26 Nov, 2015 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Agrahayan 12, 1422, Safar 13, 1437

FAST-TRACK PROJECTS TURN SLOW-TRACK PAGE 3

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 220

TWO ISLAMIC STATE PROPAGANDISTS HELD

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HC ORDER TO STOP SEX OFFENCE IGNORED PAGE 32

Parimal gets life for raping student Victim’s family content with verdict n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced Parimal Joydhar, a sacked teacher of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, to rigorous lifeterm imprisonment for raping a 14-year-old girl at his coaching centre in 2011. The court also fined him Tk50,000; in default, he will have to serve six months in jail under section 9(1) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. The authorities concerned were asked to give the money to the victim within 90 days. Judge Saleh Uddin Ahmed of the Dhaka’s Women and Children Repression (Prevention) Tribunal 4 pronounced the verdict in a jam-packed room. Parimal was in the dock. Delivering the verdict, the court criticised the two investigation officers for negligence in performing their duties properly. It also dismissed the defence claim that Parimal had been forced to give confessional statement. On November 10, the tribunal ended recording closing arguments of the prosecution and the defence, and set yesterday for delivering the judgement. Twenty-eight out of the 39 prosecution witnesses testified at the court. Hailing from Tungipara in Gopalganj, Parimal, now 35, is a married person. He had

the girl at his coaching centre in the city’s Badda area on May 28, 2011. He recorded the incident with his mobile phone, and on June 17, he blackmailed her with this into having sex with him again.

After a Dhaka court sentenced former schoolteacher Parimal Joydhar to lifetime imprisonment for raping a student, the victim’s family said they were satisfied with the verdict. “We are happy with the verdict but it would have been better if the culprit got death sentence for such a heinous offence,” said the victim’s grandfather, who requested that his name not be mentioned in this report. “The government should ensure proper punishment for culprits in every rape case so that not a single girl can be the subject of such a heinous incident,” he added. Mentioning that the verdict was the result of protests, the grandfather also thanked students and guardians who demonstrated on the streets following the incident. “We [the family] also protested even though our social status was damaged,” he said. Special Public Prosecutor Forkan Miah told the Dhaka Tribune: “The victim’s father could not be present in the courtroom during

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Police escort former Viqarunnisa Noon School and College teacher Parimal Joydhar from a Dhaka court yesterday after he is sentenced to life imprisonment for raping one of his students MEHEDI HASAN qualified in the 29th BCS exams for the administration cadre after completing his bachelor and master’s degrees from Bangabandhu College at Tungipara. A Bangla teacher at the school’s Bashundhara branch, Parimal first raped

Manju prioritises adaptation over mitigation Bullying and the blame game will scuttle climate negotiations, Environment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Manju told the Dhaka Tribune’s Meer Saiful Islam in an exclusive interview. On the eve of COP21, he said climate change was a problem for all countries. DT: How do you see the prospect of the upcoming climate negotiation in Paris? Manju: Many heads of states will not go to the conference while many developed countries will try not to give money as required for mitigation and adaptation measures. Meanwhile, the leftists will try to foil the negotiations. China, India and Brazil have

expressed their intention to take mitigation measures but not at the cost of their development. Countries like ours will try to express their vulnerabilities and seek money to intensify adaptation measures. The developed countries will try to make a point that if they have money, they will give us. On the other hand, we would be arguing: If I pollute the

environment, you will be affected. The meeting of the heads of states with which the conference starts will hardly yield anything, but it will not fail either. The directives expected to emerge from the meeting would lead the negotiation in the second week towards a positive outcome.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

News

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Govt served legal notice for blocking social media n Ashif Islam Shaon A lawyer has served a legal notice to the government, urging it to withdraw the restrictions on using social media websites and apps. Lawyer Kumar Debul Dey sent the notice to the secretary of the Post and Telecommunication Ministry yesterday afternoon. In the notice, Dey said he would take further legal steps if the government did not lift the ban on Facebook, Viber and Whatsapp within 24 hours. According to the lawyer, the government’s decision to block social media was a violation of Article 39 of the Constitution of Bangladesh and also the Right to Information Act 2009. On November 18, the government blocked the social networking platforms soon after the Supreme Court rejected review petitions by war criminals Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, both of whom were later executed. l

Bangladesh to demand grant in COP21 n Tribune Report Bangladesh will demand a grant from the Green Climate Fund instead of a soft loan in the Paris Climate Change Conference 2015, Environment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Manju said yesterday. “Bangladesh generally receives a soft loan from the climate fund to cope up with the impacts of climate change here. But now we will demand a grant from the fund,” he told reporters at a press conference at his ministry. The 21st session of the Conference of Parties – COP21 – will start on November 30 and continue until December 11 in Paris, France. Usually, the heads of governments attend the COP but this year Bangladesh is sending a delegation led-by its environment

minister to the conference as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cancelled her attendance. The team will leave for Paris on November 30; Manju will attend the conference on December 5. Replying to a query at the press conference, Manju said they would make all decisions regarding Bangladesh’s position in regard to the conference after discussing with the prime minister. Environment Ministry Secretary Kamal Uddin Ahmed, who accompanied Manju at the press conference, said: “We will also negotiate whether the global temperature level should be kept at 1.5 degrees Celsius. “At most times, adaptations do not get priority in the meeting. So, we will raise our voice to emphasise adaptation in order to save the coastal area from the rough impact of climate change.” l

BNP for contesting municipality polls n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Senior BNP leaders have said they want to participate in the upcoming municipality polls as part of a strategy to prove the government’s weakness, sources said. The decision was reportedly reached yesterday when BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia met with her party’s senior leaders, including its standing committee members, for the first time after returning from London. However, a final decision in this regard is likely to be made after a meeting of the 20-party alliance scheduled for today. Sources at the meeting told the Dhaka Tribune top party leaders believe that public mandate would go against the government in the upcoming polls. So, the BNP’s strategy would be to prove that the ruling party is unable to win an election without vote rigging. The BNP also plans to create pressure on the Election Commission, which they termed “spineless, subservient, and loyal to government.” l

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Victim’s family

Parimal gets life for raping student

the verdict because of his illness, but he has expressed satisfaction with the verdict.” The father’s name is also not being mentioned here as per the family’s request. According to the family, the victim, who was 14 years old at the time of the incident, is now a first-year student studying electronic engineering at a Malaysian university. The victim also expressed her satisfaction with the verdict after she was informed about it over the phone, her family members said. Judge Saleh Uddin Ahmed of Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal 4 yesterday sentenced Parimal Joydhar, a former teacher of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, to rigorous life imprisonment for raping a class-ten student at his private coaching centre in 2011. The tribunal also fined him Tk50,000, in default to suffer six months more rigorous imprisonment. l

Later Parimal called the victim at the teachers’ common room of the school and suggested her to take emergency pill after giving her Tk100, the judge said. The girl, then a student of class X at the Bashundhara branch, complained to the school authorities about this in writing after several days. The school authorities fired Parimal from his job on July 5 in the face of demonstrations by students and guardians. The victim’s father filed the case with Badda police against Parimal, then principal of the school Hosne Ara and acting head of Bashundhara branch Lutfur Rahman on July 5. The plaintiff alleged that Lutfur and Husne Ara had been trying to cover up the incident. Hosne Ara was suspended on July 15 in the wake of widespread criticisms and agitations by the students and other quarters. Parimal was arrested from his relative’s home at Keraniganj on July 6. He confessed to his crimes before a magistrate on July 11. But

he filed a petition on July 27 urging the court to withdraw his statement alleging that the investigation officer had tortured him in custody. Badda police Officer-in-Charge SM Shaha-

TIMELINE OF PARIMAL CASE Jul 5, 2011 Jul 6, 2011 Jul 11, 2011 Jul 15, 2011 Aug 11, 2011 Sept 14, 2011 Nov 28, 2011 Mar 7, 2012 Nov 10, 2015 Nov 25, 2015

Case filed, Parimal sacked Parimal arrested Parimal confesses Hosne Ara suspended First charge sheet Further probe ordered Supplementary charge sheet Trial begins with indictment Arguments end Parimal sentenced

dat Hossain submitted the charge sheet on August 11, 2011 against Parimal, dropping the names of Hosne Ara and Lutfur. On September 14, a Dhaka court ordered further probe in the case following a no-confidence petition filed by the victim’s father. Later, detectives submitted a supplementary charge sheet against Parimal on November 28. The trial began after the charge-framing on March 7, 2012. In his observation, the judge said: “The two investigators – police inspectors SM Shahadat and Mahbub-e-Khuda – showed extreme negligence and inefficiency during the investigation. Such negligence is not acceptable in any way from the two senior police officers.” Public prosecutor Forkan Miah said: “We are happy with the verdict.” Defence counsel Md Mahfuz Miah, however, claimed that his client was deprived of justice. “We will appeal against the verdict with the higher court,” he added. l

Manju prioritises adaptation over mitigation DT: Are you hopeful about a legally binding agreement?

Manju: The issue of legally binding agreement emerged as the Kyoto Protocol failed to serve in reducing carbon emission for a lack of ratification of the protocol by the developed countries like the USA, Canada and Japan. There are apprehensions that it would not be done, but I am hopeful about it as the biggest polluter, China, has come forward while the European Union is providing full support in favour of the agreement. On the other hand, countries like the USA, Canada and Japan are also facing serious climate change consequences as well as pressure from within to go for a solution.

DT: What would be Bangladesh’s strategy to bring out results from the conference?

Manju: Our main strategy would be to place our points on the table and tell everybody humbly, modestly and politely that we are in distress. The target is to get money as much as possible.

Our point will be that the environment is polluted due to your industrialisation, but we are the worst affected. We will not have the tactics to outsmart others. I want to tell them the stories of our people who suffer from the impact of climate change. So, the position is clear – give us the money. Keep patience and see what we can bring – the issue is to get the result. We will press for the legally binding agreement too.

DT: Who are in the Bangladesh negotiation team?

Manju: I can’t say it clearly at this moment, but anybody included in the team must say something. Representatives from different ministries will also be in the team. As far as the climate negotiation is concerned, the image of Bangladesh has improved to some extent. However, the representatives from civil society organisations, who have reputations in dealing with the climate change negotia-

tion, are not in the team this year. But they will cooperate with the negotiation team to provide information and necessary advice.

DT: How will Bangladesh try to get the Green Climate Fund?

Manju: Our main concern will be to press for increasing the fund for adaptation measures. The major contributors of the fund now want to give only 16% for adaptation and 84% for mitigation, which means the mitigation fund would be used in the developed countries. On the other hand, the vulnerable countries will get very little. We have the institutional capacity and finalised projects ready to get the fund. What we need now is the fund. Yet, we will not approach like activists; we will rather try to convince them telling them about our distressed condition.

DT: What do you think about the Intended

Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) target that Bangladesh has submitted to the UNFCCC along with other countries?

Manju: Our target is to reduce the Green House Gas emission by 5% by 2030 and we will go further to reduce it by 15% if we are provided with adequate money and appropriate technology. But we made clear that it would not be done at the cost of our development. Countries offered the INDCs only to show good intentions.

DT: Do you think that our plan of coal-based power generation will put us on the back foot in the negotiation?

Manju: Those who will criticise our plan are also using coal. We are lagging behind in terms of development. And we cannot reduce coal use at the cost of our development. Yet, we are establishing high-tech coal power plants that will help keep carbon emission at the lowest level. l

Fast-track projects turn slow-track ones n Kayes Sohel The fast-track projects, which are considered very important to accelerate economic growth, have turned into slow-track ones as work progress has been slower than expected. According to the minutes of the latest meeting of the high-profile committee on fast-track projects, all the projects except the Padma bridge construction are progressing at a snail’s pace. These projects were launched nearly two years ago. The six top priority projects involving Tk157,000 crore were placed under a Fast-Track Project Monitoring Committee headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The government later included Payra Dwip seaport in its top priority list. However, the implementation cost of these fast projects will cross Tk257,000 crore due to the delay in implementation, the Finance Ministry estimates. In January last year, the government identified the projects as utmost important ones to boost economy. It targeted to set up a liquefied natural gas terminal in two years, the Padma bridge in three years, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in two years, Rampal Thermal Power Plant in eight years, Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development (metro rail) in eight years, and Matarbari coal-fired power plant in eight years. Of the six projects, some 13.5% work of the main part of the Padma bridge has been completed while 48.5% of Jazeera and 50% of Mawa connecting roads were completed in time. The initial cost of the project was estimated at Tk20,507 crore, but the cost has already increased to Tk28,793 crore. Meanwhile, the Rooppur Nuclear Power

Plant has made no headway as the final agreement is yet to be signed with the Atomstroy Export of the Russian State Atomic Energy Commission, which is implementing the project. Similarly, the metro rail project is also lagging behind the schedule. The project was divided into eight packages for execution on time; tenders have been floated for six of the packages so far. The basic design for the metro rail has been completed and at this moment topographic and other surveys are going on. The construction of the LNG terminal has also faced the same fate as the term sheet agreement between Petrobangla and Excelerate Energy Limited has been signed, and metrological ocean study has been completed. Tender has been floated seeking applications for carrying out the primary task of the project. For the Rampal power station, also known as the Maitree Super Thermal Power Station, around 1,834 acres of land on the bank of the Poshur River, close to the Sundarbans, have been selected. Land-filling is on in some parts of the project area. For the Matarbari 1200MW ultra super critical coal fire plant, 1,500 acres of land have already been acquired and a consultant for the project has been appointed. The process for appointing a contractor for the project is only in the first phase. The detailed project proposal for the Payra Dwip seaport, which was included in the priority list later, has been sent to the Planning Commission, and a meeting of the project evaluation committee has been held. Earlier, Principal Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office Abul Kalam Azad said the government wants to complete the projects within stipulated times. l

PM for faster internet speed n Tribune Report

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has underscored the need for increasing the speed of internet across the country to boost the existing pace of social development through the use of technologies. “The government has already signed the agreement of the construction of Bangabandhu satellite. We are trying to make high-powered broadband and submarine cable so that people can get better services,” Hasina added. She made the remark yesterday after inaugurating Grameenphone’s 3G network at the remote Dohogram area of Lalmonirhat, through a video conference from Ganabhaban with State Minister for Telecom Tarana Halim. A special ceremony was also held on the Dohogram High School field, where thousands attended. Praising the use of information technology in the country, Hasina said the government wants to develop the whole country and ensure the welfare of its people by using

modern technologies. Describing various internet-based development activities in the country, the prime minister mentioned rural people are now availing of specialised treatment through tele-medicine service through web cameras installed in upazila health complexes, reports UNB. Grameenphone introduced its 3G network to Dohogram as part of its initiative to expand mobile network in the former enclaves and remote areas of Bangladesh. Speaking at the inaugural program at the Ganabhaban, Grameenphone CEO Rajeev Sethi said: “Telecom and internet have the potential to leapfrog the lack of infrastructure and bring about development at a faster pace. With access to 3G services, the people of Dohogram will be able to connect with a Digital Bangladesh.” Grameenphone also presented a number of desktop computers with internet connectivity to the local Dohogram High School, as part of its corporate responsibility programme. l

News

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Executive magistrates’ authority questioned n Tribune Report

The High Court yesterday questioned the legality of executive magistrates’ authority to conduct mobile courts. The High Court bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice SH Md Nurul Huda Jagirdar asked the government why the provisions in Mobile Court Act 2009 that give authority to the executive magistrates to conduct mo-

bile courts would not be declared illegal. It asked seven government officials including law and home secretaries and the RAB DG to come up with an answer by two weeks. The court made the ruling following a writ petition filed by food supplement manufacturing company Pinnacle Sourcing Limited. On October 27, a mobile court sealed the office of Pinnacle Sourcing and fined them. It also jailed three employees of the company. l

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

News

Phulbari coal mining company secures financing n Aminur Rahman Rasel

UK-based GCM Resources plc, the parent company of Asia Energy Corporation Bangladesh Pty Ltd, has secured a two-year £3 million convertible loan facility for Phulbari Coal Project which may be drawn down as and when required. The loan agreement was signed with Malaysian-based investor Revenue Anchor Sdn Bhd, which has agreed to assist in financially supporting GCM’s activities as it continues to pursue approval for the project. GCM, in a press release yesterday, announced the preliminary results for the year ended June 30, 2015. According to the release, GCM had drawn down £0.2 million from the convertible loan

facility as of June 30, 2015, and £0.51 million as of November 19, 2015. The company incurred a loss of £0.9 million for the year ended June 30, 2015, compared to £1.3 million last financial year and £3.2 million in 2013. Project related expenditures of £0.6 million for the year was kept below £0.8 million in expenditures in 2014. GCM has identified a coal resource of 572 million tonnes at the Phulbari Coal Project in north-west Bangladesh. It is awaiting approval from the Bangladesh government to develop the project. In the release, Executive Chairman Michael Tang said: “The last twelve months have been challenging for the junior mining sector as commodity markets continue

Jon Snow: Today’s technology has changed the media industry n Tribune Report The world today is living in an age of information and the present technology, in an essence, has changed the media industry, said John Snow, a UK-based journalist best known as the longest-running presenter of Channel 4 news. He made the observation while addressing a discussion titled “Entering the Golden Age of Journalism” organised at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) auditorium in the capital’s Dhanmondi yesterday. During his speech, Snow talked about various instances from his journalistic career and emphasised on the perks of the profession, stating various examples of how some of his work actually helped in changing things for the better. He said: “If your information is dependable, you will have the ability to change things in life. That is what you deal with when you study journalism.” The discussion was attended by students, faculty members and Board of Trustees of ULAB. Kazi Anis Ahmed, vice-president of the university’s Board of Trustees delivered the welcome speech at the discussion.

ULAB Vice-Chancellor Professor Imran Rahman, Pro VC Professor HM Jahirul Haque and Head of Media Studies and Journalism department Dr Jude William Genilo were also present at the programme, among others. While talking to students, Snow said he enjoyed his first visit to Bangladesh thoroughly. “Before coming here, my mindset on Bangladesh was a bit one dimensional. It was in some way defined by poverty. But when I visited a slum, I realised that there is a sense of vibrancy throughout. Although the slum was very poor it had an amazing sense of determination,” he said. “I had no idea how beautiful and green the country was. I have got to come back,” he added. John Snow has been a presenter for Channel 4 News since 1989. He has covered numerous stories across the world, including the Bhopal gas tragedy, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Reykjavik Summit, the fall of Idi Amin in Uganda, and the war in Gaza. His first book Shooting History (Harper Collins) is an autobiographical journey through the last thirty years culminating in the 2003 Iraq war, which he also covered. l

to deteriorate and raising new funding has become particularly difficult for any mining company that is not producing. “In contrast to the decline in global demand for coal, Bangladesh, where GCM’s operations are located, is expected to see a significant increase in demand for high quality thermal coal in-country as the government continues to restructure the country’s power sector towards coal. “While achieving approval continues to be a challenge, the board believes that it is in the best interests of all stakeholders that the project is developed. To this end the board’s strategy is to present the project to the satisfaction of the Government of Bangladesh and to secure an agreement that meets the objectives of both parties.” l

One killed in police shootout n Kamrul Hasan

One person, who was reportedly a suspect in the Tazia procession bombing, died in a shootout with police late yesterday. Acting on a tip-off, a DB team along with a team from Darussalam police went to Dwipnagar area, when a group of criminals allegedly opened fire at them. One person, whose identity could not be known immediately, was critically injured during the incident and was declared dead after ASI Goutam of Darussalam police station brought him to DMCH around 12:15am. Darussalam Officer-in-Charge Selimuzzaman confirmed the news of the death. A source in the station told the Dhaka Tribune the drive was being carried out to apprehend a suspect of the Tazia procession bombing. l

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

The invisible population n Abid Azad At just 14 years old, when children are supposed to be busy in secondary school, Mukti (not her real name) became a bride for the second time. According to a recent survey by children’s charity Plan International, 73% of women in Bangladesh are married before they turn 18. The survey conducted in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia, found that Bangladeshis were more aware than the nationals of other countries, but still had the highest number of early marriages. Former Plan UK chief executive Marie Staunton has described child brides as the “most forgotten of all the invisible girls.” Mukti’s first husband, whose family proposed when she was in the 6th grade, was physically unwell and the marriage ended in divorce. Her second husband, a day labourer like Mukti’s father, brought with him three daughters from a previous marriage.

Nizami’s case likely to end by December 8 n Ashif Islam Shaon The apex court may need five more working days to complete hearing the appeal of death-row convict Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami filed seeking acquittal. The four-member Appellate Division bench will start hearing defence arguments on November 30, December 1 and 2. The state will place their arguments on December 7 while the defence will place rebuttal on December 8. The dates were fixed by the bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha yesterday after the court concluded the sixth day’s hearing on the appeal. On the day, Nizami’s lawyer Shahjahan Khan read out the statements of the investigation officer and four defence witnesses, recorded by the International Crimes Tribunal, from the paper book. He was assisted by Shishir Manir. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and his deputy Md Momtaz Uddin Fakir represented the state. The hearing began at 9:15am and continued until 1:15pm with a half an hour break. One of the lawyers present at the courtroom told the Dhaka Tribune that after completing the hearing on December 8, the court might fix the date of delivering its judgement on the appeal. The Appellate Division began the hearing on September 9 this year. The tribunal sentenced the Jamaat-e-Islami chief to death on October 29 last year on four charges of war crimes including the killing of intellectuals by al-Badr force in Dhaka. Nizami was also sentenced to death in the sensational 10-truck arms haul case. The top court bench has so far disposed of five war crimes appeal cases. It deals with one case at a time. l

TEMPERATURE FOREC AST FOR TODAY

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to go to school. Those who are allowed to attend often cannot continue due to the load of household chores. “The denial of access to education deprives the girls of gaining critical life skills, which they in turn fail to teach their sons and daughters.” Under age marriages also lead to domestic violence. “When young brides fail to meet the expectations of husbands and in-laws, they often have to endure physical and mental torture,” Islam added. Nazma said: “These girls have little knowledge about sexual relations but are required to be sexually active after marriage.” The stress of their situation causes some young brides to feel lonely, to suffer from depression and sometimes to commit suicide. Experts agree that in addition to passing laws, the government must address the reasons behind the rising trend of early marriages in order to combat it. The legal minimum age of marriage in Bangladesh is 18 for women and 22 for men. l

second marriage and pregnancy. Minors giving birth to children cause both the mother and the child to suffer from ill health, experts say. Nevertheless, many parents feel compelled to marry off their children before 18, especially daughters, because of poverty, socio-cultural compulsions and insecurity, experts say. Such marriages adversely impact the health and life of these minor girls, they add. Associate professor of clinical psychology at the University of Dhaka Mosammat Nazma Khatun said girls forced into marriage are rarely equipped to handle the complex social situations of married life. “They are not capable of maintaining all of these rituals at their tender age.” Sheikh Shafiul Islam, assistant professor of journalism and mass communication at Daffodil International University, described early marriages as an “epidemic” and “a vicious circle of chaos.” After marriage, many girls are not allowed

Her eldest step-daughter, 15 and recently married, and Mukti both became pregnant around the same time. Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the UNFPA, said: “This is the marrying off of children who don’t even understand what it is to be married or to be an adult. Girls are being robbed of their childhood. They have babies before they are ready and we see intergenerational poverty.” <The cost of child marriages> A Gaibandha native and the third of five children, Mukti has had to endure early marriages because of the pressures of paying a dowry – younger girls cost less to marry off. Education was never really an option for her. She was just 13 years old when she was married off the first time. “I dreamt about the future, about continuing my education so that I could contribute to the family but I had no option but to get married,” Mukti said. Her health has not been good since her

Two suspected IS propagandists held n Arifur Rahman Rabbi

The police have arrested two activists of Jamaat-e-Islami, who are suspected of spreading internet propaganda in favour of the terrorist outfit Islamic State. Nahid Hasan, an honours student of Tongi’s Rahmatullah Degree College, and Abdul Haque, a madrasa teacher from Sylhet, were arrested around Tuesday midnight in separate drives at Badda and Tejgaon respectively. Detective Branch chief Monirul Islam made the disclosure yesterday in a press conference at the DMP media centre. Monirul, a joint commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said both the arrestees had been active in spreading propaganda in social media and internet sites. “Nahid was picked up from the capital’s Badda area around Tuesday midnight. DB members have arrested him for circulating Islamic State propaganda by opening a Facebook page named al-Dawla al-Islamiya. He also created a number of Facebook accounts named Jihadi John and Khalid-bin-Waleed – introducing himself as an army captain for the caliphate who conducted propaganda in favour of the IS through internet. “Abdul Haque had issued threats to many people after spoofing [falsifying caller ID to show a different number for the caller] mobile phone numbers of three persons. He spoofed those people’s phone numbers to get them in trouble over previous rivalry,” the DB chief said. Abdul, who hails from Sunamganj, is involved with Jamaat’s politics and has sound IT knowledge, Monirul said. “So far we have found different groups have been giving death threats to some 153 eminent citizens... Some of them [citizens] were threatened by Abdul Haque,” the DMP 29

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Police present Nahid Hasan, left, wearing a purple shirt, and Abdul Haque, wearing a brown panjabi, before journalists at the DMP media centre yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE spokesperson added. A Dhaka court, meanwhile, placed both men on a one-day remand yesterday after the DB police produced Nahid with a three-day remand plea and Abdul with a 10-day plea.

Agents of Rita Katz

The DB chief also claimed yesterday that Rita Katz, co-founder of SITE intelligence group, has been using local agents in Bangladesh to spread misleading information and carrying out grey propaganda. Monirul said Rita uses her website to provide intelligence agencies with information 17

Rangpur

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from different militant outfits, but she sometimes also hides information. The police suspect that Katz has been collecting information on militant groups from Bangladesh using local agents, he said. Monirul added that there is no presence of Islamic State in Bangladesh, while other militant outfits whose presence were previously found now seem to have shut off their activities. The other outfits with only a little presence visible are trying to take credit in front of global militant outfits by associating themselves with different criminal offences, the DB chief added. l

30.8ºC Teknaf

13.5ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES

Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

Fajr: 5:01am | Zohr: 11:46am Asr: 3:50pm | Magrib: 5:11pm Esha: 6:31pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

‘Three took part in attack on Tazia procession’ n Arifur Rahman Rabbi

Investigators yesterday confirmed that three people took part in the attack on Tazia procession in Hussaini Dalan area on October 24. Earlier, DB police said at least two people were seen in the footage hurling bombs at the procession. They, however, said there had been no progress in the cases filed for killing publisher Dipon, attacks on publisher Tutul and his two friends Ranadipom Basu and Tarek Rahim and hurling bombs on Tazia procession in the city. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Detective Branch’s Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said although they had not been able to make any visible progress they were now sure that three people took part in the attack. They suspected the involvement of some other people. He said Masud arrested in ASI Ibrahim Mollah murder case from the city’s Gabtoli

area had given confessional statement to the court where he said he had known about the attack. Monirul said they were yet to arrest the attackers. Speaking about Dipon murder case he said they did not find any clues from the CCTV footage of Aziz Super Market that could make a major breakthrough. Monirul said in the past they had solved many cases that had no clue and he hoped that they could unravel the mystery this time too. On October 31, a gang of criminals attacked Tutul, Rahim and Ranadipam and injured three others. Another publisher Faisal Arefin Dipon was also attacked almost at the same time. He was hacked to death by unidentified miscreants. Two cases were filed with Mohammadpur and Shahbagh police stations respectively and DB police are investigating the cases at present. l

Pori Moni files complaint against Priyo.com n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A complaint was filed yesterday against online news portal Priyo.com for publishing “fabricated” report on a film actress. Bangladeshi film actress Pori Moni filed the complaint with Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court. After recording the actress’s deposition, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Atikur Rahman asked the officer-in-charge of Mohammadpur police station to investigate the

matter and submit a report. Mohuya Shundori, a Bengali feature film where Pori Moni is an actress, was released on November 20. Pori Moni in her complaint said Priyo’s reporter Mahmudullah demanded Tk1,00000 from her in exchange for publishing an article on her on the day of the release of the movie but she denied to pay. Later, the reporter published a fake report on her and defamed her personally for which the actress had to incur a loss of Tk10 crore. l

EU parliament to debate on freedom of expression in Bangladesh n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman European Union parliament is going to have a debate on freedom of expression in Bangladesh and pass a resolution on the matter today. Seven motions were put forward by different groups and it is expected that there will be one resolution comprising important points in all the resolutions. According to the EU parliament website, one motion deeply regretted “the execution of Ali Ahsan Mohammad and Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury.” Another motion has urged the government ”to amend the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act of 2014” and called “on Bangladeshi authorities to ensure that the Cyber-Security Act of 2015 and the Information and Communication Technology Act are brought in line with interna-

tional free speech standards.” The same motion also called on “the government of Sheikh Hasina to refrain from harassing international NGO’s in the country which include Amnesty International and Transparency International.” Another motion commended “the Bangladesh government for the progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, which has resulted in significant and real-life improvements for millions of its citizens; furthermore acknowledges the fact that these improvements were realized under difficult domestic circumstances, which include the constant threat of violent attacks by radical groups such as the BNP-affiliated Jamaat-e-Islami party.” Whatever resolution is adopted by the Europeaan parliament Thursday, it is not binding but reflects the pulse the lawmakers who represent Europe. l

World 7

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

INSIDE

MSF KUNDUZ HOSPITAL ATTACK PROBE

Hospital compound misidentified before being bombed n Tribune Desk Suicide attack on Tunisia presidential guard bus kills 13

Tunisian security officials said on Wednesday a suicide bomber carried out the attack on a presidential guard bus, killing at least 13 and forcing the government to impose a nationwide state of emergency. PAGE 8

Russia: Downing of jet won’t deflect from Syria mission

Russia sent an advanced missile system to Syria on Wednesday to protect its jets operating there and pledged its air force would keep flying missions near Turkish air space, sounding a defiant note after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet. PAGE 9

New York and Paris: United by trauma 14 years apart

United by the trauma of terrorism, 14 years apart, New York and Paris have exhibited the same fortitude and determination to overcome the tears and fears with love, life and laughter. PAGE 10

The crew of a US warplane that attacked a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz last month, killing and wounding dozens of civilians, misidentified the target, believing it to be a government compound taken over by the Taliban, according to a Pentagon investigation report released on Wednesday. The report, extracts of which was made public by Gen John Campbell, the top US commander in Afghanistan, said the crew of the US AC-130 gunship relied on a physical description of the compound provided by Afghan forces, which led the crew to attack the wrong target. It said the intended targetwas 412 metres away from the hospital. Investigators found no evidence that the crew or the US Special Forces commander on the ground who authorised the strike knew the targeted compound was a hospital at the time of the attack. The report said investigators found no evidence that the Americans involved knew they were attacking a hospital. It said they found no evidence that key commandershad access to a “no strike” list of targets that were off-limits to attack. Under US rules of engagement, no hospital or similar facility is a valid target. It is unclear whether the US Special Forces

File photo shows a charred ward of the damaged MSF hospital in Kunduz commander on the ground, who authorised the air assault, had the map grid coordinates for the hospital available to him at the time he authorised the attack, the report said. The medical charity had provided GPS coordinates for its medical facilities in Kunduz to US military authorities in Kabul and to Afghan government officials on September 29. The plane fired 211 shells at the compound over a 25-minute period before commanders realised the mistake and ordered a halt, it says. The attack on October 3 in the city of Kunduz killed at least 30 civilians and injured 28 others. Investigators determined that additional civilians likely were killed or injured. The investigation was led by US Army Brig Gen Richard Kim and was comprised

AFP

of representatives of Nato and the Afghan government. It was charged with determining facts surrounding the incident but not to assign blame. Officials said they intended to release a summary of that probe but not the full report, which is about 3,000 pages. MSF, commonly known as Doctors Without Borders, said earlier this month in its own report that several doctors and nurses were killed immediately, and patients who could not move burned to death in the ensuing fire. Hospital staff members made 18 attempts to call or text US and Afghan authorities, the group said. President Barack Obama has apologised for the attack, one of the worst incidents of civilian casualties in the 14-year history of the US war effort. l

CHRONICLE

MSF hospital strike: Shifting statements by US officials Here is a timeline of developments following the bombing of the hospital on October 3-October 3 Nato says a US air strike at 2:15am local time “may have” hit a hospital run by the MSF. MSF meanwhile says its trauma centre was struck “several times”. The strike is described as “inexcusable” and possibly criminal by UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. October 4 MSF shuts down its operations in the city and demands an independent investigation into what it calls a war crime. October 5 General John Campbell, the top American commander in Afghanistan, says Afghan forces called in a US air strike on a Kunduz hospital. His remarks prompt MSF to blast “discrepancies” in US accounts of the strike. October 6 Campbell testifies before the US Senate Armed Services Committee that the hospital was “mistakenly struck.” October 7 US President Barack Obama calls MSF chief Joanne Liu “to apologise and express his condolences,” Liu later insisted an “international humanitarian fact-finding commission” should probe the attack. November 5 MSF releases its own harrowing report into the attack, describing patients burning in their beds, medical staff decapitated by shrapnel and a nurse who suffered a “trau-

Kunduz MSF hospital bombing At least 30 people died in an hour-long coalition air attack on October 3: Doctors Without Borders (MSF) 10 patients, 13 staff confirmed killed, 7 unrecognisable bodies also found

Kunduz Military base

MSF hospital compound

Central square

Military base 7

6 5

Main building The only part of the compound targetted

People were gunned-down from the air as they tried to escape the burning building

25 m

1 Intensive care

Taliban overran the city on Sept 28, held it for three days

Kunduz

KABUL

AFGHANISTAN

Taliban attack zones Support zones

4 5 6 7

Analysis published by the Institute for the Study of War Apr-Sept 2015

matic amputation” in the attack. People were shot at, apparently from the plane, as they tried to flee the burning building, with some eyewitnesses cited in the report saying the shooting appeared to follow those on the run.

unit Emergency room Operating theatre X-ray Outpatients Mental health Physiotherapy

Police HQ Governor’s residence

30o43'4.91"N 68o51'43.96"E

MSF Kunduz

200 m

MSF sent coordinates of the hospital to government and US military on September 29 MSF had treated 376 patients in the emergency room since the Taliban attack on September 28 Since opening the facility in 2011 MSF had performed more than 15,000 surgeries and had treated 68,000 emergency patients Sources: MSF/ISW

The MSF report also details increasingly frantic efforts by its staff to reach Nato and US officials to stop the attack. l

Source: AFP

World

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistani man sentenced to 40 years prison for al-Qaeda plot A Pakistani man was sentenced by a US court to 40 years in prison on Tuesday for plotting to bomb a shopping centre in England, as part of an al-Qaeda plan to carry out attacks in Europe and the US. Abid Naseer, 29, had faced up to life in prison following his conviction by a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, in March on charges including that he provided material support to the Islamic militant group. Naseer was first arrested in April 2009 in a British anti-terrorism operation. He was later indicted in the US and extradited in 2013. -REUTERS

INDIA

4 dead as attackers storm Indian army camp in Kashmir The Indian army killed three suspected rebels and another person was shot dead during a six-hour gun battle Wednesday on a military camp in Indian Kashmir near the border with Pakistan, a military spokesman said. Heavily-armed fighters stormed the army base in Tangdhar, 140km northwest of the main city of Srinagar, setting off grenades and firing automatic weapons. A civilian who worked on the base was also killed in the firing. -AFP

CHINA

Xi to bring no new concessions to Paris climate summit China’s President Xi Jinping will bring no new concessions to the negotiating table when he attends key UN climate change talks in Paris next week, a senior Chinese diplomat said Wednesday. China pledged last year to peak carbon output by “around 2030” -suggesting at least another decade of growing emissions. The Asian giant is estimated to have released 9-10bn tonnes of CO2 in 2013, nearly twice as much as the US and around two and a half times the EU figure. -AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

US envoy expresses concern over Thai royal defamation law Washington’s envoy to Thailand Wednesday expressed concern about the “unprecedented” prison terms handed down under the kingdom’s draconian royal defamation law, saying no one should be jailed for peacefully expressing their opinion. Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 87, is shielded by one of the world’s strictest royal defamation laws, prosecutions under which have surged since the military seized power from an elected government in May 2014. -AFP

MIDDLE EAST

IS Sinai hotel attack toll rises to 7 The death toll from a gun and bomb attack claimed by the Islamic State group in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has risen to seven, the health ministry said on Wednesday. Two of the dead in Tuesday’s attack on the Swiss Inn hotel in the North Sinai provincial capital El-Arish were judges who had been overseeing voting in parliamentary elections earlier this week, ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said. Four of the dead were policemen. The seventh victim was a civilian. A suicide bomber blew up a vehicle at the security barrier outside the hotel, allowing one other attacker to enter and start shooting. -AFP

Suicide attack on Tunisia presidential guard bus kills 13 n Reuters, Tunis Tunisian security officials said on Wednesday a suicide bomber carried out the attack on a presidential guard bus, killing at least 13 and forcing the government to impose a nationwide state of emergency. Tuesday’s blast on a main boulevard in the capital underscored Tunisia’s vulnerability to jihadist militancy following the gun assaults on a Sousse hotel in June and the Bardo Museum in Tunis in March, both claimed by Islamic State group. No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack. But Tunisia has increasingly become a target for militants after being hailed as an example of democratic change since its 2011 uprising ousted autocrat Zine Abidine Ben Ali. “This is an evolution in the behaviour of the terrorists, this time they attacked a symbol of the state and in the heart of the capital,” Prime Minister Habib Essid told reporters after an emergency security meeting. It was also the first suicide bombing in the capital. In October 2013 a bomber blew himself up on a beach in Sousse, and previously an al-Qaeda suicide bomber attacked the synagogue in Djerba, killing 21 people. Troops and armed police patrolled the city streets and set up checkpoints searching vehicles and pedestrians. At Tunis international airport security forces were allowing in only passengers travelling. Security officials said the bomber blew himself up as presidential guards were board-

Tunisian forensics team inspect a Tunisian presidential guard bus at the scene of the suicide bomb attack in Tunis REUTERS ing a bus on the main Mohamed V Avenue to travel to the presidential palace for duty. “According to the preliminary details, the attacker was wearing a bag on his back. He had on a coat and was wearing headphones. He blew himself up just getting into the door of the bus with military explosives,” Hichem Gharbi, a presidential security official, told local Shems FM radio. One of the most secular countries in the Arab World, Tunisia has enjoyed relative stability since its 2011 uprising compared with its North African neighbours Libya and Egypt. It has a new constitution, free elections and a compromise politics between secular and Islamist parties

that has allowed progress. But fighting jihadist militants has become a major challenge for a country heavily reliant on tourism for its revenues. More than 3,000 Tunisians are now fighting for Islamic State or other militant groups in Iraq, Syria and neighbouring Libya. Some have threatened to return to carry out attacks in Tunisia. The gunmen in the Sousse and Bardo attacks were all trained in jihadist camps in Libya. The government has cracked down on hardline preachers and taken back mosques. It is also building a security wall along the border with Libya to try to stop militants crossing over into its territory. l

Chicago on edge after police shooting video n AFP, Chicago Racial tensions soared in Chicago Tuesday as officials released a graphic video of a police officer shooting a black teen 16 times, shortly after he was charged for the death. The “chilling” video is the latest in a string of police shootings caught on camera that have sparked mass -- and sometimes violent -- protests and engulfed the US in a debate over racism and the use of deadly force by police. Dozens of demonstrators marched through the city’s busy streets, but there were only small scuffles with law enforcement and three arrests reported by the early hours of Wednesday morning. The dashcam video shows officer Jason Van Dyke open fire on Laquan McDonald, 17. Shot from an approaching police vehicle, it shows McDonald run down the middle of the street towards a cruiser, hitch up his pants and then start to walk away from Van Dyke and his partner. His body then spins and strikes the pavement. McDonald lifts his head, moves an arm and then a cloud from another gunshot rises up from his chest as he lays in a fetal position. He does not move as an officer enters the frame for just long enough to kick a knife away from his prone hand. None of the officers approach McDonald to try to help him as he bleeds out on the

Police killings Police killingsininthe theUnited UnitedStates States Recent prominent cases Recent prominent cases Cleveland Cleveland Tamir TamirRice, Rice,12 12 Nov Nov2222

Chicago Chicago

Laquan McDonald, Laquan McDonald, 1717 OctOct 2020 Video shooting Video of of thethe shooting was released by officials was released by officials Nov 2015 Nov 24,24, 2015

Akai Gurley, Gurley, 28 Akai Nov20 20 Nov

Cincinnati Cincinnati

Baltimore Baltimore Freddie Gray, Gray, 25 25 Freddie Apr19 19 Apr

Samuel DuBose, Samuel DuBose, 43 43 Missouri JulJul 19 19 Missouri Michael Brown, Michael Brown, 1818 Aug Aug 9 9

• Killed in 2014 • Killed in 2014 • Killed in 2015 • Killed in 2015

New NewYork York

Eric Eric Garner, Garner, 43 Jul Jul17 17

Arlington Arlington

NorthCharleston Charleston North WalterScott, Scott, 50 50 Walter Apr44 Apr

Christian Taylor, 19 Christian Taylor, 19 Aug 7 Aug 7

street, writhing once in the remaining minute of video. Prosecutors said Van Dyke opened fire just 30 seconds after his cruiser pulled up to the scene and six seconds after stepping out of it. McDonald -- who was holding a knife when he was shot and had earlier slashed the tires of a police cruiser -- made no threatening gestures to justify the use of deadly force. It was the first time a Chicago police officer has been charged with first-degree murder for an on-duty fatality in more than

Palm Beach Gardens Palm Beach Gardens

Corey Jones, 31 Corey Jones, 31 Oct 18 Oct 18

30 years, the Chicago Tribune reported. City officials, who had tried to block the video from going public, were ordered by a judge to release it no later than Wednesday. Mayor Rahm Emanuel appealed for calm and said he hoped the city could use the incident as an opportunity to “build bridges of understanding” between police and young men like McDonald. McDonald’s family joined community leaders and city officials in appealing for calm. l

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Russia: Downing of jet won’t deflect from Syria mission n Reuters, Istanbul/Nizhny Tagil Russia sent an advanced missile system to Syria on Wednesday to protect its jets operating there and pledged its air force would keep flying missions near Turkish air space, sounding a defiant note after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet. The downing of the jet on Tuesday was one of the most serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a Nato member and Russia for half a century, and further complicated international efforts to battle Islamic State militants in Syria. Russian officials expressed fury over Turkey’s actions, and spoke of retaliatory measures that were likely to include curbing travel by Russian tourists to Turkish resorts and some restrictions on trade. But the Russian response was also carefully calibrated. There was no sign Russia wanted a military escalation, or to jeopardise its main objective in the region: to rally international support for its view on how the conflict in Syria should be resolved. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke by phone with Russian counter-

part Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday. Turkey’s foreign ministry said they would meet soon but Russia’s Interfax news agency said Lavrov had not agreed to meet. “We have no intention of fighting a war with Turkey,” Lavrov said. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also said Ankara had no intention of escalating tensions with Russia. Speaking on a trip to the Ural mountains city of Nizhny Tagil, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the dispatch of an advanced weapons system to Russia’s Khmeimim air base in Syria’s Latakia province. “I hope that this, along with other measures that we are taking, will be enough to ensure (the safety) of our flights,” Putin told reporters. The dispatch of the weapons, which officials later said would be the S-400 missile system, is likely to be viewed as a stark warning to Turkey not to try to shoot down any more Russian planes. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was forced to fly missions close to the Turkish border because that was where the

USA

Hollande, Obama vow unity against IS

militants tended to be located. “(Russia’s) operations will continue without doubt,” he said. Russian forces launched a heavy bombardment against insurgent-held areas in Syria’s Latakia province on Wednesday, near where the warplane was shot down, rebels and a monitoring group said. The Russian Su-24 jet downed on Tuesday was hit by missile fire from Turkish aircraft as it flew a mission over Syria near the Turkish border, where the Russian air force has been bombing rebel targets. Turkey said the plane had encroached on Turkish air space and was warned repeatedly to change course, but Russian officials said the plane was at no time over Turkey. The crew ejected, and one pilot was shot dead by rebels as he parachuted to the ground. A Russian marine sent to recover the crew was also killed in an attack by rebels. Syrian state media reported the jet’s second pilot had been rescued. Russia’s foreign ministry issued a protest over the incident to the Turkish ambassador in Moscow, according to a Russian foreign ministry source. l

UN: 2015 set to be hottest year on record

Time is running out

Alarmingly, WMO said the global average surface temperature would this year pass “the symbolic and significant milestone” of 1°C above the pre-industrial era. Concentration of greenhouse gases can remain in the atmosphere for centuries and will continue warming the climate long after emissions are cut. Sea-surface temperatures hit new records last year, and WMO said they were “likely to equal or surpass that record in 2015.” Since oceans have been absorbing more than 90% of the energy accumulated in the cli-

LATIN AMERICA, CARIBBEAN +80% Atlantic More cyclones

+40%

If temperatures rise by 4 °C If temperatures rise by 2 °C

Andes Glacier loss

Near total loss

0.8

1,800 330

**parts per billion

310

320

290

1900

1950

2000

1,400

1,000

270 800

Libya

Egypt

20-40%

Drop in crop yields

Surface temperature 6

Best-case scenario

0.6

0.4

Mea 0.2

2000

2020

Year

2040 2060 Year

2080

2100

Best-case scenario

Historical 2

+2°C threshold Mean

-2

1950

2000

2050

2100

Year

Source: World Bank, IPCC

mate system from human emissions of greenhouse gases, temperatures at greater depths are also rising, as are sea levels, the agency said. In the first nine months of 2015, global ocean heat content in both the upper 700 metres and 2,000 metres hit record highs, it said. Sea levels in the first half of the year, meanwhile, appeared to be “the highest since satellite observations became available in 1993.”

Systematic trend

The UN agency said temperatures also had hit never-before-seen highs over land in many parts of the world. The soaring temperatures come as El Nino, a natural phenomenon that sparks global weather extremes, is at its strongest in more than 15 years and gaining strength.

France and the U S pledged Tuesday to step up the fight against the Islamic State group, urging Russia to throw its weight behind global efforts to resolve the four-year Syrian conflict. President Francois Hollande met his US counterpart Barack Obama at the White House. Washington and Paris have both stepped up their fight against IS in Syria, calling for more international cooperation against the jihadists. -AFP

THE AMERICAS

Canada pushes back deadline for accepting 25,000 Syrian refugees The Canadian government on Tuesday pushed back to the end of February its deadline for accepting 25,000 Syrian refugees, in a concession that its original January 1 target was too difficult to meet. Some provincial and municipal leaders have complained the short timeline did not allow for enough security checks to root out possible Islamic State militants. Others said they could not cope with such a heavy flow of new arrivals. -REUTERS

UK top court rejects Malaysia massacre appeal Britain’s highest court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by relatives of 24 rubber plantation workers killed by British troops in Malaysia in 1948 for a public inquiry into the shootings. Relatives of the workers have waged a decades-long fight for a probe into the so-called “Batang Kali massacre,” which occurred on December 12, 1948, when Commonwealth forces fought a communist-inspired revolt in the British colony. Two judges originally ruled in 2012 that the government’s refusals in 2010 and 2011 to hold an inquiry were “not unreasonable,” a view upheld by the Court of Appeal last year. In a final bid, the relatives called on the Supreme Court to review the decision, but it dismissed the challenge on Wednesday. -AFP

EUROPE

Business as usual

Carbon dioxide (CO2)*

*parts per million

Syria Jordan

Up to 30%

Sea level

Nitrous oxide (N2O)**

MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA Nearly 60% Declining rainfall Up to 60%

Central Asia Glacier loss

1.0

Methane (CH4)**

1850

+5-10%

Up to 80%

50%

Greenhouse gas concentrations

280

+50%

Russia More summer heatwaves

Up to 90% loss

400

360

EUROPE, CENTRAL ASIA

Change in degrees Celsius

The year 2015 is shaping up to be the hottest on record, the UN’s weather agency said Wednesday, days before a UN summit opens in Paris to craft a climate rescue pact. Based on data for the first 10 months of the year, “We feel very confident... that 2015 will be the warmest year on record,” said Michel Jarraud, head of the World Meteorological Organisation. The WMO said land and sea temperatures were likely to surpass those of 2014 as the highest since record-keeping began. “This is all bad news for the planet,” Jarraud told reporters in Geneva. The UN agency usually waits to have a full year’s worth of data before drawing such conclusions but said it wanted its preliminary findings “to inform negotiators at the UN Climate Change Conference.” More than 145 world leaders are set to gather in Paris from Monday for a conference seeking to cap average global warming at 2°C above mid-19th century levels. Based on current voluntary pledges, Earth is on track for 3°C.

Climate change and its consequences

Sea level rise in metres

n AFP, Geneva

World

El Nino, which occurs every two to seven years, tends to naturally hike temperatures, and the WMO said it was not clear how much of this year’s record heat could be attributed to the phenomenon. WMO said 2011-2015 marked the hottest five-year period ever measured, at 0.57°C above the 1961-90 average. El Nino years are also growing warmer, and even the counter-phenomenon La Nina, which tends to cool temperatures, is far warmer than a few decades ago, the agency said. The impact of climate change on the frequency and strength of extreme weather events, especially heatwaves, is becoming increasingly clear, it said. Over the past five years, the probability of severe heatwaves has increased by a factor of 10 in some cases. l

Brussels schools and metro reopen Brussels struggled to return to normal Wednesday after four days on maximum terror alert, with schools and the metro reopening despite two suspects from the Paris attacks still being at large. Troops and police were still patrolling the streets of the Belgian capital and the alert status remained at the highest possible level of four, leading to questions about what had changed since schools had closed on Monday. Car traffic was also backed up more than usual in Brussels. -AFP

AFRICA

Flooding brings Qatar to near standstill Qatar was hit by more than a year’s worth of rain in several hours, while in neighbouring Saudi Arabia one person was killed during flooding Wednesday. Roads in Doha were blocked as overnight rain made many near impassable for commuters. Schools and malls closed as the rain even forced the US embassy in Qatar to shut down. The World Bank calculates that Qatar receives, on average, 74mm of rain each year. -AFP

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

FOCUS

New York and Paris: United by trauma 14 years apart n AFP, New York United by the trauma of terrorism, 14 years apart, New York and Paris have exhibited the same fortitude and determination to overcome the tears and fears with love, life and laughter. Experts say this is the best possible response to such horrors. Psychologists who have studied the effects of the 9/11 attacks on New York say that most people, including those directly exposed, will be ok and few experience prolonged symptoms of trauma. But in the very short term, the vast majority of people “directly exposed to this kind of event will show considerable distress,” said George Bonanno, clinical psychology professor at Teachers College, Columbia University who heads the Loss, Trauma and Emotion Lab. The co-author of a study on the psychological effects of the 2001 attacks over a decade, he said this first response is healthy and natural. “It means that your stress response is working,” he said. Trouble sleeping, bursting into tears, anxiety, feeling low and being sensitive to particular noises and memories are typical symptoms. “The stress response is wonderfully adapted, it is conserved by evolution,” said Bonanno, explaining that it allows people to move onto the second stage of recovery and adapting to a new reality. “It doesn’t mean the person has gone crazy or even has a disorder or has PTSD,” said Douglas Mennin of Hunter College. Trauma normally dissipates in a couple of weeks or months. For only a small percentage of people -- fewer than 10%-- difficulties are more serious and last longer. On the bright, pristine morning of September 11, 2001, some 2,700 people were killed when al-Qaeda hijackers flew two passenger jets into the Twin Towers in Manhattan, destroying the buildings. Hundreds more were killed when planes were hijacked and crashed at the Pentagon just outside Washington and in Pennsylvania.

No new psychiatric cases

Afterward, 10,000 people were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress. In the Paris gun and suicide attacks, 130 people were killed and several hundred others wounded. In New York, those who lived close to the World Trade Centre, the first responders, family members of the victims or those with a good view of the skyscrapers, even at a distance, were the worst affected. “That’s where you found higher incidents of depression and anxiety following these events,” said Anne Marie Albano, director of Columbia University’s Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders. But other than those directly affected and those who suffered from pre-existing disorders “we didn’t find... new cases of psychiatric illness like new cases of depression or PTSD or anxiety,” she said. “This will be likely the same in Paris.” New York experts praise the resilience of Parisians, the spontaneous vigils and determination to carry on normal life. They also praise the French authorities for keeping them well informed. Experts also say it is vital to resume normal life as soon as possible. Take up sport or yoga, go back to concerts and cafes, meet friends. “People need clear, accurate information and they need to trust this information,” said Bonanno. Flowers, candles, photographs, memorials and ceremonies “can be very healing,” said Albano. Bonanno agreed: “People need each other.” “The idea is to be around people who anchor them,” said Mennin. And to avoid media overexposure. In the US after 9/11, it was thought best to talk, relive the memories as quickly as possible in order to conquer them. Experience shows it is counterproductive, and possibly even dangerous, to fuel anxieties that may not even be real. But New Yorkers have moved past the trauma, said Mennin. l

World

Editorial 11

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

INSIDE

Programming Bangladesh the right way Despite a lot of challenges, Bangladesh has fostered an impressive track record in terms of growth and development, and if everything goes well, our aspirations of achieving middle-income status by 2021 will be made real

PAGE 12

When a country goes offline In Bangladesh, a break in the Internet network connection, steered by the government, is no longer a surprise. It is understood as a necessary measure in an increasingly frightening environment PAGE 13

Kali Puja in the time of Diwali Will this encroaching front invoke a wall of resistance from Mother Kali, the protector of her earthly children, whose cultures and identities are under siege? Time will tell 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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Wasfia’s accomplishment is an example for us all

e congratulate Wasfia Nazreen on successfully reaching the summit of Carstensz Pyramid, the highest mountain of the Australasia/Oceania continent. By achieving this feat, she has become the first Bangladeshi to have completed the Seven Summits goal of climbing the seven highest peaks of the world’s seven continents. The commitment, dedication, and effort that she has put into taking on and completing this arduous challenge justly deserves the recognition that she is receiving, as one of National Geographic adventurers of the year. Wasfia has accomplished much in her relatively short career, having been the first Bangladeshi to scale Mount Denali (aka McKinley), the highest peak in North America and becoming the second Bangladeshi woman to scale Everest. As an integral part of her life, Wasfia has always sought to utilise her achievements and fame to promote women’s empowerment. She has steadfastly campaigned to promote development and women’s empowerment and to fight violence against women and sex workers. It is fitting then that news of her success should have been announced as the country marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It is enormously encouraging that Wasfia has been using the global recognition she has earned in the challenging field of mountaineering, to inspire young people and champion important causes. We are delighted that Wasfia is dedicating her completion of this challenge, which she set out on to celebrate 40 years of independence, to the Spirit of 1971 and all those who are fighting to protect it. In setting a tremendous example of ambition, courage, and resilience, she provides inspiration for all Bangladeshis, young and old. She proves through personal example the value of setting bold and difficult challenges. It is only setting harder targets that we can reach new heights.

Wasfia Nazreen’s commitment and dedication provides tremendous inspiration and shows the value of setting bold targets

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Opinion

Programming Bangladesh the right way When it comes to technology, Bangladesh is doing more things right than wrong

There’s very little stopping Bangladesh from achieving its technological aspirations

n Mamun Rashid

t a recent PWC partner’s summit, we were told the biggest challenge for Fortune 500 companies is keeping pace with updates and changes in technology. Technology is changing fast, slowly becoming the definitive separator between the winners and the losers, rendering businesses, which just can’t keep up, outdated. On the other hand, technology is also empowering many individuals, while helping us overcome a lot of the problems we face in society and our day-to-day lives. President Barack Obama, in his last year’s UNGA lecture, expressed that a baby born today will have greater command over technology than previous generations, since access to technology is so widespread now. Of all of the achievements made by our present government, I think it’s safe to say that it’s the “Digital Bangladesh” initiative that is the most laudable. It wasn’t until recently that I realised the drastic changes that have been made in rural Bangladesh now, “union information centres” being a good example. From Grameen Telecom’s “phone lady” concept, PMO’s A2I program, the national data centre building under the ICT ministry, as well as several other digitisation projects which have been completed, and the large number of projects which are currently in progress. Development partners are also seeing a lot of value creation through these projects and have extended funding and research support to them for the most part. With over 130 million cell phone subscribers and 48 million Internet users in the country (mostly cellular Internet), the fruits of digitisation can slowly be witnessed within various areas. It is expected that about 20% of mobile phone users will start using smartphones by the end of this year, with the figure currently standing at around 12% to 15%. Mobile financial services have revolutionised remittance transportation to rural Bangladesh, bringing

Despite a lot of challenges, Bangladesh has fostered an impressive track record in terms of growth and development, and if everything goes well, our aspirations of achieving middle-income status by 2021 will be made real

in a lot of synergy in financial services. The objective of such digitisation initiatives is to spread the benefits of technology to the doorsteps of the common Bangladeshi. An identified and serious commitment from nobody less than the prime minister herself and continuous follow-up from her technology adviser Sajib Wazed, has added new impetus to this overall campaign. The ICT ministry has quite possibly become the most active ministry in the country in recent years. Registration for admission to academic institutions, publication of results of examinations, registration for jobs abroad, registration for pilgrimage, collection of official forms, online submission of tax returns, online tendering, etc are only a few recent example of Bangladesh’s digitisation renaissance, with online banking systems having synergised the financial activities they depend on. We have also witnessed increased development in tele-medicine services and video conferencing for the treatment of diseases and for administrative activities in rural Bangladesh. Setting up of nearly 5,000 Union Information Service Centres is a great boost for Digital Bangladesh, especially for rural areas. Turning over 9,000 village post offices and approximately 500 upazila post offices into e-centres and the introduction of mobile money order and postal cash cards are significant achievements. I would also put a lot of stock on Union Information Centres, District Information Cells, and the National Information Cell. And there are many

more developments in the offing. Deputy Commissioner Offices in districts and UNO offices in upazilas provide a large number of e-services for rural clients. As we know, direct digital services eliminate middle-men and save both time and money. Numerous devices with new and updated technologies are rapidly replacing older methods -- experts are talking about 3D printing, biometrics, increased smartphone capabilities, broadband services for consumers, cloud computing, quantum computing, real-time speech transaction, nano-computers, wearable devices and networks, cyber security, smart cities, Internet of Things, etc. New trends, techniques, and devices will massively involve online activities, impacting our lifestyle. More and more smart machines and processes will be required for decision-making in business, administration, and education, and they will impact our lifestyles and the jobs of decision-makers significantly. All types of jobs, including business and administration, will be increasingly digitised. There are no two ways about it -- we in Bangladesh will be forced to use and adapt to newer technologies and will require expertise in technologies and ideas such as cloud computing, 3D printing, Big Data, video games, animation, outsourcing, etc -- youngsters are way ahead of us in that respect. It is heartening to note that the ICT ministry has undertaken all-out efforts for the development of ICT human resources through countrywide training. Some ex-

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amples of these trainings include Learning and Earning, Training for Mobile Apps, Leveraging ICT for Growth, the Employment and Governance Project, ITES Foundation Skills Training, and 1,000 middle managers training with the help of world-renowned universities and business schools. Special emphasis is being given to ICT education in schools. We have heard ICT state minister on television that the ICT policy is being updated. Ambitious projects like the development of the National ICT Infrastructure for Bangladesh Government (Info Sarkar), the National Data, digitisation of land records, and IT Parks are expected to bring about radical improvements in e-services, e-governance, and the overall management of our economy. Despite a lot of challenges, Bangladesh has fostered an impressive track record in terms of growth and development, and if everything goes well, our aspirations of achieving middle-income status by 2021 will be made real. Faster growth depends on increased investment, development of human capital, and enhanced productivity. Intervention through new technology may improve productivity, however, we must remember that each new technology requires new skills and training. Quality ICT education from the primary to the tertiary level, along with the orientation of the general population to ICT should be prioritised. One should also keep in mind the digital divide between rural and urban areas and between Bangladesh and other developing countries -- that divide needs to be eliminated. Regular monitoring of priority projects and keeping them away from possible controversy is also of utmost importance. A lot of new blood and new energy are already on-board the Digital Bangladesh train. Its success will surely spell Bangladesh’s future as a respectable and successful nation. l Mamun Rashid is a business professor and financial sector entrepreneur.

Opinion

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

When a country goes offline Bangladeshis have been finding out just how dependent we are on social media n Thahitun Mariam

n the morning of November 18, I woke up to speak to my mother in New York to inquire about her fragile health, and find out how she was holding up. Luckily, I was able to do so before the Bangladesh government pulled the plug on the country’s Wi-Fi networks mid-day. In order to combat Islamic militants who have been organising attacks on unsuspecting civilians, both foreigners and locals alike, the government decided to discontinue connectivity to many online media communication outlets such as Whatsapp, Viber, Facebook, and the like. By blocking ways through which people can connect, the government is taking a staunch stand in preventing Islamist rogues from reaching one another.

guerrilla warfare method of attacks. What words are employed in their messages? How can these messages be decoded? Who begins the first line of communication? How are they monitored? Many speculations arise. Similarly, when reflecting on the secular bloggers who have dared to share their free-thinking thoughts with the world, and have been hacked to death as a result of it, you wonder who was monitoring them. Eboo Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Core (IFC), and author of Acts of Faith, briefly touched upon the concept of extreme intelligence which lies within any zealous religiously-motivated militancy group. They are successful in their mission because the lead organisers are intelligent, resourceful, and powerful enough to retain the ability to create immensely intricate plans to carry forth with foot-soldiers on the

In Bangladesh, a break in the Internet network connection, steered by the government, is no longer a surprise. It is understood as a necessary measure in an increasingly frightening environment

Our lives are ruled by social networking

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For a commoner such as myself, there are quite a few problems that arise -- the work emails I have yet to finish remain, and a means to communicate with friends or colleagues within and outside of Bangladesh becomes limited. It is an inconvenience to the pace of the day, as unwarranted fear seep into people’s minds. There are offices that cannot continue their work due to the government’s sudden decision, or people who cannot reach their families in emergency situations. Even the restaurant in which I am sitting whilst writing this is suffering from temporary business losses as their online delivery system has been completely blocked off. Everyone’s life is affected to a certain degree in this digital age, when faced with the reality of being indefinitely disconnected. Choosing to block the country’s Internet in order to prevent Islamic militant groups from organising virtually is an alarming yet interestingly new concept in Bangladesh. The Internet has been a prominent factor in the rise of scare tactics used by these organisations -- as they have taken to Twitter to declare responsibility for recent attacks. One may take a step back to wonder how the cells are formed, and how militants are able to connect prior to carrying out the

ground to do their bidding. The attacks are not as “spontaneous” or arbitrary as we may convince ourselves. In Bangladesh, a break in the Internet network connection, steered by the government, is no longer a surprise. It is understood as a necessary measure in an increasingly frightening environment, which is dictated by Islamic political parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami, being aided by external contributors, to cultivate a society of censorship. One wonders what a culture disconnected from the greater world would indicate for the society. Certain sites were resumed in the late evening of November 18, yet all social media sites and messenger services remain blocked. Following suit with this decision, a hartal was called on Thursday, November 19, and many schools and offices were closed. It has been a few days, and we still remain completely unaware of what measures are being taken as a precaution to ensuring safety from further attacks. And day-by-day, the streets of Dhaka are buzzing with the realisation of how social media sites and messenger services do serve a greater role in our daily lives than we would feel comfortable in admitting. l Thahitun Mariam is a writer and activist.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Opinion

Kali Puja in the time of Diwali Bengal is divided over a clash of festivals

n Garga Chatterjee

hat importance is accorded to which people by governments is often revealed by official calendars. Indian Union government doesn’t recognise any holiday (compulsory or optional) on November 10 on account of Kali Puja. The next day is a compulsory “national” holiday called Diwali. Bangladesh recognises November 10 as an optional holiday for Hindus on account of Kali Puja. There’s no Diwali. There’s no Diwali in the West Bengal government’s official holiday either, although it lists both November 10 and 11 as holidays -- the 10th as Kali Puja and the 11th as a day for immersion of goddess Kali. In West Bengal’s post-Durga Puja festivity calendar, Kali Puja’s prime importance was underlined by multiple recent tweets made by Trinamool Congress quoting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee: “We must follow all regulations during Kali Puja festivities. Enjoy the fun but with safety.” “Maa, Mother and Ammi are one and same. She cannot be divided. We worship Durga then Lakshmi. Now Kali Puja.” “There are several forms of Maa Kali: Chhinnamasta, Shoshan Kali, Siddheswari, Katyawani, Jagadamba and many more.” Finally, she subsumed Deepavali within the ambit of Kali Puja: “Hope Maa Kali fills darkness with light. Let us pray to Maa Kali to bring happiness in everyone’s life.” There will be customary Deepavali greetings from her, but the priorities and hierarchies are clear. Her Congress background also makes her particularly amenable to strongly patronising Ma Kali. From Bengal’s pre-partition, Swadeshi political terrorists and their physical culture associations, to neighbourhood Congressite “dada” and their local youth clubs, all have been part of a continuous tradition of patronising Kali Pujas. I share with Mamata Banerjee our extended residential neighbourhood, the Kalighat-Chetla area, the world capital of Kali Puja in terms of variety. There is Hajat Haat, Shoroshi, Aakali, Dhyan Tara, Johura, Swarno Kali, Jwolonto, Swet Tara, Krishna Kali, Nataraj Kali, Aadya, Chandraghanta, Chamunda, Doshomunda, and many more forms including Mohun Bagan Kali (with the goddess painted in the football club’s colours). The roughly three square kilometre Chetla-Kalighat area has several hundred Kali puja pandals. On the only Shaktipeeth in metropolitan Kolkata, stands the famous Kali temple at Kalighat. Myself being a Shakto and a Chetla resident, Kali Puja has always been special. The prasad of curried goat meat, preferably sacrificed and offered to our holy mother beforehand, is one of the high notes of Kali Puja for millions in Bengal. For Bengalis, till a couple of decades ago, in the post Durga Puja period, Kali Puja was the only show in town. Diwali was minuscule. Not anymore. Diwali contests Kali Puja in public spaces. Kali Puja is absent from the festival-centric marketing tactics in Bengal by non-Bengal commercial entities. One is bombarded by huge advertisements of “Diwali Dhamaka” offers in Bangla and English newspapers head-quartered in Bengal by

various non-Bengal ship-product-to-homebypassing-local-shop entities. Some Bengal-based entities are also joining the fray. There are relentless text messages, that are Diwali themed sales pitches. One Bangla paper also carried an advert for some garment stores masquerading as a news article on “Diwali fashion” for Bengalis, whatever that means. If one picked up the leading Bangla and English newspapers of Bengal, the glitzy and colourful advertisements therein would not give anyone a clue that this is Bengal and Kali Puja is around the corner. Who are these ads for? Kali Puja has traditionally been one of those festivals where the so-called “lower” castes have dominated much of the happenings. While the upper-castes also celebrate Kali Puja with vigour, a small but well-off section of their new generation has grown alienated from a celebration so rooted. This probably reflects on their general alienation from their surrounds, but are also the

Will this encroaching front invoke a wall of resistance from Mother Kali, the protector of her earthly children, whose cultures and identities are under siege? Time will tell

high-spending class for whom the Diwali teasers are designed for. And it’s partially working. Economic elites influence the aspirational tastes of those lower down in the rung. Entities that hate tariff barriers between states as well as the local sourcing clauses in retail inundate us with “Diwali” and not Kali Puja around this time of the year. Kali Puja is something that commercial entities that cater largely to the aspirational urban classes cannot easily negotiate. Its too democratic and actually religious, still too much rooted and real content -- not a shell like the range of “pan-Indian” hashtag religious festivals, inside which anything can be stuffed and sold, to assuage the identity anxieties of the aspirational rootless urban class while peddling “deals.” The Diwali-Dhanteras combo is here in Bengal to stay and spread -- before long without the need of alienated Bengalis as Trojan horses. Kali Puja will become Diwali, or rather, Diwali with Bengali characteristics -- the only kind of “diversity” that “unity in diversity” ideology tolerates. In Bengal, Doljatra is already becoming Holi with Bengali characteristics (never mind that they don’t even fall on the same date). Navratri-isation of Durga Puja has also started. Not long back, the Kalibari signified a Hindu Bengali settlement outside Bengal.

Kali Puja has undertones that are the opposite of Diwali For the newly arrived, the Kalibari was an embassy and community-space rolled into one. While the Bengali labourer mentally still carries his gods and goddesses with him, the “cosmopolitan” ones travel lighter. And some travel without the baggage even without leaving Bengal. Diwali is perfect for the self-identity of the small but increasing bloc of urban Bengalis whose non-rooted Hinduness also makes him an Indian without qualifications of ethnicity and culture. They aren’t Bengali. They aren’t Indian first and Bengali second. They are only Indians, without hyphenations. and nothing but Indians. They are the ideal citizens, the “Indian” for whom a centralised Indian Union was envisioned in the first place, except that most inhabitants didn’t live up to such non-hyphenated and flat Indianness and still don’t. Cultural exchange and spread has happened throughout the human past. The problem arises when certain forms of cultural spread also signify a uniformisation project by external cultural dominance with the active connivance of government, media, and business, behind the fig-leaf of “unity in diversity.” Their combined power is immense. With deracinated elites of vernacular origin as collaborators, their project has started acquiring the qualities that US conservative political strategist Karl Rove had in mind when he said: “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.” This reality is created when ostensibly “national” TV channels carry a Diwali icon on their screen on Diwali day but never on Kali Puja or Onam, hence signalling not so subtly what it means by “Indian.” A North-Indian Bania’s domestic culture is “Indian” without qualifications but a Bengali’s Kali Puja is not similarly “Indian” but a variant or a quirk. One-way cultural entry on the back of money, media, and political power is cultural aggression. I cannot think of any religious spread from Kali-land or Onam-land into Diwali-land but the opposite is progressively true. In this particular scheme of unidirectional entry, Diwali is not alone. It comes with things as disparate as CBSE, Holi, and Hindi, with the pace quickening in the

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post-liberalisation period. Join those apparently disparate dots and the contours of the post-1990 Bharatmata is revealed. Whose “local” becomes “national” and whose “local” disappears when ideas like “all India” and “mainstream” are evoked? Why is the direction of traffic in this supposedly two-way street so predictable? Why does the ruling party and its leading star focus most of his political energy and reaps maximal benefits in areas where Diwali is the uncontested name for the festival of lights? In all of this, what is the lesson for us, the still non-Diwali people? While Kali Puja has a non-vegetarian overtone, Diwali signifies quite the opposite. Around Kali Puja time, why are there no “Diwali Dhamaka” deals for a wholesome biriyani in the non-vegetarian land of Bengal, something that’s common during Durga Puja? These are subtle undercurrents with far-reaching consequences for Bengal’s social fabric. Kali Puja is primarily a religious festival, around which other rituals like Bhoot Chaturdashi are woven. All of these entail generationally handed down customs of eating, behaving, and being. Bengal, in the face of state-sponsored, money-powered, media-assisted cultural aggression, is undergoing a hollowing-out of richness and long-preserved and celebrated ways of life. The resultant Anglo-Hinduisation of public culture is a poor replacement. Interestingly, Chhat Puja of Biharis hasn’t encroached in the Bengali cultural space in the way Diwali has, while the ethnic observers of Chhat Puja far outnumber Diwali’s ethnic celebrators in Kolkata. So the Diwali effect isn’t due to the cultural mixing that happens due to mere physical presence of cultural “others,” but the expansion of outside ideology wedded to power. Will this encroaching front invoke a wall of resistance from Mother Kali, the protector of her earthly children, whose cultures and identities are under siege? Time will tell. l Garga Chatterjee is a political and cultural commentator. He can be followed on twitter @ gargac.

Business 15

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

INSIDE

Tofail: TPP to not affect our exports n Tribune Report

Support for India’s lower GST rate gaining traction The idea of setting a relatively low rate for a new sales tax seemed to be gaining traction yesterday, as politicians of all stripes met to debate what would be the country’s biggest tax reform since independence. PAGE 16

Banks advised to create new entrepreneurs Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman has advised the bankers to take initiative for creating new entrepreneurs across the country. PAGE 17

OPEC to stay the course despite fears of $20 oil OPEC is determined to keep pumping oil vigorously despite the resulting financial strain even on the policy’s chief architect, Saudi Arabia, alarming weaker members who fear prices may slump further towards $20. PAGE 18

Capital market snapshot: Wednesday DSE Broad Index

4,568.0

-0.1% ▼

Index

1,098.5

-0.4% ▼

30 Index

1,728.0

-0.3% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

3,878.4

-12.5% ▼

110.9

-18.7% ▼

All Share Index

13,952.4

-0.2% ▼

30 Index

12,236.2

-0.3% ▼

8,491.4

-0.2% ▼

Turnover in Mn Volume

CSE

Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk Turnover in Mn Volume

248.3

-5.5% ▼

8.2

-12.0% ▼

Even as the delegation to Ticfa meeting voiced concerns over the implementation of TPP deal fearing “adverse impact” on Bangladesh exports, commerce minister ruled out possibility of any such implication. “I don’t think TPP would hurt our exports as we already enjoy duty and qouta-free market access to the member countries including the US,” Tofail Ahmed said after a meeting with Spanish Ambassador to Dhaka Eduardo de Laiglesia yesterday. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim countries concerning a variety of matters of economic policy. The agreement was reached on 5 October 2015 after 7 years of negotiations. “Some people think that Bangladesh will be a loser if the TPP is implemented, but personally I do not believe in this notion. We are still a competitive country in global market and the exporters told me that they were getting a huge number of work orders,” Tofail said. Commerce minister’s remarks followed a statement released by the Bangladesh delegation which expressed cocerns over TPP in the Washington Ticfa meeting on Nov 23. The delegation led by Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon feared that the deal might have an adverse impact on Bangladesh exports to the US and some other TPP countries. Tofail Ahmed, however, alleged that the US government was bypassing the WTO and signing trade agreements like TPP and enacting trade laws like the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

Workers seen at a garment factory in the city. Bangladesh earns around US$25.5bn from readymade garments exports annually DHAKA TRIBUNE

‘Spain, the fourth largest destination of Bangladeshi products, wants to invest in the country’s infrastructure sector’ About the restoration of general system of preferences in the US market, Tofail Ahmed appeared optimistic. “Since the USTR is satisfied with the progress of Bangladesh action plans to ensure safety in factories, I hope the US authorities would revive GSP.” On June 27, 2013, the US authorities had suspended GSP for Bangladeshi products after Rana Plaza disaster raising concerns

over labour rights and workers safety. About the meeting with Spanish envoy, commerce minister said: “I conveyed a call through the ambassador to the Spanish investors to invest in Bangladesh. I said they could invest in any of 30 economic zones, now under construction.” He added: “Spain, the fourth largest destination country of Bangladeshi products, wants to invest in the country’s infrastructure sector.” He said in the last fiscal year, Bangladesh exports to Spain saw a 7% rise to $1.75bn and hoped that the fibure would further increase to $2bn this fiscal year. According to Export Promotion Bureau data, in the last fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $1.75bn from exports to Spain and imported $130m worth of goods from the European nation. l

Government bank borrowing exceeds Tk7,000cr in Q1 n Asif Showkat Kallol The government has borrowed more than Tk7,000 crore from banking sector in the first quarter this fiscal year to clear a backlog of development projects cheques of last fiscal year, officials at the Finance Division said. As traditionally happens, the cheques pile up unpaid during last two months of a fiscal year and are carried over to the following year, which is known as May-June syndrome. An official said there was a rise in misuse of development funds last year. In the first quarter of last fiscal year, the government had repaid Tk2,471 crore loans to banks. According to the Finance Division, during the July-September period, the budget surplus amounted to Tk1,153 crore though there was supposed to be a deficit in the three months. During the period of last fiscal year, there was a budget deficit of Tk1,737 crore. In the first quarter, only 6.7% of the total Annual Development Project (ADP) allocation

was spent, which is the lowest in four years. This fiscal year, the budget deficit is estimated to be Tk86,657 crore, which is 5% of the country’s gross domestic product. The deficit is to be met by borrowing from foreign and local sources. But in the first three months, the government spent only Tk37,105 crore, which is 12.58% of the total budget allocation of Tk2,95,100 crore. The government was, however, supposed to spend Tk38,258 crore in the period. During the same period last year, it spent Tk36,523 crore, which was 14.6% of total allocation. In the first quarter this fiscal, the total revenue collection was Tk38,278 crore, which is 18.4% of the target. A year earlier, it was Tk34,785 crore. “The government should have to look into the matter how the loans from

the banking system would be used,” said AB Mirza Azizul Islam, finance adviser to a caretaker government. He said if the May-June syndrome hits the implementation of development projects, it will cast a negative impact on the progress of works. Mirza Azizul Islam sees the government borrowing from the country’s banking sector “a good thing” as the banks have huge amounts of idle money. l

Business

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Stocks stay nervous on fear of political uncertainty n Tribune Report

Stocks slipped for the third straight day with persistent volatility as investors were worried about renewed political uncertainty combined with weak economic data. The market remained positive briefly in the morning, but nervous investors preferred to stay on the sidelines by releasing their holdings, sending the market in red, analysts say. The benchmark index DSEX lost 6 points or 0.2% to 4,568, hitting highest at 4,602 and

lowest at 4,567. The Shariah index DSES inched 4 points down to 1,098. The blue chip comprising index DS30 closed at 1,728, shedding 5 points or 0.3%. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX fell 15 points to settle at 8,491. The stocks thus succumbed to nervous selling pressure. The trading value declined further to Tk387 crore from Tk443 crore a day ago. Almost all sectors closed marginally lower with low-cap ceramics suffering the worst.

Support for India’s lower GST rate gaining traction n Reuters, New Delhi The idea of setting a relatively low rate for a new sales tax seemed to be gaining traction yesterday, as politicians of all stripes met to debate what would be the country’s biggest tax reform since independence. The proposed goods and services tax, or GST, will top the order of business at what is expected to be a rowdy winter session of parliament starting today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the all-party meeting and indicated that his nationalist alliance was ready to compromise, in a marked change of tone after it crashed to defeat in a bruising state election. “GST is extremely important for the country. The government seeks cooperation for the smooth and efficient functioning of the parliament,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu told reporters, quoting Modi’s remarks to the meeting. The bill has passed the lower house of parliament, but has been blocked in the upper

house where Modi’s nationalist coalition lacks a majority.

No calls

The Congress party, even though it proposed the GST when it was in government, has led an opposition blockade against the measure and is in high dudgeon after its leaders faced a series of public attacks by the BJP. “The PM has not called a single leader of the Congress party for discussion,” the party’s deputy leader, Rahul Gandhi, said in a speech to students in Bengaluru. In addition to the standoff, Congress says the GST should be levied at a rate of around 18 percent - lower than sought by many federal states ruled by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It also wants a proposed inter-state state levy to be scrapped. Finance ministry officials say that a panel headed by Arvind Subramanian, India’s chief economic adviser, could favour a revenue-neutral rate of around 18% on goods and services that could be broadly acceptable. It reports in early December. l

DSE launches mobile app n Tribune Report Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) yesterday launched a mobile application named ‘DSE Info’ for paving easy access to the stock market-related information for the investors. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for Information and Communication Technology, inaugurated the app at the DSE office. From now on, the investors will get access to

DSE database without using any internet browser. Inaugurating the apps, Palak said DSE in collaboration with ICT Division would take initiatives in future to start direct trading through the app. He said the government would give assistance to 50 small IT companies with venture and equity fund in future, so they can be enlisted in the stock market. l

Only non-banking financial institutions and engineering made a marginal improvement. Lanka Bangla Securities said the market closed marginally lower after a topsy-turvy ride. It said the benchmark index made an intraday rally around 28 points to hit above 4600-mark in first hour but failed to sustain in last hour of trade. “Some sore domestic data prompted the weakness. The Planning Commission has lowered the estimate of GDP set for the current fiscal year, citing the downward trend in the econ-

omy and stammering investment situation.” Some analysts say worries ensued from uncertainty in the political front and weak economic data continued to deepen volatility in the market. They said at the close of trading session, investors’ anxiety was at a high pitch. Stock strategists and technical analysts suggested caution going forward. IDLC Investments said resistance at 4,600 points level was tested again, and the market failed to sustain over that level. l

Business

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Banks advised to create new entrepreneurs n Tribune Report Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman has advised the bankers to take initiative for creating new entrepreneurs across the country. “Banking system is now not limited to only taking deposit and lending,” he said while addressing the Financial Literacy Campaign on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) on the Bangla Academy premises in the capital as part of the ongoing banking fair. He said the competition is growing in the banking sector day by day as the central bank is taking steps. As a result, banks have to take initiative to make new entrepreneurs by encouraging them with financial support. The central bank of Bangladesh organised the five-day-long Banking Fair Bangla-

desh 2015, aiming to build a banking nation through expediting the ongoing financial initiative across the country. The fair began on November 24. The BB governor also asked the banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) to expedite the implementation of ongoing financial inclusion programmes across the country by strengthening financing for SME sector, specially for women entrepreneurs. The banks and NBFIs have already disbursed loans to around 6,000 women entrepreneurs across the country in line with the BB advices, the governor highlighted. “We are planning that banks and NBFIs will have to provide the same amount of loan of Tk50,000 to at least two women entrepreneurs instead of existing one from the next year,” Atiur said. l

(From left) SME entrepreneurs display their products on the second day of a five-day banking fair on the Bangla Academy premises in the capital while a substantial number of visitors throng different stalls to know about different banking products SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Business

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

OPEC to stay the course LafargeHolcim profits crumble cost of building world’s No 1 despite fears of $20 oil on n n Reuters, London

OPEC is determined to keep pumping oil vigorously despite the resulting financial strain even on the policy’s chief architect, Saudi Arabia, alarming weaker members who fear prices may slump further towards $20. Any policy U-turn would be possible only if large producers outside the exporters’ group, notably Russia, were to join coordinated output cuts. While Moscow may consult OPEC oil ministers before their six-monthly meeting next week, the chances of it helping to halt the price slide remain slim. “Unless non-OPEC say they are willing to help, I think there will be no change,” said a delegate from a major OPEC producer. “OPEC will not cut alone.” When the exporters’ group last met in Vienna in June, Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi and those from other wealthy Gulf states could barely hide their jubilation. OPEC’s historic decision in November 2014 - to pump more oil and defend its market share against surging rival suppliers - was working, they proclaimed as crude traded near $65 per barrel. Six months later, it has hit $45, down from as much as $115 in the middle of last year. Now some member states are talking about a return to twenty-dollar-oil, last seen at the turn of the millennium. They point to Iranian confidence that international sanctions on its economy will be lifted by the end of the year. “Iran is announcing its production is going to increase as soon as they lift the sanctions and we need to do something. We (OPEC) cannot allow going into a war of prices. We

need to stabilise the market,” Venezuelan oil minister Eulogio del Pino said on Sunday. Asked how low prices could go next year if OPEC failed to change course, he said: “Mid20s.” Goldman Sachs said this year it saw a possibility of crude going even below $20 because of the huge global oversupply, a strong dollar and a slowing Chinese economy. Most analysts doubt the Iranian sanctions will be lifted before next spring under its nuclear deal with world powers, but sooner or later its output will rise.

Saudi under strain

Already the collapse in prices has partly achieved OPEC’s goals. It has boosted global demand and curbed growth in supplies of U.S. shale oil, which is relatively expensive to produce. Non-OPEC supply is also expected to fall for the first time in almost a decade next year as struggling producers cut back on capital spending. But the world is still producing much more oil than it needs. Russian output has unexpectedly set new records and global stocks are ballooning. Even the finances of Saudi Arabia, which led OPEC’s policy shift, are under more strain. Standard & Poor’s rating agency forecasts its budget deficit will rocket to 16 percent of GDP in 2015 from 1.5% in 2014. Riyadh describes this year’s deficit as manageable. However, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Monday it believed the pressure was so high that the Saudi government would be forced either to devalue its dollar-pegged currency or cut oil output. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Training institute of Pubali Bank has recently held a workshop on management development programme. The bank’s managing director, Md Abdul Halim Chowdhury was present at inaugural ceremony of the workshop as chief guest

Prime Bank Limited has recently opened its 142nd branch at Race Course in Comilla. The bank’s deputy managing director, Habibur Rahman inaugurated the branch as chief guest

AFP, Zurich

LafargeHolcim said Wednesday its profits collapsed as the cost of building the world’s biggest cement company took its toll. In its first earnings report since the merg-

er of Lafarge and Holcim was closed in midyear, it said EBITDA, a measure of operating profit, fell to 1.3bn Swiss francs (1.2bn euros, $1.3bn) in the third quarter on a comparable basis, and to 3.6bn Swiss francs in the nine months to September, a drop of 18.8%. l

India, Bangladesh to jointly check smuggling, terrorism on borders n Tribune Report India and Bangladesh yesterday reached a consensus to work jointly for checking smuggling, kidnapping and border terrorism in the frontiers of the two neighbouring countries. This was decided at the Joint Border Conference of deputy commissioners and district magistrates of the bordering areas of the two countries held at Chittagong Circuit House in the afternoon. The three-hour long meeting was held in a cordial and congenial atmosphere where bilateral issues of mutual interests of both the countries were discussed elaborately. A wide range of bilateral issues, including weapons smuggling, trans-border crimes, insurgency, narcotics and human trafficking,

were discussed in the conference aiming to ensure better border management between the two neighbouring countries. Shamsul Arefin, deputy commissioner of Rangamati, led Bangladesh team while Ashish Madhaorao More, deputy commissioner of Lunglei, led the Indian team. Shamsul Arefin said: “There is no big problem between the two countries now. However, many bilateral issues were discussed elaborately such as trafficking, smuggling and other issues. We have mainly discussed how we could address the problems.” He also said it was agreed upon that the civil administration would be involved in sensitizing people on various aspect of border crimes. Ashish Madhaorao More said: “The discussion was very productive. It will help us

boost the bilateral relations. We have also taken some decisions to resolve some of the long-standing bilateral problems. We will also meet in India next year to discuss the border issues.” Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Mohammad Abdullah inaugurated the conference. Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Mesbah Uddin, Bandarban Deputy Commissioner Mizanul Haque Chowdhury, Rangamati Superintendent of Police Syeed Tarikul Hassan, Deputy Magistrate of Mamit Lalbiaksangi, SP of Lunglei Zosangliana, SP of Serchhip Lalringdika and SP of Mamit Lalnunmawia were also present the meeting. This is the second round of meeting after the first meeting held in Mizoram, India in January. l

Truck driver held on charges of killing 7 n Tribune Report Police yesterday arrested a truck driver in connection with a case filed over death of seven people in a road accident. Sub-Inspector and also In-Charge of Jorargnaj highway police outpost Farid said acting on a tip-off, a team of police arrested truck driver Mustakin Hossain, 34, son of Nur Mohammed from Olongkar intersection area, Chittagong city. Mustakin went into hiding soon after the road accident claimed lives of seven day labourers. During preliminary interrogation, the accused confessed his guilty to the police, added the SI. A Chittagong-bound rice-laden truck coming from Naogaon plunged into a roadside ditch after the driver losing his control over the steering, killing seven on the spot in Dakkhin Sonapahar area of Jorarganj on October 12. Later, police filed a case against the driver. l

News

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Woman delivers twins on moving bus n Our Correspondent, Manikganj A woman gave birth to premature twin babies on a moving bus in Manikganj while on the way to her hometown in Satkhira yesterday. Shaheda Khatun, wife of Md Khairul Islam Babu of Kusudanga village in Satkhira Sadar upazila, has two daughters and became the mother of four girls after giving birth to the twins around 11am. Her brother Enamul Hasan, a college student, said she was travelling to Satkhira from Dhaka on a bus of Sangram Paribahan when she went into labour in a place around three kilometres from Paturia ferry terminal. “The female babies were born right on the bus and the driver changed direction to drive to Shivalaya Upazila Health Complex at the request of the passengers,” he said. Quoting Shaheda’s doctors, Enamul said his sister was supposed to deliver on January 21 next year. Shaheda’s first and second daughters – Sumaiya and Shamima – were accompanying her on the journey to Satkhira, where the 35-year-old was actually supposed to become a mother for the third time. Arshad Ullah, resident medical officer of Shivalaya Upazila Health Complex, said Shaheda and the newborn twins are fine, and have been given medical care. He said each of the baby girls weighs 2.5 kilogrammes and Shaheda can be discharged from the facility after five to six hours. l

57 held, liqueur seized in Chittagong

n Tribune Report

Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, deputy commissioner of Rajshahi, speaks at Indo-Bangla Joint Border Conference held at Rajshahi Circuit House yesterday afternoon AZAHAR UDDIN

50 hurt in AL clash n Our Correspondent, Narayanganj

Over 50 people got injured yesterday after a factional clash of Awami League over sand lifting in the Meghna River in Sonargaon. Local sources said Messrs Rifat Enterprise got permission of sand lifting from the district commissioner in the river in Charkishoergane area. Nannu Mian, owner of the enterprise with his men went to the spot to lift sand in the morning. Former UP member Nasiruddin went to the spot with his supporters and protested Nannu. Nannu and Nasiruddin, both are local AL leaders. At one stage, supporters of them got locked in a clash and attacked each other with lethal and firearms, leaving 50 injured. Of the injured, the condition of Faruk, Alam and Joynal is critical. The injured were admitted to Sonargaon Health Complex and Naraynganj General Hospital. Nannu said the men of Nasiruddin attacked his people illegally as he had permission to lift sand from the district commissioner. On the other hand, Nasiruddin said the villagers attacked Nannu and his supporters as they began to lift sand illegally. Shah Mohammad Manjur Kader, officer-in-charge of Sonargaon police station, said additional police forces were deployed. l

Police in overnight special drives arrested 57 persons, including eight activists of JamaatShibir-BNP, from different upazilas in Chittagong on various charges yesterday. Md Abdul Awal, additional superintendent of police (special branch), told the Dhaka Tribune that police had arrested eight activists of BNP-Jamaat from Satkania, Lohagara and Rangunia upazilas on charges of conducting subversive activities against the state. Apart from this, law enforcers also arrested 49 people in connection with different charges. l

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

News

Case filed over attack on Ctg mobile court n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong A case has been launched against 212 people with Kotwali police station on charge of attack on a mobile court in the port city. Jamal Uddin, office assistant of Chittagong revenue department, lodged the lawsuit on Tuesday afternoon and police arrested 12 of the accused. When asked, Kotwali police station Officer-in-Charge Jasim Uddin admitted it to the Dhaka Tribune. Meanwhile, condemning the attack Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh (CAB) yesterday demanded exemplary punishment

for the culprits who run the attack on the mobile court. The CAB urged upon the local administration keep continual such drives against the errant drug stores in the city. Some unruly drug traders made the attack on Tuesday noon, leaving two Ansar members injured while a mobile court led by Executive Magistrate Ruhul Amin was conducting a drive at KC Dey Road adjacent to Hazari Lane. The mobile court fined two drug stores Tk10,000 and arrested two drug traders on charge of selling fake medicines. Being infuriated by the arrest, drug traders shuttered down their shops and started

protesting seeking a halt to the drive. There are above 450 drug stores on the lane which considers wholesale market of medicine in the port city. Meanwhile, a Chittagong court sent 12 assaulters to jail who launched an attack on a mobile court on Tuesday. Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate Nowrin Akhter Kankon passed the order after rejecting bail petitions. “The assaulters were produced before the court. Although the defence counsel prayed for bail, the court rejected it after hearing,” said CMP Additional Deputy Commissioner (prosecution) Kazi Muttaki Ibn Minan. l

Rash Mela begins in Khagrachari n Tribune Report

A three-day long ‘Rash Mela’, one of the main festivals of the Hindu community, began yesterday at Dakkhina Kali Mandir in Mohalchari upazila of the district. Commanding Officer of Mohalchari Army Zone Lieutenant Colonel Humayun Kabir inaugurated the festival on Tuesday night while convener of Rash Mela celebration committee Ratan Kumar Shil and other members of the Hindu community were present. A four-day long cultural programme will be held on this occasion. l

News

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

‘Moments of Childhood’ at Le Méridien Dhaka

Breaking the Silence [BTS], a well-respected NGO in Bangladesh, is ready with its 2016 calendar themed “Moments of Childhood.” The calendar was unveiled on November 25 at the “New Perspective” event of Le Méridien Dhaka, by Jewel Aich, the internationally renowned magician. The event was attended by eminent personalities from the fields of business, art and community work. Ashwani Nayar, general manager of Le Méridien Dhaka explained, “The ‘New Perspective’ is a signature series of events by brand Le Méridien to allow creative like-minded people to gather new insights and stimulate dialogue through interactive experiences that explore an artist’s talent. When Rajesh informed me that he was working on this project, it seemed perfectly in tune with our format. Moreover, the issue raised gave us an opportunity to be part of a larger and significant objective, which is just the spirit of Le Méridien Dhaka.” The calendar has been conceptualised and shot by Rajesh Ramakrishnan, who is a passionate photographer and the managing director of Perfetti Van Melle Bangladesh Pvt Ltd. It showcases the different moods and moments of children in Bangladesh – their joy, naughtiness, friendships and fun. “I have been shooting a calendar every year for the past few years to support a good cause. It is

my way of giving back to the society. It was great fun shooting this calendar and I rediscovered many moments of my childhood while capturing these images,” says Rajesh Ramakrishnan. Each calendar will be sold for Tk400 and the money raised through this will go to Breaking The Silence, which is a nonprofit organisation established and run by a group of compassionate activists committed to combat Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in Bangladesh. It has been working since 1994 throughout the country to address CSA issues from community to government level. Child Sexual Abuse is a very delicate issue with less exposure in the context of Bangladesh. Children from every level of the society are threatened with the possibility of being sexually abused by different kinds of perpetrators, familiar or stranger, man or woman. Breaking the Silence has come up with a comprehensive and culturally appropriate programme for combating this critical foe. “We are hopeful that this calendar will help create further awareness and raise funds to address this issue,” says Roksana Sultana, executive director of Breaking the Silence. Coca-Cola also supported this good cause by sponsoring the paper and printing of the calendar. l

Maaya sale offer Maaya has an exclusive collection of salwar kameez (stiched and unstitched embroidery, screen, hand painted), saris (local and Indian), Pakistani and Indian three pieces, kurtis, shirt dresses and

panjabis. They are offering a store-wide sale of 20% to 50% from November until further notice. Find them at House 14, Road 108, Gulshan 2, Dhaka. l

Dr Yunus meets delegates from EU, Bangladesh and Yunnan University, China Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus met with delegates from Eastern University, Bangladesh and Yunnan University China at the Yunus Center in Dhaka yesterday. The delegation from Eastern University comprised Abul Khair Chowdhury, chairman of Board of Trustees, Prof Dr Abdur Rab, vice chancellor, Prof Dr Abdul Hannan Chowdhury, pro-vice chancellor and Abu Hena MD Rasel, head of Careers Service and International Office. The delegation from Yunnan University comprised Prof Dr Ya Chun, vice president of Yunnan University. Lamiya Morshed, executive director of Yunus Center at Dhaka was also present on the occasion. Dr Yunus was apprised of the ongoing

academic collaboration and exchange programmes between Eastern University and Yunnan University. Dr Yunus highly appreciated the efforts of these two universities for exchanging knowledge and partnering for strengthening capacities of both the universities. He also praised the efforts to promote the ideas of Social Business in these institutions. He further mentioned that technology and knowledge transfer from the development economies is an essential component towards building our nation. Eastern University has been conducting regular courses on Social Business in collaboration with the Yunus Center. l

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Feature

Healing from Africa Muthoni Garland, saving the world one story at a time

n Saudia Afrin Last Friday afternoon, on the second day of Dhaka Lit Fest, the Cosmic Tent stage witnessed the joy of several children who sat there listening to Muthoni Garland’s stories about Africa, her homeland. During her very first session at DLF, Muthoni pushed aside the chair after placing her belongings on it, emptying the stage for herself. Her motivation behind clearing up the stage became clear when Muthoni began performing each of the words she spelled. Initially, the kids were a little shy when invited to go on stage. However, within a few minutes they followed Muthoni’s direction and emulated each of her moves - walking like lizards at one moment, or shouting in ladylike voices in Another. Regardless of age, everyone present at her session enjoyed the stories. During every session, each of her lines became a visual representation for the audience. This profound lady had something special in her delivery, taking the audience to all the places she referred to in her stories. Her storytelling style was inspired by her grandmother. One of Muthoni’s main concerns was the declining reading culture in Kenya. With 95% of the reading attributed to only educational books, she decided to advocate reading for pleasure. During her session, several times she mentioned how Kenyans no longer tell the stories they used to. As she noticed, Africa’s stories had an audience but access and distribution of these stories were very poor. To change things, Muthoni Garland organises the annual Storymoja, a writer’s collective based in Nairobi, Kenya. Storymoja runs several projects to promote reading among children including National Read Aloud and also works for the Start a Library initiative since its inception in 2012. Two of her published novellas by Storymoja include Halfway Between Nairobi and Dundori and Tracking the Scent of My Mother. Besides writing for children Muthoni also writes for young adults.

After your DLF session with Bangladeshi children, what is your observation about them? Well, I was thrilled to see how willing the children are to come on stage and participate. You should never take that for granted. During my session in different countries, I’ve noticed children from other countries are

children. When I looked into the audience’s eyes, they were really engaged in the story. They didn’t seem to say that these stories are only for children. It is also relevant to their lives, to real lives. I really found pleasure in that fact alone.

I was thrilled to see how willing the children are to come on stage and participate. You should never take that for granted. During my session in different countries, I’ve noticed children from other countries are quite scared to participate but that wasn’t the case here. Similarly, I found it quite interesting to see so many adults as part of the audience. Clearly there is a concern or a need in society to see how important it is to create stories for children.

One thing you still have from your childhood? I would say curiosity. Wondering what people are thinking, what they are doing, what’s going on around a corner. So I always curious. I would say that’s the thing I still have with me. If you are asked to describe childhood by a colour, what colour would it be? To some extent it will be a light colour. It might be yellow but it must be a bright colour. I think that in terms of children who are so young, there are so many things they need to write in their lives. Their lives’ canvases can take any shape and colour. For me, childhood is about many possibilities.

understand the characters in certain ways. Also I think that’s easier to perform cross culturally. I think it differs so much in Kenya. What I found is the more up-market the school, the more they prefer horror stories featuring human characters, even more so in boys’ schools.

Photo: Mahmud Hossain Opu quite scared to participate but that wasn’t the case here. Similarly, I found it quite interesting to see so many adults as part of the audience. Clearly there is a concern or a need in society to see how important it is to create stories for

At your session, you asked children if they wanted to hear a story about animals or humans. They chose animals. What kind of stories do Kenyan children prefer? Animal stories tend to be less threatening, and are more Universal. People can

The stories you’ve shared through the session have a lot of symbolic meaning. Like adults, do children understand those meanings? What I found is that people get from stories what they are ready to get. You can just tell the story in your way and a reader will take from these what they want to take. However, people tend to underestimate what children understand because children are not able to, perhaps, articulate their concerns or what they understand. That doesn’t mean they don’t understand. Often children understand things but aren’t able to repeat or articulate their understanding. Sometimes, when talking to children, I’d find myself surprised to see the extent to which some children understood the stories. In Kenya it’s a common practice to ask kids what they learnt from the stories but this is something I discourage. It feels like an exam when you do that.

Feature

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Photo: Mahmud Hossain Opu

What social trend you hope doesn’t exist in the next few years? The whole stereotype around colour and race is something I wish that changes. The assumptions we make about people based on either their color or some other cosmetic irrelevance - this is something I hope will disappear.

In Kenya it’s common practice to ask kids what they learnt from the stories but this is something I discourage. It feels like an exam when you do that.

What kind of social classes do most of your readers come from? I work for a publishing house and we try our best hard is to make sure that the books available. In fact I dare to say that in Kenya what happens is, if you are in upper middle class or above, you tend to read international and not tend to read Kenyan. It perceived to be middle, lower middle class to read Kenya. However that is changing - thank God! But not as fast I would like to see it. Also, what happens is because its market is an educational one, if you don’t get your book approved by Kenyan curriculum development; it’s very hard to sell. Books tend to board through school curriculum systems to go to book stores. It’s a challenge and we are trying to change it. In terms of writers, there are many, because Kenya is young, the population

is like a Christmas tree. There are a lot of children writers. However, they tend to write for the school curriculum only, just to survive. Why did you start writing for children? When my children were growing up, they loved stories. I was busy working as a market researcher for the corporate sector. My children would refuse to go to bed unless I had told them a story. So I made up stories, a lot of them. Some of those stories I heard while growing up. Others were inspired by existing stories that I’d adapt with a local touch. So instead of Charlie in the chocolate factory, I’d take Charlie to the national park. I made up these stories night after night, and now I often regret not having recorded them. Many years later, when i started to write, i began with stories for adults. My son kept asking me, “why don’t you write some of the stories you used to tell us?” Of course i don’t remember all of them, but then i thought, if i could make them up then, why couldn’t i do the same now? Also I triggered by stories I loved, written in Kenya, and I wanted to share them

While telling the stories you’re kind of performing them, thus enhancing the drama in your Writing. How would you describe your signature style? I prefer to tell the story first before I start writing it. While it’s still fresh in my mind, performing it gives me a sense of how my audience would receive it. Their reactions helps me understand how far to take the story. The stories I’ve told here [at the DLF], I haven’t published or finished writing. Her message for the children • Read… read a lot of stories… reading build imagination. It’s so cool. Her favorite work among own creation. Kamau’s Finish, it is about a school race, because I disappointed my father by not becoming the runner he wanted me to be. Because of that I always felt a great affection for this book. My father was greatly amused by hearing about the book. A man with a great sense of humor, after he heard it he said to me ‘see, i inspire you to write.’ l

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Feature

5 things we love about Korean drama TV’s next big thing

n Adiba Islam The Korean Wave, also referred to as the Hallyu wave, is a neologism referring to the increase in the popularity of South Korean culture since the late 1990s. From cuisine to TV shows to music, Korean influence is slowly, but surely, infiltrating the lifestyle of many around us. Only a week ago, at the very heart of our Dhaka city, a Korean Film Festival took place which amassed quite a substantial number of closet Korean drama fans one would have never guessed were residing amongst us. Amidst the hanbok-clad (a traditional Korean dress) pretty ladies, the never-ending fan girling over a new drama series, extended queues to take pictures with life-size cutouts of hot Korean actors and actresses, and casual conversations in halfhangul (the Korean alphabet), it was very easy to conclude that Korean entertainment is the new big thing. This evidently brings us to probe into the possible reasons behind its popularity. 1. Eye candy Everything you see on the screen of a Korean drama will be blissfully beautiful. The female leads are undoubtedly pretty, from their eyebrows to their toe-nails. But interestingly enough, the male leads will be even prettier. They are going to make you feel insecure to the point that you will end up craving for the perfect bangs Lee Jong Suk sported in his latest drama. In addition to that, when pretty boy takes off his shirt during a gym skit you’ll realise that sculpted bodies of the mythical Greek Gods are indeed real.

2. More love, less lust Majority of K-Dramas are squeaky clean compared to American movies and television shows in terms of usage of foul language, violence, and intimacy. They make an active effort to portray unadulterated love at its purest and most emotional form so that you do not have to worry about women randomly shedding their clothes off or fast-forwarding explicit scenes popping up every now and then. In fact, anything beyond kissing in a Korean drama would probably make headlines. 3. Heart-wrenching soundtracks “I follow the tortuous path that is wet Look back at our memories together In the rain that obscures the vision, I think of you In my tears, you emerge in my mind” - Back in Time; The Moon that Embraces the Sun OST The English translation does not, in any way, do justice to the beauty and depth of Korean expressions but this is as close as it can get to appreciate the lyrics. However, coupled with powerful vocals of K-pop singers and soothing notes of minimum musical instruments, some of the songs will rip your heart apart and hopefully make a permanent addition to your playlist. 4. Unrealistic expectations for your soulmate The male lead will be jaw-droppingly handsome with the body of the Incredible Hulk, a stellar student, the captain of basketball team, a total sweetheart towards pet animals, a modern day Casanova, future

CEO of a reputed conglomerate and perhaps secretly the President of the Universe. And that said super-human will fall in love with a hard-working, plain-looking girl from a poor family and do everything in his power (and wealth) to alleviate the girl’s family from poverty. Now that you have set the impossible-to-meet standard for your future husband, welcome to an eternity of singledom. 5. Diversity at its best Admittedly, not all dramas centre around rich guy-poor girl romantic escapades or high school love stories. You have the luxury to choose from a wide range of options - dramas set in regal historic era; dramas featuring mythical creatures, handsome aliens and soul-swapping; about family honour and revenge; heart-stopping thriller and mystery dramas; centred around North Korean refugees, hostages and dirty politics; dramas exclusively about food and the list goes on. You can always switch from one genre to another until you find that list of perfect

dramas to invest your winter holidays in. Assuming that we have already got you interested, here’s a personal drama recommendation list, in no particular order, you can check out• Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010) • Reply 1997 (2012) • Secret Garden (2012) • I can hear your voice (2013) • My love from the star (2014) • Healer (2015) l Disclaimer: Viewing of Korean dramas can cause obsessions, celebrity crushes, insomnia due to uncontrollable drama marathons, cravings for ramen (quickcooking noodles), and inexplicable desire to use Korean words in everyday life. If you experience any of these symptoms, you may have drama fever. The only treatment is constant medication with increasing doses of more dramas

Sport 25

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

INSIDE BB v COV BARISAL BULLS INNINGS R Shahriar Nafees c Dhiman b Kulasekara 3 Rony Talukdar b Hider 17 BRM Taylor c Dhiman b Kulasekara 0 Mahmudullah b Hider 9 Sabbir Rahman c Dhiman b Zaidi 10 Nadif Chowdhury b Zaidi 7 S Prasanna c Shuvagata b Zaidi 0 KK Cooper lbw b Kulasekara 22 Taijul Islam run out (Narine) 3 Mohammad Sami b Narine 6 Al-Amin Hossain not out 0 Extras (lb 1, w 11) 12

Shakib and Co rout Dhaka Dynamites World’s leading all-rounder Shakib al Hasan’s magic did the trick for Rangpur Riders as they comprehensively beat Dhaka Dynamites by 69 runs to pick up their second win in three matches in the Bangladesh Premier League yesterday. Shakib’s input with both bat and ball sealed Riders’ easy win at the end. PAGE 26

B 8 22 2 13 13 15 1 21 9 3 4

Total (all out; 18.3 overs) 89 FoW: 1-3, 2-3, 3-27, 4-36,5-49, 6-49, 7-58, 8-78, 9-81, 10-89

Bowling Mashrafe 4-0-22-0, Kulasekara 3-1-8-3, Narine 3.3-0-21-1, Hider 4-0-21-2, Zaidi 4-0-16-3

Under-19s maul Afghans on way to final

COMILLA VICTORIANS INNINGS Imrul Kayes c Sabbir b Al-Amin Mahmudul c Mahmudullah b Cooper MN Samuels not out Shuvagata Hom not out Extras (b 8, lb 3)

R 13 31 23 12 11

Total (2 wickets; 18 overs) FoW: 1-23, 2-60

Bowling

Bangladesh Under-19 concluded their campaign in the double round-robin stage of the tri-nation series with a thumping eight-wicket win over Afghanistan U-19 in Kolkata. Batting first, the Afghans were skittled out for just 99 in 26.2 overs with Saeed Sarkar and Saleh Ahmed sharing six wickets. PAGE 27

Sami 2-0-11-0, Al-Amin 4-0-29-1, Taijul 4-0-120, Prasanna 4-0-16-0, Cooper 3-0-7-1, Sabbir 1-0-4-0 Comilla Victorians won by 8 wickets MoM: Nuwan Kulasekara (Comilla Victorians)

5 LOWEST EVER TOTALS IN BPL Score Match

Messi back playing like he was never away Barcelona kept winning during Lionel Messi’s injury absence but the fans were still clearly delighted to have him back on Tuesday and he rewarded their patience with a signature performance against AS Roma. The Argentina forward played as if he had never been away. PAGE 28

Morkel, Harmer skittle India on dicey pitch Morne Morkel and Simon Harmer bamboozled India with pace and spin on a tricky wicket but South Africa also suffered early blows in the third Test in Nagpur yesterday. Off-spinner Harmer claimed four wickets for 78 and fast bowler Morkel took three for 35 as the Proteas bowled India out for 215. PAGE 29

B 14 43 38 13

An ecstatic Abu Haider Rony runs past the shattered stumps after he cleaned up Barisal Bulls skipper Mahmudullah (unseen) in the Bangladesh Premier League yesterday. The 19-year-old Comilla Victorians left-arm pacer bowled fast and accurate to bag 2 for 21 as Bulls were skittled out for a paltry 89 at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Ground

Khulna v Chittagong Dhaka (2013)

Sylhet v Chittagong

Dhaka (2013)

88/8

Dhaka v Chittagong

Ctg (2013)

Khulna v Rangpur

Ctg (2013)

Barisal v Comilla

Dhaka (2015)

Comilla sink below-par Barisal n Mazhar Uddin Comilla Victorians registered their second win in the third edition of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 when they overcame the challenge of high-flying Barisal Bulls by a convincing margin of eight wickets at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. In the process, Mahmudullah’s Barisal lost their hundred percent record after yet another poor display with the bat. Opening batsman Mahmudul Hasan scored the highest 31 while West Indian batsman Marlon Samuels remained unbeaten on 23 as Comilla chased down their target of 90 with two overs to spare. Comilla left out struggling national cricketer Liton Kumar Das from the playing XI and included wicketkeeper-batsman Dhiman Ghosh in his place. Imrul Kayes once again failed to shine

with the bat and was dismissed for 13 off the bowling of paceman Al Amin Hossain while Kevon Cooper took the wicket of Mahmudul in the latter stages of the game. The Bulls earlier were unable to correct their mistakes from the previous two matches as they were bundled out for just 89 in 18.4 overs. Taking first guard, the Barisal batsmen

POINTS TABLE Teams

Rangpur

Pts 4

Comilla

Barisal

Chittagong

Dhaka

Sylhet

were tottering right from the onset, losing wickets at regular intervals. In what was a disappointing display with the willow, only Cooper (22) offered any sort of resistance. Barisal’s opening pair of Shahriar Nafees and Rony Talukdar departed in quick succession and they were soon followed by former Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor, skipper Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman. Player of the match Nuwan Kulasekara and Pakistani-born English cricketer Ashar Zaidi bagged three wickets each for the bowling side. “The win was more important but we had a good chance to push up our net runrate too. But overall, I am happy with the points. Kulasekara bowled really well, as did Zaidi, who has been doing well. Our bowling has some variations. The batting’s good, but I felt we missed out,” Comilla captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza told the media after the game. l

Bangladesh Premier League

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

RR v DD RANGPUR RIDERS INNINGS R LMP Simmons c Farhad b Mosharraf 51 Soumya c Mosaddek b Mustafizur 18 Mohammad Mithun lbw b Abul 34 NLTC Perera c Jamshed b Mustafizur 27 DJG Sammy c Sangakkara b Yasir 3 Shakib Al Hasan not out 24 Al-Amin st Sangakkara b Yasir 3 Jahurul Islam not out 7 Extras (lb 5, w 4) 9

B 39 10 22 20 4 15 3 7

Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 176 FoW: 1-38, 2-94, 3-122, 4-140, 5-142, 6-150

Bowling Nasir 2-0-13-0, Farhad 3-0-24-0, Mustafizur 4-0-38-2, Abul 4-0-41-1, Mosharraf 3-0-31-1, Yasir 4-0-24-2

TOP 3 WICKET-TAKERS IN BPL Name Match Wickets BBI Shakib al Hasan 26 37 4/16 (Dhaka Gladiators, Khulna Royal Bengals, Rangpur Riders) Kevon Cooper 23 32 5/15 (Chittagong Kings, Barisal Bulls) Enamul Haque jr 25 31 3/14 (Chittagong Kings, Chittagong Vikings) Shakib al Hasan is all smiles as he chases a ball during Rangpur Riders’ fielding against Dhaka Dynamites at the SBNS yesterday

Shakib and Co rout Dhaka n Minhaz Uddin Khan World’s leading all-rounder Shakib al Hasan’s magic did the trick for Rangpur Riders as they comprehensively beat Dhaka Dynamites by 69 runs to pick up their second win in three matches in the Bangladesh Premier League yesterday. Keeping in-form cricketers Misbah ul Haq and Saqlain Sajib out of

– yet worked wonders. Shakib, who opened the bowling with Sri Lankan off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake from the other end, cleaned up Shamsur Rahman and Nasir Jamshed in the space of three balls in the third over as Dhaka never recovered from the double blow. Dhaka’s batting deficiency was exposed as apart from Kumar Sangakkara (29) no one looked formidable

I am still a bit weak as I am suffering from cough and sickness which has been the reason I am yet to find the rhythm with the bat. I have faced 15 balls where I should have smashed three sixes at least. However I scored 24 runs which will surely help me with my confidence in the coming games while I am happy with my bowling so far the playing XI raised quite a few eyebrows but Shakib’s input with both bat and ball sealed Riders’ easy win at the end. After helping his side to a challenging 176 with an unbeaten 30, Shakib took four for 16 to demolish the Dhaka batting backbone as they were bowled out for 107 with two balls left in their 20 overs. Rangpur’s strategy was simple - get runs on the scorecard and put the slow bowlers in operation

at the middle and their hopes diminished as soon as the Lankan maestro was caught at mid-wicket off Arafat Sunny’s bowling. The blow, Sunny’s second, left Dhaka tottering at 53 for four in 11 overs. Thisara Pepera cashed in on the opportunity after Shakib introduced the pacer in the 12th over. The rightarm seamer dismissed Ryan ten Doeschate in his third ball and further added to Dhaka’s woes by removing Abul Hasan and Yasir Shah

in his following overs. In between the Pepera assault, Shakib added Nasir Hossain and Farhad Reza to his wickets tally as he finished off his four overs giving away just 16 runs. Shakib said toss is becoming vital as the tournament progresses. The curators are not getting enough time to prepare the wicket in full so it has started helping the spinners. “Batting first in the first game is ideal. The wickets are wearing so the ball gets low and tends to spin as the day ends. I believe our team is in good momentum at the moment given everyone is trying their best to do their respective jobs. I hope this will continue in the remaining matches,” said Shakib. Earlier, Rangpur had all the elements to reach a big total but a late collapse in their batting order almost paved the way back in the game for Dhaka. Soumya Sarkar (18) and Lendl Simmons (51) produced a rapid 38-run start while Mohammad Mithun (34) and Perera (27) also contributed vital runs. From 122 for 2 in the 14th over, Rangpur were reduced to 150 for six before the last two overs with Darren Sammy, Thisara and Al-Amin back in the hut. Batting at No 6, Shakib struck three boundaries in the last two overs to propel the score. l

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

DHAKA DYNAMITES INNINGS R Nasir Jamshed c Soumya b Shakib Shamsur Rahman b Shakib KC Sangakkara c Soumya b Arafat Mosaddek Hossain c Shakib b Arafat RN ten Doeschate c Shakib b Perera Nasir Hossain c Jayed b Shakib Abul Hasan c Soumya b Perera Farhad Reza b Shakib Yasir Shah c Al-Amin b Perera Mosharraf Hossain b Jayed Mustafizur Rahman not out Extras (b 4, lb 2, w 5, nb 1)

B 11 2 29 3 8 15 10 1 12 3 1 12

10 7 28 8 14 20 9 2 11 8 2

Total (all out; 19.4 overs) 107 FoW: 1-8, 2-15, 3-35, 4-53, 5-63, 6-78, 7-83, 8-102, 9-104, 10-107

Bowling Shakib 4-0-16-4, Senanayake 3-0-21-0, Arafat 4-0-15-2, Al-Amin 2-0-13-0, Sammy 2-0-10-0, Perera 4-0-25-3, Jayed 0.4-0-1-1 Rangpur Riders won by 69 runs MoM: Shakib al Hasan (Rangpur Riders)

ACSU investigating Sylhet owner’s role, says BCB chief n Minhaz Uddin Khan

Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan yesterday said Sylhet Super Stars were wrong to field a different playing XI than the one that was submitted for the toss on the eve of their 2015 Bangladesh Premier League opener against Chittagong Vikings. The third edition of the money-spinning tournament, which got underway last Sunday, got mired into controversy when Chittagong, Sylhet and the BPL governing council engaged themselves in a heated conversation after the Super Stars tried to breach the playing conditions. The Sylhet franchise did not have No-Objection Certificates for English cricketers Ravi Bopara and Joshua Cobb prior to the toss. When the NOCs did arrive after the toss, Chittagong refused to take the field since Bopara and Cobb were not included in Sylhet’s original playing XI. The argument took a turn for the worse after Chittagong captain Tamim Iqbal was verbally abused by Sylhet franchise owner, chairman of Alif Group, Azizul Islam. “We are still learning. We were hoping these kind of issues from the past will not re-emerge but now we are up against new issues. To me, the Sylhet-Chittagong issue is not an issue at all but what happened with Tamim is really unfortunate. This is a basic rule; one cannot change the playing XI once submitted. Yes, there can be an exception but only if the opponent captain agrees to that,” Nazmul informed the media. “We have received a written complaint from Tamim. What I think is that this incident should never have happened given that the owner of one team is not supposed to meet the captain of the other team in the field. The condition laid down by ACSU (Anti-Corruption and Security Unit) does not allow that to happen. We are having an investigation and will soon reach a conclusion on this,” the BCB boss added. “We had the option of giving a walk-over to Chittagong but then again, that would have hurt the BPL in many ways. They (Sylhet) informed the BCB that there was trouble with their NOCs but the board had nothing to do there so they had the option to play but with only two overseas cricketers.” l

Sport

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Under-19s maul Afghanistan on way to final

QUICK BYTES Al Amin, Shahid fined National pacemen Al Amin Hossain and Mohammad Shahid were fined by the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 technical committee for their heated conversation during the Barisal Bulls-Sylhet Super Stars tie last Tuesday. Al Amin, who ended up taking five wickets including a hattrick to inspire Barisal to a dramatic one-run win, was involved in a verbal clash with Shahid after the former was dismissed by his national colleague. Al Amin was fined Tk40,000 while Shahid must pay Tk30,000 for breaching Level 2 of the Code of Conduct. –MAZHAR UDDIN

n Tribune Desk Bangladesh Under-19 concluded their campaign in the double round-robin stage of the tri-nation series with a thumping eight-wicket win over Afghanistan U-19 at Jadavpur University Complex in Kolkata yesterday. Batting first, the Afghans were skittled out for just 99 in 26.2 overs with right-arm spinner Saeed Sarkar and left-arm slow bowler Saleh Ahmed Shawon sharing six wickets between themselves. Tariq top-scored for Afghanistan with 27 as only three other batsmen reached double figures. In pursuit of the low target, the junior Tigers romped home in 24.3 overs losing two wickets, courtesy of unbeaten Nazmul Hossain Shanto (38) and captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz (37). Bangladesh will now shift their focus to the grand finale against the hosts, scheduled to be held this Sunday. l

Bangladesh Police get sponsorship boost Bangladesh Police AC football team received a sponsorship boost of Tk5m from Popular Life Insurance Company on the eve of the Bangladesh Championship League, which gets underway today. The Police outfit will take on Uttar Baridhara Club in the inaugural match of the eight-club event at Bangabandhu National Stadium at 4pm. The sponsorship agreement was announced in a press conference at the Bangladesh Police headquarters yesterday. Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Haque was present in the presser and asked the footballers to give their best effort. Police clinched the title of the second division football league last season to get promoted to the first division. But they appealed to the Bangladesh Football Federation to remain in the second tier of the professional league and the federation granted their request. –TRIBUNE REPORT

Inter-Private Uni Football begins The second day of the Inter-Private University Football Tournament got underway at the Daffodil International University field in Ashulia yesterday. In the opening match of the day, the home side were beaten 2-0 by International University of Business Agriculture and Technology. Later, University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh also beat United International University by the same margin. The match between Independent University, Bangladesh and Brac University, meanwhile, ended in a 1-1 draw. Shanto-Mariam University of Creative Technology and Bangladesh University of Business and Technology also posted victories over Eastern University and BGMEA Institute of Fashion & Technology respectively. The event is organised by Clan Management Limited and supported by Bangladesh Football Federation. –TRIBUNE REPORT

BRIEF SCORE Afghanistan U19 99-allout in 26.2 overs (Saeed 3/6, Shawon 3/32, Rana 2/33)

Bangladesh U19 Bangladesh Under-19 captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz (L) and Nazmul Hossain Shanto take a run during their tri-nation match against Afghanistan U-19 in Kolkata yesterday AP

Bangladesh women fly off to Thailand today n Mazhar Uddin Bangladesh women’s cricket team will leave here for Thailand today to take part in the upcoming 2016 ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers. Bangladesh will be competing alongside Thailand, Scotland and Papua New Guinea in the Group A qualifiers. Bangladesh Cricket Board had earlier announced the 14-member squad, headed by captain Jahanara Alam. The women in red and green will face the Thais in their opening qualifier this Saturday before locking horns with the Scots and

Papua New Guinea this Sunday and Tuesday respectively. Both the semi-finals of the qualifiers will be held next Thursday while the grand final will take place two days later.

Squad

Jahanara Alam (C), Ayesha Rahman (VC), Salma Khatun, Panna Ghosh, Rumana Ahmed, Lata Mondal, Ritu Moni, Nigar Sultana, Fahima Khatun, Sharmin Akter Supta, Farjana Hoque, Khadiza-tul Kubra, Nahida Akter, Shaila Sharmin l

Liverpool, Spurs target Europa knockout berths Liverpool can clinch their place in the last 32 with victory over Bordeaux at Anfield. The Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool is still in its infancy but the German’s arrival is already helping transform the Reds, who thumped erstwhile Premier League leaders Manchester City 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Tottenham can wrap up qualification for the knockout phase with a win against Group J rivals Qarabag, although the Azerbaijani champions are unbeaten at home in Europe this term. –AFP

Bangladesh women’s cricket team pose for a group photograph alongside board president Nazmul Hasan (C) in Mirpur yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

101/2 in 24.3 overs (Nazmul 38*, Mehedi 37*) Bangladesh U19 won by eight wickets

Sylhet franchise owner Azizul not welcomed in Chittagong n Tribune Report Chittagong Divisional Sports Association has demanded that Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 franchise owner Azizul Islam be punished for abusing national cricketer Tamim Iqbal. The CDSA formed a human chain in front of the MA Aziz stadium yesterday, pressing home the Bangladesh Cricket Board to take a decision on the issue within this Sunday. Once the dateline expires, the protesters said the Sylhet Super Stars owner will be outlawed from entering the port city. CDSA general secretary Sirajuddin Alamgir said, “It is very unfortunate to see the way Sylhet owner Azizul Islam behaved with our national and Chittagong’s pride Tamim Iqbal. This is a punishable offence. BCB will have to take a step against Azizul or else the people of Chittagong will not welcome him in the city of Chittagong and also in the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.” All the six franchises are set to reach Chittagong this Saturday for the second phase of the tournament, which gets underway two days later. Following controversy surrounding the No-Objection Certificates of the overseas cricketers of Sylhet, Ravi Bopara and Joshua Cobb, Chittagong Vikings captain Tamim claimed he was on the wrong end of a foulmouth rant by Azizul. Tamim then filed a written complaint to the BCB and the BPL governing council. l

Sport

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Beaming Messi back playing like he was never away

GROUP E Team

Pts

Barcelona

AS Roma

Bayer Leverkusen

BATE Borisov

Pts

n Reuters, Barcelona

GROUP F Team

Bayern Munich

Olympiakos Piraeus 5

Arsenal

Dinamo Zagreb

GROUP G Team

Pts

Chelsea

Porto

Dynamo Kiev

Maccabi Tel Aviv

GROUP H Team

Pts

Zenit

Ghent

Valencia

Olympique Lyon

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi scores past Roma goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny during their Uefa Champions League match at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on Tuesday AFP

Brilliant Barca, Bayern through

Barcelona kept winning during Lionel Messi’s injury absence but the fans were still clearly delighted to have him back on Tuesday and he rewarded their patience with a signature performance against AS Roma. The Argentina forward, making his first start since he damaged a knee at the end of September, played as if he had never been away in the holders’ 6-1 Champions League Group E drubbing of the Italian side at the Nou Camp, netting a double and generally running the show. The familiar chants of “Messi! Messi! Messi!” rang out around the giant stadium and the beaming smile on his face, which shows he is back enjoying what he does best, is an ominous sign for Barca’s rivals. The victory, which included a brace from Luis Suarez and goals from Gerard Pique and Adriano, ensured Barca went through to the last 16 as section winners and they have negotiated the group stage of Europe’s elite club competition for a 12th consecutive season. The demolition of Roma followed hard on the heels of Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing of arch rivals Real Madrid in La Liga, when Messi made his return from injury for the last 30 minutes, and on current form Barca appear unstoppable as they seek to defend the treble of titles they won last season. l

Arsenal’s great escape on track after Zagreb cast aside n AFP, Paris Holders Barcelona celebrated qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League with another stunning display on Tuesday, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi both scoring twice in a 6-1 win against Roma. The Catalans and Bayern Munich both secured their places in the knockout draw and demonstrated once again why they are surely the best teams in Europe just now, with Bayern crushing Olympiakos 4-0 at the Allianz Arena. Barcelona discovered they had qualified from Group E before they had kicked a ball at the Camp Nou, the 1-1 draw between BATE Borisov and Bayer Leverkusen in Belarus ensuring their passage. Fresh from crushing eternal rivals Real Madrid 4-0 at the weekend, they then produced a performance that the Italians could not live with to secure top spot in the section. Dani Alves set up Suarez to tap in the opener before Messi, in his first start since returning from injury, made it two at the end of a superb move involving Neymar and Suarez. Suarez struck again just before the interval with a sweet volley and the rout continued in the second half as Neymar, Suarez and Messi all combined to give Gerard Pique a tap-in. Neymar and Suarez then helped tee up Messi to get his second and Barca’s fifth on the hour and Adriano crashed in the sixth after Neymar’s penalty had been saved by Wo-

jciech Szczesny. Roma’s misery was compounded when Edin Dzeko had a late penalty saved by Marc Andre ter Stegen, although Dzeko did pull one back with the last kick of the game. A draw between Bayern and Olympiakos in Germany would have taken both teams through but Pep Guardiola’s team showed no mercy for their visitors as they raced into a three-goal lead inside the first 20 minutes. While Bayern secured top spot in Group F, Arsenal kept their hopes alive by beating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium. Mesut Ozil headed the Premier League side ahead and Alexis Sanchez added a brace, meaning the Gunners can still qualify for the

last 16, provided they win at Olympiakos next month by at least a two-goal margin or by winning by a one-goal margin having scored three or more goals. The situation appears rather more straightforward for Chelsea, who cruised to a 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel with Gary Cahill, Willian, Oscar and Kurt Zouma on target. The other game in Group G saw Dynamo Kiev win 2-0 at Porto with Andriy Yarmolenko netting a first-half penalty before Derlis Gonzalez wrapped up the points. Just two points separate Chelsea, Porto and Dynamo Kiev but Jose Mourinho’s side need only draw at home to the Portuguese club next month to go through. l

Barca had 19 efforts on goal, of which 12 were on target They had 71% possession Barca made 775 passes; Roma made 308 Messi had eight shots; six on target. Suarez had three efforts; two on target

RESULTS Gordeichuk 2

Barcelona (ESP)

Six touches for Lionel Messi (10), four for Neymar (11) and two including the final assist for Luis Suarez (9) as Messi scored Barcelona’s second

Leverkusen (GER) Mehmedi 68

6-1

Suarez 15, 44, Messi 18, 60 Pique 56, Adriano 77

Arsenal (ENG)

27 PASSES

1-1

BATE Borisov (BLR)

Roma (ITA) Dzeko 90

3-0

Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)

4-0

Olympiakos (GRE)

Ozil 29, Sanchez 33, 69

Bayern Munich (GER)

Costa 8, Lewendowski 16, Mueller 20, Coman 70

Porto (POR)

0-2

Dynamo Kiev (UKR)

Yarmolenko 36, Gonzalez 64

Maccabi (ISR)

0-4

Chelsea (ENG) Cahill 20, Willian 73, Oscar 77, Zouma 90

Zenit (RUS)

2-0

Valencia (ESP)

Shatov 15, Dzyuba 74

Lyon (FRA) Ferri 7

1-2

Gent (BEL) Milicevic 32, Coulibaly 90+5

Sport

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Morkel, Harmer skittle India on dicey pitch n AFP, Nagpur

SCORECARD, DAY 1 INDIA 1ST INNINGS M. Vijay lbw b Morkel S. Dhawan c and b Elgar C. Pujara lbw b Harmer V. Kohli c Vilas b Morkel A. Rahane b Morkel R. Sharma c de Villiers b Harmer W. Saha c Saha b Harmer R. Jadeja b Rabada R. Ashwin b Tahir A. Mishra lbw b Harmer I. Sharma not out Extras: (b15, lb3, nb1, w2)

R B 40 84 12 23 21 43 22 55 13 25 2 28 32 106 34 54 15 44 3 9 0 0 21

Total (all out, 78.2 overs)

215

Fall of wickets 1-50 (Dhawan), 2-69 (Vijay), 3-94 (Pujara), 4-115 (Rahane), 5-116 (Kohli), 6-125 (R. Sharma), 7-173 (Jadeja), 8-201 (Saha), 9-215 (Ashwin), 10-215 (Mishra)

Bowling Morkel 16.1-7-35-3 (nb1), Rabada 17-8-30-1 (w2), Harmer 27.2-2-78-4, Elgar 4-0-7-1, Tahir 12.5-141-1, Duminy 1-0-6-0 (Note: Morkel left the field after bowling one ball of his 17th over. Tahir completed the over.)

SOUTH AFRICA 1ST INNINGS D. Elgar not out S. van Zyl c Rahane b Ashwin I. Tahir b Jadeja H. Amla not out Extras

R 7 0 4 0 0

Total (for two wickets, 9 overs)

B 30 7 12 5

Fall of wickets 1-4 (van Zyl), 2-9 (Tahir).

Bowling I. Sharma 2-1-4-0, Ashwin 4-2-5-1, Jadeja 3-1-2-1.

DAY’S WATCH Ten Sports Uefa Europa League 10:00PM Rubin v Sion 12:00AM Lazio v Dnipro 2:00AM Celtic v Ajax

Ten Cricket 09:30PM England Tour of Pakistan: 1st T20I

Ten Action 3:00PM A-League 2015/16 Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix Uefa Europa League 10:00PM Krasnodar v Dortmund 12:00AM Qarabag v Tottenham 2:00AM Liverpool v Bordeaux

Sony Kix 7:00PM Champions Tennis League Chennai v Nagpur

Star Sports 3 10:00AM S Africa Tour of India: 3rd Test, Day 2

Star Sports 2 7:30PM Indian Super League: Mumbai v Kerala

Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane’s defence is breached during the first day of the third Test against South Africa at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium in Nagpur yesterday AFP

Morne Morkel and Simon Harmer bamboozled India with pace and spin on a tricky wicket but South Africa also suffered early blows in the third Test in Nagpur yesterday. Off-spinner Harmer claimed four wickets for 78 and fast bowler Morkel took three for 35 as the Proteas bowled India out for 215 in the post-tea session of the first day’s play. South Africa, seeking a series-levelling win, had plodded to 11 for two by stumps, setting the stage for an exciting battle ahead on a dusty and dry pitch at the VCA stadium. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had opener Stiaan van Zyl caught in the slips for a duck before nightwatchman Imran Tahir was bowled by Ravindra Jadeja for four. At stumps Dean Elgar was unbeaten on seven and skipper Hashim Amla had yet to score. India were reduced to 125-6 after winning the toss, before the last four wickets added 90 runs that included a 48-run stand for the seventh wicket between Jadeja (34) and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (32). Opener Murali Vijay top-scored with 40, but none of the other five specialist batsmen crossed 22 on a first-day pitch that already shows cracks and continues to deteriorate fast. Morkel made up for the absence of his unfit speed partner Dale Steyn to negate India’s initial advantage of batting first, but then himself limped off the field while bowling his 17th over in the final session. l

Britain counting on Murrays to bring home Davis Cup n Reuters, London Britain will attempt to win the Davis Cup for the first time in 79 years this weekend when they take on Belgium in Ghent, although if they do succeed the Scottish town of Dunblane could argue its name should be enscribed on the trophy. World number two Andy Murray and his brother Jamie, who grew up in Dunblane, have propelled Britain through the draw, with Andy churning out vital singles wins and teaming up with his elder sibling in the doubles. That is likely to be the scenario again at the Flanders Expo, beginning tomorrow, where despite 13,000 home fans trying to cheer Belgium to their first ever Davis Cup, Britain will start favourites. Twice grand slam champion Andy Murray is the class act of the final - a repeat of the 1904 match when the British Isles won 5-0 with brothers Laurence and Reggie Doherty starring. Murray’s commitment to the cause this year has been immense. The 2013 Wimbledon champion is undefeated, winning two singles against the United States in Glasgow in March. Against France in the quarter-finals at Queen’s Club, the Murrays joined forces to win the doubles with Andy winning both his singles in a 3-1 victory - the second against Gilles Simon when he was down on both

knees with fatigue. Then came the semi-final against Australia, again in Glasgow, when the 28-year-old crushed Bernard Tomic, having won a gripping doubles five-setter with Jamie the previous day, to send Britain into the final for the first time since 1978. He flew into Belgium on Monday - a country on high alert after the Paris attacks - having lost two of his three matches at the ATP World Tour Finals last week. How he adapts to the quick switch to indoor clay will be crucial for Britain captain Leon Smith. “The reality is that if Andy gets injured or ill, then it would be a very difficult match to win,” Mark Cox, who played for Britain in the 1978 final, told Reuters. “Leon has done well to bond the team and get some performances from James Ward, well beyond what realistically would be expected.l

BELGIUM v BRITAIN Venue : Flanders Expo Arena, Ghent Surface : Red clay indoor

Belgium David Goffin (16), Steve Darcis (84), Ruben Bemelmans (108), Kimmer Copperjans (128)

Britain Andy Murray (2), Kyle Edmund (100), Jamie Murray (N/A), Dominic Inglot (N/A)

Britain’s Andy Murray takes part in a training session at Flanders Expo in Ghent on Tuesday. The final will be played from 27 to 29 November 2015 in Ghent Flanders Expo AFP

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Repeat from memory (6) 5 Spirit (3) 7 Nettlerash (5) 8 Appropriate (5) 10 Vigour (3) 12 Eternal city (4) 13 Monkey (3) 14 Stupefy (4) 16 Acting part (4) 17 Vehicle (3) 18 Wise man (4) 20 School of whales (3) 23 Coating on teeth (6) 24 Greek letter (5) 25 Fresh (3) 26 Makes vigilant (6)

DOWN 1 Deeply engrossed (4) 2 Of a choir (6) 3 Motif (5) 4 Irish republic (4) 5 Corded fabric (3) 6 Employ (3) 9 Church leader (4) 11 Play on words (3) 14 Long detailed story (4) 15 Vibration (6) 16 Sharp blow (3) 17 Waterway (5) 18 Stiff hair (4) 19 In addition (4) 21 Lyric poem (3) 22 Early freshness (3)

Downtime CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 15 represents T so fill T every time the figure 15 appears. You have one letter in the control grid to start you off. Enter it in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares. Some letters of the alphabet may not be used. As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them. A B C 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

Anupam Roy elates Bangla music aficionados

PHOTO: SAZZAD HOSSAIN

n Promiti Prova Chowdhury Aami aami jaani jaani... The words from the popular track Beche thakar gaan kept echoing inside the International Convention Centre Bashundhara in the capital on Monday night.

Phenomenal Kolkata musician, Anupam Roy enthralled the audience with his extremely popular tracks during the concert “Dui Banglar Gaan.” With a loud call – “Are you excited Dhaka?,” The Anupam Roy Band made their entry around 10pm at the Noboratri Hall. The

celebrated singer started his performance with Ami ajkal bhalo achhi and kept the audience entralled for the next two hours with a number of his famous tracks including Bariye dao tomar haat, Odbhut mughdhota, Ekhon onek raat, Boba tunnel, and Boshonto eshe geche. Combining catchy tunes and entertaining dance moves, Anupam who has a huge fan following in Bangladesh as well, performed a number of audience’s choices including his latest compositions from the Bollywood movie Piku. The journey song and Bezubaan – two numbers from the movie are Anupam’s first venture in Bollywood as a music director. Special guest Benazir Ahmed, the director general of Rapid Action Battalion, said Anupam’s songs helped him lessen stress during late nights at his office. Antar Showbiz organised the programme which also featurespopular Bangladeshi singers Parvez and Nancy, who cheered the audience with their contemporary tracks. Expressing his delight to be in Dhaka, Anupam said Bangladesh had showered him and his fellow musicians with appreciation and warmth. Anupam started his career as an engineer in Bangalaru in India. In 2010, the artist gained immense popularity by singing the track Amake amar moto thakte dao in the movie Autograph directed by Srijit Mukherji.l

Showtime

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

WHAT TO WATCH

Skyfall Sony PIX 5:30pm When Bond’s latest assignment goes gravely wrong and agents around the world are exposed, MI6 is attacked forcing M to relocate the agency. These events cause her authority and position to be challenged by Gareth Mallory, the new chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee. With MI6 now compromised from both inside and out, M is left with one ally she can trust: Bond. Cast: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes Mission: Impossible - Ghost protocol Zee Studio 2:05pm Blamed for the terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, IMF operative Ethan Hunt is disavowed along with the rest of the agency when the President initiates “Ghost Protocol.” Left without any resources or backup, Ethan must find a way to clear his agency’s name and prevent another attack. Cast: Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015

SUPPORT FOR INDIA’S LOWER GST RATE GAINING TRACTION PAGE 17 DU VC: Unite to stop violence against women n Tribune Report Women and children are subjected to violence and repression across the country and all of us need to stand together against this, said Dhaka University Vice-chancellor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique yesterday. “The 21st century is based on science and knowledge, and hence, there should be no gender inequality, discrimination and racism. Every human being should have equal rights,” he said while addressing a rally arranged to observe the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. With the slogan “Family and society to prevent violence against women and children”, the Department of Women and Gender Studies of Dhaka University and Bangladesh Mahila Parishad organised the rally in front of Aparajeyo Bangla on the university campus. Bangladesh Mahila Parishad President Ayesha Khanam told the rally the achievements of a society where women and children face violence are of no value. “Our achievements will not be appreciated if women are abused in the society. Also, economic progress will mean nothing if abuse of women and children continues,” she said. Nari Maitree and Domestic Workers Rights Network formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club while Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha brought out a procession in the capital city marking the day. Also, in line with the “Orange the World” campaign, a 16-day campaign kicked off in the capital yesterday which would continue till Human Rights Day on December 10. “Orange the World” is part of the United Nations secretary general’s UNiTE to End Violence Against Women campaign. The colour orange, which symbolises a bright and optimistic future free from violence against women and girls, will help unify the large-scale social mobilisation. This year’s “Orange the World” initiative will focus on the theme of preventing violence against women and girls, according to the United Nations News Centre. l

COMILLA SINK BELOWPAR BARISAL PAGE 25

HC order to stop sex offence ignored n Shadma Malik

Over the years, allegations of sexual harassment of female students by teachers at universities have been common, but in contrary to a six-year-old High Court directive, there have not been mentionable initiatives to address the problem. The High Court in 2009 issued a directive to prevent sexual harassment at educational institutions, workplaces, and in public places. A study by Human Development Research Centre revealed in 2012 found that around 76% of the female students at universities face sexual harassment within and outside the campus by campus-related people. The highest rate is 87% in public universities, followed by 76% in university colleges, 66% in private universities and 54% in medical colleges. Many students do not file complaints due to social stigma and considering the reputation of their families. On September 14, Dhaka University suspended Profe Saiful Islam, head of Theater and Performance Studies Department of Dhaka University, for allegedly harassing a student. On August 14 this year, Jagannath University demoted associate professor Md Shakhawat Hossain to assistant professor and sent him on compulsory

leave for sexually harassing a student. According to the Sexual Harassment Prevention Guideline 2009, all educational institutions were asked to constitute complaint committees to receive complaints, investigate and recommend. University Grants Commission (UGC) data shows that only 34 out of the 80 private universities in the country have so far formed committees. Public universities, with 29 out of the 37 having such committees, are well ahead. The UGC nominates representatives in the complaint committees if universities contact, said UGC Chairman Prof Abdul Mannan. According to an unpublished study of the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA), three-fourths of students interviewed from five universities do not know that there is a HC guideline and that such committees exist on their campuses. Rabita Rahman Shouthi, a student of English at the Jahangirnagar University, said: “There are no awareness raising campaigns about sexual harassment.” Advocate Mitali Jahan of BNWLA said committees in universities like Jahangirnagar, Shahjalal and Dhaka University are active, but the committees in most other universities could be found only on papers. UN Women, in association with the UGC, has been operating a project to address issues relating to sexual harassment at universities since 2012. l

ANUPAM ELATES MUSIC LOVERS PAGE 31 BPL 2015 CORNER BRIEF SCORES MATCH-1 Rangpur

Dhaka

Rangpur Riders 176/6 in 20 overs Simmons 51, Mithun 34, Perera 27, Yasir Shah 2/24, Mustafizur 2/38, Dhaka Dynamites 107 in 19.4 overs Sangakkara 29, Nasir 15, Shakib 4/16, Perera 2/25, Arafat 2/15

Rangpur Riders won by 69 runs

MATCH-2 Comilla

Barisal

Barisal Bulls 89 in 18.3 overs Cooper 22, Rony 17, Kulasekara 3/8, Zaidi 3/16, Haider 2/21 Comilla Victorians 90/2 in 18 overs Mahmudul 31, Samuels 23*, Imrul 13, Cooper 1/7, Al Amin 1/29

Comilla Victorians won by 8 wickets

TODAY’S FIXTURES Sylhet Super Stars v Rangpur Riders (2PM) Chittagong Vikings v Dhaka Dynamites (6:45PM)

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