24 Dec, 2015 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Poush 10, 1422, Rabiul Awal 11, 1437

SKIN DISEASE AFFLICTS CHILD LABOURERS PAGE 5

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 247

SUGAR TARIFF HIKED, VAT IMPOSED PAGE 15

BOSNIAN COMMANDER INDICTED FOR WAR CRIMES PAGE 23

Pak diplomat with militant links withdrawn on Dhaka’s demand Shahariar Zaman and n Sheikh Mohammad Jamil Khan Fareena Arshad, the second secretary (political) in Pakistan High Commission, left Dhaka yesterday as Bangladesh asked the high commission informally to withdraw her. “Two days back we asked the high commission to withdraw her, and they obliged,” said a senior official of the Foreign Ministry seeking anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to media.

Airport immigration officer-in-charge, Shahidul Islam, told the Dhaka Tribune that Fareena had left the country around 1:35pm in a flight of the Pakistan International Airlines. This is the second time this year Bangladesh asked the Pakistan High Commission to withdraw their officials. In January, an official working at the high commission, Mohammad Mazhar Khan, was caught red handed with fake currency at Banani. He was asked to leave the country formally.

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Home boss: Foreign powers backed contract killings n Arifur Rahman Rabbi

The controversy arose surrounding Arshad, who served Bangladesh for almost three years, when media reported about her alleged involvement with militants in Bangladesh. Her involvement with militant organisations was reported in the media based on information given by Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) members. Later the high commission condemned local media reports as “utterly baseless.”

The recent string of murders of foreigners were contract killings funded and backed by outside powers, the home minister said yesterday. Dismissing claims that militant outfit Islamic State was responsible for the murders, Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the killings had been works of Jews who were organisers of the IS. However, he did not elaborate about which country or foreign group might have

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Khaleda served for remark on number of 1971 martyrs n Tribune Report

A doctor tends to a newborn during a phototherapy session at Ward 26 in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital yesterday. The medical staff of Ward 26 has been seeing an influx of infants with diarrhoea, jaundice and pneumonia after a cold wave started sweeping over the region. Most of these children need phototherapy, oxygen supply and saline on a regular basis AZHAR UDDIN

An apex court lawyer has sent a legal notice to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia asking her to issue an “unconditional apology” over her recent remarks on the 1971 martyrs. Former general secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association Momtaz Uddin Ahmed Mehedi sent the notice yesterday giving the former premier seven days to apologise or face legal consequences. Speaking at a discussion on last Monday, Khaleda cast doubt on the number of people who sacrificed their lives during the Liberation War in 1971, claiming that the figure is disputed. Khaleda’s comment came only a few days after Pakistan denied the atrocities they had done in Bangladesh during the nine-monthlong bloody war. The government recently executed BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury for his war-time crimes committed in Chittagong’s Raozan. The BNP chief’s remarks drew severe criticisms from the Awami League, war crimes trial campaigners, martyrs’ family members, war crimes prosecutors and different pro-liberation organisations.

Lawyer Momtaz said that the BNP chairperson has cast doubt on the number of the martyrs, though the official number is 30,00,000. Khaleda also said without mentioning the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that he had not wanted independence, rather wanted to be the prime minister of Pakistan. Earlier, Khaleda’s elder son Tarique Rahman called Bangabandhu a friend of Pakistan. “Her remarks are anti-state and unconstitutional, like sedition. So, she has been asked to withdraw her remarks and seek unconditional apology within seven days. Otherwise, we will take necessary legal action against her,” the lawyer said. He sent copies of the notice to her residence in Gulshan and office at the BNP Headquarters by post. Addressing a meeting of the pro-BNP freedom fighters, Khaleda also alleged that no one can now write the “true history” of the Liberation War fearing government’s harassment. Those writing the truth are being subjected to harassment. Earlier in 2013, the BNP chief’s Adviser  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

Police demand for election duty exceeds EC budget n Adil Sakhawat

The Home Ministry wants Tk69 crore to deploy 73,730 policemen to the 233 municipalities where elections will be held, Tk14 crore more than the Election Commission (EC) has available to pay for law and order expenses.

The EC’s law and order allotment is Tk55 crore out of a Tk100 crore budget to conduct the elections and provide security. A letter to the EC sent yesterday by the Home Ministry, signed by Assistant Secretary Jahangir Alam, demanded an advance allotment for the police to maintain law and order

for the municipal polls. With the permission of the EC, the Home Ministry is expected to issue a circular regarding the allotment today. But this is just the tip of the iceberg as there will likely be more demands for funds by law enforcement agencies. The EC has not yet received funding re-

quests from Border Guard Bangladesh, the Coast Guard or the Ansar, all of whom are expected to send their proposals soon, an official of the EC budget department said. The official, asking not to be named, told the Dhaka Tribune that the EC would not  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

News

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

BNP briefs diplomats about municipality polls

Journalist Sajib’s body found after three days

n Tribune Report

The BNP yesterday briefed diplomats working in Bangladesh about the upcoming municipality polls. A team led by BNP leader Abdul Moyeen Khan briefed the diplomats at party chairperson’s Gulshan office. After the meeting, Khan told journalists: “Already seven mayors and 150 councillors are elected [uncontested]... It is possible because the polls have become one-sided as opposition candidates were barred from submitting nomination papers,” he said. Khan alleged that in last week only, more than a thousand opposition leaders and activists were arrested.

Urging the government to hold fair polls, Khan said it would be good for the country and the Awami League. However, the diplomats denied making any comments on the topics of discussion. Envoys from Australia, Pakistan, Singapore, US, India, Sweden, Germany, Turkey, Canada, Nepal, Japan and the European Union attended the meeting. According to a source, the diplomats reportedly asked the BNP team whether they were going to pull out of the polls midway like they did in the city corporation elections earlier this year. In reply, the BNP team assured the diplomats that they would not do it this time. l

Police yesterday recovered the body of journalist Aurangzeb Sajib from Dhaleshwari River in Munshiganj, three days after he went missing. Locals saw the body in the afternoon and informed police, who later came and recovered it. Sajib’s wife Morsheda, his son Sohan and colleagues identified the body. Police said they had no idea how Sajib died but his family claimed he had been killed. Sajib worked for several print and electronic media organisations as a Dhaka Medical College Hospital correspondent. Morsheda claimed that her husband did not commit suicide. “Sajib was travelling to

Chandpur by a launch named MV Taqwa and was pushed off the vessel. It was a premeditated act.” She said Sajib had no plan to visit his ailing mother on Sunday, the day he went missing. Additional Superintendent of marine police Mokhlesur Rahman said the call lists of Sajib’s two mobile phones were checked. “The last call on one of his mobile phones was made by a girl at 7:20am on Sunday. After receiving the call, Sajib, who was at his workplace, finished his work and left. We suspect that the girl’s call is linked to his death. “We are still investigating and the identity of the girl cannot be revealed for the sake of investigation,” he added. l

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Police demand for election duty

Pak diplomat with militant links withdrawn

allot more than the Tk55 crore fixed for law and order expenses. The Home Ministry letter breaks down the advance allotment expenses in the following manner – Tk11.42 crore for allowances, Tk36.12 crore for transportation, Tk5.58 crore for dry food, Tk8.95 crore for intelligence operations and Tk6.50 crore for other expenses. The draft circular of the Home Ministry proposes 81 teams of Rapid Action Battalion and one platoon of BGB to be deployed in 102 municipalities. It also recommends deploying six Coast Guard platoons to six municipalities. Additionally, the draft proposes a striking force and a mobile team in every one of the 233 municipalities where polls will be held.

On November 29, the Detective Branch of police arrested four JMB members including a Pakistani national named Idris Sheikh from the capital. At that time, Monirul Islam, the joint commissioner of DB police, said that Idris had been spying in Bangladesh for a foreign intelligence agency for years. Idris used to maintain communication with official of the agency with “spy mobile phone,” Monir told a press briefing following the arrests. Idris and the other arrestees Mogbul Sharif, Md Salam and Mostafa Zaman – all Bangladeshis – had been visiting and staying in Pakistan for years. Soon after his arrest, Idris primarily informed about the diplomat’s name to the detectives and later told them about her keeping connection with the JMB men on behalf of the Pakistani intelligence agency. Idris was earlier arrested by police’s elite force Rapid Action Battalion on May 1, 2011 with 47 passports. After the latest arrest, detectives found in Idris’ mobile phone the number of Captain Ashim, an official of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan. The DB officials also found evidence of conversation between Idris and Ashim, who used to work in Pakistan Airport. Arshad’s name finally came clearly when Idris made confessional statement before a Dhaka court on December 6 in front of Metropolitan Magistrate Abdullah Al Masud. According to court sources, Idris disclosed in the confessional statement that beside having a good communication with him, she once gave him a ride on her car from Baitul Mukarram to Fakirerpool and

VIPs warned off polls code violations

Election Commissioner Md Shah Newaz yesterday warned Very Important Persons

(VIPs) – including lawmakers – not to violate the election code of conduct, at a press conference in his office in the EC secretariat in Dhaka. In response to allegations of code of conduct violations by VIPs, he said warning letters would not be issued against violators. Instead, returning officers were asked to take immediate action if needed. “We have asked returning officers to go for direct action through the magistrates if the code of conduct is violated as there is now no time to issue warning letters,” Shah Newaz said, adding: “The environment for the coming polls are under control. We have told our returning officers to take immediate action, no matter who the violators are. “They have our assurance that we will cooperate with them regarding any action they may take against violators.” l

Foreign powers backed contract killings instigated the murders. Kamal made the comments at a discussion held between the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and Islamic scholars at the capital’s Krishibid Institute auditorium. The comments were made hours before a Pakistani diplomat left Dhaka amid allegations over her involvement in militant activities in Bangladesh. The minister said that militants have started targeting Christian priests after failing to meet their goals through the murders of foreign nationals Cesare Tavella and Hoshi Kunio, attacks on police officials, and the bomb attack on Hossaini Dalan. Blaming activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir of playing a leading role in militancy, Kamal said the Jamaat-Shibir men who used to cut veins of people in the past were now carrying out the contract killings. “All of them are carrying out contract killings with an aim to destroy the peace and development of Bangladesh,” the minister said. On another note, he said it was not madrasa students or Islamic scholars who were murdering foreigners or involved with militant activities, but it was the students of private universities who were found to be involved in most cases. Jamaat-Shibir were misleading private

university students to become involved with the IS and the JMB, and consequently using them in the killings, the home minister said. Also speaking at the programme, Farid Uddin Masud, imam of the Sholakia Eidgah, said militancy cannot be defeated as long as Jamaat continues to exist. There was no need for the IS when Jamaat was still here, he added. Masud, also the secretary general of Jamaat-e-Ulema Maulana, also branded Ansarullah Bangla Team and Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) as offshoots of Jamaat. “Jamaat must be boycotted politically and socially. Their financial institutions are boosting militancy. Their properties should be seized,” he said. Food Minister Qamrul Islam said it was misguided individuals who were killing innocent people and were involved in terrorism in the name of religion. He also urged the mosque imams and Islamic scholars to discuss the issue of militancy on every jumma prayers on Fridays. Also addressing the discussion, DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah urged all to work together on a single platform to deal with militancy. The government has never asked the police to monitor madrasas and law enforcers wanted the situation to remain so, the DMP boss said. l

gave her Tk30,000. Besides, Idris had communicated with the diplomat several times over mobile phone between June and July this year. Quoting the statement, a high official of DB police, requesting not to be named, mentioned that Idris, however, did not disclose clearly for which reason Arshad had given him the money. However, Idris give an idea, how, he got close to Arshad, the official told the Dhaka Tribune. According to detectives, hailing from Bagerhat, Idris went to Pakistan first in 1985 through India. He also took part in election on behalf of Pak-Muslim Alliance once. He was staying in Pakistan for a long period and visited the country for a number of times. According to his passport, he visited the country nearly 48 times in the last two years. Idris married a Pakistani school teacher Shahnaj Begum in name and they have a son name Md Adil. Coming back to Bangladesh in 2000, he married another woman named Monowara Begum in Bagerhat. In the second married life, they have one son and two daughters. Idris started living in Dhaka in 2007 and was involved in cloth trading. In 2012, Idris involved in air ticketing and visa processing business, where he met a Pakistani citizen name Kamal, through cloth trader Babul. Kamal later informed Idris that he is a member of the ISI, and before leaving the country, Kamal gave him the phone number of Arshad. Since then, Idris was in touch with Arshad over different issues, according to the statement. l

Khaleda served for remark on number of 1971 martyrs and Supreme Court lawyer Khandker Mahbub Hossain had threatened to try everyone involvedwith the tribunal. Most of the war criminals facing trial are leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, a key ally of the BNP-led 20-party alliance. The official figures say that apart from the murder of 30,00,000 people, the Pakistani occupation forces and their local collaborators – Peace Committee members, razakars,

al-Badr, al-Shams – had raped over 2,50,000 women, tortured thousands of pro-liberation people and torched and looted many houses. Many Hindus were converted to Islam by the collaborators while many others forced to leave the country. The tribunal earlier condemned and warned British-born Bangladeshi journalist David Bergman for questioning the death figure during the war. l

Bangladesh buys dear even as oil prices bottom out n Tribune Report

The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase has consented to procuring 1.85m tonnes of refined fuel oil for Tk4,868 crore, which comes to more than $75 a barrel including transportation and freight costs. The current price of fuel oil in the international market is $36.43 a barrel. The price was $61.31 a barrel in June when the contracts were signed by the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to procure fuel oil for the July-December period this year from 11 national oil companies. Additional Secretary Mustafizur Rahman said a large portion of the refined fuel oil would be imported from China, Malaysia and the Philippines under a government-to-government arrangement.

According to Energy Division proposals signed by Additional Secretary Nazimuddin Chowdhury, Turkish Petroleum International Company will supply 3,000 tonnes of refined diesel to Bangladesh at a premium of $4.50 per barrel. The BPC will buy the rest of the refined fuel oil from 10 national oil companies, including Malaysia’s Petco Trading Labuan Company, Philippines National Oil Co (PNOC), Emirates National Oil Co (ENOC), Brunei’s PB Trading Sendirian Berhad, Vietnam’s Petrolimex, Emirates National Oil Company (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Indonesia’s PT Bumi Siak Pusako Zapin and Oman Trading International. BPC will also procure fuel oil from China’s Unipec Singapore Pte Ltd and China ZhenHuaOil Ltd. According to the proposals, the per barrel

Abducted Ruet student rescued after fortnight Correspondent, n Our Rajshahi Police rescued Chhatra League leader Saifuzzaman Sohag of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology from Chittagong’s Mirsarai area early yesterday, nearly 14 days after his alleged abduction by some men in RAB uniform. The drive was conducted based on information gleaned from two arrestees – former Ruet student Farzadul Islam Miron, 28, and second year student of Ruet’s civil engineering department Ishfaque Yasir Ipu, 21, said Assistant Commissioner of Rajpara police ATM Shahin Ahmed. Miron and Ipu were detained on December 20. They

were put on a three-day remand on Monday. Sohag’s father Akkas Uddin filed a case with Rajpara police on December 13 against some unnamed officials of RAB and DB police, and Sohag’s batch mate Nabila. The family alleges that six to seven persons in RAB uniform went to the house in Terokhadia Pashchimpara of the city around 3am on December 10. They seized Sohag’s laptop, phone’s memory card and other electronic items, and took him away on a microbus. Following this, Sohag’s father and father-in-law went to different RAB offices and police stations, but the law enforcers denied abducting the Chhatra League leader. l

Chittagong Dry Dock Ltd handed over to Navy n UNB

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the handover of the Chittagong Dry Dock to Bangladesh Navy is a milestone in Bangladesh’s shipbuilding history as it marks gradual advancement of the force. “It’s my expectation that the Bangladesh Navy will keep its sign of success through turning Chittagong Dry Dock Limited as a state of the art and effective organisation,” she told a function marking the handover of the enterprise to Navy on Chittagong Dry Dock premises.

The prime minister said once the Dry Dock was a sick enterprise but it will turn into a healthy and profitable one and contribute to the economic development of the country. The handover agreement was signed by Industries Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral SAMA Abedin. Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Navy Chief Vice Admiral M Farid Habib, Industries Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan also spoke on the occasion. l

premium for diesel is $4.50, jet fuel $5.49, octane $7.45 and furnace oil $24. Finance Minister AMA Muhith presided over the meeting which also approved a proposal to appoint a Chinese consultant for the construction of a 3.4 kilometre tunnel under the Karnaphuli River, proposed by the Bangladesh Bridge Authority. Officials said the estimated cost of the Karnaphuli tunnel was Tk5,046 crore, increasing to Tk6,487 crore if value added tax is tagged on. On November 24, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the Karnaphuli tunnel project at a cost of Tk8,447 crore. The Exim Bank of China will provide Tk4,799 crore and the Bangladesh government will arrange the rest of the funds. l

News

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Hatirjheel bus tour to cost Tk30 n Tribune Report

A bus service to give passengers a tour of Hatirjheel-Begunbari project was launched yesterday morning. The service was inaugurated by Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain at Sonargaon rail crossing in the capital. Hatirjheel-Begunbari project Director Jamal Akhter Bhuiyan said: “The service has started with four buses each having a seating capacity of 27 passengers.” “The fare from Rampura to Karwan Bazar is Tk15, while Tk30 will be charged to move around Hatirjheel,” he said. Tickets will available at counters in Rampura, Madhubagh, FDC intersection, Boubazar, Shooting Club and Merul Badda. HR Transport Ltd, which will operate the bus service, will pay Rajuk Tk180,000 per month. l

News

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Bus driver remanded for killing CNG driver n Tribune Report

A Dhaka court yesterday placed a bus driver on a two-day remand for killing CNG-runthree–wheeler driver in Uttara on Tuesday. Bus driver Abdul Majid Ali allegedly ran over Mohammad Faruk, 40 when the victim sought compensation from the bus driver who had damaged his three-wheeler earlier. Majid, the driver of a Tetulia Paribahan, ran over Faruk following the argument. The metropolitan magistrate Mahbubur Rahman granted the remand after Sub-Inspector Khagendra Chandra Sarkar of Uttara East police station produced the bus driver before the court with remand plea to interrogate him. Witnesses said the accused driver of the Tetulia Paribahan, which runs on Mohammadpur-Mirpur-Abdullahpur route, hit Faruk’s auto-rickshaw from behind on Mymensingh Road near Jasim Uddin intersection around 11:40am on Tuesday. Majid drove on until he had to stop at the red traffic light where Faruk caught up with him. Faruk parked his auto-rickshaw on the roadside and stood in front of the bus asking for an explanation and demanding compensation from the bus driver for the damage to his three-wheeler, Faruk’s family told the media. Police in the remand application statement said at one stage of the argument Majid deliberately drove over Faruk who got stuck under the wheels and was dragged for about 30 yards. He died on the spot. Locals chased the bus and managed to catch driver Majid at the House Building intersection, a kilometre away from the accident spot. Locals beat him up and later handed him over to police. Majid reportedly admitted to his offence and said that he did it out of anger. l

Fire fighters try to douse flames that engulfed at least 50 shanties in BG Press School slum in Tejgaon industrial area yesterday afternoon

Fifty shanties gutted in Tejgaon n UNB

A fire at a slum gutted at least 50 shanties in the city’s Tejgaon Shilpanchal area yesterday afternoon. Sources at the fire service control room said the fire originated around 4:32pm at a shanty of a slum besides BG Press School and engulfed other shanties. Ten fire-fighter units went to the spot and brought the fire under control around

Bangladesh to sign $12.65bn Rooppur deal with Russia n Aminur Rahman Rasel Bangladesh and Russia are expected to sign a general contract this month for the construction and commissioning of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna, at a cost of $12.65 billion. The cabinet purchase committee yesterday approved the $12.65 billion contract with Russia to build the 2,400MW nuclear power plant. The approval came at a meeting of the cabinet body, with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair. “We hope that the Atomic Energy Commission of Bangladesh on behalf of Bangladesh and Atomostroyexport on behalf of Russia will finalise the deal this month,” Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. Yeafesh said Russia would provide 90% of the funds on credit at an interest rate of Libor plus 1.75%. Bangladesh

DHAKA TRIBUNE

will have to pay back the loan in 28 years with a 10-year grace period. On December 15, the government finalised the amount for the biggest-ever investment project in the country’s history by inking an initial agreement with Russia. Earlier, an inter-governmental agreement for the provision of a $500 million Russian loan to finance engineering design, site development and personnel training was signed in January 2013. On November 2, 2011, Bangladesh and Russia signed an agreement for the installation of nuclear power plant at Rooppur in Pabna. Of the two-unit power plant with 1,200MW capacity each, the first unit is expected to begin operating by 2021 and the second unit by 2022. `The Rooppur nuclear power plant will be constructed using two VVER-1200 nuclear reactors that have a 60-year lifespan. l

5:12pm. Assistant Director (Dhaka district) of Fire Service Masudur Rahman Akand said the fire might have originated due to a electric short circuit. The flame was doused around 6:30pm. No causality was reported in the fire incident, AD Masudur Rahman added. Meanwhile, 30 shanties were burned down in the city’s Mohammadpur after a fire broke out at a slum next to Dhaka Udyan Housing early yesterday.

The fire originated from a shanty and then spread to some other small makeshift houses one after another around 1:20am. Being informed, six fire fighting units went to the spot and doused the flame around 3:35am. Contacted, Farid Uddin, duty officer of fire service control room, said the shanties were built illegally on the land of Water Development Board. However, no causality was reported. l

News

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Skin disease afflicts child labourers in the coastal dried fish industry Jamil Khan, n Mohammad back from Cox’s Bazar During a field visit to Bangladesh’s coastal areas, the Dhaka Tribune found many children hard at work in the physically exacting fish drying industry. “I can barely remember when I last ate with my own hands. For months, my cracked hands have been giving off a liquid discharge because of long days spent drying fish,” 12-year-old child worker Yousuf Shaikh says. Yousuf told the Dhaka Tribune that he suffers from searing pain in both his hands. “Usually, my hands get this way after I work in the fields continuously for six or seven months. This year it has come early because I now clean the fish besides putting them out to dry.” Last year, Yousuf says he worked as a day labourer. This year he is working as bonded labourer – he has been promised Tk41,000 for nine months of work. “So I must work daily from morning to night even if I am injured.” Yousuf has dried fish in Cox’s Bazar’s Nazirartek area since he was nine years old. In Nazirartek, nearly 250 dried fish man-

everything else. Md Kamal, owner of Chowdhury Medical Store in Cox’s Bazar, said half of all prescriptions filled out each day are for skin problems, including skin cancer. Sudhir Dash, owner of Nayan Medical Hall situated in front of the sadar hospital, echoed his competitor’s observation. Dr Ratan Chowhdury, superintendent of the district sadar hospital, told the Dhaka Tribune that children are especially susceptible to skin disease because do not follow safety instructions and do not cover their hands while working. Drying fish requires workers to toil under the sun in dry, salty patches of land and handle harsh ingredients like salt and chilli powder to preserve the fish, he said. “Most patients don’t visit doctors until

ufacturers employ between 70 and 80 workers, of whom a third are children, according to Shahadat Ullah, president of the Nazirartek Fishmongers’ Cooperative Society. There are an estimated 7,500 child workers in Nazirartek, the Dhaka Tribune found during a visit there organised by the Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum. The Dhaka Tribune found over 30,000 children working in the dried fish industry in Moheshkhali and Kutubdia upazilas in Cox’s Bazar district. Most of these children work in the family business and start work as early as six years old. The vast majority suffer from skin ailments connected with the work, including eczema, scabies and acne. “The children of the coastal areas not only suffer from skin disease, but also diarrhoea and pneumonia because they work in fish drying fields,” children’s ward physician of the Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital, Dr Md Selim, told the Dhaka Tribune. He said over the last several months, 47 children had been admitted to the hospital for diarrhoea and another 17 for pneumonia. But the incidence of skin disease tops

things get bad. They tend to self-medicate after talking to the pharmacists,” added Dr Ratan. Often children ignore the pain, or feel compelled to. Eleven-year-old Yeasmin was seen drying fish under the scorching sun with serious eczema on her elbow. When asked why she was working despite the rash, she said: “If I do not work, what will I eat? Even my parents will not give me food if I do not earn some money.” District Civil Surgeon Dr Md Kamar Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune said his staff were trying to raise awareness about skin disease and treatment options. “We have hospitals in each upazila and our doctors are trying their best to offer maximum support and care to patients, especially children.” l

Nilu, 11, carries a mixture of sand and mud on her head, collected from the seaside in Nazirartek in Cox’s Bazar, to build an enclosure to store dried fish. The photo was taken last Thursday DHAKA TRIBUNE

TEMPERATURE FOREC AST FOR TODAY

Dhaka

LIGHT TO MODERATE FOG LIKELY WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23

Chittagong

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 5:18PM

Rangpur

Khulna

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 6:39AM

29.1ºC Teknaf

6ºC Srimangal

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES

Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

Fajr: 5:17am | Zohr: 11:58am Asr: 3:39pm | Magrib: 5:18pm Esha: 6:39pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Khokon pledges clean Dhaka by 2016 n Tribune Report The year 2016 will be the year when Dhaka city will be turned into a clean, beautiful and colourful city, said Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon. He announced his office’s year-round cleanliness programme during a press conference at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital yesterday. “Our aim is not to reform Dhaka to be a clean city overnight. We want to go step by step towards our goal. That is why we have taken up the cleanliness programme in the upcoming New Year,” he said. The mayor further said all the occupied roads and footpaths in the capital will be freed from occupiers, and the waste management system, public toilets, roads, footpaths and street lamps will be repaired and developed. “Beautification programme will be undertaken for the city’s intersections, foot overbridges and open spaces,” he added. Khokon also said the DSCC would organise yoga programmes for the city dwellers, and urged all to participate in the yoga sessions. The press conference was also attended by the DSCC’s high officials and councillors, among others. l

AL: BNP misleading foreign diplomats about EC n Tribune Report Awami League yesterday criticised the BNP for providing misleading information to foreign diplomats in Dhaka about the role played by the Election Commission. Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif said such a move showed the servile and narrow mentality of the BNP’s leadership. “The BNP has again started anti-state movements as it has been the party’s historic strategy since its introduction in cantonment. The BNP always depends on conspiracy. They have given faulty information to the diplomats,” Hanif told a press conference at party chief Sheikh Hasina’s Dhanmondi office. His comments came after a delegation of senior BNP leaders, led by BNP Standing Committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan, met foreign diplomats yesterday. Moyeen Khan later told journalists that they have briefed the diplomats about the regular violations of the electoral code by ministers, MPs and leaders of the ruling party, the indiscriminate arrests of opposition candidates, and the EC’s subservient role and failure to ensure a level playing field for the December 30 municipal elections. Regarding BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s recent remarks about the true number of Liberation War martyrs, Hanif said Khaleda should apologise to citizens for expressing doubts about the number of war casualties, adding that the government should initiate legal action for such a remark. l

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MUNICIPALIT Y POLLS 2015

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AL desperate to break into Jamaat MUNICIPALITY POLLS 2015 stronghold in Satkania M U N I C I PA L I T Y P O L L S 2 0 1 5

n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

Satkania area of Chittagong is considered as one of the strongholds of Bangladesh Jamat-e-Islami. However, this time Jamaat did not give any mayoral candidate for the forthcoming municipal polls slated for December 30. Cashing in on the opportunity, the ruling party Awami League is desperately trying to break into the Jamaat stronghold through defeating BNP-nominated mayoral candidate. The voters, however, expect a neck-andneck battle between the ruling party and the BNP in Satkania municipality as many of them believe that the Jamaat men would naturally cast their votes for the BNP-nominated mayoral candidate. This time, a total of three mayor aspirants – Rafiqul Alam from BNP, Mohammad Jobaer from Awami League and Yusuf Chowdhury from Jatiya Party (Ershad) are vying for the

upcoming municipal polls where as many as 32,970 people will exercise their franchise in 12 centres under Satkania municipality. All the three mayoral candidates are passing busy time at voters’ door to door seeking votes. The aspirants are also distributing leaflets, holding rallies and campaigning through loudspeakers in a bid to demonstrate their strength. While talking to the Dhaka Tribune, both candidates from the AL and BNP expressed their optimism that they would be able to break into the stronghold of Jamat-e-Islami. “We are confident that Bangladesh Nationalist Party will win in the municipal polls if they are held in a free, fair and credible manner,” said BNP-backed mayoral candidate Rafiqul Alam. “The ruling party men are intimidating my supporters. A sense of fear is prevailing

among the voters in the municipality. The voters are asking me if they could exercise their rights to franchise without fear,” added Alam. “Though Satkania is known as a stronghold of Jamaat, the voters in Satkania municipality will cast their vote for the development. I hope people will turn down the reactionary forces like Jamat-BNP and vote for ‘boat’ in the upcoming polls,” said AL-nominated mayoral candidate Mohammad Jobaer. This time a total of 449 mayor and councillor aspirants are vying the municipal polls where 34 are mayoral, 77 are in reserved seats for women and 338 are general councillor candidates. The 10 municipalities where the polls are going to be held are Sandwip, Banshkhali, Chandanaish, Satkania, Mirsarai, Patiya, Raozan, Rangunia, Baryarhat and Sitakunda. l

MUNICIPALIT Y POLLS 2015

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

BNP mayoral candidate attacked n Our Correspondent, Dinajpur

A BNP-backed mayor candidate in Dinajpur was hospitalised after he was hacked by assailants early yesterday. Azadul Islam Azad, mayor candidate for Birampur municipality, was attacked in Islampur while returning home by a rickshaw after electioneering in several areas. It was not clear who attacked Azad, who was first taken to Birampur Upazila Health Complex but was later shifted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital for better treatment. Locals said he sustained three injuries in the attack, which also left the rickshaw puller injured. OC of Birampur police station Amiruzzaman said police were trying to find the attackers. He said a case would be filed in this connection. Meanwhile, BNP’s Rangpur unit General Secretary Mukur Chowdhury claimed at a press briefing yesterday morning that Azadul was attacked by goons hired local Awami League leaders. l

BNP: EC is helpless n Our Correspondent, Bandarban

BNP Standing Committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy yesterday said the BNP had become astonished after seeing the helpless condition of the Election Commission. He said: “Although the Election Commission is an autonomous organisation, it has failed to protect its self-governing.” He also said the Election Commission would conduct the upcoming municipality polls in a fair manner by the power which the constitution had given it. The BNP leader made the statement while conducting election campaign in favour of BNP-nominated mayoral candidate in Bandarban Sadar Md Javed Reza. He said: “Mass arrest of BNP leaders and activists will put negative impact on results of the party in the municipality polls.” He also told the journalists that BNP leaders and activists could not run election campaign properly due to mass arrest. Advocate Abdus Salam Azad, BNP organising secretary of Dhaka division, and Mahbubur Rahman, standing committee member, accompanied the central leader. l

BNP-backed mayor candidate Aby Nayeem Md Shamsur Rahman Mintu speaks to voters at Nurpur village in Taherpur municipality, Rajshahi yesterday. With only six day left for the municipality polls, Taher as was seen making rounds in his municipality area with his campaigners, seeking votes. Mintu also complained that his campaign was being hampered by the followers of his rival candidate, Awami League-backed Abul Kalam Azad AZAR UDDIN

Poll campaign in full swing despite shivering cold n Our Correspondent, Gazipur As campaign is going on in full swing for the election slated for December 30, candidates in Sreepur municipality of Gazipur district are passing busy time from morning till midnight braving shivering cold. Be it a local train or a tea stall, drawing rooms to restaurants, market gossip to office banter, poll discussion has undoubtedly become the main topic. The election for this time, has added a new dimension after a AL rebel candidate got nomination. Some former student leaders also became active in the campaign. The incumbent mayor of Sreepur municipality in Gazipur was nominated by the Awami League, but a rebel candidate has become

a matter of concern for the ruling party. The mayor, Anisur Rahman Anis, too was a rebel candidate during the previous election but later the party welcomed him. He is the acting president of Gazipur district unit Sramik League, workers’ wing of the ruling party. The local Awami League leaders are divided over campaigning for the party-nominated candidate since the rebel candidate, Ahsan Ullah, is also popular. Ahsan is an influential member of the upazila unit Awami League and the first vice-president of Sreepur University College Students’ Union. “I did not seek nomination from the party. But it does not mean that I will not contest the polls. I cannot break the promises I made to my voters,” Ahsan said.

Anis is also hopeful of winning the polls. “I follow the party’s instructions. So the party has nominated me considering my contributions. I am 100% sure about my victory,” he added. District unit Awami League General Secretary Azmat Ullah said the party leaders should follow the central command and that rebel candidates should withdraw their nominations if they are really devoted to the party. On the other hand, BNP has picked Sreepur municipal unit General Secretary Md Shahidullah Shahid as their mayor candidate. He is supposed to get support from all the leaders and activists of the party and the other components of the 20-party alliance. A former student leader, Shahid is the son of late BNP leader Yakub Ali Master. Party

leaders said Shahid might win the mayoral race because of his father’s reputation. Shahid expressed concerns about a fair election. He said that the party leaders and activists were afraid of arbitrary arrests, for which, many of them were staying outside home. “I shall win if the election is held peacefully and the voters can cast their votes without any fear,” he added. There are around 58,000 voters in the grade II municipality. Voters said they were looking for an efficient mayor who would be able to ease their everyday sufferings caused due to the sorry state of the streets, unplanned drains, and water and gas shortage. Consisting of nine wards, the municipality area has a population of more than 150,000 while the number of voters is 57,961 – 29,226 males and 28,735 females. l

News

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Forest robber ringleader killed in Bagerhat ‘gunfight’ with Rab n Tribune Report

The ringleader of a forest robber gang was killed in a reported gunfight with members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Panir Khal area of the Sundarbans East Zone in Sarankhola upazila of Bagerhat district early yesterday. The deceased was identified as Sagir Bhandari,35, the ringleader of forest robber gang ‘Nayan Bahini’ and son of Anwar Bhandari, a resident of Panchkaran village in Morelganj upazila of the district. Based on information that members of a pirate gang, ‘Nayan Bahini’, were staying in the area, a team of the elite force carried out a drive at about 2:00 am, said Additional DIG Khandaker Rafiqul Islam, commanding officer of Rab-6. Sensing the presence of the RAB personnel, members of the gang opened fire on them, forcing the RAB members to retaliate that triggered a gunfight around 7:30apm, he said. Several gunshots were traded between the pirate gang and the Rab members during the 10-15 minute gun battle. Sagir was caught in the line of fire and injured while other members of the gang managed to flee the spot. Sagir was rushed to Sarankhola Upazila Health Complex where attending doctors declared him dead. l

Security tightens ahead of Miladunabi, Christmas n Tribune Report

Ahead of Eid-e-Miladunabi and the Christmas Day, two holy festivals of Muslim and Christian communities scheduled for tommorrow, special security measures have been taken across the port city of Chittagong to fend off any kind of subversive activities. This year Muslim community and Christian community are going to mark their respective holy religious programmes on the same day. On the day, several Muslim religious organisations will bring out processions named “Jusney Julush” in the city marking the Eid-e-Miladunabi. Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP)’s Additional Commissioner (crime and operation) Debdas Bhattacharia said: “Police and intelligence personnel are on alert ahead of the holy programmes. Additional police forces will be deployed at each church in the city to avert any kind of untoward situation”. “Along with uniformed police, plain clothes police and detective personnel have also been working in the field level in the city to find out if there is any threat of subversive activities,” said the CMP additional commissioner.

Housewife beaten to death in Jessore n Tribune Report A housewife was beaten to death allegedly by her husband and his sister over a family feud at Ashwingri Pukuria village in Chowgacha upazila of Jessore district on Tuesday night. The deceased was identified as Rojina Begum,26, wife of Abdullah of the village. Khdija Khatun,13, daughter of the deceased, said Rojina and Abdullah locked in an altercation following a family feud at night. At one stage, Abdullah and his sister Asia Khatun beat up Rojina mercilessly.

Later, they hanged Rojina with the ceiling of her room. #Hearing screams of the victim, local people rescued Rojina with severe injuries and took her to Jessore 250bed Hospital. Later, she succumbed to her injures at the hospital. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Jessore Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy. Abdullah went into hiding after the incident. Officer-in-charge of Chowgachha Police Station Elias Hossain confirmed the incident. l

100 held in drives in Ctg n Tribune Report Chittagong district police in overnight special drives arrested at least 100 persons accused in several cases from different upazilas of the district on Tuesday night. Moreover, the police recovered 340 pieces of contraband yaba tables, two grams of heroine and 200 liters of coun-

try-made liquors from different upazilas. Chittagong Additional Superintendent of Police (special branch) Abdul Awal said police arrested them on account of having cases against them lodged with several police stations. Of the arrestee, 78 were warrantees and 22 others accused in regular cases, added the police superintendent. l

This year, the Christian devotees are going to mark their biggest festival in the 17 churches in the city. On December 18, at least six persons were hurt when a person detonated two crude bombs inside a mosque in Chittagong’s Naval Base Issa Khan. Police had said the attack was carried out to create panic among townspeople. After the attack, the security measures have been tightened in the Key Point Installments (KPI)s, said police sources. CMP’s Debdas Bhattacharia said: “Today [Thursday] the church authorities in the city called a meeting to discuss the security and other arrangement issues”. Sources at different churches said each of churches has own security arrangements while the visitors entry are restricted during the holy programme. On the day, Anjuman-A- Rahmania Ahmodia Sunnia Trust will bring out a procession marking the Eid-e-Miladunabi, the birth and death day of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), in city. Like previous years, Allama Taher Shah, an Islamic Scholar from Pakistan, will lead the procession. l

CSMUN kicks off today n Tribune Report

Chittagong Summit Model United Nations Conference (CSMUN) is going to begin in the port city of Chittagoing today. Lighthouse Imperium Foundation, Bangladesh is organising the four-day long conference akin to a UN session on TECHNO-CIDER International School campus in Nasirabad area. About 400 participants are going to take part in the conference from 78 educational institutes from home and abroad. A total of 10 sessions, including a general assembly and plenary session, will be held at the conference. On the first day, a pre-conference workshop will be held for making the delegates aware of the rules and procedures of the conference. Fahmida Faiza, under secretary of Chairing and Resources of the CSMUN 2015 and one of the organisers of the conference, told the Dhaka Tribune that they organised the conference with a view to giving the participants a glimpse of the United Nation’s functions. The closing ceremony will be held on December 27 at Hotel Agrabad in Chittagong. The registration fee for each participant has been fixed at Tk2,500. UN Association of Bangladesh and UN Information Centre Dhaka are the strategic partners of the conference. Dhaka Tribune is the media partner of the conference. l

Feature

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Tomorrow’s leaders

Tulip Siddiq on inspiring young women to build their careers

COURTESY

n N Anita Amreen Yesterday Scholastica hosted the first ever “Inspiring Women” event at their Uttara campus’ STM hall. This Speed Careers event saw groups of 7-15 students meeting in small groups to engage in lively conversation with 24 leading women from sectors that ranged from banking, NGO, education, government, creative industries and more. Modelled on a long running campaign from the UK, the event brought together many successful women from around the country to talk to over 200 female students from nine schools. This event was supported by British MP Tulip Siddiq, a British-Bangladeshi Labour Party politician who was joined by her husband, Chris Percy. Principal Brig Gen (Retd) Kaiser Ahmed along with Madiha Murshed, Managing Director of Scholastica, hosted the event. The event was held to help young women from all backgrounds to broaden their horizons and raise their aspirations for girls and young women. Young women often rely on female role models from a range of sectors, positiond of responsibility and stages of their life to help to combat stereotypes about occupations - but too often girls miss out on the opportunity to learn about the wide range of jobs out there. Inspiring Women was held to essentially combat this particular problem. “When I was young I studied in this very school, and never once did I imagine that I would return to this floor as a British MP. It’s a great feeling being able to spend some time with all of you who have made it here today. After I won the election this year,

Be it law, engineering, being a doctor, or even if you want to be a sportsman - focus on that. Whichever subject you like, just follow your desires and study that but remember to maintain a balance with everything else

I was telling my husband that in my first visit to Bangladesh, I really want to join a programme with the youth of Bangladesh,” Tulip said in her warm welcome speech to the audience. She went on to stress on the need to inspire the youth, especially female students, to help them figure out their career paths and ensure it’s a path they choose to follow. “From a very young age, I just knew I wanted to be an MP and I wanted to join the world of politics. However, that doesn’t mean all of you need to have the same dream. You don’t have to join politics, just follow the career path of your choice. Be it law, engineering, being a doctor, or even if you want to be a sportsman - focus on that. Whichever subject you like, just follow your desires and study that but remember to maintain a balance with everything else,” she added. Before the speakers took ten minute rounds to speak to each group of students, Tulip answered questions during a brief press conference, reflecting on her path to

the electoral win, her family background and it’s effect on her choice of career. She talked about a few challenges she faced, including the backlash that comes with being part of such a famous political family. “In the household where I was born, I grew up hearing stories about my Nana, about our Liberation War and the struggles he faced as he led the country to independence. I also grew up watching my mom and khala always discussing the people of Bangladesh, how to work for them, how to improve their wellbeing. If we would sit down to eat, or even have an evening snack, conversation always wound around how to help the people of Bangladesh - this was essentially, my childhood,” she shared. While her aunt Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her mother Sheikh Rehana are her role models, she also looks up to Speaker of the House Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and mountaineer Wasfia Nazreen as women who really inspire her. When asked about the issue of child marriage, Tulip stated that lack of education

is the root of the problem. “If you don’t educate children from a young age and teach them independence, it’s difficult to end child marriage. While we do have laws in Bangladesh, what is more important is to ensure that these laws are enforced. The UN once said “Educate a son, you educate a family. You educate a girl, you educate an entire village” - I really believe in that saying.” To conclude the session, Tulip spoke about how advanced Bangladesh is in terms of female leadership, sharing both her joy and pride in being a Bangladeshi woman who could make her country proud. “Our country’s Prime Minister is female, our country’s Speaker of the house is female, our opposition party leader, too, is female. In Britain, we have no such thing. Our Prime Minister is male, Speaker of the house is male - they are all great, but let’s take a moment to notice how there aren’t as many leading politicians who are female. As Bangladeshis, it’s a matter of pride for us to note just how many of the stars of the country are female you too, can shine. Believe in yourself.” The speaker list for the event included Advocate Tarana Halim, Member of Parliament of State Minister for Posts and Telecommunication Division, Zara Mahbub, Head of Communications and Service Quality, BRAC Bank, Rabab Fatima, Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador designate to Japan, Eeshita Azad, Head of Arts, British Council among others. Tulip expressed her interest in holding similar events in the future to aid in inspiring young women around the country and helping them to choose their careers. l

Feature

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Ambulances least popular emergency service transport in Dhaka: report

n Syeda Samira Sadeque mbulance services are least frequently accessed by patients in need of emergency medical services in Dhaka, a recent study has shown. A report by The World Economic Forum (WEF), in collaboration with the University of Toronto, suggests that only 8% of patients accessed ambulances during a three-week study period by researcher Justin Boutilier. The most popular mode of transport is the rickshaw, which was used by 34% of the patients in Boutilier’s study. The CNG was used by 25% of the patients. Boutilier, a PhD candidate in industrial engineering at the University of Toronto, further recorded that ambulances are also the most expensive service: ranging from Tk500 to Tk5,000. Ambulances also have a long response time – which defeats the purpose of its existence. However, for some people ambulances are better service operators than private transportation. “We prefer an ambulance because they are equipped with the medical equipment which may be essential for someone having a stroke or other health emergencies,” says Tahsin Choudhury, whose family has a cancer survivor and a stroke patient.

If the city of Dhaka is going to implement an ambulance service, where should these be stationed around the city, how many are needed, and what are the most effective routes?

“An ambulance has a handy oxygen facility and sometimes if the patient is in critical condition, they might require more than just oxygen (saline, blood, injection, etc),” says Rifat. Islam, who has a patient in the family and often has to access emergency medical services. Furthermore, given the grave issue of traffic congestion, where citizens often spend hours on the road in Dhaka, ambulances are given space to drive past. “A normal transportation may be unfortunate to face a lot of traffic jam, an ambulance gets lucky most of the time and evades traffic jams,” says Rifat. Boutilier’s study further suggests that many patients, majority of whom do not take ambulances, are often stuck on the road for five hours before getting to the hospital. A change in the making One of the biggest challenges that remain is the lack of a hotline number for help in medical emergency. In Dhaka, when a medical emergency strikes, there is no 911 to resort to. In case of hotlines at hospitals, many doctors on emergency duty often don’t provide the service the patients require. “The emergency medical services do not have experienced doctors who can actually give instructions to patients who might have several conditions,” says Rifat. “Usually help lines have fresh doctors who just received their specialisation. So that’s a little risky for either side – for the doctor to instruct medication or come up with a quick fix and for the patients to accept it.” However, things are beginning to look up as increasingly more people are addressing this issue. Currently, CriticalLink, the world’s first mobile app-driven emergency medicine system, is undergoing trial in Dhaka. Jennifer Farrell, founder and CEO, says this app has been designed to use “mobile technology to connect those with medical training to the people on the streets that need their help.” According a report in The Guardian, Farrell has trained some 3,000 people from all walks of life, with 500 registered unpaid volunteers, both male and female, aged on average 21 or 22 years old, for emergencies in various fields ranging from industrial accidents to road accidents to murders and threatening incidents on the streets of Dhaka. Another project working on this field is Ad-din care for maternal health, an initiative of Akij Group, funded by USAID. Ad-din provides emergency maternal services to pregnant women across Dhaka, at a subsidised rate. Currently, the service has a

Jennifer Farrell, Founder and CEO of CriticalLink

PHOTO: COURTESY

We prefer an ambulance because they are equipped with the medical equipment which may be essential for someone having a stroke or other health emergencies

fleet of 46 vehicles, with 52 drivers and five ambulance desk dispatchers as staff. Boutilier is also working on a project to make emergency services more accessible to patients in developing countries, with special focus on Bangladesh. “Our research has two components: first, locate the ambulances throughout the city, and second, routing them to the patients,” says Boutilier. “If the city of Dhaka is going to implement an ambulance service, where should these be stationed around the city,

how many are needed, and what are the most effective routes?” Traffic congestion being one of the biggest hampers to emergency medical services, Boutilier says it’s difficult to implement a North American model here. Thus, him and his supervisor Timothy Chan plan to evaluate other forms of ambulance systems such as CNG or rickshaw ambulances, that can help address issues of reaching patients in all areas – even those without proper access to big ambulances. l

Editorial 11

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

INSIDE

The grim and ugly side of Bangladesh cricket How the BCB or the cricketing public judge him after this latest episode remains to be seen. I bet Roquibul himself realises that he has erred in judgment, and given the chance he would make his case in a totally different form

PAGE 12

Are human beings truly decent? Snowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concerns for the role of the free press in this situation is widely shared by the civil society, as they see increasing unemployment and violence in Bangladesh as a consequence of poor governance

BIGSTOCK

PAGE 13

Putting a stop to the abuse of domestic workers is a win for human rights

Was COP21 a success? Global leaders were successful in having the agreement, but failed to address science, evidence, and the reality of climate change

PAGE 14

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great step forward was recently taken in ensuring the basic human rights of domestic workers in Bangladesh through the approval of the draft Domestic Worker Protection and Welfare Policy 2015. This policy will classify domestic help as full-time and part-time workers, and allow them to avail the benefits of being part of a quasi-formal labour market, including set work hours, safe and healthy living conditions, and 16 weeks of maternity leave. The policy also sets a much needed age limit for domestic workers in accordance with ILO labour standards, which suggests that children below a certain age can be engaged in light work in developing countries as long as it does not threaten their health and safety, or hinder their education or vocational orientation and training. Most importantly, the draft policy strictly outlines that domestic helpers cannot be subject to physical and emotional abuse by their employers, and includes the plan to launch a helpline for domestic workers to provide them with assistance. This is a welcome proposal in a country where beating domestic workers is all too common a practice. According to Ain O Salish Kendra, 46 cases of violence against domestic workers were reported from January to September this year, of which 19 resulted in death. However, only 13 cases were actually filed, and these are only the reported ones. More recently, the sensational case of cricketer Shahadat Hossain torturing the domestic help goes to show how casually these brutalities are committed in homes across the country. More than 2 million women and children are currently a part of the domestic labour market in Bangladesh, and this move to protect their rights is a laudable move on the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s part.

The draft policy strictly outlines that domestic helpers cannot be subject to physical and emotional abuse by their employers. This is a welcome proposal in a country where beating domestic workers is all too common a practice

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Opinion

The grim and ugly side of Bangladesh cricket Has the game lost its sanctity in Bangladesh ?

n Yousuf Rahman (Babu)

ver the years, we have had unpleasant encounters between some of our high ranking national players and on-field umpires. Every such incident is normally a one-way traffic of verbal abuse hurled at the officials by these players. In addition to this, there are recorded incidents wherein some players have gotten into confrontations with spectators on more than one occasion. What is the common factor in all these incidents? Every single one of them has happened in Bangladesh’s domestic competitions (Premier League, National League, and now the BPL) and all of them are targeted against Bangladeshi officials. Why is it that we do not see such unbecoming behaviour when there are foreign umpires officiating? Do we suffer from a complex? Is it that our sons of the soil are considered to be of an inferior caste?

produce the desired result. Over the years, he like several senior cricketers of the country, has seen individuals that have little or no knowledge about the game get into high positions of the BCB only because of their political connections. We have seen footballers get into decision making positons of the BCB. This has been a frustrating experience for many, and Roquibul is no exception. The outburst from him is like a volcanic eruption which was simmering inside of him for a long time. Roquibul should have relied on his technical strengths and only explained his role as a match referee. Unfortunately, he did little of that and lost control of himself. We go back to the same question. Why this ugly culture in our cricketing arena? Why is it that Shakib, or for that matter any other Bangladesh player, has never been cited by the ICC for any code of conduct violation when they are playing overseas?

How the BCB or the cricketing public judge him after this latest episode remains to be seen. I bet Roquibul himself realises that he has erred in judgment, and given the chance he would make his case in a totally different form

Now we have an explosive incident that is no different than what the players have been engaging in. In fact, it is a step or two lower since this comes from a very senior match official. Roquibul Hasan is a cricketing colleague of mine, and the two of us have played a lot of quality cricket not only since the game’s revival in Bangladesh, but also during the Pakistan days. His remarks pained me more than it shocked me. I could easily feel the frustration between his statements of anger and recklessness. His choice of words could have been better selected, and the presentation most certainly could be articulated with some degree of respect. Remember, Roquibul has been involved with cricket for a long time, and his technical knowledge about the game cannot be questioned. For one reason or the other, he has not been involved in the role of a senior official of the BCB. His attempt to get elected did not

The answer to this is rather simple. Respect or the lack of it! When the players clearly understand that many of the senior officials of the BCB are not genuine leaders and have limited knowledge of the game, the respect begins to wane. They begin to believe that they are greater than the game or those who administer it. How the BCB or the cricketing public judge him after this latest episode remains to be seen. I bet Roquibul himself realises that he has erred in judgment, and given the chance he would make his case in a totally different form. It is a sad day for Bangladesh cricket. There is an unwritten code that “cricket creates character.” This may no longer be applicable to Bangladesh. Let us not get bitter. It is time to get better. l Yousuf Rahman (Babu) is a former national cricketer who resides in New York. He is CEO of the pharmaceutical company Markovit Inc.

It’s time to take a long, hard look at the state of the sport

BIGSTOCK

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Are human beings truly decent? We have to be a bit sceptical about Jon Snow’s assertion

Jon Snow’s optimism about humanity won’t shared by everyone

n M Shamsul Haque

espite catastrophic events such as the two world wars, the wars in Vietnam and in Bangladesh, and the millions that have been killed in the “war against terror” in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria -- one has to accept the optimism of the renowned journalist with a lot of scepticism. It is true that the population of the world has been growing, defying the prediction by the economist Malthus and the doomsday scenario put forward by the proponents of “limits to growth” by the Club of Rome. Technological innovations have reduced hunger and diseases to a large extent. However, about 2 billion out of 6 billion of the total population of the world still lives below poverty levels. Out of that, at least a billion live under abject poverty despite the abundance of resources globally. Such sufferings are truly man-made, like the problem arising out of climate change. One must agree with Snow’s apprehension about the future: “I fear very much for the future. Even I fear for my children and their prospects, particularly with regard to global warming.” Can you still rely on the decency of the human race when they could not come to an agreement in the Paris meetings, when signs of destruction are all around us, as noted by many scientists and leaders of the world?

More importantly, even if they agree on certain targets, such as to hold the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the sources and timing of funding will remain uncertain at the moment when there is a glut of idle cash in the developed world. In this respect, Mr Snow is correct in saying that he is very worried about the present financial system: “Too many people are making money out of money, and not making money out of production. I worry about the stability and behaviour about that industry. The authorities are not tough enough on policing it.” Money is an artifact created by the banking system in a country. If money spinning could be stopped or reduced, and money is put to productive purposes, to create jobs and income for the unemployed, then much of the world’s poverty would not exist. For example, billions of dollars that have been sent outside the country through unlawful means, as recently revealed in the press. Billions have been swindled from two state-owned banks in Bangladesh due to failures of the regulatory system. Steps must be taken to prevent such incidents from recurring in future. Rich people here do not pay taxes, and the state is borrowing money at high interest rates from the richer class to meet budget deficits. Such tendencies to transfer public money

RAJIB DHAR

Snow’s concerns for the role of the free press in this situation is widely shared by the civil society, as they see increasing unemployment and violence in Bangladesh as a consequence of poor governance

to private hands have increased in recent years due to political uncertainty, resulting in a one-party rule, as noted by Jon Snow. Snow’s concerns for the role of the free press in this situation is widely shared by the civil society, as they see increasing unemployment and violence in Bangladesh as a consequence of poor governance. For the sake of increasing production and halting money-spinning ventures, the present situation must change for the better, as soon as possible, if we still believe in the decency of humanity as claimed by Jon Snow. I congratulate the interviewers for the excellent job that they have done in presenting Mr Snow’s views in a well-written piece. l M Shamsul Haque is the vice-chancellor of Northern University, Bangladesh.

Opinion

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Was COP21 a success? After two weeks of discussions, are we any closer to a real solution?

Is COP21 being fair to the LDCs?

REUTERS

Global leaders were successful in having the agreement, but failed to address science, evidence, and the reality of climate change

n Md Golam Rabbani

limate change is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century in the world. People all over the world including Bangladesh, are suffering from different climatic disasters. The aggravated changes are alarming across the world. The future of the planet, security of the people, and sustainability of the global ecosystems were put on the Paris climate negotiation table. In the presence of about 150 heads of the states, the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) officially started on November 30 and continued till December 12, although the negotiation was supposed to be completed by December 11. The ad hoc Working Group on Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) plenary commenced on December 29 afternoon. After a two-week long discussion, the Paris Agreement was adopted on Saturday December 12. Overall, it might be a great diplomatic success to bring all parties (countries) to a common platform and have them agree on all major building blocks, including mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, finance, technology development and transfer capacity building, and others.

But the Paris Agreement explicitly shows the failure of both developed and major emitting countries to agree to hold specifically the global average temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Some details on the major issues are discussed below:

Mitigation

A deadline was equally important for all countries to decide in Paris. At the end of the negotiation, the Paris Agreement failed to decide on the specific target of reducing GHG emission and date for meeting this target. All discussions regarding mitigation target and deadline during last five years (after Copenhagen Agreement) went almost in vain in Paris. Without distinct target, mitigation might be challenged.

Adaptation

In brief, the agreement recognised the need to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience, and reduce vulnerability to climate change across the world. Although the decision section provides some preference in terms of adaptation planning and support to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the priority of LDCs was not mentioned at all in Article 7 (adaptation) of the Paris Agreement.

The loss and damage

The Paris Agreement recognises the loss and damage of the vulnerable people due to climate change. But it totally failed to agree on institutional and financial mechanism to address climate change induced displacement, migration, and planned relocation. It also failed to ensure that the loss and damages are supported through financial mechanism of the convention. The agreement does not include compensation to the most vulnerable communities across the world.

Finance

The Paris Agreement mentions that developed countries shall support developing countries to implement both mitigation and adaptation actions. But again, it does not mention any financial support to address loss and damages of the most vulnerable people. The road map on pre-2020 and post-2020 finance mobilisation to address mitigation and adaptation is not clear in the agreement. The sources, scale, and allocation between adaptation and mitigation are not distinctly mentioned in the agreement.

Technology development and transfer

To address climate change and meet the sustainable development goals, it is important for developed and industrialised countries to agree to share/transfer both adaptation and mitigation technologies under existing technology framework with/ to the most vulnerable countries, including LDCs. However, this agreement does not have any reference for providing priority support to LDCs in terms of technology development and transfer. The current emission reduction commitment of many industrialised or developed countries including the US, Japan, EU, Russia are much lower than it should be in terms of â&#x20AC;&#x153;fair shareâ&#x20AC;? and in accordance with the convention. This low-level reduction commitment from developed countries may result in the global average temperature to increase more than 3C above pre-industrial levels by 2030. This means the global leaders were successful in having the agreement, but failed to address science, evidence, and the reality of climate change to a large extent. l Md Golam Rabbani is a Fellow at Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies.

Business 15

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

INSIDE

Luxury hotels to beam with Christmas events n Ishtiaq Husain

Poultry investment needs to be doubled to meet demand by 2021

Bangladesh poultry industry will need an investment of Tk50-60,000 crore by 2021 to meet daily local demand of egg and meat, the entreprenuers said. PAGE 16

CPD: Make a work plan on trade talks in changing world Bangladesh needs to make a work plan on future trade negotiations amidst rising multilateral trade agreements, which came to the fore in recently ended two global events—10th WTO Ministerial Conference and COP21, Centre for Policy Dialogue said yesterday. PAGE 17

Global smartphone brands face mass extinction Smartphone brands are heading for extinction in 2016. The industry’s growth rate dipped below 10% this year. Apple and Samsung’s high-end phones are taking most of the spoils, while upstarts like China’s Xiaomi are picking up first-time buyers. Loss-making brands from HTC to Sony may be forced to conclude the game is over. PAGE 18

Capital market snapshot: Wednesday DSE Broad Index

4,588.7

-0.1% ▼

Index

1,102.4

-0.2% ▼

30 Index

1,740.8

-0.2% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

3,943.9

-25.1% ▼

96.6

-15.8% ▼

All Share Index

13,982.5

-0.1% ▼

30 Index

12,378.4

-0.1% ▼

8,508.8

-0.1% ▼

327.6

26.6% ▼

8.5

-4.5% ▼

Turnover in Mn Volume

CSE

Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk Turnover in Mn Volume

Luxury hotels in Dhaka are set to celebrate Christmas fanfare on December 25 – the X-mas Day – in line with offering a host of different types of foods. As in previous years, all five star hotels have laid out a series of fun activities to mark Christmas with great warmth and style this year also. Christmas – the biggest religious festival of Christian community in Bangladesh and across the world – is an eventful day full of festivities. Visitors will be able to witness the Santa Claus, plus children will receive surprise gifts from Santa in those hotels. Besides, Christians in Bangladesh will observe the day with different programmes, visiting churches and sharing food with neighbours etc. With the Christmas trees, goodies and fairy light in the Lobby and Café Bazar restaurant creating a captivating environment, a blissful panoramic mood will prevail all around the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel. Salman Kabir, assistant director (marketing and public relations) of the hotel, told the Dhaka Tribune that visitors may experience the 22,000 square feet of lush greenery of banquet facility known as Oasis where there will be all the glitters, fun game rides, magic and puppet shows, DJ Party and many more amusements in arguably the biggest Kid’s Christmas Party beside the pool side on the Christmas Day from 10am to 5pm. Ticket prices will be Tk1,200 per person – adults and kids all alike – looking forward to enjoying this festive day with their whole family. Visitors can also enjoy a special buffet on the Christmas Eve at the hotel’s famous dining restaurant – Café Bazar – with the special highlight of the evening – Turkey feast. A special Christmas sale of goodies has started from 18 December in the hotel’s lobby which will continue till the Xmas day. A

The hotels in Dhaka are ready to celebrate Christmas, the biggest religious festival of the Christian community tomorrow SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN variety of Christmas cakes and pastries will be available at the Aromaz outlet. Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel has hosted Christmas goodies for kids, Christmas songs from an international band, magic show, kids play corner, candy floss station and finger food buffet at Utshab Hall. The Westin Dhaka is offering a fantastic Christmas lunch and dinner at Seasonal Tastes and Prego. From braised leg of lamb to plum pudding to the traditional roast turkey – everything shall be deliciously prepared for the respective venue guests. A Santa in a sled will merrily greet everyone as you drive in. In the lobby, a majestic Christmas tree, a warm Gingerbread house, an iconic Snowman and other glittering Christmas decorations are set to welcome you to the Luxury Property. The symbolic décor all around marks the end of yet another successful year of The Westin Dhaka

and everything about the ornamentation sends a warm celebratory message. Saadman Salahuddin, asstistant manager (marketing communications) of The Westin, said during the Xmas celebration, the hotel rooms are being offered at an irresistible price with an exclusive discount from 24th December, 2015 to January 08, 2016. Christmas Day will bring great merriment as the hotel is going to host its first children’s Xmas Party at the Skyline Infinity Pool (rooftop) at Le Méridien Dhaka. Starting from 10:30am, the party will continue till 3:30pm with magic show, ventriloquism, balloon show, table tricks, fortune-telling, face painting, bioscope, ball house, candy floss, popcorn, muffins and cupcakes, hot chocolate with marshmallows and milkshakes. Le Méridien promises to be a memorable Christmas for the hotel’s littlest guests. l

Tariff value hiked, VAT imposed on sugar import n Syed Samiul Basher Anik The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has finally hiked the tariff value and imposed Value Added Tax (VAT) on the import of both raw and refined sugar for the sake of protecting the state-run sugar mills. The import tariff value has been hiked to US$350 per tonne in case of crude sugar while it is $430 per tonne for refined sugar against the existing $320 and $400 respectively per tonne. To this effect, the customs wing of the Internal Resources Division (IRD) on Tuesday issued a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO). In addition, a 15% VAT was also imposed on the tariff value of the product during imports. The NBR made the move after Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corpora-

tion (BSFIC) under the Industry Ministry requested the government to hike the duty on imported sugar as it was facing financial crisis due to its failure in selling of the stockpiled sugar in the backdrop of sugar price fall in in international market. Consumers now have to feel the burden of the increased tariff and VAT for consuming sugar, an essential daily commodity, as the local businesses recently hiked sugar prices after the news was spread on imposition of VAT on sugar. According to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh data, price of sugar has increased

in the local market by 11.11% comparing to same period of last month. Sugar was sold at Tk44 to Tk46 at local market yesterday while it was Tk39 to Tk42 three weeks back. l

Business

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Poultry investment needs to be doubled to meet demand by 2021 n Tribune Report Bangladesh poultry industry will need an investment of Tk50-60,000 crore by 2021 to meet daily local demand of egg and meat, the entreprenuers said. They sought cheaper funding opportunities so the sector could take up the challenge making the necessary investment. They were speaking at a workshop titled “The challenges of animal protein demand by 2021: public-private policy planning” in Dhaka yesterday, organised by the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee (BPICC). Addressing the event, the trade analysts and the sector experts also supported the entrepreneurs’ call. According to the local poultry industry people, Bangladesh, by 2021, will need to produce 45m pieces of egg and around 4,000 tonnes of meat daily. “The poultry sector needs the government’s financial support to increase investment to Tk50,000 crore by 2021 from Tk25,000 crore now,” said BPICC Convenor Mashiur Rahman. He said they were preparing for exporting their products and the government should simplify export certification system. The BPICC chief announced “Poultry Media Award” in March, 2016. Fisheries and Livestock Minister Muhammed Sayedul Hoque sought to get loans at single-digit interest rate for the sector. “The interest rate in the neighboring country is single-digit, so Bangladesh also should bring down the rate to a single-digit one to increase investment,” he said.

Expansion of poultry industry is emphasised as this is a cheap source of protein Sayedul Hoque said the poultry industry would play a vital role in supplying animal protein by the year 2021. “In that case, the supply of eggs and meat will have to be increased as these are sources of cheap protien.” Subir Boiragi, a research fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said Bangladesh’s poultry industry had been growing at 5% over the last few years, but it would be very tough to meet the demand of 2021 if the growth continued at the present rate. “Innovative technology, government’s subsidy and having a strong data-base will help this sector expand further,” he emphasised. FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmad underscored the need to launch insurance sys-

tem for the poultry sector as it suffered losses due to crises like bird-flu attack. “Since the poultry sector is the best option at this moment to supply maximum protein at cheap prices, the government should give special focus on the expansion of the sector,” he said. Shamsul Arefin Khaled, joint convenor of BPICC, urged the government to give some tax benefits to make the struggling industry sustainable. Among the raw materials of the poultry industry, only corn is produced in Bangladesh. But the locally produced corn can meet 40% of the demand. Although more than 50% of meat demand depends on import, the whole of egg demand is now met by local supplies. l

Muhith: ADP cut not to affect budget deficit n Tribune Report

NBR targets 0.5m new taxpayers this fiscal

Finance Minister AMA Muhith said there would be no change in this fiscal year’s budget deficit even though the size of the annual development programme (ADP) was slashed. “We may cut the size of ADP due to slow implementation rate. However, this won’t affect the present budget deficit, which is 5% of GDP,” he told journalists in Dhaka yesterday after making an online payment of his income tax. Muhith paid Tk55,870 as income tax for the fiscal year 2015-16. Finance minister said the revenue income of the government remained slow, although the National Board of Revenue earning increased in November. He said the amount of ADP this fiscal year was more than Tk1 lakh while the figure was Tk63,000 last year. “But the current figure of ADP might be cut in February next year while revising the budget.” In reply to a question, Muhith said the amount of ADP for the Matarbari power plant project in Cox’s Bazar would not be reduced. About the pay scale, he said: “There is no chance to amend the 8th pay scale as two provisions - time scale and selection grade – have been retained.” l

n Tribune Report The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is now conducting a door-to-door survey with a plan to bring half a million new taxpayers under the tax net in the fiscal year 2015-16. The survey titled “Income Tax Survey 2015” started across the country as part of the tax authorities plan to bring at least 320,000 taxpayers under the taxation net by the end of this fiscal year. As part of the move, the Dhaka Taxes Zone-4 yesterday organised “tax net expansion and taxpayers awareness meeting” in a local community center at Keraniganj, outskirts of Dhaka. The NBR organised the programme as part of its move to explore the revenue potentiality of the “growth centers” across the country as part of expansion of its tax base to meet the gigantic revenue collection target of Tk176,370 crore for the ongoing fiscal year. Out of the amount, the major part of Tk65,932 crore is expected to receive from income tax source. Dhaka Taxes Zone 4 Commissioner M Alamgir Hossain presided over the meeting

DHAKA TRIBUNE

while State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid attended the programme as chief guest. Addressing the meeting, Nasrul Hamid said, “Only 1.8m people are registered as taxpayers in a country of 160m people. Among them, only 1.2m people pay income tax annually.” According to the income tax law, people having over Tk2 lakh have to pay income tax annually. Many people are eligible for income tax payment, but they do not register them with the system just to avoid tax, said Nasrul. The junior minister requested the people to come forward and pay tax to ensure development of the country. In the last two years, the government has spent at least Tk100 crore for development of Keraniganj but earned only Tk8 crore as income tax from the area, he said. The junior minister expected that the tax collection from the area will increased by several times in coming future. Later, Nasrul handed over Electronic Taxpayers Registration Number (eTIN) certificate to the new taxpayers in the programme. l

Stocks end flat ahead of MPS n Tribune Report

Stocks ended flat yesterday as risk averse investors opted for quick profit booking ahead of Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) to be announced early next month. The benchmark index DSEX lost 5 points or 0.2% to 4,588, breaking a two-day rally. The Shariah index DSES declined marginally almost 2 points to 1,102. The blue chip comprising index DS30 settled at 1,740, shedding nearly 4 points or 0.3%. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX moved down 8 points to 8,508. Investors remained sidelined ahead of MPS and enthusiasm fueled by easing banks stock market investment exposure as was indicated in low volume of trade. The DSE turnover was Tk394 croe, down more than 25% over the previous session. Losers took a lead over gainers as out of 321 issues traded, 117 advanced, 153 declined and 51 remained unchanged. All the major sectors including cement, power, food and allied, mutual fund, telecommunications pharmaceuticals and non-banking financial institutions closed in red. However, bank and engineering sectors gained marginally. IDLC Investments said despite the news of easing banks’ capital market exposure adjustment directive just two sessions ago, the market started in a sliding mode. It said investors could not solidify their investment outlook yet due to lack of encouraging economic and industrial cues. Lanka Bangla Securities said the benchmark index hit the 4,600 level in intraday trading. However, stocks pared the day’s gain as investors prompted to book profit, it added. “The market turnover value plunged as investors are acting cautious ahead of MPS announcement for the second half of the current fiscal year.” l

2nd BPO summit to be held in July 2016 n Tribune Report After a success of the first-ever Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) summit held in Dhaka this month, the government is going to organise the 2nd summit from July 28 to 29 in 2016. Addressing a post-BPO summit press conference, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak said: “We’ve targeted an earning of more than US$1bn in the next five years from $130 million a year through holding BPO summits.” Among others, ICT Secretary Shyam Sunder Sikder and senior officials of BACCO attended the press conference. “The sector currently employs around 25,000 people and our target is to cross two lakh within the next five years,” Palak told the press conference at his office in the city yesterday. The next summit will be organised by the ICT Division in collaboration with Bangladesh Association of Call Centre and Outsourcing as like as the first one. Palak said, “The government has a target to earn $3bn from the ICT sector by 2021 and BPO can contribute $1bn to the earnings.” l

Business

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Minister bats for realtors n Tribune Report

Visitors are seen at a stall on the opening day of the five-day housing fair in Dhaka yesterday

MEHEDI HASAN

CPD: Make a work plan on trade talks in changing world n Tribune Report

Bangladesh needs to make a work plan on future trade negotiations amidst rising multilateral trade agreements, which came to the fore in recently ended two global events— 10th WTO Ministerial Conference and COP21, Centre for Policy Dialogue said yesterday. Bypassing the universal trade system, some countries were engaged in trade talks to secure preferential deals among themselves and this development demands a new strategy for the least developed countries (LDCs), it said. The CPD came up with the recommendations and observations while briefing on the recent two global events – WTO MC-10 and COP21: What do they mean for Bangladesh?. COP21 climate summit was held in Paris, France and WTO MC-10 in Nairobi, Kenya recently. CPD distinguished fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya said the world is changing in global economic geography. Many countries are

being involved with multilateral trade-platforms, like TPP. In this situation, a work plan or writing a white-paper should be prepared right now for trade talks, he said. He said: “We want to keep confidence in universal system as we believe in universalism. But we have been noticing that the world has been changing in trade negotiation in the form of different blocks and alliances.” What has been experienced in Nairobi is that southern countries are joining hands with the US and India while China and Brazil were engaged in meeting without the host country, Kenya, he said. “So, you can understand where the world is going. If this happens, what might be steps for countries like Bangladesh?” he posed a question. Debapriya said it is very important for Bangladesh to take advantage of changing world right at this moment as Bangladesh is gradually being involved with the global economy though regional economic block is limited. “This demands co-ordination among pub-

lic agencies and ministries, flow of information, cooperation and leadership. Because in Bangladesh, decision is taken, but not implemented.” Presenting on outcome of WTO MC, CPD Executive Director Professor Mustafizur Rahman who took part in the conference, said WTO ministerial conference is very disappointing as except relaxation rules of origin, no concrete decisions were taken on other issues. “However, we have to make our efforts continuously for protecting the interest of least developed countries because the rulebased system is very good for weak economies.” Presenting on the outcome of COP21 climate summit, CPD Research Director Fahmida Khatun said no perfect agreement was made in the summit, but it is a stepping stone for taking things forward. She said implementing a legally-binding agreement to cut carbon dioxide gas emission is very challenging as it stills remains as non-binding nature. l

OPEC’s market share to shrink by 2020 n Reuters, London Global demand for OPEC’s crude will be lower in 2020 than next year as supply from rivals proves more resilient than expected, potentially fuelling a debate on the merits of its strategy to let prices fall to hurt other producers. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which a year ago refused to cut supply to retain market share against

higher-cost rivals, in its 2015 World Oil Outlook raised its global supply forecasts for tight oil, which includes shale, despite a collapse in prices. Demand for OPEC crude will reach 30.70 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020, OPEC said, lower than 30.90 million bpd next year. The expected demand from OPEC in 2020 is about 1 million bpd less than it is currently producing. Oil LCOc1 has more than halved its price

in 18 months and sank to an 11-year low of $36.04 a barrel this week. The drop has helped to boost oil’s medium-term use, although OPEC said the demand stimulus of low crude prices will fade over time. “The impact of the recent oil price decline on demand is most visible in the short term,” OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri wrote in the foreword to the report. “It then drops away over the medium term.” l

Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain has supported realtors’ demand for allowing untaxed money investment unconditionally in the housing sector to rein in capital flight. “Unconditional investment of untaxed money should be allowed in the real estate sector to build or buy flats for containing capital flight,” said the minister while inaugurating a five-day REHAB Fair 2015 in the city yesterday. He said legal binding on the investment of black money in the real estate sector needs to be removed for revival of the sector, which is playing an important role in the country’s economy. He also advocated for providing a single digit loan to the middle-class and poor people and urged the government to form Tk20,000 crore-Tk50,000 crore fund. Earlier on December 19, the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) demanded that the government allow unconditional investment of untaxed money in the sector to stop illegal money transfer from the country. Since 2010, the housing sector has fallen into trouble due to political unrest, squeezing bank loans and fall of stock market. Shortage of gas and electricity have aggravated the situation. “Over the last four years, the housing sector is slowing down,” said REHAB president Alamgir Shamsul Alamin. He said if the black money is allowed for investment in the real estate sector unconditionally, those money might be in the country. According to Global Financial Integrity report, about Tk76,000 crore have flown out of Bangladesh in 2013. l

BB enhances monitoring on board of directors n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said monitoring has been enhanced on the board of directors of all financial institutions to ensure good corporate governance. “Monitoring has been enhanced in the areas of responsibility and accountability of all board of directors to promote good governance,” he said while addressing the annual conference 2015 of the chief executives of banks’ and non-bank financial institutions. He made the remark three days after disclosing financial irregularities of over Tk700 held in Bangladesh Industrial Finance Company Limited. He accused the board members of BIFC for committing the irregularities. The governor, in a meeting on December 20 warned the board and managing directors of FIs of highest legal action if they are found involved with any irregularities further. “The central bank has started introducing strategic changes to its existing supervision techniques for ensuring financial stability,” the governor said yesterday at the conference. He expected that existing and potential loopholes would effectively be addressed due to extensive digitisation initiatives. l

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Business

Global smartphone brands face mass extinction n Robyn Mak Smartphone brands are heading for extinction in 2016. The industry’s growth rate dipped below 10% this year. Apple and Samsung’s high-end phones are taking most of the spoils, while upstarts like China’s Xiaomi are picking up first-time buyers. Loss-making brands from HTC to Sony may be forced to conclude the game is over. The smartphone industry grew at a single-digit rate this year for the first time, according to data from IDC. Just two years ago, the industry was expanding at a breakneck 40%. Demand from China – the world’s largest handset market and once the driver of growth – will be flat this year. The slowdown suggests two things. First, the market is saturated: existing smartphone owners outnumber first-time buyers. The People’s Republic, which accounts for 30% of global shipments, has joined North America and Western Europe to become a replacement market where sales are driven by upgrades. That’s good news for premium handset makers like Apple and Samsung. The $600bn iPhone maker grabbed a staggering 94% of

A girl tries out a smartphone in Seoul the industry’s profits in the three months to September, analysts at Canaccord Genuity

REUTERS

reckon. Samsung remains the only big Android phone maker that is profitable.

Second, first-time buyers in emerging markets will power growth. Handset shipments in the Middle East and Africa rose 50 percent year on year in 2015, IDC estimates. Chinese groups Xiaomi and Huawei – which catapulted to third place in shipments this year – have just entered those markets selling budget phones. Fierce battles are also playing out in India, where locals Micromax and Intex are fighting Samsung. Those without Apple-level margins or Huawei’s scale may not survive. The loss-making HTC is already on life support as its $1.3bn cash pile dwindles. The launch of the group’s $500 iPhone rival is unlikely to be a turning point: analysts expect HTC’s market share for next year to stay flat at around 1%. Ailing Japanese conglomerates, from Sony to Kyocera, will be under pressure to shut down unprofitable mobile units. Even smartphone pioneer BlackBerry may be forced to give up on hardware if sales of its latest model disappoint. 2016 may be the beginning of the end for many. l Robyn Mak is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The article was initially published at Reuters.

CORPORATE NEWS

Green Delta Insurance Company Limited has recently won ICAB National Award in the category of Best Presented Annual Report among insurance companies. The company’s CFO & and additional managing director, Nazim Tazik Chowdhury along with its deputy managing director, TH Forhad received the award from Finance Minister AMA Muhith Kazi Farms Kitchen has recently opened its 21st outlet at Zindabazar in Sylhet. CEO of Kazi Food Industries Limited, Tanvir Haider Chaudhury inaugurated the outlet

Daffodil Computers Ltd has recently held its 18th annual general meeting. The company’s chairperson, Shahana Khan presided over the meeting

AB Bank Limited has recently signed an agreement with MetLife to provide life insurance coverage for Shampurna Women’s Savings account holders. The bank’s deputy managing director, Sajjad Hussain and DGM of MetLife Bangladesh, Syed Hammadul Karim signed the agreement

Biz Info

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Qatar Airways hosts corporate event

Christmas cheers at Amari This year, Amari gives you a chance to spend your Christmas Eve with live carol singing, beautiful decorations and a wonderful meal. Cascade and Amaya Food Gallery have scheduled an elaborate Christmas turkey set menu dinner, along with live music and carol singing. The idea is to recreate a beautiful, traditional Christmas feast. The festivities kicked off on December 17, where Amari organised a gift wrapping competition, where the associates of the

hotel wrapped the Christmas gifts boxes with wonderful goodies. Some of the finest delights from around the world were also featured at Amaya, in a buffet with an open-dining concept with live cooking stations. Along with the regular buffet, Amaya will host an extravagant Christmas Eve dinner, and Christmas Day lunch and dinner on December 25-26 December. Cascade will feature festive hampers and Christmas special desserts. l

‘FOCUS 15’ at UIU Finance Forum a wing of Career Counseling Centre of United International University (UIU) organised the Intra-varsity financial competency competition branded as “FOCUS 15” in his own campus yesterday. UIU vice chancellor Professor Dr M Rezwan Khan, presided over the ceremonies, while Md Saifur Rahman Patwary (Azad), deputy managing director, First Security Islamic Bank Limited, was present as the chief guest. Salah Uddin Ahmed, senior vice president and head of Research and Development Unit, Dhaka Bank Limited and Humaira Sharmeen, managing editor, The Bonikbarta, were present as the special guest on the programme. FOCUS 15 is an exclusive idea to

judge the capabilities of the students in “financial reasoning.” Core concept of this idea is to make the participants of the programme find out the critical financial reasons because of which a company’s financial performance deviates from the expectations. The competition had three phases - a Quiz (first round), a Financial Statement Analysis and Manipulation (second round) and a Financial Case Solving and Presentation (final round). The top three winners of the competition are Sadman Shoumik Ahmed (champion), Md Tanvir Hossain (first runner-up) and Yeasin Md Esha (second runner-up). Students of different departments, teachers, officers and the invited guests were present in the programme. l

Qatar Airways recently hosted a dinner for key VIPs and corporate partners in Dhaka with an evening of entertainment and fine dining in celebration of its accolades received at the annual Skytrax 2015 awards. For the third time, Qatar Airways was voted by passengers as the “Airline of the Year.” The airline was also awarded the “Best Business Class Airline Seat” award and named the “Best Airline in the Middle East” for the ninth time. The award-winning airline has recently announced its plan to launch double-daily operations to Dhaka. Commencing from December 9, flights from Doha to Dhaka, Bangladesh, will be increased substantially with the number of frequencies going up from 10 to 14 weekly, effectively increasing capacity by 40% on this popular route. Operated with an Airbus 330-300 offering 30 seats in Business and 275 in Economy, the additional flights will allow even more connection opportunities for customers flying from the Middle East, the US, Europe and Africa. During the corporate event, more than 200 distinguished guests including government officials, ambassadors, Qatar Airways Frequent Flyer Programme Privilege Club members, corporate partners, and other dignitaries and

industrialists were treated to the airline’s five-star hospitality at the Radisson Blu Hotel, including entertainment from Grammy-nominated US band “Della Mae.” Qatar Airways’ vice president of the Indian sub-continent, Ihab Sorial, addressed guests saying that the local market in Bangladesh continued to generate strong sales, and remained highly supportive of the carrier’s new routes and increased frequencies on existing services. “Our continued growth in the local market is a success story for Qatar Airways following the commencement of services to Bangladesh in 1995, and represents our ongoing commitment and belief in the potential for even further growth from this region,” he said. Since the beginning of the year, Qatar Airways has begun services to Amsterdam (the Netherlands); Zanzibar (Tanzania); Faisalabad, Sialkot and Multan in Pakistan, and Abha (Saudi Arabia). In the pipeline before the end of this year is Durban (South Africa) and Nagpur (India). One of the fastest growing airlines in the world, Qatar Airways has experienced a rapid growth in just 18 years of operation. Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of 170 aircraft flying to 152 key business and leisure destinations across six continents. l

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

CROSSWORD Across 1 Paralysis (5) 4 Tree (4) 7 Friend (Fr) (3) 8 Not many (3) 9 Sets down heavily (5) 12 Relief for the needy (4) 13 Support for railway lines (7) 15 Fastener (3) 16 Sorrowful (3) 18 Eyelid affliction (3) 19 Short sleep (3) 21 Public musical performance (7) 24 Church recess (4) 26 Tantalise (5) 27 Kitchen utensil (3) 28 Female swan (3) 29 Nigh (4) 30 Casts off (5)

Down 1 Cushions (4) 2 Talisman (6) 3 Citrus fruit (4) 4 Fruit (4) 5 Boring tool (3) 6 Meditated (5) 10 Vigour (3) 11 Backbone (5) 14 Make into a statute (5) 17 Degraded (6) 18 Country (5) 20 Filed pastry (3) 21 Bring up (4) 22 Ribbon (4) 23 Camera part (4) 25 Mineral spring (3)

Downtime CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 16 represents U so fill U every time the figure 16 appears. You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares. Some letters of the alphabet may not be used. As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them. A B C DE FG H I J K L MN O P Q RST UVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

World 21

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

INSIDE

India closing in on deal to build six nuclear reactors n Reuters, New Delhi

India police charge 15 over beef-rumour lynching Indian police Wednesday formally charged 15 suspects over the mob murder of a Muslim man suspected of eating beef in late September near capital New Delhi, a case that sparked an outcry over communal intolerance. PAGE 22

Bosnia court indicts Muslim commander for war crimes A Bosnian war crimes prosecutor on Wednesday indicted a wartime Muslim army commander on charges of failing to prevent crimes committed by foreign Islamic fighters against captive Bosnian Serb soldiers during a 1992-1995 war. PAGE 23

Reprint of Mein Kampf unleashes row in Germany For the first time since Hitler’s death, Germany is publishing the Nazi leader’s political treatise “Mein Kampf”, unleashing a highly charged row over whether the text is an inflammatory racist diatribe or a useful educational tool. PAGE 24

India expects to seal a contract with USbased Westinghouse Electric Co LLC to build six nuclear reactors in the first half of next year, a senior government official said, in a sign its $150bn nuclear power programme is getting off the ground. The proposed power plant in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat will accelerate India’s plans to build roughly 60 reactors, which would make it the world’s second-biggest nuclear energy market after China. India wants to dramatically increase its nuclear capacity to 63,000MW by 2032, from 5,780 MW, as part of a broader push to move away from fossil fuels, cut greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the dangerous effects of climate change. The United States signed a pact with India in 2008, opening the way for nuclear commerce that had previously been stymied due to New Delhi’s nuclear weapons programme and shunning of the global Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). But hopes that reactor makers would get billions of dollars of new business evaporated after India adopted a law in 2010 giving the state-run operator Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) the right to seek damages from suppliers in the event of an accident. Indian officials have been trying to assuage suppliers’ concerns, including by setting up an insurance pool with a liability cap of Rs15bn ($226.16 million). A final hurdle - ratification of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) - is expected within weeks, the Indian government official said. The CSC requires signatories to shift liability to the operator and offers access to relief funds. In a statement, Westinghouse said it expected India would move towards a framework that satisfies the CSC and channels accident liability exclusively to the operator. The statement made no reference to ongoing negotiations. India’s plans for ramping up nuclear capacity have in the past fallen far short of targets and industry officials say that the aim to lift the share of nuclear power to a quarter of its energy mix, from barely 3% now, is very ambitious.

No more technical hurdles

Later this week, India is expected to offer Russia a site in its southern state of Andhra Pradesh to build six reactors, on top of the six it is already expected to build in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Indian and Russian officials have said. Separately, India expects Japan, which supplies components used in most reactors, to ratify an agreement some time in the second quarter of 2016 to support its

TIMELINE August 1, 2008 Pact reached to place Indian civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards

March 15, 2009 Additional protocol signed between India and IAEA

June, 2014 Modi government ratifies the additional protocol

October 10, 2008 Indo-US civil nuclear deal inked

first official said. French utility EDF agreed earlier this year to buy a majority stake in Areva’s reactor business. Areva has been in price negotiations with NPCIL for several months now, officials at the Indian operator told Reuters in November.

Westinghouse deal

nuclear programme, another senior Indian government source said. “There are no more technical hurdles in the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” the source said. French nuclear company Areva, which uses Japanese components, also has a deal to build 6 reactors in India, although restructuring within that company was likely to delay construction until 2017, the

Negotiators from Westinghouse and Indian operator NPCIL have held several rounds of talks on the nuclear plant in Mithi Virdi, the government official said. Indian government source said Westinghouse and NPCIL were negotiating all six reactors in one go, instead of an earlier plan to strike deals for two at a time. Construction of the roughly 1,100MW reactors could begin later in 2016, an official, who is close to the negotiations, said. The idea was to allow the Americans and the French, India’s two close partners, to catch up with the Russians in its nuclear sector, the official said. l

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

World

India police charge 15 over beef-rumour lynching n AFP, Lucknow Indian police Wednesday formally charged 15 suspects over the mob murder of a Muslim man suspected of eating beef in late September near capital New Delhi, a case that sparked an outcry over communal intolerance. Mohammad Akhlaq, 50, was dragged from his house in Bisada village in Uttar Pradesh state and beaten to death by around 100 people over rumours he had eaten beef - a taboo in the Hindu-majority nation. “We have filed a charge sheet against 15 persons... it is a case of murder,”. Confirming the news, Uttar Pradesh additional Director General of police Daljeet Chaudhary, said added that police have charged a 17-year-old juvenile who was part of the group -- a day after Indian lawmakers passed a bill allowing tougher punishment for minors aged between 16-18 convicted of “heinous crimes” including murder. Critics accuse the BJP-led Hindu nationalist government of having failed to protect minorities since it came to power at general elections in May last year. While Modi did eventually describe the lynching as “unfortunate”, many commentators pointed out that it took the prime minister several weeks to respond. Rumours that the family had eaten beef began when a calf was reported missing in Dadri village, 35km from New Delhi. A nearby temple made an announcement via loudspeaker that the family had consumed beef and within minutes the mob kicked down Akhlaq’s door and tore through

his home before killing him. Akhlaq’s 22-year-old son was also seriously injured in the attack and was admitted into intensive care at a nearby hospital, where he has reportedly undergone several operations. The victim’s family has maintained they had mutton in the fridge and not beef. Local media reports said the family now lives in the southern state of Tamil Nadu with Akhlaq’s other son. Cow slaughter and consumption of beef are banned in Rajasthan and many other states of officially secular India. While the majority of India’s 1.2bn population is Hindu, the country is also home to sizeable Muslim, Christian and Buddhist minorities. Several other incidents were reported in the following weeks, including the killing of a truck driver in northern Himachal Pradesh state for attempting to smuggle cattle to a slaughter house. Critics say Hindu hardliners and their radical elements have become more emboldened since Modi’s landslide victory. Dozens of authors returned India’s highest literary award in the aftermath of the killings, protesting against a rise in violence. They criticised the government silence over the murder of a secular intellectual in August, while petitions demanding federal action have attracted signatures from scientists, actors and filmmakers. Modi’s BJP suffered a crushing blow in a key state election last month, which analysts partly blamed on its attempts to polarise voters along religious lines. l

Bosnia court indicts Muslim commander for war crimes n Reuters, Sarajevo

A Bosnian war crimes prosecutor on Wednesday indicted a wartime Muslim army commander on charges of failing to prevent crimes committed by foreign Islamic fighters against captive Bosnian Serb soldiers during a 1992-1995 war. The 63-year-old retiree Sakib Mahmuljin was arrested on December 8 on charges of acting in contravention of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions while serving as a commander of the Third Corps of the Army of BiH. Prosecutor said the alleged crimes dated to July-October 1995 toward the end of the war, when the Third Corps and a detachment of foreign fighters known as El-Mujahid carried out offensives in central Bosnia. Many Islamic fighters, or “mujahideen”, came from North Africa and the Middle East to help fellow Muslims fight against Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats during the Bosnian war, in which 100,000 people died. The El-Mujahid detachment was under the official jurisdiction of the Bosnian Army during the war, though it operated autonomously. During the operation, members of the El-Mujahid abducted and killed 50 Bosnian Serb prisoners of war who had been previously captured by other units of the Third Corps. “Some prisoners were killed by ritual beheading and their heads were displayed to others as an example,” the statement from

Unfounded allegations

Their sense of insecurity persists even though authorities have taken unusually strong measures to protect people like Shama and Shahzad, who were eventually found to be falsely accused. The police have traditionally been reluctant to clamp down on those who take part in mob violence for fear of enraging Islamists in this conservative Muslim country of 200m. But with the country’s top leadership seemingly more determined to tackle re-

SOUTH ASIA

Sri Lankan archbishop bans Christmas trees in churches The leader of Sri Lanka’s Catholics urged priests on Wednesday not to put up Christmas trees in their churches over the festive period, saying they had no religious significance. Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, was quoted in a statement as telling clergymen to “try to avoid putting up Christmas trees inside the churches”. -AFP

Shooting inside Delhi courtroom kills policeman

International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) forensic experts carry human remains during the exhumation of a mass grave believed to hold bodies of massacre victims from the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia, in the village of Bosnia and Herzegovina on December 15 REUTERS the prosecutor’s office said. It said that El-Mujahid members used extremely brutal forms of torture of the prisoners. “They chopped off their ears, stubbed them, tied their hands up and beat them,” the statement said. “Some victims were bound securely by neck ropes into contorted positions that could choke them if they made any move and were left in that way for many hours.” After the Bosnian war remains of ten victims have been exhumed, while the remainder remain unaccounted for, the office said. Mahmuljin failed to prevent or punish the crimes committed by the members of the El-Mujahid Detachment despite being

aware that crimes would be committed, the office said, adding it would invite more than 70 witnesses and present 900 pieces of evidence during the trial. In 2008, the UN war crimes court jailed the former chief of Bosnia’s army, Rasim Delic, for three years for allowing the torture of Bosnian Serb soldiers by Islamic foreign fighters. At the time, Mahmuljin denied in local media any wrongdoing and said he did not have an effective control of the El-Mujahid. The investigation against Mahmuljin was started by the Hague-based court which later transferred the lower-ranking cases to the Bosnian court. l

Pakistan minorities live in fear after blasphemy lynching Four-year-old Aliya’s life collapsed last year when her illiterate Christian parents were falsely accused of tossing out pages of the Qur’an in their rubbish, and then lynched and burnt on a brick kiln by an angry mob. The mob killing of Shama Bibi and Shahzad Masih triggered outrage in Pakistan, where desecration of Islam’s holy book is legally punishable by death and even unproven allegations of blasphemy often lead to bloody killings at the hands of vigilantes. After the ordeal on November 4, 2014, Aliya, which is not her real name, along with her siblings and maternal grandfather, left the dusty brick factory where even as a toddler she had worked with her family as bonded labourers. Five other Christian families also fled. “The children often cry for their parents,” sighs their grandfather.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

INDIA

INSIGHT

n AFP, Kot Radha Kishan

World

ligious extremism in the wake of a Taliban school massacre last year that left more than 150 dead, matters could be slowly changing. Pakistani courts appear to have shifted to a more moderate stance on blasphemy recently, warning against false accusations and bailing one accused after she had languished in jail for three years. In the Christian couple’s case, more than 100 people are still in jail -- including the factory owner, who has been accused of locking them up when they tried to flee as the blasphemy allegations gathered steam because he thought they would default on their debt to him. Five other factory executives are also imprisoned, as well as two Muslim clerics accused of spreading the rumour and encouraging the mob to attack the couple. Pakistan inherited its blasphemy law from former colonial power Britain, which devised the code to ensure communal harmony in the then undivided India. New sections were introduced in the 1980s under military ruler General Zia-ulHaq, which elevated Islam above all other religions and introduced the death penalty as part of his broader Islamisation agenda. Critics say the law, often misused by people carrying out personal vendettas, is feeding violence particularly against minorities. Though Pakistan has never executed a blasphemy convict, more than 50 people accused of the crime have been killed before

An armed gang opened fire inside an Indian courtroom Wednesday, killing a policeman. Three other people were wounded in the shooting at New Delhi’s sprawling Karkardooma court complex, which is meant to be a high security zone. “A head constable has died and three others are wounded. It appears to be a case of rivalry between two local gangs.” a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity. -AFP

CHINA

China’s new counterterrorism bill inspired by US China studied US legislation to draft its controversial counter-terrorism law, the people’s republic’s foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters Wednesday, amid concerns in Washington that the bill’s provisions may tighten media controls and threaten the intellectual property of foreign tech firms. The US has expressed repeated concerns about the bill, with US President Barack Obama saying he directly raised the issue with President Xi Jinping during his September trip to Washington. -AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

their trials were completed and 17 are currently languishing on the charge on death row.

Brunei’s sultan bans Christmas in hardline shift

‘Fear always present’

Christmas is just around the corner, but there are no tinsel-laden trees or Santa hats in the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei, where celebrations have been banned under a shift towards hardline Islamic law. Religious leaders in the oil-rich sultanate warned this month that a ban on Christmas would be strictly enforced, for fear that Muslims could be led astray. Although Christians are free to celebrate, they have been told not to do so “excessively and openly.” -AFP

What happened to the couple, though it sent shock and anger through the country, is far from unique. At least seven other people were murdered by vigilantes last year after being accused of supporting or committing blasphemy, though none this year. In the case of the Christian couple it emerged after the brutal killing the allegations were unfounded, as often happens. Shahzad’s father, a faith healer who used pages with inscriptions in many languages for his work, had died shortly before the incident. The family was burning documents that belonged to him. Shahzad’s elder brother Iqbal, who also worked at the factory, said he still fears for his life, and police have to escort him to his court appearances. “They could take us too,” he said. Riaz Anjum, the family’s Christian lawyer, says he is “100% sure that they will get justice”, and the killers will be held to account, despite the slow pace of the legal process. But real change, he said, would only come when the law is amended -- a cause which Pakistan’s government has not pushed for since 2011, when two political leaders who spoke out against the legislation were killed. l

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi king blames Assad for IS rise in Syria Saudi King Salman accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Wednesday of having aided the rise of the Islamic State group and called for a political settlement with moderate forces to end the war there. The solution would be to form “a transitional government made up of moderate opposition forces, ensuring the unity of Syrians and the departure of foreign forces and terrorist organisations,” the king said in an annual speech to the consultative Shura Council. These organisations “could not have found fertile ground in Syria, had it not been for the Syrian regime’s policies, which have exterminated hundreds of thousands... and displaced millions” of people, said the monarch. -AFP

World

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

USA

Poll: US Republicans back action on climate after Paris accord A majority of US Republicans who had heard of the international climate deal in Paris said they support working with other countries to curb global warming and were willing to take steps to do so, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday. More than half, or 58%, of Republicans surveyed said they approved of US efforts to work with other nations to limit global warming, the poll showed. Forty percent said they would support a presidential candidate who did so. -REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

Venezuela opposition accuse leftists of blocking 22 lawmakers Venezuelan opposition leaders Tuesday claimed President Nicolas Maduro’s leftist party had filed a legal challenge against the election of 22 opposition lawmakers in this month’s landmark polls. Jesus Torrealba, spokesman for the MUD, told a press conference that Maduro’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) had lodged the challenge with the Supreme Court, without giving details of the legal grounds for the move. -AFP

British Muslim family barred from flying to Disneyland

British Prime Minister David Cameron was urged to intervene Wednesday after a British Muslim family was prevented from flying to the Florida for a visit to Disneyland. The family of 11 was stopped from boarding their flight to Los Angeles at London’s Gatwick airport on Tuesday. -AFP

EUROPE

Czech Republic accuses Germany of inviting illegal immigration Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka accused Germany of touching off a wave of illegal immigration by opening its borders to refugees, in a newspaper interview Wednesday. Sobotka told Germany’s daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung that countries like his were paying the price for Berlin’s decision in September and said Prague would continue to resist pressure to take in more asylum seekers. -AFP

AFRICA

East Africa pushes Burundi peacekeeping force Burundi faces mounting regional pressure to accept African Union peacekeepers it calls an “invasion force”, diplomats said Wednesday, with the issue a key point of talks due in Uganda next week. The 54-member African Union said last week it would send a 5,000-strong force to halt violence that has sparked fears Burundi is sliding back towards civil war, and has pledged to send troops despite Burundi’s fierce opposition. -AFP

Big Tobacco faces blow as top court adviser backs EU law n Reuters, Luxembourg/London An adviser to Europe’s highest court said an EU law on cigarettes was valid, rebuffing a challenge from Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco, though the court still has to deliver a final ruling. The opinion, if adopted by the court in Luxembourg, would be a blow to Big Tobacco companies, which had lobbied vigorously against what was seen as some of the world’s strictest anti-tobacco legislation. In a majority of cases, opinions of the court advisers are reflected in the final ruling, which should follow in the coming months. “(The advocate general) considers the EU tobacco directive of 2014 to be valid,” the opinion published on Wednesday said. “The EU legislature did not exceed the considerable latitude to be given to it in ensuring that tobacco and related products may be placed on the market under uniform conditions throughout the EU without losing sight of the fundamental objective of a high level of health protection.” Smoking is the biggest cause of premature death in the European Union, responsible for nearly 700,000 deaths per year. The EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) was adopted in May 2014 and comes into

force next year. Key provisions include the standardisation of packaging, a prohibition by 2020 on menthol cigarettes and special rules for e-cigarettes. The opinion also said an effort by Poland -- the EU’s top menthol producer and consumer -- to annul the menthol ban must be dismissed as “none of its arguments ... is well founded”. The TPD requires health warnings that include discouraging images to cover 65% of tobacco packages. It stipulates cigarette boxes should be rectangular with at least 20 cigarettes, thereby banning slimmer 10-stick packs more attractive to occasional smokers. The e-cigarette rules, which the opinion called “relatively moderate,” include a duty to notify regulators six months before products go on sale, prohibitions on advertising and sponsorship and a maximum nicotine content for e-liquids of 20 mg/ml.

Plain packaging

The TPD also preserves the right of member states to introduce stricter packaging rules, such as the “plain packaging” law due to go into effect in Britain next year banning all colours and logos on cigarette boxes. In so doing, Marlboro maker Philip Morris claims the TPD would disrupt the inter-

nal market of EU. “The directive inexplicably encourages a patchwork of regulations and disregards important limits on the scope of EU legislation,” a Philip Morris spokeswoman said. Philip Morris and British American, the two largest international tobacco firms, as well as Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Tobacco Group are challenging the legality of the UK plain packaging law in separate proceedings. A verdict is expected there in coming months. Striking down the TPD would cripple Britain’s plan to be the second country after Australia to institute the measure, aimed at reducing the number of young smokers by making the packages less attractive. Tobacco companies don’t break out sales by country, but they say Australia’s move has been ineffective at accelerating a longterm downward trend in smoking. British American, maker of Dunhill cigarettes, said it was “obviously disappointed” with Wednesday’s opinion. “We have always maintained that the (TPD) represents an unlawful and disproportionate incursion into the autonomy of the Member States and we remain hopeful that the Court of Justice will uphold our challenge,” a spokesman said. l

Reprint of Mein Kampf unleashes row in Germany n Reuters, Berlin For the first time since Hitler’s death, Germany is publishing the Nazi leader’s political treatise “Mein Kampf”, unleashing a highly charged row over whether the text is an inflammatory racist diatribe or a useful educational tool. The 70-year copyright on the text, written by Hitler between 1924-1926 and banned by the Allies at the end of World War II, expires at the end of the year, opening the way for a critical edition with explanatory sections and some 3,500 annotations. In January the 2,000 page, two-volume work will go on sale after about three years of labour by scholars at Munich’s Institute for Contemporary History. Hitler wrote most of the first, highly autobiographical, volume while incarcerated in Landsberg prison after his failed Munich coup attempt in 1923. After his release, he wrote much of the second volume at his mountain retreat near Berchtesgaden. In the book, a mix of personal experience and political ideology, he outlined his strategy. A bestseller after he became chancellor in 1933, it had by 1945 sold 12m copies and been translated into 18 languages. The publication is a big step for Germany, which is still struggling with the legacy of the Nazi era and the Holocaust. Polls show deeply divided public opinion. A YouGov survey last month said 51% of Germans oppose a continuation of the ban. The state of Bavaria has until now repeatedly used the copyright transferred to it by the Allies to prevent a reprint. Hitler biographer Peter Longerich said

Deconstructing Nazi lies

Germans have reached a stage where taboos are being broken. “We are probably entering a phase in which you can do more with Hitler and texts about him than you did 10 or 20 years ago. In the age of mass media, taboos are constantly broken and texts cannot be locked away,” he said. Other watersheds include the 2004 film “Downfall” which explored the last days of Hitler’s life to this year’s hit film “Look Who’s Back”, an adaptation of a satirical novel about the reappearance of Hitler in modern times and becoming a celebrity.

Keenly aware of the controversy surrounding “Mein Kampf”, the Munich institute has stressed that the aim is to deconstruct propaganda and undermine any symbolic power the book still has. “The aim ... is to present ‘Mein Kampf’ as a salient source document for contemporary history, to describe the context of the genesis of Hitler’s world view,” it said. To prevent any commercial exploitation of the sensitive text, the Institute is self-publishing. The first print run is expected to be up to about 4,000 copies. The Central Council of Jews in Germany has reservations, arguing the text, described by some community leaders as an “anti-Semitic diatribe”, should remain banned. “After the expiry of the copyright, there is a very big risk that this sorry effort of a work will be more widely available,” Council President Josef Schuster said in a statement. Yet Schuster acknowledged that understanding it is important in explaining Nazism and the Holocaust. “So there is nothing to object to if an academic edition with commentary is available for research and teaching,” he added. German authorities have made clear anyone reprinting an unedited version will be subject to incitement laws. But Germany’s teachers association wants it used in schools. “A professional treatment of excerpts in lessons can help immunise against political extremism,” association head Josef Kraus told Handelsblatt. l

Sport 25

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

INSIDE

Zimbabwe to set foot in capital January 11 Zimbabwe will arrive in Dhaka on January 11 next year for the remainder of their bilateral series, informed Naimur Rahman, chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s cricket operations committee, yesterday. Naimur also announced that the Tigers will tour Zimbabwe next year in June-July. PAGE 26

Aussie Smith named player of the year Australia captain Steve Smith has been named ICC cricketer of the year for 2015, the sport’s Dubai-based governing body revealed yesterday. The 26-yearold finished the year, which runs from September to September, as the leading Test run-scorer with 1,734 runs from 25 innings, averaging 82.57. PAGE 27

Bangladesh’s newly-appointed head coach Maruful Haque gives some last-minute instructions to his charges in Kerala, India yesterday on the eve of their 2015 Saff Suzuki Cup opener against holders Afghanistan today BFF

Barca treble, Dutch exit Euro, Jose sacked

n Shishir Hoque

With another year coming to an end, now is a great time to look back at the stories of the year from the world of football. Football is often seen as the game which has drama and passion. The year 2015 was no different as drama on and off the field kept followers on the edge. PAGE 28

Djoker, Serena rule the roost in 2015 Not surprisingly, Djokovic and Serena were named the men’s and women’s players of the year by the International Tennis Federation. Both won three Grand Slams and are well clear in the world rankings. Djokovic, who finished the year as men’s number one for the fourth time, won the award for a fifth time. PAGE 29

Determined Bengal Tigers brace for Afghan test The Bengal Tigers will begin their 2015 Saff Suzuki Cup campaign today against holders Afghanistan in what is expected to be their toughest match of Group B. The high-voltage clash kicks off at 7pm at Trivandrum International Stadium in Kerala and Star Sports 4 will telecast the game live. In the last four editions of the regional competition, Bangladesh crashed out in the group stages three times and this time around too, the Bengal Tigers have been deprived the luck of the draw. Besides the Afghans, Bangladesh will also face darkhorses Maldives and Bhutan in the group stages. The Bengal Tigers however, are not short of inspiration and determination, thanks to the arrival of newly-appointed head coach Maruful Haque, who is the only tactician from south Asia with an Uefa A licence to his credit. And ahead of their today’s tournament opener, midfield enforcer Jamal Bhuiyan is the only injury doubt. In the absence of the expatriate footballer, Monayem Khan Raju will deputise in defensive midfield. Jamal though is expected to make a full recovery before their second Group B match against Maldives this Saturday.

Shakhawat Hossain Rony, who netted the all-important goal against Nepal recently in a Fifa international friendly, is likely to lead the attacking line with Zahid Hossain and Hemanta Vincent Biswas deployed on the wings.

HEAD TO HEAD

v Bangladesh

Afghanistan

Matches played

Win

Draw

182

Fifa ranking

150

WLLLL

Last 5 matches

WLLLL

Mamunul Islam and Sohel Rana are expected to be stationed at the centre of the park. The defence will be marshalled by veteran defender Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, who only recuperated from a long-term injury a few days ago, and his work will be cut out against a formidable Afghan forward line

led by Khaibar Amani and Zubayr Amiri, who both ply their trade in Germany. The odds might slightly be stacked in favour of the defending champions but Maruful said, “We are all ready to play. We will play for the three points and nothing else. Everybody is prepared, both physically and mentally. We only came here for the championship title.” Bangladesh captain Mamunul on the other hand said, “[Today] we will give our very best in order to win the match. Our entire team is ready to win the first match. Afghanistan are a good team. Our first target will be to reach the semi-final. Everybody back home, please pray for the Bangladesh team.”

Last-gasp Sri Lanka shock Nepal in opener

Meanwhile in yesterday’s opening match of the tournament’s 11th edition, Sri Lanka opened their Group A proceedings with a dramatic 1-0 win over Nepal. Rifnas Mohamed scored the only goal of the tie in the dying stages of the second half, thus paving the way for the Lankans to open their points account. India are the other team of the group. Pakistan earlier withdrew their name from the tournament due to internal clashes within the Pakistan Football Federation. l

Sport

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Mehedi to lead U19s in World Cup n Tribune Report All-rounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz will lead Bangladesh in the upcoming 2016 ICC Under-19 World Cup, slated for January. The decision to appoint Mehedi captain was taken yesterday when the Bangladesh Cricket Board also announced the final 15-member squad. Bangladesh have been placed in Group A alongside defending champions South Africa, Scotland and Namibia with the tournament opener pitting the junior Tigers against the holders on January 27. Opening batsman Nazmul Hossain Shanto will act as Mehedi’s deputy. Keeping the 11th edition of the U-19 World Cup in mind, the junior Tigers underwent several weeks of intense training under the guidance of team advisor, Australian Stuart Law, who was previously the head coach of Bangladesh. After 2004, this is the second time Bangladesh will be hosting the U-19 World Cup. l

SQUAD Mehedi Hasan Miraz (C), Nazmul Hossain Shanto (VC), Joyraj Sheikh Emon, Pinak Ghosh, Mohammed Saif Hasan, Zakir Hasan, Saif Uddin, Shafiul Hayet, Saeed Sarker, Mehedi Hasan, Mohammed Abdul Halim, Sanjit Saha, Saleh Ahmed Shawon Gazi, Ariful Islam Jony, Jaker Ali Anik

Standby National cricketer Shamsur Rahman (2R) attends to an injured Nazmul Hossain Shanto (C) who was struck down by a Taskin Ahmed (L) throw at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

‘Nothing is impossible if one has the will’ n

Mazhar Uddin

The Tigers were further rewarded for their brilliant run of form in ODIs this year as Deaking University, one of Australia’s leading educational institutions, announced their intentions of preparing a report portraying Bangladesh’s success. The two-member research team will visit Bangladesh from January 12-16 next year and are expected to hand over the report to the governing body of cricket, the International Cricket Council at a later date. “Of course it is encouraging, not only for the cricket organisers of our country, but also for the cricketers of the nation. We are looking forward to the research programme as it will promote the growth of our cricket to different countries of the world,” Bangladesh Cricket Board CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury told the media. It was Bangladesh’s maiden Test centurion and former captain Aminul Islam Bulbul however, who first received the good news in his capacity as the ICC’s development officer of the Asia Pacific region. “This will help us to earn a new identity in the cricketing fraternity. We are doing well in international cricket. And now, we are recognised as a force to be reckoned with. The ICC will project it to show that nothing is impossible if you have the will,” said Bulbul. l

Munim Shahriar, Mossabbek Hossain Sun, Rifat Pradhan, Qazi Onik Islam

Zim to set foot in capital Jan 11 n Mazhar Uddin Zimbabwe will arrive in Dhaka on January 11 next year for the remainder of their bilateral series, informed Naimur Rahman, chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s cricket operations committee, yesterday. Naimur also announced that the Tigers will tour Zimbabwe next year in June-July to play two Test matches and an ODI series. The southern African nation earlier toured Bangladesh last month and participated in three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals and were originally scheduled to contest three Tests against the Tigers next month.

However, with the 2016 ICC World T20 knocking at the door, the BCB wants to scrap two Tests in favour of a five-dayer and three T20Is. “Zimbabwe were supposed to play three Tests against us next January. We are willing to play only one in January and the remaining two in June-July. Zimbabwe initially proposed us to play them in a fivematch T20I series but in reply, we told them that we want to play a Test and three T20Is instead. Now, it depends on Zimbabwe. We will reveal the details later,” Naimur told the media yesterday. Meanwhile, Tigers head coach Chandika Hathurusingha had previously stated his de-

sire of conducting a training camp in Dharmasala ahead of the World T20. The Tigers are scheduled to play the qualifying round of the global showpiece event in the hillside state but Naimur turned down the request, citing Dharmasala’s extremely chilly conditions at this time of the year. Naimur also informed that the wages of the national cricketers will increase while he also added that the four Tigers who were picked up in the players draft of the Pakistan Super League T20 will receive the No-Objection Certificate. But, the quartet have to return to Bangladesh whenever they are needed for national duty. l

Fifa presents reform package for congress n Reuters, Zurich

National opener Imrul Kayes, who has been suffering from skin problems for quite a few months now, was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Kolkata for routine check-ups IMRUL KAYES FACEBOOK PAGE

Shaken by corruption scandals, global soccer body Fifa yesterday presented the detailed reforms it will ask members to adopt in February at a special congress that seeks to restore its reputation and elect a new leader. The reforms include limiting the number of terms top officials can serve, following the banning for eight years of Sepp Blatter. His reign ended in the worst graft scandal of the body’s history. The amendments also seek to put a tighter rein on FIFA’s 209 member associations and separate policy and management positions, with a 36-member Fifa council. l

Sport

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

QUICK BYTES Navy, BKSP face off in hockey final today Bangladesh Navy and BKSP reached the grand finale of the Victory Day Hockey tournament after beating Bangladesh Air Force and Bangladesh Army in their respective semi-finals yesterday. Navy thrashed Air Force 4-0 in the first semi-final at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium with national stars Mamunur Rahman Chayan, Russel Mahmud Jimmy, Rumman Sarkar and Krishna Kumar Das netting one apiece. In the day’s other last-four clash, BKSP toiled hard before eventually pipping Army 7-6 in the shootout after the tie ended all-square at 3-3 in regulation time. Rajib Das, Fazley Hossain Rabby and Mahbub Hossain scored one each for BKSP. The final will be held today at 3pm at the same venue. –TRIBUNE REPORT

ICC AWARDS 2015

Arsenal’s Sanchez suffers slight injury setback Arsenal could be without forward Alexis Sanchez for the busy Premier League Christmas programme after he aggravated a hamstring injury in training, manager Arsene Wenger said on Monday. Chilean Sanchez, who sustained the initial injury against Norwich City at the end of November, was thought to be in with a chance of returning for Monday’s home clash against Manchester City but was not on the bench. –REUTERS

Bony disappointed to lose starting place Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony has said he was disappointed to lose his starting place to a returning Sergio Aguero after manager Manuel Pellegrini opted to start the Argentine in Monday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat by Arsenal. Aguero was playing his first match in about three weeks following a heel injury and was replaced by the Ivory Coast international in the second half of the game. –REUTERS

Day/Night Test lights a path as Pakistan go home Cricket staged its first day/night Test in 2015 after years of speculation that such matches might help arrest declining attendances for the sport’s longest format. November witnessed the landmark fixture when Australia beat New Zealand in front of an impressive aggregate crowd of 123,736 who flocked to the Adelaide Oval for the three days the match lasted. –AFP

IAAF deputy general secretary steps aside over leaked email The IAAF’s deputy general secretary Nick Davies confirmed on Tuesday that he has stepped down from his role pending an investigation into a plot to delay the naming of Russian drug cheats. “I have decided to step aside from my role with the IAAF until such time as the Ethics Board is able to review the matter properly and decide if I am responsible for any breach of the IAAF Code of Ethics,” Davies said. –AFP

Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy) Steve Smith (Australia) Test Cricketer of the Year Steve Smith (Australia) ODI Cricketer of the Year AB de Villiers (South Africa) T20I Performance of the Year Faf du Plessis (South Africa) (119, 56 balls – 2nd T20I v WI, 11 Jan)

Emerging Cricketer of the Year Josh Hazlewood (Australia) Associate/Affiliate Cricketer of Year Khurram Khan (UAE) Spirit of Cricket Award Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year Meg Lanning (Australia) Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)

Umpire of the Year (David Shepherd Trophy): Richard Kettleborough

Aussie Smith named player of the year n AFP, Dubai Australia captain Steve Smith has been named ICC cricketer of the year for 2015, the sport’s Dubai-based governing body revealed yesterday. The 26-year-old finished the year, which runs from September to September, as the leading Test run-scorer with 1,734 runs from 25 innings, averaging 82.57. He also became the second youngest player to reach the number one ranking for Test batsmen behind Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar. Smith thus became the fourth Australian to

win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy in its 12th edition, following in the footsteps of Ricky Ponting (2006 and 2007), Mitchell Johnson (2009 and 2014) and Michael Clarke (2013). He was also adjudged the Test cricketer of the year, although while he was a part of the Australia team that won the World Cup in the one-day format, he captained his country in their Ashes defeat to England. “Given that there are so many great players around the world, I’m incredibly honoured to receive these awards,” said Smith in a statement released by the ICC. While team success is always my number-one motivation, awards like this

are very special. I’m thrilled and very proud to receive them. “I will look back on 2015 with mixed feelings. Winning the ICC Cricket World Cup at home was a career highlight, and being appointed captain is a great honour, but the disappointment of losing the Ashes remains.” South Africa’s ODI captain AB de Villiers was named ODI player of the year while his teammate and T20I captain Faf du Plessis won the award for the T20 performance of the year for his 56-ball 119 against West Indies in Johannesburg in January. De Villiers scored 1,265 runs in 20 innings averaging just over 79. l

‘Players must look in mirror’ n BBC Guus Hiddink has told Chelsea’s underperforming players to “look at themselves in the mirror” and be “ultra-critical” during his first news conference as interim manager. The Dutchman, 69, the short-term replacement for sacked Jose Mourinho, said he would have a “brief” chat with players who did not have desire. Chelsea sit 15th in the Premier League, three points above the drop-zone. Hiddink added that finishing fourth was still a “mathematical possibility.” The former Netherlands coach also revealed he was keen to bring former striker Didier Drogba back to the club to work alongside him. Hiddink first managed the Blues on a tem-

porary basis for the final three months of the 2008-09 campaign, coming in as a replacement for Luiz Felipe Scolari. He helped the London club win the FA Cup and took them to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Chelsea finished third in the league - seven points behind champions Manchester United. “I shouldn’t be here halfway through the season. It means things are not going well. But anyhow, I am glad to be back. It is a few years ago I was here in a similar situation. “If you look back a bit to last season when there was this year of success, then you go into next season with targets and wins, which are the same: winning the title again. It is not easy after a championship. You relax as a team and get a wake-up call. It is not easy to say that I am here and the problem is solved.” l

Guus Hiddink hosts a press conference at the Chelsea training ground yesterday AFP

Sport

2015

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

ANOTHER BARCA TREBLE, DUTCH EXIT EURO, JOSE SACKED

FOOTBALL

With another calendar year coming to an end, now is a great time to look back at the stories of the year from the world of football. Football is often seen as the game which has drama and passion. The year 2015 was no different as drama on and off the field kept followers of the beautiful game on the edge.

Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Ballon d’Or award for the second year running and the third overall in January 2015. The Real Madrid forward polled more than double the number of votes than his bitter rival Lionel Messi, who just managed to edge Bayern Munich and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer into third place.

Bayern Munich became the German champions for the 25th time in a record time. They clinched the title with four matches in hand. The Bavarian giants have won three consecutive German league titles with coach Pep Guardiola winning the Bundesliga title in each of his two seasons in charge.

Eden Hazard was the key man for Chelsea as they were crowned EPL champions in May. Jose Mourinho’s side sealed their fifth EPL title with three games in hand. Barcelona were crowned La Liga champions on May 17. Luis Enrique’s team attained the

title with 31 victories, 3 draws, and 4 defeats. After years of being left to carry the team’s goal-scoring responsibility solely on his shoulders, Messi was helped by the deadly duo of Neymar and Suarez this time around.

Juventus clinched their fourth straight Serie A title after a 1-0 win at Sampdoria on May 2. The victory secured their 31st Scudetto in Massimiliano Allegri’s debut season. The Italian giants scored the highest number of goals in the division - 64 - while also having the best defensive record with just 19 goals conceded.

For the fourth time in ten seasons, Barcelona were the team celebrating at the end of the UEFA Champions League final. They claimed their fifth title after defeating Juventus 3-1 in the final in Berlin. This was the fifth time Barcelona have been crowned European champions and it was their fourth Champions League title in the last decade after their 2006, 2009 and 2011 triumphs.

Sepp Blatter resigned as president of FIFA in a stunning capitulation to critics as the weight of corruption scandals threatened world football’s governing body. The Swiss official, who has ruled the world’s most powerful sports federation for 17 years, said he would remain in charge until a special congress can choose a new leader.

The Netherlands were knocked out of the 2016 European Championship after suffering a 3-2 defeat in Amsterdam against the Czech Republic. Despite Guus Hiddink being replaced by Danny Blind, results did not improve. Hiddink’s laid-back approach, which had served him so well in the past was one of the biggest downfall for the Dutch.

England winger Raheem Sterling became the most expensive Englishman after joining Manchester City from Liverpool for a fee of £49 million. Man City paid an initial £44m for the winger, which could go up by a further £5m depending upon add-ons. November 28 will be the day Jamie Vardy and EPL fans will remember for quite a long period

of time. Vardy has been on fire as he set a new Premier League record by scoring in an 11th consecutive top-flight match as Leicester City drew 1-1 with Manchester United.

Jose Mourinho was sacked earlier this month after a disastrous start to the season by Chelsea. They were just one point ahead of the relegation zone the day he was asked to leave.

Sepp Blatter and European football boss Michel Platini were both banned from soccer for eight years on Monday by the Ethics Committee of football’s global governing body.

Belgium rose to the top of the FIFA World Ranking for the first time ever, knocking Argentina off the summit. Marc Wilmots’ side moved into first place thanks to their 3-1 Euro 2016 qualifying win over Israel in October. l

2015

Sport

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Djoker, Serena rule the roost in 2015

TENNIS

Not surprisingly, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams were named the men’s and women’s players of the year by the International Tennis Federation. Both won three of the four Grand Slams in 2015 and are well clear in the world rankings. Djokovic, who finished the year as men’s number one for the fourth time, won the award for a fifth time. He managed a career-best 11 titles and finished with an 82-6 record. He got even closer to the Grand Slam than Williams, who was beaten in the US Open semi-finals, as he only missed out on a first Roland Garros crown in the final against Stan Wawrinka. “My season was the best of my career with many highlights. It inspires me even more to keep on going, and I hope to continue to play at this level in 2016,” he said. Meanwhile, Williams, who was named ‘ITF World Champion’ for the sixth time, won five titles throughout the year, finishing with a 53-3 win-loss record. After winning Wimbledon in July she also held all four Grand Slam titles at the same time for the second time in her career, which she previously dubbed a ‘Serena Slam’ in contrast to a calendar Grand Slam. “It means a lot to me to be named the ITF World Champion for the sixth time. I am proud to have achieved my second Serena Slam, in what has been an amazing year for me,” she said in an ITF statement. India’s Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis of Switzerland were named the women’s doubles champions with Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau of Romania picking up the men’s award. l

FORMULA 1

Hamilton seals third F1 crown Lewis Hamilton has been accused of not taking the sport seriously while his immense self-assurance can be perceived as arrogance; it’s not to everybody’s taste. But after his latest triumph, it is time to appreciate what we have. Just look at the stats. As well as making history by sealing successive titles, the Stevenage-born star has equalled Sir Jackie Stewart with three Formula One crowns, surpassing Jim Clark and Graham Hill in the process. Only Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost have won more grands prix than Hamilton (43), who still has plenty of years left in him at the age of 30. With Jenson Button floundering, Hamilton is flying the flag and is relishing the responsibility. After emulating his hero Ayrton Senna, he is carrying the baton for the Brazilian and is the star of this generation. He had his back against the wall last season with Nico Rosberg using every tactic at his disposal - even shunting him to an early retirement in Belgium - to open up a wide championship lead but still recovered. What has followed this year has been complete and utter domination.l

The year rugby went global The sport of rugby union has just unlocked the door to a brave new world. Hands up those who, six weeks ago, feared sides like Japan would be flattened by “proper” nations and envisaged a surfeit of dull, second-rate games in half-empty football stadia? How gloriously, thrillingly wrong those predictions proved to be, even before New Zealand defeated Australia in Saturday’s throbbing finale at Twickenham. Here’s a statistic to reinforce the sense of a global game going places. The average attendance at the football World Cup in Brazil in 2014, over 64 matches, was 53,592. At its rugby equivalent, supposedly a much poorer relation, the figure was remarkably similar: 51,621 over 48 games.

There were 2.47m tickets sold, backed up by record TV audiences with Olympic recognition looming for rugby sevens next year. RWC 2019 in Japan will bring further expansion. But do not simply judge 2015 on size or scale alone. Instead, cling to the sights and sounds of the past month and a half: thousands of Argentina fans turning Twickenham into a suburb of Buenos Aires, the unforgettable Brave Blossoms of Brighton, Namibians and Georgians being roared on in Exeter. The best World Cups offer a kaleidoscope of images and this brilliantly-staged oval-ball extravaganza outdid anything the game has seen. The 2015 tournament was certainly not defined by England’s premature exit. l

RUGBY

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

Showtime

Best of 2015 n Nasimul Hasan 2015 has been a bumper year for the débutante film-makers, and if you’re not convinced yet, here’s a list of films directed by débutante film-makers that may change your mind.

Chhuye Dile Mon Prominent TV fiction maker Shihab Shaheen’s debut film generated much anticipation due to the director’s charismatic records of storytelling. Most of his TV works received plaudits from all spheres. Successful TV actors were chosen for Chhuye Dile Mon but what really made it stand out was its plot. This was one of the most commercially successful films in 2015 and it’s safe to say that the Bangladesh film industry needs more of these. Shihab Shaheen set an example of an ideal, commercially successful film. The sublime performance of the leads, Mamo and Arefin Shuvo, camera-work, choreography and music are the key elements behind it’s success. Paddo Patar Jol Although Paddo Patar Jol did not receive as much admiration as Chhuye Dile Mon technical aspects in film-making made it comparable to any Bollywood film. Vikings famed Tonmoy Tansen’s directorial skills shines through Paddo Patar Jol. Any story from the zamindar era would not be well received among the audience unless it depicts an interesting plot. You would not find any distinguishable performance in acting but its cinematography and choreography made Paddo Patar Jol spectacular.

Ghashphul Akram Khan is one of the busiest filmakers on TV whose techniques and story that made him stand apart. For his debut big screen venture, he picked an out-of-thebox story as well. He chose a subur in the 90s as the backdrop, which is more sublime than any other Bangladeshi film. Several new faces are the lead cast and their performances defy the theory that “experience matters.” In terms of film-making, camera-work, background music and production design the film seems nonpareil. The fundamental over-sight part is in its screenplay as sometimes it may seem monotonous to the audience and the final twist falls flat hopeless. Apart from these facts, this technically sound film made us hopeful about the future of the Bangladesh film industry. Zero Degree For his debut big screen venture, Animesh Aich picked a challenging story after demonstrating his potential in some unconventional small screen dramas over the past few years. In the film starring Mahfuz, Jaya and Ruhee, the trio’s performance is spectacular. Although many rejected the film’s dark plot and unusual story, but its look and style of storytelling would definitely place it in the best of the year list.

Jalal’s Story Undoubtedly, Jalal’s Story is the best film made in the country in 2015. This film single-handedly sets the standard of Bangladeshi films on a whole new level. The successful deploy of jump-cut in a conventional storytelling is rare. And more importantly, a few best performances of the year are from this film. From Mosharraf Karim to Moushumi Hamid to the young actor, who played Jalal’s childhood, all of them are unforgettable. Although the story was conventional, the script made it world-class and eventually helped it earn numerous international accolades. Editing, sound and cinematography are spectacular. Audience would definitely look forward to hear more from Abu Shahed Emon. l

Best 2015 international albums n Showtime Desk Anyone who tries to tell you that 2015 didn’t offer up a wide variety of excellent music wasn’t paying attention. This year was actually really happening in the global music industry. You just have to do a little digging to find the best records. Dhaka Tribune intends to made the job a little easier for you. Here is the best of the best of what the year had to offer.

To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar Musically, lyrically and emotionally, Kendrick Lamar’s third album is a one-ofa-kind masterpiece – a sprawling epic that’s probably the year’s most bumptious party music. A rap superstar at last, after years on the underground grind, Lamar wrestles with the depression and survivor’s guilt that followed his fame and success by turning to heroes from Ralph Ellison and Richard Pryor to Smokey Robinson and Kris Kross to Nelson Mandela and Tupac. He lives large. He contains multitudes.

towering vocal performances that have already made her iconic.

Showtime

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

old Australian singer-songwriter who marries the observational wit of Jerry Seinfeld, the word-ninja flow of Bob Dylan circa ‘65 and the guitar poetry of Stephen Malkmus. As its title implies, these are songs wrought from a specific type of everyday quarterlife malaise – one brilliant song is about the stuff that runs through your mind when you can’t fall asleep, another is about a botched meet-cute at a swimming pool. But Barnett’s ability to pack her songs about nothing with vivid imagery and insight, literary detail and political insight, is astonishing.

Beauty Behind the Madness by The Weeknd Canada’s Abel Tesfaye redefined what it means to be an R&B auteur with his breakthrough second LP. After a series of mysterious mixtape releases built around weeded-out goth moodiness (and one halfbaked major-label debut, in 2011), he went for full-on top 40 grandeur this time, without diluting any of his eerie allure. Currents by Tame Impala The leaders of the Aussie psych vanguard all but severed ties with guitar-based noise on Currents – “They say people never change, but that’s bullshit” was mastermind Kevin Parker’s apt reminder on Yes I’m Changing. Fans needn’t have feared the disco-flecked new sound: Parker’s niggling insecurities still sounded intoxicating.

Honeymoon by Lana Del Rey 2015 didn’t deliver loads of stuff to laugh about, and Lana Del Rey’s crushingly bleak third album tapped into the zeitgeist. Honeymoon was a broken Disney fairytale of bankrupt Hollywood dreams in which vocals ached, strings pined and our heroine gasped lines like “You’re so art deco, out on the floor/ Shining like gun metal, cold and unsure.”

Something More Than Free by Jason Isbell Jason Isbell chronicled hard-won sobriety and marriage on 2013’s breakthrough Southeastern. Instead of remaking that album on this follow-up, the most thoughtful rootsrock singer-songwriter of his generation delivered a stunning chronicle of Southern life. My Love Is Cool by Wolf Alice No one really expected Wolf Alice to release an album as inventive, invigorating and sublime as this. From roaring choruses (Fluff y and You’re A Germ) to softer reflections (Soapy Water and The Wonderwhy), it surged with ambition, proving there is so much more to them than sounding a bit like a load of grunge bands on their early singles.

25 by Adele The feverish four-year wait for the followup to Adele’s triple-platinum blockbuster, 21, was unlike anything we’ve seen this decade – and she didn’t disappoint on this thunderous triumph. 25 tells the story of a young woman making her uneasy peace with adulthood, like Carole King on Tapestry. Adele and her A-list coconspirators (Max Martin and Tobias Jesso Jr) fly from drum-cannon 80s balladry to classic gospel and blues to the kind of piano power surges that are her epic signature, holding it all together with the nuanced,

Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett The year’s best debut came from a 27-year-

Vulnicura by BJORK Bjork released Vulnicura in a rush way back in January. The rush was necessary because the album had been leaked. This is quite possibly the most beautiful and heartbreaking work of Bjork’s career and it plays like a classical orchestra piece. The album tells the story of a break-up in chronological order. As it progresses, it gets more chaotic and more intense in order to illustrate the devastating effects of heartbreak.

Black Messiah by D’Angelo and the Vanguard D’Angelo dropped his first LP since 2000 in the final days of 2014, as his big statement on America in a year of deep racial turmoil. At first it might have sounded too good to be true, but after a year of listening, Black Messiah stands even taller. l

Back Page

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

LUXURY HOTELS TO BEAM WITH XMAS EVENTS PAGE 15

DETERMINED BENGAL TIGERS BRACE FOR AFGHAN TEST PAGE 25

BEST 2015 INT’L ALBUMS PAGE 31

Habiganj economic zone proposal protested n Tribune Report The government’s decision to set up an economic zone on hundreds of acres of arable land in Habiganj would threaten the livelihoods of thousands of tea workers there, political parties and rights activists have warned. Protesting the government move, the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BaSad) formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday.

Speaking there, CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim said the establishment of an economic zone in Chandpore and Begum Khan tea estates would mean the eviction of around 16,000 workers including 1,200 tea workers. Such a move, which had been made without any consultation with tea workers, would push thousands of workers towards death, Selim added. BaSad General Secretary Khalequzzaman said foreign investment was a technique to loot money and exploit cheap labour. He also

pointed out that the international labour law had not yet been implemented for the special economic zones. Meanwhile, in a separate statement, rights activists expressed their concerns about the hurried attempt to establish an economic zone on 511 acres of agricultural land in Habiganj. “We believe an injustice will be done to the tea workers and their families of Chandpore Tea Estate if the agricultural land is transferred without properly consulting them or taking their economic fate into con-

sideration,” the statement read. “We appeal to the government to hold full-scale and open consultation with the tea workers as regards establishing an economic zone in the agricultural land that they cultivate,” they added. Eleven signatories of the statement are: Hossain Zillur Rahman, Hameeda Hossain, Anu Muhammad, Khushi Kabir, Shahidul Alam, Jyotirmoy Barua, Rahnuma Ahmed, Tanzimuddin Khan, Shamsul Huda, Hasnat Quaiyum and Philip Gain. l

Former JaPa lawmaker, eight others indicted for 1971 war crimes n Tribune Report

Officials of the Forest Department receive a barn owl from its rescuer in the capital’s Shahbagh area yesterday. The owl had entered a residential building in Shahbagh and was rescued by one of its residents, who later contacted the Forest Department SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

The International Crimes Tribunal has fixed January 31 to begin the trial against nine people, including former Jatiya Party MP Shakhawat Hossain. The eight other accused in the case are Md Billal Hossain Biswas, Md Ibrahim Hossain, Sheikh Md Mojibur Rahman, MA Aziz Sarder, Abdul Aziz Sarder, Kazi Ohidul Islam, Md Lutfur Morhal and Md Abdul Khalek. Among them, only Shakhawat, Billal and Lutfar are in police custody. On September 8, the tribunal accepted charges against the nine and cleared three other suspects of the charges. The charges include abduction, confine-

ment, torture, murder and rape at Keshabpur upazila’s Boga, Chingra, Hijaldanga and Mahadebpur villages. The three-member tribunal led by Justice Anwarul Haque framed five charges of crimes against humanity against the nine accused. Shakhawat, Billal and Lutfar were produced before the court in the morning. A former Jamaat-e-Islami leader, Shakhawat is currently Jatiya Party’s religious affairs secretary. He was elected an MP from Jessore 6 constituency with a Jamaat ticket in 1991. He later left the party and joined the BNP. He was also involved with the LDP and the PDP. He contested the 2014 national elections from JaPa but lost the battle. l

Facebook in India row over internet access for the poor n AFP Facebook went on the offensive Wednesday in an escalating row with Indian authorities over a controversial initiative which the social network says is aimed at widening online access in the developing world. The social media giant took out billboards and full-page newspaper adverts and sent SMSs to defend its Free Basics service, which offers people without the internet free access to a handful of websites through mobile phones. Free Basics is “at risk of being banned” in India, Facebook said in the adverts, adding that the service aims to help a billion unconnected Indians -- mostly living in poor rural areas -- to get online. It follows fierce criticism from net neutrality activists who say it violates the principle

that the whole internet should be available to all, unrestricted by any one company. Earlier this month the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ordered Reliance Communications, the sole mobile operator for the service, to suspend it temporarily without giving a reason. “This campaign gives people the opportunity to support digital equality in India,” Facebook said in a statement on its Save Free Basics campaign. “We are committed to Free Basics and to working with Reliance and the relevant authorities to help people in India get connected.” Some 3.2m people have petitioned India’s telecoms regulator not to ban Free Basics, formerly named internet.org, which launched nationwide last month after being trialled in several states, Facebook said. l

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