March 16, 2016

SECOND EDITION

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

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Chaitra 2, 1422, Jamadiul Sani 6, 1437

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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 330

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

Atiur resigns over cyber-heist

BB gets new governor

n Jebun Nesa Alo

n Tribune Report

Atiur Rahman, who tendered his resignation as Bangladesh Bank governor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday, said he made the decision out of moral responsibility over the $101 million cyber-heist at the central bank.

“I have resigned willingly out of moral responsibility,” said the former governor while addressing a press briefing at his Gulshan residence yesterday afternoon, a few hours after he had quit his job.

He said: “I do not want my institution and my country to face any controversy over the fund heist issue, so I decided to quit. I think my resignation will help restore our image.”

He urged the government to mete out capital punishment to those involved in the heist after a thorough investigation.

“The prime minister was in tears while receiving my resignation,” Atiur said in an emotion-choked voice.

Atiur faced the media yesterday for the first time after the biggest ever cyber-heist in Bangladesh’s history. Although he had come to the briefing with a smiling face sporting a panjabi, soon he became very emotional.

Fazle Kabir, a former finance secretary who has been serving as the Sonali Bank chairman, was made the new governor of Bangladesh Bank yesterday.

The appointment came hours after Atiur Rahman resigned as the central bank governor amid criticisms surrounding the $101m cyber theft from the bank's foreign exchange reserve account.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith announced the appointment following a meeting with senior ministry officials yesterday afternoon.

Fazle Kabir will join his new office after returning from New York on March 18, the minister said.

However, there were no official words on who would serve the central bank as acting governor until Kabir’s return. Sources at Bangladesh Bank said there had been no written instruction on this regard as of the end of the working day.

Hours after appointing the new governor, Muhith also announced that two deputy governors of the central bank – Md Abul Quasem and Nazneen Sultana – have also been removed from office.

Quasem was in charge of the IT department back office and the accounting and budgeting department of Bangladesh Bank. His tenure as the deputy governor expired on July 6 last year, but the Banking Division reappointed him in August; his tenure was supposed to in July.

Nazneen, the first female deputy governor of the country, was in charge of the foreign exchange-related departments, IT and payment department of the bank. After the end of her first tenure as deputy governor, Finance Ministry appointed her again only last month; Nazneen’s second tenure was supposed to end this July.

On Monday, the ministry also appointed two new Bangladesh Bank directors: Jamaluddin Ahmed, general secretary of Bangladesh Economic Association, and Rushidan Islam Rahman, research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.

‘RCBC allowed fund withdrawal despite stop order’

n Inquirer.net The Rizal Commercial Banking Corp allowed the withdrawal of the bulk of the funds suspected to have been stolen by computer hackers from the Bangladesh Bank despite having received an order from its counterpart banks abroad to stop the payment.

This was revealed during the Senate investigation on the $81-million money laundering activity that has put into question the efficacy of the country’s laws to guard against the entry of dirty funds.

Senator Teofisto “TG” Guingona III revealed that after receiving the

INSIDE

 PAGE 3 COLUMN 4

During the entire time of briefing he looked very sad and his voice broke several times and he continuously fought back his tears while speaking.

“I have come to meet all of you to take farewell formally,” he said as he began the briefing.

He explained that the heist had

been reported to the authorities concerned late as the central bank itself was puzzled over the issue.

Terming the cyber-theft a terrorist attack, he said the attack was very much innovative and complex. It was like an earthquake and Bangladesh Bank could not identi-

fy which direction the quake was approaching from.

“Perplexed at what was really going on, what could we possibly report to the Finance Ministry?” he said.

“The incident will be a good lesson for the banking sector just as  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Committee to analyse why BB authorities hid the cyber-heist n Asif Showkat Kallol The newly formed three-member investigation committee will try to find out why Bangladesh Bank authorities kept the $101m cyber heist a secret and also look into whether central bank officials were involved or negligent in the hacking of reserve funds.

M Aslam Alam, before being removed yesterday from the post of the secretary of Bank and Financial Institutions Division, told the Dhaka Tribune that the probe committee will also advise the government on protecting Bangladesh Bank reserve funds from further hacking.

He also expressed hopes that

there would be no interference in the investigation from the removed senior BB officials or the employees who are now working in the Swift security system.

MORE ON PAGE 2, 3, 4, 15  “I hope that after advice from the investigation committee, no guilty person involved in the cyber banking crime will go unpunished,” Aslam said.

According to a circular, issued yesterday and signed by Banking Division's Deputy Secretary Md Sayad Kutumb, former central bank governor Dr Mohammed Farashuddin will be the convener of the probe committee. The two other members

are Buet Prof Dr Mohammad Kaikobad and Additional Secretary of Banking Division Gokul Chand Das. The committee has been asked to submit an interim report within 30 working days, and a full report within 75 business days, according to the circular.

On February 4, hackers stole more than $101m from Bangladesh Bank’s account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and wired it to a number of bank accounts in the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

After massive criticism, Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman resigned yesterday while the government also made reshuffles in key posts of the bank. l

Countdown begins for Nizami

Stocks cheer Atiur’s resignation

Menon: Foreign firm to Tigers look to get the start work by March 22 better of Pakistan

The 15-day countdown for Nizami started yesterday after the Supreme Court released its full verdict.  PAGE 5

Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman’s resignation boosted stocks yesterday from a two-day slide, according to brokers.  PAGE 15

Bangladesh is negotiating with three UKbased aviation security firms to appoint one of them as consultant at the Hazrat Shahjajal International Airport,  PAGE 16

A highly boosted Bangladesh will begin their second phase of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 against Pakistan at Eden Gardens in Kolkata today.  PAGE 32

 PAGE 3 COLUMN 3

2nd Round

Sport Page-28

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

BB HEIST TIMELINE MAY 15, 2015

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

FEBRUARY 5 TO 13

FEBRUARY 8

FEBRUARY 9

FEBRUARY 16

FEBRUARY 19

Five Philippine nationals open US dollar accounts at RCBC bank in the Philippines

$81m from BB account at New York Fed transferred to the four RCBC accounts

Remittance company Philrem remits the funds that are converted into Philippine pesos to the bank accounts of a Chinese national

BB requests RCBC to stop payment and refund the funds. But, this is a non-working holiday in the Philippines

RCBC receives a Swift message from BB requesting payment to be stopped. But withdrawals totalling $58.15 million have already been processed

BB governor seeks the assistance of Philippine counterpart regarding the loss of $81m

Philippines' Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) begins probe of related bank accounts

Case filed over Bangladesh Bank’s n Tribune Report The Bangladesh Bank authorities finally filed a case over last month’s digital heist of $101 million from its account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York yesterday.

On behalf of the central bank, its Joint Director (accounts and budgeting department) Jubair Bin Huda filed the case against unidentified people with Motijheel police around 4pm. Later the case was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which has an economic crime squad to deal with such issues.

The case was filed under section 4 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 (amended 2015), section 54 of the Information Technology Act 2006 and section 379 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Anowar Hossain, deputy commissioner of DMP’s Motijheel division, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The plaintiff said that Bangladesh Bank had already appointed an international-standard forensic team for fair investigation, and was in touch with the New York Fed and the Anti-Money Laundering Council of the Philippines.

“It took some time to file the FIR because an investigation by local and international experts is under way, and we were trying to ensure that the transferred money can be brought back,” the case says.

“Like all other days, all the officials of ‘Back Office of the Drilling Room’ left the premises at 8:03pm on February 4 after completing work. As per the rule of SWIFT transactions, the acknowledgement/confirmation messages of successful transactions of February 4 were supposed to be printed on February 5 in the printer kept in the SWIFT room.

“I went to office on at 8:45am on February 5 and Assistant Direc-

tor Rafiq Ahmed Majumder enter the SWIFT room at 10:30am, to collect the printed documents of the previous day. But he noticed that the messages were not printed automatically even though it was logged in with the SWIFT server.

“In such a situation, we tried to complete the printing manually but failed. Since such glitches were registered earlier too, we thought that it was a regular problem. I asked other officers verbally to keep trying to solve the issue and update me before I left the office around 11:15am.

“Later I learnt that the officers decided to solve the problem the next day as it was a Friday and left the office around 12:30pm.

“On February 6, I went to office at 9am and tried to solve the printing problem along with other officials. But we noticed that the existing SWIFT software was not opening and whenever attempt-

ed, it was giving a notification on the monitor ‘A file is missing or changed’ and showing a file ‘norff. exe’ with a folder path.

“Getting such notification, we crosschecked the problem with the Test Server and were able to open the software at 12:30pm in an alternative way. But the printing problem could not be solved till then.

Then I informed the matter to Deputy General Manager Jaker Hossain and General Manager Md BH Khan.

Based on their verbal permission, I was able to conduct the printing work manually.”

The plaintiff said: “While sorting the printed messages, it was noticed that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York sent some queries in three different messages.

The first massage having 12 queries on 12 transactions was received by our system at 10:24am on February 5, but we could print it around 12:30pm on February 6.

“The two other messages were received at 12:08pm on February 6. In one of them, they had queries about four transactions and about 30 transactions in the other.

They sought reconfirmation from us about the 30 transactions and further clarification about the four others.

“If Bangladesh Bank sends any message using its system, a copy of the acknowledgement message remains in the server and if the receiving bank executes the payment, it sends separate debit confirmation for each of the payments and a statement comprising summary of all the statements.

“However, after the incident, we did not find any acknowledgement or debit confirmation of the messages in the system. Although there was an instance of a statement, it was corrupted and so could not be read. At that time, we only had a transaction list sent by

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ATIUR WINS

AWARDS Bangla Academy Literature Award for his literary contribution

Best Central Bank Governor – Asia Pacific,

by The Banker magazine

Best Central Bank Governor in Asia by the UK-based trade Regulator with periodical The a Human Face by the University Emerging of Dhaka Markets

Under his Manilaleadership, based Bangladesh Bank Gusi Peace received Best Prize Employer Award in the for human resources field of development economics

by Bdjobs.com

2015 2012 2015 2012 2015 2012 2014 2011 2014 2010 2014 Nawab Bahadur World No-Tobacco Honorary Syed Nawab Ali Day Award by the Fellowship Chowdhury National WHO for significant by the Award for contribution Bangla contribution in the field of banking towards anti-tobacco Academy and finance movements

Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque for contribution to international cooperation

Sheltech Award for contribution in financial sector development

Atiur resigns over cyber-heist ever cyber-heist in Bangladesh’s history. Although he had come to the briefing with a smiling face sporting a panjabi, soon he became very emotional.

During the entire time of briefing he looked very sad and his voice broke several times and he continuously fought back his tears while speaking.

“I have come to meet all of you to take farewell formally,” he said as he began the briefing.

He explained that the heist had been reported to the authorities concerned late as the central bank itself was puzzled over the issue.

Terming the cyber-theft a terrorist attack, he said the attack was very much innovative and complex. It was like an earthquake and Bangladesh Bank could not identify which direction the quake was approaching from.

“Perplexed at what was really going on, what could we possibly

report to the Finance Ministry?” he said.

“The incident will be a good lesson for the banking sector just as the Rana Plaza disaster brought a massive transformation in the garment sector,” said Atiur.

“I have left the office as a hero,” he said, adding that he would now return to teaching.

Expressing sorrow, the former governor said: “I am the man who took the central bank’s reserve to over $28 billion from $6bn gradually by working hard, and now that reserve was stolen due to my negligence!” He wondered: “Is it believable?”

There was no need to make the incident a big issue, he said.

“I am grateful to the finance minister as he has helped me on different issues during my tenure,” the governor said.

Atiur left hastily after the briefing.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

BB HEIST TIMELINE MARCH 15

FEBRUARY 29

MARCH 1

MARCH 7

MARCH 8

MARCH 9

MARCH 10

The Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) reports Philippine financial regulators investigating estimated $100m bank heist

Philippine Court of Appeals orders four Philippine banks – RCBC, East West Bank, Banco de Oro and Philippine National Bank – to freeze suspected accounts for six months

BB says Financial Intelligence Unit working with the AMLC to retrieve the money. New York Fed denies its systems were breached

Finance Minister AMA Muhith says government will file a case against the US Federal Reserve

It is reported that an attempted theft of $870m of BB funds was foiled.

BB executive director says $20m retrieved

The AMLC announces probe into six people.

Philippine Senate public hearing scheduled for March 14

BB Governor resigns Prob body formed Case filed Sources: dhakatribune.com inquirer.net, rappler.com

$101m fund heist the Federal Reserve Bank of New York having only transaction references and amounts.”

The FIR states that they then contacted with the case manager of SWIFT authorities through case number 10522926. “We apprehend that there was a massive problem in the SWIFT system and requested them to look into the matter.

“Realising the importance of an ineffective SWIFT system, we sent an email to Federal Reserve Bank of New York at 1:30pm of February 6 requesting them to temporarily suspend payment processing for all unauthorised payments. A copy of the email was also sent to the bank through fax,” the case statement says.

The Bangladesh Bank authorities frequently tried to communicate with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York over the phone on the day, but failed as it was weekly holiday.

Atiur served Bangladesh Bank as its governor since 2009 with his tenure extended twice. The tenure was supposed to end on August 2 this year.

He was the first governor in Bangladesh Bank’s history who resigned in the face of allegations.

Atiur drew flak from the government for not informing it about the issue of the cyber-theft of $101m from the central bank’s reserve account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, USA in more than one month.

Atiur had last attended office on March 9 before he left the country for attending a three-day conference on March 11-13 in New Delhi, India.

He returned home on March 14. Before going to his office yesterday he had gone to the Prime Minister’s Office to tender his resignation. l

“On February 7, we took an initiative to launch the backup server of the SWIFT system with the help of the SWIFT authorities and resumed it at 6:15pm on February 8.

The authorities again tried to communicate with Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the day, but failed as it was Sunday, a weekly holiday.

On February 8, we tried to initiate the regular server upon approval from the authorities concerned.

Although the SWIFT system came into effect at 8am, it was ready for sending messages at 12 noon,” the FIR says.

After analysing the log record of the server, “we got some information about four unauthorised messages at 4:30pm and sent “stop payment requests” to six banks – Federal Reserve Bank of New York, USA; Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), the Philippines; Bank of New York

MAJOR FINANCIAL SECTOR SETBACKS DURING ATIUR’S TENURE $100m Cyber Theft from Bangladesh Bank Reserve in 2016 BASIC Bank’s loan scandal of Tk 4,500 crore. Bangladesh Bank inspection found irregularities took place between December 2009 and November 2012.

Bismillah Group scam involving around Tk1,200 crore lent by five banks between 2011 and 2012.

Hall Mark loan scandal involving over Tk3,600 crore came in the light in 2012. Sonali Bank lent Tk 3,606 crore to Hall-Mark Group and others violating rules.

Bangladesh Bank’s stance on banks' investment exposure to the capital market is considered to be one of the major reasons behind the stock market debacle in 2010.

Mellon, NY, USA; Citi Bank NA, NY, USA; Wells Fargo Bank, NY, USA; and Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC), Sri Lanka.

“We found that $81m was illegally laundered from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to the RCBC using the four messages while $20m to the PABC using one message. It seemed to be money laundering,” the case says.

The “stop payment request” was sent to the banks from 5pm to 6pm on February 8. The Bangladesh Bank authorities also requested the SWIFT authorities to send their on-site-support and on-site investigation teams to Dhaka.

Meanwhile, the PABC of Sri Lanka stopped payment of $20m to the ultimate beneficiary in accordance with the “stop payment request” and returned the money to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York later.

The “stop payment request”

was also sent by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to its three intermediary banks – Bank of New York Mellon; City Bank NA NY; and Wells Fargo Bank, NY – asking not to finish the payment of $81m.

Even though the three intermediary banks had sent the message to the RCBC, the amount was transferred to the accounts of the ultimate beneficiaries through its Jupiter Street branch of Makati City.

Under the circumstances, Bangladesh Bank sought help from the Philippines central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, to get back the money.

To speed up the process, a two-member team was also sent to the Philippines on February 14.

The Philippines central bank handed over the investigation to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) of the country.

The ALMC confirmed that to

investigate the crime they needed a court order and advised Bangladesh Bank to prepare necessary documents for submission before the court.

After completing all procedures, a Philippines court issued an order to freeze the accounts of the ultimate beneficiaries at three branches of the RCBC and ordered an investigation.

When contacted, Mirza Abdullahel Baqui, special superintendent of the Organised Crime Unit of the CID, said that they had learnt about filling of the case “but it will take some time” to reach the desk due to some legal procedures.

“However, we are looking into the issues. We already held a meeting with some top experts to conduct the investigation,” Baqui, who is coordinating the investigation process, told the Dhaka Tribune, yesterday. l

New governor RCBC allowed fund withdrawal Who is the new governor?

Fazle Kabir, a veteran bureaucrat of 34 years, passed his BA (Hons) and Master degrees in Economics from the University of Chittagong.

He started his professional career in the Bangladesh Civil Service as an assistant traffic superintendent in the Bangladesh Railway back in 1980.

After joining the administrative services in 1983, Kabir served as deputy commissioner and district magistrate of Kishoreganj, as a joint secretary in the Education Ministry, the director general of the National Academy for Planning and Development, and the director general of the BCS Administration Academy.

He also served as a secretary of Railways Ministry before becoming the Finance Secretary in 2012.l

suspicious funds on Feb 5, the bank received a “stop payment” order from the Federal Bank of New York at 5pm of Feb 8 — a banking holiday in the country.

“The stop payment order was received by your bank, Feb 8, 2016,” he told RCBC president and CEO Lorenzo Tan. “On the morning of Feb 9, the first banking day, you should have seen the stop payment request. But apparently it was not honoured because the funds were withdrawn. All the funds were withdrawn.”

He pointed to documents filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council with courts noting that RCBC “responded to the Bangladesh Bank’s stop payment request at 7:45pm of Feb 9.”

“That was the end of the day already,” Guingona said. “Would you care to explain why the stop payment request — which should have been honoured at the very start of the banking day — was not

honoured?”

Tan declined to reveal specific details invoking the Bank Secrecy Law. “Sorry, you’re honour. I cannot confirm or deny this request specific to this transaction … But as a general rule, when there’s a freeze order on an account, the branch manager involved should comply with such an order.”

Asked if RCBC’s head office sent the stop payment order to Maia Santos-Deguito, manager of Jupiter St branch, Tan pointed at Deguito’s responsibility.

“Again, your honour, I’m precluded because of bank secrecy.

But as a general rule, these orders are sent by the head office to the branch manager,” he said.

During yesterday’s hearing, AMLC officials told senators that they received a request for assistance from Bangladesh Bank as early as Feb 11 and two Bangladeshi officials flew to the Philippines on Feb 16.l

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Banking Secretary Aslam made OSD over cyber heist n Asif Showkat Kallol Bank and Financial Institutions Division Secretary Dr M Aslam Alam was made an OSD yesterday as part of actions taken in connection with the cyber-heist of $101 million from Bangladesh Bank's reserve fund.

After a pre-budget meeting yesterday, Finance Minister AMA Muhith informed reporters that Aslam Alam had been made an OSD (officer on special duty) because his division was responsible for monitoring the central bank.

An official at the Bank and Financial Institutions Division alleged that Aslam was made a scapegoat.

The finance minister did not take any action against Atiur Rahman in seven days after he had come to learn about the hacking of Bangladesh Bank's reserve fund kept at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, USA. But, when Aslam Alam initiated some actions – he went to Bangladesh Bank after returning from

abroad on March 14 and inquired about the heist – he was made an OSD, said the official.

At a press briefing following his visit to the central bank, Aslam Alam said the stealing of $101 million exposed the faulty and weak IT systems management at Bangladesh Bank.

He also said the central bank should have informed its board and the Finance Ministry about the incident. The source at the Bank and Financial Institutions Division said governor Atiur Rahman tendered his resignation after the secretary had made his moves.

An officer of the 1982 special BCS batch, Aslam Alam was made the secretary of the Bank and Financial Institutions Division in November 2012.

After getting the responsibility, Aslam Alam streamlined the scamhit state-run Sonali Bank and BASIC Bank, sources said.

Aslam Alam will go on retirement on June 30, 2019. l

HC scraps Tarek Sayeed’s petition n Ashif Islam Shaon

The High Court yesterday rejected the petition filed by sacked RAB official Lt Col (retd) Tarek Sayeed Mohammad for scrapping the trial against him in one of the two Narayanganj seven-murder cases.

The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Amir Hossain passed the order. “We are not convinced to issue a rule in this regard. The petition is rejected summarily,” the court said in the order.

The court concluded the hearing on March 13 and kept yesterday for pronouncing the order.

On March 7, one of the judges of another High Court bench felt embarrassed to hear the petition.

Then the new bench was assigned to dispose of the case.

Tarek’s lawyer Golam Kibria said that the petition was filed on the ground that an accused cannot be tried and punished separately for a single offence.

The same officer investigated both the cases and submitted the same charge sheets to the trial court. It is unlawful.

Kibria said that they would appeal against the High Court order. l

DG-268/16 (6x2)

Trader tagged in $81 million BB heist flees Philippines

BNP demands government resign over BB money theft

Businessman Kim Wong, who is among 6 traders under probe for money laundering, left Philippines even before the story on the infusion of $81 million of stolen money into the banking system broke.

Wong, according to sources at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), left on March 4 on Philippine Airlines flight PR 300 to Hong Kong.

His flight left around 6pm.

Also under probe are: Michael Francisco Cruz; Jessir Christopher Lagrosas; Alfred Santos Vergara, Enrico Teodoro Vasquez, and William So Go Wong is one of six traders being investigated by the Anti-Money Laundering Council after they were implicated in the alleged cross-border electronic fraud and money laundering scheme which allegedly infused into the Philippine banking system some $81 million stolen by computer hackers from the US account of the Bank of Bangladesh.

The Inquirer learned that Wong, whose full name is Kam Sin Wong, has been using multiple passports to enter the Philippines. l

n Mohammad Al-Masum Mollah

n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) standing committee member ASM Hannan Shah yesterday said not only the Bangladesh Bank governor, but also the prime minister, finance minister and others involved should resign for the theft of a large money reserve from Bangladesh Bank.

He also demanded a judicial inquiry into the financial scandal to punish the culprits.

The BNP leader made the observation while talking to reporters after a visit to Engineers Institution in the capital, as a venue for BNP’s upcoming national council.

He made the statement soon after Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman announced his resignation.

Hannan also expressed his doubts about the amount of the stolen money.

“As per the information I have, the money is not Tk800 crore, it is over $800 million. Why did the

governor alone take responsibility for the incident? There is a minister and governor over him,” he said.

“If this was a sporadic incident, then the governor may have been blamed. But, the governor alone cannot be blamed now,” he added.

If the bank’s deputy governor and general manager were patriotic, this incident might not have taken place. “Who are they? Identify them,” he then said.

The BNP leader also said the theft is impossible without inside involvement of Bangladesh Bank officials.

“I have seen a list of Bangladesh bank officials. Friends in the media will check this list. The theft could not have happened without the involvement of some Bangladesh Bank officials. The government should resign for this,” he said.

The BNP chairperson's adviser Ruhul Alam Chowdhury, Bangladesh Chhatra Dal president Razib Ahsan, and other leaders of its discipline subcommittee were present when these statements were made. l

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Countdown begins for Jamaat chief Nizami n Ashif Islam Shaon The 15-day countdown for war criminal Motiur Rahman Nizami started yesterday after the Supreme Court released its full verdict that upheld the death penalty for the Jamaat-e-Islami chief.

Nizami can move a review petition with the apex court in a last ditch attempt to escape the noose.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the countdown would start from the day of receiving a copy of the full verdict. The apex court released the 153-page judgment after its four judges concerned signed the verdict.

A copy of it was uploaded on the Supreme Court's website yesterday

rallies organised by Jamaat, Chhatra Sangha, Al-Badr and Razakars. He also wrote columns in newspapers justifying the formation of Al-Badr.

The militia, which called itself the “angel of death”, unleashed a reign of terror on pro-liberation Bangalees, killed unarmed civilians, raped women and destroyed properties during the war.

The auxiliary force of the Pakistan army made its worst example by systematically rounding up, torturing and killing the intellectuals to cripple the country at the fag end of the war.

Jamaat chief Nizami has never repented of the cold-blooded savagery. He was rehabilitated in Bangladesh politics after the assas-

His death sentences were upheld on three charges and life imprisonment on two charges. He was cleared of three charges.

Nizami is the third former minister after Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury to get death penalty for his notorious role during the war.

Nizami led Jamaat's erstwhile student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha from 1966 to September 1971 and was the chief of Al-Badr, known as Pakistan army's death squad in 1971. Al-Badr members were exclusively drawn from Chhatra Sangha.

Throughout the war, he visited different areas of the country and delivered provocative speeches at

afternoon while its official said that they would send a copy to the International Crimes Tribunal. From there, copies will be sent to jail and district magistrate. The Home Ministry will also be notified.

Bangladesh's first war crimes tribunal handed Nizami death on October 29, 2014 on four charges and life imprisonment on four other charges. He challenged the verdict at the apex court.

On January 6, a four-member Appellate Division bench upheld the tribunal's sentence for the AlBadr chief for masterminding the killing of intellectuals and involvement in two incidents of mass killing of over 500 people in Pabna in 1971.

sination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975 and was made a minister during the BNPled government 2001-06 tenure.

What is next

The government may start the procedure of executing the verdict after getting verdict copies and issuing of death reference. The convict will have to file the review petition within 15 days. If his review petition is rejected, he will get a chance to seek presidential mercy. The execution processes will be halted till then.

If Nizami decides not to seek clemency or if the president denies it, he will be the second Al-Badr top leader after Mojaheed to walk the gallows finally. l

Tangail 4 by-poll stayed n Ashif Islam Shaon The Tangail 4 by-poll, scheduled to be held on March 20, has been stayed by the Supreme Court.

A five-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha issued the order yesterday after granting a leave-to-appeal petition filed by Krishak Sramik Janata League President Abdul Kader Siddique.

Kader Siddique filed the petition on February 25 challenging a High Court verdict that upheld the Election Commission's decision to cancel his candidacy in the by-poll.

The Supreme Court also fixed May 3 for the hearing of the appeal.

Siddique's lawyer Raghib Rauf Chowdhury told reporters that the court may make a decision regarding the by-poll on that day as well.

The by-polls were initially set to take place on November 10 last year, as per a notification issued by

the Election Commission on September 16, when the Tangail 4 constituency fell vacant following the resignation of that constituency's lawmaker, Awami League leader Latif Siddique, from parliament.

The Election Commission asked the aspirants to submit nomination papers by October 11. Kader Siddique submitted his papers too, but the returning officer cancelled his nomination on loan default charges on October 13. The Election Commission rejected his appeal to get candidacy as well.

Siddique then filed a petition with the High Court against the Election Commission's decision, but the High Court upheld the commission's decision and directed it to proceed with the by-poll on February 4.

On February 29, the Election Commission fixed March 20 as the fresh date to hold the by-poll in Tagail 4 constituency. l

Continuing on his ‘Clean Dhaka’ campaign, Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokon leads other city corporation officials in a cleaning drive in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Tk3,000 crore deviation in Titas accounts over six years n Tribune Report

Titas Gas has found Tk3,138.38 crore of deviations in its accounts over the last six years, the stateowned company told the government yesterday. It attributed the lost money to rule breaking, theft and other reasons.

Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Limited disclosed the figure to a meeting of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Undertakings yesterday, informing the committee about 212 audit objec-

tions that had been raised between 2010-11 and 2014-15 fiscal years.

After the meeting, the parliamentary body's President Shawkat Ali told the Dhaka Tribune that many of the audit objections and the number of huge audit objections were not acceptable.

“The committee has asked them [Titas] to immediately dispose the audits and inform the committee about the matter,” he said.

According to the meeting minutes, the highest of 74 audit objections were raised in FY2012-13

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DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:08PM

ommended Titas to resolve other objections immediately by holding tripartite meetings.

In its report, Titas Gas cited non-compliance of financial rules, system loss, theft and shortages, usage of vehicles by ministries, foreign training and “other reasons” for the audit objections.

According to Showkat Ali, the committee raised question about the use of the term “other reasons.”

“There should not be something like other reasons, it has to be specific. Titas Gas was asked to speci-

and FY2013-14, involving a total Tk1,037.34 crore.

In addition, 372 previous audit objections involving Tk6,438.21 crore, raised between FY1972-75 and FY2009-10, are yet to be resolved.

The meeting document, signed

by Energy and Mineral Resources Division Deputy Secretary Md Shahidul Islam, stated that only 21 audit objections had been resolved in the last six years.

But Shahidul said audit objections were being resolved regularly and that the committee has rec35

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Rangpur

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Khulna

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Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 6:06AM

36.2ºC Cox’s Bazar

16.9ºC Dimla

Source: Accuweather/UNB

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PRAYER TIMES

fy the reasons. Actually, they have failed to make a proper list of audit objections,” he said.

Meanwhile, a press release sent from the parliament secretariat read that a total 199 drives have been conducted for illegal gas line cancellation as of December 2015, where authorities have cancelled connections of 316km of gas pipeline.

The committee recommended appointing magistrates to cancel illegal gas connections and taking legal action against unscrupulous Titas Gas officials. l Sylhet

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Cox’s Bazar

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Fajr: 4:48am | Zohr: 12:07am Asr: 3:32pm | Magrib: 6:11pm Esha: 7:38pm Source: IslamicFinder.org

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

Eviction drive on highways begins today n Shohel Mamun The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) will begin a drive to remove illegal structures from highways across the nation from today.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said: “The

drive will continue until the roads have been freed.”

The minister briefed reporters after visiting a mobile court at Gulistan in the capital yesterday.

He said: “We were given a month’s time to remove illegal structures from the highways. The

duration of one month has finished on Tuesday. But large numbers of illegal infrastructures still remain on the highways. So, we will begin a nationwide eviction drive from tomorrow.

“We have already directed the Roads and Highways Department to

run this eviction drive on highways all over the country, and also sent letters to the divisional commissioners to give them our support on the drive.”

Though the eviction drive starts nationwide from today, it will begin on the capital’s highways

from next Monday.

“We have received a notice from the Road Transport and Highways Division to carry out an eviction drive on the highways, but we will start the drive from Monday,” said Omit Kumar, sub-assistant engineer of RHD in the Dhaka Zone. l

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

UNION PARISHAD POLLS

Incidents of violence on the rise; one dies, scores injured n Tribune Report

One person was killed and scores were injured in pre-poll violence across the country yesterday.

An Awami League activist was hacked to death, and six others were critically injured by supporters of a BNP-backed candidate at Buriganj union parishad of Shibganj upzila in Bogra.

Soon after the death of Mahtab Ali, 55, other AL activists set fire to the BNP party office. Mahtab was the nephew of AL-backed candidate Abdul Gaffar.

Police arrested 10 people in connection with the murder. Additional police have been deployed in the area to avoid any untoward incidents, as a tense situation has prevailed in the area since the clash.

Local sources said supporters of BNP-backed candidate Obaidur Rahman built an office, hav-

ing grabbed khas land, in a bid to conduct an election campaign.

Hearing this, supporters of Abdul Gaffar went to the spot and started demolishing the building. At one point, a clash ensued between the supporters of both parties.

During the clash, Mahtab was stabbed indiscriminately. He was taken to Shibganj Upazila Health Complex where on-duty doctors declared him dead.

Officer-in-Charge of Burichong police station told the Dhaka Tribune that they would take action after a case was filed in this connection.

Our Satkhira correspondent said at least 10 people were injured during a clash between the supporters of AL and its rival candidate at Kulia union parishad in Debhata upazila.

Officer-in-Charge of Debhata police station Mustafizur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that the clash had taken place over estab-

lishing supremacy, but the situation was under police control.

Moreover, a BNP candidate at Dewara union parishad alleged that his supporters could not properly conduct an election campaign due to resistance by the AL candidate’s supporters.

BNP-backed candidate Ibrahim Hossain made the allegation at a press conference yesterday.

Meanwhile, Khulna BNP demanded the deployment of BGB and mobile courts to conduct the upcoming union parishad election in a free and fair manner.

The election coordinating committee of Khulna BNP made the demand in a joint statement.

The statement read that ruling party lawmakers were taking part in the election campaign of every union parishad in the name of meeting of activism, which is a clear violation of the electoral code

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News

of conduct.

At the same time, a case was filed against the lawmaker of Barguna constituency 2, Md Shawkat Hasanur Rimon, for violating the electoral code.

Judicial Magistrate Md Billal Hossain accepted the case and asked the officer-in-charge of Betagi police station to look into the matter.

Also, a lawmaker from the ruling AL party recently inaugurated two electricity supply lines after the election schedule was announced, a violation of the electoral code of conduct according to Section 25 of the Union Parishad Election Policy 2016.

Six chairmen and seven members among union parishad candidates have been elected unopposed in Jaipurhat. All are from the ruling AL party.

The district election office published a circulation yesterday afternoon. l

Cadres of the Bangladesh National Cadet Corps accord guard of honour to State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, MP, before the minister inaugurated two-day Digital Innovation Fair at the playground of Rajshahi College in the city yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

BangladeshIndia direct container vessel service inaugurated

n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong The container vessel service from Bangladesh to India under the Coastal Shipping Agreement was inaugurated yesterday.

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan formally inaugurated the service at New Mooring Container Terminal at Chittagong Port.

While addressing as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony, the minister expressed his optimism that the bilateral coastal shipping service would boost trade between the two neighbouring countries by reducing freight time and cost.

“The launching of direct container vessel service will also ease immense pressure on land ports,” said the minister.

“The coastal shipping will enhance bilateral trade by cutting down costs of logistics as vessels would be directly moving between ports of India and Bangladesh instead of routing via Singaporean and Sri Lankan ports,” said Commodore Zulfiqur Aziz, acting chairman of Chittagong Port Authority.

The inaugural ceremony was addressed by Nur-e-Alam Chowdhury MP, Nazrul Islam Chowdhury MP, secretary to the shipping ministry Ashok Madhab Roy, Commodore Zulfiqur Aziz, acting chairman of Chittagong Port Authority, Rakesh Raman, first secretary to Indian High Commission in Bangladesh, among others.

As part of the bilateral shipping service, MV Harbour 1, a vessel laden with 150 empty containers will set sail for Krishnapatnam Port of India from Chittagong Port of Bangladesh on March 17. The vessel will reach Krishnapatnam Port on March 22.

MV Harbour 1 laden with goods will sail from Krishnapatnam Port on March 23 and it will reach Chittagong Port on March 28.

Bangladesh usually imports onion, rice, lentils, cotton, industrial raw materials and machinery from India. l

World Consumer Rights Day observed across country n Tribune Report

The World Consumers’ Rights Day-2016 was observed across the country with a renewed pledge for creating mass awareness to launch a vigorous campaign to protect the interests of the people.

In Chittagong, the day with a theme ‘Antibotic Off the Menu’ was observed in the port city.

Directorate of National Con-

sumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) organised a discussion meeting at Chittagong Circuit House.

Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh (CAB) formed a human chain and a youth rally in the city on the occasion of the day.

With CAB Youth Group secretary M Ansarul Karim in the chair, the rally was addressed by CAB central committee vice president SM Nazer Hossain, Kazi Iqbal Bahar, Ajay

Mitra Shonku, Jane Alam and AM Touhidul Islam, among others.

The leaders at the rally called for waging social movement against lacing foods with different chemicals including antibiotics.

In Rangpur, the Department of National Consumer Rights Protection and District Administration jointly organised a seminar at the conference room of the Deputy Commissioner in observance of the

day.

Divisional Commissioner Kazi Hassan Ahmed attended the seminar as the chief guest with Deputy Commissioner Md Rahat Anwar in the chair.

Deputy Director of the Department of National Consumer Rights Protection for Rangpur Khondker Nurul Amin, Deputy Director (Local Government) Sultana Parveen, Additional Deputy Commissioner

(Rev) Mostain Billah and Senior District Information Officer Humayun Kabir, addressed among others.

The speakers called for raising adequate public awareness, strict enforcement of the Consumers’ Rights Protection Law to protect the consumers’ rights through freeing the human body from any kind of food poisoning and other contamination. l

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

Human traffickers turn to yaba smuggling n Abdul Aziz, Cox’s Bazar Many Cox’s Bazar-based human traffickers have taken interest in smuggling contraband yaba pills after last year’s government crackdown to eliminate human trafficking.

Since January, security forces have seized 6.4 million pills and arrested over 100 smugglers who were previously involved in human trafficking, local sources said.

First manufactured by Nazis during WWII, yaba has gained popularity in South and East Asia.

Researchers have linked its regular use to lung and kidney disorders, hallucinations and paranoia.

Bangladesh clamped down on human trafficking after the dis-

covery of mass graves along the Thai-Malaysia border. Several traffickers in Cox’s Bazar were killed in alleged gunfights with security forces and over 150 others were arrested. Many went into hiding after the recovery of mass graves.

Several Ukhia and Teknaf-based traffickers told this correspondent that they had started yaba smuggling as human trafficking

via seas was suspended for a long time. They claimed yaba traders used them as they knew the Bay well. About 500 traffickers were involved in yaba smuggling.

An estimated three million yaba pills enter Bangladesh from Myanmar every day, sources said.

The Dhaka Tribune ran a detailed report – Inside the yaba trade – on January 30.

Teknaf police OC Md Abdul Majid said yaba smugglers and human traffickers had close ties.

Coastguard Chittagong East Zone Staff Officer (intelligence) Lt Commander Fakhruddin said they were trying to identify local godfathers who were impeding shutdown of yaba smuggling.

RAB 7 Cox’s Bazar Company

Sitakunda Udichi president, 2 others killed in Chittagong Mizanur Rahaman, n FM Chittagong At least three people including a local Udichi leader and a local Awami League activist were killed in three separate incidents in Chittagong yesterday.

The deceased are Dipankar Chandra Dey, 61, president of Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi’s Sitakunda upazila unit, Abdul Jahed, 45, businessman and a member of the local Awami League in Chittagong city, and Zahir Ahmed, 45, police sources said.

Dipankar’s body was found hanging from the ceiling from a house in Sitakunda’s Ghoramara Pakka Masjid

area around 12:30pm yesterday, police said.

Quoting locals, Sub-Inspector Ashraful Alam of Sitakunda police station said Dipankar, who used to work at Sandhani Life Insurance Company Ltd’s Sitakunda branch, went into hiding in 2009 after collecting around Tk7-8 lakh of insurance money from several clients.

On Monday evening, one of his clients found Dipankar in a public bus and took him hostage, taking him into the house to get back his/her lost money.

“Later, we received a tipoff and went to the house, where we found Dipankar’s body hanging from the ceiling by a pair of jeans,” the

sub-inspector said.

“Preliminary investigation suggests that he committed suicide. However, his body has been sent to Chittagong Medical College (CMCH) Hospital for an autopsy. After we get the autopsy report, we will be able to confirm whether it was a suicide or a murder.”

He further said a woman named Tahera Begum was arrested from the house, who was allegedly another client of Dipankar’s. A case of unnatural death has been filed with police in this regard.

The Awami League activist, Abdul Jahed, was allegedly killed over the matter of supremacy in his area, police said. l

Five killed in road accidents n Tribune Report

At least five people were killed in separate road accidents in Hobiganj, Gazipur, Chuadanga and Lalmonirhat yesterday.

Three members of Ansar were killed and 30 others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and truck in Shaistaganj of Habiganj.

The deceased are Ziaul, 30, Sudeep, 24, and Babu Mia, 28.

Police said a bus carry-

ing Ansar men had collided head-on with a Dhaka-bound truck in Shutang area yesterday morning, killing the three on the spot and injuring the others.

Later, angry locals blocked the Dhaka-Sylhet highway for an hour. Shaistaganj OC Jakir Hossain said: “On information, a team of police rescued the injured and sent them to Habiganj Sadar Hospital.” He said the bodies have been kept at the hospital.

In Gazipur, an unidentified man was killed and 10 others were injured as a human hauler plunged into a roadside ditch on the Kaliakoir bypass in Goalbachhan area of Kaliakoir upazila in the morning.

In Lalmonirhat, another schoolboy was killed as a bus ran over him at Baura, Patgram upazila in the morning.

The deceased was identified as Naim, 10, a student of Class IV at Baniapara Government Primary School. l

Commander Lt Col SM Saud Hossain said smugglers considered the sea route to be the safest. Replying to a question, Saud said without specifying: “I believe most yaba smugglers were involved in human trafficking ... Smugglers are smugglers after all.”

Teknaf 2 BGB Commander Lt Col Abuzar Al Zahid said traffickers had been involved in yaba smuggling for a long time, even before the mass graves were discovered.

“Those who used Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar coast route for trafficking, smuggled in yaba from Myanmar.”

He said big-shot traffickers went into hiding after the government adopted zero tolerance to eliminate human trafficking. “They are on the run but are controlling yaba smuggling over phone.” l

RECOVERY OF GOLD WORTH TK7 CRORE

Nine indicted n Tribune Report

Detective Branch (DB) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) yesterday submitted the charge sheet against nine persons including the owners of an electronics warehouse and C&F agents in Chittagong in a case that lodged in connection with recovery of gold worth about Tk7 crore from an electronics’ warehouse.

Inspector Keshab Chawakrabarty of DB, the Investigation Officer IO) of the case, submitted the charge sheet against nine persons before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate at noon, said CMP’s Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) (prosecution) Kazi Muttaki Ibn Minan.

The accused are—Md Jasim Uddin, Bhabatosh Biswash Rana, Giash Uddin Titu, Emran, Fazlul Haque, Farid, Rubel, Md Shoeb and Abu Taher.

Of them, Jasim and Bhabatosh Biswash are the owners of an electronics shop, AC Mela. l

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

Solar solutions n Mahmood Sadi At first sight, Lien Tannery or Ayub Brother’s tannery may look just like another tannery among many others in the Hazaribagh area of the capital. However a visit to their rooftop will change that notion.

An arrangement of about 30-35 solar panels are sitting there, used in producing the energy to heat the water reservoir of these tanneries. Resulting in around 5,000 cubic metre of precious natural gas saved every year.

Thanks to United Nation Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) for successfully using solar power as an alternative energy source of gas in the small and medium industry sectors of the country for the first time.

Saving precious natural gas Dr Himangshu Ronjon Ghosh, UNIDO national expert confirmed that the tubular type solar water heaters were installed and commissioned at the above mentioned tanneries under a UNIDO project titled “Project for improvement of tannery sectors in Bangladesh.”

There are around 25 small, 20 medium and six large tanneries in Hazaribagh area which consume about 150,000 cubic metre of natural gas on a yearly basis to heat the water needed for the dyeing section of the tanneries, Dr Ghosh said.

“There are two types of gas price ratings in tannery areas. Gas price is Tk6.4 per cubic metre for small tanneries and Tk11.36 for the large commercial tanneries.

Under the UNIDO project, we calculated that if the solar water heating system is being successfully installed, there is a scope of Tk0.8 reduction per

square metre leather production,” he said. “Not to mention the saving of the natural gas.”

An economical and environmental choice Dr Ghosh said that the solar water heating system is very economical as well. “Cost of a 1000 litre system is around Tk175,000 including the installation, plumbing and commissioning charges,” he said.

“Once the system is installed, there is no other cost. The payback period is, on average, six and a half years. As the lifetime of the solar panel is 20 years, there is virtually no maintenance cost either,” he said.

He said that there are many environmental benefits to it as well. “The amount of carbon dioxide produced is nil which ensures a better environment for the surroundings. Also, there is no noise pollution in the tanneries,” said the doctor.

Plan for central water system in Savar Engr Shahidul Haq, the project director said, they are mulling to design a central solar water heating system for the planned tannery relocation in Savar.

“It will reduce investment and operational costs,” says Haq. He explained that at Savar almost all the tanneries would have their infrastructure built which would be suitable for the solar water heating system setup.

“Also the potential of carbon dioxide mitigation is 1500 tonnes per year,” he added.

Welcoming this UNIDO project, Shaheen Ahmed, ex-chairman and chief adviser of Bangladesh Tannery Association (BTA) said, this will definitely benefit the leather industry.

“As the cost ratio analysis of

the project has shown that it will be lucrative for the tannery owners in the long run, they should go for it. Moreover it will reduce a little bit pressure on the burgeoning gas demand,” he

explained. “Also it is always good to use clean and green energy in the industry sector,” concluded the chief adviser. l

PHOTOS: COURTESY

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

Interview

The girl behind the hottest weddings in Dhaka (and beyond!)

n Armin Zaman Khan The forever smiling Sadia Afrin, managing director of Checkmate Events, values happiness over anything in life.

What motivates you to do what you have been doing for so long?

Basically, we started Checkmate back when my other half and I were students. That constant restlessness to do something different and keeping ourselves engaged in interesting things drove us to start this. Initially it has not been our aim or the prime career goal. We explored the corporate world out there as well. It has been tough to find the right balance between our jobs and passion but at the end of the day, it’s the happiness and

trust of our clients that drove us to work harder. Soon we realised, serving our clients with ultimate satisfaction, making someone’s special day even more special have turned into our addiction that we could hardly let go. Since then we focused on Checkmate Events as our only aim and career goal. We look forward to exploring more horizons through this venture.

Who is your biggest inspiration in life?

Bibi Russell is my biggest inspiration in life. I was lucky enough to know her personally through my father’s acquaintances. I like everything about her. Her lifestyle, aura, personality and the fact that she is so stubborn about her desires have always motivated me.

Beauty lies in happiness. A happy person always looks beautiful. A content heart and a genuine smile on my face make me feel beautiful

How difficult or easy has it been being a woman?

I try not to let it bother me. I choose to deal with my problems in the industry as any other person would, regardless of their gender. If something goes wrong, it probably has nothing to do with me being a woman.

What does beauty mean to you?

What makes you feel beautiful?

Beauty lies in happiness. A happy person always looks beautiful. A content heart and a genuine smile on my face make me feel beautiful.

According to you, what is the prime strength of a woman?

Women are quick thinker. They

always think years ahead than men.

How did you dream growing up would be like when you were a kid? Has it been any different?

I have always dreamt of celebrating life. I wasn’t sure what I would do but I have always wanted to have a fun-filled job and do things that would make me happy and allow me to be as cheerful as I am. I must say I am living how I imagined myself to live.

Any tips for women with big dreams?

It is very important to control your negative emotions in order

to pursue your dreams. Achieving what you want is never very easy for anybody, not even for somebody born with a silver spoon in their mouth. It is important to stick to your goals and never look back. To get something big, one must learn to give up on a few small things in life. l This article was originally published on blog.zappyup.com on March 6, 2016. Link: blog. zappyup.com/interview/nsmdm/

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Editorial 11

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

INSIDE

Accident or negligence?

It is the solemn duty of the people’s representatives to do their jobs with due diligence PAGE 12

Everybody loves Bangladesh I witnessed fewer political discussions and more discussions on advancing career opportunities and the economy in general. Business community leaders are happy about the functional state of the government under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina PAGE 13

BIGSTOCK

Deficiencies in Obama’s pivot to Asia In 2012, China provided $376 million in infrastructure aid, while in 2014 US foreign assistance to Cambodia stood at a paltry $77.6m. The Obama administration ought to repackage its aid to Cambodia if it is to counter Beijing 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.

Accountability matters

I

t is commendable that Atiur Rahman has resigned as Bangladesh Bank governor following the theft of over $100 million from its accounts at the Federal Reserve.

By taking responsibility for a catastrophic failure which occurred on his watch, he has set a welcome example. The record shows that it is extraordinarily rare for such a prominent official to resign from their position in the history of Bangladesh.

Let us hope this resignation brings in a new culture of accountability in public life.

This is sorely needed as enormous damage is done to the nation by a lack of accountability for poor performance within many institutions and organisations A huge responsibility now lies ahead for Fazle Kabir, the new governor, to ensure all outstanding questions are fully answered.

The competence and integrity of all officials and external consultants responsible for managing Bangladesh Bank’s security and IT systems, and the duty of care and co-operation provided by the Federal Reserve and international partners, have all been put into question.

It is imperative that the government works closely with all the other international institutions and banks involved, to follow every possible avenue available to find the missing money and the masterminds of this theft, in order to restore public confidence in its security systems.

The taking of responsibility is an integral part of accountability.

While it remains vital that the unconscionable delay by Bangladesh Bank in reporting the scandal to the government is fully investigated, the former governor deserves acknowledgment for resigning and doing the right thing.

It is an essential signal to show that this matter is now being taken with the seriousness it demands.

The public needs more assurance that there will be zero tolerance for negligence in safeguarding the nation’s hard earned financial reserves.

The former governor is to be commended for taking responsibility and resigning

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

Accident or negligence?

Could the city government have prevented the death of Khalid Mahmood Mithu?

n Raisul Islam Sourav

K

halid Mahmood Mithu, a well-known artist, scriptwriter, video editor, and national award-winning cinematographer, died in a tragic incident on March 7 in Dhanmondi when a very large tree fell on him.

The tree also fell on his rickshaw-puller, Abdul Jalil. The tree was uprooted because of soil piled around its trunks, which had slackened in the heavy rain which had fallen the day before the incident.

Nevertheless, most of our news media reported the incident as an accident, whereas the incident was not an accident at all. Rather, this was the result of negligence on part of local authorities, Dhaka South City Corporation in particular.

Although it is very common in Dhaka and almost all over the country to find uncovered manholes, pipes, random fallen billboards, trees, and other generic destruction of life, and property, there exist elected local governments as well as the law to prevent nuisances of this kind.

Hence, an aggrieved person is not only entitled to bring legal action against the local government authority for nonconformity of its duty, he is also entitled to get damages from that body.

However, according to clause 24.9 of the schedule of the Local Government (city corporation) Act 2009, the DSCC has a legal obligation to remove hazardous trees from the road side. From the incident of Mithu, it is evident that the DSCC has completely failed to perform its statutory duty.

When services are provided to members of the public such as maintaining a highway, the public authority owes a duty of care to the public. A failure to take such care can result in the defendant being liable to pay damages to a party who is injured, or suffers loss as a result of their breach of duty of care.

The principle first emerged from the pen of Lord Atkinson in Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) AC 562 case, where he declared that the concerned must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which they can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure the persons who are so closely and directly affected by their act. Subsequently, the concept of duty of care was further developed by the House of Lords in Caparo Industries plc

Something like this shouldn’t happen v Dickman (1990) where the court put three questions to determine the liability.

Firstly, was the risk of injury or harm reasonably foreseeable?

In the present case, the answer is yes. It is apparent that the DSCC has ignored its duty to do something about the dangerous tree, which foreseeably could have caused damage to the person or the property of the inhabitants of the city.

The tree was deracinated due to heavy rainfall the previous afternoon and the incident took place the next day at about 2pm.

That means, they had sufficient time to take the tree away.

Furthermore, it seems that there was no intervening cause for the said death. DSCC’s failure to perform its lawful duty is primarily responsible for this unexpected death.

Secondly, was there sufficient proximity between the parties?

There may be situations where the risk of personal injury could be foreseen, but it would not be appropriate to make the defendant liable. “Proximity” in this context means not physical closeness, but any form of relationship between the parties.

The question is whether the claimant was a member of the group to which a duty of care was owed. Mithu was not an alien to the city, rather a talented film-maker who had received

City-dwellers are continuously paying taxes to the local government for the development of their beloved city and to get services from the authority. Additionally, Sec 109 of the mentioned act makes the mayor and counsellors public servants. Hence, it is the solemn duty of the people’s representatives to do their jobs with due diligence

the National Film Award as best director for his debut film Gohine Shobdo in 2010, and a permanent resident of the locality to whom the city corporation owes full duty.

Finally, is it fair, just, and reasonable, on the ground of public policy, to impose a duty of care upon the corporation?

If it would not be fair, just, and reasonable, then what would be exact?

We have already lost a potential life and another person, the rickshaw-puller, was injured.

The matter of regret is that we love to ignore many matters which ultimately bring severe consequences for us.

Most people are not aware of the fact that the city corporation has some duties towards its residents, and negligence of those duties may bring on legal action.

Indeed, we have very limited application of tort law in this country. Despite that, an aggrieved

person can initiate legal action for negligence of legal duty of a local authority.

Interestingly, the act does not suggest any punishment for negligence of any of its legal duties. However, there is only one provision in section 106 which states that, if any employee of the corporation is unable to perform his/her duty, then the government will direct him/her by written order to do his/her function within a specified time. This provision is not at all sufficient, and cannot make the body accountable.

There must be some arrangement of sanction and compensation for non-compliance of its legal duties. Nevertheless, very recently, the High Court Division asked the government to compensate the family of a four-year-old child, Jihad, who had died after falling into a 600foot deep abandoned, uncovered tube-well pipe at Shahjahanpur in

Dhaka on December 26, 2014.

Now, in the absence of any penal or compensatory stipulation, our judiciary can play a vital role to uphold the rights of the citizen and to build these bodies to be more pro-people.

City-dwellers are continuously paying taxes to the local government for the development of their beloved city and to get services from the authority.

Additionally, Sec 109 of the mentioned act makes the mayor and counsellors public servants.

Hence, it is the solemn duty of the people’s representatives to do their jobs with due diligence and ensure safety and security of their remuneration providers. l Raisul Islam Sourav is an Assistant Professor and Co-ordinator, Department of Law, Dhaka International University, an Advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Legal Researcher, and Legal Rights Activist.

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

Everybody loves Bangladesh When it comes to our country, there is more than meets the eye

No one can say that Bangladeshis don’t love their country

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

I witnessed fewer political discussions and more discussions on advancing career opportunities and the economy in general. Business community leaders are happy about the functional state of the government under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. One thing was clear from my visitors: With the right leadership, Bangladesh can thrive

n Nadeem Qadir

Q

uite recently, I was in Dhaka for an official assignment. With me were two of my foreign friends -- one from Spain and the other from Britain. I know all foreigners have certain pre-conceived notions about Bangladesh, either because of distorted second-hand information, or a total lack of knowledge about the country.

That second-hand information is that most Bangladeshis have no love for their own country, and are prone to criticising Bangladesh and contrasting it to Western nations. The other is, of course, the political landscape -- especially

people who would say anything against the country in the name of criticising the sitting government.

It is a shame how we forget that without this country we would have no identity, a country that was born from great sacrifices.

In my close to one year in London so far, I have sent many media teams to Bangladesh, as I believe strongly that we have nothing to hide -- in fact, we have many achievements to be proud of.

During my own recent visit, I travelled across Bangladesh and noticed a lot of new developments -- new roads, bridges, buildings, and factories. People were busy with their businesses, and the economic turn-around was visible.

I witnessed fewer political discussions and more discussions on advancing career opportunities and the economy in general.

Business community leaders are happy about the functional state of the government under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. One thing was clear from my visitors: With the right leadership, Bangladesh can thrive.

Peter Grimsditch, a senior British journalist, said his idea of Bangladesh was floods and expatriate construction labour in the Gulf. After the visit, the image, in his words, “is of great industry and initiative by the people, immense charm and friendliness, less poverty than painted externally. Urban transport and

mass transit in Dhaka is an urgent priority.”

There is “confidence and optimism in the top of politics and private enterprise.” Bangladesh is now “an economic success story ... a state with the tantalising possibility of seeing permanent internal peace and stability.” All Peter’s words.

On his meetings with a crosssection of people, Peter wrote: “Unparalleled growth in the past six years, opportunities that have been seized with both hands, a concern for people as well as profits, such a strong belief in the prime minister that retirement or replacement would be seen as potential disaster even if the Awami League retained power and a definite disaster if it failed to gain another mandate when the current term expires.”

My Spanish journalist friend Bruno Sixto Lopez-Bravo has always known Bangladesh as a poor country, but after his visit, his ideas changed drastically: “I see a country that has achieved spectacular and remarkable progress in the past five to six years, a thriving economy, and a population with loads of energy and willing to make their country a better place.”

“I see a government that has

been able to put in place right policies, and to bring together the most respectable leaders in the private sector to tackle urgent matters, such as the safety and security for workers.

“It tells me the story of a nation that has fought hard in the past for its independence, that has suffered and seen its democracy at stake, and that today is ready to finally achieve all those things that have been delayed for too many years ... [the PM] is the right person for the right moment. A worthy heir of the greatest of all times, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. She is a leader who is capable of achieving social peace, and to lead the country towards more social inclusion and a stronger economy.”

Deborah Martin, producer for a BBC program, after her visit, said Bangladesh was “beautiful and green.” Bangladesh “is full of colour and non-stop excitement,” added another BBC program producer Liam Chivers. It will truly be our Golden Bengal one day. I await that day in this month of our great independence. l Nadeem Qadir, a senior journalist, is a UNCA Dag Hammarskjold Scholar in journalism. He is the Press Minister of Bangladesh High Commission in London.

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Long Form

Deficiencies in Obama’s pivot to Asia There are fundamental flaws in US foreign policy towards Asia. This is the first part of a two-part long form

n Refayat Mosaowir Haque

L

ast month, President Obama hosted ASEAN leaders in Sunnylands, California. The venue is emblematic of his administration’s attempt to disclose the commensurate value of ASEAN with China; he hosted President Xi at the same estate in 2013.

This summit was more of a goodwill gesture and an avenue for heads of states to hold candid.

Deliverables or plans of action were not to be expected from this gathering, however, a joint communique was issued at its conclusion.

It mostly included idealistic banalities like promoting rule of law, good governance, and accountability. Thankfully, the burgeoning maritime security crises were intimated, with a few lines expressing commitment to protecting the “rights of freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the seas.”

There were no explicit references to the South China Sea. While some might deem this summit successful in galvanising support from ASEAN to co-operate with the US in its “pivot to Asia,” there are fundamental flaws in US foreign policy towards Asia that act as serious hindrances. Such oversights remain primarily in the areas of aid, security, and trade.

The communique’s omission of language unequivocally detailing the South China Sea issue is inextricably linked to aid. Vietnam and the Philippines, both currently involved in rows with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea, strongly advocated for the inclusion of text outlining maritime security challenges specific to China and its incursions into the Paracel and Spratly Islands chain. However, Cambodia and Laos vetoed Vietnam and the Philippines’ request fearing retribution from Beijing, their largest aid donor.

The GDP disparity between Cambodia and Laos and its other more prosperous ASEAN partners is stark, displeasing their “big brother” China could further widen the gap. These two nations also blocked the Philippines’ call to include “arbitration” as a means for settling disputes, Manila’s plea was predicated on their ongoing case at the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, the case concerning China’s territorial claim violations of the

Spratly Islands chain under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

This rift within the US-ASEAN bloc enervates consensus-building efforts, and is extant largely due to Beijing. Cambodia relies on foreign aid for close to 40% of its fiscal budget, and increasing portions are coming from China. Chinese aid is most preferred, as it allows relevant ministries to manage funds without much supervision from the issuer.

In 2012, China provided $376 million in infrastructure aid, while in 2014 US foreign assistance to Cambodia stood at a paltry $77.6m.

The Obama administration ought to repackage its aid to Cambodia if it is to counter Beijing. In fact, loan-based Chinese aid commands high interest rates, which makes servicing them difficult. The US could offer similar loans but with lower borrowing costs.

In 2012, China provided $376 million in infrastructure aid, while in 2014 US foreign assistance to Cambodia stood at a paltry $77.6m. The Obama administration ought to repackage its aid to Cambodia if it is to counter Beijing China’s grip over Laos is formidable as well. In 2013, it contributed 77% of total FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) and close to $80m in aid, both grant and interest-free loans.

Washington ought to evaluate the feasibility of large-scale financial support akin to the 1948 Marshall Plan, which sought to distance fragile European states from Communist orbit. Whereas this time, it will be in South East Asia to empower developing countries to resist Beijing’s clout. Looks like the “domino theory” is germane again.

Obama’s security component of the “Pivot to Asia” is being led by a revised deployment of the US navy in the Asia-Pacific

Trouble is brewing in the South China Sea region. The Pentagon initiated the process of dispatching 60% of the navy’s warships to this region -- this reorganisation is likely to be completed by 2019.

Vice-Admiral of the navy’s Seventh Fleet, Joseph Aucoin, recently delineated the augmentation of the Asia-Pacific armada by revealing an additional 21 warships. According to Aucoin, the remobilisation will focus on intensifying patrols in the South China Sea to better respond to China’s swift military escalations.

Chinese adventurism endlessly induces alarm across the region and seeks to destabilise the American engineered, and regulated, balance of power in Asia.

Notwithstanding the addition to the fleet, the problem herein lies with the number of vessels under the vice-admiral’s purview. The Seventh Fleet is 80 to 100 ship and submarine strong, encompassing an enormous swathe of water from the Japanese Pacific to the Indian Ocean. On the other hand, Beijing’s dedicated South Sea fleet currently operates 116 naval vessels and upwards of 200 coast guard ships, all guarding the South China Seas. China’s naval saturation in the South China Sea, combined with its navy’s larger size compared to the Seventh Fleet, gifts it a “preponderance of power,” or hegemony, in the region in question.

Sadly, the Seventh Fleet’s tribulations do not end there; China’s expansive naval support

REUTERS

system has manifested itself on the contested reefs. The Paracel and the Spratly chains are being reclaimed vigorously by China, and now domiciles a myriad of military installations ranging from harbors, airstrips, surveillance, and satellite communication facilities.

The Seventh Fleet remains comparatively vulnerable with only a handful of naval bases in Japan; one in Korea and one in Singapore. Moreover, it lacks the kind of support network China is now establishing in the South China Sea. A few days after the summit, news erupted of HQ-9 SAM (surface-to-air missiles) batteries appearing on Woody Island, part of the Paracel Chain a few hundred kilometers east of Vietnam.

These missiles, with a range of 200km, will gravely endanger the stability of the region. Shortly following this revelation was news of possible installation of a high frequency radar system on Cuarteron reef in the Spratly chain.

HF radars have a far-reaching operating radius, making them effective instruments for China to position in its southernmost “territory.” This southernmost location provides an unprecedented advantage, affording China an early warning mechanism to confront, and ward off incoming ships and planes from the Strait of Malacca or Southern zones close to Singapore.

To put this into perspective, 25% of world goods and oil traded

pass through the Strait. This HF radar installation would prove essential in sustaining Chinese anti-access area denial strategy, limiting the US navy’s operating autonomy in the region.

China’s hurried intensification of military presence in the South China Sea raises concern over the Seventh Fleet’s efficacy in reacting to future Northeast Asia crises. Success in responding to conflicts in Northeast Asia will remain contingent upon whether the Seventh Fleet is largely concentrated in Northeast Asia, or spread evenly across the entire continent.

Voicing dissatisfaction, or reverberating sentiments of ASEAN parties affected will not be the only solution for the Obama administration’s South China Sea troubles. Optimists at this point will resort to the $250m Southeast Asia Maritime Security Initiative, designed to improve naval capabilities of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

But like the analogous National Defense Authorisation Act, enacted to assist a handful of ASEAN nations and Taiwan boost their maritime security and domain awareness in the South China Sea, the security initiative remains elusive and unproven. l The concluding part of this long form will be published tomorrow.

Refayat Mosaowir Haque writes from Singapore. He has previously been associated with Atlantic Council and BEI.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

INSIDE

Stocks cheer Atiur’s resignation n Tribune Report

About 50,000 tax-evading house owners to get NBR notice The National Board of Revenue (NBR) will get tough with both residential and commercial building owners who hardly pay tax or barely have any Taxpayers Identification Number (TIN). PAGE 16

China weighs tax on currency trades China’s central bank has drafted plans to impose a tax on currency trades, Bloomberg News reported yesterday, in what would be its latest volley against those betting on a depreciation of the yuan. PAGE 17

Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman’s resignation boosted stocks yesterday from a two-day slide, according to brokers.

The market opened on an upbeat mood in the morning with the DSE benchmark index, DSEX, soaring more than 26 points around the mid-session, but losing some points on short-term profit booking in the wee hours.

“The sentiment was lifted initially when the news of governor’s resignation hit the market, but this overabundance cooled down later,” said a leading stockbroker.

He said local investors, as usual, were more or less short-term speculators who rely on emotions.

But some investors were reluctant to join the market’s rally after realisation that there was nothing in his stepping down that changed the fundamentals overnight.

Just before the beginning of trading hour, Atiur resigned over the cyber heist of $101 million from

People walk past the entrance of the Dhaka Stock Exchange the central bank’s foreign currency reserves, which is said to be the world’s biggest ever bank theft.

The heist came to light in Bangladesh only a couple of days ago following a media report in the Philippines though it occurred early last month.

During Atiur’s seven years service to the central bank, he launched a series of populist policies to take bank services to the

DHAKA TRIBUNE

doorstep of millions of rural poor in Bangladesh, which was appreciated widely.

But at the same time, he has been criticised for loan scams in the state-owned banks and the central banks’ some policies that were believed to be one of the causes for the stock market crash in late 2010.

At the time of crash, commercial banks had been involved

Alliance cuts ties with Rakibur Rahman 11 more RMG factories elected as DSE n shareholder director Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Distressed asset buyers see silver lining After years on the sidelines, funds specializing in troubled assets are set to take center stage in the mining industry, driving deals in a sector where the top players alone plan to raise more than $30bn through sales to cut debt. PAGE 18

Capital market snapshot: Tuesday DSE Broad Index

4,467.6

-0.3% ▼

Index

1,085.4

-0.2% ▼

30 Index

1,712.5

-0.5% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

3,367.5

-8.4% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

103.7

3.3% ▲

All Share Index 13,787.4

-0.2% ▼

30 Index

12,504.7

-0.4% ▼

CSE

Selected Index

8,377.5

-0.2% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

247.6

-6.8% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

9.8

6.8% ▲

heavily in the stock market business and became the key player in the stock market.

Analysts said the central bank’s policies on banks’ exposure to the stock market had significantly played a negative role in the market’s free-fall, which is a failure on the part of the central bank as a supervisory agency.

On the day, some investors held a rally in front of the DSE, welcoming Atiur’s resignation.

At the end of the day, the DSEX settled at 4,475, rising over 8 points or 0.2%, recovering from 16 points that declined in previous two straight sessions.

But the bottom line is that the volume of trade sharply increased as the DSE turnover hit Tk435 crore, a jump of almost 30% over the previous day and the highest in nearly two weeks.

Share prices of over 50% scrips rallied as out of 314 companies traded on the day, 159 closed positive, 98 negative and 57 remained unchanged. l

n Tribune Report Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has elected Md Rakibur Rahman as one of its shareholder directors.

A former DSE president and currently the managing director of Midway Securities Limited, Rakibur bagged 131 votes while his opponent, former director of the bourse and managing director of BLI Securities, only 86 votes, according to the official results.

Of the total 242 voters, 220 cast their votes on the DSE premises in Motijheel yesterday. Three votes were declared invalid.

Rakibur replaced Managing Director of Sahidullah Securities Sharif Anowar Hossain who retired from the 13-member DSE Board this year as per a demutualisation scheme.

The newly elected director will join the board at the DSE’s annual general meeting scheduled on March 24.

A retired High Court judge, Justice Md Abdus Samad, acted as the chairman of the DSE’s election commission. The DSE Board consists of seven independent directors, four shareholder direc-

Md Rakibur Rahman tors, one from strategic investors’ category and another from the bourse’s managing directors, who would have voting rights only for election of the chairman.

Four shareholders were elected directors to the first board of the demutualised DSE in February 2014.

On completion of one year, Md Shakil Rizvi retired as a director in 2015 in line with the demutualisation scheme only to be re-elected.

Two other directors – Khwaja Ghulam Rasul and Mohammad Shahjahan – will retire in 2017.l

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a retailers platform for North American buyers – has cut business ties with more 11 RMG factories as the latter failed to make headway towards remediation.

With this, the total number of factories suspended by the Alliance stood at 42.

Earlier, the Accord on Fire and Building Safety, a European retailers group, suspended business relations with 13 other factories.

In a statement, the Alliance claimed that it has cut business relations with the factories for their failure to show adequate progress

in remediation, failure to submit evidence of its progress, lack of communication and failure to comply with review panel recommendations. Some factory owners cut their business ties on their own.

If suspended factories wish to restore its participation to the Alliance process, they will need to undergo a new inspection at their own cost, stated the Alliance.

The issue of safety in the country’s apparel sector came under spotlight after the Rana Plaza building collapse, which killed more than 1,135 workers.

The Alliance has so far inspected 870 factories while the Accord more than 1,600 supplier factories. l

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DHAKA AIRPORT SECURITY

Menon: Foreign firm to start work by March 22 n Ishtiaq Husain Bangladesh is negotiating with three UK-based aviation security firms to appoint one of them as consultant at the Hazrat Shahjajal International Airport, following UK’s suspension of direct cargo flights from Dhaka.

The Civil Aviation Ministry initiated talks with Restrata, Redline and Westminster Group two days ago as part of the government’s short term initiative to meet conditions outlined by the UK. Minister Rashed Khan Menon said he hoped the negotiations would be completed by March 20.

“After that the government will appoint one of them to assist us to bolster security,” he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. “We are working to ensure that the selected firm can begin work by March 22.”

The UK on March 8 suspended direct cargo flights from Dhaka as it found Shahjalal’s security was not up to international standard.

“I am optimistic that UK’s ban will be lifted very soon as we are taking all measures to fulfil their requirements,” the minister said.

Aviation ministry sources said the selected firm would assist and train security personnel. Redline is leading the race, a source said.

Menon said the government had approved a Tk90 crore project to procure modern equipment to boost airport security. After UK’s ban, the government formed a high-powered steering committee led by Menon to supervise improvement of security as instructed by the UK. Civil aviation authority’s chairman and secretary were replaced earlier this week, as UK’s March 31 deadline for improving cargo facilities and airport security drew closer.

The steering committee will meet on March 20 to review the progress of airport security works as suggested by Britain. The Aviation Ministry is evaluating day-to-day progress of airport security measures. l

NBR to serve notice to 50,000 house owners n Syed Samiul Basher Anik The National Board of Revenue (NBR) will get tough with both residential and commercial building owners who hardly pay tax or barely have any Taxpayers Identification Number (TIN).

Primarily, the revenue authorities have decided to serve notices to about 50,000 errant house owners, particularly from metropolitan cities, asking them to open income tax files and pay tax

by April.

If they do not comply with the request, the board may freeze their bank accounts and adjust the taxes from there, officials said.

The notice will be served under article 93 of Income Tax Ordinance, 1984.

Of the 50,000 house owners that are going to face the action in the first phase, 30,000 are residential building owners and the remaining 20,000 are commercial building owners.

NBR officials said the number may exceed once the process starts and the board is expecting to bag Tk1,000 crore tax alone from the sector.

The decision came as only a small number of landlords were found to have complied with the existing legal rules although it was mandatory for them since July 1, 2014.

According to the law, any persons having ownership of any property used for commercial or residential purposes must collect their monthly rent over Tk25,000

through bank accounts in any scheduled banks.

The NBR rule was made applicable for both residential and commercial structures. Individuals, companies and joint owners will be considered landlords, according to the rule.

The revenue authority will impose penalty on the house owners at the rate of 50% of taxes payable on incomes derived from the house property or Tk5,000, whichever is higher, for not transacting the house rent through banks.

According to a survey conducted

in 2014, the tax authority found 1.66 lakh landlords are out of tax net despite having a huge income. Among the tax evading house owners, about 70% were businessmen, 25% just owners and 5% shop owners.

The government has made mandatory payment system of the house rents through banking channel to ensure transparency in the house rent collection and to bring more people under tax net while prohibiting the practice of dodging tax on earnings from rental property.

NBR officials said about a half of the total house owners in metropolitan cities skips payment of income tax by showing less income in their income tax returns.

Currently, the revenue body does not have any list of house owners having tax-related information.

The NBR will seek support from government organisations including City Corporations and Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited and from Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) to continue the process. l

Buildings stand at an area of the Dhaka city. NBR says it will issue notices to tax-evading house owners in the country’s metropolitan cities asking them to open income tax files and pay tax by April DHAKA TRIBUNE

BTRC appoints firm to conduct audit to Robi n Tribune Report Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has signed a deal with a chartered accountant company for conducting the maiden audit to the mobile operator Robi Axiata Limited.

Administrative Director of BTRC Aftabul Md Rashedul Wadud, Muraheb Malik Chowdhury of Masih Muhit Haque & Co and Ganapati Subramanian of PKF Sridhar & Santhanam LLP signed the deal on behalf of their respective organisations in the city yesterday.

“After the starting the audit of Robi, all the activities of this organisations, specially finance section would be more accountable. Besides, quality of the services will also be improved,” said an official of BTRC. The government allocated around Tk41 crore for the audit of different mobile phone operators this fiscal year.

A top BTRC official said: “Appointing audit firms for Grameenphone and Robi would cost around TK17 crore while a total over of TK24 crore would be left for auditing the rest operators.

On October 6, the BTRC had signed a deal with a chartered accountants company for conducting a second time audit of the market’s leading mobile phone operator.

Earlier in 2011, the regulator had appointed an audit firm for the GP for conducting the audit, which found the operator owed Tk3,034 crore. l

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

Amazon seeks patent for buying items n AFP, San Francisco Online retail colossus Amazon is seeking a US patent on using selfies instead of passwords - for shopping when using smartphones.

Seattle-based Amazon reasoned that combining sensor and camera capabilities in smartphones with face

A clerk counts Chinese 100 yuan banknotes at a branch of China Construction Bank in Hai’an, Jiangsu province REUTERS

China weighs tax on currency trades n AFP, Beijing China’s central bank has drafted plans to impose a tax on currency trades, Bloomberg News reported yesterday, in what would be its latest volley against those betting on a depreciation of the yuan.

Chinese authorities have spent unprecedented sums to support the currency and stem

RMB as reserve currency RIP,’ George Magnus, associate at the University of Oxford China Centre, wrote on Twitter. ‘Not that it was likely anyway capital flight since a surprise devaluation rattled investors last summer.

The tax would be the most dramatic measure to date, although Bloomberg reported that the rules had yet to be approved and the level might initially be kept at zero as an experiment.

Dubbed a “Tobin tax” after Nobel economics prizewinner James Tobin, it would impose a small levy on foreign-exchange transactions. The aim would be to deter investors from seeking to profit on fluctuations in the currency.

Analysts said the move would reduce liquidity in the long term and possibly fuel short-term volatility as investors were forced to leave the market.

If implemented, the tax

could also raise questions about plans for the yuan to join the International Monetary Fund’s elite reserve currency basket, scheduled for October.

“RMB as reserve currency RIP,” George Magnus, associate at the University of Oxford China Centre, wrote on Twitter.

“Not that it was likely anyway.”

“Tobin taxes” have been fiercely debated since they were first proposed, with Sweden adopting a financial transaction tax in the 1980s to boost government revenue, and then abolishing it after bond trading volumes collapsed.

Major banking hubs such as Britain and the US have previously opposed them for the damage they would cause the financial sector.

The idea of a Chinese Tobin tax was floated last year by the deputy chief of the central People’s Bank of China in an article for China Finance magazine, in which he said it would help “contain the inflows and outflows of shortterm speculative and arbitrage funds”.

Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG, said there was speculation that the central bank “is taking the fight to the speculative FX community”, but that the Tobin tax would “not be taken kindly by the IMF” if adopted.

“If Chinese officials broaden this to other markets, like swaps, then speculators may pile into proxy currencies” such as the Hong Kong dollar, he added.

China’s foreign-exchange reserves dropped to $3.2tn at the end of February, the People’s Bank of China reported last week - down more than $300bn in just four months. l

and gesture recognizing software results in higher security than passwords or identification numbers.

“Such approaches provide for user authentication without the user having to physically interact with a computing device, which can enable a user to access information by looking at a camera, performing a simple gesture

such as a smile, or performing another such action,” Amazon said in a patent application filed late last year.

Smartphone cameras would capture video snippets to avoid being duped by a fraudster using someone’s picture to impersonate them in an online transaction, according to the patent application. l

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Distressed asset buyers see silver lining n Reuters, Sydney

After years on the sidelines, funds specializing in troubled assets are set to take center stage in the mining industry, driving deals in a sector where the top players alone plan to raise more than $30bn through sales to cut debt.

Overall deal volume in mining and metals last year sank to its lowest level globally since 2003, according to Thomson Reuters data, as the industry’s sellers, crippled by more than $1tn in debt, crowded a market with very few buyers.

Bankers, funds and investors, however, say that could change in 2016, as specialist buyers rethink a market where prices are languishing, mines are losing money and the traditional competition is weak.

Funds sidelined and waiting for the right deals could amount to as much as $3bn, according to a ballpark figure from corporate finance and restructuring firm FTI Consulting.

“The longer this commodity rout continues, the greater number of restructures,” David McCarthy, national leader for restructuring at Deloitte in Sydney, told Reuters.

“Some of those will be by existing financiers and existing equity holders. For others, the risk will be too great - and that’s where distressed opportunities will (be).”

Oaktree Capital, the world’s largest investor in distressed debt, opened an office in Sydney this month, in part at least because of the strain in mining, it said, particularly iron ore, where it sees potential for deals.

Others are targeting existing

A pair of 100-tonne tipper trucks operate at Atlas Iron’s Wodgina mine, about 100 km (62 miles) south of Port Headland in Western Australia mines where the geology has already been proven - and not development projects - for gold, copper, zinc and rare minerals, all exposed to the later stages of the economic cycle and renewable energy.

“I think it will be a busy year for everyone in the industry,” said Michael Ryan, a senior managing director of FTI Consulting in Perth.

“I expect to see a lot of restructuring and cost cutting work, debt

for equity transactions, restructuring balance sheet type transactions, sales of assets, divestiture of non-key assets to further shore up (distressed miners’) balance sheets.”

In Australia’s struggling iron ore sector for example, existing lenders to Atlas Iron agreed to take a haircut on repayments in return for a larger equity stake.

But steel and iron ore group Arri-

CORPORATE NEWS

um, with nearly $2bn of debt, had to look outside for help, turning to GSO Capital Partners, the global credit and alternative investment arm of PE behemoth Blackstone Group.

Earlier this month, it secured $927mn in funding to help Arrium retire debt and overhaul its business.

Media reports have said Cerberus Capital Management, another major US investor in distressed

assets, also considered a move on Arrium and remains on the sidelines. Cerberus did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

In November, global PE group Denham Capital backed Perthbased Auctus Minerals and its management team of mining restructure specialists with $130mn, as it bought battered Atherton Resources, which holds zinc and gold-copper resources in Queensland.l

Sri Lanka’s economy slows as tea party ends n AFP, Colombo

Adamjee EPZ and Fire Service & Civil Defence have jointly organised a workshop on earthquake and fire safety in order to build awareness, said press release. General manager of Adamjee EPZ, Shah Alam Sarkar inagurated the workshop held on Monday at the presence of Major AKM Shakil Newaz, director (operation and maintanance) of Fire Service & Civil Defence

REUTERS

Sri Lanka’s economic growth slowed slightly to 4.8% last year due to a fall in exports of its main commodity, tea, official figures showed yesterday.

The figure marked only a marginal decline on 2014, but will add to concerns after international lenders and ratings agencies warned the country is heading for a debt crisis.

Tea production dropped 2.6% during 2015 to about $545mn, the Department of Census and Statistics said in a statement, while exports fell by nearly seven percent to 306 million kg (673 million pounds).

The declines were offset by services, which grew 56.6 percent, and industrial output, which expanded by 26.2%.

Last week the government announced a series of emergency tax increases to combat a debt crisis that has forced it to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has put on hold for one year plans to lower corporate taxes, and has revived a capital gains tax abolished in 1987.

The moves are aimed at repairing the economy, battered by mounting debt repayments that led ratings agency Fitch to downgrade Sri Lanka’s credit rating last month.

However, the current administration embarked on a spending spree after taking power in January 2015 to deliver on election promises of higher wages and lower prices, increasing the deficit and sparking concern over the balance of payments. l

| food |

19

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Biz Info

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

|drive |

Le Pizzeria’s new offer

Blood Donation Campaign

Shandhani Bangladesh approached Office of CoCurricular Activities and BRAC University Medical Unit to arrange a blood donation campaign on Monday, March 14. Ivan Shafaat Bari, director of OCA and OCSAR gladly accepted the proposal as this creates a platform for students who want to be socially responsible. One bag blood of any student can save millions of lives. This type of campaigns let students contribute to the society more and become a socially responsible human being. BRAC University thrives to create minds that are not

Le Pizzeria the new pizza joint in town are gaining popularity for their authentic Italian thin crust pizza. Located in Banani, they also have mouth-watering pastas and salads on the menu. Currently, they have an ongoing offer where with every purchase of a family sized pizza, another pizza is given for free. Go grab your pick before time runs out.l

| food |

Sushi Shangri-la

only academically remarkable but also socially responsible.

The response of the students was outstanding. Students from different departments like the BRAC Business School, ESS, EEE, LLB, MNS, ARC, and Pharmacy encouraged others to save lives by donating just one bag of blood. Moreover, director of OCA also set an example by giving a full bag of blood to inspire all the other employees and students. At the end, 70 blood bags were collected by the efficient volunteers of Shandhani Bangladesh, Dhaka Medical Unit. l

| offer |

Bridal packages at Lounge Makeover Beauty Salon

In a city like Dhaka, where a new place to eat opens up every now and then, it can be quite a struggle to keep up with the competition.

However, Tokyo Express seems to be on top of its game. Launched last year in March, the sushi joint has created quite a stir among food lovers as one of the most happening Japanese restaurants in town.

Unlike most of the Japanese eateries in Dhaka, the restaurant is a concoction of hip and trendy.

The contemporary décor of black walls, cosy lighting, and Kygo beats in the background will give you a break from the conventional interior design of the usual sushi joints in the capital. “Our concept was to open a Japanese restaurant for all kinds of people,” says Ariq Husain, one of the co-owners of the place. “We wanted to break the typical notion of Japanese cuisine being catered to only a certain category of customers.” And truly, the price list did absolute justice to

his words. The particularity of the place is that it serves high quality delicacies at affordable prices.

Tokyo Express has a carte du jour which is an assortment of delectable and exquisite food. One will get to choose from a mélange of tempuras, sushis and sashimi, makirolls, mains and chillers for lunch and dinner. Their famous Bento Box is also unparalleled. It is a combo of the best items from the menu. l

Good news for soon-to-be brides! Style Lounge Makeover Beauty Salon has recently introduced two new bridal packages. There’s also a discount ranging from Tk1,500-Tk2,200 on these offers.

The first bridal package includes hair spa services, pedicure and manicure, gold facial, waxing, fair polish,

threading, all at a discounted price of Tk6,000 from a Tk7,500.

The other package has whitening facial, paraffin pedicure and manicure, full body fair polish, hair spa services, fruit facial, waxing and hot oil scalp massage at Tk14,500 which was Tk16,700 before the discount. l

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Servant (4) 3 Make fast a vessel (4) 7 Monkey (3) 8 Play for time (5) 11 Fall in drops (4) 12 Farm birds (5) 13 Representative (5) 15 Greek letter (4) 18 Final (4) 19 Ship of the desert (5) 20 Angry (5) 21 Puppet (4) 23 Concise (5) 24 Before (3) 25 Cry (4) 26 Tidings (4)

DOWN 1 Mass book (6) 2 Likenesses (6) 4 Rowing implement (3) 5 Narcotic (6) 6 Corded fabric (3) 9 Edible seed (6) 10 Permit (3) 11 Discussion (6) 14 In abundance (6) 16 Come forth (6) 17 Changes (6) 19 Domestic animal (3) 21 Early freshness (3) 22 Sheltered side (3)

Downtime CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 1 represents M so fill M every time the figure 1 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

A B C 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

DT

World 21

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

INSIDE

Russia begins Syria withdrawal as peace talks resume n Reuters, Moscow, Geneva

Historic vote gives Myanmar first civilian president in 53 years Myanmar got its first civilian president in 53 years on Tuesday after lawmakers elected a close aide of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is expected to hold the real reins of power in the formerly junta-run nation.

PAGE 23

US President Campaign 2016: A slug fest like no other Fist fights between opposing sides are now breaking out at rallies, where people give each other the finger. Candidates openly call each other liars, among other insults.

Accusations of racism and bigotry have tainted the campaign trail.

PAGE 24

Vatican approves sainthood for Mother Teresa Pope Francis on Tuesday approved sainthood for Mother Teresa, the missionary nun who became a global if controversial symbol of compassion for her care of the sick and destitute.

PAGE 24

Russian warplanes began leaving Syria on Tuesday as Moscow started to draw down forces that have tipped the war President Bashar al-Assad’s way, and the UN envoy said he hoped the move would have a positive impact on peace talks under way in Geneva.

As the first aircraft touched down in Russia, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura called it a “significant development” and said he hoped President Vladimir Putin’s move would advance progress towards a solution and a peaceful political transition in Syria.

Putin’s announcement of the withdrawal of the “main part” of Russian armed forces in Syria has led Assad’s opponents to speculate Moscow may be trying to press him towards a political settlement, though Damascus has dismissed any talk of differences with its ally and says the move was coordinated.

It was unclear what the withdrawal would mean for the outcome of the war or for the future of Assad.

The talks under way in Geneva are part of a diplomatic push launched with US-Russian support to end the five-year-long war that has killed more than 250,000 people, created the world’s worst refugee crisis, and allowed for the rise of Islamic State.

US-Russian cooperation had already brought about a lull in the war going into the talks via a “cessation of hostilities agreement” that led to a sharp decline in fighting between rebels and the government in western Syria.

But the Syrian government, which had been losing ground to rebels before Russia intervened, had indicated it was no mood to compromise on the eve of the talks, calling the presidency a “red line” and ruling out a negotiated transfer of power.

Russian military jets take off from the country's air base in Hmeymin, Syria to head back to Russia, part of a partial withdrawal ordered by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday REUTERS The main opposition delegation wants Assad out of power by the start of a political transition.

While some rebels have expressed guarded optimism at Putin’s announcement, others doubt Moscow is about to abandon the Syrian leader.

As pilots return, russian jets active

Russian television showed the first group of Russia’s Su-34 fighter plane task force returning from Syria and landing at an air base in southern Russia on Tuesday.

Between 200 to 300 servicemen, journalists and women greeted the pilots, waving Russian flags, balloons in red white and blue, and flowers. Two priests also attended the event, parading a religious icon.

At least six pilots in white helmets and aviator jackets were seen departing from about three planes.

They were mobbed by the crowd before being thrown in the air in celebration. A brass band played Soviet military songs, in-

cluding the Stalin-era “March of the Aviators," and the Russian national anthem.

Russia said however that it would keep its most advanced air defence system, the S-400, in Syria.

The Russian air campaign that started at the end of September has focused mostly on insurgents battling Assad in western Syria, helping Damascus and allies including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guards to reclaim important ground near the borders with Turkey and Jordan.

The spokesman for a rebel group in Latakia, where fighting has raged throughout the truce, said he did not believe the Russians were changing course. “We do not trust them,” said Fadi Ahmad of the First Coastal Division rebel group.

Salim al-Muslat, spokesman for the main Syrian opposition alliance in Geneva, said: “We heard the decision, but hearing is different from seeing on the ground.”

Showing Russian warplanes

were still active in Syria, heavy Russian air support was reported to help the Syrian army make major gains against Islamic State near the ancient city of Palmyra.

Daer’sh is not included in the cessation of hostilities.

Peace talks

Putin and US President Barack Obama spoke by telephone on Monday about Syria, with the Kremlin saying the two leaders “called for an intensification of the process for a political settlement” to the conflict.

Putin said Russia had largely fulfilled its objectives in Syria. But he gave no deadline for the completion of the withdrawal and said forces would remain at a seaport in Tartous and at the air base in Latakia.

The Russian intervention, supplemented by ground troops from Iran, helped Assad to halt and roll back insurgent advances that were seen as an increasing threat to his grip on power in the main cities of western Syria, including Damascus, last year. l

Q&A

What does Russian withdrawal from Syria mean for Moscow? n AFP, Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin said his forces have “on the whole” completed their task in Syria as he ordered the surprise withdrawal of the bulk of Mos-

cow’s forces.

But questions remain over why the Kremlin has chosen this moment to scale back its intervention in Syria and what the move could mean for the protracted conflict, now entering its sixth year.

Why now?

When Russia launched its bombing campaign in Syria last September, President Bashar al-Assad’s forces were crumbling and Moscow’s ties with the West were at their lowest since the Cold War

over the conflict in Ukraine.

Five-and-a-half months and 9,000 combat sorties later, Assad’s shored-up army has retaken territory and Putin has re-emerged as a key player on the world stage.  PAGE 22 COLUMN 1

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 While Moscow’s claims it was looking to wipe out “terrorist” groups such as Dae’sh have clearly not been met, there is a lull in fighting thanks to a February ceasefire, and fresh peace talks have started in Geneva.

Analysts say this means the Kremlin’s real motives have been achieved and now could be the perfect time to pull back.

“The goal of the military operation was coming out of international isolation,” analyst Alexander Golts said. “This task was successfully accomplished.”

Putin has thrust himself back on the global scene as a partner on Syria and can portray Russia as a major player in the Middle East as the United States has stepped back, analysts say.

“Putin reached his goals: the consolidation and control of useful Syria,” said Middle East expert

Karim Emile Bitar, referring to the country’s most populated areas.

The end of the campaign will also come as a relief to Russia’s struggling economy, which has been battered by Western sanctions over the almost two-year conflict in Ukraine and low oil prices.

RBC business daily estimated that Russia’s Syrian campaign costs $2.5m daily.

Some analysts also said Putin is wary repeating the mistakes of his Soviet predecessors who got trapped in a 10-year war in Afghanistan and is looking to get out now before Moscow gets sucked in further.

Temporary withdrawal?

The Kremlin said Moscow would maintain an air force facility in Syria to help monitor the progress of a ceasefire.

Deputy defence minister Nikolai Pankov said Moscow would also

keep striking “terrorist” targets in Syria, as the ceasefire does not apply to the Islamic State and other jihadist groups.

Moscow’s Hmeimim air base in Syria and its Tartus naval facility will remain functional, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

He did not give any details on how many soldiers would remain but a senator who heads a defence committee said it would be more than 800 people.

“It would be at least two battalions, about 800 people” protecting the two bases, as well as crews flying reconnaissance missions and advisors, senator Viktor Ozerov was quoted by Interfax as saying.

Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov said Russia’s advanced S-400 air defence systems would remain in Syria.

Experts say Russia’s permanent military presence in the country en-

ables it to easily redeploy at any time.

“If the deal (to withdraw) doesn’t work, nothing prevents Russia from redeploying its air force if need be,” Alexey Malashenko, an analyst at the Carnegie Center in Moscow, told Kommersant newspaper.

Throughout its military campaign, Russia demonstrated it did not have to be in Syria to bomb the country. Russian warships stationed in the Caspian Sea, as well as a submarine in the Mediterranean Sea, launched cruise missile attacks.

Is Russia abandoning Assad?

After Russia’s announcement, Western diplomats expressed hope it would force a recently emboldened Assad to negotiate more seriously at the peace talks in Geneva.

The Kremlin has denied that the move shows it is unhappy with Assad

and his increasingly trenchant stance in the run-up to the negotiations.

But analysts say Moscow has at times appeared at odds with Assad and publicly slapped down his claim that he wanted to recapture the whole of Syria.

“Russia is just concerned that he is a bit of a liability and a wild card,” said Sarah Lain, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London.

Lain added that Moscow’s move was meant to “force Assad’s hand a little bit” by pushing him to negotiate with opposition forces.

But few believe that Moscow is giving up on its ally for good after investing blood and money to prop him up.

“I don’t think the Russians are letting go of Assad,” Middle East analyst Karim Emile Bitar told. “It’s wishful thinking to say this at this stage.” l

23

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

Historic vote gives Myanmar first civilian president in 53 years n AFP, Naypyidaw, Myanmar Myanmar got its first civilian president in 53 years on Tuesday after lawmakers elected a close aide of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is expected to hold the real reins of power in the formerly junta-run nation.

Htin Kyaw, 69, hailed his elevation to the top post as “Suu Kyi’s victory,” a clear nod to her plan that he serve as a proxy for the Nobel laureate who is constitutionally barred from becoming president.

MPs erupted into applause after the result was announced following a lengthy ballot count by hand in the capital Naypyidaw, in which Htin Kyaw took 360 of 652 votes cast.

Myanmar is undergoing a dramatic transformation from an isolated and repressed pariah state to a rapidly opening aspiring democracy.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won a thumping victory at elections in November, allowing her party to dominate Myanmar’s two legislative houses.

But the military remains a powerful force and has refused to change a clause in the junta-era constitution which bars her from the presidency.

The veteran activist has instead vowed to rule “above” the next leader. Her choice of Htin Kyaw is seen as a testament to her absolute faith in his loyalty.

“This is sister Aung San Suu

Kyi’s victory,” the newly elected president told reporters after the vote. “Thank you.”

Very historic

Htin Kyaw will be sworn in on March 30, replacing incumbent Thein Sein. It will be the first time Myanmar has had a civilian president since 1962, when the military seized power.

Thein Sein, a former general, led a quasi-civilian reformist government for the last five years that has been praised for moving the nation out of the shadow of outright military rule.

For many MPs from Suu Kyi’s party Tuesday’s vote was a vindication of their long years of struggle for democracy under the repressive former junta, which locked up hundreds of dissidents as it tried to stifle criticism.

The NLD is still haunted by its 1990 election victory, which was snatched away by the generals.

Zin Mar Aung, an NLD MP who was involved in 1988 protests and is herself a former political prisoner, termed the vote “very historic.”

Tuesday’s election also confirmed the two other candidates as vice presidents -- retired general Myint Swe, who is seen as a hardliner ally of the former strongman Than Shwe and is on Washington’s sanctions list, and ethnic Chin MP Henry Van Thio.

Chosen one

Suu Kyi, 70, enjoys unrivalled

popularity both as the daughter of the country’s independence hero and as a central figure in the decades-long democracy struggle.

It is not yet clear what role she plans to take or how she will manage her relationship with the new president.

She is barred from top political office because she married and had children with a foreigner.

Months of negotiations with army chief Min Aung Hlaing failed to remove the charter clause that blocks her.

While little known outside Myanmar, Htin Kyaw commands considerable respect inside the country, partly because his father was a legendary writer and early member of the NLD. Though he has never previously stood for political office, he is married to sitting NLD MP Su Su Lwin, whose late father was the party’s respected spokesman, and he helps run Suu Kyi’s charitable foundation.

A new cabinet, set to be announced at the end of the month, is expected to include figures from across the political spectrum as Suu Kyi tries to promote national reconciliation.

It will face many challenges, including poverty, civil wars in ethnic minority borderlands and decrepit infrastructure.

Senior party figures say one of the government’s first tasks will be to whittle down myriad ministries by combining overlapping portfolios. l

Myanmar’s new president First civilian president in decades elected by parliament Tuesday

Htin Kyaw

69 years old Won 360 of 652 votes cast

Aung San Suu Kyi Leader of the NLD

The number of teenagers trying alcohol or cigarettes before they turn 14 has dropped, especially among girls, according to a World Health Organization study of 42 well-off nations.

From 2010 to 2014, the percentage of 15-year-old boys in Europe, Canada and Israel who said they’d smoked their first cigarette at 13 fell from 26 to 22 among boys -but plunged from 22 to 13 for girls.

Alcohol use among young teens in the 42 countries canvassed also went down over the same period, by about 10 percent.

“Health behaviours along with social habits and attitudes acquired in the critical second decade of a young person’s life can carry on into adulthood and affect the entire life-course,” said Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO regional director for Europe.

Young people smoking, drinking less Study of youth in Europe, Canada and Israel Age: 15 years

Boys

Girls

Alcohol

In percent 40

40

30

30

20

20

10 0

Have been drunk at least twice 2010

2014

30

10 0

Tobacco

30

20 10 0

Drink at least once a week

2010

2014

Smoke at least once a week

20

Smoked for the 1st time at 13 years or under 2010

2014

10 0

2010

2014

Source: WHO

Conducted every four years, the survey examines self-perception and risky behaviour among

11-, 13- and 15-year olds.

Greenland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and the Czech Republic

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan religious groups: Law protecting women from abuse un-Islamic An all-parties conference convened

by Pakistan’s oldest Islamic political party and attended by powerful religious groups asked the government on Tuesday to retract an un-Islamic law that gives unprecedented protection to female victims of violence. Representatives of more than 35 religious parties and groups came together for a conference called by the Jamaat-e-Islami party and condemned the women’s protection law as un-Islamic.

-REUTERS

INDIA

HC dismisses plea for action against JNU’s Kanhaiya Kumar The Delhi High Court today refused to entertain a plea seeking action against JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar for allegedly making anti-national remarks after being released on interim bail in a sedition case lodged against him.

-THE HINDU

CHINA

China to release water from dam to alleviate SE Asia drought

Nominated by the National League for Democracy (NLD) for president One of Suu Kyi's most trusted advisors Senior executive of Suu Kyi's charitable foundation Husband of sitting NLD MP, and son of legendary poet and NLD member

WHO: Youth in well-off nations smoke, drink less than in 2010 n AFP, Paris, France

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World

topped the list of young smokers in 2014, with 38 to 56% of boys, and 36 to 53% of girls, saying they had already lit up by age 13.

The countries with the lowest rates of reported tobacco use at the same age were Iceland, Albania, Canada, Norway and Spain.

Studies have shown that exposure to nicotine during adolescence can have lasting effect on brain development.

Most countries have taken steps to discourage teens from smoking, including banning point-of-sale displays, aggressive public service campaigns, and stiff taxes.

France, Ireland and Britain are also moving toward plain packaging. Bulgaria tops the list for regular drinking among early teens, with 13 and 20% of 13-year-old girls and boys respectively saying they consume alcohol at least one a week. l

China will release water from a dam in its southwestern province of Yunnan to help alleviate a drought in parts of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The water will be released until April 10 from the Jinghong dam, ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily news briefing. It will benefit Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, Lu added. -AFP

ASIA PACIFIC

Thai junta sets August 7 for referendum on charter Thailand’s military government on Tuesday set August 7 as the date for a referendum on a controversial constitution it has drafted since seizing power in a coup two years ago. The referendum will be the country’s first return to the ballot box since junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha toppled an elected government and suspended democracy in May 2014.

-AFP

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi coalition reaffirms pause in Yemen fighting The spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen on Tuesday said the pause in the fighting on the border between the two countries was continuing, as was work on clearing land mines, in comments reported by al-Arabiya al-Hadath news channel on Twitter.

Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asseri was quoted as saying the pause in fighting was confirmed and that mediation between the sides by local tribes was continuing.

-REUTERS

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World

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

USA

Obama U-turn on Atlantic drilling President Barack Obama’s administration on Tuesday signaled it was jettisoning plans to open swathes of the western Atlantic Ocean to oil and gas drilling, a U-turn that delighted environmentalist groups. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the move on Twitter, saying a new five-year plan protects the Atlantic for future generations. The administration in January announced plans to open drilling in the Atlantic along the East Coast, from Virginia to Georgia.

-AFP

THE AMERICAS

Brazil’s Lula on verge of joining government Brazil’s ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is about to join the government of his embattled protege and successor Dilma Rousseff, administration sources said Tuesday, as both seek to save their political lives. Speculation had swirled in recent days that such a move was imminent, as both Lula and Rousseff ’s political stars waned.

-AFP

UK

Report reveals Church of England’s failure to act on abuse The first independent review commissioned by the church into its handling of a sex abuse case highlights the deeply disturbing failure of those in senior positions to record or take action on the survivor’s disclosures over a period of almost four decades. The church acknowledged the report was embarrassing and uncomfortable.

-THE GUARDIAN

EUROPE

Cyprus threatens to block EU-Turkey migrant deal Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said Tuesday that his country will not accept the EU’s migration deal with Turkey without concessions from Ankara in the dispute over the Mediterranean island. Cyprus has expressed reservations, not least as Turkey expects the accord to lead to the opening of new chapters in Ankara’s longstanding EU membership bid.

-AFP

AFRICA

Benin to deploy troops to anti-Boko Haram task force Benin will deploy 150 troops next month to assist a regional task force battling Islamist militant group Boko Haram, a statement from the task force said on Tuesday.

The troops from Benin will act as a reserve rapid intervention force and are the last from the five countries involved in the African Union-led force to be deployed.

-REUTERS

INSIGHT

US President Campaign 2016: A slug fest like no other n AFP, Washington DC In America, these are days of rage, fueled by a cocktail of gripes making for a White House race that’s been wild and raunchy.

Fist fights between opposing sides are now breaking out at rallies, where people give each other the finger. Candidates openly call each other liars, among other insults. Accusations of racism and bigotry have tainted the campaign trail.

One hopeful - brash Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, of course - has even boasted in veiled fashion about the size of his genitalia.

“This would all be fun if it weren’t so serious,” said Patrick Haney, a professor of political science at Miami University of Ohio.

Thanks in part to the gnawing sensation that the so-called

“American dream” -- the idea that if you work hard, you will get ahead -- is dead or comatose, it is the year of the outsider: the candidate claiming to be utterly free of the dysfunction of Washington-style, nothing-gets-done politics.

“There is a sort of fundamental level of irritability in the American electorate right now. Some of it is probably economic and some of it is social and cultural,” said Haney.

Paul Beck, a political scientist at Ohio State University, said the national funk cuts across party lines and to some extent stems from dissatisfaction with the status quo.

“The other thing is much more deeply seated and that really goes back decades, to the declining status of the middle class,” Beck told.

Expressed in numbers, it looks like this: in 1970, 62% of aggregate US income went to middle-income households. But in 2014, that fig-

ure was down to 43%, according to the Pew Research Center.

This means the other ends of the income spectrum - the poor and the rich - are getting bigger.

‘American Rage’

Another poll, entitled “American Rage” and published in January

by Esquire magazine, gave even grimmer numbers.

It found 52% of those polled say the American dream is dead, and 54% believe they are worse off than they thought they would be when they were younger.

“We the people are pissed. And the body politic is burning up,” the magazine wrote in an introduction to the polling data.

On another hot-button issue immigration - Esquire said 46% of those polled feel immigrants are a burden because they take US jobs, housing and health care.

Trump has tapped into these fears, vowing to deport immi-

grants here illegally, build a wall along the border with Mexico and institute a blanket ban on Muslims entering the country.

Critics have heaped scorn on the 69-year-old businessman, saying he is fueling hatred and racism.

Rival John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio, says Trump has created a “very toxic atmosphere.”

Another Republican contender, Marco Rubio, called his language “dangerous.”

Even President Barack Obama - the target of much of the anger expressed by Trump supporters has weighed in, condemning the “divisiveness along the lines of race and faith” seen on the campaign trail.

Trump says his rallies are nothing but a “love fest.” And among the four remaining Republican candidates, he leads by a wide margin. l

Vatican approves sainthood for Mother Teresa n AFP, Vatican City, Holy See Pope Francis on Tuesday approved sainthood for Mother Teresa, the missionary nun who became a global if controversial symbol of compassion for her care of the sick and destitute.

The pontiff set September 4 as the date for her canonisation, elevating the Nobel peace laureate to an official icon for the Catholic faith.

The move comes 19 years after the death of the Albanian nun who dedicated much of her adult life to working with the poor in the slums of Kolkata, India.

Officials said the canonisation ceremony would take place at the Vatican -- an announcement which had been expected but nevertheless disappointed Indian Catholics who had hoped for a visit by Francis.

On Tuesday, hundreds attended a prayer meeting at Mother House in Kolkata, the global headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity where Mother Teresa is buried.

Sushmita Roy, a housewife who was one of those attending, said Teresa had long been a saint in the eyes of Indian believers.

“I came here today to pay homage to her,” Roy said. “It would have been great if the canonisation of Mother Teresa would have been held in this city where she spent her life.”

‘Saint of the Gutters’

Teresa, who was 87 when she died in 1997, was revered by Catholics and many others around the world.

Known as the “Angel of Mercy” or “Saint of the Gutters,” she won the 1979 Nobel peace prize for her work with the poor.

But she was also a controversial and divisive figure with critics branding her a religious imperialist whose fervent opposition to birth control and abortion ran contrary to the interests of the communities she claimed to serve.

Despite posthumously published letters revealing that she suffered crises of faith throughout her life, Teresa has been fasttracked to canonisation in unusually quick time, underlining her status as a modern-day icon of Catholicism.

Teresa took the first step to sainthood in 2003 when she was beatified by Pope John Paul II following the recognition of a claim she had posthumously inspired the 1998 healing of a critically-ill Bengali tribal woman.

Last year she was credited by Vatican experts with inspiring the 2008 recovery of a Brazilian man suffering from multiple brain tumours, thus meeting the Church’s standard requirement for sainthood of having been involved in two certifiable miracles.

Mother Teresa to be canonised

March 15, 2016 Pope Francis says Mother Teresa will be elevated to sainthood on Sept 4, 2016

Pope Francis approves sainthood for the missionary nun

2015

Aug 26, 1910

Credited by the Vatican with healing a Brazilian man of brain tumours (2nd miracle)

Born in Macedonia to Albanian parents. Baptised Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu

2003

1928

Beatified by Pope John Paul II for helping heal a Bengali woman of cancer (1st miracle)

Becomes a Catholic nun in Ireland as Sister Mary Teresa

1929

1997 Dies in Kolkata

Starts missionary and charity work in Kolkata, India. Teaches at St Mary’s School for Girls until 1948

1950

1979 Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Founds the Missionaries of Charity order

Opens centres for The order today: people with leprosy, 610 foundations dysentry, tuberculosis in 123 countries

The process of sainthood May take several years

makes request

rules candidate is venerable

DIOCESE Investigates candidate to establish fame and sanctity

beatifies

VATICAN

Congregation for the Causes of the Saints studies candidacy General Promoter of the Faith, the “devil’s advocate”, raises doubts which must be resolved

Source: vatican.va

Gentle eye that ‘sees’

Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu to Albanian parents in 1910 in Skopje, now the capital of Macedonia.

She started her life as a nun as a teenager with a missionary order in Ireland and arrived in India in 1929. She founded her own Missionaries of Charity order in 1950 and was granted Indian citizenship a year later.

Francis, who regards Teresa as the incarnation of the kind of

POPE

blessed

if a miracle is confirmed

canonises if a 2nd a saint

miracle is confirmed

Church he wants to lead, met the by-then internationally famous nun three years before her death, when he was still a bishop in Argentina.

Others were much harsher in their judgement, with the likes of Australian-born feminist writer Germaine Greer and British polemicist Christopher Hitchens accusing her of contributing to the misery of the poor with what they saw as her dogmatic views. l

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Sport 25

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

INSIDE

PLAYERS TO WATCH Match 14, Group 2 TAMIM IQBAL Bangladesh

Waqar backs Afridi on India love row Head coach and former captain Waqar Younis stood by his skipper Shahid Afridi yesterday over his declaration that Pakistan’s cricketers receive more love in India than back home, saying critics should stop stirring up trouble. PAGE 26

The left-hander is the most in-form Tigers batsman at the moment. The southpaw has led from the front, scoring 233 runs in the first round of the global showpiece event at a whopping average of 233, thanks to his unbeaten knocks against Oman and the Netherlands. The Chittagonian lad blasted a scintillating hundred against the Omanis in the last game and the Tigers team management will be hoping for him to carry his form into the business stage of the competition. What will perhaps aid Tamim while facing the Pakistan bowlers is his recent turnouts in the inaugural Pakistan Super League Twenty20. Bangladesh have only ever played once at Eden Gardens before but none of the current squad members have the experience of featuring in an international match here. Tamim will surely like to make it a memorable outing when the Tigers face Pakistan today.

Harmanpreet leads India to big win In India women side’s warm-up routine before the match, Team Red convincingly beat Team Blue in a game of touch rugby.

However, the team in blue were the one smiling at the end of the opening match of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 against Bangladesh yesterday. PAGE 27

STATS AND TRIVIA Bangladesh have played in Eden Gardens only once previously, in an ODI against Sri Lanka in 1990.

Bangladesh have won the last two T20I encounters between the two sides, most recently in the Asia Cup earlier this month.

By playing this game, Pakistan will equal Sri Lanka’s record of most matches (31) in the World T20.

Ranieri still in denial over title bid Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri said he was still refusing to look at the Premier League table despite his team re-establishing a five-point lead by beating Newcastle United 1-0 on Monday at King Power Stadium. PAGE 28

Barca up against stuttering Gunners Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted his side face an almost impossible task when they travel to face a red-hot Barcelona today looking to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in six years. PAGE 29

MOHAMMAD AMIR Pakistan

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza reacts during a training session at Eden Gardens in Kolkata yesterday AP

Tigers excited before Eden Gardens date n Tribune Report Bangladesh limited-over captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza yesterday said his charges can barely wait to play in the historic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The Tigers have only ever played at the venue once before in 1990 against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup. But the men in red and green will get the golden opportunity of strutting their stuff at the 66,000 capacity stadium when they lock horns with sub-continent rival Pakistan today in a Group 2 encounter of the 2016 World Twenty20.

“All of us are excited. There used to be a time when 90,000 people came here (to watch a game). It is one of the best venues in the world. We want to play

well here and make our outing a memorable one,” Mashrafe told the media.

“With that said, we haven’t played a lot of cricket here (Kolkata) and in India. We are bringing a lot of ideas with us. We have seen a lot of IPL (Indian Premier League) matches take place here.

More often than not, the wick-

TODAY'S MATCHES 3:30PM, GROUP 2

Pakistan v Bangladesh 8:00PM, GROUP 1

West Indies v England Maasranga TV, Gazi TV, Star Sports 1

et turns to be on the slower side with a bit of turn. But I think the pitches will be batting-friendly in the World T20. We haven’t seen the wicket yet. We will only draw up our combination after looking at the pitch,” he said.

All-rounder Shakib al Hasan has featured regularly at Eden Gardens while playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise in the IPL. And with Bangladesh and the Kolkata population sharing the same language, Mashrafe believes they will not be short of support when they take the field today.

“Of course we can hope for support from the crowd. Obviously, it depends on a particular individual but as a Bengali, I can certainly hope that Kolkata will support us,” he added. l

Amir has been sensational in recent times. Ever since his return to international cricket following a fiveyear hiatus, the left-arm seamer has more than made up for lost time.

The gifted paceman has performed wonders, be it in the PSL, Bangladesh Premier League T20 or the recently concluded Asia Cup T20.

Pakistan might have had a barren run in the regional competition but Amir was a bright positive for his side. He picked up seven wickets and his economy rate was also eye-catching, bearing in mind the shortest format of the game. The Bangladesh batsmen will need to watch out for any heroics from the 23-year old paceman if they are to negate the challenge of the Pakistan bowling attack successfully. l MINHAZ UDDIN KHAN From Kolkata

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Waqar backs Afridi on India love row n AFP, Kolkata Coach Waqar Younis stood by his skipper Shahid Afridi yesterday over his declaration that Pakistan’s cricketers receive more love in India than back home, saying critics should stop stirring up trouble.

Former Pakistani captain Javed Miandad has been at the forefront of the outrage over Afridi’s com-

V Bangladesh

58 20 36 2 2

Pakistan Played Won Lost No result

Head-to-head

102 60 42 0 7

ments at the weekend shortly after the team’s delayed arrival for the World Twenty20 being played in India.

But Younis said Afridi’s critics were making something out of nothing and he should not be criticised for wearing his heart on his sleeve.

“This is something he felt. It’s his emotions,” the former fast bowler told reporters in Kolkata on the eve of Pakistan’s opening match in the World Twenty20 against Bangladesh.

“I believe we should leave it at

IND v NZ NEW ZEALAND INNINGS R B Guptill lbw b Ashwin 6 2 Williamson st Dhoni b Raina 8 16 Munro c Pandya b Nehra 7 6 Anderson b Bumrah 34 42 Taylor run out (Raina) 10 14 Santner c Dhoni b Jadeja 18 17 Elliott run out (Dhawan/Nehra) 9 12 Ronchi not out 21 11 McCullum not out 0 0 Extras (b 4, lb 3, w 6) 13 Total (7 wickets; 20 overs) 126 Bowling Ashwin 4-0-32-1, Nehra 3-1-20-1, Bumrah 4-0-15-1, Raina 4-0-16-1, Jadeja 4-0-26-1, Pandya 1-0-10-0 INDIA INNINGS R B Sharma st Ronchi b Santner 5 7 Dhawan lbw b McCullum 1 3 Kohli c Ronchi b Sodhi 23 27 Raina c Guptill b Santner 1 2 Yuvraj c & b McCullum 4 5 Dhoni c McCullum b Santner 30 30 Pandya lbw b Santner 1 7 Jadeja c & b Sodhi 0 3 Ashwin st Ronchi b Sodhi 10 20 Nehra b Milne 0 4 Bumrah not out 0 2 Extras (w 3, nb 1) 4 Total (all out; 18.1 overs) 79 Bowling McCullum 3-0-15-2, Anderson 3-0-18-0, Santner 4-0-11-4, Elliott 2-0-9-0, Milne 2.1-0-8-1, Sodhi 4-0-18-3 New Zealand won by 47 runs M-O-M: Mitchell Santner (NZ)

that rather than creating a controversy out of nothing. We are here to play cricket, to beat teams,” he said ahead of Pakistan’s opening rubber against Bangladesh.

“My message to the boys is just leave everything behind. This is about playing some quality cricket and playing for the nation.”

In a press conference in Kolkata on Sunday, Afridi said that Pakistan had always enjoyed playing in India and “have been loved by Indians crowds more than crowds back home in Pakistan.”

The comments raised eyebrows as Pakistan’s build-up to the tournament has been embroiled in controversy over whether they would be allowed to travel to arch-rivals India.

They agreed to take the trip only after negotiations with India over security arrangements and the shifting of their match against the hosts to Kolkata from Dharamsala.

Diplomatic tensions between the two countries have meant that the two teams have not played any bilateral series for more than three years, and their rivalry is restricted to multi-national tournaments such as the World T20.

India’s batting great Sunil Gavaskar yesterday said Afridi’s comments would help dull the hostility of the usually raucous home crowd at Eden Gardens, the venue for the much-awaited India-Pakistan tie on March 19. l

2 THREATS TIGERS NEED TO BE WARY OF AGAINST PAKISTAN MOHAMMAD AMIR

Amir will not be short of confidence when his side take on Bangladesh in their Group 2 opener in the 2016 World Twenty20. Following stellar campaigns in the inaugural Pakistan Super League and Bangladesh Premier League 3, the 23-year old seamer had a memorable time in the Asia Cup T20 too, bagging seven wickets in four matches.

He picked up two wickets against the Tigers but Pakistan still lost thanks to some responsible batting by the opposition batsmen. His sheer pace and swing also troubled India and Sri Lanka in the regional competition so the Tigers batsmen must be on their guard when Amir opens the bowling for his side.

SHAHID AFRIDI

Pakistani cricketers at a practice session for the upcoming T20 World Cup at Eden Gardens in Kolkata yesterday AP

Kiwis spank hosts in Super 10 opener n Reuters, Nagpur Kane Williamson’s gamble to compromise on speed and pick three specialist spinners paid off as New Zealand humbled hosts India by 47 runs in a spin-dominated Super 10 contest of the World Twenty20 yesterday.

Opting to bat first, New Zealand posted 126-7 in the Group Two contest on a prodigiously turning track at Nagpur’s VCA Stadium, seemingly a below-par total against the host nation who are famed for their proficiency against spin bowling.

New Zealand’s three-pronged spin attack, however, ensured it

New Zealand left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner celebrates one of his four wickets against India in the World Twenty20 Super 10 opener in Nagpur yesterday ICC

was more than enough as Mitchell Satner (4-11), Nathan McCullum (215) and the Indian-born Ish Sodhi (3-18) wrecked the hosts who folded for 79 in 18.1 overs.

The first three balls of the match contained the kind of drama and excitement that fans would be expecting from the sixth edition of the tournament in cricket’s emotional and financial home in India.

After Williamson won the toss and decided to set a target, Martin Guptill nonchalantly hit the first delivery from Ravichandran Ashwin over the bowler’s head for a six.

The off-spinner settled score in the very next ball, trapping the batsman leg before with a delivery that, replay suggested, would have gone over the stumps.

New man in Colin Munro reverse hit the next ball for a six but threw his wicket in the next over.

As wickets kept tumbling at the other end, Corey Anderson (34) tried to steady the innings and it was Luke Ronchi’s (21 not out) 11ball cameo that took them past the 125-mark. l

The veteran campaigner might have blown more cold than hot in recent times but if history is anything to go by, then one will observe that the Pakistan captain mostly rises to the occasion when the going gets tough. Afridi has been disappointing of late, both with the bat and ball, but write him off at your own peril. With 93 scalps in 92 T20 internationals, he is the highest wicket-taker in the shortest format of the game and the World T20 is no doubt one of his most favourite tournaments. Pakistan might lack genuine match-winning batsmen but Afridi’s captaincy and their pace bowling attack more than makes up for their weakness.l

Morgan feels for Narine n AFP, Mumbai England skipper Eoin Morgan voiced sympathy yesterday for West Indies spinner Sunil Narine after the number one-ranked bowler pulled out of the World Twenty20 following his suspension for a suspect action.

The West Indies’ hopes of winning the tournament were dealt a severe blow last month when Narine withdrew from the squad, saying he was not ready to return to the international fold after work to remodel his action. l

V West Indies

71 35 34 2 8

England Played Won Lost No result

Head-to-head

81 39 38 4 4

27

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QUICK BYTES Wawrinka advances, Murray bows out French Open champ Stan Wawrinka reached the Indian Wells fourth round while world No. 2 Andy Murray suffered a shock third-round exit at the hands of claycourt specialist Federico Delbonis on Monday. Wawrinka toppled Andrey Kuznetsov 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) in the third round of the ATP and WTA hardcourt tournament and two-time Grand Slam winner Murray lost 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3) to 53rd ranked Argentinian Delbonis.

Harmanpreet leads India women to big win n ICC In India women side’s warm-up routine before the match, Team Red, led by Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy, convincingly beat Team Blue in a game of touch rugby. However, the team in blue were the one smiling at the end of the opening match of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 between India and Bangladesh wom-

en at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore yesterday.

Harmanpreet and Krishnamurthy certainly starred for India in their 72-run demolition of Bangladesh, but their other teammates in red, Mithali Raj and Vanitha VR, did their share of work too.

First, Vanitha and Raj shared an opening stand of 62 in just 7.4 overs that set the tone for the game, before Harmanpreet and Krishnamur-

thy added the finishing touches to the innings as India motored to 163 for 5, their highest-ever score in a T20 international. The bowlers then combined to restrict Bangladesh to 91 for 5. Bangladesh’s innings never really took off. Although they managed to tackle the pace of Jhulan Goswami, the batters were undone by the Indian spinners, with Anuja Patil and Poonam Yadav picking up two wickets each. l

BRIEF SCORE INDIA WOMEN 163/5 in 20 overs (Raj 42, Harmanpreet 40) BANGLADESH WOMEN 91 for 5 in 20 overs (Sultana 27*, Patil 2-16, Poonam 2-17) India won by 72 runs

–AFP

Inter extend ‘historic’ Pirelli deal Inter Milan on Monday announced a new five-year sponsorship deal with “historic” shirt backers Pirelli. Italian tyre giant Pirelli have been shirt sponsors of the Nerazzurri (black and blue) shirt since 1995 and the new deal sees their partnership extended by a further five years.

“Together Inter and Pirelli have won silverware at home and abroad,” Inter’s Indonesian president Erick Thohir said in a statement.

“We are proud to announce the continuation of a partnership that is both rooted in our glorious past and looking forward.”

India's Mithali Raj bats during their Women's ICC World Twenty20 2016 match gainst Bangladesh at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore, India yesterday ICC

–AFP

Italy rubber-stamp Spain, Germany friendly dates Italy have rubber-stamped two friendly dates with Spain and Germany later this month as preparations continue ahead of this summer’s Euro 2016. The Italian football federation (FIGC) confirmed Italy will host former world and current European champions Spain in Udine on March 24. Five days later, on March 29, the Azzurri - beaten 4-0 by Spain in the final of Euro 2012 - will face world champions Germany at the Allianz Arena in Munich, according to a FIGC statement.

–AFP

Rooney eyes return against Everton Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has said he expects to make his first-team return from a knee ligament injury next month. Rooney has been out for eight games and will miss England’s upcoming friendlies against Germany and Netherlands but is eyeing a return for United’s Premier League fixture against his former club Everton on April 3. “My recovery is going as planned. I don’t know for definite but after the international break,” Rooney said.

–REUTERS

AFC CUP

Selangor edge Sk Jamal in thriller n Tribune Report Poor defending and silly goalkeeping from Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club overshadowed their superb display upfront as the Bangladesh top-flight champions conceded a 4-3 defeat against FA Selangor in a thrilling AFC Cup encounter at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

With a spectacular goal and two assists, Gambian midfielder Landing Darboe had one of his finest days but a careless blunder by custodian Shahidul Alam Sohel and a below-average display by the defenders provided him with bitter memories by the end of the day.

Landing gave the home side the breakthrough in the 28th minute with a brilliant strike. Following some fine build-up involving Sohel Rana and Yeamin Ahmed Munna, the tall attacker unleashed a powerful grounder from 30 yards that gave no chance to the diving Selan-

gor goalkeeper Norazlan Bin Razali.

Patrick equalised the margin for the Malaysia Super League runners-up in the 39th minute, heading home a cross from Argentine forward Mauro Olivi from the right flank.

It did not take long for seven-time MSL champions Selangor to move ahead in the game. Eight minutes after resumption, Gopinathan capitalised on the hosts’ dodgy defending and tapped home from the second bar following a low Patrick cross from the left flank.

Nigerian striker Emeka Darlington restored parity in the 65th minute after brilliant work from Landing. After Landing’s solo effort was punched away by the netminder, the Gambian headed on the rebounder into the goalmouth where Emeka was lying in wait. Emeka made no mistake from there.

Wedson put the Dhanmondi outfit ahead a minute later and Landing was there again, setting

up the goal, as his through pass allowed the Haitian forward to break into the box and slot past Norazlan.

The delight however, lasted for only four minutes when Gopinathan netted his second of the evening, placing past Sohel from a Patrick cutback.

The drama continued at the big bowl as Selangor bagged the winning goal in the 83rd minute, courtesy Olivi.

With very little time in hand, Sheikh Jamal tried hard and went agonisingly close to a much-deserved equaliser.

Wedson’s side-volley was blocked and Landing’s effort from the middle of the box was saved brilliantly by the opposition keeper.

Sheikh Jamal finished their campaign at the bottom of the table without a single point while Selangor’s first victory saw them end with four points from three matches.l

Booters fly off to Abu Dhabi today n Tribune Report Bangladesh will leave here for Abu Dhabi today ahead of their upcoming 2018 Fifa World Cup second round qualifier away to Jordan, scheduled for March 24. The Bengal Tigers will depart at 9:45pm.

Before their World Cup qualifying match, Bangladesh will contest a Fifa international friendly against the UAE this Friday. The men in red and green are expected to leave for Amman, Jordan this Monday.

On the eve of their departure, the national footballers met Bangladesh Football Federation president Kazi Salahuddin at the BFF House yesterday morning. Team manager Satyajit Das Rupu and BFF vice president and development committee chairman Badal Roy were also present in the meeting.

Bangladesh currently sit bottom of Group B with only one point, earned against Tajikistan, from seven matches while Jordan are second with 13 points from a game less. l

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1-0

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

Leicester V Newcastle RAFA CAN KEEP NEWCASTLE UP Rafael Benitez has given the Toon Army hope. Benitez cut a desperate, anxious figure on the touchline, pointing and shouting orders as he moved players into his shape and tactical formation.

Benitez has barely had time to let his methods take effect. But you could see an improvement and they now look capable of staying up.

LEICESTER SHOWING NO SIGN OF TITLE NERVES Forget the accusation they don’t have enough experience. That only means they are not worried or anxious. Leicester regained their five point lead at the top - and there is no reason why they can’t stay there.

DRINKWATER DESERVES ENGLAND SHOT Roy Hodgson names his England squad tomorrow for the forthcoming friendlies with Germany and Holland. Danny Drinkwater must be in his thoughts after the Leicester midfielder’s remarkable season. There have been few better central midfielders in the Premier League.

NEWCASTLE STRIP WAS AN OWN GOAL Few clubs have such a recognisable kit. It was a new manager’s first game in charge and yet the clips will show Newcastle in white shirts, white socks and some dodgy looking aqua marine coloured shorts.

OKAZAKI IS AN UNSUNG HERO His work rate and enthusiasm is incredible, he never stops running. Of all the talk about Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and even Marc Albrighton, the other big component is Shinji Okazaki. What he lacks in technique and class, he makes up for with desire. l

Leicester City's Shinji Okazaki pulls off a spectacular bicycle kick to win the game against Newcastle at the King Power stadium on Monday

Ranieri still in denial over title bid n AFP, Leicester

EPL STANDINGS

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri said he was still refusing to look at the Premier League table despite his team re-establishing a five-point lead by beating Newcastle United 1-0.

Shinji Okazaki’s stunning 25th-minute overhead bicycle kick gave Leicester a hard-earned 1-0 win at the King Power Stadium on Monday and left them needing 20 points from their final eight games to complete one of the most improbable title triumphs in the history of European football.

But while teams like Arsenal and Manchester City continue to flounder in their slipstream, Ranieri was insistent that neither he nor his players are allowing themselves

Team

P W D

L GD PTS

1 Leicester

30 18 9

3 22

63

2 Tottenham

30 16 10 4 29

58

3 Arsenal

29 15

7

7 16

52

4 Man City

29 15 6

8 21

51

5 West Ham

29 13 10 6 12

49

to think about the title.

“I don’t look at the table. I look at the next match - Crystal Palace,” he told his post-match press conference.

“It’s difficult. We want to enjoy, we want to continue. Of course our fans are dreaming, are so proud of us. We must continue.”

He added: “Never we speak about the title. Every time we speak about our performance, how we

enjoy the football and helping our team-mates. I’m very proud when I say everyone helps each other.”

Okazaki’s goal, a textbook overhead volley from Jamie Vardy’s knock-down, took the Japan striker’s tally to six goals for the campaign, but Ranieri made a point of praising his all-round contribution.

“I’m not pleased now because he scored a goal - I’m so pleased with Shinji because he’s part of the team and he works so hard every time,” he said.

“He scored a goal tonight (Monday), but Shinji has made a fantastic job during all the season. It was a good goal, a fantastic goal.”

Leicester’s last three wins, against Norwich City, Watford and Newcastle have all come by a 1-0 scoreline. l

01: Who scored the first T20I century for Bangladesh?

Ans: Tamim Mashrafe Taskin 02:Who won the first World T20 in 2007?

Ans: India Zimbabwe Afghanistan 03:In which year did Bangladesh host the World T20?

Ans: 2014 2004 2015

Costa charged over red card row n AFP, London Chelsea’s controversial striker Diego Costa was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association on Monday for the angry reaction to his red card in Saturday’s FA Cup loss to Everton.

Television replays showed Costa nuzzling his mouth into Gareth Barry’s neck in what initially looked like an attempted bite by the temperamental Spain forward.l

Terms & Conditions:

Prizes: (Second Round)

The lucky winners among all the participants who have answered correctly will be selected in an official lottery and will have their picture published in the newspaper. v Answers must be sent in only the coupon (photocopy will not be accepted). v Quiz coupon should be submitted in the Dhaka Tribune newspaper address. v No one affiliated with Dhaka Tribune and Walton will be able to participate. v Coupon submission deadline April 4, 2016. v A person can send as many coupons as he/she wants. v Walton-Dhaka Tribune T20 World Cup should be written on top of the envelope.

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Name...................................................................................................

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29

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Juventus lose Dybala, Marchisio for Bayern clash n AFP, Milan

FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi (C) signs a t-shirt for children after they entered the training session in San Joan Despi, Spain yesterday

Barca clash highlights Arsenal’s missed Suarez chance n AFP, Barcelona Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted his side face an almost impossible task when they travel to face a red-hot Barcelona today looking to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in six years.

As so often in the second half of Wenger’s 20-year reign, Arsenal will travel to the Camp Nou with a sense of what might have been.

They had their chances to lead

DAY’S WATCH CRICKET GAZI TV, MAASRANGA TV, STAR SPORTS 1 ICC World T20 2016 3:30PM Pakistan v Bangladesh 8:00PM West Indies v England

FOOTBALL TEN SPORTS 1:45AM UEFA Champions League Bayern v Juventus

TEN ACTION 1:45AM UEFA Champions League Barcelona v Arsenal

UCL FIXTURES Barcelona v Arsenal Barca lead 2-0 after first leg Bayern Munich v Juventus First leg drawn 2-2 at the Emirates three weeks ago before Barca’s brilliant forward triumvirate of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez cut through them with an unerring ease they have made routine.

Messi, Neymar and Suarez have

scored a combined 103 goals this season, Arsenal’s entire squad a mere 71.

Top of the list of Wenger’s detractors has been his inability or unwillingness to splash out on the top-class striker needed to turn Arsenal from perennial pretenders into winners.

Yet, he tried to land Suarez whilst the Uruguayan was still at Liverpool in 2013.

In a tale of Arsenal’s penny-pinch culture under Wenger, they infuriated Liverpool by

AP

launching a bid one pound over Suarez’s reported £40 million buyout clause.

“What do you think they’re smoking over there at Emirates?”

Liverpool’s American owner John W. Henry famously replied on Twitter.

Even more damming for Arsenal was that Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard managed to talk Suarez into staying for an extra season at Anfield by telling him he was “too good for Arsenal” and that his move to Barcelona would come.l

UN suspends Sharapova as goodwill ambassador n Reuters Former tennis world number one Maria Sharapova has been suspended as a goodwill ambassador by the United Nations after admitting she tested positive for the banned substance meldonium at this year’s Australian Open.

The U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), which Sharapova became a goodwill ambassador of in February 2007, suspended the Russian until the outcome of the investigation into her case is known.

Sharapova’s work with the U.N. focused mainly on helping survivors of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster,

Juventus have been dealt a blow ahead of their Champions League clash at Bayern Munich today with key players Paulo Dybala and Claudio Marchisio both ruled out with injury.

Argentina striker Dybala, who scored in the first leg when Juventus fought back from 2-0 down to seal a 2-2 draw in Turin, injured his calf in training on Monday while Italy midfielder Marchisio has torn a calf muscle.

Dybala is only expected to miss the next few days and could be fit for Sunday’s Turin derby away to Torino, but Marchisio is expected to be sidelined for the next three weeks.

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri was already without defenders Giorgio Chiellini und Martin Caceres.

Juve’s former Bayern striker Mario Mandzukic is carrying a knock, but was able to take part in training yesterday before the squad flew to Munich.

Bayern host the Italian champions at the Allianz Arena looking to seal their fifth consecutive quarter-final appearance in Europe’s premier club competition. l

but links to her profile on the U.N.’s official website (www.un.org) were not working yesterday.

“The UNDP remains grateful to Maria Sharapova for her support of our work, especially around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster recovery,” Britain’s Guardian newspaper quoted a U.N. spokesperson as saying.

“However, in light of Ms Sharapova’s recent announcement, we last week suspended her role as a goodwill ambassador and any planned activities while the investigation continues.” l

United face possible Everton showdown

n AFP, London

Watford’s reward for knocking out FA Cup holders Arsenal is a semi-final date with Crystal Palace, while Everton will take on Manchester United or West Ham in the other tie at Wembley. After handing Arsenal their first FA Cup defeat since February 2013 with a surprise 2-1 victory in the quarter-finals at the Emirates Stadium, Monday’s semi-final draw pitted Watford against Palace. l

FA CUP DRAW Crystal Palace v Watford Everton v Man United/West Ham Both ties to be played at Wembley on the weekend of April 23/24

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Showtime

In conversation with a Berlinale talent

Dhaka Happenings n Showtime Desk Twilight Ragas released

From left, Reza Delpak, sound designer for You of Many Days who has worked on the best of Iranian Cinema such as Color of Paradise, Baran, Taste of Cherry, Shireen Pasha with her husband Stefan Frischauf and their childrens visit Berlinale this year

n Hasan Mansoor Chatak Shireen Pasha, the writer and director of upcoming independent film You of Many Days, was recently selected at Berlinale Talents, an annual summit and networking platform of the Berlin International Film Festival for outstanding creatives from the fields of film and drama series.

The German filmmaker of Bangladeshi descent joined the summit via her movie You of Many Days, a love story that takes place during the second partition of India. The film is unique as Pasha has tried to openly incorporate the ideas of everyone that is part of the filming team, as and while it‘s shot.

Showtime caught up with the filmmaker to know more about her Berlinale experience and to find out her plans for You of Many Days.

How was your film project treated at the Berlinale Talents?

Berlinale Talents is really an opportunity for filmmakers to meet prospective collaborators and funders for projects. I had many one-to-one discussions with film fund directors and producers, some of who invited me to submit applications for funding.

What can you take through the workshop at Berlinale? Would you recommend other filmmakers to apply there?

The Berlinale Talents organisers are well connected and they really know what they are doing,intending to bring filmmakers together for the love of good cinema. They literally bring together all the funders for international cinema and worldrenowned creatives from director

Wim Wenders to composer Alva Noto, for intimate interaction.

I highly recommend all filmmakers to apply. It will help filmmakers understand the business aspect of raising funds, meeting future peer-collaborators, and established artists.

So far how has the open collaboration been coming along?

The project is still under development. Sometimes films take as long as ten years to complete. I don’t want to just throw something together that involves the hearts of so many people. Therefore, in this respect I am a long distance footpath warrior.

What‘s your plan now with You of Many Days ?

I will continue to search for funding for You of Many Days.

I will be sending out funding applications, calling producers, and production houses.

As someone living so far away from Bangladesh, was it challenging for you to depict the South Asian aspects of the film?

My parents are from a village in Bangladesh known as Momarizpur.

Life‘s meandering path took my father to West Pakistan as a young man, when he was sixteen, right after he had married my mother in 1960, to begin working at the Ministry of Commerce for Pakistan as a secretary (before the creation of Bangladesh). There he learned stenography and became so good at it that he became the Minister‘s personal assistant. Then he got posted to Poland as a secretary for the commercial service wing of Pakistan but then the war broke out in 1971 and he had to escape from Pakistan. My parents

survived close encounters along with two of my siblings.

Once Bangladesh was created, he began working for the Ministry of Commerce in Bangladesh where he received the duty to help Bangladeshi Diplomats open their first Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.

That‘s where I was born quite by chance and unexpectedly, to unassuming parents in 1977. After the first six months of my birth we moved back to Bangladesh where I lived until I was six, falling in love again and again with the beautiful dense, grey alluvial soil of our delta. Then in 1982, my father was again assigned to work as an assistant to foreign commercial officers in Washington, DC. Every week my father would ask my teacher, “Do you think my girl is intelligent?” He was told by many people in Bangladesh that his girl was dark and ugly and that he would have to pay a big dowry to marry her off but he didn‘t care about that - he wanted to know if she was capable so that he could find some way to stay in America to give her the education he knew he couldn‘t in Bangladesh.

Fate intervened again and in 1987 my mother was babysitting the child of a TrinidadianAmerican, who loved my mother and sponsored her to become an American resident, slowly making our path to becoming American citizens. We are reluctant immigrants, never wanting to have left our coconut, banana and mango trees. In these years, we continued to have one foot in Bangladesh and one in America.

America for choice and economic strength, Bangladesh for heart and wings. It is with my heart and wings that I persevere in making You of Many Days.

March 14 marked the launching ceremony of Twilight Ragas, a full featured album by renowned exponent of the Bishnupur Gharana, Guru Sangeetacharya Amiya Ranjan

Bandyopadhyay held at Bengal Cafe. The event was formally launched by noted researcher and musician Dr Karunamay Goswami.

Documentary on Anwara Bahar Chowdhury screened at ULAB

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) has screened a documentary on renowned educationist, writer, and cultural activist Anwara Bahar Chowdhury on March 14.

Directed by Samir Kushari, the documentary was conceptualised, narrated, and produced by Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury. Dr Anisuzzaman, professor emeritus, University of Dhaka, graced the occasion as the chief guest. Professor Imran Rahman, vice-chancellor ULAB, presented the inaugural speech at the event.

Anwara Bahar Chowdhury played a vocal role behind

empowerment of women during the 1990s. She is one of the founders of Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts (BAFA) in Dhaka. Besides, she was the Cultural Representative in Iran and Iraq in 1961, and in the former Soviet Union in 1961.

Anwara Bahar Chowdhury is the author of many acclaimed books.

One of her contributions to humanity is establishment of a college in 1969 named after her husband, Habibullah Bahar.

Anwara Bahar Chowdhury died on October 27, 1987 after a battle with cancer.

Shoshur Bari Modhur Hari premiere Family game show Shoshur Bari Modhur Hari will be aired on ATN Bangla soon.

The organisers will arrange a press conference in this connection at a hotel in the

capital today.

The premier of the show, sponsored by RFL Plastics, is scheduled to be held at Seven Hill Restaurant in Bangla Motor area at noon.

31

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

Shikari: Shakib’s first Indo-Bangla venture n Showtime Desk Bangladeshi superstar Shakib Khan and Tollywood beauty Srabonti Chatterjee have been paired up for Shikari, a joint production between India and Bangladesh.

Khan, who is a leader of protest against projection of Indian films in Bangladesh, has made his debut in a joint production with this film.

“I was always in favour of joint productions,” said Khan.

Khan said: “I am so excited and hopeful about the film. It has a very nice story and the planning has been done with care.

I hope Shikari will be the most commercially successful movie

among all the movies jointly made by this duo.”

Bangladeshi Jazz Multimedia and Indian SK Movies have produced the film.

“Many legendary films were previously made when the artists, directors and technicians of the two countries worked together.

That trend will restart with Shikari,” Khan said.

Zakir Hossain Shimanto and Kolkata’s Joydeb Mukherjee have directed the film. Abdullah Jahir Babu from Bangladesh and Pele Chatterjee from Kolkata have written the story.

Shakib Khan is currently in Kolkata, continuing shooting for the film.l

Hrithik to file legal notice against Kangana n Showtime Desk Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut have been through quite a bit of a media frenzy lately. It was rumoured that stars were dating each other, after which there were more rumours that the two had had an abrupt split. Although neither of them admitted to being a couple, there were reports that Hrithik was trying his best to remove her from the cast of Aashiqui 3.

When Kangana was asked about these rumours, she said, “Yes, many lame rumours are doing rounds. Even a dumb*** can tell where these rumours are coming from. I don’t know why exes do silly things to get your attention.

For me that chapter is over and I don’t dig graves.”

Later, Hrithik indirectly replied to Kangana saying, “I can date anyone besides Kangana Ranaut.” Now the issue has been taken to new heights with Hrithik Roshan sending a legal notice to Kangana. In the notice he has mentioned that Kangana should call a press conference and apologise for calling him a silly ex in front of everyone.

Kangana also replied with a 21 page legal notice and later stated, “I didn’t take Hrithik’s name in the statement so he cannot file case of defamation against me.” She also said that she will not apologise for the statement. Moreover, Kangana has filed a case against Hrithik for trying to “bully” her. l Source: Bollywood Life

Affleck responds to Jennifer’s comments

n Showtime Desk Actor Ben Affleck says he is “fine” with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner’s recent tell-all interview in which she addressed his rumoured affair with their nanny.

The 43-year-old Miracles From Heaven actress spilled her heart out in Vanity Fair’s March edition where she not only revealed her split from husband of 10 years Ben Affleck but also Afleck’s cheating with nanny Christine Ouzounian, 28.

On Monday the Oscar winner finally addressed the beauty’s heart wrenching tell-all when he sat down with the New York Times: “She felt like she wanted to discuss it and get it out there and get it over with so she could say, ‘Look, I already talked about it – I don’t want to do it again.’”

Affleck, 43, and Garner announced their split a day after their 10-year anniversary in June 2015.

It was reported that Affleck had an affair with the family’s 28-year-old nanny Christine Ouzounian.

In the interview, Garner, 43, had called Affleck the love of

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her life, and tagged the nanny incident as “bad judgement” on the part of her husband.

This is the first time that Affleck has spoken about their much-publicised and shocking separation.

The actor was all praise for Garner.

“Jen’s great. She’s a great person… We’re on great terms.

I just saw her this morning, so that’s the reality that I live in,” Affleck told.

The Good Will Hunting star, however, refused to discuss his family life or the details of his divorce from former Daredevil co-star.

The father of three also responded to Ricky Gervais’ Golden Globe joke in which the comedian called Matt Damon as “the only person who Ben Affleck hasn’t been unfaithful to.”

The actor laughed: “It’s the way Ricky Gervais perceives me, I suppose. Whatever. I’ve had jokes made at my expense before. It’s part of the deal.” l Sources: dailymail, The Indian Expr

WHAT TO WATCH Enders Game HBO 4:10pm Young Ender Wiggin is recruited by the International Military to lead the fight against the Formics, a genocidal alien race which nearly annihilated the human race in a previous invasion.

Cast: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, Abigail Breslin

Snow White and the Huntsman Star Movies 2:28pm In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Sam Claflin

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 WB 6:33pm As Harry races against time and evil to destroy the Horcruxes, he uncovers the existence of three most powerful objects in the wizarding world: the Deathly Hallows.

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane Con Air Z Studio 7:15pm Newly paroled ex-con and former US Ranger Cameron Poe finds himself trapped in a prisoner transport plane when the passengers seize control.

Cast: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Monica Potter, Steve Buscemi Gravity Movies Now 9:30pm A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.

Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris, Orto Ignatiussen, Phaldut Sharma

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016

STOCKS CHEER ATIUR’S RESIGNATION PAGE 15

TIGERS EXCITED BEFORE EDEN GARDENS DATE PAGE 25

SHAKIB’S FIRST INDOBANGLA VENTURE PAGE 31

Tigers look to get the better of Pakistan again Uddin Khan from n Minhaz Kolkata A highly boosted Bangladesh will begin their second phase of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 against Pakistan at Eden Gardens in Kolkata today. Bangladesh are heading into the second round of the tournament backed by wins against the Netherlands and Oman.

The last time they met Pakistan in the T20 format – in the Asia Cup T20 earlier this month – the Tigers had registered a five-wicket victory to throw the opposition out of the tournament and set up a final date with India.

These facts have turned today's Bangladesh-Pakistan encounter

into a thrilling one and bearing in mind the venue in West Bengal, the Tigers are expected to be backed well by the supporters.

According to Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza, however, these details will hardly matter.

Mashrafe believes history counts for little and only performance on the day will determine which side comes out on top.

Considering the condition at Eden Gardens, the Pakistan pace bowling attack is the biggest challenge awaiting the Tigers. But one good thing for Bangladesh is that they are getting back pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman for selection. But a final call will only be made this afternoon by the team management.

Meanwhile, fast bowler Taskin Ahmed, who was reported of a

suspect bowling action, has joined the Tigers following his test in Chennai.

Bangladesh flew to Dharamsala for the qualifying round of the tournament only a day before the game. They adapted brilliantly with the chilly condition. But in Kolkata, it is going to be the total opposite. It is being said India as hosts will reserve extra advantage for the sub-continental teams but Bangladesh are not taking anything for granted. This is the first time in the last 10 years that the Tigers have visited India in spite of being the closest neighbours.

Pakistan's bowling attack, led by left-arm pacers, will be of obvious concern but opening batsman Tamim Iqbal, who is in brilliant touch, will be expected to offer strong resistance. Tamim has been

key to Bangladesh’s flying success in the World T20 qualifiers, having scored 233 runs in three matches at an unbelievable average of 233, including two unbeaten innings.

Having played in the inaugural Pakistan Super League T20 last month, Tamim will have some ideas on Pakistani bowlers like Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Irfan. He was in form in that tournament too and that should give him an edge.

His opening partner Soumya Sarkar has struggled but Sabbir Rahman at No 3 has been an absolute delight. The right-handed batsman is also in good momentum and has scored 72 runs in three first-round matches.

All-rounder Shakib al Hasan had showed brief glimpses of finding himself back with a bold 17 not out

against Oman and will be expected to deliver in the big game today. The four-wicket haul against the ICC Associate side should also boost Shakib, who is undoubtedly the most experienced Bangladesh campaigner in T20 cricket.

In contrast, Pakistan will be desperate to iron out the mistakes of the recent past. Pakistan's batting has been woeful in the Asia Cup T20 where they were shot out for a meagre 83 against India. Pakistan's strongest forte has been their bowling attack which is now being led by rehabilitated pacer Amir who has been splendid recently. But Amir would certainly require help from senior bowlers like Mohammed Sami, who has been wayward so far. Irfan has extracted a lot of bounce with his height but has not looked penetrative enough. l

IS claims killing of ‘preacher’ in Jhenaidah n Tribune Report Dae’sh or Islamic State group yesterday claimed that their members had killed a top Shia preacher in Jhenaidah on Monday night – a claim the authorities reject.

The latest victim, mentioned by Dae’sh as Abdul Razzaq, 45, was a homoeopathic medicine practitioner at Kaliganj of the district.

“Unidentified attackers hacked Abdur Razzaq to death with sharp weapons on Monday night after he shut down his shop and was heading back to his village,” OC Anwar Hossain told AFP. “We’re investigating the motive but it was not carried out by the IS.” On January 7, Chhamir Uddin Mandal, 85, was stabbed to death at his chamber at Belekhal Bazar of the sadar upazila. He had been practising homeopathy for the last 40 years. Dae’sh said that he

was a preacher who had converted to Christianity from Islam. But his family and the police said that Chhamir had switched back to Islam two years ago.

According to US monitoring group SITE, Dae’sh said in a statement that its fighters in Bangladesh “were able to assassinate the polytheist apostate Hafidh Abdul Razzaq, one of the top preachers for the Rafidha [Shia] religion.”

Police said Razzaq was a Sunni.

But Ibrahim Khalil Rizvi, who heads a Shia education centre in Khulna, told AFP that Razzaq had been following the Shia form “for over 20 years.”

In the recent months, Dae’sh has claimed a series of killings targeting foreigners and minorities including Shia, Ahmadiyya and Sufi Muslims, Hindus and Christians, but the authorities deny that it has a presence there and instead blame local Islamist groups. l

Taking part in a BRTA initiative, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader distributes pamphlets on safe driving and following traffic rules in the capital’s Gulistan area yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Ministers given time to explain remarks on CJ n Ashif Islam Shaon

The Appellate Division yesterday adjourned hearing on a contempt of court rule against Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque until March 20.

The ministers tendered unconditional apology for their comments about the chief justice, the attorney general and the judiciary before filing time petitions on Monday.

A nine-member bench headed

by Chief Justice SK Sinha granted the pleas and ordered them to ap-

pear before it on March 20. It issued the contempt rule on March 8.

Mozammel was present yesterday but Qamrul could not come as he was abroad. Defence counsel Abdul Based Majumder told the court that Mozammel had offered unconditional apology and requested to

defer the hearing as Qamrul was expected to return on March 16.

At a discussion on March 5, both ministers expressed doubts over getting justice in the appeals case of war criminal Mir Quasem Ali. Qamrul suggested the case be reheard by a new bench excluding the

chief justice. Mozammel said the chief justice should not be delivering the verdict in Quasem’s case.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a cabinet meeting slammed the two ministers in their presence and said that her government would not own such comments. l

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