04 March, 2016 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

‘Depression drove mother to kill kids’ n Kamrul Hasan On the day they were murdered, Nusrat and Alvi were asked by their mother to go to bed, RAB media wing director Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan told a press briefing yesterday. As Nusrat lay in bed, Mahfuza attempted to strangle her. Nusrat resisted but was finally overpowered. Mahfuza then strangled Alvi. To cover up the crime, Mahfuza called her husband Amanullah, who was in Uttara, and her sister Afroza, who lived in a rented flat near Mahfuza’s Banasree residence. Mahfuza Malek Jesmin, 35, yesterday confessed to strangling her two children to death. Her motive remains unclear. She has told investigators that a bout of depression brought on by anxiety about the siblings’ future had caused her to murder them, Commander Mufti said. Father of the victims Amanullah filed a murder case against Mahfuza around 9:45pm, OC Rafiqul Islam confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune last night. Seven other people detained in connection with the incident have been released. Earlier, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officials informed the Dhaka Tribune that Mahfuza had killed

Mahfuza Malek Jesmin, mother of the two siblings killed in the capital's Banasree, is taken to RAB headquarters yesterday as she confessed to killing her children out of worries over their future MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU her children over an extramarital affair, and psychological and social disorder. The elite force now says it has not found evidence of an affair. RAB also claims that the double murder was the work of the psychologically-afflicted mother. But at the same time, investi-

gators described Mahfuza as calm and coherent during questioning and while thoroughly describing the killings. Investigators have not found any evidence that anybody else was present when the children were fatally assaulted, but Commander Mufti said a number of

facts indicate that the family was involved in the murders or in the subsequent effort to cover it up. Fourteen-year-old Nusrat Jahan and six-year-old Alvi Aman were declared dead at Dhaka Medical College Hospital after they had been brought there unconscious on Monday night.

At the time, family members claimed that the children had fallen asleep after having leftover Chinese food for lunch and did not wake up. Conflicting accounts of the incident given by the parents and family members led forensics experts on Wednesday to suspect that the two siblings from Dhaka’s Banasree neighbourhood might have been murdered. Mahfuza’s decision to stay at home while her children were taken to a nearby hospital was described by investigators as “unusual and suspicious.” The result of post-mortem examinations at Dhaka Medical College hinted at foul play. Injury marks were found on the children’s necks. The boy also had injury marks on his legs and his sister had eye injuries. Forensic scientists say they were waiting for the visceral test results to determine the causes of death. RAB took eight people, including the victims’ parents and maternal aunt Afroza Akhter, into custody in connection with the deaths of the two siblings. Seven of them have since been released. Mahfuza was handed over to Rampura police after the case was filed. Police are set to produce her before a Dhaka court today seeking remand. l

The unsung hero that is Mahmudullah

n Mazhar Uddin

INSIDE

Four years ago on March 22, almost every Bangladesh fan cried following the Tigers’ heart-breaking tworun loss against Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup at home. A helpless Mahmudullah was

Useless CCTV cams monitor city In Dhaka, most CCTV cameras installed at key points, except for those in Gulshan area, do not function properly while others cannot function during power cuts.  PAGE 3

crying his way to the dressing room after being unable to steer his side to victory. Ten runs were required in the final over but Bangladesh managed only seven. Mahmudullah was not the only cricketer who cried that day, though. The morale-shattering defeat left each and every single Bangladesh cricketer in tears. As fate would have it, Mahmudullah got another shot at glory. Against the same opposition. At the same venue. In the same tournament. And in the same month, March, the month of independence. This time, Mahmudullah, an

“unsung hero” to some and a “silent killer” to others, grabbed the opportunity with both hands and guided Bangladesh to a historical win, and in the process, a final date with India. The Tigers might have been under tremendous pressure but the 30-year-old was coolness personified right till the end of the innings. Deservedly, it was him who smashed the winning boundary to spark wild celebrations at the home of cricket in Mirpur. Yet again, the stylish batsman

HC urged to stop collection of tenants’ info

Martin Crowe dies

A writ petition has been filed with the High Court challenging legality of the police’s move to collect personal information about tenants from the landlords in Dhaka City by March 15.  PAGE 5

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Tributes flowed yesterday for former NZ cricket captain Martin Crowe, who died after a battle with cancer.  PAGE 26

Bangladesh batsman Mahmudullah glides one towards the long on region during their Asia Cup Twenty20 clash against Pakistan at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium last Wednesday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

EU president: Don’t come to Europe EU Council President Donald Tusk told illegal economic migrants not to risk their lives or money to make a perilous trip to Europe “for nothing” but said unilateral actions by EU states to deal with the crisis must stop.  PAGE 21

AL leader’s son stabs minor over a trifle The son of a local Awami League leader has reportedly stabbed a minor boy over a daft incident in Sirajganj. Alamgir Hossain, son of Ullapara municipality Awami League unit chief Ahsan Ali, dubbed Wednesday’s incident “nothing but a minor misunderstanding.”  PAGE 32

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Ershad’s radar purchase case hearing deferred n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday deferred the hearing in the radar purchase corruption case against Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad and three others. Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Kamrul Hossain Molla deferred the date following a time petition filed by the prosecution. The court will continue the hearing on prosecution’s arguments on March 24. HM Ershad, special envoy to the prime minister, did not appear before the court.

The case accuses Ershad of causing a loss of Tk64.04cr to state by purchasing radars for BAF Two other accused, former air force chiefs of staff Air Vice-Marshal (retd) Sultan Mahmud and Air Vice-Marshal (retd) Momtaj Uddin Ahmed, were present. On April 24, 2014 the court completed the recording of depositions made by 12 prosecution witnesses in the graft case. The case was filed by the then Anti-Corruption Bureau against five people on April 4, 1992. The accused were Ershad, Mahmud, Ahmed and United Traders owner Shazad Ali and the company’s director AKM Musa. Musa has been absconding since the trial began. Shazad Ali’s name was dropped from the charge sheet when it was submitted on October 27, 1994. Charges were framed by the court on August 12, 1995. The trial was adjourned the same day and did not resume till November 2, 2010. The case accuses Ershad, in collusion with the others, of causing a loss of Tk64.04 crore to the state by purchasing radars for Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) from the US instead of France while he was in power. l

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presides over the first meeting of the PPP Board of Governors in her office yesterday

FOCUS BANGLA

Court asks cops again Report on remarks by to submit probe Khaleda, Goyeshwar report on Khaleda sought again n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday again fixed May 2 as the day to submit a probe report in a case filed against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and three others. They are charged with killing 42 people in violence committed during the hartal-blockade of the BNP-led 20-party alliance in January 2015. Metropolitan magistrate Asaduzzman Nur fixed the fresh date for submitting the report since the OC of Gulshan police station yesterday failed to submit it before the court on the scheduled day. The other accused are BNP standing committee member Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah, Khaleda’s adviser Prof Emajuddin Ahmed and her ex-advisor Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury. On February 2 last year, AB Sid-

dique, president of Bangladesh Jananetri Parishad, a pro-Awami League organisation, filed the case with the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court against the four people. After recording the complainant’s statement, the court directed the officer-in-charge (OC) of Gulshan PS to investigate the case and submit a probe report before the court. “Khaleda Zia masterminded the killings while the remaining three instigated the pogrom,” Siddique said in his case statement. He added that the BNP-led coalition activists blasted petrol bombs during the frequent hartals and blockade, leaving 42 people dead, and hundreds of others wounded from January 5 to February 1 that year. The case was filed under sections 302, 109 and 120 (B) of the Penal Code. l

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday again directed the police to submit the report by March 30 in a defamation case filed against BNP chief Khaleda Zia and its leader Goyeshwar Chandra Roy for making defamatory remarks about the Liberation War martyrs. Metropolitan Magistrate Muhammad Jakir Hossain Tipu passed the order as the officer-in-charge of Shahbagh police failed to submit the probe report before the court yesterday. AB Siddique, president of Jananetri Parishad, a pro-Awami League organisation, filed the case with the Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on January 5. The plaintiff mentioned that the BNP chief came up with “false and derogatory remarks” about

the state and its creation while addressing at a function on December 21 last year. Three-time former prime minister expressed doubt over the number of martyrs claiming that the figure was disputed. Khaleda also said that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had not wanted independence, rather wanted to be the prime minister of Pakistan. Her son and senior BNP leader Tarique Rahman had made similar statements about Bangabandhu in the past. The complainant also said that BNP Standing Committee Member Goyeshwar on December 25 last year supported Khaleda’s speech and demanded that a survey be conducted to find the accurate death toll. He also said that the martyred intellectuals were anti-liberation elements who died like fools. l

family supported me at that time. My father, mother and wife, who all support me through thick and thin, helped me overcome the toughest phase of my career. I was determined to prove myself. However, it was very tough for me mentally,” he said back then. Since then, Mahmudullah kept his head down and silently contributed away for his country. There might be bad times ahead but one should nev-

er forget his contributions and heroics, especially after the game against Pakistan last Wednesday. With today’s Sri Lanka-Pakistan clash being a dead-rubber, all that remains now of the 14th Asia Cup is Sunday’s final. The 16 crore people will surely raise their hands in prayers, hoping for one more effort from Mahmudullah, the man who loves to make a substantive yet unrecognised contribution. l

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Unsung hero that is Mahmudullah proved that he is the nucleus of the Tigers line-up. However, the ride has been anything but rosy for the Mymensingh lad as he had to face a lot of criticism during his bad patches. Some even said his presence in the Bangladesh dressing room was down to his personal relationship with Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim. Mahmudullah remained a picture of patience and never burst out in anger. He started working harder

and retained his hunger for success. And he was rewarded in some style. In what was probably the most defining moment of his career, Mahmudullah inspired the Tigers to the quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup; the first time in history they qualified for the last eight. He blasted back-to-back centuries in the flagship event, becoming the only Bangladesh batsman to do so. Among his two tons, the century against England

will always remain fresh in the memories of just about any cricket faithful. Finally, following the World Cup, Mahmudullah broke his silence in an exclusive interview with the Dhaka Tribune. He said that the criticisms really hurt him. “It was the toughest period of my life. I heard these things which hurt me a lot. Some of them even said such things in front of me which made me feel really bad. But, my

News

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Useless CCTV cameras monitor Dhaka n Kamrul Hasan

Surveillance cameras are an integral part of crimes investigations. But except for those in Gulshan area of Dhaka, most CCTV cameras do not function properly while others stop working during blackouts. A Dhaka Metropolitan Police source said footage from these cameras were unclear and that there was no back-up system to keep them rolling during power cuts. The DMP installed about 155 CCTV cameras at 59 key points five years ago, but many of them have remained dysfunctional for years. Most of the 94 cameras installed at 12 entry and exit points of Dhaka are also out of service. A police officer said installing the 155 cameras initially cost the

government Tk270 million but later the cost shot up to Tk410m. Then another Tk200m was spent on setting up a control room, pushing up the total cost to a staggering Tk614.1m. But the project is yet to take off as the police have not taken over the charge of operation from the contractor. Apart from these, around 1,000 CCTV cameras were installed with the help of locals. These are controlled and maintained by the local police stations but more than half of them are out of order. Dhaka University’s criminology department teacher Syed Mahfujul Haque Marjan noted that the law enforcement agencies had managed to identify criminals from CCTV footage despite setbacks. Killers of Italian national Cesare

Tavella, Jubo League leader Reazul Haque Milki, rapists of a Garo girl, and arsonists, among others, were identified using surveillance footage. The police recently managed to identify and arrest one of the accused of last year’s much-talkedabout Pohela Boishakh sexual assaults on the Dhaka University campus. A DMP source said the cameras went blank during power cuts as there were no back-up systems. However, newly-installed cameras at Gulshan can record footage for over an hour after a blackout. But lack of back-up is not the only problem. The cameras were installed with four networking devices. As a result, when one camera shuts down, several others also go silent. A police control room on the Ab-

dul Gani Road monitors the cameras. A DMP official said they had surveillance cameras at Gulshan, Uttara and Mirpur. Power cuts, snapped optical fibre connections and camera lens malfunctioning, among others, dogged operations. Police officials said it was not possible to keep all the cameras in operation at the same time. Officer-in-Charge of Darus Salam police station Selimozzaman said the CCTV cameras installed on the Mirpur bridge were not out of service but being repaired. “They will be back in operation soon,” he said, adding that there was no power back-up for these cameras. Several police sources told the Dhaka Tribune that they considered their Gulshan project a success and said they planned to install similar cameras in other parts

of Dhaka with back-up facilities. Shoeb Reaz Alam, assistant inspector general (AIG) of police (estate) at the Police Headquarters, said they had taken up a new project to modernise Dhaka’s traffic and security systems. Currently, the feasibility work is going on. AIG (development) Gazi Mozammel Haque said they would bring the whole city under CCTV camera surveillance. But he did not specify when the project would kick off or how it would be implemented. “I hope soon,” he said in response to a query. “But a lot of work needs to be done and so, it may take time.” DU teacher Marjan told the Dhaka Tribune: “Crime rate will drop sharply if the whole city is brought under CCTV surveillance. Identifying criminals will also become much easier.” l

Tarique ordered to surrender by March 16 n Tribune Report The High Court yesterday ordered BNP Senior Vice-chairman Tarique Rahman to appear before a trial court by March 16 in a money laundering case. The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Amir Hossain will deliver further order regarding the matter on that day. Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said the High Court had asked the trial court whether the summons sent to Tarique’s address on February 28 had reached him. The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court informed the High Court that they initially did not understand the court order and then sent the summons to Tarique on February 29. The High Court, to ensure justice, then set the date to observe whether Tarique complied with the order. Earlier, the court ordered the BNP leader to surrender before the trial court following an appeal filed by the ACC challenging his acquittal in the case, but he did not comply. On January 12 this year, the High Court asked the authorities concerned to publish advertisements in newspapers regarding the order to surrender. Later, advertisements were published in two newspapers on January 20 and 21. The trial court sent the summons to two addresses in London. On November 17, 2013 the Dhaka Third Special Judge Court acquitted Tarique and sentenced his close friend Gias Uddin Al Mamun to seven years in prison in the case. l

Locals in the capital’s east Merul Badda suffer as road digging as part of Wasa's maintenance work goes on slowly. The photo was taken yesterday

MEHEDI HASAN

BNP: 162 UP aspirants stopped from submitting nomination forms n Tribune Report

The BNP has alleged that UP chairman hopefuls backed by the party were not allowed to submit their nominations in 162 union parishads. “As of now, 162 BNP-backed aspirants could not submit their nomination papers because of ruling

party men,” Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, joint secretary general of the party, said at a press conference in the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters yesterday. The BNP leader alleged that the Election Commission was staying silent even after being informed of different allegations. “Due to the bias of the Election

Commission, 150 union parishad chairmen have been elected uncontested as of now,” he said. The EC says the first phase of union parishad elections would be held on March 22 in 752 unions. The commission also says the UP elections, which will be in partisan line for the first time ever, will be

held in six phases in 4,275 unions. According to the EC, the second phase of the polls will be held on March 31 in 710 union parishads, the third on April 23 in 711 UPs, the fourth on May 7 in 728 UPs, the fifth on May 28 in 714 UPs, and the sixth phase of the polls on June 4 in 660 union parishads. l

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Annisul: Free occupied roads, footpaths within a week n Abu Hayat Mahmud Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq has asked shop owners to free occupied portion of roads and footpaths within a week. The mayor made the call while

addressing a views exchange programme in the capital’s Gulshan Club yesterday afternoon. He said: “If any shop owner, under the jurisdiction of Dhaka North City Corporation, fails to free the occupied roads and public walkways by March 10, legal

action will be taken against the owner.” Annisul said shop owners are major stakeholders who can make Dhaka a clean city. “I am also a businessman, so I know who produces most wastes in the city and occupies roads and walkways,”

Khaleda summoned again as she skips appearance n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia did not appear before a Dhaka court yesterday as per its previous order in a sedition case filed over her comments on the number of martyrs during the Liberation War. Accepting a time petition filed by Khaleda’s counsel in the case, Metropolitan Magistrate Muhammad Jakir Hossain Tipu set April 10 for her appearance. Defence counsel Md Sanaullah Miah said: “Khaleda could not appear before the court today [yesterday] due to her illness. If the time is allowed, she can appear before it on the next scheduled date.” On the other hand, complainant Momtaz Uddin Ahmad Mehedi appealed to the court to issue an arrest warrant against Khaleda for her

non-appearance. On January 25, the court summoned the BNP chief to appear before the court yesterday in connection with the sedition case. The case was filed by Mehedi, a Supreme Court lawyer and also member of the ruling Awami League’s Central Committee. According to the case, Khaleda at a programme on December 21 last year said that there were controversies over how many were martyred during the Liberation War. There are also many books and documents on the controversy. “Without naming Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Khaleda also said he did not want independence. Rather, he wanted to become the prime minister of Pakistan,” the complainant

alleged. Two days after her comments, Mehedi, also a former secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association, sent a legal notice to Khaleda, asking her to apologise to the nation within seven days for her remarks. Later Mehedi sought the Home Ministry’s approval to lodge the sedition case. He got the permission on January 21. Terming the case “politically motivated,” Sanaullah earlier claimed that it was filed to harass and malign Khaleda in order to implement the government’s ill intention. BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that the sedition case was a mockery. This is done just out of political vengeance to remove the BNP chief from politics. l

Prof Omar IUB VC again

Freedom fighter’s strange death in city

Professor M Omar Ejaz Rahman has been reappointed as the vice-chancellor of Independent University, Bangladesh by its chancellor and president of Bangladesh, Abdul Hamid. His reappointment was effective from January 26 this year for a four year term. An internationally renowned demographer and psychiatrist, Professor Omar is also an adjunct professor of Public Health at Harvard University. Prior to his reappointment, he was the VC of IUB from 2012 to 2016, VC-in-charge from 2011-2012 and pro-VC from 2006-2011. l

n Tribune Report

An elderly man died a sudden death yesterday on the streets in Tejgaon under unusual circumstances. Police are saying he may have died of poisoning. Family of the victim, Nurul Islam, 70, said he was a freedom fighter from Gopalganj and they had no idea why he was in the city. Tejgaon police Sub-Inspector Abdullah Al-Mamun said around 11:30am yesterday Nurul, who was walking in the direction of Lucas Intersection, collapsed on the street in front of gate 4 of the Prime Minister’s Office. A patrol team from the Tejgaon police station that was nearby at the moment rushed the man to Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital where doctors declared him dead.

The police inquest report said Nurul may have died of poisoning. For the autopsy, the dead body was sent to the Dhaka medical College morgue. Police said they were treating the incident as a suicide and looking into what may have driven Nurul to the act. Nurul’s son Lalin Khan said his father was a freedom fighter and lived in the Bongram area in Gopalganj Sadar. He did not know when his father had come to Dhaka and why. “He had been upset for a while because some people had threatened to block his freedom fighter allowance,” Lalin said. But he did not believe that this could have caused the man to take his own life, he said. l

he added. The Dhaka North City Corporation mayor also said that no one would be able to continue business by occupying even a single inch of road and footpath. He said: “You [shop owners] will have to start freeing roads and

footpaths from tomorrow [today].” At the programme, leaders and representatives of different market and shop owners’ associations assured Annisul of cooperation. DNCC high officials and ward councillors were also present at the programme. l

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

HC urged to stop collection of tenants’ info n Ashif Islam Shaon A writ petition has been filed with the High Court challenging legality of the police’s move to collect personal information about tenants from the landlords in Dhaka City by March 15. Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua filed the petition yesterday, two days after he had sent a legal notice requesting the government to refrain from seeking the information. He also sought the court’s direction to stop use of any information already collected from the landlords and tenants. The petitioner sought directives

tion and there is every possibility that my information will be leaked to the wrong hands and abused,” he said. The lawyer also said that there were instances that citizen’s personal information had been leaked and used by foreign companies in the past. On the other hand, according to section 42 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, every citizen must help the police for government or investigation work. Under this section, police can seek information from anyone and citizens must cooperate. If necessary, the police can also take action under this section.

day. In the legal notice, stating himself personally affected by the government instruction, the petitioner said that there is no specific law to ask for all this private information. He also wanted to know under what legal basis the government was asking for the information and how the information would be stored. The lawyer said that the information sought was very much personal and sensitive in nature, and could bring harm to the people. “I personally think that you [police] are not professionally trained enough to handle digital informa-

on the secretaries of ministries of law and home affairs, and the inspector general of police and the commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police to store the collected personal information in “safe custody,” so that no party can use it that until a specific law is enacted to protect the information. According to the constitution, a citizen has every right to maintain secrecy of his/her personal life. The police cannot seek information from the ordinary people, Jyotirmoy told the Dhaka Tribune. He filed the petition as the respondents had not replied to the legal notice sent to them on Tues-

Hearing deferred in Zia trust cases n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday fixed March 10 for the next hearing against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and seven others in the Zia Orphanage Trust case and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases. The BNP chief skipped yesterday’s hearing on health grounds. Her counsel submitted time petitions before the court for her non-appearance. Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar of Dhaka Special Judge Court 3 adjourned the trial proceedings until March 10 after recording the cross-examination of one witness in one of the cases. TM Akbar Hossain, counsel for accused Monirul Islam Khan, partly cross-examined Anti-Corruption Commission Deputy Director Harun-ur-Rashid, the investigation officer in the Zia Charitable Trust case. l

1,200 riyal salary for Bangladeshi house helps in Qatar n Adil Sakhawat

Rental cars parked on both sides occupy almost half the road under the capital’s Kuril flyover, reducing the space available for traffic movement. The photo was taken yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

Study finds negligence in recruiting internal migrant construction workers n Tribune Report

Workers in construction, recognised as a “risky and labour-intensive” sector, face irregularities in the recruitment process, which lead to poor working and living conditions and inadequate social protection, said a study conducted by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU). Though nearly 2 million people are involved in this sector and

DRY WEATHER

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aries to work outside the purview of the state, and their day-to-day operations and associated malpractice puts the workers’ lives beyond the state’s capacity to monitor. According to the study, construction workers are neither paid the official minimum wage, nor paid for overtime, and never get any weekends. It shows the sector and its workers to be perhaps one of the least monitored in Bangladesh. l

middlemen to agree to take on the low-paying job so as to ensure cash flow for their families. This is why employers find attractive the existing recruitment system of working with middlemen. The existence of the intermediaries in labour recruitment however is not legally acknowledged. Also, their role does not allow the state to tackle the workers’ concerns. This enables the intermedi-

its contribution to GDP was 8.2% in 2014-15, the study revealed that principal employers prefer to engage middlemen in recruiting workers to the sector, which raises risks and dangers to the workers. The study was made public yesterday at the capital’s Cirdap Auditorium at a workshop organised by RMMRU and Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS). The study also said construction workers are easily swayed by

TEMPERATURE FOREC AST FOR TODAY

FRIDAY, MARCH 4

DMP sources said that the tenants’ information would be collected and maintained by the city’s respective police stations and shared through a central DMP database. The information would be stored categorised under respective neighbourhoods. The initiative to create a tenant database was taken by the DMP Headquarters in the past, but the process did not success then due to several reasons. The move was taken afresh recently after the law enforcers raided two houses in Badda and Mohammadpur areas and found huge explosives in the flats used as militant dens. l

Rangpur

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PRAYER TIMES

Qatar’s government has agreed on increasing the salary of Bangladeshi domestic helps working there to 1,200 riyals from the existing 900 riyals. The matter was decided yesterday at a joint working group meeting between the countries at the capital’s Prabasi Kalyan Bhaban. Brigadier Mohammed Ahmed M Al Atiq Al Dossary, additional director general of Qatar’s passport department, led the five-member Qatar delegation, while the Bangladesh team was led by Begum Shamsun Nahar, the acting secretary of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry. The Qatar delegation expressed their eagerness to recruit skilled female workers from Bangladesh. Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2022 and to ensure Qatar’s National Development Planning Vision 2030, Qatar now needs a large number of foreign workers to complete their ongoing massive development projects. The delegation wants to recruit nurses, engineers, teachers, IT workers and salespersons from Bangladesh, according to a press release from the ministry. The joint working group also agreed to increase security and other facilities for Bangladeshi workers in Qatar and reduce their migration cost. The two sides also discussed the matter of introducing a hotline to ease and increase labour migration between the two countries. l Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

Fajr: 5:00am | Jumma: 12:10am Asr: 3:32pm | Magrib: 6:06pm Esha: 7:33pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

BNP gets venue to hold its council HC commutes four n convicts’ punishment Tribune Report

The BNP has received the confirmation from Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, to hold its sixth national council there on March 19. BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the announcement at a press briefing in the party’s Nayapaltan central office in the capital yesterday. “We applied to three venues to hold our council. Last night [Wednesday], the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh authorities wrote to us confirming that they

would allow us to hold the council there. They also informed about the rent of the venue,” Rizvi said. He further said the party had withdrawn its application to the Public Works Department to use Suhrawardy Udyan for the council. Asked about the police permission to hold the council, he said: “We have already informed police about the council; we will inform them again. According to the rule, in order to hold any meeting or rally, a party is required to take permission from the authorities concerned.”

The BNP initially had plans to hold the council At Bashundhara Convention Centre, but the convention centre authorities said they would not allow rent the venue for any political purpose. Party charter stipulates that national councils should be held every three years, but the last council was on December 8, 2009. At the last council, Khandaker Delwar Hossain was made the secretary general. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was made the party's acting secretary general after Delwar's death in 2011. l

n Tribune Report The High Court yesterday commuted death sentences of four men to life in prison. The men are convicted of killing a Narsingdi studio shop owner after having abducted him. The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Amir Hossain delivered the verdict on completing the hearing about the convicts’ death reference and appeals in the murder case of Md Mostafa.

The four men – Rubel, Ali Hossain, Johirul Islam and Shah Alam – were sentenced to death by a Narsingdi court on November 4, 2010. Deputy Attorney General Sheikh AKM Maniruzzaman Kabir said all of the convicts are now in jail. According to court statement, Mostafa went missing on May 17, 2009; his body was found in a water body three days later at Nadardi village. A case was filed with Manohardi police station on May 20. l

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

CDA goes tough against structures that deviated from approved plans Survey to identify errant buildings continues The city planners said the CDA turning residential buildings n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong for should intensify its monitoring and into commercial ones. Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) has launched a drive in the premier port city against structures constructed deviating from the approved plans. Many buildings, including convention centres, hospitals, shops, high-rise buildings and educational institutes, have been built deviating from approved plans by not keeping parking space and turning residential buildings into commercial ones. The CDA in its drives against errant buildings conducted in the city on March 2, fined a building of Mission Developers Ltd, a real estate company of Chittagong, with Tk50,000 for renting out parking space. Besides, educational institutes, including Orbit School and College, Ideal School and College, Udoyon School and Metropolitan Commerce College were warned of tougher actions in the same drive

Abdus Salam, chairman of the CDA, said the drive launched against the buildings constructed in gross violation of building construction rules would aimed at turning the city into a planned and beautiful one. “We classify the deviated buildings into three distinct categories-minor, medium and major. Out of around 2,00,00 buildings, around 4,000 structures have been built in the city deviating from the approved plans. Moreover, we have already begun a survey in the city to identify the buildings which deviated from the approved plans,” said Shahinul Islam Khan, Chief Town Planner of the CDA. “The survey which commenced last January will primarily identify structures built on both sides of 19 strategic roads of the city. Upon completion of the survey, we will take action against the violators to a great extent,” added the chief town planner.

conduct drives on a regular basis against the errant owners who violate rules for constructing buildings in the city. In most cases, the deviations take place after construction without leaving required space around them or extended after the ground floor narrowing down the space between neighbouring buildings. Welcoming the newly launched drives, Prof M Ashraf Ali, head, Department of Civil Engineering, Southern University said any kind of deviation from original plans only increased vulnerability. “The drives should not stop halfway so that the violators cannot get away with defying the rules for construction,” added Prof Ali also former chairman, Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh, Chittagong. According to a region based survey, at least 78% buildings in the premier port city are vulnerable to

earthquake as they are constructed defying earthquake resistant building code. “Genuine realtors do not violate rules for constructing buildings. Only 10% high-rise buildings are constructed by the realtors while rest buildings are constructed by individuals in the city,” said SM Abu Sufian, chairman of Chittagong standing committee of the REHAB. “We are going to launch drives against the errant building owners and realtors in a large scale for deviating from approved plans,” warned Khin Won Nu, executive magistrate of the CDA. The CDA gives permission for constructing structures under two authorisation zones of the city. To provide land use and building construction permits, the CDA has a number of committees like Building Construction Committee, Town Development Committee and Special Project Committee. l

Correspondent, n Our Chapainawabganj

Teachers and students of North South University bring out a procession in city’s Banani yesterday marking the 24th founding anniversary of the university MEHEDI HASAN

Two accused killed in ‘gunfight’ Two accused in Narsingdi double murder case were killed and another has been injured in a “gunfight” with police at Nagorikandi in the district town. The deceased are Zahirul Islam, 25, and Rakib, 24. Officer-in-Charge of Narsingdi sadar model police station Md Golam Mostafa said: “Acting on a tip-off, a police team conducted a raid at Nagorikandi around 3:30am

Robbers looted Tk1.2 crore from a fast track ATM booth of Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited at Harinhati under Kaliakoir upazila in Gazipur. The looting incident took place early yesterday, said Officer-inCharge of Kaliakoir police station Abdul Motaleb Mia. Motaleb said: “A group of 10-12 robbers swooped on the ATM booth when the officials of an organisation named Moneyplant went to the booth to deposit money in it around 2:30am Thursday.” “The robbers beat up security guard Liakat Hossain and snatched away two trunks filled with the money.” The robbers had come on a pickup, he added. On information, police visited the spot around 3am. Two gunmen and seven bank officials including the security guards were present on the spot during the robbery, said the police official. l

Cautionary sign on packets of tobacco products demanded n Tribune Report

NARSINGDI DOUBLE MURDER

Correspondent, n Our Narsingdi

Robbers loot Tk1.2 crore from DBBL ATM booth

n Our Correspondent, Gazipur

Trucker kills two policemen Two police officials were killed when a truck ran them over while they were trying to stop the truck for checking its goods in Kansat Pukuria area, Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj yesterday. The deceased were identified as Sub-Inspector Sadekul Islam and police sergeant Ataul Islam. Officer-in-Charge of Shibganj police station MM Moinul Islam said the accident had taken place around 5:30am while they were chasing a truck to check its goods which it was carrying. l

News

Thursday.” Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, the criminals opened fire at police. In retaliation, police fired back that left the trio bullet wounded. Later, Zahirul died when he was taken to Narsingdi District Hospital while Rakib died on his way to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Narsingdi District Hospital duty doctor Ershad Mahmud said: “Zahirul was already dead when he was brought to the hospital around 4:40am.” The OC said: “A pistol, two

rounds of bullets and two machetes were recovered from the spot.” After being failed to realise money, some extortionists shot dead two youths at Bhagdi Moholla, Narsingdi municipality Wednesday evening. Police recovered the body of Arif Khandakar, 32, and Khokon Khandakar, 33, from the spot at night and sent those to morgue for autopsy, said Monjur Morshed, officer-incharge of Narsingdi Sadar police station. Quoting locals police said

a group of extortionists had been demanding money from Rafique Islam, brother-in-law of Khokon, a resident of the area for long. Rafique Islam called on Khokon as the group went to his house to realise the extortion quipped with arms around 6:30pm. At one stage, the criminals opened fire at Khokon and Arif, leaving them critically injured. They were rushed to Narsingdi Sadar Hospital where the doctors declared them dead. l

Speakers at a meeting demanded cautionary signs and pictures on packets of all kinds of tobacco products to make people aware of the bad effects of tobacco usage. Tamak Birodhi Nari Jote (Women Unity against Tobacco - Tabinaj) organised the discussion marking the International Women’s Day at National Press Club in the capital yesterday morning. Speakers also demanded government’s immediate concern to implement the Tobacco Control Act as soon as possible and to make strong monitoring system to control tobacco marketing and selling. On the other hand, proper instruction from respective ministry should be given to all kinds of tobacco manufacturing companies to print cautionary sign on its packets, they added. Meher Afroz Chumki, state minister for Women and Children Affairs, who was present as chief guest said: “This is alarming that now-adays the usage of tobacco among the women, especially the youth, have increased alarmingly. People should avoid all kinds of tobacco usage.” Additional Director of Women affairs department Shahnewaz Dilruba and gynecologist Dr Samina Chowdhury were present at the programme. l

News

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Patients suffer due to strike at Khulna hospitals, clinics n Tribune Report Patients yesterday suffered to a great extent as physicians of all the government and private hospitals went on a daylong strike protesting assault at one of their colleagues. Employees of different hospitals and clinics put main gate of emergency departments under lock and key during the strike. Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) Khulna Unit, Private Medical Practitioners Association (BPMPA) and Private Clinic and Diagnostics Owners Association jointly called the strike at a meeting held at BMA auditorium on Wednesday. Chaired by Khulna District President and central Vice-President of BMA Dr Shekh Baharul Alam, Doctors leaders of the organisations attended the meeting. On March 1, Khulna BMA at a press conference at Khulna Press Club demanded immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of Terokhada Sadar Union

Parisad Chairman SM Waheduzzaman and his supporters on charge of physically assaulting medical officer of Terokhada health complex Dr Abdullah Al Mamun. They also set Wednesday as deadline for arresting the UP chairman and his supporters. Chairman Waheduzzaman and his supporters attack on Dr Mamun around 9pm on February 28 as he did not agree to visit sick wife of UP chairman at his residence located at least three kilometres away from the health complex. The chairman along with his supporters stormed into the emergency ward of the health complex and started beating him. As a result, he sustained severe injuries in his body and teeth. He is now undergoing treatment at Khulna Medical College Hospital. A case was filed with Terokhada police station in this connection accusing five people, including UP chairman and some unnamed other accused. Dr Sheikh Baharul Alam

said doctors were giving health services to the serious emergency patients. “We will be taken tougher action if the administration concerned does not meet our demand,” he threatened. While visiting several public and private hospitals this noon, this correspondent found that patients left the hospitals due to doctors’ work abstention. UP chairman Waheduzzaman denied his participation in the attack on Dr Mamun. “I don’t know who attack on him. But it is true that Dr Mamun is a delinquent physician who keeps him aloof from serving patients of the upazila health complex properly for doing private practice, UP chairman said. Dr Mamun also denying the allegation of UP chairman and said he had been working in the emergency ward to examine the patient. So I am not agree to go to the house of UP chairman and to see his sick wife leaving the patient of the health complex, he added. l

Two sued for importing banned cigarettes n Tribune Report

Two persons were sued yesterday in Chittagong in connection with importing 288 cartons of import-banned cigarette declaring them cotton yarn under bond facilities. Chittagong Customs House’s Assistant Revenue Officer Mamun Mia filed the case against two employees of Clearing & Forwarding agency Four Star’s --Kaiyum

Hossain and Md Jashim-with Bandar police station, said police sources. Sub-Inspector of Bandar police station Sajed Kamal said the case was filed under Customs Act, Special Power Act and Money Laundering Act while police shown arrested the two C&F employees in the case”. Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) seized a container in Chittagong Port on Wednes-

day morning and recovered 288 cartons of “Mond” and “Easy” brand cigarettes which was imported by one Genetic Fashion Limited declaring those as cotton yarn. It is mentionable that the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB 7) on February 25 had seized another container from Chittagong Port with 470 cartons of import-banned cigarette worth about Tk4.70 crore. l

Man gets life-term for killing wife Correspondent, n Our Rangpur A court in the district sentenced a man to life-term imprisonment yesterday for killing his wife in 2006.

The convict was Mizanur Rahman of Khiardakkhin village in Badarganj upazila. According to prosecution, Mizan strangulated his wife Golapi Begum to death on November 1, 2006 over

family feud. Later, locals confined Mizan and handed over him to police. Abu Taleb, father of Golapi filed a case with Badarganj police station in this connection. l

World wildlife festival at CUJA president’s room vandalished Chittagong University n Tribune Report

n CU Correspondent

Chittagong University yesterday observed world wildlife festival through a daylong programme on the campus. Marking the day, CU’s Zoology department and CU Birds Club jointly organised the programme inaugurated by Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury. Founder Chairman of zoology department Professor Safiq Haidar presided over the programme while CU Biological Faculty’s dean Prof Dr Md Mahbubur Rahman, Prokiti O Jibon Foundation’s Chairman Mukit Mazumdar Babu, CUBC’s founder president Enam Al Haque and Prof Manzurul Kibria attended the function. Speakers at the programme said people have to come forward to save the wildlife and nature for sake of their own interest as the world was now putting in a great risk because of ecological imbalance and wild animals’ extinction. The programme featured rally, drawing competition and wildlife related quiz competition and birds’ photo exhibition. l

Miscreants vandalised the room of Chittagong University Journalists’ Association (CUJA) president on the campus yesterday. Campus sources said the incident took place at room no 209 of Alaol Hall while CUJA’s President Faruk Abdullah, a master’s student of Communication and Journalism Department, lodged a written complaint with CU proctor office following an incident. Faruk told the Dhaka Tribune that the miscreants stormed into his room by breaking open the door and looted his laptop, electric fan and a rice cooker and ransacked the furniture and books. l

Writing

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Take your skills to the next level How to write the best short story

unusual direction by tweaking the setting, the characterisation, or the dialogues a bit. Basically tweak the areas that will benefit most from an unexpected twist. Defeat writers block Let’s face it, writers block is possibly the worst thing that could happen to any writer, especially when deadlines start edging closer. The inability to write can be perilous to say the least. The best way to defeat writers block is to just write, albeit forcefully. The writing doesn’t have to be perfect nor does it have to make sense, just make sure that words continue to flow. Be true to your IQ Core customers usually tend to be well educated and quite well-off. Quite unsurprising really when you think about it, educated people read and tend to buy books, and it is their income that enables them to do so. What’s surprising is that ambitious authors still dumb down their work, afraid to distance the potential reader they think they are writing for. This can be quite disastrous and you should never do this. The average person is actually quite smarter than you give him credit for, and dumbing down your story can be doubly devastating if potential agents and editors are unable to relate to your story.

Photo: BIGSTOCK

n SteamPug Writers Everyone who has ever written something knows it’s not easy, and that writing a good short story is even harder. A simple Google search reveals that even though Pixar comes out with such great movies year after year, a film takes about six years to develop, and most of that time is spent on developing the story. While the writing tips in this article might not ensure a Pixar film worthy script, it will undoubtedly disclose secrets to pen the best short story. Write fast It is of utmost importance to finish the first draft as soon as possible. If you are indeed writing, try to finish the story in one sitting. Think of yourself as an archaeologist and the first draft as the discovery process. You’ll probably have an inkling about where your story is “buried” beforehand, but have no idea of what it might look like once it has been “unearthed.” Just one thing left to say on the topic - start digging! Read Stephen King once said, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t

Stephen King once said, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.” Good writers will always find the time to read, no exceptions. Someone who has never written a short story will obviously have an impossible time writing one

have time to write.” Good writers will always find the time to read, no exceptions. Someone who has never written a short story will obviously have an impossible time writing one. Reading a couple of short stories, studying one or two up close, and improving your understanding of the short story form will definitely help. Develop the protagonist Every story is focused around a protagonist, and you will certainly not have a good story to tell without one. The fundamental feature for all heroes is the ability to make decisions, quick ones at that. Your hero, will of course, make impulsive decisions to get himself into heaps of trouble, and likewise, will act on it and decide to get himself out of said mess.

The secret to foster growth for the protagonist is to introduce characters such as the villain (the exact opposite of the protagonist), or the fool (the sidekick who makes a nuisance of himself, exposing the hero’s softer side in the process). Create drama and suspense The key is to set up a dramatic question to create suspense. Something like “Is she going to make it?” or, “Will he be able to get the love of his life?” Things like these sets the protagonist’s fate in doubt, and is a surefire way to make readers wonder what exactly will happen next. Be warned though, to do this well, you must restrict information to the reader. Nothing destroys the drama and suspense like over sharing.

Write about death Think back to the last five books you read, surely all of them had at least one character who died? Good stories often involve death. Best sellers like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, The Lord of the Rings and many more have had characters who died. Every person who has lived and will have ever lived, will die. It is the one universal rule of life, one that gives your story the slight feel of reality. Opposites attract What makes a story intriguing are the things conspiring against the central goal of the main character. This prevents your story from getting stuck and keeps your readers interested. Try to approach the main idea from an

Edit like a pro Writing at least three or more drafts is quite common for most pros. “The vomit draft” is usually the first draft, obviously not shared with anyone. This draft is used to explore the story, outline the gist and pinpoint the flaws. The second draft is used to polish the embarrassing first draft and to outline structural changes, if there are any. The third draft is the fun part, the “deep polishing” stage. This is the stage when everything starts to gel together, the stage when the story is finally ready to be shared with others. Share Somehow, your writing seemingly gets better when you know someone else will read it. If you’re a closet writer, no one will ever know if you give it your best or not. But, when you share it with others, say close friends and family, the possibility of failing and embarrassing yourself will motivate you to write the best story possible. l Content provided by SteamPug Writers - a pack of experienced writers and editors well-versed in producing dynamic content.

Feature

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Online shopping on the rise n Fatema Mohammad Online shopping is now a popular means of trading goods and services in Bangladesh. An online platform is used by many companies to showcase an array of products ranging from kitchen items, home appliances to clothes, shoes, cosmetics to cars and flats even! All this has been possible due to the expansion of information and communication technology (ICT). City dwellers prefer online shopping as it saves time by saving them from the hassle of sitting in traffic jam for hours, and it also saves money at times.

The growth of online business is evident both in formal and informal ways that includes businesses across social networking channels such as Facebook pages. Industry insiders estimate that country has around 200 e-commerce websites and at least 3,000 F-commerce (Facebook commerce) sites and that an annual e-commerce sale is approximately close to two billion taka. What facilitates this striking growth of online business is the easy access to internet and its increasing number of users. According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the total number of active internet subscribers reached 45.67 million until April 2015 while 44.22 million are mobile internet users. In addition, extensive advertisement campaigns

What facilitates this striking growth of online business is the easy access to internet and its increasing number of users

by online classified websites such as Bikroy.com and Ekhanei.com have created mass awareness among ordinary people, informing them about the potential of online buying and selling. Although shoppers are often discouraged by fraudulent activities, the industry insiders claim that such acts are undertaken by the thirdparty engaged in delivering the products. The concept of online markets engages the third party retailers who serve between the sellers and the customers and thus create new jobs. Currently, 10,000 to 15,000 people are involved with the sector, with industry experts claiming that this can create

employment for more than 0.2 million people, within the next five years. Despite this tremendous growth potential, e-CAB and BASIS e-commerce alliance leaders argue that the proposed 4% VAT will land the local entrepreneurs in great trouble. Also, they termed the large scale investment by multinational companies in the growing online market as another challenge, as it might discourage the local entrepreneurs as well. Such impediments might adversely affect this flourishing sector. Industry insiders also expect the government to recognise e-commerce as an entirely

separate and autonomous industry, providing it adequate policy support and creating a local entrepreneur-friendly investment environment. For rural people to get services at their doorsteps as well, they are hoping the government will take initiatives to create a liaison between post offices and e-commerce companies. l

Re-printed with the permission of futurestartup.com

Editorial 11

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

INSIDE

Get lost in translation If you are a foreigner but happen to be brown-skinned, you don’t matter. It is from a certain diseased mentality that the Government of India creates betterequipped hostels for foreign students, erects visual barriers between the poor people’s housing and roads that foreign dignitaries may ply upon PAGE 12

Put a label on it

PAGE 13

Forty-five years ago, just like yesterday He captures the irresistible, unstoppable tide of the will of the Bengali people for nationhood. The key leaders are brought to life, notably Sheikh Mujib as a gifted politician who adroitly balanced fortitude with agility in negotiating with the Pakistani army PAGE 14

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/ DhakaTribune. The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors alone. They do not purport to be the official view of Dhaka Tribune or its publisher.

BIGSTOCK

Food security is not the result of a single factor, but an amalgam of multiple factors, and it affects people differently with regards to their gender, race, geography

Zero tolerance for revenge porn

s a Habiganj schoolgirl becomes the latest victim of revenge porn, it is clear that the authorities need to consider this a crime of the utmost severity and formulate policies and laws that will put a swift end to it. This can be done. If we treat something as a serious enough crime, and punish it accordingly, it will have an impact. It is not only our laws that need to be in place to specifically address this despicable crime, but we need to make sure that punishments are so severe that no one will think of commiting such a crime in future. In addition, we need a 360 degree plan to educate the public as to the severity of the offence and ensure that law enforcement and the courts are sensitised to the issue and treat the crime with the opprobrium it deserves. Most importantly, we should make sure that the conditions are conducive for the victims to come forward and report the crime without fear of exposure, humiliation, or harassment, and with confidence that serious action will be taken. In our culture, it takes a lot of courage for such a victim to come forward and report being blackmailed in such a way, and it is this that emboldens the predators who commit such crimes to continue to do so, in the belief that their victims will not want to risk the shame that comes with filing a case. We need to send the message that the perpetrators of such an offence will pay dearly for their crimes and that the victims will be protected and need not fear for their reputations. The Habiganj incident was sadly not unusual, the only thing which was unusual was the victim’s willingness to come forward, for which she must be applauded. First, the accused videotaped a sexual encounter without the victim’s knowledge or consent, his first crime. Then he tried to force her into continuing to have sex with him through blackmail, a second crime. Then, when she refused, he released the video online, a third crime. There can be no doubt that all these actions are sex crimes, and the perpetrator needs to be brought to book swiftly and punished to the fullest extent of the law. Furthermore, our laws also need to catch up to the continuously evolving nature of digital sex crimes and the new ways perpetrators coerce and blackmail victims. Those who use revenge porn to blackmail their victims or wreck their lives out of spite are the worst kind of predatory scum, and the consequences for committing such a crime must reflect this.

Those who use revenge porn to blackmail their victims or wreck their lives out of spite are the worst kind of predatory scum, and the consequences for committing such a crime must reflect this

Long Form

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Get lost in translation India’s tourism policies paint a troubling picture of its government’s prejudices. This is the first part of a two-part long form

India is a country of many languages, but the government couldn’t care less

n Garga Chatterjee

ew things capture the seat-at-big-table yearnings of something as petty as Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan as the launch of the 12 language 24/7 tourist helpline launched on February 8, 2016 by Mahesh Sharma, union minister of state for tourism and culture. As some aspirational browns want to look and act like whites while retaining Bollywood-inspired Hindi-Hindu characteristics, aka “Indian culture,” it’s important to understand the anti-people ideology thaT lies beneath some apparently people-friendly initiatives, such as the 12 language helpline. By adopting multi-lingual “global standards,” it projects an outward image of inclusiveness -the form. A close scrutiny of this, along with certain other signals and events, reveals the deep ideology of exclusion that lies beneath -- the content. The question that lies at the heart of all this is -- which humans does the Government of India consider as people, and by implication, which humans are considered “less people” or “nonpeople.” It’s true that information in their mother-tongue would help tourists have hassle-free travel. Hence, the logical focus of such enabling infrstructure should have been helplines in those languages whose speakers exist in the largest number among tourists, but don’t have tourist information in the form of signs, directions, boards in their language. In short, an unmet need.

So, Hindi, having near universal presence in most tourist sites of note, in the form of Government of India-funded boards, signs, and Hindi-speaking staff and in all train stations and airports, is the language whose speakers have a huge tourism infrastructure already available to them, unmatched by none. This is true of English too. Among speakers of languages,

BIGSTOCK

If the government were to count the number of tourists whose languages have minimal pre-existing pan-India tourismhelp infrastructure, and were to choose helpline languages based on that democratic criterion of an unmet need, it would be a helpline with Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Bangla, Telugu, etc. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are among the top five countries

don’t get, the helpline completely bypasses that. Thus, the majority of Tamils or Bengalis or Telugu tourist will continue to be as clueless in areas outside his or her homeland. For Arabs and Germans, the Government of India has a ready helpline. Even for the far more numerous but brown-skinned Bangla or Tamil or Sinhala-speaking foreign

If you are a foreigner but happen to be brown-skinned, you don’t matter. It is from a certain diseased mentality that the Government of India creates better-equipped hostels for foreign students, erects visual barriers between the poor people’s housing agglomerations and roads that foreign dignitaries may ply upon, and does not allow auto-rickshaws in Delhi’s international airport

Hindi and English speakers should have the least problem in navigating within India, thanks to the already existing public infrastructure in the form of signboards, government websites, and Hindi/English-knowing personnel funded mostly using non-Hindi people’s money and resources. In 2013, domestic tourists outnumbered foreign tourists by about 163 to 1. Now, looking at the number of tourists (domestic and international), the top tourist’s languages with minimal pan-India tourist friendly infrastructure are essentially subcontinental languages like Marathi, Bangla, Tamil, Malayalam, etc.

of foreign arrival in India. The tourist helpline that Minister Mahesh Sharma inaugurated with much fan-fare has Arabic, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, and Russian languages, none of which figure in the top 10 languages whose speakers do tourism in India. The other two languages of the helpline are Hindi and English, the two languages in which huge amounts of information is already present in nearly all major tourist sites in India. In short, if the languages had anything to do with what kind of language assistance tourists in India mostly need but

tourists, there is no helpline. So, what clues do we gain into the Government of India’s ideology and resultant policy from something as apparently mundane as a tourist helpline? One can summarise as follows: Firstly, all tourists may be tourists, but to the external-imageconscious Government of India, concerns of foreign tourists are far more important, even if they are relatively fewer in number. Secondly, a Hindi tourist must not be inconvenienced anywhere in the Indian Union, even if that means adding more tourism infrastucture for Hindustanis in Hindi in addition to what

already exists, that already far, far surpasses that of any other language, except English. Thirdly, if you happen to be a non-Hindi Indian citizen who doesn’t know English (ie, a majority of non-Hindi Indian citizens) but still would need information, the Government of India couldn’t care less. Fourthly, if you are a foreigner but happen to be brown-skinned, you don’t matter. It is from a certain diseased mentality that the Government of India creates better-equipped hostels for foreign students, erects visual barriers between the poor people’s housing agglomerations and roads that foreign dignitaries may ply upon, and does not allow auto-rickshaws in Delhi’s international airport. Such exclusion is not only about race and building a fake external image. It is also about class. When Air India has a Chennai-to-Kolkata flight where a majority of passengers naturally understand Tamil or Bangla, not a single Air India announcement is made in the Chennai airport, in the Kolkata airport, and most crucially, on-board while giving safety instructions, in either Tamil or Bangla. This is where classdiscrimination and discrimination against non-Hindi peoples come together in a naked form. l The concluding part of this long form will be published tomorrow. Garga Chatterjee is a political and cultural commentator. He can be followed on twitter @gargac.

Opinion

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Put a label on it Consumers have the right to know what they are buying

n Farida Akhter

he field cultivation of genetically modified brinjal (also known as Bt Brinjal) was conditional. In October 2013, the National Committee on Biosafety (NCB) imposed seven conditions to be followed in field cultivation. One of these conditions was labeling -- if Bt Brinjal is brought to the market, they must be labelled, ie it should be clearly stated if it is GMO. Since 2014, two rounds of cultivation showed very poor performance, and the brinjals which were brought to the market were not labelled. Consumers did not know what they were buying. This is indeed a violation of the conditions of approval. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) always refused to label them, insisting that it was impossible. In that case, they should not have gone for field cultivation, as they were unable to prevent bio-pollution and protect human health. This can also be seen as a selfadmission of BARI’s incompetence regarding the handling of GMOs.

Sixty-four countries, including member nations of the EU, Russia, China, Brazil, Australia, Turkey, and South Africa require standards of mandatory GE food labelling. Labelling enforces the consumer’s right to know about geneticallyengineered food that is introduced in any country

A report was recently published in the Dhaka Tribune, where BARI Director General Dr Rafiqul Islam Mondol repeated the same position, saying: “It would not be possible to ensure labelling at the retail level.” However, there seems

Is this safe to eat? to be something of a positive shift in position when it comes to labelling. Dr Mondol has now agreed to labelling the sacks. He said: “When the crops enter the market, the sacks will be labelled as poisonfree GM brinjal.” Unfortunately, this is not labelling, it is advertisement with false information being used to attract consumers. To label the sacks as “poisonfree GM brinjal” is misguiding. In the case of GM crops, labelling has been a demand so that consumers can distinguish GM crops from normal crops. Not only that, since it is a food crop, Bangladesh, as a member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission should follow the guidelines and principles outlined in 2003 for genetically-modified foods. We know that big GM food manufacturers do not want labelling, as they have realised that growing numbers of people are opposed to GM food products. It is unlikely that public opinion will change soon because more and more of the hazards of GM crops are being revealed through scientific research. Global food policy research conducted by the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) confirms that

DHAKA TRIBUNE

64 countries, including member nations of the EU, Russia, China, Brazil, Australia, Turkey, and South Africa require standards of mandatory GE food labelling. Labelling enforces the consumer’s right to know about geneticallyengineered food that is introduced in any country. Monsanto clearly opposes labelling. It says: “We oppose current initiatives to mandate the labelling of ingredients developed from GM seeds in the absence of any demonstrated risks. Such mandatory labelling could imply that food products containing these ingredients are somehow inferior to their conventional or organic counterparts.” Labelling GM crops as a consumer right is an international demand, and it is followed in many countries as mandatory or voluntary. But bio-tech companies believe that if they label the products, consumers may not choose to eat them because of their potential health hazards. But if the government, or any company, believes that it is safe, why can they not label it? Bt Brinjal is presented as a new introduction to save brinjals from fruit and shoot borer insects, although the promoters have

no contribution in developing the variety; they belong to the farmers of Bangladesh. GMO promoters have, in fact, taken nine very popular varieties from six locations of the country to insert the gene of a soil bacteria using proprietary technology. In this way, the GM company has actually taken over intellectual property rights of nine local variety brinjals, of which they could “unsuccessfully” cultivate six varieties while the remaining three are to be released soon. But BARI has failed to publish any of their findings to prove that Bt Brinjal is safe, and that concerns expressed by environmental and farmers’ groups are not true. BARI DG told Dhaka Tribune that they have conducted toxin tests at a laboratory in the UK, and did not find any harmful elements. Where is the reference of this report? Is this even an objective test free from any influence of the promoters? The Bangladeshi people have the right to know the roots of such findings. The BARI webpage on Bt Brinjal has no information. Consumers should be able to tell whether they are buying GMO or non-GMO products. Simple as that. If a crop is “poison free,” then Dr Mondol must test it to make

sure that they are free from all hazardous poisons classified by the WHO. Declaring Bt Brinjal “poison-free” is a sneaky way of advertising to promote Bt Brinjal. Ironically, Bt Brinjals cultivated so far have not been done so without the use of pesticides. An UBINIG report shows 35 types of pesticides, including acaricide (kills ticks and mites), insecticide, and fungicide, were sprayed several times in the Bt Brinjal fields under the direction of the supervising officials. BARI scientists and the Department of Agricultural Extension have also provided the pesticides to the farmers. How can BARI be in any position to claim that Bt Brinjal is poison free? Labelling on the sacks with the message that it is “poison-free,” as suggested by BARI, is sheer deception. It is, in fact, totally unethical and falsely assuring consumers that this product is safe. Once the Bt Brinjals are out of the sack, how will consumers know which is which? Labelling is about information, it is not a safety advertisement, nor should it be an alarm. It is to ensure the rights of the consumers, and for farmers to follow the conditions of approval. l Farida Akhter is a freelance contributor.

Book Review

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Forty-five years ago, just like yesterday Rehman Sobhan’s book captures all the drama that surrounded the birth of Bangladesh

n Lincoln Chen

n January 20, Amartya Sen, launching Rehman Sobhan’s book, Untranquil Recollections: The Years of Fulfilment, at the National Library in Kolkata, opened with warm remembrances of a Cambridge classmate and lifelong friend. Amartya is very much in the book, providing shelter for Rehman after his escape to India from what was East Pakistan in April 1971.

The birth of a nation

I was an eyewitness to the Pakistani genocide that unleashed the Bangladesh Liberation War. It is this conflict which offers the dramatic context for Untranquil Recollections. As a young Chinese-American doctor assigned by the US National Institutes of Health to conduct research on cholera, I was stationed in Dhaka through the East Pakistan cyclone in November 1970 that killed an estimated half a million people and the Pakistani genocide that was launched in March 1971. In between the two events, the national elections catapulted Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Awami League to a parliamentary majority that could not be tolerated by West Pakistan. The army’s brutal military campaign in East Pakistan killed innumerable innocent people, pushed millions of Bangladeshi refugees into India, and precipitated an India-Pakistan war that eventually resulted in an independent Bangladesh. Untranquil Recollections captures in riveting detail the

irresistible, unstoppable tide of the will of the Bengali people for nationhood. The key leaders are brought to life, notably Sheikh Mujib as a gifted politician who adroitly balanced fortitude with agility in negotiating with the Pakistani army. Before he was given sanctuary in India, the author might easily have been killed on two occasions. The Pakistani army arrived at his house to arrest him soon after he had wisely sought refuge elsewhere. During his adventurous escape into the countryside for India, his less-than-perfect Bengali generated suspicion about his identity. Fortunately, Dhaka University students vouched for his bona fides. In Delhi, he was able to tell the Bangladesh story to senior advisers of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi -- PN Haksar, PN Dhar, and Ashok Mitra. Debunking accusations that India had fermented the disturbances, Rehman found that the Indian government knew little of the crisis in East Bengal. For the remainder of 1971, he served as ambassador-at-large for the newly forming government; this involved, among other things, lobbying against Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger through the US Congress with allies like Senators Ted Kennedy and Frank Church.

Years of ‘fulfilment’

Three questions stand out. Why does he title the book “the years of fulfilment”? What happened after independence? And how has the author navigated the polarised politics of Bangladesh through the

The author has managed to stay above dysfunctional partisan politics

He captures the irresistible, unstoppable tide of the will of the Bengali people for nationhood. The key leaders are brought to life, notably Sheikh Mujib as a gifted politician who adroitly balanced fortitude with agility in negotiating with the Pakistani army

political, social, and human drama of the birth of Bangladesh. Rehman provides a balanced yet rich description of the politics that led up to the genocide. He had served as an economic adviser to Sheikh Mujib. He was the Dhaka University economist who analysed the “two Pakistani economies,” the disparities that accounted at least in part for the rupture of Pakistan. In the book, he captures the

decades? The last four chapters are titled “fulfilment”: Witnessing the birth of a nation; from politician economist to political combatant; envoy extraordinaire; and the liberation of Bangladesh. Bangladesh mattered not only as a newly emerged nation, but also as a true struggle for social justice and human rights. The author has strong Bengali roots. His mother’s family were descendants of the Nawab of

Dhaka. Educated in Darjeeling, Lahore, and the UK, he returned to Dhaka University in order to reaffirm his Bengali identity. His first wife, Salma Sobhan, whom he courted at Cambridge, was a distinguished feminist lawyer. After her death, he married a leading political scientist, Rounaq Jahan. Rehman’s son Zafar Sobhan is, today, the editor of the newspaper Dhaka Tribune, which aims to be the platform

for the “new voice and new vision” of a younger generation of Bangladeshis. So what happened after independence? In the new country, Rehman Sobhan became one of Sheikh Mujib’s four members of the Planning Commission, crafting the new Bangladesh economy towards a new socialism that never reached its destination. He also led a host of national institutions -- as chairman of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, chair of the Grameen Bank that was founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammed Yunus, and the founding chair of the Centre for Policy Dialogue. His leadership focussed not only on equitable development in Bangladesh, but also on fostering South Asian co-operation,

economic as well as political. Perhaps the toughest question of all is: How did the author stay above the vicious partisan politics of Bangladesh, when it is well-recognised that Bangladeshi national politics is dysfunctional? Rehman Sobhan, lacking grand ambition, successfully stayed above the Bangladeshi political fray while commanding respect across the political spectrum. The book provides insight into how he has achieved personal equanimity. Untranquil Recollections is a fine read. It takes us through a personal journey capturing human drama in a tumultuous period of history. l Lincoln Chen, formerly Takemi Professor of International Health at Harvard University (1987-1996), served with the Ford Foundation in Bangladesh (19731980) and India (1981-1987). This article was previously published in The Hindu.

Business 15

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

INSIDE

Atiur fears single-digit rate to stoke inflation

Bangladesh ICT Expo 2016 kicks off Bangladesh ICT Expo 2016, a three-day exposition on information technology, kicked off yesterday in the capital. PAGE 16

Moody’s cuts China outlook, cites reform, fiscal risks Moody’s downgraded its outlook on Chinese government debt to “negative” from “stable” on Wednesday, citing uncertainty over authorities’ capacity to implement economic reforms, rising government debt and falling reserves. PAGE 17

S&P: Large Japan economic stimulus would raise concerns Japan’s government is unlikely to be able to launch a stimulus package to support its struggling economy without raising concerns about the size of its spending, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said. PAGE 18

Capital market snapshot: Thursday DSE Broad Index

4,472.8

0.2% ▲

Index

1,086.4

0.3% ▲

30 Index

1,718.7

0.3% ▲

Turnover in Mn Tk

3,369.7 -41.7% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

92.7 -39.0% ▼

CSE All Share Index 13,774.6

0.0% ▲

30 Index

12,489.5

0.0% ▲

8,369.4

0.0% ▲

Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk

225.4 -36.9% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

7.4 -38.1% ▼

n Tribune Report The control of inflation will be a big challenge if the lending rate is brought down to a single digit, said Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman. He made the remark at a meeting with the business leaders of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) held at the central bank headquarters yesterday. The inflation remained downward over the last few years due to lower food inflation and fall in commodity price in global market, the governor said, adding that as a result the overall economy remained balanced. “We should not impose anything on the economy forcefully.” Atiur added that the lending rate will come down if inflation is controlled properly. In his address, Abdul Matlub Ahmad, president of FBCCI, recommended bringing down the lending rate of all kinds of loans to a single digit as well as limit the highest lending rate for productive sector to 3% plus cost of fund. He also urged the governor

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman to set sector-wise loan target for women entrepreneurs and take necessary measures to reduce non-performing loans. Mohammed Bazlur Rahman, director of FBCCI, called for more measures to promote SME sector. Business leasers also demanded a hike in cash incentive for housing sector, saying that the sector still feels the pinch of a prolonged business stagnation. Meanwhile, the lending rate in the banking sector continued to fall at 11.05% in January this year,

DHAKA TRIBUNE

dropping by 1.27% from 12.32% in the same period of the last year. The deposit rate fell last year, but not faster than the lending rate. The interest rate on deposit dipped by 1.05% last year, reaching 6.21% in this January from 7.26% in the same period of 2015. Spread, the gap between lending and deposit rate, came down to the expected level of 4.84% in January this year from 5.05% in the same period last year, according to Bangladesh Bank data released recently. l

Exports cross $22bn in first eight months of fiscal year n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Bangladesh’s export earnings posted a nearly 9% growth to $22.12bn in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, according to Export Promotion Bureau data. The provisional data showed that in the months from July the country earned $22.12bn from exports, which was 8.92% higher compared to $20.03bn a year ago. Readymade garment sector, the major industry, was able to fetch $18.13bn during the period, making a 9.52% increase from $16.55bn one year earlier. The woven sector exported products to receive $9.48bn and the knitwear products to get $8.64bn. The data said in February the exports registered a 13.60% growth to $2.85bn from $2.51bn in the same month last year. The figure exceeded the target by 4.90%. The target was set at $2.72bn for the month. In February, the apparel exports increased by 12.29%. “The supply to the destination countries as per orders helped the country achieve the export growth,” said Shahidullah Azim, former BGMEA vice president, told the Dhaka Tribune. He said the production capacity of the manufacturers had been increased while there were ample work orders from the retailers.

“However, the unit price fell which is a matter of concerns for the sector,” Azim said. According to him, the apparel sector needed an 11% growth to reach $50bn export target by 2021. “We are going that way with 11.29% growth. If the trend continues, it is possible to reach the 2021 export target.” The industry insiders said improvement of safety standards in the RMG sector and peaceful political situation and new markets were contributing to getting higher number of work orders from retailers. “The inspection findings were good, that is beyond the expectation of the retailers and rights group,” said Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Exporters Association of Bangladesh. “All these things have built a positive image [of the industry]. So the buyers now have more confidence on the Bangladeshi RMG industry’s environment.” He stressed the need to complete remaining task of compliance in the industry so the image so far built could be saved. l

Stocks snap six-day losing streak n Tribune Report

Stocks broke the sixth consecutive session of losses yesterday, pulled up mainly by telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and banking issues. The trading activities, however, remained lackluster with an extreme volatility and sharp sell-off due to two mutual funds redemption. The benchmark index DSEX rose 10 points or 0.3% to close at 4,473. The index moved both the sides of the fence by around 30 points between intraday high of 4,487 and low of 4,459. The Shariah index DSES was marginally up 3 points or 0.3% to 1,086. The blue chip comprising index DS30 inched up 5 points or 0.4% to 1,718. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX ended at 8,369, dropping fractionally 0.4 points. Telecommunications sector performed well, rising 1.6%, driven by Grameenphone, the country’s top mobile operator. Food and allied sector also did well with a rally of 1.5%, followed by pharmaceuticals 0.8%, banks 0.6% and power 0.4%. Non-banking financial institutions, life insurance, cement and engineering sectors closed marginally lower. The DSE total turnover stood at Tk330 crore, which is sharply down 42% over the previous session’s value. The turnover was significantly down as there was a one off-sell event due to closure of AIMS First Mutual Fund and Grameen One. The market traded within a range of 28 points throughout the session, according to the City Brokerage. Shares of 315 companies were traded on the day. Of these, 142 companies declined, 102 closed higher while 71 remained unchanged. Lanka Bangla Finance that fell 4.6% was the most traded share with a turnover worth about Tk24 crore, which accounted for 7% of the total turnover. l

Business

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Bangladesh ICT Expo 2016 kicks off n Tribune Report Bangladesh ICT Expo 2016, a threeday exposition on information technology, kicked off yesterday in the capital. Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal inaugurated the expo while Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS), the apex trade body of technology industry, along with ICT Division of the ministry of Posts, Telecommunication and ICT hosted the event at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC). Addressing the inaugural ceremony, AHM Mustafa Kamal said: “Planning Ministry has allocated over TK8,000 crore to construct ICT infrastructure of the country, so the ICT industry can grow here rapidly.” “We would be able to create 15% tech-based work force by 2021 which is now only 7%. All forecast on Bangladesh in ICT sector has been implemented due to government’s initiatives. In the next couple of years, a major change will come which is called ‘Total Digitisation’,” said Kamal. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT Division said: “Bang-

Visitors at a stall at the Bangladesh ICT Expo 2016 in Dhaka yesterday ladesh would be a digital device manufacturing destination for global world instead of only a user country.” “Bangladesh will earn US$5 billion through digital export by 2021

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

as we have established a hi-tech park in Kaliakoir where smartphone and laptops will be assembled,” said Palak. Imran Ahmed, chairman of parliamentary standing committee on

Posts, Telecommunications and ICT ministry, Michelle Simmons, president South East Asia of Microsoft, Harjeet Singh Rekhi, general manager of Dell (South Asia), Shyam Sunder Sikder, secretary of ICT

Division, AHM Mahfuzul Arif, president of Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) also spoke on the occasion. The expo will remain open from 10am to 8pm while the BCS also informed the Bangladesh ICT Expo2015 will be organised on 50,000 square feet space of BICC and nearly 400,000 visitors are expected to visit the exposition. Second edition of ‘Bangladesh ICT Expo’ will be organised by the Information Communication division collaboration with Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS), while some other government organisations and trade bodies also take part with the event. The exposition, one of the biggest ever expositions in the ICT sector of the country, would be assemblage of local and international experts who will share and exchange knowledge on ICT advancement and challenges in the seminars to be organised during the event, said organiser. The exposition, showcasing technology-based innovations, new tech products and aimed at unlocking the economic potential of the IT sector. l

GP BillPay service now S&P’s due this month for rating review in Khulna, Barisal n Asif Showkat Kallol

n Tribune Report Grameenphone is going to offer BillPay services to nearly one million household customers of West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd. (WZPDCL) covering 21 districts and 20 upazilas in Khulna and Barisal. This is the largest area to come under the BillPay service coverage after the coverage by Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) in Chittagong. An agreement has been signed with WZPDCL in this regard to collect electric bills at Spectra Convention Centre in the capital recently, said Grameenphone in a statement released yesterday. The contract was signed by Erwan Jean Alexandre Gelebart, head of financial services of Grameenphone and Abdul Motaleb, company secretary of WZPDCL in presence of Engr Md Shafique Uddin, managing director of WZPDCL and Dilip Pal, chief financial officer of Grameenphone. BillPay is a pioneering Mobile Financial Service (MFS) offered by Grameenphone in Bangladesh. It is the first mobile-based electronic bill payment service for utility com-

panies in the country. Currently, Grameenphone is providing utility bill payment service through MFS to the customers of Bangladesh Power Development Board, Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited, Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited, Jalalabad Gas Transmission and Distribution System Ltd, Bakharabad Gas Distribution Company Limited, Kanraphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd, Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority. ‘This initiative is one of Grameenphone’s various efforts to add convenience to the daily lives of Bangladeshi people through innovative as well as reliable service offering. BillPay was introduced to empower especially the unbanked population in Bangladesh by enabling them to pay utility bills with full trust, clarity, and ease. “As part of our expansion program of the service, millions of our customers in the western region of the country will be able to enjoy the services,”said Erwan Jean Alexandre Gelebart, head of Financial Services of Grameenphone while referring to the contract signing. l

A two-member Standard & Poor’s team will arrive in Dhaka on 14 this month for the sovereign rating review of Bangladesh for the current 2015-16 fiscal year. During its stay in Dhaka, the Standard & Poor’s team will hold meetings with officials of Bangladesh Bank, National Board of Revenue, Finance Division, Janata Bank, foreign mission USA

and International Monetary Fund, according to official sources. Officials of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, one of credit rating advisers of the country, and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) will also attend the meetings. Policy Research Institute representatives will also hold meeting with the team, according to a Bangladesh Bank letter sent to the Finance Division.

S&P’s team will stay Dhaka until 16 this month. In May, the S&P’s reaffirmed the BBrating for Bangladesh and projected a stable outlook for the sixth straight year. Although the S&P’s assessed Bangladesh’s external liquidity as strong, it felt the country faces the vulnerabilities of a low-income economy, fiscal constraints, and heavy development needs. l

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Moody’s cuts China outlook, cites reform, fiscal risks n

Reuters

Moody’s downgraded its outlook on Chinese government debt to “negative” from “stable” on Wednesday, citing uncertainty over authorities’ capacity to implement economic reforms, rising government debt and falling reserves. The Moody’s downgrade comes just days before the National People’s Congress (NPC) is due to vote on China’s 13th five year plan, a closely held development blueprint for the next five years, which policymakers began formally drafting in 2015. Analysts will closely scrutinise the NPC’s final text for hints on the likely trajectory of reform and policymakers’ thinking on the appropriate growth strategy for China key factors highlighted by Moody’s in the report issued on Wednesday. “Without credible and efficient reforms, China’s GDP growth would slow more markedly as a high debt burden dampens business investment and demographics turn increasingly unfavourable. Government debt would increase more sharply than we currently expect,” Moody’s said. The agency said its rating committee had discussed China’s status at a meeting on Feb 9, during which the country’s institutional and fiscal strength, as well as its susceptibility to event risk, were reviewed. The agency said the downgrade was driven by expectations that China’s fiscal strength will continue to decline, as well as the fall in its foreign exchange reserves which have shrunk by $762bn over the last 18 months. It also said that policymakers’ credibility was at risk of being un-

The junction of Yangtze River and Jialing River is pictured in Chongqing dermined by incomplete implementation or partial reversals of some reforms. “Interventions in the equity and foreign exchange markets over the past year suggest that ensuring financial and economic stability is also an objective, but there is considerably uncertainty about policy priorities,” Moody’s said. Moody’s, however, retained China’s Aa3 rating, noting the country’s sizeable reserves gave it time to implement reforms and gradually address economic imbalances. But the agency warned that it could further downgrade China’s rating if it saw slowing down of reforms needed to support sustainable growth and to protect the gov-

ernment’s balance sheet. “It’s not a worrying sign yet, but rather a negative direction. That’s what Moody’s is flagging,” said Trinh Nguyen, senior economist for corporate and investment bank Natixis S.A. “But they (Chinese authorities) have room to do this. They have one of the lowest government debt as a share of GDP in comparison to other emerging nations. And most importantly, as China has a current account surplus it can fund its own fiscal expansion.” Initial market reaction to the outlook change was muted, although the cost of insuring Chinese government debt against default rose slightly. “The drivers – local government

REUTERS

debt, capital outflows, falling reserves and concerns on the progress of reforms – are all well recognised by investors and a lot of them have arguably already been priced in,” agreed Aida Yah, Senior Emerging Market Asia Economist at AXA Investment Managers.

High and rising corporate debt

A major rationale for downgraded outlook, Moody’s said, was the large stock of contingent sovereign liabilities such as state-owned corporations’ debt, local government debt, and the debt of China’s big “policy” banks - the Agricultural Development Bank of China, China Development Bank, and the Export-Import Bank of China. l

PMI: February was worst month for euro zone businesses in over a year n Reuters, London Euro zone businesses had their worst month in over a year in February which, coupled with further signs of deflationary pressures, is likely to solidify expectations for further monetary policy easing, a survey found. Markit’s final Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index, published on Thursday and seen as a good guide to growth, fell to 53 last month from January’s 53.6, its lowest reading since the start of 2015. That was ahead of the preliminary reading of 52.7, however, and com-

fortably over the 50 mark that denotes growth. “The slowdown in growth of business activity, accompanied by a similar easing in the pace of job creation and the steepest fall in prices charged for a year, suggest that the region’s recovery is losing momentum,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit. “The broad-based disappointment ups the odds of the European Central Bank acting aggressively to avoid another downturn.” An additional cut to the ECB’s deposit rate is almost certain when it next meets on March 10 and a recent

Reuters poll gave an even chance the central bank would increase the size of its bond-buying programme from 60bn euro a month. Prices fell 0.2% across the bloc last month, nowhere near the ECB’s inflation target of just below 2%, and Markit’s survey showed firms discounted goods and services at the steepest rate for a year. The output price index fell to 48.5 from 48.9. Yet that discounting failed to stop the growth rate declining in the bloc’s dominant service industry. Its PMI fell to a 13-month low of 53.3 from January’s 53.6 although it

Business

was ahead of the 53 flash estimate. “The survey data raise the prospect of economic growth deteriorating further from the already meagre pace seen late last year, when GDP rose only 0.3%,” Williamson said. Last month’s Reuters poll put growth at 0.4% this quarter. With the outlook both within and outside the bloc deteriorating, services firms were less optimistic about the year ahead than they were in January. The business expectations index fell to 63.1 from the previous 65.1, which was the highest since May 2011. l

Negative yielding bond world favours the agile

n Swaha Pattanaik In the realm of bonds, negative yields are no bar to positive returns. Just as well, since more than a quarter of JPMorgan’s Global Government Bond Index, or $6.4tn worth of debt, was trading with a negative yield last week. German 10-year government bond yields could soon join Japanese and Swiss peers in sub-zero territory. Investors need to be nimble to make money in this looking-glass world. Negative yielding bonds are worth buying as long as yields keep declining. Yields move inversely to prices so this sort of trend allows investors to bank capital gains. But when these gains are the only difference between making or losing money, even small price swings hurt. This was the case in April 2015, when German yields started bouncing back from record lows. As more and more investors were forced to bail, yields shot up 21-fold in less than two months. Investors therefore need to be quick to spot when a falling yield trend might be about to go into reverse, even if only temporarily. They also need to exploit pockets of relative value quickly before they disappear. For example, some negative-yield French bonds might be more attractively priced than their German counterparts and thus offer more scope for capital gains. There are good reasons why longer-dated bond yields can keep falling in both Germany and Japan. Central banks in both countries are buying government debt at a fair clip and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi might even ramp up purchases at a March 10 policy meeting. Nor is there any sign of the nascent price pressures that might spell an end to such asset purchase programmes. Investors are so sure of this that Japan on Tuesday became the first Group of Seven leading industrial nations to auction 10-year debt at a negative yield. But shocks can’t be ruled out. Imagine if Draghi unexpectedly ditches the requirement to buy bonds in proportion to each euro zone country’s contribution to the ECB’s capital. Anything that implies fewer-than-expected purchases of German government bonds would see a sharp reversal in the trend of lower Bund yields – and a lot of burnt fingers. l Swaha Pattanaik is a columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. She has been covering financial markets and policymaking for 22 years. The article was initially published at Reuters.

Business

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Call to incorporate CSR into business

n Tribune Report It is high time Corporate Social Responisibility policies be incorporated into businesses, said speakers a Global Social Responsibility (GSR) Conference in Dhaka yesterday. The event focused on environmental sustainability, regional knowledge networking for ready made garments, food safety and corporate citizenship, said a press release. ‘‘The way we do business is changing: Nowadays most German blue chip companies have human rights officers,” said Thomas Prinz, German ambassador to Bangladesh. The conference’s theme this year is “Aid to Trade: Better World, Safer Generation”. “The government is committed to helping and promoting compliant business organisations and encouraging them to do good business,” said senior commerce secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon. At the same time, a technologically upgraded industrial landscape in Bangladesh will also enhance the opportunities for European and international traders and investors in the Bangladeshi market. The Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BGCCI) organised this multidimensional international conference in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and German Embassy Dhaka. The conference had a multi-dimensional dialogue, covering some of the most important issues related to socio-environmental sustainability within the Asia’s overall economic progress. l

Banks asked to give at least 10 bicycles to female students

n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Bank asked all the banks to provide at least 10 bicycles to the female students under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme. All schedule banks have been asked to provide 10 bicycles initially to the female students living in underprivileged areas, said a Bangladesh Bank circular issued yesterday with immediate effect. The decision was taken aiming to improve the education and living standard of school going female students especially in the country’s northern areas. The banks have also been advised to take priority basis CSR progrmme to improve the living standard of the dailt community, according to the circular. l

S&P: Large Japan economic stimulus would raise concerns n Reuters, Tokyo

Japan’s government is unlikely to be able to launch a stimulus package to support its struggling economy without raising concerns about the size of its spending, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said. Faced with a flagging economy, Japan is laying the groundwork for new government spending to preempt any weakness in household consumption, which would add to its already heavy debt burden. S&P cut its rating on Japan from AA- to A+ in September, which is four notches below its top rating of AAA, because it doubts the government can reverse the country’s economic deterioration. The agency also raised its outlook to stable from negative. “The size of any stimulus will have to be carefully calibrated. At this point I don’t think the government can put out a package big enough to support the economy without triggering concerns,” Kim Eng Tan, S&P’s Asia-Pacific senior director of sovereign ratings, said in an interview. Tan said continued yen strength could remove the external support, such as the receipts inbound tourism bring in, which Japan’s budget balance enjoys. If domestic demand

A man using his mobile phone walks past a sales advertisement board outside a cloth retailing store at a shopping district in Tokyo REUTERS and inflation are unable to make up for the loss of this external support, the fiscal balance could again deteriorate and pose a credit negative factor in the long run, he added. “But even in this scenario, we are unlikely to change our rating in the next year or two,” Tan said.

Japan plans to increase its sales tax in April 2017 and that would lift government revenue and lower its outstanding debt burden. Speculation has lingered among some market players, however, that Japan could postpone hiking taxes amid worsening demand.

“It really depends on the economic situation at that time. If you introduce a consumption tax hike when the economy is already weak or heading downwards, you are worsening the economic trend. You may not bring in that much revenue,” Tan said. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Samsung introduces new discount offers n Tribune Business Desk Grameenphone has recently signed an agreement with West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd (WZPDCL) on providing their customers in Khulna and Barisal with Billpay service for paying electricity bills, said a press release. Head of financial services of Grameenphone, Jean Alexandre Gelebart and company secretary of WZPDCL, Abdul Motaleb signed the agreement

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has recently visited Islami Bank stall at the three-day US Trade Show in Dhaka, said a press release

Samsung Electronics Bangladesh has recently introduced new price ranges on some of its selected TV models for the on-going cricket season, said a press release.

Samsung wanted to surprise its customers with price discounts on preferred TV models on occasion of T20 World Cup 2016, said Firoze Mohammad, head of consumer electronics of Samsung Electronics Bangladesh. l

Kuakata branch of National Bank Limited has recently disbursed SME loan in favour of five Rakhain entrepreneurs

Biz Info

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

| event |

Sri Lankan national cricket team meets with young adults with special needs

Discussion on Bangabandhu and liberation war held at IUB

n Saqib Sarker On March 2, the Sri Lankan national cricket players met the young adults and adults with autism and other neurodevelopmentally challenged people from PFDA-Vocational Training Centre at Le Méridien. PFDA or “Parents Forum for Differently Able” is an

organisation that provides livelihood opportunity for young adults and adults with autism and other neuro-developmental disabilities. The centre is the first of its kind to operate in Bangladesh. The PFDA has an institutional vocational training centre (VTC) in Bangladesh to work with people that suffer from neurological disabilities.

30 students with autism, Down’s Syndrome, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities from PFDA-Vocational Training Centre were present at the event. They made wristbands for the players to wish them luck for their upcoming matches for the Asia Cup 2016. The VTC students attended the event wearing Sri Lankan jerseys.

As a surprise performance, the students performed a Sri Lankan folk song. All the attending players sang and danced along with the performers. Sri Lankan High Commissioner Her Excellency Yasoja Gunadekera, the manager of Sri Lankan cricket team Jerome Jayaratne, assistant secretary of Asian Cricket Council Ravin Seneviratne, the executive director PFDA-VTC Sajida Rahman Danny, General Manager of Le Méridien Ashwani Nayar, Director of Sales and Marketing of Le Méridien Anwar Hossain, and Francis De Silva from the Sri Lanka Bangladesh Friendship Cricket Association spoke at the event. Additional General Manager of Apex Syed Gias Hussain, Rajan Pillai, the chief operating officer of Apex, and designated officials from the International Labour Organisation were also present. Le Méridien Dhaka presented a cake to commemorate the event while Apex provided coupon vouchers for the students at the centre. l

| hospitality |

| opening |

International Women’s day at Westin

Cafe Entro opens in Banani

Celebrate the power and joy of being a woman on International Women’s Day with an exclusive buffet masterfully prepared for the proud woman in you. Rejuvenate with a complimentary spa treatment voucher and enjoy

The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum in association with Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) organised a discussion and photography exhibition on Wednesday, March 2 2016 at IUB campus in Bashundhara, Dhaka. The veteran freedom fighter Lt Col Kazi Sazzad Ali Zahir, Bir Pratik, attended the program as the chief guest. Among others, Prof M Omar Rahman, vice chancellor, IUB, also spoke on the occasion. Several students along with the members of the faculty and management attended the discussion on the topic “Itihash kotha bole: songram theke shadhinotay Bangabandhu.” Photo caption: The veteran freedom fighter Lt Col Kazi Sazzad Ali Zahir, Bir Pratik, giving a speech on Bangabandhu and the liberation war at IUB. l

special discounts with group bookings only on International Women’s Day at The Westin Dhaka. Lunch buffet is priced at Tk3,500 (net) and dinner at Tk4,800 (net). For more information contact +8802-9891988. l

Entro began their journey on February 26, 2016. For the grand opening, celebrities like Tony (from Black), Azra, Prova, Farhana Nisho, Faria Piasha, Rumpa and many others were present while the chief guest of the ceremony was Rony

Chowdhury. We can find tea on any roadside tea stall, but finding decent coffee has been a struggle - until now. Cafe Entro inaugurated their Banani branch with the promise to serve the best coffee in town. The coffee

beans they use are 100% Arabica and is especially roasted for Cafe Entro. Their coffee is directly imported from Brazil and India while the coffee machine (Sanremo ROMA) is directly imported from Italy.l

Downtime

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 American state (6) 5 Tool (3) 7 Gasps taking large draughts (5) 8 Swarmed (6) 10 Liable (3) 12 Puts on (4) 13 Fate (3) 14 Indolent (4) 16 Frank (4) 17 Pithy saying (3) 18 Farm animal (4) 20 Jurisprudence (3) 23 Have high opinion of (6) 24 Enthusiasm (5) 25 Nourished (3) 26 Church office holders (6)

DOWN 1 Flying toy (4) 2 Heckle (6) 3 Representative (5) 4 Soapy lather (4) 5 Mineral spring (3) 6 Serpent (3) 9 Satellite (4) 11 Attempt (3) 14 Fertile soil (4) 15 Garb (6) 16 Lubricant (3) 17 Mannequin (5) 18 Donated (4) 19 Untidy state (4) 21 Hail! (3) 22 Marry (3)

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

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

INSIDE

EU president: Don't come to Europe n AFP, Athens

Lebanon pays the price of Saudi-Iran rivalry Caught in the middle of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Lebanon is paying the price for the growing rivalry between the Middle East’s main Sunni and Shia powers. PAGE 22

EU Council President Donald Tusk told illegal economic migrants on Thursday not to risk their lives or money to make a perilous trip to Europe “for nothing” but said unilateral actions by European Union states to deal with the crisis must stop. Tusk was on a trip through Balkan states to try to drum up support for cohesion on how to deal with hundreds of thousands of migrants - a crisis that threatens to tear the bloc apart - before an EU summit on Monday. From Greece, which has been a primary gateway of migrants flooding into Europe for more than a year, Tusk said anyone who was not a refugee should stay away. “I want to appeal to all potential illegal economic migrants wherever you are from: Do not come to Europe. Do not believe the smugglers. Do not risk your lives and your money. It is all for nothing,” Tusk said. “At Monday’s summit, Greece will demand that burden sharing be equitable among all countries in the bloc, and sanctions for those that do not,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after meeting Tusk. EU officials have said Reuters that European governments, and particularly Germany, are looking to Turkey to reduce the number of migrant arrivals in Greece to below 1,000 a day at most as an initial condition for discussing taking some Syrian refugees directly from Turkey. Tsipras said Greece would continue to do whatever it could to ensure no migrant or refugee

Migrant exodus to Europe continues unabated Main countries of origin

2016 so far

131,724

arrivals by sea since Jan 1

1,015,078 in the whole of 2015

410

41%

SYRIA AFGHANISTAN IRAQ

27 17

dead or missing

3,735 in 2015

Who they are

96%

(with % change from 2015)

Children

34% (+9)

3 3

Men

(-12)

Source: UNHCR

was left helpless. But he added Greece could not bear the burden by itself. Greece would make every effort to apply international treaties. Speaking of the masses of people reaching Greek shores on small inflatable dinghies from Turkey, Tsipras said: “We will not push back people in the sea, risking the lives of children.” Officials said Tusk would be stressing in Athens and Ankara on Thursday that the goal was to eliminate entirely the transit of migrants from Turkey to Greece and that Europeans believed Turkey should be able to bring the numbers down to the “low triple digits” very soon. “If there were to be a target figure, it would be zero,” one EU official said, noting that 1,000 people

1 1 1 1 1

of those arriving fled from just 10 countries

Women 20 (+3)

IRAN PAKISTAN NIGERIA GAMBIA GUINEA MOROCCO SENEGAL OTHER

*Jan-Feb 2016 only

a day would mean an unsustainable 350,000 people a year arriving in Greece

Massive aid plan

The EU chief was in Athens as part of a regional tour on the migration crisis ahead of a summit Monday between the EU and Turkey, the gateway for hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees, many from Syria, hoping to start new lives in Europe. The diplomatic blitz comes after the EU unveiled a €700m emergency aid plan Wednesday to help Greece and other countries deal with Europe’s worst migration crisis since World War II. It is the first time the bloc has responded to a situation within its borders in the same way as it treats humanitarian disasters in

developing countries. The UN has warned of a looming humanitarian crisis on the Greek-Macedonia border, where aid agencies have reported a lack of food and tents and warned that the wintry weather is taking a toll on people’s health. Greece has been the main point of entry for the 1.13m migrants who have arrived in the EU over the past 14 months, and has asked for around €480m to help shelter 100,000 refugees. The EU aid package, which must be approved by member states and the European Parliament, was unveiled just days after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that debt-hit Greece must not be allowed to plunge into “chaos” as the bottleneck on the Macedonian border grows. l

CRUNCHING NUMBERS

Europe’s 2016 migration crisis North Korea sanction loopholes give China room for manoeuvre New UN sanctions against nuclear-armed North Korea are being touted as the “toughest ever”, but loopholes leave plenty of room for Pyongyang’s key economic supporter China to continue business as usual, analysts and diplomats said Thursday. PAGE 24

131,724 Between January 1 and February 29, 2016, 131,724 migrants and refugees crossed the Mediterranean Sea, of whom 122,637 arrived in EU member Greece, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). For its part the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said 120,065 people arrived by sea from January 1 to 24 February, 2016. According to the IOM’s figures, Greece took in 111,099 migrants and refugees. On February 24, 98,752 migrants had been registered in Croatia, 95,744 in Slovenia, 2,476 in Hungary and 821 in Bulgaria, according to the authorities in the EU states concerned. Non-EU member Macedonia

says it has registered 87,036, while Serbia has tallied 87,704.

418 According to the IOM, from January 1 to February 24, 2016, at least 418 migrants and refugees lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean. According to the UNHCR, 410 people have died since the beginning of the year. The route in the eastern Mediterranean linking Turkey and Greece continued to be the most dangerous, with a toll of 321 dead. In 2015, 3,770 migrants lost their lives trying to reach Europe, according to the IOM.

48% Syrians According to the IOM, citing Greek

coast guards, between February 1 and 21, 48% of the migrants who arrived in Greece came from Syria, while 25% came from Afghanistan and 17% from Iraq. According to an IOM official, a rise in arrivals in Italy since the beginning of 2016 can be explained by a growing number of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, in particular from Nigeria, Gambia and Mali.

10,000 The crisis is particularly acute at the Greek border crossing of Idomeni where more than 10,000 are stuck after Balkan states including neighbouring Macedonia imposed tighter controls. In the northern French port

of Calais, hundreds of migrants who want to reach Britain languish in a sprawling makeshift camp where between 3,700 and 7,000 mainly Syrian, Afghan and Sudanese migrants are crammed.

€700m On Wednesday, the EU proposed a humanitarian aid budget of €700m to help front-line member states face up to the massive influx. The move came after Athens submitted an emergency plan to the EU to help cope with in 100,000 refugees, estimating it needs €480m to cope. l

Source: UNHCR, IOM, EUROPEAN COMMISSION WEBSITE

World

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

ANALYSIS

Lebanon pays the price of Saudi-Iran rivalry n AFP, Beirut Caught in the middle of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Lebanon is paying the price for the growing rivalry between the Middle East’s main Sunni and Shia powers. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran are important players in Lebanon, where foreign powers have long backed a range of Sunni, Shia and Christian groups on the country’s complex political scene. Saudi Arabia has for years supported pro-Western Sunni politicians while Iran has nurtured the Shia Hezbollah movement, with various Christian factions backing the two sides.

The Saudi-Iran animosity has now spread to Lebanon, with Riyadh last month halting a $4bn aid package to Lebanese security forces And as rivalry between the two countries has intensified in recent weeks, Lebanon is suffering the fallout. “Saudi Arabia is at an impasse and feels very lost. It sees the US abandoned it in favour of Iran and of Russia in Syria, while Iran expands its influence in the region,” said Hilal Khashan, head of the American University of Beirut’s political science department. “The Saudis believe they have to react to the Iranians in one way or another. So they’ve chosen to respond in Lebanon by putting pressure on Hezbollah.” The two countries’ rivalry plays out in a range of Middle East conflicts, from Syria where Iran and Hezbollah back President Bashar al-Assad while Saudi Arabia supports the opposition, to Yemen where Riyadh has launched a military intervention against Tehran-backed Shia rebels. The implementation of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers earlier this year has raised deep concerns in Riyadh, a longtime US ally, and tensions boiled over in January.

‘Brandishing a sword’

Riyadh and a number of its Gulf allies cut diplomatic ties with Tehran after an angry mob ransacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran following Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shia cleric. The hostility has now spread to Lebanon, with Riyadh last month halting a $4bn aid package to Lebanese security forces and calling on Saudi citizens to leave the country. Saudi officials have said the moves are due to “hostile positions” taken by Hezbollah, which they have accused of exerting a “stranglehold” on the Lebanese state. They have pointed specifically to Lebanon’s refusal to join the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in condemning the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.

The Saudi-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council upped the stakes on Tuesday, officially designating Hezbollah a “terrorist organisation”. The GCC’s decision was the equivalent of “brandishing a sword,” said Lebanese researcher Waddah Sharara, author of the book “The Hezbollah State”. “It’s a weapon they reserve the right to use, but not one they have used directly yet,” he said. Iran hit back on Thursday, with Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian calling Hezbollah “the champion of the fight against terrorism in the region” and saying the blacklisting was jeopardising Lebanon’s stability. Hezbollah has escalated its own vitriol against Saudi Arabia, calling it a “criminal, terrorist” state. For now, Saudi Arabia’s actions are having a limited effect. The withdrawal of aid to Lebanon’s security forces is “more a formality” than a real economic sanction, Sharara said. But there are fears that Saudi Arabia, which has about $2bn deposited in the Lebanese central bank, could step up its efforts to squeeze Hezbollah.

Remittances at risk?

“No one can predict if Saudi Arabia will go so far as to withdraw its deposits,” said Nassib Ghobril, an economic analyst at Byblos Bank in Lebanon. For now, he said, there was also no sign of private Saudi investors taking action against Lebanon, but what could hurt the country is a move against Lebanese citizens working in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. Some 300,000 Lebanese work in Saudi Arabia and another 200,000 in the rest of the Gulf and their remittances home are crucial to Lebanon’s economy. In 2015 alone, the remittances added up to $7.5bn, Ghobril said. Some Lebanese working in the Gulf fear measures will be taken against them. “I have to renew my residency here soon and I’m really worried that it won’t be approved,” one man working in the United Arab Emirates said on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals. Exporters are also worried that Saudi Arabia will close its borders to Lebanese goods, said Mohammad Choukeir, who heads the Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Lebanon. “About 75% of Lebanon’s agricultural exports and 53% of industrial exports go to Gulf states,” Choukeir said. Lebanon’s former ambassador to Washington, Abdallah Bouhabib, said it was important for the Lebanese - still recovering from the country’s devastating 1975-1990 civil war - to stand together against outside interference. “There is a discord between Sunnis and Shias in the region, but our country needs balance and the Lebanese are aware of this,” said Bouhabib, now a political analyst. “National unity remains more valuable than solidarity with a friendly nation.” l

What is Hezbollah? Ü Hezbollah, meaning “Party of God” in Arabic, is a Lebanon-based militant group, which shares the Shia ideology of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards set it up in 1982 to fight Israeli forces which had invaded Lebanon. The group continues to enjoy strong moral, political and military support from Tehran and Damascus. Ü The EU and the US designated Hezballah’s military wing as a terrorist organisation. Ü Hezbullah was applauded throughout the Arab world for its resistance against Israel, particularly in 2000 when it forced Israel from its 18-year-old occupation to south Lebanon, and in 2006 when it resisted Israel’s onslaught on Lebanon and liberated Lebanese prisoners thereof Ü Hezballah has participated in the Lebanese Government since 1992. With the 2004 passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which called for the disarmament of all armed militias in Lebanon, Hezballah has focused on justifying its retention of arms by casting itself as the defender of Lebanon against Israeli aggression. Ü In may 2013, Hezbullah publicly indicated that it was supporting Bashar al-Asad’s regime by sending fighters to Syria.

Sources: THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION, E-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, NCTC.GOV, NCBC NEWS

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Leading contenders for the US presidential vote Clinton and Trump gain major boosts in Super Tuesday Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton

DEMOCRAT

REPUBLICAN 69 years old

68 years old From Chicago, born Hillary Rodham Former secretary of state, former first lady, and the first female partner of her Arkansas law firm

THE PERSON

World

From Queens, New York Billionaire real estate tycoon and former reality TV star

SOUTH ASIA

Sri Lanka bans landmines seven years after ethnic war Sri Lanka on Thursday announced it would ban landmines and promised to destroy its stockpiles of the explosive devices, nearly seven years after its protracted civil war ended. Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha de Silva said the cabinet had decided to sign the 1997 UN treaty which banned anti-personnel mines. AFP

INDIA

Started her own formal political career as a Democrat senator in 2000, after working on health care reform plans as first lady

POLITICS

Strong support from women Democrats and minorities Gradual reform of Wall Street Tighten gun laws Expand university scholarships Immigration reform to simplify citizenship for illegal migrants

Dae’sh hackers target the wrong Google

Considered on the right of mainstream Republicanism Popular with grassroots conservatives, white working and middle classes A wall on the Mexican border PROMISES

China planning to bail 3 Hong Kong booksellers

To “stand up to China”

China is planning to bail three Hong Kong booksellers being held on the mainland, police said Wednesday, in a case that heightened fears over freedom of speech in the semi-autonomous city. Hong Kong police said the three men’s families have been informed of their bail, but the statement did not make clear if they will be able to return home. -AFP

“Make America great again”

New Zealand flag referendum: ‘Beach towel vs colonial relic’ New Zealanders began voting Thursday on whether to adopt a new flag, in a referendum Prime Minister John Key has called a once-in-a-generation chance to ditch Britain’s Union Jack from the national banner. After 18 months of heated debate, Kiwis must choose between an existing flag that Key insists is a colonial relic and an alternative silver fern design critics label “an ugly beach towel”. About three million ballot papers are being distributed in the South Pacific nation of 4.5m people for the vote, conducted only by post, which closes on March 24. The result will be binding and John Burrows, the head of a panel overseeing the referendum, said New Zealanders would have to live with their choice far into the future.

Key said the vote was a rare chance to update and modernise a national symbol for the first time since independence from Britain. He argues the silver ferm “screams New Zealand” in the same way the maple leaf instantly identifies Canadians. On one side of the ballot is the existing flag, a dark blue ensign with the Union Jack in the top left corner and four red stars representing the Southern Cross constellation. On the other is the proposed alternative -- a silver fern on a black-and-blue background, which retains the four Southern Cross stars. Created by designer Kyle Lockwood, it beat four other flags in a preliminary referendum last December. Opinion polls point to a decisive win for the existing banner,

CHINA

Deport millions of illegal immigrants

Torchbearer of American Reputation for talking women, has talked of tough, “say-it-as-it-is” the need to address REPUTATION honesty, disdain for the “political class”, racism and economic controversial comments about disparities women, Mexicans and Muslims

n AFP, Wellington

Hackers affiliated to Dae’sh, Cyber Caliphate Army (CCA), who promised to take down search engine giant Google has instead targeted a small India tech firm, according to a media report. CCA had vowed on messaging app Telegram they would attack Google on Monday. However, the website claims that a few hours later they had instead defaced the Indian website. -INDIAN EXPRESS

Kiwis set to choose their flag

New design ** Polls close March 24 with a survey this week putting its support at 63%, against 26% for the new version. Critics slam the design’s aesthetics, with actor Sam Neill saying: “This ugly beach towel is no alternative. It’s hideous.” But there are high-profile advocates for change, including ex-All Black skipper Richie McCaw. “The silver fern has always been the special symbol on the All Black jersey... so the new flag with a silver fern as a part of it would

Current flag be a great option,” he posted on Facebook. However, the conservative leader’s strong personal support has fed perceptions the flag issue is his pet cause, hindering its chances of success, according to political commentators. The centre-left Labour Party, normally a reformist organisation, has condemned the NZ$26m referendum as Key’s “hugely expensive and highly unpopular vanity project.” l

ASIA PACIFIC

Malaysia, Australia move to retrieve suspected MH370 debris Australian and Malaysian officials were moving to retrieve and examine suspected aircraft wreckage found on the east African coast to quickly determine whether it came from missing flight MH370, Malaysia’s transport minister said Thursday. The one-metre long piece of debris found on a Mozambique beach could provide fresh clues into the mystery of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight. -AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Cameron, Merkel, Hollande to discuss Syria with Putin British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will discuss the ceasefire in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a conference call on Friday, Downing Street said. The fragile truce that came into force last week is the first major cessation of hostilities in the five-year civil war that has claimed more than 270,000 lives. -AFP

World

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

USA

Oval office vetting Iowa judge for SCOTUS seat The White House is vetting Jane L Kelly, a career public defender turned federal appellate judge in Iowa, as a potential nominee for the Supreme Court, as President Obama closes in on a decision that could reshape the court after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The FBI has been conducting background interviews on Judge Kelly, 51, according to a source. -NYT

THE AMERICAS

Venezuelan students clash with police over court ruling Venezuelan students threw Molotov cocktails and stones at police Wednesday in a protest against a Supreme Court ruling curbing the opposition-held legislature’s powers, authorities said. The protest was against a ruling by the high court Tuesday that stripped the National Assembly’s power to remove justices from the bench. -AFP

Migrants, EU referendum, discussed at France-UK summit French politicians targeted the British referendum on EU membership on Thursday, warning that leaving the 28-nation bloc would give London new problems regarding migrants, banking and terrorism. Ahead of the summit France warned that a British departure from the EU will make it harder to block migrants from crossing the Channel. British PM David Cameron has also suggested France could end its border deal with Britain if the UK votes to leave. -AP

EUROPE

EU plans to restore Schengen by November The EU will unveil on Friday a roadmap to restore by November the Schengen passport-free travel area, which is nearing collapse because of the migration crisis, sources said. The plan includes quickly creating an EU coast guard system and strengthening Greece’s external border, the main point of entry for refugees and migrants to Europe. -AFP

AFRICA

UN: 50,000 dead in South Sudan war At least 50,000 people have been killed in South Sudan’s two-year civil war, a senior UN official said on Wednesday, a five-fold increase in the death toll in the early months of the conflict. A political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar, sparked the war in December 2013, which has reopened ethnic fault lines between Kiir’s Dinka and Machar’s Nuer people -REUTERS

ANALYSIS

North Korea sanction loopholes give China room for manoeuvre n AFP, Beijing New UN sanctions against nuclear-armed North Korea are being touted as the “toughest ever”, but loopholes leave plenty of room for Pyongyang’s key economic supporter China to continue business as usual, analysts and diplomats said Thursday. The Security Council measures are the product of seven weeks of arduous negotiations between Washington and Beijing, Pyongyang’s sole ally and main provider of trade and aid. In 2014, China accounted for more than 90% of North Korea’s $7.61bn in total trade, according to the latest available figures from South Korea’s state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. But despite this potential leverage, Beijing has long resisted targeting Pyongyang’s fragile economy over its atomic and missile ambitions. The roots of their alliance were forged during the Korean War, and Beijing fears that a collapse of the regime would lead to a flood of refugees - and worse, that a reunified Korea would see US troops stationed on its border. US officials described the latest Security Council resolution as the toughest ever imposed on Pyongyang, which has repeatedly flouted the United Nations’ edicts. But one of the document’s key provisos - a ban on exports of coal, iron, gold, titanium and rare earth minerals from North Korea - provides an exception if the proceeds do not go towards funding its nuclear or weapons programmes. That determination, a US diplomat told, is at the sole discretion of Pyongyang’s trading partners. There is no requirement to report such transactions to the UN’s sanctions committee. “In practice, this provision

North Korea sanctioned

New UN resolution imposes toughest measures against North Korea in response to its fourth nuclear test and rocket launch Main sanctions Cargo inspections Arms embargo Ban on luxury goods Export bans

Luxury watches

Recreational watercrafts (Sea-Doos)

Snowmobiles

All countries must inspect cargo destined for and coming from North Korea (in airports, seaports, free trade zones)

Ban military and police cooperation, including shutdown of North Korea’s training programs overseas (in particular in Africa)

Gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore and rare earth minerals

Bar any vessel suspected of carrying illicit goods for North Korea from port calls

Aviation fuel including rocket fuel (except for regular planes travelling to/from North Korea, and for humanitarian use) Financial sanctions

Blacklisted

16 new individuals on global travel ban and -asset freeze and 12 entities on asset freeze including - National Aerospace Development Administration (for satellite launches and carrier rockets)

No sale of small arms

Coal, iron and iron ore from North Korea (except for “livelihood purposes”)

- Ministry of Atomic Energy Industry - Reconnaissance General Bureau (spy agency)

Extend asset freeze to all overseas funds held by - Government - Workers’ Party of Korea - Daedong credit bank - Korea Kwangson banking corporation

All countries must bar opening/ operation of new branches of North Korean banks Shut down North Korean banks within 90 days if credible information shows they contribute to nuclear/ballistic program

Expelling diplomats Countries can expel North Korean diplomats or any foreign national engaged in illicit activies for Pyongyang

means that China and other North Korean coal and iron importers will be able to take solace in vague language when they wish to”, said Andrea Berger, an expert on Korean peninsula security issues at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank in London. Trade with China is critical to the isolated, impoverished North, which has suffered regular food shortages. According to Chinese Customs

data, imports from North Korea totalled $2.56bn last year, including $1.05bn worth of coal and another $73m of iron. Washington has long held that changing North Korea’s behaviour depends on China’s willingness to pressure Pyongyang via its economic relationship. China was “very reluctant” to stop importing minerals from North Korea, according to Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at

the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. Beijing “probably fought hard against economic sanctions”, she said, adding that they “would have preferred to do the minimum, but the US insisted that there not be business as usual”. The UN Security Council has imposed four sets of sanctions on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006. l

5 Security Council countries seek action on hospital attacks n AFP, United Nations Five countries in the UN Security Council are working on a new draft resolution demanding a halt to attacks on hospitals and medical facilities in Syria, Yemen and other war zones, diplomats said Wednesday. Egypt, Japan, Spain, New Zealand and Uruguay are working on the measure which would reaffirm that such attacks violate interna-

tional law and would call for perpetrators to be held accountable. All five are non-permanent members of the 15-nation Security Council. The UN has raised alarm over the targeting of medical workers and hospitals in conflict zones, in particular in Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan. Last year, there were 94 attacks in Syria against 63 hospitals and clinics supported by Doctors

Without Borders (MSF), according to the organization’s executive director Jason Cone. Missile strikes have hit at least three MSF clinics in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been battling Shiite Huthi rebels who have seized territory from the internationally recognized government. One of the most devastating attacks was the US strike in October on a MSF-run hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz that

killed 42 people. MSF condemned the airstrike as a war crime and demanded an investigation. The US military unveiled the results of an internal investigation a month later, blaming human error. MSF is supporting the initiative by the five council members, which would not break new legal ground but would highlight the need to respect existing humanitarian law. l

Sport

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

CAREER STATISTICS Competition

Test

Matches

ODI

First-Class

143

247

261

Runs scored

5444

4704

19608

8740

Batting average

45.36

38.55

56.02

38.16

100s/50s

17/18

4/34

71/80

11/59

Top score

299

107*

299

155*

Balls bowled

1377

954

4010

2859

119

48.28

32.89

33.69

28.87

2/25

2/9

5/18

4/24

226

115

Wickets Bowling average 5 wickets in innings Best bowling Catches

IN NUMBERS

List-A

Test tons for Martin Crowe - the most by any batsman for New Zealand.

5444

Runs scored in Crowe's Test career - the highest for New Zealand at his retirement in 1995.

58.46

Crowe's average in Tests between 1985 and 1991 - the best for any batsman with at least 2500 runs in the period. Crowe made 3391 runs in 66 innings in those six years.

REACTIONS

456

STEPHEN FLEMING

Very sad to hear of the passing of martin crowe this morning. An inspiration to me and so many others. One of our true greats. RIP hogan

Runs scored by Crowe in the 1992 World Cup - most by any batsman. He was adjudged Player of the Tournament for his performance, thus becoming the first player to get that award in World Cup history.

WASIM AKRAM

RIP Martin Crowe you will always be remembered. You were the BEST I ever bowled against and a top human being.#Gonetoosoon #RIPMartinCrowe

ALLAN BORDER

Technically he was absolutely fantastic. He had a presence at the crease and if you combine that with the cricket smarts he possessed you’re going to have a pretty good package. It’s a pretty simple formula, and he had it in spades.

RUSSELL CROWE

My champion, my hero, my friend. I will love you forever. RIP M.D.Crowe .

CHRIS HARRIS

He was a bit of a mentor of mine, someone so willing to help, and he was amazing for my development, because he was such a great player and happy to give anything he thought might help your game.

KUMAR SANGAKKARA

Rest in peace Martin Crowe. A wonderful batsman and a man with courage and conviction. Inspired generations of batsmen around the world.

IMRAN KHAN

Saddened to hear of the passing of a great cricketer Martin Crowe - the best New Zealand captain I played against.

IAN BOTHAM

Very sad to wake up to the news that Martin “Hogan” Crowe has passed away...!! One of the best to play the wonderful game !! RIP

SACHIN TENDULKAR

Heartfelt condolences to family and fans of #MartinCrowe. Great cricketer and a fighter till the very end.

TOM MOODY

Deeply saddened to hear that Martin Crowe has passed away, master batsman & one of the great thinkers in our game.

ROSS TAYLOR

Until we meet again Hogan. Love Tuisi

GRANT ELLIOTT

RIP. A very sad day. Thoughts are with friends and family.

VIRAT KOHLI

RIP Martin Crowe, an absolute legend and an iconic star for the NZ. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

DEAN JONES

Just heard the news of Martin Crowe’s passing. Brilliant player and ambassador for our game. Sympathies to Jeff and the family. #Hogan

DAMIEN MARTYN

So sad to hear the passing of Crowe. One of the games greats on and off the field. My thoughts with family and friends.

Martin Crowe dies n Reuters, Wellington Tributes flowed yesterday for former New Zealand cricket captain Martin Crowe, who died after a long battle with cancer. He was 53. Widely considered New Zealand’s finest batsman, Crowe was initially diagnosed with follicular lymphoma in 2012 before the disease went into remission. In September 2014, however, Crowe said a more aggressive form, double-hit lymphoma, had developed and he had been told only five percent survive more than 12 months. New Zealand Cricket Chief Executive David White paid tribute to Crowe’s contribution to the game. “It’s incredibly sad and hard to believe he

has been taken from us so early,” White told Radio New Zealand. “Our hearts go out to his family and close friends. “Over the next few days and weeks we will celebrate his life and outstanding contribution to New Zealand and world cricket.” Crowe’s funeral will be held in Auckland on March 11. The Dean of Auckland’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, Jo Kelly-Moore, said: “Martin’s life is being remembered today across the nation and the world as a husband, father, brother and cousin, batsman, hero, friend and sporting champion. “The funeral will be a time for those private and public memories to join together.” His death was keenly felt in cricketing circles, with an outpouring of tributes flowing on social media. l

299

Crowe's highest individual score in Tests and his only double century. He is the one and only player in the history of Test cricket to be dismissed on 299; Don Bradman was not out on 299 once.

467

Runs added by Crowe and Andrew Jones for the third wicket against Sri Lanka (the innings in which Crowe made 299), which was the highest partnership for any wicket in Test cricket at that time.

56.02

Crowe's average in his first-class career, scoring 19608 runs in 412 innings. Among 469 batsmen who aggregated 15,000 or more runs in first-class cricket, only ten others had a better average than Crowe's.

A batting great and T20 pioneer n AFP, Wellington New Zealand batting legend Martin Crowe, who died yesterday after a long battle with cancer, once said that the only time he truly felt content was at the crease with a ball rocketing towards him. The 53-year-old, a cousin of Hollywood star Russell Crowe, rewrote the New Zealand record book during a 13year Test career, then set about reinventing cricket in retirement with an early 20over version of the game. Hailing from a cricketing family - his father Dave played first grade and brother Jeff also captained the Black Caps Crowe make his Test debut in 1982 aged 19 against Australia. He was soon being hyped as the best young batsman in the world, with Wisden naming him cricketer of the year in 1985. While injuries arguably prevented Crowe reaching his full potential, a Test

average of 45.36 in 77 matches still places him among the game’s elite. When he retired from international cricket in 1995, he held a slew of New Zealand batting records, including most Test runs (5,444), highest Test score (299), most 50s (35) and most hundreds (17) - the last of which still stands. Shane Warne ranked Crowe in his top 100 Test cricketers of all time, saying the Kiwi had a full range of shots and handled pace and spin equally well. “He was such a stylish and elegant player, with a touch of grace and the same skills as the best Indian players of picking up a length very early,” Warne wrote. Crowe also won plaudits for his captaincy in both the Test and one-day formats, including innovative attack-fromthe-outset tactics at the 1992 World Cup. He was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in March 2015 during the Cricket World Cup co-hosted by New Zealand. l

Sport

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

CAREER STATISTICS Competition

Test

Matches

ODI

First-Class

143

247

261

Runs scored

5444

4704

19608

8740

Batting average

45.36

38.55

56.02

38.16

100s/50s

17/18

4/34

71/80

11/59

Top score

299

107*

299

155*

Balls bowled

1377

954

4010

2859

119

48.28

32.89

33.69

28.87

2/25

2/9

5/18

4/24

226

115

Wickets Bowling average 5 wickets in innings Best bowling Catches

IN NUMBERS

List-A

Test tons for Martin Crowe - the most by any batsman for New Zealand.

5444

Runs scored in Crowe's Test career - the highest for New Zealand at his retirement in 1995.

58.46

Crowe's average in Tests between 1985 and 1991 - the best for any batsman with at least 2500 runs in the period. Crowe made 3391 runs in 66 innings in those six years.

REACTIONS

456

STEPHEN FLEMING

Very sad to hear of the passing of martin crowe this morning. An inspiration to me and so many others. One of our true greats. RIP hogan

Runs scored by Crowe in the 1992 World Cup - most by any batsman. He was adjudged Player of the Tournament for his performance, thus becoming the first player to get that award in World Cup history.

WASIM AKRAM

RIP Martin Crowe you will always be remembered. You were the BEST I ever bowled against and a top human being.#Gonetoosoon #RIPMartinCrowe

ALLAN BORDER

RUSSELL CROWE

My champion, my hero, my friend. I will love you forever. RIP M.D.Crowe .

CHRIS HARRIS

He was a bit of a mentor of mine, someone so willing to help, and he was amazing for my development, because he was such a great player and happy to give anything he thought might help your game.

KUMAR SANGAKKARA

Rest in peace Martin Crowe. A wonderful batsman and a man with courage and conviction. Inspired generations of batsmen around the world.

IMRAN KHAN

Saddened to hear of the passing of a great cricketer Martin Crowe - the best New Zealand captain I played against.

IAN BOTHAM

Very sad to wake up to the news that Martin “Hogan” Crowe has passed away...!! One of the best to play the wonderful game !! RIP

SACHIN TENDULKAR

Heartfelt condolences to family and fans of #MartinCrowe. Great cricketer and a fighter till the very end.

TOM MOODY

Deeply saddened to hear that Martin Crowe has passed away, master batsman & one of the great thinkers in our game.

ROSS TAYLOR

Until we meet again Hogan. Love Tuisi

GRANT ELLIOTT

RIP. A very sad day. Thoughts are with friends and family.

VIRAT KOHLI

RIP Martin Crowe, an absolute legend and an iconic star for the NZ. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

DEAN JONES

Just heard the news of Martin Crowe’s passing. Brilliant player and ambassador for our game. Sympathies to Jeff and the family. #Hogan

DAMIEN MARTYN

So sad to hear the passing of Crowe. One of the games greats on and off the field. My thoughts with family and friends.

299

Crowe's highest individual score in Tests and his only double century. He is the one and only player in the history of Test cricket to be dismissed on 299; Don Bradman was not out on 299 once.

467

Runs added by Crowe and Andrew Jones for the third wicket against Sri Lanka (the innings in which Crowe made 299), which was the highest partnership for any wicket in Test cricket at that time.

56.02

Sport

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

India crush UAE for their biggest T20I win n Cricinfo

QUICK BYTES German FA to unveil truth behind 2006 scandal

India versus UAE was a no contest. There was precious little intent from the UAE batsmen and all India had to do was go through the motions to gain a nine-wicket victory. It was India’s biggest win in T20Is in terms of balls remaining. There was nothing riding on this game, except perhaps the opportunity for UAE’s batsmen to salvage some pride - putting up 81 for 9 suggests they didn’t accomplish that and a chance for India to test their bench ahead of the final here and the World T20 back home. Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and debutant Pawan Negi sent down 11 overs and picked up four wickets for only 35 runs between them. l

The German FA is set to answer corruption allegations on Friday as accusations the 2006 World Cup was “bought” threaten to give FIFA another headache. The 2006 finals were lauded in Germany as a huge success with fans from all the world lapping up the well-organised tournament over four sun-soaked weeks.

–AFP

Belgium remain top of FIFA rankings, Argentina still 2nd Belgium continue to hold off Argentina and Spain at the top of FIFA’s latest world rankings released yesterday. World champions Germany sit fourth while Italy move up one rung to 14th above the Netherlands in the only movement in the top 20.

BRIEF SCORE

–AFP

United Arab Emirates and India cricketers stand in a moment of silence for former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe after his death at the age of 53, ahead of the Asia Cup T20 match between the two sides at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket stadium in Dhaka yesterday AFP

Djokovic, Murray target Davis Cup QF showdown Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray can set up a Davis Cup quarter-final blockbuster if they successfully pilot Serbia and defending champions Great Britain through the first round. However, the world’s top two players will go into their home clashes against Kazakhstan and Japan respectively this weekend with question marks over their fitness and match sharpness.

–AFP

Sunderland should have banned Johnson - charity Sunderland should have suspended Adam Johnson if they knew he had kissed a 15-year-old girl, Britain’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said yesterday. Johnson, 28, was convicted of sexual activity with a child. He was acquitted of another charge and had already admitted one count of grooming and one count of sexual activity with a child.

–AFP

Ibrahimovic drives PSG into French Cup semis Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled the strings as Paris Saint Germain cruised into the French Cup semifinals on Wednesday with a 3-1 away win at Saint Etienne. The result saw PSG bounce back from their first domestic defeat.

–AFP

India 82/1 (Rohit Sharma 39, Yuvraj Singh 25*, Shikhar Dhawan 16*) beat the UAE 81 (Shaiman Anwar 43, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/8, Yuvraj Singh 1/10) by nine wickets Man of the match: Rohit Sharma (India)

Shanto heroics steer North to driving seat n Tribune Report Youngster Nazmul Hossain Shanto smashed an unbeaten century to propel North Zone to a position of authority against South Zone following the third day’s play of the Bangladesh Cricket League longerversion yesterday. In the other match of the fourth round, Central Zone maintained their dominance over East Zone with the former leading by 212 runs heading into the fourth and final day’s proceedings today.

North v South, Cox’s Bazar

Away at the academy ground of the Sheikh Kamal International Cricket stadium, Shanto struck a 177-ball 105 to help North take a

4TH BCL, RD 4, DAY 3 Central Zone 588/8 dec v East Zone 376/7 (Mominul 89, Kapali 73, Yasir 59) East Zone trail by 212 runs North Zone 296 & 237/3 (Nazmul 105, Jahurul 74, Naeem 46) v South Zone 341 (Tushar 96, Anamul 70, Sanjamul 6/116) North Zone lead by 192 runs

192-run lead. Alongside Jahurul Islam (74), Shanto, who starred for Bangladesh Under-19 in the U-19 World Cup recently, added 165 runs for the third wicket after the early departures of Junaid Siddique (six) and Farhad Hossain (one). By the end of the day, North posted 237/3 with skipper Naeem Islam remaining undefeated on 46. Earlier, South resumed the day on 247/4 and added 94 runs before losing the remainder of their wickets. Tushar Imran was desperately unlucky as he fell just four short of a well-deserved

Bayern lose perfect home record to give Dortmund hope n AFP, Berlin Bayern Munich suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Mainz on Wednesday, losing their 100 percent home record this season, as their lead in the Bundesliga was trimmed to five points. The result shakes up the title race ahead of Saturday’s crunch clash when Pep Guardiola’s Bayern play at second-placed Borussia Dortmund. Colombia striker Jhon Cordoba came off the bench to seal only

Mainz’s second victory in Munich with the winner on 86 minutes to finish off a counter-attack. “We had our chances and then let them counter-attack. We shouldn’t have allowed that to happen,” fumed Bayern’s goal-scorer Arjen Robben. Mainz took a shock lead at the Allianz Arena when Spanish winger Jairo fired home in the first-half with the Bayern defence well beaten. Robben pulled a goal back for the Bavarians on 64 minutes. Despite Mainz managing only

22 percent of possession, Cordoba grabbed the late winner and was mobbed by his team-mates. “We knew how we could win here with a strong defensive display and a good counter-attack,” said Mainz coach Martin Schmidt, who praised his side’s ‘outstanding display’. “It feels really good.” Dortmund’s 2-0 win at Darmstadt on Wednesday cut Bayern’s lead from eight points to five as another Colombia striker, Adrian Ramos, and defender Erik Durm netted. l

century while national discard Anamul Haque made 70. Left-arm spinner Sanjamul Islam bagged six wickets for North.

Central v East, Cox’s Bazar

Resuming on their overnight score of 142/2 at the same venue, East ended the day on 367/7, still 212 short of Central’s first innings tally. Test fixture Mominul Haque top-scored with a brisk 92-ball 89 while veteran campaigner Alok Kapali scored a painstaking 152ball 73. l

BUNDESLIGA Bayern Munich Robben 64

Schalke 04

1-2

Mainz

Jairo 26, Cordoba 86

3-2

Hamburg

Meyer 38, Huntelaar 67, Schoepf 77

Leverkusen

Mueller 4, Kacar 90+2

1-3

Djilobodji 69-og

M'gladbach

Werder Bremen Bartels 5, Pizarro 55, 65-P, 83

3-0

Stuttgart

2-0

Frankfurt

Hazard 16, Raffael 60, Herrmann 68

Hertha Berlin Weiser 63, Kalou 78

Hoffenheim

2-1

Augsburg

Volland 25, Uth 81

Darmstadt

Verhaegh 40-P

0-2

Dortmund

Ramos 38, Durm 53

Sport

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

EPL STANDINGS Team

P W D L GD PTS

1 Leicester City

28 16 9 3 20

2 Tottenham

28 15 9 4 27

3 Arsenal

28 15 6

7 16

4 Man City

27 14 5 8 17

5 Man United

28 13 8

6 West Ham

28 12 10 6

7 Stoke City

28 12 6 10 -3

8 Liverpool

27 11 8 8

9 Southampton 28 11 7 10 7

10 Chelsea

28 10 9 9

11 Everton

9 11 7

12 Watford

28 10 7 11

13 West Brom

28 9 9 10 -7

14 Crystal Palace 28 9 6 13 -6

15 Bournemouth 28 8 8 12 -12

16 Swansea City 28 17 Sunderland

9 12 -10 30

28 6 6 16 -19 24

18 Norwich City 28 6 6 16 -22 24 19 Newcastle

6 6 15 -23 24

20 Aston Villa

7 18 -29 16

Liverpool's James Milner (L) scores during their English Premier League match against Manchester City at Anfield Stadium on Wednesday

EPL TALKING POINTS Antonio not just a goalscorer

Michail Antonio’s goal may have separated West Ham and Tottenham at Upton Park, but it was his work outside of the area that went some way to keeping Spurs quiet. It’s the fourth home game in a row the 25-year-old has netted, but he played more like a right-wing back as West Ham’s compact defensive work stifled Spurs.

City slackers

Manchester City were well beaten at Anfield as they slipped to a third straight league defeat. While the result itself was disappointing, it was the lacklustre nature of the display that will have been most concerning to Manuel Pellegrini. Liverpool were first to every ball as they swarmed all

over City whenever the visitors got possession and Pellegrini’s men were simply unable to cope.

Have Arsenal thrown away their golden chance?

Arsene Wenger claimed his side were “unlucky” after the game, having hit the woodwork three times, but the most damning aspect of the result from his point of view was the fact that Swansea weren’t even outstanding in victory. In fact, the away side even made six changes from their defeat at Tottenham, didn’t have their head coach Francesco Guidolin on the touchline and clearly had their minds on their match with Norwich tomorrow.

Perfect United timing

Peaking at the right time is a key

component in sport and Manchester United are catching fire just as others are starting to wilt. Juan Mata’s sumptuous 83rd minute winner over Watford has made sure the positive momentum around Old Trafford continued as they celebrated their fourth straight victory in all competitions.

Toothless Magpies still in trouble

Steve McClaren’s side had not played a match for 18 days since they were thrashed 5-1 at Chelsea, and it showed for much of the game. The visitors struggled to carve out any clear-cut chances until stoppage time, when Jack Butland denied substitute Seydou Doumbia with a sensational stop, and remain in the bottom three of the Premier League. l

Advantage Leicester n AFP, London Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City remain sitting pretty at the Premier League summit after their closest rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester City remarkably all contrived to lose on Wednesday. Leicester had dropped points in a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday, but they remain in pole position after Spurs lost 1-0 at West Ham United, Arsenal crashed 2-1 at home to Swansea City and Liverpool claimed revenge for their League Cup final defeat by crushing City 3-0. The results kept Leicester three points clear of second-place Tottenham, with Arsenal - booed off at the Emirates Stadium - three points further back and City now 10 points off the pace, albeit with a game in hand. Manchester United are now lev-

el on points with City in fifth place, having played a game more, after Juan Mata’s 83rd-minute free-kick secured a 1-0 home win over Watford. West Ham’s victory over Tottenham, courtesy of Michail Antonio’s seventh-minute header, left them in sixth place. l

RESULTS Arsenal

1-2

Campbell 15

Liverpool

Swansea Routledge 32, Williams 74

3-0

Man City

Lallana 34, Milner 41, Firmino 57

Man United

1-0

Watford

1-0

Newcastle

1-0

Tottenham

Mata 83

Stoke Shaqiri 80

West Ham Antonio 7

Ronaldo gets Real back on track n AFP, Madrid

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo shoots to score a penalty during their Spanish La Liga match against Levante in Valencia, Spain on Wednesday REUTERS

Cristiano Ronaldo made amends for recent critical comments of his Real Madrid teammates with a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win at Levante on Wednesday to cut the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to nine points. Ronaldo’s penalty and an own goal from Levante ‘keeper Diego Marino put the visitors in command before Deyverson pulled one back for Levante before half-time. However, Isco’s late strike from Ronaldo’s cut-back secured the points in stoppage time. Real trail second-placed Atletico Madrid by four points, but do open up a four-point lead of their own on

Villarreal after they were held 0-0 at Celta Vigo. Barcelona could have extended their lead over Atletico at the top

LA LIGA RESULTS 1-0

Eibar

Celta Vigo

0-0

Villarreal

Malaga

1-2

Sevilla Llorente 11

Cop 14

Athletic Bilbao

4-1

Muniain 13, Aduriz 36, 53, 60

Levante Deyverson 38

Valencia Kameni 41-og, Cheryshev 50

Deportivo Riera 50

1-3

Real Madrid

Ronaldo 34-P, Marino 37-og, Isco 90+1

to eight points with victory at Rayo Vallecano yesterday. Gary Neville’s Valencia moved into the top half of the table as they benefited from spectacular own goal by Malaga goalkeeper Carlos Kameni to win 2-1 at La Rosaleda. Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane was without a host of first team regulars as the suspended Dani Carvajal and Sergio Ramos joined the injured Marcelo, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema on the sidelines. However, Ronaldo started despite causing controversy with an outburst claiming Madrid “would be top” of the league if his teammates matched his standards after defeat to Atletico at the weekend.l

Sport

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Enter the dragon as super-rich Chinese league kicks off

Juve secure Milan Cup final after almighty Inter scare n AFP, Milan

n AFP, Beijing

Holders Juventus suffered an almighty scare on their way to a second successive Italian Cup final, dominating Inter Milan at a penalty shoot-out after Roberto Mancini’s men won 3-0 on the night to level their semi-final tie. Juventus, who claimed their first league and Cup double in 20 years last May, will now meet AC Milan in the May 21 at Rome’s Olympic Stadium. But in a rain-hit San Siro encounter that saw Inter dominate throughout, Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri was soon regretting his decision to deploy a second string side. With a 3-0 cushion from the first leg, Allegri rested goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and striker Mario Mandzukic, while Giorgio Chiellini, Claudio Marchisio and Martin Caceres were all injured. But, under the cosh following a string of poor results, Mancini cracked the whip and the Nerazzurri responded in style to take a 2-0 lead by the 49th minute thanks to Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic. When Brozovic hit his second from the spot eight minutes from time after a dubious penalty decision, the tie was forced to extra time. After two thrilling but goalless periods, Rodrigo Palacio’s miss from the spot made the difference as Juve stayed on track for a second consecutive double. l

A record-breaking spending spree which made the football world sit up and take notice has ensured that all eyes will be on the Chinese Super League when it starts this week brimming with foreign stars. Alex Teixeira and Jackson Martinez, signed under the noses of English giants Liverpool and Chelsea, headline what has become Asia’s most glittering league after a 331 million euros splurge on players. Ramires, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Gervinho are also among the highly paid players who will get their first taste of the CSL after being lured from Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Roma respectively. Whether the sudden mass investment will translate into quality on the pitch is unclear, but transfers which smashed the Asian record four times and outstripped the English Premier League have created an undeniable buzz. “Everyone in China is talking about the league, workmates, friends, even old people on the street,” said 33-year-old Shanghai SIPG fan Ma Zheng. “There’s a feeling that Chinese football is going to be worth watching again this year after many years of it being looked down upon by Chinese,” he said. A Chinese league bursting with money and glamour is a far cry

DAY’S WATCH CRICKET

STAR SPORTS 1 7:30PM Asia Cup T20 2016 Pakistan v Sri Lanka

TEN CRICKET 09:30PM Australia Tour of South Africa 1st T20I

FOOTBALL TEN ACTION 2:30PM A-League 2015/16 Brisbane Roar v WS Wanderers 1:30AM French Ligue 1 2015/16 Caen v Monaco

TEN SPORTS 01:15AM Sky Bet Championship Middlesbrough v Wolves

SONY SIX 1:40AM Italian Serie A TIM Roma v Fiorentina

from the widespread corruption of just a few years ago, before a major crackdown ensnared dozens of officials, referees and players. Guangzhou Pharmaceutical were kicked out of the CSL in the fall-out - only to bounce back a year later and, rebranded as Guangzhou Evergrande, finish as champions for the next five seasons. But in a sign that suspicions remain, the official gambling operator in neighbouring Hong Kong has barred bets on the CSL, citing fears over “transparency, integrity and competitiveness”. Tycoon club-owners have been encouraged to spend big on players by the authorities headed by football-loving President Xi Jinping, who have ambitions to host and even win a World Cup. The political pressure has yielded purchases like Martinez, who was expected to leave Atletico Madrid for Chelsea but instead joined Evergrande for 42 million euros. The move broke the Asian transfer record, which was raised again just days later when Jiangsu Suning snapped up Liverpoollinked Teixeira for 50 million euros from Shakhtar Donetsk. Other notable imports include Gervinho to Hebei China Fortune for 18 million euros, and Colombian international Freddy Guarin to Shanghai Shenhua from Inter Milan for 11 million euros.l

Juventus' Leonardo Bonucci (R) and Inter Milan’s Citadin Martins Eder vie for the ball during their Italian Cup semi-final second leg at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy on Wednesday AP

Russell facing drug test sanction n AFP, Miami West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell could face a suspension under anti-doping rules after missing three drug tests in the past 12 months, reports in Jamaica said

Wednesday. Russell, a member of the West Indies squad for next week’s World Twenty20 championship in India, could be banned for up to two years if found guilty, the Jamaica Gleaner reported.

The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission declined to comment when contacted by AFP to confirm the report. Russell, 27, also could not be reached for comment. Failing to be available for a test is regarded as the equivalent of testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, meaning Russell faces a long spell on the sidelines if his violation is confirmed. Russell has played only one full Test for the West Indies, against Sri Lanka in 2010, but has carved out a cricket career as a sought after all-rounder in abbreviated versions of the game. He has regularly played in the West Indies one-day squads and has also enjoyed stints with various T20 sides in India, Australia and Pakistan. If Russell’s doping sanction is confirmed, it would spell further disruption to the West Indies World T20 preparations, which has been dogged by a series of withdrawals and a bitter pay dispute. l

South Africa, Australia tune up for World T20 n AFP, Durban South Africa and Australia will be seeking to find their best combinations when they meet in three T20I, shortly before both sides travel to India for the World T20. Australia appear to have the most uncertainties. They were beaten 3-0 at home by India in their most recent T20 series and the selectors made several significant changes in picking a squad for South Africa and the global event. Steve Smith was handed the captaincy, making him the leader in all three formats, while the squad includes three players who have yet to play in a T20I – wicketkeeper Peter Nevill, left-arm spinner Ashton Agar and leg-spinner Adam Zampa. While Nevill has established himself as Australia’s Test wicketkeeper, Agar, Zampa and fast bowler Andrew Tye are virtual novices at international level. l

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

Showtime

Casting search for High School Musical 4

n Showtime Desk Disney has announced it will bring back its most popular movie franchise with a new edition - High School Musical 4. Originally starring Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Monique Coleman and Corbin Bleu, the new sequel of the famed Disney Channel franchise will include all new characters. According to Entertainment Weekly, Disney is doing a nationwide casting search for the newest installment of the film series. The High School Musical franchise recently celebrated

PerryBloom!

its 10th anniversary with a cast reunion and commentary on Disney Channel, where Hudgens, Tisdale, Grabeel, Bleu and Coleman reflected on how much being in the films changed their lives both personally and professionally. The franchise concluded in 2008 with the theatre release of High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which showcased the graduation of the series’ original cast. The previous two films, High School Musical and High School Musical 2 debuted exclusively on Disney Channel. Entertainment Weekly revealed that Jeffrey Hornaday, who worked on Disney’s Teen

Beach movie franchise, will direct and choreograph High School Musical 4. The film will once again take place at the school’s fictional East High. Dan Berendsen and Peter Barsocchini, the writers behind the first three High School Musical scripts, will pen the new screenplay. The film will reportedly debut late in 2016. “High School Musical is part of Disney Channel’s DNA. It embodies all that we stand for. As a way of continuing to embrace that heritage, we’re excited to announce ‘the start of something new’ - as we launch a search for a new class of East High Wildcats to star in a fourth installment of the High School Musical franchise,” said Disney Channels Worldwide president Gary Marsh. The first film was broadcast in 2006 and reached 7.7 million viewers. Its soundtrack went triple platinum, according to Entertainment Weekly. High School Musical 2 was the most-watched programme ever on basic cable back in 2007. High School Musical 3: Senior Year grossed over $250 million worldwide upon it’s theatrical release. l Sources: UPI, Fashion & Style

Arbaaz stepping into splitsville?

n Showtime Desk Salman Khan’s younger brother Arbaaz Khan recently filed for divorce from wife Malaika Arora Khan. Rumour mills were abuzz with speculation that the divorce was filed because Salman was unhappy with Malaika’s lifestyle. Apparently Salman also made it clear that despite his feelings, he is no one to take decisions about

their personal life. Meanwhile, Sohel Khan too, recently got a divorce. Despite these rumours, both Arbaaz, wife Malaika and the Arora family were spotted leaving a restaurant after a recent outing. In the photos, Malaika is seen with Arbaaz and her sister Amrita Arora. l Source: Bollywood Life

TODAY IN DHAKA

n Showtime Desk

So it’s confirmed. Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom has been dubbed Perry-Bloom. Recently they were cought having a romantic time on holiday. Ever since Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom were caught canoodling at the Golden Globes, the pair have been devilishly coy about the status of their relationship. This pair were recently seen during a romantic getaway in Hawaii, basically confirming their status as “in a relationship”. There were some picture published of their vacation where Bloom was getting cozy with his arm tightly wrapped around the brunette beauty Katy. “They seem to be getting serious and are an official couple. And she calls him her boyfriend,” said the source. l Source: Hollywood Gossip

The Vincent Meyer World Music Quartet 7:00pm Jatra Biroti, 60 Kemal Ataturk Ave Vincent Meyer has been a regular at Jatra Biroti’s open mics and it has evolved into a true world music band. He will be performing original compositions in French, English and Bangla. A musical evening with Mitali Banerjee 6:00pm Indira Gandhi Culture Centre, House-35, Road-24, Gulshan-1 Mitali Banerjee was initially inspired in music at a tender

age by her mother Mayarani Bhattacharya, and later from other musicians, such as Shefali Roy and Asit Kumar Sen. She was also trained under legendary Nazrul Sangeet singer Biman Mukhopadhyay. An enlisted artist of All India Radio, Banerjee has completed Sangeet Visharad in Nazrulgeeti and Hindustani classical vocal music from Prayag Sangeet Samiti of Allahabad. l

Soumitra Chatterjee-

Some call him Feluda, some Opu and some Mayur Bahon. Regardless of what we call him, we all loved him in the role of the “Master Moshai” or even in the role of the “bohemian.” Then there is his memorable dance performance in the song “Jibone ki pabona”. Yes, we are talking about none other than Soumitra Chatterjee. Once again, he’s taken the world by storm and proved that once a great actor, always a great actor – no matter what his age

may be. This acclaimed actor of 81 years has left his fans in awe of his performance in Belasheshe. What most don’t know is that there is another hidden side to Soumitra. Not only does he act, but he’s also a poet and an excellent orator Surprised? Don’t be, because there’s lots more where that came from. Awarded with the Kazi Sabyasachi Memorial award on March 2, many of his other secrets were unveiled on the National Museum stage as he received the award from national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam’s family.

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016

at University of Calcutta, and at this event Haque took the stage to share a fun story from days gone by. When Barrister Haque would remain busy with his studies, Soumitra would spend his time playing badminton with his girlfriend. Many students would ask Rafiqul to ask his friend if they could share the court, but “cool dude” Soumitra ensured that the badminton court was solely under his authority. As the old friend revealed this story, he laughed out loud, pointing his stick at Soumitra, exclaiming, “See! I remember!” A man of honour When it comes Soumitra’s popularity, the love his fans have for him knows no bounds. Both in Bangladesh and West Bengal, Chatterjee is loved by movie buffs. Surrendering his life for the love of film, despite his popularity, he remains humble as ever. Despite choosing to walk to the venue to beat the traffic jam, the 81 year made a note to show his respect to Kazi Aref by giving him a standing ovation.

the legend honoured

n Rumpa Farzana Zaman

Showtime

The suspense of words left unsaid When Soumitra was asked to say a few words to the audience, he stood up and went to the podium. He began by talking about Kazi Sabyasachi, Nazrul’s son. He went on to talk about the golden memories they shared while working together at All India Radio. Soon after, Soumitra began working in movies, slowly getting distanced from the world of poems. “I didn’t want to distance myself from the world of poetry. But circumstances led me to a place where I couldn’t help but feel physically distanced.

However, mentally or emotionally, I am never away from the world of poetry. I still enjoy introducing myself as a reciter,” he shared.

pursue her own goals. It will be interesting to see whether this will create a breach between the two main characters, or whether

they will remain united in their differences. Although Beau Willimon is supposed to leave the show after

Old memories shared There are very few memories that can make people both smile and feel nostalgic at the same time. Soumitra may have forgotten most of these, but his friends certainly hadn’t. That evening, one of his close college friends was right beside him, ready to pull his leg at any opportune moment. Barrister Rafiqul Haque and Soumitra were classmates

The finale After his emotional admission about his love for poetry, Soumitra was silent for a few minutes, as if he no longer had anything to say. Soon after, he put his hand in his pocket and brought out a poem. Without a moment’s rest, he announced that he will recite a poem at that very moment. He started and melted into reciting Koifiyot by Kazi Nazrul Islam. His voice quivered with feeling, and his eyes filled with liquid emotion. As he continued reciting, his voice smoothly flowed through the highs and lows of the poem. It was the perfect example of how a born performer seizes the stage. Only a true artist can leave the audiences as moved as Soumitra Chatterjee did that day. l

House of Cards is back n Showtime Desk House of Cards is back – the show that captured the world’s attention with its fast-paced political drama. Season four of this hugely popular series will be broadcast on Netflix starting today. Created by Beau Willimon, who is also the writer of The Ides of March, the drama series has revolutionised the TV industry with its witty humour and keen take on US politics. Throughout the three seasons broadcast on Netflix so far, House of Cards has gathered a solid fan base. The central character is

Frank Underwood, a politician guided by a single principle in his struggle for power - “the end justifies the means.” It has been speculated that the fourth season will probably revolve around the same two conflicts - marriage and politics. Frank Underwood, brilliantly played by Kavin Spacey, has to prove his expertise in order to convince the American electorate that he deserves a term as the President of the United States. On the other hand, Claire Underwood, played by Robin Wright, will choose to step out of her husband’s shadow to

season four, Netflix has already announced that there will be a season five in 2017. l

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45 YEARS AGO, JUST LIKE YESTERDAY PAGE 14

A BATTING GREAT AND T20 PIONEER PAGE 26

SOUMITRA CHATTERJEETHE LEGEND HONOURED

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AL leader’s son stabs minor over a trifle n Our Correspondent, Sirajganj The son of a local Awami League leader has reportedly stabbed a minor boy over a daft incident in Sirajganj. Alamgir Hossain, son of Ullapara municipality Awami League unit chief Ahsan Ali, dubbed Wednesday’s incident “nothing but a minor misunderstanding.” He is also the general secretary of the upazila’s professional deed writers’ association. Ullapara Momena Ali Biggyan School’s grade-VII student Kamrul Hasan Ontor, 13, has been admitted to Sirajganj Sadar Hospital. Dr Foysal Ahammed said the stab wound on Kamrul’s forehead needed six stitches. “He could have lost his eye.” His father Shahidul Islam said Kamrul was returning home on his bicycle, which left a little trail of dust that dirtied Alamgir’s clothes at Shyamolipara Pukurchala. “He beat up my son severely and stabbed him.” Shahidul filed a case with Ullapara police yesterday. Alamgir’s father said they were trying to settle the matter. l

The presence of vagabonds and drug addicts repels pedestrians from using the footbridge at Sadarghat intersection in the capital. The picture taken yesterday shows two vagabonds sitting near the stairs on the overbridge RAJIB DHAR

Economists signal Muhith to go big with FY17 budget n Tribune Report The budget for the next fiscal year would be around Tk340,000 crore with an economic growth target of 7% plus, Finance Minister AMA Muhith informed economists and researchers yesterday. “A major portion of the budget is expected to be financed from concessional borrowing and would go to mega projects,” he told a prebudget meeting at the NEC conference room, dropping a broader hint that the development budget would be even higher in 2016-17 as a result. The meeting was a part of the Finance Ministry’s regular practice to get inputs from stakeholders before placing each national budget. Economists and researchers from Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) and Economic Research

Group (ERG) took part in the discussion, giving Muhith a green signal to plan a big budget thanks to the decline in fuel oil and raw material prices in the international market. Muhith said the current budget of around Tk295,000 for 2015-16 would be revised down by 7% to 8%. Finance Secretary Dr Mahbub Ahmed said the GDP growth was 6.55% in 2014-15 fiscal year. “But this year we can achieve 7% growth.” Noted economist Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud said a number of mega projects are being undertaken for social transformation, which is very important but there is uncertainty about when the projects are kicked off and implemented. He thinks the upcoming budget should be made as big as possible since the prices of fuel oil and other raw materials are at their lowest in

the international market now. “There is a scope for announcing a big budget, which is exactly what we need now,” he said, drawing the finance minister’s attention to the availability of resources. “There is scope and challenge for the big budget simultaneously,” he said, however. Dr Mahmud raised concern that the country’s investment situation is still weak while criticising that a total of 75% government investment is in the construction sector, asking where the impact of the investment on GDP growth is. BIDS Director General KS Murshid said the mega projects should also be undertaken in the agricultural and farm sectors. State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan, National Board of Revenue Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman and senior officials concerned were present at the meeting. l

Diplomats: EU considers more North Korea sanctions after UN vote n Reuters The European Union is considering additional measures against North Korea following the approval of harsh new sanctions by the U.N. Security Council in order to show solidarity with South Korea and Japan, both major trade partners, diplomats said. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has welcomed Wednesday’s UN unanimous vote to expand existing sanctions following North Korea’s latest nuclear test and rocket launch, saying the bloc would update its sanctions regime. “There is scope for the European Union to adopt additional autonomous restrictive measures to complement and reinforce the new UN measures,” said a diplomatic note seen by Reuters on the latest discussions. Germany, France, Spain and Po-

land want to see what more the bloc can do in areas such as finance and insurance, as well as hitting more North Koreans with asset freezes. Germany, one of seven EU member states to have an embassy in Pyongyang, also wants better monitoring of the “non-diplomatic” activities of North Korean envoys, EU diplomats said. While far from Europe, North Korea is a concern to NATO and to the EU’s Asian trade partners. “This is about supporting our allies Japan and South Korea, who are directly threatened by North Korea’s aggression,” said one EU diplomat involved in the discussions on further measures. The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan, which are both in range of North Korea’s ballistic missiles, have phoned Mogherini in recent weeks to urge maximum pressure on Pyongyang. l

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