which could instead run on solar energy. SREDA’s Roy said most of the ongoing renewable energy projects in Bangladesh are financed by donors, with the funds managed and distributed by IDCOL. “Since solar projects need big investment, we can’t take those from our own resources,” he said. The government is exploring the possibility of getting money for projects from the Green Climate Fund, Roy said. Dipal C. Barua, president of Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association, is optimistic that the government’s 10% target can be met through public-private partnerships. Barua said large-scale renewable projects had not been implemented successfully in the past because of insufficient attention from the government, including a lack of feasibility studies and the absence of a tariff policy. The government is now preparing a tariff policy to procure electricity from big renewable power grids, and this will encourage the private sector to invest, Barua added. l

News

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

‘Together we could make a difference’ n Nure Alam Durjoy The three-day Dhaka Lit Fest, the preeminent international literary congregation of the country, ended yesterday amid hopes that liberal thoughts and ideas will thrive further in South Asia. At the closing plenary, writers, politician and journalists said that the society had been passing a critical time where there is aggression on thoughts. The session titled “Is there any future for Liberalism in South Asia?” was moderated by journalist Victor Mallet. Indian writers Nayantara Sahgal and Kiran Nagarkar, Bangladeshi lawmaker Kazi Nabil Ahmed and Nepalese writer Bikash Sangraula spoke at the session. Kazi Nabil Ahmed said that the challenges that the country was facing now exist throughout the world. “Freedom of expression is in danger here in Bangladesh too.” The evil forces that were defeated in 1971 are now killing writers and bloggers and threating intellectuals in collaboration with

TEMPERATURE FOREC AST FOR TODAY

DRY WEATHER SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22

Dhaka

of people. “There is only one God. That is life,” he said while speaking at the closing session. Echoing Kiran, Bikas Sangraula focused on the issues centring the practice of liberalism in Nepal. Before the closing plenary, festival director Sadaf Saaz thanked all the writers from home and abroad, the festival host and the audience. The concluding day of the festival began with the screening of “India’s Daughter” by Leslee Udwin at the Main Stage, while the Bhasha Stage hosted a discussion on genre fiction by three authors and its wide appeal. At 10:40am, the Main Stage hosted a vibrant conversation between writer and DLF director Ahsan Akbar and noted international journalist Jon Snow. Snow shared his wide range of experience in journalism over the last three decades. “There are problems with the ownership of media but journalists have options in which way they can reach to people with information. Terming his visit to Bangladesh stunning, Snow ended by saying: “Together we could make a difference.” l

From left, Victor Mallet, Kiran Nagarkar, Nayantara Sehgal, Kazi Nabil Ahmed and Bikash Sangraula speak at “Closing Plenary: Is there any future for liberalism in South Asia?” on the concluding day of Dhaka Lit Fest in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR state into a Hindu State. “I believe, from north to south, east to west, there are vast diversities of languages, cultures. What differences can you get is India – this is the meaning of India. It is the fact of history,” she said in response to a question from the audience. Kiran Nagarkar criticised the Indian government and its activities against the majority

miscreants from outside, the parliamentarian said. But the government’s initiatives are not enough; people should come forward in fighting the aggression against thoughts, he said. Nayantara Sahgal said: “Our [Indian] present government is trying to destroy Nehru’s legacy. All Hindus are disturbed by the present government as they are trying to turn this 30

18 Chittagong

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 5:11PM

Rangpur

Khulna

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 6:19AM

33.4ºC Sitakunda

14.9ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES

Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

Fajr: 4:58am | Zohr: 11:44am Asr: 3:51pm | Magrib: 5:12pm Esha: 6:31pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

News

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Experts: 67% children suffer from respiratory problems n Tribune Report

At least 67% of the children under the age of five years in the country suffer from various respiratory problems, speakers said yesterday. Lack of proper diagnosis, trained manpower and separate pulmonology department at the medical colleges cause serious setback to treatment of children’s respiratory illness including pneumonia, bronchiolitis, asthma and tuberculosis, they said at the 4th Child Pulmocon 2015 conference at the Krishibid Institution, Bangladesh in the capital. Bangladesh Paediatrics Pulmonology Forum (BPPF) organised the conference with Professor ARM Lutful Kabir, head of paediatrics at Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital in chair, reported BSS. They said setting up pulmonology department, well-trained manpower, necessary modern medical equipment and supply of drugs at the medical colleges are essential for proper treatment of the disease. Establishment of Paediatrics Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is also vital for survival of the children affected with acute bronchiolitis and other respiratory problems. National professors and noted child specialists including Prof MR Khan, BIRDEM Director-General Prof Nazmun Nahar, Prof Nurul Islam and MA Abid Hossen Mollah, among others, attended the conference. More than 400 child specialists from home and abroad participated in the conference. l

Conference on population begins n UNB

The 12th International Inter-Ministerial Conference on Population and Development began in the capital yesterday with a focus on women, children and adolescents. Some 200 senior leaders, health and development professionals, including ministers and secretaries representing 26 countries, are attending the conference at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury inaugurated the conference, jointly arranged by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Partners in Population and Development (PPD). Indian union health minister chaired the programme. l

Family members of war crimes convict Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid demand to withhold his death penalty at a press conference in the auditorium of Supreme Court Lawyers’ Association in the capital yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

Chittagong port on course to self-reliance in water supply n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong. Chittagong Port Authority has been setting a milestone by desalinating surface water from Karnaphuli River and then supplying the drinking water to foreign vessels. The achievement is part of a project that aims to gain self-dependency in supplying pure drinking water to foreign and local vessels. Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan formally inaugurated the port authority’s water treatment plant on March 21. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Md Zafar Alam, member (admin and planning) of Chittagong Port Authority, said the water treatment plant has been running in full swing. “The water purifying plant is the new milestone of the country’s principal seaport.

The plant is the largest of its kind in the country. Many organisations in coastal areas had constructed desalination surface water purifying plants, but not in a big way like Chittagong Port Authority,” said Alam. “With the operation of the treatment plant, the dependence on Chittagong Wasa has been reduced to a great extent. As a result, Chittagong Wasa now can supply that water to city residents. As of now, the plant is running smoothly and we are treating water in the plant which is similar to World Health Organisation-defined standards,” he added. Md Mesbah Uddin Chowdhury, project director and executive engineer of the CPA, said: “Although the plant is capable of purifying 8,800 tonnes a day, we are not utilising the full capacity right now. We are now treating the amount of water in the plant which is

required for the port.” According to CPA sources, the premier port of the country requires around 6,000 tonnes of water a day. However, before setting up the plant, the port had to depend on Chittagong Wasa for obtaining around 2,400 tonnes of water per day. In February 2013, the CPA signed a deal with Dhaka-based ABM Water Company and Italy’s Oltremare for constructing the water treatment plant at a cost of around Tk24 crore. The treatment plant uses water mainly from three sources – surface water from the Karnaphuli, rainwater, and underground water. It has a 2km long pipeline through which the water comes to the treatment plant from the Karnaphuli. Then the water goes through various steps of purification. l

Shahriar: Bangladesh needs proper climate change policies n Tribune Report Bangladesh needs to formulate proper policies and act accordingly to combat the negative impacts of climate change as it is one of the most significant issues we need to address, said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam yesterday. He was speaking on the first day of the four-day Bangladesh International Model United Nations 2015 conference at Pan Pacif-

ic Sonargaon Hotel in the capital. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Youth and Students Association of Bangladesh (UNYSAB) organised the conference with the theme of “Climate Change and Sustainable Future”. The aim of the conference is to engage future leaders from both the country and abroad in a debate over the pros and cons of climate change. Environment and Forests Minister Anwar Hossain Manju said climate

change is an international problem. “According to the proposal of the developed countries, temperature will rise by 4% every year but Bangladesh has proposed to keep it below 1.5%. “If they do not agree with the proposal, I am going to warn them that if we go under water because of climate change implications, they too will face the same fate someday,” he said. Nahim Razzaq, member of the Parlia-

mentary Standing Committee on Youth and Sports Ministry, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Robert D Watkins, UNYSAB Trustee Board Chairman Dr Sayed Saikh Imtiaz and UNYSAB President Mohammad Mamun Mia were present at the inaugural session among others. Students from India, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan are participating both as delegates and executive board members along with students of Bangladesh. l

World 7

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

INSIDE

UN approves all necessary measures to fight IS n AFP, United Nations

Mali hunts suspects after deadly hotel siege Investigators in Mali were on Saturday hunting at least three people suspected of links to the jihadist siege at a luxury hotel in the capital that left at least 19 people dead. PAGE 8

US admits civilians killed in Iraq strike A US air strike that targeted an Islamic State checkpoint in Iraq in March likely killed four civilians, one of whom may have been a child, the US military said on Friday in a rare statement acknowledging the death of civilians. PAGE 9

The UN Security Council on Friday authorised countries to “take all necessary measures” to fight the Islamic State group in a resolution that won unanimous backing a week after the Paris attacks. The measure drafted by France calls on all UN member states to “redouble and coordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist attacks” committed by IS and other extremist groups linked to al-Qaeda. French President Francois Hollande welcomed the adoption, saying the resolution would “help mobilise nations to eliminate Dae’sh” (IS), which has claimed responsibility for the attacks that left 130 dead in Paris. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said countries should now find concrete ways to shore up the fight, “either through military action, the search for political solutions or the battle against terrorist financing.” The resolution does not provide any legal basis for military action and does not invoke chapter seven of the UN charter that authorises the use of force. But French diplomats maintain that it will provide important international political support to the anti-IS campaign that has been ramped up since the attacks in Paris a week ago. “This resolution is a powerful international recognition of the threat posed by ISIL (another acronym for Islamic State),” said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, who chairs the council this month. The British envoy described it as a “call to action” to member-states to join in international efforts to defeat IS. The measure calls on member states “that have the capacity to do so to take all necessary measures, in compliance with international law... on the territory under the control of ISIL, also known as Daesh, in Syria and Iraq.”

Political appeal

Delhi’s female students rebel against university curfews

Twenty-year-old zoology student Rani Choudhary left her family home in Bihar for the bright lights and freedom of the Indian capital. PAGE 10

Russia’s Ambassador Vitaly Churkin stressed that the resolution was a “political appeal” and did not “change the legal basis” for states confronting terrorism. France’s bid for UN backing came after Russia submitted a revised text of a separate draft resolution that calls for fighting the IS group with Syria’s consent. That draft has been rejected by the US, Britain and France, which are refusing to cooperate with President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, whom they accuse of fomenting extremism by resorting to brutality. Describing IS as a “global and unprecedented threat to international peace and security,” the resolution calls for sanctions and urges countries to step up efforts to cut off the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria. The resolution “unequivocally condemns in the strongest terms the horrify-

ing terrorist attacks” in Paris and in Beirut, and also mentions violence in Tunisia, Turkey and Egypt this year. France put forward the resolution on Thursday and sought quick approval from the 15-member council. The vote came exactly a week after coordinated attacks claimed by IS targeted a packed concert hall, football stadium, bars and restaurants in Paris, killing 130 people and wounded hundreds.

Islamic State attacks abroad in 2015 The Islamic State group has dramatically expanded its operations from its hub in Syria and Iraq, executing and inspiring a series of attacks across three continents and claimed more than 800 lives this year – more than half of them in the past month.

Two weeks earlier, a Russian airliner was downed by a bomb, killing all 224 people on board, in a separate attack that IS claims was carried out using explosives packed in a can of Schweppes soft drink. France has been pounding IS targets in Syria since September, invoking the right to self-defense contained in article 51 of the UN charter, but Russia began air strikes after receiving a request from Damascus for assistance. l

EUROPE

ASIAASIA

14 7 11

1 8

13 12 AFRICA

DATE

LOCATION

1 March 18 Tunis, Tunisia

INCIDENT Extremist gunmen open fire at foreign tourists at National Bardo Museum, killing 22 people.

3 6 54 9 2 10

DEAD

2 March 20 Yemen

An emerging IS affiliate in Yemen claims a series of suicide bombings.

137

3 April 18

Afghanistan

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani blames the Islamic State group for a suicide bombing in the country.

35*

4 May 22

al-Qudeeh, Saudi Arabia

A suicide bomber blasted a Shia mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia as worshippers commemorated the birth of a revered saint.

5 May 29

Dammam, Saudi Arabia

A suicide bomber disguised as a woman blew himself up in the parking lot of the only Shia mosque.

6 June 26

Kuwait Shia mosque

Bomb rips through one of Kuwait’s oldest Shia mosques during Friday prayers.

7 June 26

Lyon, France

A truck driver with radical Islamic ties crashes into a US-owned chemical warehouse and hangs his employer’s severed head on a gate, along with banners in Arabic inscriptions.

8 June 26

Sousse, Tunisia

Gunman kills 38 tourists, mostly Britons, in the coastal resort of Sousse, Tunisia.

9 Aug. 6

Abha, Saudi Arabia

A suicide bomber attacked in western Saudi Arabia, hitting a mosque inside a police compound in Abha, 350 miles south of Mecca.

10 Oct. 6

Aden, Yemen

Suicide car bombings targeting exiled Yemeni officials and the Saudi and Emirati troops backing their efforts to retake the country.

15*

11 Oct. 10

Ankara, Turkey

Two suicide bombings kill at least 100 people at a peace rally in Ankara, Turkey.

12 Oct. 31

Egypt (plane departed Sharm el-Sheikh)

A bomb downs a Russian airliner 23 minutes after it taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh airport bound for the Russian city of St. Petersburg.

224

13 Nov. 12

Beirut, Lebanon

Twin powerful suicide bombings tear through a crowded Shia neighborhood of Beirut.

14 Nov. 13

Paris, France

The worst in the history of Paris, was response to France's role in US-led airstrikes against IS militants in both Iraq and Syria.

129

100*

World

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

SOUTH ASIA

UN urges end to blocking of supplies on Nepal-India border UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged protesters in Nepal to stop blocking essential supplies and called for dialogue to resolve differences. Ban expressed “growing concern over the blocking of essential supplies on the Nepal-India border,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “He is alarmed by reports of the obstruction, and destruction, of life-saving medical supplies and the continued impact on humanitarian operations.” Ban “calls on all sides to lift these restrictions without further delay and underlines Nepal’s right of free transit.” -AFP

INDIA

India invites Hollande for Republican Day parade India has invited French President Francois Hollande to be the chief guest at next year’s Republic Day parade. Indian officials, however, refrained from making a formal announcement over the invite. Another source said the invite to Hollande was planned “much before” the November 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130, but the terror strikes gave it the “right context.” If he accepts the invite, Hollande would make his second official visit to India in a single term. -HT

CHINA

China accuses EU of ‘prejudice’ for rights censure China accused the European Union of prejudice and ignoring the facts on Friday after the EU’s special representative for human rights expressed concern about the rights situation in the country. Stavros Lambrinidis said he was worried by China’s arrest and harassment of lawyers and activists and new security laws that could be used to curtail freedom of expression, according to statement issued after his trip. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the statement “ignored the facts.” -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

Obama urges halt to artificial islands in S China Sea US President Barack Obama said on Saturday that countries should stop building artificial islands and militarising their claims in the disputed South China Sea. “For the sake of regional stability the claimants should halt reclamation, construction and militarisation of disputed areas,” Obama told a meeting between the United States and leaders of the ASEAN. China insists it has undisputed sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, a claim that overlaps with four ASEAN countries. -REUTERS

MIDDLE EAST

IS claims deadly Iraq mosque attack The Islamic State jihadist group has claimed an attack at a Shia mosque south of the Iraqi capital that officials said killed at least six people. IS, in a statement, said a suicide bomber named as Abu Hussein al-Ansari carried out the attack inside the mosque, while security and medical officials said it took place nearby after Friday prayers, also wounding at least 19 people. The IS only mentioned the suicide bombing, but officials said it was preceded by a roadside bomb, and that the attack took place after security forces arrived at the scene. -AFP

Mali hunts suspects after deadly hotel siege, state of emergency declared n AFP, Bamako Investigators in Mali were on Saturday hunting at least three people suspected of links to the jihadist siege at a luxury hotel in the capital that left at least 19 people dead. The government has declared a state of emergency after the bloody nine-hour hostage-taking at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako on Friday, exactly a week after the Paris massacre. The al-Murabitoun group, an al-Qaeda affiliate led by notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, nicknamed the “Uncatchable” or “Mr Marlboro,” claimed the attack. Gunmen went on the rampage through the hotel from the early morning, shooting in the corridors and taking 170 guests and staff hostage, many of them foreigners. The assault, which ended when Malian and international troops stormed the hotel, left 19 people dead as well as two attackers, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said. The victims included several Russians, three Chinese, two Belgians, an American and a Senegalese. A Malian military source had said earlier there were at least 27 dead, while at least “three terrorists had been killed or blown themselves up.” Authorities are now “actively pursuing” at least three people over the attack in the former French colony, one security source confirmed.

A security cordon remained in place around the Radisson and security was also boosted around public buildings and banks and other hotels. US President Barack Obama and his Russian and Chinese counterparts Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping all condemned the attack. Mali has been torn apart by unrest since the north fell under the control of jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda in 2012. The jihadists were largely ousted by a French-led military operation launched the following year, but large swathes of Mali remain lawless.

‘Terror will not win’

Dramatic rescue

Keita is due to visit the site of the carnage on Saturday as Mali prepares to begin three days of national mourning on Monday. “Terror will not win,” Keita said in a televised address. “Long live Mali.”

The assault began early on Friday, when gunmen pulled up at the hotel and starting shooting their way inside, taking guests and staff hostage. Malian television broadcast chaot-

India blocks visits by US officials despite warmer ties n Reuters, Washington, DC/New Delhi Despite a much-heralded fresh start in US-India ties under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a diplomatic source said on Friday the US has run into problems arranging visits by two senior officials, recalling a diplomatic spat that soured relations two years ago. Washington has been seeking to send Susan Coppedge, its newly appointed anti-people trafficking ambassador, and Randy Berry, its special envoy for LGBT rights, to New Delhi this month. Human trafficking has caused friction between the US and India. The countries also disagree on gay rights, which the Obama administration promotes, while homosexuality in India is illegal. The source, who did not want to be identified, said the visits had run into problems. “These visits were planned, they were meant to be here around this time. But there were some issues,” the source said.

The State Department declined formal comment but a department official said the two sides were “working to coordinate the best timing.” India’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to request for comment and Indian Ambassador Arun K Singh did not offer clarification when asked on Thursday about Coppedge’s plan to visit, which was revealed at a November 4 congressional hearing by Kari Johnstone, principal deputy director of the State Department’s trafficking office. The human trafficking issue blew up in 2013 over the arrest of an Indian diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, for visa fraud and underpaying a domestic worker who was later given a US ‘T visa’ issued to trafficking victims. Khobragade’s arrest and strip search provoked an outcry in India and the issue has festered, although US-India relations have strengthened since Modi came to power in May 2014, with both sides stressing shared strategic interests. l

ic scenes from inside the building as police and other security personnel ushered bewildered guests along corridors to safety. Special forces -- including Malian, French and two US soldiers who were also in the area -- staged a dramatic floor-by-floor rescue, ending the siege after about nine hours. In an audio recording broadcast by al-Jazeera television, Belmokhtar’s group claimed responsibility, saying it had worked with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Belmokhtar, one of the world’s most wanted men, was indeed “likely” the brains behind the assault. The jihadist is also accused of spearheading an attack on an Algerian gas plant in 2013 in which around 40 hostages were killed, most of them Westerners. l

Obama admin asks top court to revive immigration plan n Reuters, Washington, DC The Obama administration on Friday asked the US Supreme Court to revive President Barack Obama’s executive action to protect millions of illegal immigrants from deportation, saying Republican-led states had no legal basis to challenge it. Exactly a year to the day after Obama announced the plan, the Justice Department formally appealed a 2-1 decision on November 9 by the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals that affirmed a lower court’s February decision to halt it. If the appeals court ruling is left in place, millions of people would “continue to work off the books, without the option of lawful employment to provide for their families,” Solicitor General Donald Verrilli said in the filing to the nine justices. Obama’s executive order would let up to 4.7m illegal immigrants live in the US without the threat of deportation. It was directed at people with no criminal records whose children are US citizens. l

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

US admits civilians killed in Iraq strike n Reuters, Washington, DC A US air strike that targeted an Islamic State checkpoint in Iraq in March likely killed four civilians, one of whom may have been a child, the US military said on Friday in a rare statement acknowledging the death of civilians. An investigation of the March 13 strike found the checkpoint was a legitimate target, that “all reasonable measures” were taken to avoid unintended deaths and the presence of civilians could not be detected until after the warplane had launched its weapons. Air Force officials at US Central Command began investigating the air strike by an A-10 tank-killer jet near al Hatra, Iraq, after an Iraqi woman sent an email claiming her car and a second vehicle had been destroyed and the passengers killed. She sought compensation for her vehicle. “The preponderance of the evidence gathered during the investigation indicates that the air strikes likely resulted in the deaths of four non-combatants,” the military said in a statement. The person who notified the US military about the incident said two women and three children had been killed. A US military analysis indicated one of the people was much smaller than the rest and may have been a child. But the military said in a statement it could not be certain about the age or gender of those killed without forensic examination or other evidence not available to the coalition. The US military has rarely acknowledged causing civilian casualties in the fight against Islamic State militants, with Friday’s announcement bringing the total to six. In May, it concluded two children had been killed in an air strike in Syria in November 2014. It is investigating a few dozen other reports. “If we knew there were civilians we would not have conducted a strike,” Air Force Colonel Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for US Central Command, said at a briefing on Friday. The killings in March occurred when a US warplane attacked an Islamic State checkpoint that had been “thoroughly reviewed and validated” as a target, according to an investigative report released by the US military.

Battle damage

The US is spending an average of $11.1m per day on airstrikes targeting the Islamic State group, dropping an average of 2,228 bombs per month against the militant group. Targets that have been destroyed or damaged so far: Fighting positions

4,942

Buildings

4,517

Asia-Pacific leaders meeting in Malaysia on Saturday condemned the string of Islamic extremist attacks from Paris to Mali, urging an international effort to fight the scourge. Prime Minister Najib Razak of Muslim-majority Malaysia opened a fresh round of summitry by railing against the ideological mantle claimed by Islamic militants. “The perpetrators of these cowardly and barbaric acts do not represent any race, religion or creed,” he told fellow Southeast Asian leaders. “They are terrorists.” US President Barack Obama condemned the violence typified by the “appalling” jihadist hostage siege in Mali that left at least 21 dead, including an American citizen.

USA

Judge won’t speed release of Clinton emails on Anwar Al-Awlaki A federal judge has declined to speed up the release of a handful of emails from former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private account that refer to Anwar Al-Awlaki, the American militant killed by a drone strike in Yemen in 2011. US District Court Judge John Bates said he didn’t think accelerating the release of the five emails would be highly disruptive to the monthly releases of thousands of Clinton emails, but said he worried taking the Awlaki-related messages out of that process could lead to more demands to pull out messages on other topics. -POLITICO

THE AMERICAS

Staging areas Vehicles (Humvees)

356

Oil infrastructure

260

Tanks

Brazil police launch huge sting on Amazon drug cartel

676

129

Other targets

5,195

SOURCE: US Central Command As the warplane prepared to attack, a GMC sport-utility vehicle and a black Kia sedan arrived at the checkpoint, the report said. The drivers got out of their vehicles and spoke to militants manning the checkpoint for about 40 minutes, it said. Several other vehicles pulled up to the checkpoint during that time and continued their journey after a brief stop. The aircrew executing the strike relayed that information to the Combined Air Operations Center that coordinates military air traffic in the region.

“This barbarity only stiffens our resolve to meet this challenge,” he said in Kuala Lumpur. Obama and his counterparts are meeting in the Malaysian capital for round two in a week of back-to-back regional meetings. Obama, America’s self-styled “Pacific president,” has been frustrated to see his Asia tour -- aimed at highlighting growing trade and investment ties -- overshadowed by the jihadist attacks on the other side of the world. In Kuala Lumpur, Southeast Asia leaders will declare the establishment on Sunday of an “ASEAN Economic Community” (AEC), inspired by Europe. That takes ASEAN a step closer toward an envisioned single Southeast Asian market

Brazilian police launched a massive raid Friday on an international drug cartel accused of killing dozens of people and setting up a “parallel state” in the Amazon region. Some 700 officers deployed across five northern states with more than 100 arrest warrants, including ones for a town councillor and seven lawyers accused of working with the cartel, the police said in a statement. The authorities also have Interpol arrest notices targeting suspects in Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Peru. The charges include drug and arms trafficking, murder, kidnapping and money laundering. -AFP

UK Labour Party to consider Syria air strike proposals

Figures as of November 13

An analysis of video footage taken by the warplane’s weapons systems showed that four people, whose presence was previously unknown, got out of the two vehicles after “the aircrews had released weapons on the target and immediately before the weapons impacted the target area,” the report said. “Video footage review indicates the aircrew had no opportunity to detect the presence of the likely civilians in the target area prior to weapons impact,” the investigation found. l

Focus on terrorist attacks as Asia-Pacific leaders reconvene n AFP, Kuala Lumpur

World

with free flow of goods, capital and skilled labour across borders. But the AEC’s goals are far off -- if they are ever realised at all -- due to significant non-tariff and other barriers and large development gaps between member-states. The declaration is largely symbolic. ASEAN leaders Saturday signed a new convention against human trafficking, reaffirming past pledges to fight a scourge that activists say thrives due to corruption and inaction. Asia-Pacific leaders attend a gala dinner Saturday night that will see them decked out in luminously coloured traditional Malaysian jackets, continuing a much-mocked diplomatic practice of dressing attendees in host-culture garb. l

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said his Labour party, which two years ago blocked British military action in Syria, would consider proposals by the government to start air strikes against Islamic State in that country. Corbyn said on Saturday Labour would support every necessary measure to protect people and would consider the proposals brought forward by the Conservative-led government. But he called for a different approach to foreign policy and a comprehensive settlement of the conflict, following the UN Security Council’s decision to unanimously adopt a resolution on Friday. -REUTERS

EUROPE

Brussels on lockdown in fear of Paris-style attacks Brussels was on terror lockdown Saturday in fear of a Paris-style attack, with a gunman wanted over the deadly rampage in the French capital a week ago still on the run. The Belgian capital closed its metro system and shuttered shops and public buildings as a terror alert was raised to its highest level over reports of an “imminent threat” of a gun and bomb attack similar to the horror seen in Paris. -AFP

AFRICA

Female suicide bombers kill 5 in Cameroon attack Four female suicide bombers blew themselves up in a flashpoint area of northern Cameroon on Saturday, killing five civilians including a traditional chief, the regional governor said. One of the women attackers set off her explosives outside the house of the local chief in a village near Fotokol town. The other women blew themselves up but did not kill anyone else. -AFP

World

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

In this photograph taken on September 30, Indian student activist Shriya Subhashini, left, speaks to fellow students as she distributes leaflets outside Delhi University’s North Campus in New Delhi. Wary of the city’s disturbing reputation for sexual violence, universities force women to return to their dorms as early as 7pm -- while their male counterparts can stay out much later. With the Pinjra Tod (Break the Cage) campaign, launched in August, female students are fighting back against what they say is outright discrimination AFP

INSIGHT

Delhi’s female students rebel against university curfews n AFP, New Delhi

Twenty-year-old zoology student Rani Choudhary left her family home in Bihar for the bright lights and freedom of the Indian capital. But like most female students in New Delhi she is barred from leaving her dorm at night except with the express permission of her father, thanks to a curfew designed to safeguard her in the city dubbed “India’s rape capital.” Wary of the city’s disturbing reputation for sexual violence, universities force women to return to their dorms as early as 7pm -- while their male counterparts can stay out much later. With the Pinjra Tod (“Break the Cage”) campaign, launched in August, female students are fighting back against what they say is outright discrimination. “You are supposed to go and be back at 7pm, at 7:30pm and 8pm, while your friends studying with you, boys, the men in your class, they can (go out at) night and they can enter the hostel by 10 or 12,” said Shambhawi Vikkam, one of the ringleaders of the movement. “And even if they have rules and regulations it doesn’t really apply so strictly,” the 23-yearold arts student at the University of Delhi said. At a night-time protest in the capital, about a hundred young female students gathered outside a subway station singing as they held up placards proclaiming: “no more curbing late nights.” Other slogans brazenly mocked the rules, declaring “I got a feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night.” Several of the nocturnal protesters wear dresses or skirts, defying warnings from parents or the university administration about night-time dangers in the city dubbed “India’s rape capital.” But for many of India’s female students, the desire for independence also conflicts with family attitudes in the deeply

patriarchal country. Choudhary is theoretically allowed out until 11pm four times a month and is permitted to spend five nights away from her dorm -- but says it is impossible in reality. “I need the permission of my parents and I know that my father will never allow me to go out at 10:00 pm,” Choudhary said. “There is a generational gap with my father,” she said, adding he has always lived in Bihar, a poor, rural state. Concern for the safety of young women is the main justification for the curfews put forward by the heads of university residences. The fatal gang rape of a medical student in Delhi in December 2012 left a profound mark on the capital, and violence against women has not declined since. A spokesman for Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi said a plan to reform the curfew was “under consideration.” “(Safety) measures are the need of the hour. We have to be very mindful, there are global concerns over safety of women in India,” Mukesh Ranjan said.

‘Wrong approach’

Yet students argue that confining them inside is not the answer. “If you really want to make a city safe for a woman... you have to make the city accessible to her, you have to have more women out in the streets,” she said. “So that is the solution, not locking people inside.” The students are willing to allow their dorms to set a time to return by, as long as they are not deprived of a social life. “One thing we are demanding is... let hostel curfews be at least half an hour after the library closes or the last metro, so that you’re not locking women out of the public space that they have the right to access,” said Shriya Sub-

hashini, 25, a law student at the University of North Delhi. A petition by the students addressed to the Delhi Commission for Women -- an official body responsible for upholding the rights of women in the city -- has collected about 1,200 signatures. Swati Maliwal, the president of the commission, promises to help the women fight discrimination. “I’ve requested the students to list all the discriminations they suffer from and I will work with them,” Maliwal said. “But Delhi is very unsafe for women and the

first priority is to make Delhi safe,” she said. Ira Trivedi, author of books on love and sexuality in India, says that as long as the gap between women’s aspirations and the rules imposed on them remains wide, protests in cities will grow. “I think young women are developing the courage, confidence and know how -- and technology and internet help a lot -- to stand up for themselves and battle such conventions,” Trivedi, the author of ‘India in Love, Marriage and Sexuality in the 21st Century’ said. “They are beginning to realise how archaic these concepts really are.” l

Editorial 11

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

INSIDE

A debacle for Merkel Even though Angela Merkel has earned international appreciation for her handling of the situation in Crimea and Ukraine, earning the faith of the German people, German voters are fairly apprehensive of her decision to open the borders to refugees

PAGE 12

Turning point The Paris attack will test Western political leaders severely and in ways they have not been tested in many years. Whether they are up to it in this era of partisanship that pervades Western politics is a question I prefer not to try to answer

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

PAGE 13

Dhaka Lit Fest’s inspiring message

The death of conscience It seems very plausible that Oishee, a drug-addled spoiled kid, on the verge of adulthood, had deep-rooted psychological problems. She should have been given psychiatric help, an attempt at rehabilitation

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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opinion.dt@dhakatribune. com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook. com/DhakaTribune

e commend the fifth annual Dhaka Lit Fest for drawing thousands of people to Bangla Academy to take part in seminars by internationally acclaimed authors and artists. The organisers are to be congratulated for ensuring the three-day event was filled with a diverse range of speakers. From talks on science by Nobel laureate Harold Varmus to an impressive array of sessions showcasing Bangladeshi arts and discussing world affairs, DLF was stimulating and inspiring to people of all ages and interests. Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor has applauded its success in gathering so many creative minds to share ideas and in helping to firmly place Bangladeshi culture and writing on the world stage via a truly international festival. Nayantara Sahgal, the distinguished writer who opened the festival, spoke for humanity when she said that at a time when freedom and imagination are under attack globally from intolerance and violence, literature needs to stand for reason against unreason. Dhaka Tribune is pleased to have supported DLF in attracting new appreciation for the rich cultural and welcoming nature of our nation’s people by hosting the best of world and Bangladeshi literature, in such an open and inclusive setting. Now more than ever, we should celebrate the diversity of our heritage and create new space to encourage and nurture new ideas and creativity. It is pleasing to note that DLF is just one of several major cultural events this month, such as the forthcoming Bengal Classical Music Festival at the Army Stadium, which are helping to grow Dhaka’s reputation as a vibrant city of culture. These are welcome signs of resurgence in the confidence and global reach of Bangladeshi culture. They reflect the increasing ability of our nation as it moves towards becoming a middle-income nation, in engaging more vigorously with the wider world and in bringing Bangladesh to the world stage. We hope and trust many people will draw inspiration from DLF and create and grow many more similar events in future years.

Now more than ever, we should celebrate our heritage and create space for ideas

Opinion

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

A debacle for Merkel Germany is divided by Angela Merkel’s handling of the Syrian refugee situation

Angela Merkel’s humanitarianism may be her downfall

Even though Angela Merkel has earned international appreciation for her handling of the situation in Crimea and Ukraine, earning the faith of the German people, German voters are fairly apprehensive of her decision to open the borders to refugees

(Retd) Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahid n LtBirCol Protik

n the last two years before Europe was faced with the Syrian refugee crisis, Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, cemented her legacy as one of the most revered and successful political leaders in the present world. She won three successive elections, her popularity at home rose skyhigh, and her international political image was profound. The Syrian refugee crisis has put a dent in her popularity, however. Germany is presently facing a dire situation, as it is expecting to be overwhelmed by more than a million refugees within a short period. It is estimated that the total number of Syrian refugees exceeds 4 million, and between April 2011 and September 2015, 428,735 Syrians have submitted applications as asylum-seekers in Europe. The funding received in handling the refugee crisis has fallen well short of what is needed. Germany has responded by contributing a large sum by itself. More than half of the population of Syria is displaced and in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Due to the influx of refugees, anxiety among Germans is rising. Merkel is facing increasing criticism from her public, even

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from her own political party for her handling of the refugee crisis. Her party leaders predict that she may have to leave the office of chancellor before 2017, the year of the next election -- before the crisis, there was a distinct possibility of getting elected for a fourth time, but the chances appear to be somewhat bleak. Merkel is the victim of circumstances over which she had no control. She had no hand in creating the Syrian civil war, or the conflicts in Africa or in Afghanistan. She is a humanitarian. She respects human rights and abides by international legal obligations. She lives up to the best tradition of a humanitarian leader. The way German citizens are criticising her efforts for the refugees is unfortunate. Although Merkel and her administration are putting up a brave face in facing the refugee influx, there is a wave of panic spreading underneath. Due to the high cost of accommodating refugees, there is a pressure on Germany’s economy while its social services are suffering quite badly. Far-right groups are blaming Merkel, preaching their hatred against the refugees. On a daily basis, about 10,000 desperate refugees are entering Germany, the most popular destination for them it seems. The trouble hardly ends there, as Merkel is also facing a rebellion within her own party -- with numerous party leaders in tow, her senior-most and influential minister of interior and finance minister have directly challenged her open-door refugee policy. The two ministers have voiced that if all refugees came to Europe instead of solving their problem in Syria, the problem will never be solved. The situation has made Merkel lean more towards her coalition partners, the Social Democratic Party, for support on her policy. Even though Angela Merkel has earned

international appreciation for her handling of the situation in Crimea and Ukraine, earning the faith of the German people, German voters are fairly apprehensive of her decision to open the borders to refugees. In fact, it was her announcement of this move that made Germany the destination of choice for most Syrian refugees. Disappointingly, the German public has made a point to set up border fences, as Hungary has done, but Merkel has, thankfully, not responded to such inhumane proposals. Needless to say, if Merkel can overcome this crisis, history will judge her as a leader who’s shown that humanitarianism can lead to success. Merkel came to power in 2005, and the last nine years found Germany thriving, enjoying economic prosperity, peace, and earning the respect of the international community. However, Europe is presently facing its greatest crisis since World War II, and the south and south-east states of the EU are particularly vocal of their stances against Merkel’s policy on refugees. Opinion flows that Merkel has lost her touch with ordinary voters over a decade on the job. Her critics have even gone as far as to say that she is fishing for the Nobel Peace Prize at the cost of the interest of her country. A few years ago, it was known that Merkel’s every step was based on data collected from opinion surveys on a twice-aweek basis. Her politics was aligned to public opinion. Some also say that she is looking for an exit strategy to earn recognition among the international community. The fate of Merkel, a true humanitarian leader, may take an unfortunate turn in the politics of her country, but if she falls, she will fall with flying colours and for a worthy cause, the cause of helping humanity. l Lt Col (Retd) Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir Bir Protik is a Freedom Fighter, recipient of Swadhinata Padak, and a researcher on the Liberation War.

Opinion

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Turning point The anti-ISIS effort should be international in character, not led by the US or by NATO

n William Milam

xcept for the migrant crisis in Europe -- in part an unintended consequence of US and Western mistakes in the Middle East -- I have avoided writing about the horrendously complicated crisis in that region, as it is often beyond my comprehension. But I don’t see how I can avoid writing about the tragic ISIS massacre in Paris on Friday evening. It strikes me as a game changer in the West and in the region. I think it is possible that ISIS has emulated the Taliban in pre9/11 Afghanistan and hastened its own demise with this brutal and savage act. Why, we should all ask, does it take tragedies like the Paris massacre (or for that matter that of 9/11 itself) to recognise the full extent of evil and take action to defeat it? The Taliban in those days blithely ignored US warnings that if al-Qaeda were to direct an attack on the United States from Afghanistan, there would be hell to pay. I delivered some of these messages myself and reported their insouciant reaction. Obviously, they didn’t believe us. Some might argue that the fact that the Taliban have come back in the last few years to control about 20% of Afghan territory and be a serious threat to the current government is just compensation. But just think: Giving al-Qaeda carte blanche, when they were establishing their governance (no matter what you think of it) and were within a whisker of controlling all of Afghanistan, has cost them many years and lives and, even now, there is no certainty of what role, if any, they will play in the Afghan future. The general analytic consensus, at least in the US, seemed to be that ISIS would, sooner or later, self-destruct, and that the challenges and dangers it posed were in the region. Some analysts believe that ISIS got lucky as the intractable Syrian civil war gave it the opportunity to seize large swaths of territory in both Iraq and Syria, and this territorial windfall allowed it to establish of the so-called “caliphate.” ISIS’s initial strategy was believed to view the expansion of the “caliphate” to be a very long-term objective -- over many years (at least as long as the first Islamic Caliphate) which would encompass ultimately an area between Spain and the Philippines. But its short term aim, many analysts believed, was to control the territory it took military possession of in 2014, and defend it against a push back from the neighbours and hostile countries in the region. President Obama has reflected this analysis, earlier calling ISIS the JV (junior varsity) jihadi squad and speaking of it recently as being “contained.” It was thought that ISIS, unlike its main jihadi rival, al-Qaeda, was not intent on “far enemies,” but on those near at hand. For al-Qaeda, the objective is to drive the West out of Muslim lands by attacking them in Muslim lands where they intervene, or in their own homelands, viz 9/11, the attacks in Madrid, in London, and elsewhere. ISIS,

French President Hollande wants to hit ISIS hard, but will other countries stand with him?

The Paris attack will test Western political leaders severely and in ways they have not been tested in many years. Whether they are up to it in this era of partisanship that pervades Western politics is a question I prefer not to try to answer

in its previous forms as well as until now, appeared to reject that objective, preferring to go after perceived “near enemies” and “apostates” (like Shias) close at hand. Even though attacks it has directed (or at least taken credit for) over the past few weeks, and may have seemed to go beyond this (perhaps warning signals to the West), the attacks on Hezbollah Shias in Lebanon and on Russian tourists in Egypt were explained wishfully away as within the purview of near enemies. But the trend was unsettling, and the Paris attack shows that ISIS strategy was drifting towards this much more dangerous new mode. Is it overconfidence and lack of understanding of the possible consequences that caused this radical shift into a strategy that could lead to a more rapid defeat? The almost-immediate claim of responsibility bespeaks of overconfidence. But this is tempered by the fact that ISIS is under some duress, has just lost territory in the north of its so-called “caliphate” -- as Kurdish and Yazidi forces assisted by US air strikes have taken Sinjar -- and is suffering economic reverses as its oil windfalls dry up, or are taken out by coalition air strikes. And it seems that the Iraqi army, greatly helped if not led by the Kurds -- and again with US assistance -- is beginning to close in on Mosul, where the population is suffering

under ISIS control. It is likely that this is the major motivation of the change in strategy. A second factor is that ISIS clearly has lost its recruiting edge following months of stasis with no territorial gains -- in fact some losses -- and not much else to brag about, and is probably seeing the number of its fighters dropping. It needed something to burnish anew its image among those susceptible to its recruiting propaganda. Perverse as it may seem, the brutish Paris attack may enhance its appeal among that lot of alienated and twisted individuals. Also, it is likely that there is now a mindset of making the far enemies, primarily the West, pay for the battering that the “caliphate” has taken in the past six to nine months. Hence the killing of the Russian tourists, the killing of Shias in Lebanon to get back at Iran -- an avowed enemy of ISIS -- and now the killing in France -- a major player in the Western alliance, and of course, through the Sykes-Picot agreement, one of the progenitors of the division of Mesopotamia which is at the heart of the problem. Also, many of the Western fighters that have been attracted to ISIS have come from France, and there is a disaffected element of the Muslim population in France, primarily of Algerian origin, that buys into

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ISIS propaganda. So, finding willing young radicalised Muslims, possibly trained by ISIS, to do its dirty work in France would not be difficult. A final factor is possibly to sew more discord and confusion among ISIS’ Western opponents. If, for example, Western nations fall out over the migrant problem -- which may get worse now that security concerns about migrants are rising -- that will enhance ISIS’ “Islam vs the West” narrative. This could worsen if Europe handles the migrant problem in ways that lend credence to the right-wing, nativist European political parties that are already salivating over the gains they see possible by playing the antiimmigrant fear card after the Paris attack. The response must be an escalation of the effort to defeat ISIS and undo their “caliphate.” Its ability to strike the West has been demonstrated, and it is now -- and has been for two years -- the largest source of the disorder and chaos in the Middle East. I understand that there is still a view among Western leaders that the Syria civil war has to be dealt with first. While the negotiations for a Syrian ceasefire should go on, I note that the first meeting would not take place until January. We should not wait until then to up the ante. A revised and reinvigorated anti-ISIS effort should be international in character, not be led by the US or NATO. The Paris attack will test Western political leaders severely and in ways they have not been tested in many years. Whether they are up to it in this era of partisanship that pervades Western politics is a question I prefer not to try to answer. l William Milam is a Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington DC and a former US diplomat who was Ambassador to Pakistan and Bangladesh, and Chief of Mission in Liberia. This article previously appeared in The Friday Times.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Opinion

The death of conscience Oishee was responsible for murdering her parents, but a deeper disease plagues our society

n SM Shahrukh

ith the rendition of Nur Hossain from India, the media is abuzz with every minute detail, from his handover to his appearance before court in Narayanganj. It was expected, since he is the principal accused in the gruesome seven-murder case in the river port city. The close relatives of the slain and several people, mainly journalists and political commentators, who have been following events since that fatal day in April of last year, are raising many questions, and pertinent questions they are too. I guess the law will take its course. However, only a few days ago, another landmark judgment was made -- the death penalty for young Oishee, who confessed to killing her parents. With due respect to the courts, my personal opinion is that it may prove counter-productive in this case. This was not a run-of-the-mill case of cold-blooded murder -- it was the murder of progenitors by the progeny. Someone killing her parents is the rarest of events, especially someone as young as Oishee. There are instances of people murdering a parent or parents or a sibling from avarice -- their removal may ease the way to inherit a property of value. Such vile crimes do happen in our society. It definitely was not the motive behind the gruesome actions of Oishee. It seems very plausible that Oishee, a drug-addled spoiled kid, on the verge of adulthood, had deep-rooted psychological problems.

rickshaws, grievously injuring some people in the process. We see an honorable MP shooting a village boy in the legs and then getting out on bail, garlands around his “honourable” neck. There are, and will be, many such instances. When a boy or a girl realises the wealth of his/her parents are ill-gotten or inconsistent with their professions, he/she will no longer remain under the circle of control that parents should have over their kids up to a certain age. How can corrupt parents give lessons in morality to their children? They can only help open the doors of arrogance, apathy, and wanton behaviour for their kids. Such reckless living has already given rise to a generation of young people who live a life of extremes, in their lifestyles as well as in their behaviour pattern, which is wholly devoid of any respect for the rights of others. This generation is quite often into drug and alcohol abuse at a massive scale, depravity is a cornerstone of the structure of it, and it naturally leads to disillusionment about life and ultimate ruination. Worse still, once adults, these spoilt brats will continue the cycle of immorality and eventually cause the death of conscience of the society, if that conscience is still breathing. Sending Oishee to the gallows means we are just sweeping the dirt under the carpet. Oishee is just a manifestation of the disease that plagues our society, and such harsh judgment in one case will not deter others from leading their lives unconcerned about the accepted civilised norms of social behaviour, and they will remain disrespectful

It seems very plausible that Oishee, a drug-addled spoilt kid, on the verge of adulthood, had deep-rooted psychological problems. She should have been given psychiatric help, an attempt at rehabilitation

She should have been given psychiatric help, an attempt at rehabilitation. She also needs better representation in the higher courts, since she had already complained of coercion and torture during the process of obtaining her confessional statement and the question of being still officially underage during questioning, persists. This case also leaves room for introspection into the state of our social conscience. It was reported that Oishee was provided unlimited pocket money by her police officer father, some reports put the figure as high as Tk50,000 a month. Now, how does a police officer afford such lavish spending? The corruption and hypocrisy that have seeped into every tier of the administration and a certain section of society are giving rise to monsters. The memory is still fresh of the rich drunken kid who ran over a number of

to the law of the land -- a notion will persist that money and power can buy all. The judgment on Oishee is like giving strong medicine to subside a fever, no attempts are made at locating and attacking the disease that’s causing the fever, the disease will go merrily along. In his satirical play The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Berthold Brecht, the playwright, tried to show the rise of Adolf Hitler, in allegory, by chronicling a Chicago mobster, Arturo Ui, trying to control the cauliflower racket by ruthlessly disposing of the opposition. At the fall of the monster, Brecht warned: “Do not rejoice in his defeat, you men. For though the world has stood up and stopped the bastard, the bitch that bore him is in heat again.” l SM Shahrukh is a freelance contributor.

Will Oishee’s execution stop these crimes from happening again?

BIGSTOCK

Rise of Pop Fic

Photo: SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

The third and final day of the Dhaka Lit Fest opened with a session titled “Pop Fiction,” featuring Srabonti Narmeen Ali, Nesar Nadim, and Khondokar Ashif Uz Zaman, in a lively conversation with best-selling novelist Nirupama Subramanian. It was about the rise and rise of popular fiction (in English) in the country, and the ways and means the authors of pop fiction are using to get their work out there. Nirupama Subramanian is the author of two best-selling novels Keep the Change (2010) and Intermission (2012). Srabonti Narmeen Ali, whose debut novel Hope in Technicolor was released two years ago, elaborated on her use of social media to create a following for her work.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

For the love of the game n Tahsin Momin

n Tahsin Momin

Dhaka Lit Fest

In this session, the notable historian Ramchandra Guha and Bangladesh national cricket team’s bowling coach Heath Streak discussed the history and future of cricket with Kazi Inam Ahmed. In the first part of the session, Ramchandra talked about how the game has progressed in the last three decades. He openly admitted that the Indian Cricket Council is not at all fond of him, and expressed his fondness for the Zimbabwean cricket team. When Kazi Inam Ahmed brought up the topic of Bangladesh’s recent success run, Heath Streak complimented Mashrafee Mortaza by saying, “He got me out in his very first test match.” The latter part of the session was mostly a discussion of how cricket has been commercialised and politicised over the last decade with the introduction of the T20

British-Bangladeshi author Nesar Nadim’s book Demons, which is believed to be the first horror pop fiction novel in English published in Bangladesh, shared his experiences, which included publishing the novel in e-book format back in March this year before it came out on print this month. Khondokar Ashif Uz Zaman’s first novel Faded was launched this year by Bengal Publications at the DLF. The authors, in addition to discussing the role of social media and e-publishing to break into the industry, particularly in the case of short stories, also talked about how pop fiction by local authors have slowly caught up to their international counterparts, and can now hold their own among today’s readers. l

format. Even though T20 is widely popular, Ramchandra is yet to attend his first IPL match. In fact, he has never watched a single IPL match. When asked about this he replied, “I have never been to an IPL game partly because I started an unconstructed romantic. I love test cricket most of all. I don’t mind one day cricket. It’s just that as I see it, test cricket is like single malt Scotch, you can savour it, understand it. 50-over internationals are what I called Indianmade foreign liquor and T20 is the local hooch, you get it only when nothing else is available.” Ramchandra thinks franchise cricket is mostly corrupted because of all the money involved. However, he also added that 50-over cricket has also made test cricket more competitive. The session ended by the three panellists exploring why the beloved game captures hearts and minds across borders by opening up the floor to a question answer session. l

Photo: RAJIB DHAR

‘We need to start with the basics’ n Tahsin Momin The second session on Day 3, “Can South Asia be a power bloc?” took a hard look at the region’s realities. The session featured Victor Mallet, South Asia bureau chief for the Financial Times, and Zafar Sobhan, editor of The Dhaka Tribune. This session was moderated by Ashikur Rahman, Senior Economist at the Policy Research Institute. The moderator opened the session by sharing his experiences in South Asia. Mallet then took up the thread with a comparison between how the European Union works as a bloc as compared to the South Asian bloc. He talked about how the countries in this region can improve their communications and trade relations with one another. He is of the opinion that the Asian highway, which is currently under construction is a step towards this harmony, and it now needs political integration. In this regard, Victor said: “The whole process of integration has barely begun in South Asia, and clearly a political integration will be a very, very long

way down the road. So, I think the first thing to look at is how far you can go with trade integration, which will clearly be beneficial for all the countries in this region.” Sobhan’s contention to the picture painted by Mallet was the undeniable dominance of India. Furthermore the complicated relations between the two economic giants--India and Pakistan--would prove a big obstacle to forming a South Asian bloc, although Sobhan agreed that there exists a political will for integration. “Modi had a very much doubted, celebrated trip to Bangladesh. Bangladeshis expected to get a great deal from the trip, and then I think they felt that Modi and India got everything, and they were left with very little,” he added. Fasih Ahmed, editor of Newsweek Pakistan, was initially slated to be part of this session, but was unable to attend at the last moment because he was denied a visa by the Bangladeshi consulate in Pakistan. Mallet used this fact to press home his point about the need to improve regional

Photo: SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN communications to gradually eliminate the red tape involving visas, at least within SAARC nations. Sobhan believed it was important to foster positive relations, not just between governments, but also within

the general populace. The session concluded on the note that there was a real need for a South Asian bloc, but it might be a while until that becomes a reality. l

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Dhaka Lit Fest

New horizons to persue Global vision through the eyes of women

n Moumita Ahmed The second day of DLF ended with a live session between five renowned women

talking about the challenges they faced while exploring new cultural spaces. The women that we’re talking about are Jude Kelly of UK’s Southbank Centre; Muthoni Garland,

the founder of Kenya’s Storymoja Festival; Meike Ziervogel, founder and publisher of Peirene Press; Sadaf Saaz, director and producer of Dhaka Lit Fest; and moderated by Kelly Falconer, founder of Asia Literary Agency, in March, 2013. Falconer initiated the discussion by informing us about her works and that of the others. Kelly was a London based editor working for different publishing houses like Weidenfeld & Nicholos, Granta Constable & Robinson, and Virgin Books. In 2012, she worked as the literary editor for the Asia Literary Review. Sadaf Saaz is Photo: RAJIB DHAR the person who made everything possible. Besides being a poet and a writer, she’s also running different businesses like Jatrik, and she’s currently working on her new novel. Jude Kelly is the founder of different

organisations such as WOW (Women of the World) Festival, Metal, and many others. In 2015, she was made a CBE in the New Year Honours for services in the arts. Another famous writer Muthoni is the organiser of the Storymoja Fest in Nairobi. German-British writer, Meike Zievogel founded the well known publishing house Peirene Press in 2008. She also worked as a journalist. These women shared their stories, inspiration and passion that pushed them to reach new heights and achieve their goals. They mainly focus on encouraging people to read, spread and expand their knowledge of different areas. These not only include literature, but also classical music and art. Fields like these help people to convey their thoughts and emotions in a more creative manner. Empowerment of women was also addressed. In order for this to happen, everyone needs to connect with women suffering from inequality at different stages of their lives. And only then can we eradicate the problems from the society. Even though they have come a long way from where they have started and are quite happy with the progress, they feel positive changes will take place faster if people have the scope to explore different cultures. Books should be translated in various languages and the curiosity of the people is met in the best way. l

7 questions with Meike Ziervogel n Khan N Moushumi Meike Ziervogel came to attend this year’s Dhaka Lit Fest to discuss women’s roles in the creative and media industries, amongst many other aspects. At her session titled “Outside the comfort zone,” the German-British writer and publisher, who runs the award-winning independent publishing house Peirene Press, talks about how publishing houses help writers get the exposure they deserve. Especially to a generation that does not read books anymore. In a tete-a-tete with Dhaka Tribune, Ziervogel discusses what her novels centre around, how she loved the interactive audience at the DLF and her love for romantic poetry. Is this your first time attending a fest in Bangladesh? No, this is actually my second time at a fest here. I was here in spring to attend the Bengal Lights Literary Conclave at ULAB. How was the audience at the DLF and what did you like about them the most? My audience was very attentive and as a panellist, I really liked the fact that they were willing to ask questions. I didn’t attend any event here where the moderator asked the audience if they had

any questions, and they were quiet. They immediately raised their hands and asked questions which went to show that they were really engaged. Aside from your own session, name a session that you enjoyed? I thought every single session that I went to was interesting and I took away something from each one of them. What did you most enjoy speaking about? My sessions were all very different and I focused on different subject matters. I run a publishing house so I talked about that. I talked about what it means being a woman and running a business in the creative industry. And I also enjoyed talking about my novels because they are based on women and aggression, and I feel there’s a need to focus more on these things in today’s world. Did you feel that a lot of people in the audience related to what you were focusing on at the discussions? I think so. As a panellist, I always felt that I had the audience’s attention. Did you browse through the book stores at the fest? Yes, I love books and I bought a few of them already (flaunting quite a huge stack of books she was carrying in a shopping bag).

Which one of these are you looking forward to reading the most? I’m very much looking forward to reading the two novels I bought written by Syed Shamsul Haque and a short story collection by Hasan

Azizul Huq. I’m quite excited about reading this other book that I bought called The Absent Traveller which is a compilation of love poetries by Satavahana Hala, translated by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra. l

Dhaka Lit Fest

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Feminism for freedom of humanity n Promiti Prova Chowdhury Feminism is not just a tool for the betterment of women. It is a movement that can help both men and women to free themselves from being victimised by the social constructions of “masculinity” and “femininity.” The sentiment was expressed by Jude Kelly, the co-founder of Women of the World (WOW) Festival, during the sprightly debate over feminism on the Bangla Academy premises yesterday as part of the Dhaka Lit Fest 2015. The speakers Urvashi Butalia, Shobhaa De and Jude Kelly engaged the audience in the debate whether feminism was the new “F word” or not. Feminism not only helps women get their rights or dissolve the existing discriminations between the two sexes, it also helps both of them to be free of the suppression that comes as a result of the social constructions, the speakers said. “Patriarchy results in the discrimination between men and women, puts them under

various kinds of suppression and social pressure, while all these factors ultimately push back women under the dominion of men,” said Jude Kelly. “Feminism is not the rule of matriarchy over patriarchy. It is all about equalisation,” said Urvashi Butalia feminist publisher, and co-founder of Kali for Women (1984) and Zubaan (2003). Feminism is the one and only movement that connects all other movements of the world that works for different human rights. Citing an example of the 1971 Liberation War, she said the war was waged by the whole nation, and yet there is still a discrimination between Muktijoddha (the honorific for freedom fighters) and birangona (an honorary title given to women who were raped during the war, in recognition of their suffering and sacrifice). Even women sometimes see feminism as a threat. They hesitate if they can emerge with the constantly changing world, as they feel safer even if they are suppressed by their male counterparts, she stressed. l

Highlighted workshop of the day

Caricature session by We Draw Stuff

Photo: RAJIB DHAR

Dhaka Lit Fest

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Lit Fest in photos

Day 3

1. Poetry recitals in Bangla and English by Nirmalendu Goon, Mohammad Nurul Huda, Sazzad Sharif and Chinmoy Guha. 2. The DLF crowd getting their hands on new books and pages. 3. Audience enjoying the last bit of a poetry session. 4. Rehman Sobhan in the audience for the “Can South Asia be a power bloc?” session. 5. Nirmalendu Goon reciting a poem from his own collection. 6. Folk dance drama, retelling of the age-old myth of Manasa, the serpent goddess. 7. Children enjoying their part in a play based on Sukumar Ray’s poems and rhymes at Bottola.

Photo: SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Photo: RAJIB DHAR

Photo: SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Photo: RAJIB DHAR

Business 19

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

ADB signs $250m loan today to help develop capital market Asian Development Bank (ADB) will sign $250m loan deal today to help continue capital market reforms in Bangladesh. The deal will be inked under the third capital market programme (CMDP-III) that represents a continuation of previous works carried out so far. PAGE 20

Commodities free-fall not a recession indicator Tumbling commodity prices suggest the global economy is headed toward recession, but the free-fall has more to do with excess capacity than a warning about the world’s economic health, economist and market strategist Ed Yardeni said last week. PAGE 21

Sharp fall in foreign aid inflow ERD says more than 60% decline in four months to October n Tribune Report The foreign aid inflow in the first four months of this fiscal steeply dropped by more than 60% from a year earlier. From July through October in FY16, the foreign aid flow stood at US$257m, a sharp down from $697m in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, according to Economics Relations Division (ERD). “Though it declined in recent times because of the delayed negotiation due to some reasons, it is expected to be improved in future,” said an official. Citing a two-day Bangladesh Development Forum Meet held last week, he said some donors were keen to finance infrastructure projects much needed for accelerating the economy in line with the seventh five-year plan beginning from next year. The government’s fiscal target to receive overseas assistance is around $6bn in the current fiscal year. The country had received more than US$3bn foreign aid in the last fiscal year, down more than 10% from previous fiscal year. During the period, however, the foreign aid disbursement has increased 4.6% to $731.4m, of which, $584.6m came as loan and the rest $146.7m as grant. Of the

1000

FOREIGN AID INFLOW IN JULY-OCTOBER $748m

800

$809m $577m

600

400

$697m

$354m

$257m

200 Source: ERD

INSIDE

FY 2011

FY 2012

FY 2013

amount, World Bank provided $258m as credit and $61.2m as grant, JICA $389m as credit and $74.3m as grant. Moreover, Asian Development Bank gave credit worth $107.7m, Islami Development Bank $49m while Russia $45.5m in the period. Bangladesh has paid $394.4m to the

FY 2014

FY 2015

FY 2016

lenders against its total outstanding external loans during the period. Of which, $299.2m was paid as principal amount and $69.6m as interest. In the same period last fiscal year, the payment amount was $461.6m, of which $394.4m as principal amount and $76.1m as grant. l

Winter tax fair ends with huge presence n Tribune Report ECB willing to act fast to boost inflation The European Central Bank is ready to act quickly to boost anemic inflation in the euro zone, its president said on Friday, offering the strongest hint yet that the bank will unveil fresh stimulus measures at its Dec 3 meeting. PAGE 22

Capital market snapshot: Past Week DSE Broad Index

4,531.6

2.2% ▲

Index

1,091.5

2.3% ▲

30 Index

1,721.1

1.9% ▲

17,906.3

20.2% ▲

476.0

17.1% ▲

All Share Index

13,835.0

2.2% ▲

30 Index

12,233.0

2.1% ▲

Selected Index

8,416.7

2.2% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

1,195.1

10.8% ▲

39.0

17.8% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk Turnover in Mn Volume

CSE

Turnover in Mn Volume

The three-day-long winter income tax fair concluded yesterday in eight spots, including seven divisional quarters, bringing NBR Tk62,72,50,306 revenue through collection of income tax return from 53,259 taxpayers. The taxpayers converged on all venues on the concluding day to file their income tax returns and receive tax-related services as the fair provides one-stop service for service seekers. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) organised the fair in this season for the first time to provide tax-related assistance and motivate people to contribute to the national exchequer. Usually, NBR holds a week-long national income tax fair across the country on September 16-22 every year, but its winter edition came into being as the authorities saw a huge interest among taxpayers in such event. The winter tax fair offers registration of Electronic Taxpayers Identification Number, facilitates paying tax, filing returns and encourage prospective taxpayers to get involved with the country’s taxation system. In the three-day-long fair, the NBR provided a total of 57,047 people with different services relating to tax. Besides, a total of 3,149 people registered for e-TIN while 245 taxpayers re-registered, replacing their old 10-digit TIN numbers, according to the NBR data. The fair was simultaneously held in two

venues – one on the Dhaka Officers’ Club premises and the second one in the income tax zone 9 commissioner’s office. In other divisional headquarters of Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal and Rangpur, the fair was organised in the respective income tax commissioner’s offices. During a visit to the tax fair at Officers’ Club in the capital yesterday afternoon, it was found that the taxpayers of different ages and categories were inquiring about the services while some of them were taking assistance from the taxmen. As the extended deadline for submission of income tax return will end on November 30, taxpayers were gathering at the fair venues to file their returns. The tax officials were busy providing tax-related facilities in a client-friendly manner to the service seekers. Many taxpayers were seen sitting outside the venue and filing up their income tax return forms. The venue was buzzing with taxpayers from all ages while all booths witnessed a big rush. “On the concluding day, the NBR should have increased its manpower to help taxpayers get smooth services. The number of tax officials, employed in the

booths, are very few in comparison with the crowd,” said Mofizur Rahman who was standing in a queue in front of the booth for Dhaka Tax Zone 3. The taxpayers, however, said they are happy with the fair arrangement except the lack of manpower. They urged the NBR to organise such events more to help taxpayers get hassle-free services. During the central concluding ceremony organised in Officers Club premises in Dhaka, NBR chairman Nojibur Rahman said the experimental tax fair draws huge crowd from the taxpayer and the purpose of organising such a fair was succeeded. He also asked the tax officials to ensure such taxpayer-friendly atmosphere, like the fair venues, at the circle offices and in respective tax zones. l

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Business

ADB signs $250m loan today to help develop capital market n Tribune Report Asian Development Bank (ADB) will sign $250m loan deal today to help continue capital market reforms in Bangladesh. The deal will be inked under the third capital market programme (CMDP-III) that represents a continuation of previous works carried out so far. After signing of the agreement, $80m will be disbursed in the first installment and the remaining $170 million by December 2017. Reforms planned include increased liquid benchmark issues through introduction of floating rate notes, enhanced insurance industry participation in the capital market by issuing investment guidelines by the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), improvements in the settlement and clearing system as well as promotion of

Tarana: Mobile handset registration likely in May n Tribune Report

The government is going to take initiatives for mobile handset registration in May in line with creating an International Mobile Equipment Identity database to stop criminal activities, said Tarana Halim, state minister for Post and Telecommunications. The IMEI will help law enforcement agencies to locate handsets and nab criminals, she said, adding that drive against illegal handset will continue. “We have already started mobile SIM re-registration process which will end by April. After that mobile handset registration would begin in May,” Tarana said. The junior minister was speaking at a round table held in the capital yesterday on “Mobile devices and its role in national security” organised by Telecom Reporters Network, Bangladesh (TRNB). Rashed Mehdi, acting president of TRNB, conducted the discussion while Muhammad Zahidul Islam Sajal, general secretary of the organisation, was present as a keynote speaker. By introducing SIM re-registration, the government will complete half the process regarding security issues, said the junior minister. “If we are able to introduce handset registration system, the entire security system will come under a single umbrella.” If needed, the government will set up a separate wing in the regulatory body for the handset database, she added. The restriction on Facebook remains in force in the best interest of people’s security, said the state minister. She added that the Facebook users using the social networking site in alternative way ignoring restriction are being monitored. Attending the round-table discussion as special guest, Dr Shahjahan Mahmood, chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), said in developed countries like USA and UK, both SIM and handset are properly registered. l

alternative financial instruments to develop a deeper and broader capital market, according to the ADB’s opinion.

The deal will be inked under the third capital market programme that represents a continuation of previous works carried out so far Besides, the ADB proposed reforms to some laws of IDRA and Bangladesh Bank relating to the capital market. The bank will provide an additional $70m in this regard. Following a bull run in 2010, the country’s stock markets crashed in December 2010, and by March 2011, the index had fallen by

half from its all-time high, wiping out large share value gains. “The crash resulted in bankruptcies, loss of employment and disruption to the economy. It also underscored the vulnerability of Bangladesh’s capital markets and confirmed the pressing need for reforms,” said the ADB. Further structuring of the capital markets will require continuation of the technical approach adopted under CMDP-II and close collaboration with the coalition of stakeholders to crucially maintain the momentum of reforms. Reform initiatives under CMDP-II under which ADB provided $300m were successfully implemented and completed by the end of 2014. Demutualisation of the stock exchanges in Dhaka and Chittagong was one of the achievements of the reform initiatives. l

CDMC wants only treasury challan in tax payment to make process faster Showkat Kallol and Syed Samiul n Asif Basher Anik The Cash and Debt Management Committee (CDMC) of finance ministry wants to make it mandatory to use the treasury challan instead of existing pay orders and account payee cheques for payment of income tax. The committee wants to make the change to ensure collection of the amount of tax on time and to remove any mismatch of data in the revenue collection, ministry officials said. Currently, taxpayers pay taxes through pay orders or account payee cheques issued by commercial banks along with treasury challan. But they are allowed to pay the highest Tk10,000 through treasury challan. In a letter, the CDMC sought advice from the National Board of Revenue to help ensure a coordinated mechanism in monthly revenue collection. The letter asked the tax authorities to scrutinise the possibility of reintroduction of a provision making tax payment through treasury challan mandatory scraping the pay order-cheque system. It also asked the NBR to place a report to the committee for discussing the issue in the next meeting. Finance ministry officials said the government does not get revenue right after taxpayers pay the taxes due to procedural delays. Even taxes paid by the taxpayers are deposited to the government exchequer in months of delay, creating complexities in the process. Officials said such delay is, however, helping the banks make extra profits keeping the money in their accounts. It also creates mismatch in the accounts of revenue collection maintained by the revenue board and the Office of the Controller

General of Accounts, they said. The CGA office, in a report earlier, found a mismatch between the figure of income tax collected by NBR in the fiscal year 2013-14 and the figure stated by the NBR. While the NBR said it collected Tk43,207.27 crore, the CGA office said the figure was Tk38,365.51 crore. On that time, officials said the mismatch was occurring because of problems in compilation and documentation methods of collected revenue by the two agencies of the government. In the wake of such situation, the CDMC is planning to make the change in the system. However, the NBR has not agreed with the proposal as it said that the CDMC may take the final decision after examining that whether the changes in the system can make any complexity or not. The NBR said the government in 2003 introduced a provision allowing taxpayers for paying income tax through pay order and account payee cheque to ease the tax payment procedure. The decision was taken on that time to prevent forgery in tax payment through treasury challan after detecting many treasury challans with forgeries of bank seals and official signatures. As the taxmen had no mechasism to detect the authenticity of submitted treasury challan instantly, the unscrupulous people took the chance. NBR argued that it was also a risky method for taxpayers to carry a huge amount of cash to the bank for depositing through treasury challan, NBR said. The NBR suggested the government removing the procedural problems and delays if any in tax payment through pay order and bank cheque. It said there was no scope of fraudulence in the method. l

Stock market breaks 6-week losses n Tribune Report Stock market posted modest rally in the past week, clawing back losses seen in the previous six straight weeks. During the last week, the benchmark of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, crossed 4,500mark after two weeks and settled at 4,531, climbing over 98 points or 2%. The blue-chip comprising index DS30 rose 32 points or 2% to 1,721. The DSE Shariah Index, DSES, gained 24 points or 2% to 1,091. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Categories Index, CSCX, closed at 8,416 surging 184 points or 2%. However, trading activity was yet to get back its rhythm as the DSE daily average turnover during the past week remained poor. It stood at Tk358 crore, up more than 20% over the previous week. The market gained in the early sessions of the past week on the news that deadline for bringing down the banks’ investment exposure to the stock market would be extended. But this enthusiasm was overshadowed by the news that another foreigner was killed and Supreme Court upheld death sentence verdicts against two war criminals. “Security concern grew among investors again, which put damper on investor sentiment in the latter sessions of the week,” said a broker.

‘The news that banks are getting two more years to adjust their over-exposure in the capital market helped the investors to become optimistic’ On Saturday evening, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the banks would get time to adjust their over-exposure to the capital market till July 2018, instead of exiting deadline of July 2016, to 25% of their capital. Investors flocked towards engineering stocks during the whole week as healthy activity was witnessed in the sector, accounting for more than 20% of the total turnover. The sector was the week’s second best performer soaring around 6%. Non-banking financial institutions was the star performer of the week rising almost 7% as investors picked up stocks of the sector in anticipation of good return. Similarly, it was a good week for the ceramics, IT, pharmaceuticals and power sectors while cement was the only sector that closed marginally lower during the week. “Investors’ passed an eventful week with the news of finance minister’s intention to propose two years extension for banks to lower their stock market exposure, shooting of foreign citizen and verdict review regarding war crime tribunal being in the spotlight,” IDLC Investments said. Lanka Bangla Securities said, “The news that banks are getting extended period of two more years to adjust their over-exposure in the capital market helped the investors to become optimistic about the market.” l

Business

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Young entrepreneurs urged to come with innovative ideas n Tribune Report

Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research Inc, speaks at the Reuters Global Investment Summit in New York

REUTERS

Commodities free-fall not a recession indicator n Reuters, New York

Tumbling commodity prices suggest the global economy is headed toward recession, but the free-fall has more to do with excess capacity than a warning about the world’s economic health, economist and market strategist Ed Yardeni said last week. Very high capacity was built in anticipation of a commodity super-cycle, and the free-fall does not indicate pending doom, said Yardeni, founder and president of Yardeni Research Inc, at the Reuters Global Investment Outlook Summit in New York. “I don’t think it’s demand that’s falling off a cliff,” he said. “Because so much capacity was built into the commodity space antici-

pating a super-cycle, that now that all those assumptions have fallen apart, guess what? They can’t get out of their own way.” The rise of the middle class in developing countries such as Brazil, India and China led to the belief that there would be booming demand for commodities for decades - creating a socalled super-cycle of high commodity prices. Commodity companies have increased production in reaction to plunging prices in a bid to put their rivals out of business, said Yardeni, who was for almost 30 years either chief economist or market strategist at EF Hutton, Deutsche Bank and other wellknown Wall Street firms. The Thomson Reuters/Core Commodity CRB Index has declined more than 60% since

peaking in July 2008. The futures index of 19 commodities on Wednesday fell to its lowest level since late 2002, or lower than the depths of the Great Recession. Commodities indexes are a favorite of Yardeni’s as economists look to their consumption as an indication of global economic growth. For that reason, Yardeni said he did not wish to be too dismissive of the price level. “Maybe I’m not paying attention to my own indicator,” he said. “Whenever you have something free-falling like this, you don’t want to be too blasé about it.” However, the build-out in commodity production was financed through bonds or corporate equity and not bank credit, limiting any blow-ups, he said. l

Young entrepreneurs have been urged to come up with innovative ideas for doing their business successfully, facing all the possible challenges tolerantly. Business leaders, experts and a minister came up with a joint call at “Global Youth Entrepreneurs Summit -2015” held at city’s Krishibid Institution Auditorium on Friday. Dhrubotara Youth Development Foundation (DYDF) in collaboration with the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) organised the event to encourage young generation entrepreneurs in new and innovative businesses. “Running a business is a very challenging job for the new entrepreneurs but a real entrepreneurial quality is to struggle and make a business plan successful,” said Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu while addressing the summit as chief guest. Urging the new young entrepreneurs to work hard and to do businesses with dedication, the minister said: “Everyone has a dream and has to focus vigorously to climb onto the top of that mountain.” He also urged the young entrepreneurs to make best use of IT and ICT. Besides, the minister suggested the young generation to remain cautious from cyber terrorism and its bad impact on their bright future. The global youth population is 100 crore 80 lakh, who can bring a huge demographic dividend to our world, said DCCI President Hossain Khaled. If young generation is encouraged to be self-employed, they will bring significant change in the economy creating investment and employments, said Khaled. Khaled inspired the new youth entrepreneurs to nurture innovation and newer ideas. He also said that energy, enthusiasm and innovation were the characteristics of today’s youth generation. He later urged the juvenile entrepreneurs to keep patience in doing their businesses as businesses have risks, ups and downs. In Bangladesh, 5 crore 50 lakh people are aged between 15-34, he said. To promote new entrepreneurship, DCCI already initiated E2K project for creating 2000 entrepreneurs in the country in partnership with the Bangladesh Bank. l

Oil trades near three-month low as excess supply takes toll n Reuters, London Brent crude oil futures edged higher on Friday but were still trading near three-month lows as the pressure of a persistent supply glut weighed on prices. The overhang that has cut prices by more than 10% since the start of November kept a lid on prices, and U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was on track for a weekly loss. The front-month Brent crude contract was 25 cents higher at $44.43 a barrel at 1000 GMT. The contract finished just 4 cents higher on Thursday at $44.18. US WTI crude was trading flat at $40.54 a barrel. It ended down 21 cents on Thursday,

after dipping to $39.89 during the previous session, its lowest since Aug 27. Analysts said that while the supply demand balance remained shaky, traders were taking a step back from bearish indications. “The market is fatigued from having looked at the production statistics and the ever increasing supply glut,” said Sucden analyst Kash Kamal. “Fundamentals are taking a back seat for now.” Kamal also said fluctuations in the U.S. dollar, which traded near a seven-month high this week, could impact crude prices. A strong dollar makes oil and other commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The market is fatigued from having looked at the production statistics and the ever increasing supply glut Crude futures are already down around 60% since mid-2014 as supply has exceeded demand by 0.7 million to 2.5 million barrels per day, creating a glut that analysts say will last well into 2016. The glut has seen Iraqi crude grades selling as low as $30 a barrel, while official sell-

ing prices from Nigeria have fallen to their lowest in more than a decade. US crude futures have been particularly battered, with data from the country’s Energy Information Administration showing an eighth straight week of stock builds. A growing discount between the front month and forward contracts, which was trading near a record wide $8 a barrel, has sparked talk of traders storing more crude in the hope of delivering later at higher prices. Market data suggests oil traders are preparing for another downturn in prices by March 2016, as forecasts for an unusually warm winter dent demand and Iran prepares for post-sanctions crude oil exports. l

Business

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

ECB willing to act fast to boost inflation n Reuters, Frankfurt

The European Central Bank is ready to act quickly to boost anemic inflation in the euro zone, its president said on Friday, offering the strongest hint yet that the bank will unveil fresh stimulus measures at its Dec 3 meeting. Mario Draghi highlighted changes to the ECB’s asset purchase program and deposit rate as possible tools to stop inflation from falling further below its target of just under 2%. Draghi said the risk had increased that the ECB would miss that target. “If we decide (on Dec 3) that the current trajectory of our policy is not sufficient to achieve our objective, we will do what we must to raise inflation as quickly as possible,” he told a conference in Frankfurt. Draghi said the strength of the euro zone’s recovery was modest and the global outlook for demand, particularly in emerging coun-

tries, had worsened significantly in recent months. His views appeared likely to meet some objections on the ECB’s decision-making Governing Council, which includes the bank’s executive board members and the governors of the bloc’s 19 central banks. Speaking at the same event, the Bundesbank’s president Jens Weidmann, one of the most prominent critics of the ECB’s ultra-easy policy, struck a more upbeat tone on the economy and made the case for waiting before taking new policy steps. “I see no reason to talk down the economic outlook and paint a gloomy picture,” Weidmann said. “We should also not forget that the monetary policy measures already taken still need time to fully feed into the economy.” Following Draghi’s comments the euro fell as low as $1.0664 and traded near three-

month lows against sterling. It then recouped its losses to move back above $1.07. Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who has criticized the ECB in several occasions, was also due to speak at the event.

Defending qe

The ECB has bought 60bn euros ($64bn) a month of mostly government bonds since March to help revive inflation, but prices rose just 0.1% in October. Draghi defended the ECB’s quantitative easing (QE) asset purchase program, noting it had brought down borrowing costs for euro zone companies. He said the scheme could be expanded and extended and its composition changed to provide further stimulus while the deposit rate could be cut again to boost the impact of QE. The ECB’s deposit rate is currently -0.20

points, meaning banks are charged to park cash at the ECB, giving them an added incentive to lend, rather than pile reserves at the central bank. Some questioned the benefits of ultra-low rates, with Deutsche Bank’s Co Chief Executive Juergen Fitschen telling the same conference that the ensuing increase in bank lending volumes might not be enough to offset the hit to margins the policy had also caused. Markets were already expecting further ECB action on Dec 3, most likely including a further cut to the deposit rate and an extension of the asset purchases beyond their scheduled end in September 2016. The ECB will get updated inflation forecasts from its staff at the December meeting and has already said conditions have worsened since its latest estimates were published in September. l

CORPORATE NEWS

European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi exchanges views during a Monetary Dialogue with the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels REUTERS

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited has recently opened an agent banking outlet for its clients at Kalir Bazaar in Comilla. The bank’s DMD, Md Rezaur Rahman inaugurated the outlet as chief guest

China c.bank cuts borrowing costs, eyes market-based rates n Reuters, Beijing China will lower lending rates for loans made under the standing lending facility (SLF), a policy tool to inject cash into the banking system, in the latest step to support the slowing economy. The overnight rate would be cut to 2.75% and the seven-day rate to 3.25%, effective Friday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said in its official microblog on Thursday. The rates are now at 4.5% and 5.5%, respectively. The fresh move to lower borrowing costs for businesses is in line with recent policy easing to support the slowing economy and as Chinese banks face a surge in troubled loans. “There is no doubt that the central bank’s move is aimed at lowering the cost of bank liquidity,” said Xue Hexiang, a strategist at Huatai Securities. Li Huiyong, an economist at Shenyin & Wanguo Securities, said the cut to the SLF signalled more policy easing ahead. He expects the PBOC to cut benchmark interest rates by 25-50 basis points in 12 months and also to cut bank reserve requirement ratios.

China’s central bank cut interest rates on Oct. 23 for the sixth time in less than a year, and it again lowered the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves in a bid to jump start growth in its stuttering economy.

Interest rate corridor

The central bank said the cut to SLF rates would help develop a market-based “interest rate formation mechanism” by “facilitating the role of SLF interest rates in forming the ceiling of an interest rate corridor”. The step took into account the current liquidity condition and the need to adjust monetary policy, it said without elaborating. Outstanding SLF stood at zero as of end-October, data showed, with no activity for several months. SLF rates were cut in March, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The central bank, when it cut benchmark rates in October, lifted caps on bank deposit rates to liberalise interest rates, but it said it would continue to publish benchmark market rates while trying to develop a set of market-based interest rates. l

NRBC Bank Ltd has recently signed an agreement with Jamuna Bank Limited (JBL) for disbursement of foreign remittance as an associate bank of JBL. MD & CEO of JBL, Shafiqul Alam and MD & CEO of NRBC Bank, Dewan Mujibur Rahman signed the agreement

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has recently held a board meeting in Dhaka. The bank’s chairperson, Engr Mustafa Anwar presided over the meeting

News

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Shitalakkhya, once a lifeline, now a threat to human lives

Once, the water of the river had been taken to several areas of Indian sub-continent and London. But, now, the residents of the district cannot use it for pollution ed soon and 500 dyeing and factories near n Shah Alom the riverside should be removed soon,” he Once fresh and clear, the water of the Shitalakkhya River in Naraynganj has now turned murky due to continuous discharge of untreated industrial wastes, thousands of tonnes of garbage and sewerage water into the tributary of the Brahmaputra. Around 500 industries on the banks of the river are releasing 62 types of toxic chemicals into the river leaving its water dangerously contaminated. The toxic chemicals include chromium, mercury, chlorine, zinc, nickel, lead, phosphogypsum, cadmium and various other acids and alkalis. Board mills, dyeing factories, oil refineries, leather processing industries and pulp and paper mills are also held responsible for discharging untreated toxic wastes. Once, the water of the river had been taken to several areas of Indian sub-continent and London. But, now, the residents of the district cannot use it for pollution In addition to Narayanganj town’s sewerage waste, the Balu river is also carrying sewerage water from the capital city’s northern part into the river. During the dry season the wastes get piled up on the riverbed as its slow and weak current cannot flash the garbage away. The people living on the banks of the river once used to drink its fresh water. But the contamination has attained such a level that the water has turned reddish and also emits unpleasant odour. People living on the banks and those crossing the river now feel suffocated as they smell the unpleasant stench coming out from the contaminated water. The 62-kilometre long river stretches from Kalagachia river port of Narayanganj to Tok Bormi of Mymensingh district. In addition to pollution, some land sharks

Police to provide security if SQ Chy buried in Raozan n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong Police have said they will provide all necessary security if war crimes convict Salauddin Quader Chowdhury is buried in Gohira village under Raozan upazila in Chittagong. Md Naimul Hasan, additional superintendent of police in Chittagong, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that they had yet to receive any official message regarding Salauddin’s burial at his family graveyard in Raozan. “But police will provide as much security as necessary to the family members to complete the funeral rites without any hassle.” Meanwhile, freedom fighters and pro-liberation forces in the district have vowed to resist notorious war criminal Salauddin’s burial in Raozan. l

Water in the Shitalakkhya River is no longer fresh as it used to be in the past have illegally occupied lands on its banks, where some have started their business of sand and stone. Also some industrialists are unlawfully using the river banks to run their business threatening its navigability. As part of creating public awareness different voluntary organisations held colourful boat rallies, formed human chain, distributed leaflets, pasted posters and organised a signature campaign- but all the efforts have proved futile. Industrialists are not using effluent treatment plants (ETPs), though the caretaker government in 2007 made it mandatory for them to ensure safe waste disposal. Now the local people have made a series of demands including river dredging, com-

DHAKA TRIBUNE

pelling the industries to install ETPs, construction of paved roads on both sides of the river for clear demarcation of the river banks and setting up of an office of the environment directorate to monitor water pollution of the river and bringing the violators of the instruction to book. Teacher and writer Ali Ehosan said: “The river is one of the important resource in the district. Once the water of the river was used for domestic, Rafiur Rabbi, Senior Vice-President of the committee, said: “Once, the water of the river had been taken to several areas of Indian sub-continent and London. But, now, the residents of the district cannot use it for pollution.” “The dredging in the river should be start-

5th convocation of KU Nov 25 n Our Correspondent, Khulna The fifth convocation of Khulna University (KU) is slated to be held on November 25. President Abdul Hamid, who is the chancellor of the university, is likely to chair the convocation to be held around 3pm on the university campus. The president is also expected to unveil the plaque of the newly-built Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Muzibur Rahman hall for resident students and to inaugurate the year-long programme marking the silver jubilee of the university, said Atiar Rahman, director-in-charge of Public Relations and Publication Division of the university. Professor Emeritus Dr Anisuzzaman will attend the programme as the convocation speaker while chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC) Professor Abdul Mannan

will be present as the special guest. KU Chancellor Professor Dr Fayequzzaman will address the welcome speech while Treasurer Khan Atiar Rahman will give vote of thanks, said Atiar. At least 4,500 students achieved their graduation degrees from the university during 2011 to 2015. Of the students, a total of 2,500 graduates completed their registrations to attend the convocation, where they will receive their academic certificates from the president. Among the registered graduates, fifteen have been selected for Post Graduate Diploma in Information Technology (PGDIT). Also, one student will be conferred a PhD degree. A total of 14 students from different disciplines will be awarded gold medals for their outstanding performance in their studies. l

said. “Water treatment plant should be set up to save the people of the city,” he added. Agricultural and residential purposes. But now it cannot be used due to pollution.” Abdur Rahman, Secretary of Naraynganj Nagorik Committee, said: “The river is being polluted through a number of pointed and non-pointed sources including untreated sewerage inputs from the town, waste water and other numerous other contamination sources, such as small-manufacturing facilities and significant non-point agricultural activities.” “Moreover, other important pollution sources such as industrial inputs from a paint factory, power station, building materials factory and municipal solid wastes that drain directly into the river and receive sewage effluents from the sewer system of the town,” he also said. “We have been struggling to free the river from pollution since 2006 and submitted memorandum to the Prime Minister,” he added. Rafiur Rabbi, Senior Vice-President of the committee, said: “Once, the water of the river had been taken to several areas of Indian sub-continent and London. But, now, the residents of the district cannot use it for pollution.” “The dredging in the river should be started soon and 500 dyeing and factories near the riverside should be removed soon,” he said. “Water treatment plant should be set up to save the people of the city,” he added. Batmen Sajal, Mobarak, Liton, Ainal, Shaheen, Lokman and Sabur said they had to suffer a lot as they could not use the water for bad smelling. l

2 pharmacies fined in Chittagong, roadside vendors evicted n FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong A mobile court has fined two phramacies Tk1 lakh for selling physicians’ sample medicines, food supplements and other contraband items at Lalkhan Bazar in Chittagong city yesterday. In a sudden drive, Executive Magistrate Ruhul Amin led his team to confiscate a huge stash of physicians’ sample medicines at Popular Pharmacy and Majuri Pharmacy. The pharmacies also had food supplements, sex stimulation drugs and misbranded Indian medicines worth Tk60,000 in their stocks, and each were fined Tk50,000, said Ruhul Amin, also an assistant commissioner at Chittagong district administration. The court also evicted makeshift roadside herbal medicine vendors in the city’s Shaheed Minar area. l

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

News

Run-down jetty causes sufferings to 400,000 people n Our Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar More than 400,000 people of Moheshkhali upazila in the district have been suffering as the jetty on the Bakkhali River channel lies in a dilapidated situation. Sources said the jetty was the only way to communicate with the sadr upazila, but the people cannot communicate with the district town as it cannot be operated properly due to the lack of navigation of the channel. In 1988, the 500-metre jetty was built on the river to communicate between Cox’s Bazar and Moheshkhali at a cost of Tk20 lakh. But the channel became narrow because of silt and the jetty was later extended to 100 metres in 2000 at a cost of Tk1 crore. But it now lies unused as the channel has became very narrow. Locals alleged that the government took TK40 lakh every year in revenue from the ghat but did not take any step to repair the jetty or dredge the channel. Five years ago, the jetty totally collapsed and was not later repaired. On the other hand, boats or launches have to anchor far away from the ghat and the people have to cross the channel facing mud and clay. Sometimes, fatal accidents take place as people get their legs stuck in the mud. Abul Kalam Khan, whose job is to control vehicles at the jetty, said people suffer at the time of ebb as boats have to be anchored 2,000 metres from the jetty.

The dilapidated Moheshkhali jetty lies unused “Elderly people, women and children suffer the most.” Trader Mohibullah of the upazila said: “We have to incur losses as goods cannot be transported easily because of the poor condition of the channel and the jetty. The tourists also suffer much.” “The government should take immediate steps in this regard,” he added. The upazila nirbahi officer, Abul Kalam,

DHAKA TRIBUNE

said: “There is no plan to extend or repair the jetty at this moment.” Mahbubur Rahman, a college teacher, said: “The jetty should be repaired soon as Matarbari power station is located in the area and every day, many dignitaries have to cross the channel.” Deputy Commissioner Ali Hossain said: “I have taken notice of the matter. The jetty will be extended soon.” l

Skills competition held in Barisal n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Skills Competition 2015 under the Skills and Training Enhancement Project (STEP) was held on Barisal Model School and College premises yesterday. A total of 15 teams from five polytechnic institutes of Barisal participated in the competition, which was organised to ensure better employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers in both local and overseas markets, and to help them develop skills. The programme began with a procession from Barisal Polytechnic Institute to the venue. A seminar presided over by Barisal Polytechnic Institute Principal engineer Dr Fariduddin was also held at the institute’s auditorium while Didarul Alam, an official involved with the project, presented the keynote. The discussants noted that remittance from migrant workers had become a driving force for the country’s economy in recent years but the workers still lack the essential skills required to secure high-paying jobs in foreign countries. They said Bangladeshi migrant workers live with a lack of job security and fail to earn much as they speak little English, often have poor formal education and are not always equipped with industry-specific skills. According to the speakers, unskilled workers cannot land better-paying jobs that require greater skills. STEP officials said the project aims at strengthening public and private training institutions in order to improve the quality of training and employability of trainees, including those coming from poor backgrounds, both at home and abroad. l

One held with Indian Two more villages become child marriage-free fake currency ahead,” said KM Asaduzzaman, unit organizisation-Center for Mass Education in Science Tribune Desk n CMES. (CMES)took the initiative and declared the n Our Correspondent, Chapainawabganj Apart from the previous four, two more vil- villages as free from early and child marriage. er ofAbdus Salam, former chairman of DamMembers of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested an alleged fake currency smuggler with fake Indian rupees 6 lakh from Eidgah Square of Monakasha market under Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj district yesterday. The arrested was Md Babul, 37, son of late Abdur Razzaque of Satrashia village under Shibganj upazila of the district. RAB sources said, acting on a tip off, an operation team of RAB from Chapainawabganj camp raided the area around 1.30 pm and arrested Babul with the fake currencies. l

Mother, daughter killed in road crash n Our Correspondent, Gopalganj A woman and her seven-year-old daughter were crushed under the wheels of a bus on the Gopalganj-Tungipara road in Gopalganj district yesterday morning. The identities of the deceased could not be known. Local people said, a ‘bus of Green Line Paribahan ran over them when they were crossing the road around 11:30am, leaving one dead on the spot another injured. Later, the injured died at Gopalganj Health Complex. Mahmudul Haque, officer-in-charge of Tungipara police station said police had seized the bus but its driver managed to flee. l

lages in Damkura Union under Paba upazila of Rajshahi district yesterday became child marriage free thanks to concerted efforts of villagers, local UP representatives and CMES. The previous child marriage villages were Govindapur, Alokchhatra, Bhimer Daying, Ashgram and Imamgonj. Since then, not a single child marriage has been solemnised in the remote villages. In pace of the remarkable success, two more adjacent villages, Deluabari and Deshlapara,were declared child marriage freem, reports BSS. Sources concerned said the villagers took the matter of announcing the villages as child marriage free in positive manner. Now the girls are studying in school and colleges as the parents and guardians are not interested in the marriage of their girls before 18. If someone goes to the three villages under Damkura Union, around 12 kilometers off the Rajshahi city, he or she will find six separate signboards inscribed with “a village free from early marriage” at the entrance of the respective villages. People of the villages have declared their village as free from early marriage when the issue of child marriage is being adjudged as an obstacle to social development in almost villages of the region. Damkura Union Parishad in association with a non-government development organ-

Now the girls are studying in school and colleges as the parents and guardians are not interested in the marriage of their girls before 18 Selim Uddin, a member of the Union Parishad, said around 90 to 95 percent people of the villages are educated and they are more aware than any other surrounding villages. For this reason, the village people extended their whole-hearted support for the announcement. Nur Jahan Begum, a housewife of the village, observed that early marriage always led to sufferings to both boys and girls. Early marriage destroys life of the couple. Early-marriage victim females become weak physically and mentally. Earlier, many people don’t know the matter. But, at present the guardians have started realizing the grave issues. “This is our preliminary steps. We got spontaneous support from the villagers. We will work more for declaring all the adjacent villages free from child marriage in days

kura Union Parishad (UP), says the public representatives face manifold problems in checking child marriage as many people became unhappy on them over the issue. But the intensive works of CMES contributes a lot towards the process. He says the village level educational institutions especially high schools and colleges need to be more effective and girls- friendly to make the effort sustainable. Paba Upazila Nirbahi Officer Selim Ahmed told BSS that such concerted efforts of local government and a non-government organization brought a desired result in preventing child marriage. He said step has been taken to build a model village free from child marriage in each of all Union Parishads under the upazila in phases in future. Dr Kustary Amina Queen, deputy director of Department of Family Planning, says early marriage and the early pregnancy is a serious threat to the family planning activities especially in the rural areas. In Rajshahi, the rate of tendency of becoming mother in early age is more than any other districts due to various reasons like poverty, illiteracy and lack of awareness. In that case, the endeavor will undoubtedly encourage many other villages towards standing against the child marriage, Dr Amina Queen expects. l

Sport 25

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

INSIDE

Veterans Misbah, Sammy eye glory with Rangpur n Mazhar Uddin

Bopara’s experience to Amir’s redemption The arrival of some of the world’s famous cricketers in Dhaka for the third BPL is the perfect tonic for a competitive tournament. The start and a successful ending of this tournament is not only important for the BCB and its players, but to several international cricketers too who have set their eyes to revive their careers. PAGE 26

In BPL, things are serious: Sangakkara Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara arrived in Dhaka on Friday for his maiden appearance in the Bangladesh Premier League. The 38-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, who has more than 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs, will be leading the Dhaka Dynamites in the third BPL. PAGE 27

Chittagong Vikings’ Pakistani paceman Mohammad Amir bowls at the nets during their practice at SBNS yesterday ahead of their opening fixture against Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League today MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

BPL 3 ready to roll n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Sanctions requested against Blatter, Platini The ethics committee of world soccer governing body FIFA said on Saturday it had completed its investigation into the conduct of FIFA President Blatter and UEFA president Platini and requested sanctions against them. Both were provisionally banned for 90 days on Oct. PAGE 28

The third Bangladesh Premier League is all set to kick-off today with the clash between Chittagong Vikings and Rangpur Riders at 2pm at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. Comilla Victorians and Dhaka Dynamites will face off in the evening game. The Twenty20 league came to a standstill after its second edition in 2013 which was marred by match-spot fixing scandals. The return of the tournament is pleasing for the country’s cricket arena and the Bangladesh Cricket Board have tried to take all necessary steps in order to avoid any controversial situation.

Chittagong v Rangpur

Chittagong Vikings are the only team to get a near full squad ahead of their first game. Led by Tamim Iqbal the side also boosts batsmen like TM Dilshan, Anamul Haque, Elton Chigumbura and Chamara Kapugedara. However, Taskin Ahmed and Pakistan pacer Mo-

Namibia’s van Schoor dies after on-field stroke Namibia wicketkeeper-batsman Raymond van Schoor has died in Windhoek at age 25, five days after suffering a stroke during a match. Van Schoor was batting on 15 during Namibia’s five-wicket win over Free State in a CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge when he collapsed on field and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. PAGE 29

hammad Amir will be key to their title charge and they will be complemented by spinners like Saeed Ajmal and Enamul Haque jr. Taskin’s availability however remains the worry for the port-city side. The young pacer is suffering from viral fever and Robiul Islam might get lucky if the situation persists. Rangpur have a terrific T20 squad on pen and paper. Shakib al Hasan returned from the United States yesterday night and is expected to turn up for his franchise today. Only four of Rangpur’s foreign recruits have reported – Darren Sammy, Misbah ul Haque, Lendl Simmons and Sachitra Senenayeke – and all of them will play the game today.

Dhaka v Comilla

The owners might have changed, but the capital city side still remain frontrunners for the title. The two-time champions, Dhaka, will be led by Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara. Apart from icon player Nasir Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman will also prove vital in the game’s outcome. Meanwhile, the Victorians are the newcomers in the league. The Comilla franchise was formed just months ago, but their players aren’t any unknown faces. Captain fantastic Mashrafe bin Mortaza is the heart and soul of the team that also boosts cricketers like Sunil Narine, Shoaib Malik, Andre Russel and Darren Stevens. The side will, however, miss the service of pacer Kamrul Islam Rabby. Kamrul, who recently got picked in the national one-day squad, was ruled out for a week after injuring his right thumb. l

The two veteran cricketers and former captains of their respective nation, Misbah ul Haq and Darren Sammy eyes glory with Rangpur Riders in the third Bangladesh Premier League. Misbah, who is still Pakistan's Test captain, is often criticised for being a slow batsman and is also called “Tuk-Tuk Misbah” although he thinks different. Pakistani Test captain and experienced Misbah Ul Haq along with West Indian all-rounder Darren Sammy will feature for Rangpur and play a vital role for the side. “Experience is always important and I think it will play a big role in all the three formats of the game. It helps to asses the situation of the game and work accordingly,” said Misbah ahead of their opening game against Chittagong Vikings today. The opposition camp today will have his compatriots Mohammad Amir, Saeed Ajmal and Umran Akmal and 41-year-old believes this tournament is the prefect platform for Amir. West Indian Sammy, who played for Sylhet in the previous edition, hailed his Rangpur captain Shakib and said, “Shakib is an excellent cricketer not only for Bangladesh he is a world class cricketer and a very experienced T20 cricketer. We have Misbah, Lendl Simmons along with some talented local cricketers and I think we can perform together pretty well. I am hoping to excute our plan on the field and bring out the best result in favor of our team,” said Sammy. l

Sport

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

From Bopara’s unusual experience to Amir’s redemption mission, BPL promises a lot n Reazur Rahman Rohan The arrival of some of the world’s famous cricketers in Dhaka for the third Bangladesh Premier League is the perfect tonic for a competitive tournament. The start and a successful ending of this tournament is not only important for the Bangladesh Cricket Board and its players, but to several international cricketers too who have set their eyes to use the BPL as the platform to revive their careers. The Pakistani cricketers were banned from participating in the last edition (BPL 2) following a conflict between the boards of the two country, but that ban no longer exists. “BOOM BOOM” Shahid Afridi in the twilight years of his career still has the ability to steal the spotlight any day and he will be playing for the Sylhet Super Stars. But undoubtedly all eyes will be on Mohammad Amir, who after serving a fiveyear ban for spot-fixing, is making a comeback to international arena through this tournament. The 23-year-old is excited and equally pumped up to revive his career as he earlier told Dhaka Tribune. “The opportunity is very big for me to be honest. I am making a comeback through an international league and through a well-organised league. I will try my best to use this opportunity and perform for my franchise Chittagong Vikings,” he said. The Vikings have also recruited off-spinner Saeed Ajmal who is also looking to make a statement to his home cricket board at the age of 38. Ajmal, who was the face of the Pakistan spin in the past few years, was not handed a place in the Pakistan World Cup squad earlier this year despite his suspected bowling action being cleared in time. The fact that the other foreign cricketers have stepped in Dhaka and are looking forward to a good time are reflected well on their social media accounts. West Indian Darren Sammy posed in a picture saying “@rangpurriders here I come. #BPL #dhaka #t20” while Australian Brad Hodge simply posted “Looking forward to a good fight for the title at BPL for Sylhet Superstars!!!”

Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara, the Dhaka Dynamites signing, is not a first-timer in Bangladesh and his tweet on Thursday explained how habituated he is in this country - “In Dhaka for the BPL. Looking forward to some great cricket. No traffic so must be a holiday.” Little did he know that the city observed strike on that day. “Excited to be heading over to the @ OfficialBPL tomorrow in Bangladesh,Some great players taking part.I’m sure it will be entertaining. #t20” tweeted former Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor. However, it was English all-rounder Ravi Bopara who enjoyed the most of the “Desi Flavour” upon arriving In Dhaka. On Wednesday he tweeted, “On my way to play for the Sylhet Superstars in the BPL. Cant wait!!” and it can safely be assumed that he is loving his trip already as he on Friday posted a video of him being driven from the Dhaka airport to his hotel from the “wrong-way.” The BPL is a genuine platform that will keep the flow of Bangladesh cricket moving in the right direction, and the next one month promises a lot to this cricket crazy nation. l

English cricketers Ravi Bopara (L) and Darren Stevens speak at SNBS yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

BRB-BPL T20 3RD EDITION-2015

TOURNAMENT FIXTURE BARISAL BULLS DHAKA DYNAMITES RANGPUR RIDERS

CHITTAGONG VIKINGS COMILLA VICTORIANS SYLHET SUPER STARS

1ST PHASE (SHER-E-BANGLA NATIONAL STADIUM, DHAKA) MATCH 1 (2PM)

MATCH 2 (6.45PM)

Sunday, 22 Nov

Rangpur Riders Vs Chittagong Vikings

Dhaka Dynamites Vs Comilla Victorians

Monday, 23 Nov

Sylhet Super Stars Vs Chittagong Vikings

Rangpur Riders Vs Barisal Bulls

Tuesday, 24 Nov

Comilla Victorians Vs Chittagong Vikings

Sylhet Super Stars Vs Barisal Bulls

Wednesday, 25 Nov

Rangpur Riders Vs Dhaka Dynamites

Comilla Victorians Vs Barisal Bulls

Thursday, 26 Nov

Sylhet Super Stars Vs Rangpur Riders

Chittagong Vikings Vs Dhaka Dynamites

Friday, 27 Nov

Comilla Victorians Vs Rangpur Riders

Sylhet Super Stars Vs Dhaka Dynamites

2ND PHASE (MA AZIZ STADIUM, CHITTAGONG) MATCH 1 (2PM)

MATCH 2 (6.45PM)

Barisal Bulls Vs Chittagong Vikings

Comilla Victorians Vs Sylhet Super Stars

Tuesday, Dec 1

Rangpur Riders Vs Chittagong Vikings

Barisal Bulls Vs Dhaka Dynamites

Wednesday, Dec 2

Comilla Victorians Vs Dhaka Dynamites

Sylhet Super Stars Vs Chittagong Vikings

Rangpur Riders Vs Barisal Bulls

Comilla Victorians Vs Chittagong Vikings

Monday, Nov 30

Thursday, Dec 3

FINAL PHASE (SHER-E-BANGLA NATIONAL STADIUM, DHAKA) MATCH 1 (2PM)

MATCH 2 (6.45PM)

Sunday, Dec 6

Sylhet Super Stars Vs Barisal Bulls

Rangpur Riders Vs Dhaka Dynamites

Monday, Dec 7

Comilla Victorians Vs Barisal Bulls

Sylhet Super Stars Vs Rangpur Riders

Tuesday, Dec 8

Chittagong Vikings Vs Dhaka Dynamites

Comilla Victorians Vs Rangpur Riders

Wednesday, Dec 9

Sylhet Super Stars Vs Dhaka Dynamites

Barisal Bulls Vs Chittagong Vikings

Thursday, Dec 10

Comilla Victorians Vs Sylhet Super Stars

Barisal Bulls Vs Dhaka Dynamites

Saturday, Dec 12

1St Qualifier Semi (1St Pos Vs 2Nd Pos)

Eliminetor (3rd Position Vs 4Th Position)

Sunday, Dec 13

2Nd Qualifier / Semi (Loser Of 1St Semi Vs Winner Of Eliminetor)

Tuesday, December 15

Final

Sport

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

QUICK BYTES Booters take on hosts in China today The under-pressure and misfiring Bangladesh booters will take on host club Lijiang in their second game in the Yunnan-Asean International Football Open at Mangshi City Stadium, China today. The Bengal Tigers suffered a shocking 2-3 defeat to Myanmar club Hantharwady United in the opening game. “We lost the game but we should have won. Even (though) we played good we should change the formation. We should play more offensive. We didn’t came here as tourists. We have to win games,” said Bangladesh vice-captain Jamal Bhuiyan yesterday. Bangladesh are playing in the invitational tournament as part of the preparation for the Saff Championship next month. –TRIBUNE REPORT

Blanc admits negotiations for new PSG deal Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc on Friday confirmed that he is currently in negotiations over an extension to his current contract, which expires at the end of this season. “We are in discussions about an eventual contract extension. We are negotiating. No decision has been made yet,” said Blanc at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s Ligue 1 clash with Lorient. –AFP

Dinamo’s Ademi handed four-year ban for doping Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Arijan Ademi has been banned for four years after he failed a drug test following a Champions League match with Arsenal in September, the Croatian club said on Friday. “The UEFA disciplinary committee made the harshest possible decision and suspended Ademi for four years,” Dinamo said on their official website (www. gnkdinamo.hr). –REUTERS

Hamburg stun Dortmund on tense night in Germany Hamburg dented Borussia Dortmund’s title hopes with a 3-1 win on Friday in a Bundesliga clash which started 15 minutes late due to heightened security measures following the Paris terror attacks. Goals from Pierre-Michel Lasogga, Lewis Holtby and a Mats Hummel own goal sealed the three points for Hamburg who moved up to eighth in the table while defeat left Dortmund facing the prospect of slipping eight points behind leaders Bayern Munich by the end of the weekend. –AFP

Mourinho rules out January spending spree Jose Mourinho insists he will not ask the Chelsea board to strengthen his squad when the transfer window reopens in January. The manager is currently working to halt his side’s alarming decline this season just months after they were crowned champions in May. Chelsea’s campaign has so far been marked by the loss of form of a number of key players and reports of dressing room unrest. –AFP

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director and the chairman of the BCB Marketing Committee Kazi Inam (L) hosting the discussion over the topic of Cricket - The Unquiet Ones along with famous cricket historian Ramachandra Guha (C) and former Zimbabwe captain and Bangladesh national team bowling coach Heath Streak at the Dhaka Lit Festival yesterday RAJIB DHAR

In BPL, things are serious: Sangakkara

Hafeez turns down BPL offer to avoid Amir

n Minhaz Uddin Khan

n Cricinfo

Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara arrived in Dhaka on Friday for his maiden appearance in the Bangladesh Premier League. The 38-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, who has more than 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs, will be leading the Dhaka Dynamites in the third BPL. The only cricketer to have struck four consecutive hundreds in a World Cup, Sangakkara recently featured for Warne’s Warriors in the three-match All Stars tournament against Sachin’s Blasters. He believes BPL to be a competitive tournament as Sangakkara, who retired shortly after the World Cup earlier this year, expressed his eagerness to get on the field.

Q. How happy are you with the squad?

We had our full squad practice (yesterday) and to be honest I think the squad is a good one. We have few good local cricketers and the overseas have played cricket on international level. Expecting a good tournament ahead.

Q. Your thoughts on BPL?

This tournament is a little different. It has both local and international cricketers. All the players looking forward to perform in the third edition of BPL. This will be my first time here and I am hoping for the best.

Q. How excited are you to be in this tournament?

Any tournament for me is exciting. I have played cricket in United States for last couple weeks and it has been brilliant but here in BPL, things are serious. Majority of the players in this tournament are into playing full time cricket so I am expecting a very tough competition here.

Q. How prepared is Dhaka Dynamites?

I think everyone has been into playing competitive cricket recently. So it wont be tough to manage them. Everyone in the team is aware of their responsibility.

Q. You have pacer Mustafizur Rahman, currently rated as Bangladesh’s best bowler. What are your thoughts as a captain?

I have seen Mustafiz. He took 13 wickets in his maiden three-match series which is a brilliant thing. He was wonderful on the field. He is always smiling which I like to be honest. Even the other members of the team are in song so I eager to play some good cricket with them. l

Mohammad Hafeez has said he will not share a dressing room with any player who has tarnished the image of Pakistan cricket. His declaration comes after an Urdu newspaper, Jang, reported that Hafeez had turned down a lucrative offer from Bangladesh Premier League franchise Chittagong Vikings to play in BPL 2015-16, because Chittagong have Mohammad Amir in their squad. “I am not against any individuals,” Hafeez told ESPNcricinfo. “It is about the image of Pakistan cricket. I cannot play with any player who has tarnished and brought a bad name to the country. But, yes, if any other team offered me the contract with good money I could definitely play the BPL. Otherwise I prefer playing for my domestic team, SNGPL, in Quaid-e-Azam trophy at home. “This is my personal opinion and this is not just about Pakistani players, it’s about all players. We play for the public and entertain them with a sporting spirit, and once someone abuses the role he has to play in the game… I cannot play and share a dressing room with such players who have abused the spirit of the game.” It was reported by the newspaper that Hafeez turned down an offer of around Rs 10 million from Chittagong. The franchise, however, denied extending any offer to the batsman. He was not selected in the drafting process while other Pakistan players were chosen in the draft and big-name players like Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi were signed outside the draft. Hafeez said he had received the offer through an agent, without revealing any names - he said he does not have an exclusive agent but the offer came through various sources. l

Sport

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Vardy equals record, Chelsea win at last n Reuters, London

Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy celebrates the first goal against Newcastle United to equal the record for scoring in consecutive Premier League games at St James’ Park yesterday REUTERS

Kader, Lokman show-caused n Tribune Report

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) served a show-cause letter to Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club president Manjur Kader yesterday after he reportedly forced 10 national players to leave the camp and attend a club programme before their Fifa World Cup qualifying game against Australia last week. BFF termed the incident as ‘unlawful’ and ‘unforgiving’. The federation also decided to send showcause notice to director in-charge of Mohammedan Sporting Club Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan for his ‘baseless’ and ‘untrue’ criticism towards BFF. Kader and Lokman were asked to reply within 48 hours. BFF earlier served showcause notice to Sheikh Russel KC president Nurul Alam Chowdhury who did not yet reply. BFF senior vice-president Abdus Salam Murshedy said the disciplinary committee will take action on that stance. Earlier on Monday last week, Bangladesh Premier League champions Sheikh Jamal pulled ten of its players from the national camp for attending a club program when they have a game against the Socceroos the next day at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.l

Jamie Vardy equalled the Premier League record by scoring for a 10th successive match as his Leicester City side went top after winning 3-0 at Newcastle United while champions Chelsea ended their slump with a 1-0 win over Norwich City on Saturday. Chelsea’s French defender Kurt Zouma led a rendition of the anthem at Stamford Bridge where a huge French flag was also displayed before the champions ended a run of three successive league defeats with victory over Norwich City thanks to a second-half goal from Diego Costa. While Vardy equalled Ruud van Nistelrooy’s 12-year-old scoring record, Leonardo Ulloa and Shinji Okazaki also scored for Leicester. Claudio Ranieri’s side stayed above Manchester United, who won 2-1 at Watford and were briefly top after a dramatic finale at Vicarage Road. United led 1-0 following an 11th minute volley from Memphis Depay before Troy Deeney equalised with an 87th-minute penalty but then scored an own goal in stoppage time to give United victory. Arsenal slipped back to fourth after losing

Sanctions requested against Blatter, Platini n Reuters, Berne The ethics committee of world soccer governing body FIFA said yesterday it had completed its investigation into the conduct of FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini and requested sanctions against them. Both were provisionally banned for 90 days on Oct. 8 pending the full investigation, engulfed by a deepening corruption scandal as the sport faces criminal investigations in Switzerland and the United States. Blatter has been FIFA president since 1998. Platini has been head of European soccer’s governing body UEFA since 2007 and, until he was suspended, had been favourite to replace Blatter in the Feb. 26 presidential election. “The investigatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has submitted its final reports containing requests for sanctions against Joseph (Sepp) Blatter and Michel Platini to the adjudicatory chamber chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert,”

said the statement. It did not give details of what the report had found or the sanctions it had requested. “For reasons linked to privacy rights and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the chamber will not publish details of the concluded reports and the requested sanctions against the two officials.” Eckert heads the adjudicatory chamber which said in a separate statement it would decide whether to open formal proceedings and, if necessary, on sanctions “in due course.” l

RESULTS Watford

1-2

Deeney 87-P

Chelsea

Manchester United Depay 11, Deeney 90-og

1-0

Norwich

4-0

Aston Villa

Costa 64

Everton Barkley 17, 42, Lukaku 28, 59

Newcastle

0-3

Leicester Vardy 45+1, Ulloa 62, Okazaki 83

Southampton

0-1

Stoke Bojan 10

Swansea

2-2

Ayew 28, Shelvey 39-p

West Brom Morrison 35, Arteta 40-og

Bournemouth King 10, Gosling 26

2-1

Arsenal Giroud 28

2-1 at West Bromwich Albion where Mikel Arteta put through his own net and Santi Cazorla missed a penalty, while Aston Villa stayed nailed to the bottom after losing 4-0 at Everton. l

Bangladesh beat Oman in Junior Asia Cup n Tribune Report Bangladesh qualified to play for the fifth/ sixth place deciding match of the 2015 Men’s Junior Asia Cup after they beat Oman 3-2 in tie-breaker at Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium in Malaysia yesterday. A very late strike by forward Milon Hossain helped the young Tigers to finish the stipulated time on 2-2 before they outplayed the middle east country in the tiebreaker. Bangladesh will now face reigning champions Malaysia today in a game that will decide the fifth place of the tournament. Earlier, the home side thrashed China 5-1 in the day’s first game. Bangladesh took the lead in the 31st minute after Roman Sarkar converted a penalty corner but things changed quickly as Oman scored two goals in the space of four minutes to take control. Salmeen Al Nofali equalised the margin in the 64th minute from a penalty corner before Shafi Al Shatari took the lead three minutes later. The game rolled into shootout after Milon leveled the score in injury time, before clinical finishes from Shetul Farhad, Sabbir Hossain and Fazley Rabbi sealed the win.l

Sport

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Beckenbauer denies 2006 WC corruption n AFP, Berlin

Waqar refutes fixing claims in Sharjah ODI n AFP, Dubai

German football legend Franz Beckenbauer denied Friday that Germany bought the right to stage the 2006 World Cup but admitted that he often signed documents without reading them. Spiegel magazine last month alleged that the votes of four members of FIFA’s executive committee were bought in 2000, when Germany narrowly won the vote to host the 2006 finals. At the centre of the scandal is a 6.7 million-euro ($7.2m) payment, which is alleged to have been used to purchase the support of FIFA’s executive committee. But in an interview to appear in Saturday’s Suddeutsche Zeitung, Beckenbauer, who led the successful bid to stage the tournament and later served as chairman of the organising committee, insisted there was no wrongdoing. “The accusations are false, there was no money,” said Beckenbauer. At the heart of the scandal is a draft agreement, signed in part by Beckenbauer, which reportedly offered a lucrative friendly against Germany, but no cash. l

Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis Friday brushed aside British tabloid claims of match-fixing against his team in their six-wicket defeat in the third one-day international against England in Sharjah earlier this week. British tabloid Daily Mail alleged the match on Tuesday was under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Unit of the International Cricket Council (ICC) over unusual patterns of betting. The newspaper claimed the investigators were tipped off before the match that Pakistan would underperform in the game and that three run-outs, casual dismissals of batsmen and sloppy fielding were suspicious. Pakistan were bowled out for 208 on a flat pitch, with skipper Azhar Ali, Mohammad Rizwan and Shoaib Malik run out. Asked whether he was aware of the allegations, Waqar said: “I am not aware of that, but I have been hearing about this here and there about this but I am very clear about the Pakistan team and the boys. “There is nothing wrong with the game.” England chased down the target after being 93-4 at one stage for a six- wicket win to take a 2-1 lead. They took the fourth and final match on Friday by 84 runs for a 3-1 series win. Waqar said Pakistan’s defeat in Sharjah had been unfortunate. “Yes, we lost the game. You lose and win games, and it’s unfortunate the way the whole thing happened but I have no doubts in my boys and I am very satisfied.”l

DAY’S WATCH Channel-9 BPL T20 2015 2:ooPM Rangpur Riders v Chittagong Vikings 6.45PM Dhaka Dynamites Vs Comilla Victorians

Ten Sports 7:15PM Sky Bet Championship Burnley v Brighton & Hove Albion 08:45PM ATP: Barclays Men’s Tour Finals

Ten Action French Ligue 1 7:00PM Caen v Angers 2:00AM Saint- Etienne v Olympic Marseille

Sony Six 8:00PM RAM Slam T20 Challenge 2015

Star Sports 1 7:00PM Hockey Series India v Australia German Bundesliga 9:00PM Hertha Berlin v TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 10:30PM Ingolstadt 04 v Darmstadt 98

Star Sports 2 7:30PM Indian Super League KolKata v Goa

Star Sports 4 10:00PM English Premier League Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham

46 Number of balls Jos Buttler took to complete his third ODI century the fastest for England. His previous two centuries were completed in 61 balls against New Zealand at Edgbaston and 66 balls against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, which are also the next two fastest ODI centuries for England. Buttler’s century is also the fastest by any batsman against Pakistan, eclipsing Sanath Jayasuriya’s 48-ball hundred in Singapore in 1995-96, and the fastest in UAE, going past Basit Ali’s 67-ball effort at Sharjah in 1993-94.

BRIEF SCORE ENGLAND 355 for 5 (Butter 116*, Roy 102, Root 71)

PAKISTAN

England batsman Jos Buttler plays a shot against Pakistan during their 4th One Day International at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Friday AP

Betting patterns, Pakistan collapse raise fixing fears n Agencies England’s six-wicket win over Pakistan in the third ODI in Sharjah played on Tuesday is being investigated by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after suspicious betting patterns emerged during the game, a British tabloid reported on Friday. The ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) is believed to have requested data from international betting markets about match fixing following an erratic performance by Pakistan in that match. The ICC have been told that twice the ‘normal’ amount of money was wagered on Pakistan in a game, which attracted more than £20million in bets on Betfair, a international betting website. England won the ODI by six wickets after Pakistan collapsed from 132/2 to 208 all out. Pakistan’s innings included three farcical run-outs. They later dropped three catches and missed a stumping. These incidents have raised an alarm, according to a report

published in the Daily Mail. It added that the officials were tipped off after toss in Sharjah that the ‘illegal Indian betting market was expecting Pakistan to underperform.’ As per the report, the ICC was informed that there could ‘at least be an attempt’ to manipulate the betting odds in favour of syndicates who would be betting huge sums. Former England captain Michael Vaughan’s tweets added fuel to fire. Vaughan questioned Pakistan’s performance on social media but later deleted those tweets. “3 run outs and a few iffy shots from Pakistan. Never seen that before!!’ he tweeted. He followed that with: “They must all think we are stupid.” The paper quoted ACSU source as saying: “After comments like that we couldn’t ignore it but we also had other reasons to look into it.” The unit has found betting patters suspicious. A day before the Sharjah match, England were regarded as strong favourites to win whereas Pakistan had few takers on Betfair, which Indian bookies are believed to use to help manage their accounts. l

271 (Malik 52, Azam 51, Moeen 3-53) England win by 84 runs and win the series 3-1

Namibia’s van Schoor dies after on-field stroke

n Cricinfo Namibia wicketkeeper-batsman Raymond van Schoor has died in Windhoek at age 25, five days after suffering a stroke during a match. Van Schoor was batting on 15 during Namibia’s five-wicket win over Free State in a CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge when he collapsed on field and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Van Schoor remained hospitalised since then but never recovered and was pronounced dead on Friday night. “He had a massive stroke and this caused a lot of swelling on the brain,” Namibia board presidentFrankle said. l

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Skin elevation (6) 5 Poor actor (3) 7 Period of time (3) 8 Find out (6) 11 Armed conflict (3) 12 Closes up (5) 14 Quote (4) 16 Looks slyly (5) 18 Golf clubs (5) 20 Part of the eye (4) 21 Minute particles (5) 23 Long-leaved lettuce (3) 24 Jumps (6) 27 Land measure (3) 28 Distress call (3) 29 Cold symptom (6)

DOWN 1 School of whales (3) 2 Encountered (3) 3 Gift (7) 4 Shoestring (4) 5 Mooring cable (6) 6 Marsh (6) 9 Eastern ruler (4) 10 Faucet (3) 13 Freedom of occupation (7) 14 Form of entertainment (6) 15 Drinks to (6) 17 Of various colours (4) 19 Weep convulsively (3) 22 Sound of suffering (4) 25 Born (3) 26 Prosecute (3)

Downtime CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 17 represents G so fill G every time the figure 17 appears. You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares. Some letters of the alphabet may not be used. As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them. A B C DE FG H I J K L MN 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

Part two, was too much n Showtime Desk The headline for the premier weekend of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is that it has brought in a franchise low in the box office. Early returns show that it is on its way to bringing in roughly $48 million for the first day, followed by a $110 million overall weekend. The critics have had a slight influence for the final film of the franchise. There really haven’t been any gushing reviews coming in, in fact it’s been the opposite. It’s been far disappointing from the ending of the actual book it was based on. Some are even saying they were bored to death by the end of the film. It’s also quite a tricky time to open up a film during the holidays in North America. As the domestic crowd are celebrating Thanksgiving, it diverts them away from heading to the movies as travel plans get in the way. However, overseas numbers may still impress. Most observers questioned the filmmakers who decided to split the final book into two seperate films, highlighting the fact it was absolutely unnecessary for a second part. Opening next to The Hunger Games franchise is the holiday comedy The Night Before, starring Seth Rogan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Mackie and the drama-driven, The Secret in Their Eyes starring Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The Secret in Their Eyes is estimated to bring in a humble number, nowhere challenging the other two favoured films during the holiday season. When all is said and done, the film is set to struggle in the box office, disregarding the stellar cast. The Night Before, however, might bring in a surprising number, surpassing the other premiering competition. To round up the top five, it’s safe to say that The Peanuts Movie and The Martian will stay in a very strong position at the box office. These two films continue to impress both film critics and fans alike. l

Showtime

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

WHAT TO WATCH Planet of the Apes Star Movies 5:00pm An Air Force astronaut crash lands on a mysterious planet where evolved, talking apes dominate a race of primitive humans. Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth Interstellar HBO 8:30pm A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity’s survival. Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain The Dark Knight Rises WB 8:28pm Eight years after the Joker’s reign of anarchy, the Dark Knight is forced to return from his imposed exile to save Gotham City from the brutal guerrilla terrorist Bane with the help of the enigmatic Selina. Cast: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway Thor 2: The Dark World Zee Studio 7:15pm When Dr Jane Foster gets cursed with a powerful object, Thor must protect it before an army and its ruthless leader try to get their hands on it to take over the remains of Earth. Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natlie Portman, Tom Hiddleston

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2015

SHARP FALL IN FOREIGN AID INFLOW PAGE 19

Back Page BPL 3 READY TO ROLL PAGE 25

PART TWO, WAS TOO MUCH PAGE 31

Banks asked to lend SMEs at single digit interest n Tribune Report Bangladesh Bank has asked all the scheduled banks to bring down their interest rate on SME loans to single digit, except loans against credit card and consumer loans. The banks have also been asked to reduce the spread between deposit and lending rates, according to a circular Bangladesh Bank issued yesterday. The instruction takes immediate effect. Currently, the spread of SME loans remains at a double digit due to higher lending rate. BRAC Bank runs with a double digit spread as it deals with micro-finance. Till last April, BRAC Bank kept the spread rate at 10% which has come down to single digit in recent months with the effort of Bangladesh Bank. Among the banks, BRAC Bank charges highest 24% interest rate on SME loan, according to the Bangladesh Bank data. While the average lending rate in the market is 11.48% as of September. Most banks lend SME loans at above 15%. The banks have also been asked not to show other loans as SME loans, according to the circular. Earlier, there was no bar to lending rate on SME loans. The banks charge higher interest rate on SME loans to absorb higher risk, said Mohammed Nurul Amin, managing director of Meghna Bank. The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) on Wednesday demanded 9% interest rate on SME loans. Bank loans remain the major barrier to the SME sector, said Abdul Matlub Ahmad, president of the FBCCI while addressing a seminar on the problems and prospects of the SME sector held on November 18 at the FBCCI auditorium in Dhaka. There are many financial institutions that are willing to give SME credit, but the rate is the problem, he added. He recommended keeping the deposit rate at 5%-6% but bringing down the interest rate for SMEs to 9%. l

Dhaka Tribune

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